#you are NOT ready to hear about snus

[smoochkooks]

—chapter nineteen: illicit affairs

this is a part of my an ode to a broken heart drabble series.

pairing: jeon jungkook/reader genre: unrequited love, best friends to (?), heavy angst, smut word count: 1.6k words summary: it dies a million little times...

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Five months later

There is a park nearby your apartment, sandwiched between the residential buildings. It has been here way before some chaebol had decided to buy this land and transform it to yet another wealthy neighborhood in downtown Gangnam. It looks almost surreal – tracts of green among concrete. There’s not many people here today. It feels like a scene from a movie: remote, run-down bench by the pond standing directly underneath the only magnolia tree in the park, and the girl sitting on it with an unreadable expression. What's going through her mind? What, or who, is she thinking about? She's clutching the phone in her hand in a death grip – the only sign she's feeling any emotion right now. Nightingale sings somewhere in the far distance, the sound breaking the deafening silence. Then, a phone rings. Once, twice, three times. 

You pick up.  

“I told her.” Jungkook waits a beat and then adds, “She wants to speak with you, in private.” 

You wonder if he can make out your ragged breath through the speaker. It's the only thing you can hear now, as if the whole world has gone quiet just to listen to your conversation.

“I gave her your number. Is that okay?” 

It was all your design to come clean, to free your conscience from the burden that's weighing you both down day by day. You agreed to do this, but he still makes sure if you're ready. A single magnolia petal lands on your thigh. You stare at it, transfixed. He calls your name. So softly, so gently and you break a little. 

“Okay.”

The line cuts off. No one says goodbye. 

Soojin contacted you soon after that. She sent you a message, asking whether you would have time to meet with her on Friday. She had chosen a coffee shop in SNU’s neighborhood where she had met Jungkook all those years ago. When you googled later the address you found out it's one of those places designed to serve both as a coffee shop and bookshop. How ironic. There's no doubt your book will be sitting on the bestseller shelf, mocking you as your best friend's wife is confronting you. 

You arrive almost fifteen minutes earlier. Your heart is beating so fast it's borderline painful, your entire body trembling from anxiety. You don't know exactly how much did Jungkook tell Soojin, so have no idea what to expect from her, which makes you even more uneasy. She has the upper hand here. You notice a stack of ‘An Ode To A Broken Heart’ copies laying on one of the tables and avert your eyes somewhere else.

You try to pass the time by swiping through social media but it's too hard to focus. You keep re-reading sentences because you can't make out what they mean. You've never been good with handling stressful situations, ever since you were a child. You envied kids who didn't worry about tests and exams. Growing older, you managed to control your nerves a little, once you realized you couldn't possibly continue living like this forever. In high school your parents took you to a therapist and that, along with anxiety medication, helped you survive finals and college. However, today you can't help but feel like the girl who couldn't sleep before a math test all over again.

Soojin enters the coffee shop on time. She looks flawlessly, just like during her wedding day. Her silky, black hair is styled in pretty curls and she's wearing light make-up accentuating her features. She’s dressed in a formal attire, a white button-down blouse and beige pants, so she’s probably here on her lunch break. Not much time for a private conversation it is, then.

She orders her coffee to go and looks around. She smiles when she spots you but you can easily tell it’s not sincere, more of a courteous manner. “Hi,” she says and takes a seat in front of you. “Have you ordered something yet? They have amazing lemon tarts here.”

“I’m fine with just coffee.”

“I’d love to eat something sweet but I’m currently trying to cut down on sugar, so just coffee for me, too.”

You nod, not knowing how to respond to what she said. It has always been hard for you to talk to her, ever since Jungkook had introduced you two together. She doesn’t really speak down to you but she carries herself with such superiority it’s making you feel self-conscious.

Soojin was born into an upper-middle-class family from Seoul. Her father owns a prospering business, so they’ve never really had to worry about money, as far as you recall what Jungkook had once told you. She used to attend ballet classes but dropped out of dancing school before entering university. That’s probably where her poise comes from. Thinking about it makes you straighten your slouching pose.

“Are you working around here?” you ask, trying to ease yourself into the conversation. She hasn’t moved straight to the point yet, so you’re panicking a little.

“Yeah, the company I work for has office nearby.” Soojin answers courtly. She takes a sip of her coffee and in a flash, the polite tilt of her mouth vanishes. “You know I’m not here to chit-chat with you, though.”

There it is.

“I’m aware.”

“What did Jungkook exactly tell you?”

“That you want to talk.”

Soojin raises a brow. “That’s all?”

“I’m assuming he didn’t want to intervene,” you say. “He only told me you know about the book.”

Or was it the only thing he meant? Did he perhaps tell her about the New Year’s Eve kiss as well?

“Weird situation, isn’t it?” she asks. “I just found out that the book I liked so much is actually about my husband and his childhood best friend. I sympathized with someone who’s been in love with him for twenty years. Can you believe it?”

Irritation laces her voice already but you remain calm. “He didn’t know. If he didn’t read the book, he would have never realize it. Don’t blame him.”

“I’m not blaming him. I actually believe he had no idea about the book. Maybe he did suspect something about your feelings but he decided not to do anything about it. He married me after all, right?” Soojin says. “What bothers me though, is you writing a whole goddamn book about your silly crush.”

You frown. Silly crush? You wouldn’t go to such great lengths if this was just a crush. And Soojin knows it too, she read the book after all. But she’s not here as a reader who enjoyed your work. She’s here as a wife whose husband you’re in love with.

“I published it under a pen name,” you counter. You’re hoping your voice doesn’t tremble too much. Soojin would gladly use your weakness to her advantage. “I changed names, locations. No one beside me and Jungkook would have known it’s about us.”

“What gave you an impression that you could just use someone’s life like that?”

“It was my life too,” you respond firmly. Jungkook was mad at you because you didn’t tell him about your feelings and now Soojin is going to be angry in his stead for writing a book about your relationship with him? “I talked to Jungkook about it after he had found out. I already apologized and he said he doesn’t mind that–“

“Of course he won’t hold a grudge against you. You’re his best friend.” Soojin snorts.

You sigh heavily. This is going nowhere. It’s crystal clear why she wanted to talk to you but for some reason, she won’t say it directly. Maybe it’s a matter of pride for her, or she’s afraid to admit it out loud.

“I’d like to apologize to you too. I’m sorry for using your relationship with Jungkook for my book, however I am not going to apologize for the way I described it. I didn’t write anything malicious or improper about you. I put on paper what I had seen as a mere bystander,” you say. “I know you’re probably worried now that since everything is out in the open that I am going to act out on my feelings but I can assure you it’s not going to happen.”

Soojin chuckles. “Oh, I’m not worried about that.”

Maybe she shouldn’t feel so sure of herself, you think. It’s not your place to tell her about the kiss. If Jungkook chose to lie by omission, that’s on him. You can’t carry the guilt on your own.

“Because you will, from now on, refrain from hanging out with him,” she continues. “You won’t meet up as often as before, you won’t text him about your mundane life, you will contact him only if necessary.”

Your heart skips a beat. “What?” you croak.

“I don’t want you near Jungkook anymore, it’s as simple as that. I don’t trust you.”

She has all the rights to feel displeased. You’re in love with her husband, after all but forbidding you from seeing him? She cannot control your lives like that.

“Does Jungkook know?” you ask.

Soojin’s rose-tinted lips stretch in a smile. “No, he doesn’t know yet because you will be the one to tell him so,” she replies. “You will tell him that you don’t want to be as close to him as before, that you need distance. If he asks to meet and talk, you will ignore him. If he asks about our conversation, you will say that you apologized to me and I decided to move on.”

“And if I don’t?”

Soojin’s expression is almost triumphant. She got what she wanted at last: you, finally out of Jungkook’s reach.

“Then the world will find out who Magnolia May really is and how she seduced her best friend and made him abandon his wife.”

[silenthowls]

⸻ 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 ,

JIN YOHAN — the black rook of 2016

yOOO!! Super excited to bring to you my muse! I ... have a knack for being super wordy, so feel free to ready the "summary" below. I have an ( almost ) full background on his page, as well as profiles for him during both time periods, though there's not too much different there! Please give this post a little smooch and we can plot. In the meantime, I'm gonna browse through everyone's apps and profiles!

wait till you hear about this next nominee: JIN YOHAN, born on the 8th of APRIL, 1994 and bears a striking resemblance to WOO DOHWAN. they’re a FOURTH year BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION student and TWO TIME NATIONAL TAEKWONDO CHAMPION — impressed yet? rumor has it they’re hoping to be a REAL ESTATE BROKER, but personally, i think they should aim a little higher — something like the king’s club, for one. now, that suits them a little more, don’t you think? guess we’ll just have to see if they’ve got the talent for it in our upcoming recruitment round.

BACKGROUND ,

Jin Yohan was born in the spring of 1994, and adopted in the first month of 1995 by a real estate chaebol and his wife during a time of public scrutiny. They saved him from the clutches of his abusive mother, is how the story goes.

Yohan is lucky. What child ( what person ) would not be thankful to be in such a well off family? He has everything he can ask for. The only caveat is that his parents are rather content reminding him just how fortunate he is. After all, he is not their real son. Just a poor, adopted boy.

His childhood is relatively uneventful and normal. But his temper is just like his father's, despite not being of the same blood. He sets out to prove himself in different ways. Anyone would get a little insecure if they had parents like his — especially his father, the cold bastard he is.

As a teen, he acts out here and there to get their attention. Any attention is good, right? But when he's bored playing little delinquent, he goes back to diligently attending his taekwondo classes and acting the filial role they require him to if he wants to stay in the family.

2012 is something of his break out year. He wins the national taewondo championship. ( Maybe it's the way he gets into the head of his opponent the night before, but it's best not to speculate. ) It is his ticket into attending SNU. In 2015, he wins once more. On these days, his father finally seems a bit proud.

Once accepted, he throws get togethers at his off campus apartment and the empty properties owned by his family's company. The sole aim being building rapport and connections. He has something of a knack for socializing and using his wits to talk himself into things, connections, deals, despite his stoic nature. Not too long after, he is approached to be an initiate for the King's Club.

Meeting Noh Hyungseo is an intriguing event. In him, he thinks he sees little bits of himself or, rather, a much better version. Ambitious and stand-out enough to get his attention. Somehow, Yohan gets to him first. It's best to get him where he wants to be, even with his caveats. Something in him knows he will feel more than a hint of pride when Hyungseo inevitably makes it in. He's destined for it... Until he isn't.

His death shakes him to the core. He is unable to contend with the fact that his mind is convinced it is all his fault that he drowns. He thinks of all the things he should have done to keep it from happening. The guilt is enough to make that mask slip. If only he didn't let him go through with it. He thinks it's his fault, and the cover up does nothing to help his worries.

He makes quite the outburst at Hyungseo's funeral ( where he quite loudly called him a "fucking idiot" among other things he doesn't remember ) , and has a subsequent major mental breakdown after his parents drive him home. ( Read: punching a hole in the living room wall. Chill? )

Yohan is "urged" by his mother to enlist in the military shortly after graduation, where he trains in special forces. It helps him simmer down only so much, and he develops quite the smoking habit.

When he returns, he lands a job in his family's company as a real estate broker, what his father always expected of him, even if he craves more and knows he will move up the company slowly but surely.

By 2024, he's holed himself up in a 7 acre property purchased with his own money. ( How he got it is an easy answer. Through sincere means, of course, but it doesn't mean he knows how to bend a few morals to stay at the top of his game. ) He's also taken it upon himself to raise two wolfdogs. For extra protection.

The real unfortunate thing is that awful birth mother of his somehow finding his number and calling him until he picks up. He meets with her, against his better judgement ( finds it eerie they have the same eyes ), and she wants to weasel her way into his life... and his wallet. Or else. :)

PERSONALITY ,

2016 : Well, he likes to think of himself as more cunning than he, perhaps, truly is. Somehow, he manages to get by. He has that sort of smile that used car salesmen wear when they lock eyes on you in the lot. The cadence of someone trying to sell you on something. What he wants from you, he may well try to get. But it's easy to get turned off by him. His temper is short, and he is as vindictive as they come as the smallest slight. He learns that intimidation can earn him advantages, and a silver tongue can get him all the way there. But he is rather serious for his age, and his insecurities about his standing may be obvious. Have you ever seen someone so defensive and snippy?

2024 : He is if stoicism is a man made flesh. The mask is heavy. He tries his best to keep his cool, and he is quite the ball of stress and bitterness. The extroverted, social young man prefers retreating into himself and spending time at home or working. He has no time for frivolous things. The person he once was is still there, but he finds himself looking over his shoulder far more, trusting people far less than the little he already did. He carries a significant amount of guilt about Hyungseo's death. It's a sensitive topic for him, so tread lightly ( or.. don't ).

The type of guy who doesn't fuck around that much. Not to say he is incapable of having fun or relaxing, but his future is important to him.

Relationships come difficult for him. What kind of person performs background checks and suggests STD tests to their prospects? He hopes the question alone is enough to scare away those who are only out to take advantage of his status. That naïve yearning to be loved has vanished in those years. ( Mostly. ) If anything, he does the using.

It's also of note that he's in the bi closet, and he does not discover this until a revelation while in the military.

Unhinged but masks it. There's always a thin layer above seeing his sanity slip. Will blackmail and intimidate you at the drop of a hat. Fuck around and find out.

Grump who just needed a hug from mommy and daddy to fix him. Too bad it's too late for that.

Chaotic Neutral type beat. He's not inclined to always follow the rules, and prefers to do things to keep his position secured, but he's not above acts of kindness or generosity. Rules are meant to be broken if you can find a loophole. Has plenty of thoughts of doing fucked shit but only acts on half of them... sometimes.

Aries. The fire sign vibes run so deep. He is passionate, argumentative, and can hold a nasty grudge that he will get you back for. Fr you could have just stepped on his foot in the hall without apologizing and he'll put a scorpion in your pocket. That being said, there's deffo some Scorpio in there for him but idk where

Picks up well on the behaviors of others and is the first person to point it out or say something about it. Very observant and aware of his surroundings. It's just all about if you want people to believe that or not.

Lowkey will tell you what he hates about you. Will be your #1 hater. ( Just ask Rh1 ) xo

Will never, ever be past throwing hands. 🤚

Trust no one, not even yourself.

CONNECTIONS ,

While I prefer to brainstorm, I'm putting a few base ideas I have.

I love a good frenemies type beat, and it's easy to see how Yohan could be simultaneously hostile, yet oddly attached to certain people.

Past relationship that has gone wrong. ( It's most likely all of them, I fear. ) Abandonment issues. Check. Short temper? Check. Daddy issues? Check. And Jin Yohan doesn't get broken up with. He breaks up with people. ( Allegedly (2). 🙄 )

A secret sorta fling could work out for him. If I'm gonna be real. Very deep deep deep down, he just wants to feel wanted. Even if that person is not great for him or committed, as long as they make him feel wanted in the moment and not dumped on the curb, he'll appreciate it while it lasts.

Obviously this guy is a bit aggro so, it stands to reason he's made a few sour bonds in his lifetime. And nearly fought quite a few people, I'm sure. That's a thing...

Actual, sincere friends. He will have very, very few. It's difficult to get his trust because he's so slow to and thinks everyone's going to turn around and leave him or do something to him.

He basically cut everyone off after graduation. Catch him sprinting to avoid you in the grocery store if you try to talk to him.

Hyungseo was Yohan's pick for an initiate. Are you a fellow Chessmaster who didn't exactly approve of his choice? Good luck talking him out of it. Though, in current day, you have every right to say "I told you so".

I am brain farting for ideas so that's it for now. LET'S BRAINSTORM.

[snelbz]

Nessian, please! “I’m broken and tired, and it’s your fault so please leave.”

I hope this is angsty as you were hoping it'd be!

WC: 3431

Written with @theladyofdeath. As always.

***

“I’m. Not. Going.”

Nesta Archeron sat on her bed, a book open on her lap, ignoring where her sisters stood at the end of her bed. They both stared at her.

“We’re not leaving you to sulk in the house,” Feyre said, turning to rifle through her eldest sister’s closet as Elain sat down on the edge of her bed. She pulled a gray dress out and tossed it at her on the bed. “So get up and let’s go.”

“I’m not sulking,” she bit out, her eyes going to where Feyre continued to put together an outfit she wasn’t going to wear. “But I don’t want to go out.”

She turned, a pair of black ankle boots hanging from her fingers. “You mean you don’t want to see—”

“I mean,” Nesta interrupted, her book closing with a snap, “that I want to stay home.”

“So you’re not sulking over Cassian?” Elain asked, gently.

Nesta didn’t reply.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes, now put these on.” Feyre dropped the ankle boots by Nestas feet. “The party’s already started and you could use a drink.”

The only thing that Nesta hated more than Feyre’s pushiness was the pity in Elains eyes. 

“If I agree to this, I don’t want you two meddling in my life again any time soon. Next weekend I will be right here, sitting on my ass in peace,” Nesta said, looking back and forth between her two sisters.

After a begrudging agreement, Nesta was putting on the dress and the boots and the jewelry that Feyre had picked out. Looking in the mirror, she knew she looked fantastic, but that confidence never reached her spirits. After the events of the past few days, the last thing Nesta wanted to do was be in a crowd full of people.

The last thing she wanted was to run into him.

“Ready?” Feyre asked, the second Nesta emerged from the bathroom.

Nesta said nothing as she grabbed her phone off her dresser and headed for the door.

They walked towards campus, towards the line of houses where people were filing into and spilling out of every door. Music was loud and heavy with every house they passed, as it was every Friday night on Greek Row.

“Where are we going?” Nesta asked as they passed the Kappa and Sigma houses. Neither of them answered and Nesta knew why a moment later, her eyes falling on the largest house at the end of the street. She stopped dead in her tracks, less than a hundred yards from the Alpha house. “Absolutely not.”

“Come on, Nesta,” said Elain, turning towards her with pleading eyes. “It will be fun.”

If it would have been Feyre, she would have said no. If it would have been Feyre who tugged on her hand and pulled her towards the house, she would have turned around and gone back to their own. If it were Feyre who found her a semi-cold, but mostly muggy beer, she would have refused it.

But it was Elain, and Nesta had never been able to refuse Elain.

The music was so loud in the house that Nesta could barely hear herself think. The lights were dimmed, with bright flashes of color blinding her every few seconds.

Nesta detested frat parties. She was usually only in attendance for one reason and she did her best not to look towards the staircase that led up to the bedrooms on the second floor. There were six in total, all housing the males who lived in the home and their larger than life personalities.

Looking around the house, she found four of them in various rooms, doing various activities around the house. Kallias was holding court at the beer pong table, Viviane leaning on the wall and talking to her own friends, while Helion was chatting up a handsome sophomore Nesta recognized from her pathology class. Azriel and Elain were snuggled up on the couch and Tarquin, she was fairly sure, she’d seen heading out to the back yard, where a pool was just about to be covered for winter. Only two were unaccounted for, and since Feyre had gone missing, she could only assume she and Rhys had already snuck off to his bedroom.

Which only left the one.

Had he known she would be here? It wasn’t like him to miss a party. In fact, he was typically the one downing drinks and playing games and standing on furniture that shouldn’t be stood on. He was the life of the party, the life of every room he walked into. Not tonight, though. Tonight, as Nesta made her way further into the chaos, Cassian was nowhere to be found.

“Looking for someone?”

Nesta had just poured herself another drink as she turned around and found herself staring into Helion’s humored gaze. “No.”

“So cold,” he crooned. “And here I thought we were finally becoming friends.”

Nesta didn’t answer. She made a move to go around him, but the second she had started walking, he was right beside her.

“He’s upstairs.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“No, but you wanted to know the answer, I’m sure.”

Nesta stopped and spun towards him, drink sloshing and eyes ablaze. “Don't you have better things to do than bother me?” 

His grin widened as he winked and slowly walked away, grabbing a stunning junior by the waist and whispering something into her ear that made her blush.

Nesta glowered, trying to find something else, anyone else to occupy her time. She should have known her traitorous sisters would abandon her the second they arrived, but she hadn’t thought she’d be…alone.

Sighing, she looked around the party looking for another familiar face. They were plenty of attractive men looking her way, but just because she and Cassian weren’t speaking right now didn’t meant she wanted to—

Nesta gasped as something cold poured down her back.She’d been standing by one of the many bars around the house, where a couple had begun very aggressively making out. An errant elbow had knocked one of their drinks off the ledge, and right down Nesta’s back. Jumping away from the bar, Nesta swore, trying to turn and see the damage.

She was sticky and reeked of booze, regardless of only consuming two drinks.

“So— Sorry,” the guy, the less drunk of the two, stammered, eyes wide as he beheld the ire in her stormy gaze. Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something she’d regret, Nesta turned, grabbing her drink as she did, and headed for the stairs.

Indeed, there was a muffled thudding that came from Rhysand’s room at the top of the stairs, nearly drowned out by the music blaring from below. She just cringed and moved past it, heading for the second door on the left. Gritting her teeth, Nesta paused before the door, wondering if Viv may have something in Kallias’ she could borrow to walk home.

Because she wasn’t staying. There was no reason, if her sisters had both been commandeered by their boyfriends and her own was… She didn’t let herself finish the thought, shook her head. She hadn’t seen Amren or Gwyn around anywhere, and she knew Emerie was likely over at Mor’s place.

So she’d go home. She’d get one of her t-shirts and a pair of leggings from her drawer of Cassian’s dresser, ignoring the man himself, and she’d go home, picking back up at the good part of her book her sisters had so rudely interrupted.

Taking a deep breath, Nesta knocked on the door. She waited but there was no reply.

Blinking, she tried again. No answer.

She knew she shouldn’t but Nesta tried the knob, just in case he was in there, that something was wrong—

It turned in her hand.

What if something wasn’t wrong? What if the reason he hadn’t been down in the party proper was because he was up here, with someone else? The thought had Nesta's blood running cold, but she pushed open the door regardless.

His bedroom was empty, a lone lamp turned on the nightstand, but his sheets were clearly mussed. Her heart lurched before she noticed the pause menu on the television, the door to his bathroom closed, light pouring out from beneath it.

Alone. He was alone, and though her anxiety released its grip on her heart, she knew he would have never had another girl up here. Even if they weren’t speaking, even if they were fighting, Cassian would never.

She hurried into his room, crossing to the dresser where one of the drawers kept countless changes of clothes. Grabbing out a pair of shorts from the top, she was digging through for a shirt when she heard the bathroom door open behind her and the heady scent of his body wash hit her.

His footsteps stopped but he said nothing. Nesta’s heart started racing a little bit faster and she suddenly felt like she was going to puke as she rose to her feet, the clothes in her grip.

She slowly turned to face him, only to find him standing with a locked jaw and his arms crossed. He didn’t look mad, not at all, but weary. She tried to ignore the fact that he was in nothing but a towel slung around his waist but such a fact was damn near impossible to ignore. Yet, her stare did not waver from his.

“I got a beer dumped on me,” Nesta said, just as Cassian said, “What’re you doing?”

They fell into silence once again and it was strange because the two of them were never silent with one another. Perhaps silence only came when there was far too much to say.

“My dress is wet,” she continued, quietly, shifting on her feet. “I just…needed something dry to walk home in. You didn’t answer your door-.”

“It’s fine,” he breathed, eyes trailing away from hers. “Wet clothes are the worst.” He stepped to the side. “You can change in the bathroom.”

Nesta wanted to say something, anything, but he walked to his bed and sat down, waiting for her to enter and shut the door. She did as she was told, letting it click shut behind her.

It was still muggy in the small bathroom, as if he’d just gotten out right as she’d entered his room. No wonder he hadn’t heard her knocking. She pulled the dress off, pausing to retrieve a wash cloth from under the sink and wipe down her back and legs. The ankle boots, leather, thankfully, could be salvaged, but she’d have to wash them off before she went to bed. After she stepped into the shorts, she pulled the shirt over her head, realizing too late that it was one of Cassian’s. She groaned, but didn’t feel like putting the dress back on to get one of her own. Instead, she piled her hair into a bun on top of her head and opened the door.

He was still sitting in the same spot, but his towel hung on the back of the door she’d just opened and he wore a pair of basketball shorts. Nesta could see the waistband of his boxer-briefs beneath. His controller was in his hand and he was focused on the television opposite his bed.

His chest was still exposed and Nesta could see every inch of those glorious tattoos across of his muscled torso. His eyes met hers and she realized she’d been staring.

She quickly looked away and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I’ll…let you be.”

He said nothing as she went towards the door and reached for the knob. She had just turned it, her stuff bundled up in her arms, when he said, “Keep the shirt.”

Nesta froze and for some reason his comment pissed her off. She had no idea why. It was a perfectly logical comment. Yet, something in his tone, something in those words sounded…definite. 

If she kept his shirt, there would be no reason to come back here, to his room, to him.

Her hand dropped and she turned to face him. He still clutched his controller, but his eyes were not on the screen. They rested on her, cold, sad, hesitant. 

“Fine,” she said, at last. Then, because she was unable to stop herself, she asked, “Anything else you’d like to give me so that I don’t have to make a trip back?”

Cassian let out a humorless laugh. “You’re unbelievable. You would take a nice gesture and-.”

“A nice gesture?” she repeated. “A week ago, what’s yours was mine and now, I can keep the shirt?”

“Fine. Don’t keep the shirt,” he said, voice low, his grip on the controller tightening. “Bring it back when you’re done getting drinks spilled on you by drunk pricks trying to get up on you on the dancefloor.” 

“Still jealous,” Nesta said, shaking her head. “Of course. Too bad you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Weren’t you just letting yourself out?” he snapped, that cool, calm demeanor fading. 

“You’re an asshole,” she replied, fully turning away from the door, back towards him. He set his controller down and stood, crossing his arms over his chest. A position of dominance, of power. She went on. “Don’t get pissy with me because I’m out having fun while you’ve been pouting in your room for three days.”

She had no clue what he’d been doing since they’d last spoken and he didn’t need to know that she was miserable. But from the way he flinched slightly, she knew she’d spoken true.

Cassian scoffed. “I’m broken and tired, and it’s your fault so please leave.”

Nesta blinked.

Broken.

She took a step towards him. “Cass—”

“Go,” he repeated, sitting back on the bed and grabbing the controller. “You made your feelings perfectly clear on a future with me the other night, so I don’t see why we should bother wasting anymore of each other’s time when—”

“What do you mean a future with you?” She asked, aggravated. “I never said I couldn’t see a future with you, you’re my boyfriend.”

“Then why won’t you move in with me?” He asked, tossing the controller to the side.

“Because we’ve only been dating for six months!”

“So what?” he asked, voice raising. “Is there a timeline on moving in together that I was never told?” 

“More than six months!” Nesta shot back. “Six months is nothing!”

“Six months is nothing?” Cassian repeated, his eyes growing darker and darker. “Well, shit-.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Nesta interrupted, exasperated. “I just meant-.”

“I know what you meant,” Cassian said, although his tone told Nesta that he really didn’t. He was pissed, mad at her, and he would let that anger control his tongue, as he always had.

“Do you?” Nesta asked, crossing her arms. “Because you seem to be acting pretty immature about this whole situation.”

“I’m not being immature, Nesta,” he said, and it was one of the few times that he actually said her entire name. Nesta. Not Nes, not any of the little pet names she had gotten so used to from him. He said her name like a stranger saying it for the first time. “I’m saying what you’re too afraid to. If you can’t see a future with me, I can’t keep doing whatever the hell it is that we’ve been doing for the last six months.” Nesta began rubbing her temples. “You’re a stubborn pain in the ass.”

The thumping of the bass beneath them was a steady thrum. She wondered how he could stand it.

And then, she realized, he couldn’t. He’d asked her if she’d want to get an apartment with him, to move in together. Because he wanted out. The 24/7 party scene no longer appealed when he would rather spend what free time he had with her.

Her voice was thick when she spoke again. “Cassian.” He still wouldn’t look at her. “I’m sorry.”

That drew his eye.

He looked at her for a moment with a hint of surprise and doubt, surely trying to work out if she was being genuine or not. I’m sorry was not something that typically came out of Nesta’s mouth, no matter the circumstances. 

“I didn’t say no because I don’t love you, Cass,” she went on, her voice quieter. “You know that I do. At least, by now, I would hope that you know that.”

Cassian said nothing, but he didn’t look away from her. There was something in the look on his face, though, that had Nesta setting down her stuff and walking to his bed, sitting down next to him. 

“Then why did you say no?” He asked, shaking his head and turning towards her.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She’d been working this out for herself over the past few days, finding the reason that she froze when he asked her to get an apartment together, why she’d run from him and left him in that restaurant by the Sidra. “Right now, when I get to be…too much, one of us can just…go home. If we move in together, if you get sick of me, there will be nowhere to go. One of us will have to leave and I—”

“When you get to be too much?” He asked, cutting her off. “If I get sick of you?”

“Yes,” she bit out, not looking at him. “It would be humiliating if you had to come back here for a break and—”

Nesta’s words were cut off as Cassian’s lips found hers. She melted into the kiss, melted into him, into his taste and feel and smell. He gripped her chin and pulled her face from his, saying, “I never need a break from you. I love you. I want to spend every minute with you.”

Nesta hesitated, even as she relaxed in his touch. “It’s a big step. A huge step. You may think that now but-.”

“I know you think I’m impulsive, but I would never ask something of you like that that I’ve not completely thought through,” Cassian breathed. “I love you and I want to be with you. I want to build a life with you. You are my future.” He paused only to see the tears shining in her eyes. “With that being said, Nes, if you’re not ready, it’s okay. I just…need to know that one day you will be ready for that.”

She didn’t even have to think about it. “Of course I will be, I am now. It’s just..” Sighing, she knew what she was about to say was going to sound like an excuse. “My lease won’t be up for another three months and I can’t just leave Feyre and Elain to cover my ass.”

A lie. It sounded like such a lie, and Nesta hung her head, waited for him to call her out on it.

“Then we can wait until your lease is up.”

Her head snapped up and he was looking at her with a light in his eyes that it took her breath away. He had a wry smile on his face, “If you think nine months is safe on your timeline for moving in together.”

She laughed, and he reached out to wipe a tear from her cheeks. She hadn’t even realized she’d been crying. She also reached up, brushing her thumb over his lips. “We can start looking, until then, for a place together. See what our options are.”

“As long as it’s not here, as long as it’s quiet and it’s with you,” he replied, leaning down and brushing his lips against hers, “it’ll be perfect.”

Nesta swallowed hard. “I missed you,” she breathed, resting her forehead against his. “The past three days have been—”

“Shit,'' he finished for her, gathering her up in his lap, his lips finding her neck. “They’ve been shit,” he repeated.

“We can go downstairs if you want,” she offered, dirty dress be damned. “Have some fun.”

Without any warning, Cassian turned and she was on her back, gazing up at him. His hair hung loosely around his face, curling at the ends. He was so handsome that it took her breath away. He grinned down at her. “I have zero intentions on going down stairs, but I’ve got a pretty good idea on how we can have some fun.”

Nesta’s laughter turned into moans that the music below drowned out as Cassian made love to her into the night.

[drabbles-mc]

Conversations In The Dark

Nestor Oceteva x F!Reader

Request from @n3ss12: Can I get for a short fic (if you’re not busy) based on Conversations In The Dark by John Legend with soft Nestor?💕

Warnings: language, light angst, so much softness and pining

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: Full disclosure, this is also a follow-up to I Like Me Better. You can read this fic without having read that one first, but the first definitely puts more context to it. Just another installment in the Soft Nestor Universe, the SNU, if you will. But I had never heard this song and I melted into a puddle of feelings the first time I listened to it, so thank you for the song rec! Hope you enjoy xo

General Mayans Taglist: @mayans-sauce @thesandbeneathmytoes @paintballkid711 @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @queenbeered @sillygoose6969 @sesamepancakes @yourwonkywriter @chibsytelford @gemini0410 @multiyfandomgirl40 @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @plentyoffandoms @georgiaaintnopeach @twistnet @garbinge @themoonandthewicked @bucky-iss-bae @encounterthepast @everyhowlmarksthedead @rosieposie0624 @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo @mijop @xladymacbethx @blessedboo @lakamaa12​ @holl2712 (If you want to be added to any of my tags just let me know!)

It had been almost a week since Nestor showed up on your doorstep. You cashed in on some of your vacation time when he first arrived, not wanting to leave him alone when he had finally made the trip out to come and see you. He wouldn’t have given you a hard time about it regardless—if anyone understood what it was like to be dedicated to your work it was him. But still, it was nice that you were able to have so much time with just the two of you.

For someone who never really left the West Coast, January in New York was a bit much for him to take in all at once. He’d been excited about it all, despite the cold. One of his first days there, you dragged him out to buy him a proper winter coat. He had groaned and rolled his eyes but you weren’t going to budge on it.

“I’m not gonna listen to you complain about being cold the whole time you’re here if we can prevent it,” you chuckled, “Plus you can leave it here so you’ll have it here every time you come to visit.”

“Every time?” he smiled over at you.

You nodded, “Well, yea. Now that you’ve made it out here once you’re on the hook for more trips. I don’t make the rules.”

The two of you were walking down the street to one of your favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurants. It wasn’t overly fancy, but it was small and quiet, and you loved stopping in there for dinner after work. You were excited to bring Nestor, happy to show him that for all the hustle and bustle, there was still some peace and quiet to be found in the city.

“Y/N,” the hostess greeted you with a smile, “Always so nice to see you,” she looked over to Nestor and smiled, her voice cheery, “You brought company! Table for two?”

You nodded, holding in your laughter, “Yes, please.”

She swiped up two menus and motioned for you to follow her, “Right this way.”

The two of you sat down and you could tell that there was part of Nestor that was still tense, still trying to clock any potential threats. You reached over the table and rested your hands on top of his with a smile. You saw some of the tension disappear from his shoulders as he realized what he was doing.

“You’re off the clock, Nes,” you smiled, “Relax a little, yea?”

“Sorry, force of habit,” he shook his head.

You quickly switched the topic before he could get too into his own thoughts, “So how nice was it to have a break from me while I went to work today?”

He laughed, “You know I’d always rather spend the day with you than by myself.”

You felt your face get warm, “Yea? Six days and nights straight with me hasn’t made you sick of me yet?”

“Not yet,” he shook his head.

It was your first meal out together since he had come to town. He was so programmed to stay in as much as possible for security purposes. And you were enjoying having someone around who enjoyed cooking as much as he did. You cooked because you had to, but he actually loved doing it, so you let him. But this gave both of you the night off.

There was something intimate about being tucked away in the small restaurant together even though there were other people around. The evening ticked by as the two of you talked through dinner and drinks. You got to tell him all about work, which was a definite change of pace from him always being the one with work stories. Your job wasn’t quite as thrilling as his, but you usually clocked out with a story or two to share each day.

Nestor sipped on his beer as he listened intently to everything that you were telling him. He never wanted to take the opportunity to listen to you and see you face-to-face for granted again. From the look in his eye, you could tell that he was taking in every word that you were saying to him.

“I know you probably hear enough lawyer talk back home,” you said with a chuckle as you took a drink from your glass of wine, “Sorry if it’s a little redundant.”

He shook his head with a smile, “Not at all. Your lawyer stories are much more interesting than the ones back home. No one back home is a criminal lawyer.”

“Yea, crims always make for good stories,” you laughed.

Before either of you could jump into another story, your waiter walked up and set the check down in the middle of the table. She flashed a smile at the both of you, “No rush at all, but whenever you’re ready.”

You nodded with a smile, “Thank you.”

As she walked away, both you and Nestor reached for the check. You were anticipating it, though, so you were just a few moments quicker and snatched it up just in time. He huffed and shook his head at you and you threw your head back in laughter.

“Dinner on me, Nes.”

“C’mon, you’re letting me crash with you, the least I could do is pay for dinner.”

“I’m the only one of us who is currently working, so this is actually the smarter financial decision.”

He laughed, “I’m not unemployed, Y/N, I’m on vacation.”

“All the more reason for me to treat you to dinner,” you stuck your credit card into the check and handed it back to the waiter, who had been watching the two of you interact with a smile on her face.

The two of you made your way back out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk, each bundled up in your own puffy winter coat. You wrapped your scarf around your neck and buried your chin into it to protect it from the cold. Nestor was looking over at you with a gentle smile on his face. He stuffed one hand into his pocket while the other came to rest on the small of your back. You smiled over at him as you leaned gently against his side.

It wasn’t a terribly long walk home, but part of you wished that you could drag it out a little longer. Nestor’s arm was wrapped completely around your waist and he had you pulled tight against him. He let you go just long enough for you to unlock and open the front door to your house. As soon as the two of you were inside, he was helping you with your coat and scarf and for a brief moment you forgot that this wasn’t what your life was like—this was just a temporary fix for the both of you. Nestor still hadn’t really opened up about what made him decide to take time off so suddenly in the first place.

“It’s starting to get kinda late,” you watched as Nestor hung his own coat up, “wanna just watch movies upstairs?”

He nodded, “Sounds good.”

You let out a sigh of relief, “Good. Otherwise you’d have to carry me upstairs from the couch.”

He laughed, “I think I could manage that if I had to.”

The two of you were laid up in bed together, the way that you had been every night for the last week. Neither of you made any comment about it, not wanting to burst the bubble that you were in. Nestor rested his hand on your back while you laid on his chest, both of you only half paying attention to the movie that was on the screen.

You were so close to falling asleep when you heard the sound of Nestor’s phone vibrating on the nightstand beside the bed. He mumbled a quiet apology as he picked the phone up to see who was calling. With a heavy sigh he hit the reject button and put his phone on silent.

He didn’t make any comment about it, and you were about to let it slide, but you couldn’t pretend that his real life wasn’t going to start encroaching on your situation sooner or later. The fact that he’d gone a week without interruption was a huge feat in your mind.

“Galindo?” you mumbled against his chest.

“Not important,” he gently rubbed your back.

You looked up at him, “I mean, it might be a little important,” you offered up a tired smile.

He smiled, “I’m on vacation, remember?”

“Yea,” your voice was quiet as you idly traced patterns along his chest.

“What’re you thinking?”

You shrugged, “I just…what made you take the time off? I’ve known you forever and you’ve never just blipped off the radar like that.”

For a minute the only noise in the room came from the television. You thought that Nestor was really about to just avoid answering your question, and you weren’t really sure what you’d do if he did that. The two of you were always open about everything. What could be so secretive that he couldn’t let you in?

Finally, he spoke up, “I…caught some heat from Galindo over some things. Made some decisions that he didn’t agree with and it cost me my position.”

“He fired you?” you sat upright, eyes wide.

He shook his head, “No, not really. More like…demoted?”

“Jesus,” you rested your hand on the back of your neck, “Can I ask what you did?”

You could see it written all over his face that he was dreading you asking that question. You were hard pressed to believe, though, that it would be something so terrible that it would change anything between the two of you. You knew who Galindo was, and for as enamored as you were with Nestor, you were still realistic about who he was and what he had to do for work as well. Nothing could really be that shocking, right?

“I can’t lose you,” he couldn’t meet your eyes.

“Hey,” you whispered as you gently cupped his face in your hands, prompting him to look at you, “you’re not going to lose me. Fuck, Nes, I feel like I just got you back. I’m not going anywhere,” you traced your thumb along his cheekbone, “You can tell me anything, I promise.”

He was silent for a few moments as he rested his hands over yours. He closed his eyes for a second before pulling you back towards him so you were laying with your head on his chest as he leaned back against the headboard of your bed. His heart was beating fast and hard enough for you to feel it against your cheek, and it was one of the only times you’d ever seen Nestor nervous about anything.

You listened intently as he started to outline everything that had been going on back home—the cartel, the rebels, and everything that came with it. The volume of his voice was hardly more than a whisper and yet it still drowned out the television as you leaned into every word that he said. His eyes weren’t meeting yours as he talked about the Galindo’s child, and the festival, and the church. He was focused on looking at your hand, that was absentmindedly tracing back and forth over his knuckles.

Whatever it was that you had been expecting him to tell you, the story you were listening to wasn’t it. You couldn’t deny that it was a bit of a pill to swallow, but again, you knew the world that Nestor lived in. How surprised could you really pretend to be that things got messy? You knew about the kind of things Miguel and his father did—the cartel was at the root of a lot of carnage. It was difficult, though, to picture the man who was laying in bed with you doing the things that he was describing to you. You were aware that he was capable of brute force, but he’s also the same man that for a week had been eating dessert in bed with you while you forced him to sit through Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.

The clock on your nightstand ticked over to show you that it was 1AM. You looked up at Nestor as he fell silent after filling you in on everything that had happened before he showed up on your doorstep. You couldn’t believe that he had been bottling all of that up for so long.

“I’m so sorry,” he said after a few moments of silence, “I didn’t mean to bring all of this to you. I know you got out of Cali for a reason and I’m just dragging all this shit back into your life but I—”

You cut him off as you turned to face him, “Don’t apologize. I know you, Nestor. I know who you are, and who you are is never something that you need to apologize for. Never to me, okay?”

He nodded and you could see relief and a dozen other emotions swirling around his eyes, “I want to be the person you think I am, Y/N. I’m trying. But I just…don’t know if I can.”

You situated yourself so that you were sitting in his lap, facing him. You rested one hand on his chest, “You don’t have to try to be anything, okay? I don’t want you to change. You’re perfect as you are,” you rested your hands on his shoulders, “And you know me, if something about you bothered me, I would definitely fucking tell you.”

He let out a quiet laugh as his hands rested on your hips, “That’s true,” his expression sobered as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against yours, “I don’t think I’ve ever really thanked you for how much of my weight you’ve shouldered over the years—all the secrets you’ve kept, all the advice you’ve given me. I…I think I took that for granted until you left.”

You became very aware of the warmth seeping from his hands into your sides as he pulled you closer to him. The weight of everything the two of you never said or did in all the years you’d known each other was suddenly starting to become unbearably heavy.

You lightly brushed your nose against his, “It’s the least I could do,” your heart felt like it was about to pound out of your chest, “You’re the only person I’ve ever loved that’s never broken my heart.”

His body tensed and he pulled back so he could look into your eyes. It was out there now, and there was no taking it back. So many years and countless conversations spent skirting around it, and now there was no turning away from it. His eyes searched yours, as though he was trying to figure out if you were going to take back what you had just said. You held his gaze, letting him know that the last thing you were going to do now was try and backpedal.

Almost faster than you could keep up with, his one arm wrapped tight around your waist and his other hand landed on the back of your neck as he pulled you into a needy, years-in-the-making, kiss. Instinctively your hands landed on his chest, balling his t-shirt in your fists as you attempted to pull him as close as possible to you. His fingertips pressed harder into your back as his lips moved against yours, causing you to let slip a quiet moan.

You bit lightly at his bottom lip and you felt him lean farther into you. Your hands slid up from his chest and came to rest clasped together behind his neck. He couldn’t take his lips off of yours as his fingers traced along your cheek and jaw, trying to satiate years’ worth of hunger and longing.

You finally pulled back, needing to catch your breath. Nestor kept your body pressed tightly against his, foreheads touching. Both of your chests rose and fell quickly as you tried to process and recover from everything that had just happened. His hands returned to their gentle position just above your hips while yours rested on either side of his neck.

“I love you, Y/N,” his voice was gentler than you’d ever heard it, “I know I should’ve told you a long fucking time ago, but I love you. I love you so much.”

Heat washed over your entire body as you soaked up every word that he was saying, “I love you too. And, for what it’s worth, you’ve been telling me for years—it just sounded a little different.”

He chuckled before pressing a kiss to your forehead, “You’re perfect.”

You trailed your fingers lightly through his facial hair, “I’m so glad that you’re here.”

He smiled, taking your hand in his and kissing the back of it, “I’m glad I am too,” he paused, “I don’t think that I can go back to the way my life was before all of this,” he shook his head slightly.

“Who says that you have to?”

He looked at you, “I can’t stay out here forever. And…and I could never ask you to give up your life here to come back to California.”

“I’ve loved you for years, Nestor. I loved you when I lived across the street from you, and I loved you when I lived across the country from you. That’s not going to change, whether we are in the same state or on opposite sides of the globe. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I’ll be loving you.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around you, resting his head in the crook of your neck, “But I wanna love you like this, all the time.”

You smiled, softly resting your hand on the back of his head, “I know. We never get to have simple lives, huh?”

You felt the vibration of his laughter against the sensitive skin of your neck, “No, we don’t.”

“But we always figure it out, right?”

“Right,” he gave you a light squeeze.

“C’mon,” you flopped off to the side of him and pulled him down with you, “come lay with me.”

He laughed as you tangled your legs up with his and nestled your face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around your middle and kissed the top of your head before letting out a soft sigh of contentment.

“You should stay home tomorrow,” he whispered into your hair.”

You chuckled and tilted your head to look up at him, “Oh, definitely.”

He leaned down and caught your lips in a soft kiss as his hand ran up and down your back, “I love you.”

You hummed in contentment, “I love you too.”

You rested your head back against his chest, and you felt his chin softly land on the top of your head as he pressed your body flush against his. You felt yourself melting into his body heat as the television continued to play softly in the background. There were still questions to be answered, and you’d confront them when the time came. But, for the first time in a long time, it felt like a weight had been taken off of your chest. And as you listened to Nestor’s steady breathing and heartbeat, you knew you weren’t the only one who felt a little lighter.

[koelnhbf]

bump into you (knj)

part twelve: you broke the child

genre: fluff!

warnings: nothing we just really, really love namjoon in this house. this is going to be a long one 

“Thanks for the pictures,” you told Namjoon as he handed you back your phone. You looked at your pink cheeks, unsure whether the colouring was caused by the new blush you tried out or because of your date’s devoted picture taking. Although he had told you he’d come pick you up at 7, he had texted you that morning that he’d come pick you up right after classes, so you could be ready by then.

“No problem at all, Yn,” he said and, by the way laughter lines formed around his eyes, you knew he was smiling beneath the mask. 

“Do you want me to take one of you, too?” You asked, switching over to your phone’s camera app, ready to snap a few shots of the guy who just bought you a pre-dinner drink. 

“Not yet, there’s a nice spot I’d like to take you to before we have dinner. Let’s go?” You nodded and settled down on your bike, thankful that the sky had decided to stop snowing that day. One-handed (so you could hold the drink he got you) you rode beside Namjoon through the streets of Seoul and to a park with a hill, where, the moment the two of you arrived, you secured the bikes and made your view to the panoramic view. 

“This is really nice,” you sighed, astonished, taking in the view in front of you. Skyscraper upon Skyscraper blended into a grey array of buildings and contrasted against the warm tones of the greenery beneath you. Namjoon leaned against the wooden railing after taking off his mask and sighed.

“It’s one of my favourite places to come to,” he said and looked down at you. “I come here to think, read, relax, listen to music… it’s one of the best places in the whole city.” 

“And you’re sharing it with me?” You blushed when he looked at you intensely, his eyes being the most beautiful pair you’ve ever seen.

“I’d like to take you here more often.”

“Are you hungry yet?” Namjoon asked as the two of you started walking back to your bikes. You had spent the last two hours on the hill, talking about his job and your masters degree, with the occasional anecdotes about both of your friends.

You nodded, having felt your stomach rumble for some time now but not having had the heart to interrupt Namjoon’s rant about mint chocolate ice cream. 

“We better get going, then.” The ride to the restaurant was partially spent laughing at his jokes and talking about books, whenever the two of you were silent, you thought about how easy it was to speak to him, forgetting several times that it wasn’t just Namu you were speaking to but Kim Namjoon, as the regular phone calls reminded you. 

“I’m sorry, it’s work,” he had said the first time they had called and you had kindly offered to step back from where you were sitting so he could talk freely but he declined. The call hadn’t lasted long anyway and you had only understood half of what was said. By the time the fourth call had rolled in you were chasing squirrels around the park, not really minding his absence but rather buying some nuts off an old woman and offering them to two children that had wanted to play with the animals.

The thought of the kids aggressively throwing the nuts at the squirrels had you laughing when you arrived at the restaurant. While Namjoon followed the waiter to your table you checked out the portions of the dishes of the neighbouring tables and made a silent note to get ramen from the convenience store when you got back home because you were sure that you wouldn’t get full from whatever they served.

“Don’t worry about the dishes, I just wanted us to get something savoury before we go for churros later,” Namjoon whispered in your ear as he noticed you staring at the food. A shiver ran down your spine at his voice close to you and you prayed to whatever deity was listening that he hadn’t noticed. 

“Ch-churros?” You asked, rather dumbly, as if it was too hard to understand.

“An ice skating date isn’t complete without churros and hot cocoa, Yn.” He laughed and guided you to your seat before sitting down in front of you. 

“Choose whatever you’d like.”

“Slowly Yn!” Namjoon called out but it was too late, you ended up falling on your butt again before he could catch you. 

“Are you hurt?” You shook your head and laughed, grateful that he had told you to pack an extra pair of clothes before you left your house in the afternoon. He pulled you up and balanced you before pulling you with him.

“Just try to slide with your feet. Don’t pretend to run. And hold onto me.” His dimples showed as he smiled at you and the clenching sensation around your stomach showed itself for the thousandth time that day. 

“Good job, see? You can do it. I’m going to let you go now, okay? In 3, 2,” without finishing the countdown he let you go, which was a big mistake because you were still unprepared and fell again, pulling him down with you. 

“Ouch!” You cried out before noticing the weight on you. You held your breath as you looked into Namjoon’s eyes, the same you had only been able to admire from afar until now.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, your breath visible in the cold air.

“It’s okay, Yn,” he said, his voice strangely low but still loud enough for you to hear, as if he was right next to your ear.

Then the two of you stayed silent, merely stared at each other without moving once. And, as if pulled by an invisible thread, your lips clashed, reunited in a short but sweet kiss, but as quick as it happened it also ended and you were quickly on your feet again, being pulled by Namjoon’s strong arms around the rink. 

“It’s really okay if I post this?” You asked for the third time as you flicked through the pictures, finding a picture of Namjoon ice skating that you took while you were resting. You laughed at it as you went back to the one you were talking about.

“You can’t see my face so sure, Yn-ie.” You smiled warmly as you saved it in your favourites.

You were leaning against your bikes in front of your apartment complex, Namjoon’s face being covered again, in case you walked past other people. 

“It’s a shame I can’t follow you with my main account. The kpop drama accounts would have a field trip.” He sighed and looked up at the cloudy night sky. 

“It’s okay, Joonie.”

“Joonie?”

“Well, I can’t keep on calling you tree!” You called out and laughed as realisation struck him.

“I need to go now, thanks for today. I loved it,” you spoke, though your voice came out as silent as a whisper as you remembered your kiss. 

“Me too, Yn.” You turned around to walk towards your door but got pulled back by his strong grasp around your wrist. With a swift motion, he pulled down his mask and lifted your chin so your mouth could meet his. Contrary to your first kiss, this one was longer and deeper, carrying a longing for each other you couldn’t quite understand. It was only when you noticed something cold falling onto your forehead that you parted. 

“Better get in, Yn, it just started snowing.” He smiled, pulled the mask up again and waited for you to make your way into the building, though it took all of your willpower for you to not stay with him.

— as a high-achieving student from a poor background at SNU, your life has been all about studies. apart from your three friends, your time was divided between your dissertation and the independent bookshop you worked at after class. looking forward to buying the most sought-after book you desperately need for your thesis you notice the only way to keep it is to stash away a copy. what happens when your bookshop is a stranger’s last resort of buying the book? and what if your copy was the last one in all of seoul?

A/N hello my lovelies! i hope you’re enjoying it so far, let me know under the posts and in my inbox. you can also private message me anytime! <3 if you want to be added to the taglist you can ask under each post and i’ll make sure to add you! i’m really always up for a chat, so you can hit me up :) x

⟸ m.list ⟹

taglist: @aquaalanah @cuddlemety​ @detectivejjkie​ @lettersfromsalome @poutyoongiiii @secretlycrazyhummingbird

[a-square-minus-one]

Honey

Just starting a series of one shots about Gar and Raven falling in love slowly.

“Good morning lovely teammates,” Garfield says, arms raised high in the air as the common room doors open up. He looks amusedly at his friends. Nightwing had stopped in the middle of pouring his coffee, his sleepy, swollen eyes blinking tiredly at him. Cyborg had paused mid chew. Starfire had been in the middle of releasing her hair from her ponytail. They look like a funny little tableau. Changeling chuckles. 

“Sunrise. I thought I’d have to project you into the ocean to wake you up,” Raven says. But she doesn’t look shocked. In fact her eyes are closed and she remains in a semi-meditative state.

“You know today is always a fun day for all of us,” Changeling says, taking his frozen bananas and pineapples out of the freezer. “Rae, do you want me to make you an acai bowl too?” 

“Please” she says, now dropping her feet delicately on the ground. Garfield had already begun making two servings before she responded.

“Coming right up,” he says, humming “La Vie en Rose” to himself. “Are we all packed up for today?” he asks, dumping the purple puree into two bowls. 

“The T-Car is stacked with water balloons, books, goodies, gifts, board games. It’s gonna be a good one this year,” Cyborg says, clapping his hands together. Star exclaims something in Tameranean before swirling in the air and gripping Nightwing in a tight hug. He moves his mug out of the way just in time and smiles into her shoulder. Changeling feels a similar exuberance bubbling in his chest. Similar to the feeling he gets when he’s running in animal form.

It was the beginning of their annual field days. Titans from all over the country came together and visited beaches and parks all over the country for a week to partake in summertime activities with foster kids all over the country. This year, festivities started in Jump City. Seeing as most Titans were orphaned or had strained relationships with their own parents, this week always meant a lot to everyone involved in it.

“Bumblebee says they already landed. Says the beach is packed. Are y’all ready to go?” Cyborg says, looking up from the arm he was reading the message from. Starfire is already dragging Nightwing to the car; Changeling hot on their heels. Cyborg sends an amused smile to Raven who is in the middle of placing her empty bowl into the sink. Cyborg cocks his head as Raven bites her lip, lost in thought. 

“You okay Raven?” Cyborg says. Raven shakes her head, dropping the bowl clumsily into the sink. She looks at Cyborg and nods; he looks to her scrunched up eyebrows. She follows his eyesight and rubs her hands over her brows like she’s smoothing out the crinkles in a paper.

“Yeah, you know me and big crowds. Just a little...loud.” Raven says. Cyborg nods, understanding.

“You can leave whenever you want.” Cyborg says. 

“Yeah. I meditated a little more than usual,” Raven says and starts walking towards the T Car. Cyborg senses that something remains unsaid as he follows after her.

.....................................................................................................................

It’s almost 3 pm when Garfield transforms from a tiger back into his human self and jogs to the snack table. He is having the time of his life.

The Titans are good with kids. There is absolutely no denying it. Starfire is radiant and bubbly. She was excited to make as many light spectacles as the children asked her to. Cyborg is great at football. Aqualad is great at sensing multiple children in the water at once. Nightwing is a skilled gymnast and never ran out of energy. Kids loved rocks and Terra could always find the coolest shaped ones to give out. Garfield likes to think the kids loved him as well. He is a walking petting zoo and ever since he started his acting career, the teenagers like hanging out with him too. And Raven...hmm, he hadn’t seen Raven in a while. Changeling looks around, sipping lazily from the almost empty water bottle he has just picked up. And then he spots her.

In typical Raven fashion, she is away from the crowds. She is heading towards a small girl with two cute afro puffs with pink ribbons. The girl’s face is contorted into a pained expression and both her hands are pressed tightly to her ears. She looks maybe four, definitely not older than six.

“That’s Jordan. She’s new to our group home,” says someone approaching Garfield on his left. Garfield looks at the teenage girl with orange pigtails and a shy smile on her face.

“Hi,” the girl says, blushing profusely as if she said something embarrassing. “I-” she clears her throat. “I’m Becca. A volunteer.”

“Hello Becca,” Garfield says cheerfully, a little amused. “You said the girl’s new?” “Yeah, Jordan came in a couple weeks ago.” “How old is she?”

“Five.”

“And she’s-” Garfield hesitates. He doesn’t want to assume.

“Autistic?” Becca finishes for him. Changeling nods. “Yes, she’s the most loving little girl. She actually loves the Titans. She just hates changes in her routine a little more,” says Becca. As if on cue, Garfield hears a pained screech from the corner of the beach. He cringes and puts down his water bottle. He begins to transition into a hummingbird.

“Wait!” Becca says. Changeling turns to the teen girl.

“Yeah?” he asks. Her blush becomes so severe that it almost obscures all the freckles on her cheeks. 

“Could I-” Garfield swears she squeals. “Could I get an autograph sir?....Please?” she asks looking down at her flip flops. Garfield smiles so widely his cheeks hurt. 

“Of course,” he says, taking the young girl’s clipboard from her. 

“I...um...loved you in that new comedy with Seth Rogan. Me and my mom watched it like thirty times,” she says, still not looking up from her shoes. 

“Thank you,” Garfield says, hoping that the deep gratitude he feels in his heart is seeping into his words. “You are doing amazing work here Becca.” Becca peaks up at Garfield through her lashes, at this point, her face looks painfully red. He chuckles and writes ‘Cute pigtails. Love, Gar.’

“You said her name was Jordan?” Garfield asks. Becca nods. 

“Thank you Becca,” Garfield sings, handing her her clipboard, quickly transforming and flying towards the crying young girl.

Garfield lands on a boulder near Raven and Jordan. He doesn’t want to startle them. He doesn’t make a move, just listens intently for the right time to interject. At this point, Raven has already knelt in front of the young girl who is looking up at Raven with big wet eyes.

“Hi,” Raven says. People have described Raven’s voice in many ways. Monotone. Raspy. Sleepy. But he’s never heard anyone call it gentle. Right now, it’s as soft as the inside of a rose.

“I’m Raven.” Jordan is swaying from foot to foot, tears streaming steadily down her face. “Someone told me your name is Jordan.” Jordan whimpers softly in response, boogers starting to flow from her nose.

“Is it okay if I move your arms?” Raven asks. She is about to move Jordan’s hands from her ears when the girl lets out a heart shattering sob. Raven quickly drops her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Raven says, and Jordan settles down a little. Raven moves a little closer. If it wasn’t for Garfield’s enhanced hearing he wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

“You don’t like big crowds do you?” Raven asks softly. “That’s okay, me neither. They can get really loud,” Raven says, placing her own hands over her ears. Raven’s made it clear to the team that she’s an empath but it isn’t really a power people can see. Right now though, Garfield can only see two people who are attempting to see each other on another level. Jordan looks at Raven intently. Tears are still streaming down her face but her full body sobs have quieted down to small intermittent whimpers.

“Your friend Maria-” Raven gestures towards the volunteer about ten feet away. Beast Boy hadn’t even recognized her. “Tells me that you like the ocean. Maybe you and I can float on the ocean together?” Raven asks, getting up and wiping sand off her knees. Raven’s eyes start to glow and suddenly her dark energy forms a solid, raft-like structure. Jordan takes a few fearful steps back.

“It’s okay Jordan, this is safe. We’ll be safe,” Raven says in a very low voice, demonstrating Jordan’s safety by walking onto the raft herself. Jordan looks on in wonder but remains glued to her spot. Garfield figures this is the perfect time to intervene. He transforms himself into a shih tzu and walks slowly over to Jordan. 

“Look Jordan, a dog. Maria says you love dogs too,” Raven says. Garfield didn’t even think Raven recognized he was there the whole time. When Jordan sees the small dog, her hands fall away for her ears. Changeling walks closely to Jordan and nudges at her small palm with his nose. She looks down at Garfield and hums, a small smile breaking onto her face. Garfield feels his body thrum with pride as he snuggles into the young girls legs. She brings two fists up to her now wide smile and squeals loudly. Garfield begins to jump around excitedly, then skillfully leads Jordan onto the dark energy raft that Raven has crafted for them. Jordan squeals again when Raven lifts them off the sandy ground and levitates them over the waves. 

“Eeeee!” Jordan says, swaying from foot to foot as a wave splashes up over Raven’s raft and wets Jordan’s tiny little feet. Garfield runs circles around her. Stopping only so Jordan can rub behind his ears and squeeze him towards her chest. 

And they continue like that for hours, until the sun starts to sink. Changeling wonders more than once, how long Raven can keep this projection going without exhausting herself. Still, it never wavers. In fact Raven occasionally jolts the raft back and forth because Jordan lets out an excited squeal whenever the waves hit her feet. It isn’t until Jordan starts falling asleep, her head falling onto Changeling’s dog form’s back that Raven starts to bring them back to shore. By then, the beach had settled down a little. Many children and volunteers had started heading back home. Changeling turns back into his human form and snuggles the sweet girl to his chest much like she had done before. In an embrace that radiated nothing but affection. Raven let her energy dissolve beneath them.

Maria was waiting at the shore to pick Jordan up. Garfield tried his hardest to move Jordan into Maria’s embrace without waking her up but Jordan shifts in Maria’s arms and wiggles out of her arms. She does a little trott to Raven and squeezes her legs tightly. Raven’s eyes widen, and she places a hand in the space where Jordan’s hair is parted. Changeling swears he sees Raven’s eyes glaze over with tears.

Raven kneels down in front of the girl and places two hands on her shoulders.

“I’ll come see you soon.” Raven promises. Maria scoops the tired girl up in her arms.

“She’s usually never that affectionate with anyone she just meets,” Maria says, smiling warmly at Raven. She places a grateful hand on Raven’s shoulder and walks away.

Garfield feels something catch in his throat as he looks at Raven looking at the departing girl. She’s been curling her hair lately. The curve of her ear poking out from her purple waves of hair is something he never thought he could be transfixed by. Her eyes, still a little wet with happy tears, look even more purple than usual and Garfield is reminded of the posters Rita used to have of portraits of a soft lit Elizabeth Taylor. Raven looks so...soft. Gar swallows past something thick in his throat.

“You were...really gentle with her,” Garfield says, feeling like he needs to fill the silence with something. Raven looks towards Jordan a little while longer before turning to Garfield to respond. He feels a little like he was punched in the chest when the full weight of her gaze lands on him. It’s like a spotlight. He can’t see anything around it.

“You were too.” Raven says. Garfield gets a sudden flashback of Raven reading with Teether, Melvin and Timmy. 

“You are really good with kids,” Garfield says. He’s talking low because he feels like a louder voice would shatter this delicate moment. Raven shrugs.

“All the Titans are,” Raven says and Garfield feels himself shake his head without even thinking about it. The Titans were all good with kids. That was true. When the kids were happy, receptive and energetic. The Titans were great with them. But when they had shut down? Were scared? Tired?

“But you’re...you’re-” Garfield tries to find the words to describe how Raven was answering every single one of the subtle cues Jordan was giving her. Even the slightest twitch of her lip. It’s like she had answers lined up before Jordan even knew what she wanted. Raven was like that with a lot of people. The word empathetic was jumping around his head but it felt too light on his tongue to truly capture what Raven was to the people around her. She was a salve. Healing. Their missing pieces. 

Raven looked at Garfield expectantly.

“Hey baby,” a voice came from beside them. Changeling felt his arm lift and a figure settle under his shoulder. He saw the blonde hair twinkling in his peripheral vision. He felt sticky lips leave their residue on the corner of his lips. Raven looked expectant for only a few seconds more before she greeted Terra.

“Nice to see you Terra. I’m sure you guys have a lot of catching up to do,” Raven said before moving away from the couple to help Cyborg clean.

[jeongyunhoed]

8 Stories, 8 Movies from the Golden Age (1930s to 1960s).

It’s the golden age and 8 men are the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. Ateez, but make them Old Hollywood, basically. Lights, camera, action!

Member: Wooyoung

Genre: Screwball romantic comedy

Warnings: Mentions of death, shipwrecks, widow/widower, mentions of infidelity (don’t cheat, it’s wrong), blood (if you squint)

Things to note: Set in the 1940s, Wooyoung’s a father in this one

Will have OCs

As with the rest of the stories in the AU, there will be other idols mentioned, most likely NCT but may have some of my other faves (EXO, etc.)

A/N: SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. Life happened and I was in a rut about this for a while. But better late than never! Here’s the final part of Wooyoung’s story for this AU! This is also not really edited much so sorry for that too.

A/A/N: I’m thinking of making a little in-between post in keeping with the AU. But if you’re wondering who’s next, it’s San! Get ready for another screwball comedy after this.  

Masterlist

After getting marooned on an island for 7 years and being declared legally dead, Ahn Jea returns home to find her husband, Jung Wooyoung, already remarried to someone else.

My Favorite Wife

tag list: @minervaaaaaaaa , @closer-stars , @gayliljoong , @yoheyyosup​

Part 3 - Final 

Wooyoung, Jea, Seonghwa, and Taehee were at the court, the entire situation having blown in the open and he figured someone, likely Mr. Song Mingi from the insurance company was the one who reported the situation to the authorities. Of all charges brought against him, it was going to be bigamy.

He chose not to have anyone else represent him, as he knew he was better off explaining it himself. Taehee had realized who Jea really was, and he knew she was mad at him more than she wanted to be mad at her. To his surprise, the judge that was presiding over their case was Judge Kim Hongjoong, the same judge that married him and Taehee. The same judge that declared Jea legally dead. 

Hongjoong was hitting the gavel, telling everyone else that was present, including the jury, to settle down. “Quiet everyone! You, Mr. Jung, what are you even doing here in the first place?” He questioned. “Bigamy’s a criminal offense.” 

Wooyoung cleared his throat. “Yes I know, your honor, but I’m out on bail-” 

“I don’t care about the bail, this is a civil court,” Hongjoong cut him off. “What kind of a lawyer are you? Where did you learn this?” 

“I went to Yonsei.” 

“Yonsei,” Hongjoong scoffed. “I’m an SNU Law guy myself. Are you the bride?” He turned to Taehee, who nodded. “Kissless?” 

“Yes, your honor,” Taehee replied. 

“Huh, Yonsei guy,” Hongjoong scoffed again. “I see nothing wrong with my decision, Mr. Jung. You presented your brief, the evidence is all here, yes, all of it, including the teething. What do you want me to do? Reverse my own ruling?” 

“Your honor, please, I have a precedent for this case,” Wooyoung said. “I cited the Park vs. Yoo-Park from 50 years ago.” 

“Your honor, how long do I have to stay here and listen to this worm?” Taehee glared at Wooyoung. 

“Just a moment, Taehee!” 

“Go on, Wooyoung,” Jea chimed in this time. “Tell us what happened in the Park vs. Yoo-Park- whatever it’s called.” 

Wooyoung eyed both women then turned back to the judge. “Well, Mrs. Yoo-Park returned after an absence of a considerable length to find that Mr. Park, her husband uh, had remarried. Now, Mrs. Yoo-Park, or rather Mrs. Park-Yoo, the second wife-” 

“It was a sort of a parking crisis,” Jea cut in, making the jury and everyone else present laugh, including Seonghwa. 

“Quiet! There’s no room for laughter in this courtroom!” Hongjoong hit the gavel a few times again, making everyone settle down. “That will cost you 25,000 won,” He turned to Jea. 

“Oh come on, your honor,” Jea frowned. 

“You heard me, 25,000 won,” Hongjoong repeated. 

“But you can’t do that, your honor,” Jea objected again. “I’m legally dead, it’s not nice to take money from a corpse.” 

The room erupted in laughter again, making Hongjoong hit the gavel once more. “That’s going to cost you 25,000 won more! You now owe me 50,000 won. Clerk, are you keeping track of this?” He looked over to the man holding a clipboard, who nodded. “Good. See that you do.” 

“She is legally dead, your honor,” Wooyoung pointed out. “You declared her legally dead in this same courtroom. Your decision is on file.” 

“Ah yes, your honor, you actually did do that-” The clerk leaned over to whisper. 

“In that case I’m going to declare her legally alive,” Hongjoong muttered. “So she can pay me that 50,000 won. Can someone swear she’s a live woman?” 

“Sure, I will,” Seonghwa raised his hand. Wooyoung side-eyed him. 

“Do you swear she’s a live woman?” 

“I’ll say she is-” 

“You shut up, man,” Wooyoung shot at him. He turned back to the judge. “Your honor, you can’t do this if she’s legally alive, I’m guilty of bigamy.” 

Hongjoong looked at the four people in front of him incredulously. He looked over at his clerk. “Can you make out anything from this case?” He muttered. “I know it’s there on the brief but-” Seonghwa was chuckling in his place. “What’s the matter with you, sir?” 

“Nothing, nothing, Park, Yoo-Park, Yoo-Park,” Seonghwa laughed. “A parking crisis,” He repeated. “That was a good one, Jea.” 

“Who even are you?” Hongjoong raised a brow. 

“He was on the island with her, your honor, he’s not important to this case,” Wooyoung cut in before Seonghwa could say something. 

“I’ll decide what’s important to the case, Mr. Jung. What island was that?” 

“The island where my wife stayed for seven years, your honor.” 

“You two were on an island together for seven years?” Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa and Jea. 

“Yes they were, your honor.” 

“Not alone? Same island?” 

“Yes, your honor.” 

“Is that in the brief?” 

“No,” Wooyoung shook his head. 

“Well, that should be in the brief-” 

“But your honor please, it’s not important to this case-” 

Taehee stood up. “Your honor, I’d like to get out of here before I explode-” 

“I want to go home myself,” Hongjoong pointed out. “I’d like to tell my wife about this case. She thinks all my cases are boring. Well, it seems to me the only thing I can do is to annul the second marriage so you can marry your first wife. I don’t know what you plan to do with that other guy though,” He glanced at Seonghwa. 

“I--I haven’t had time to think that out, your honor,” Wooyoung said quietly. 

“Well I want to tell you what this man has done since he first married me-” Taehee cut in. She turned to Wooyoung, looking hurt. “If you had only come and told me-” 

“Taehee I did come to you and tell you-” Wooyoung explained with an exasperated sigh. 

“You didn’t say a word about it!” Taehee was trying her hardest not to yell, Hongjoong watching them. 

Jea excused herself for a moment to leave the courtroom. She only really understood how difficult a situation Wooyoung was in at this moment. Even if she knew he did bring it upon himself, she still felt bad for him. “Jea? If I can, can I speak to you alone?” Seonghwa’s voice made her snap out of her thoughts. He left the room with her. 

“Hmm? Yes, sure,” She nodded, following him to a corner. 

“So, your husband hasn’t had time to think it over, huh?” He asked. “Let’s sit down,” Seonghwa gestured to the nearby bench. “Jea, I’m the kind of guy who finishes what he starts. I’m going back to the island, and I want you to come with me.” 

Jea stared at him upon his proposal. “Back to the island?” 

“What do you think?” 

She looked apologetic. “Thanks, Seonghwa, but I haven’t waited seven years just to give up in three days.” 

“I think you’re just being loyal to him, but I respect you for that.” 

Jea looked over at the court again, then back to him, an idea suddenly forming in her mind. “Seonghwa, could you-could you do something for me?” 

“Anything, Jea.” 

“Well, I know I shouldn’t ask you, it’s going to be unfair to you-” 

“What is it?” Seonghwa asked. 

Jea pursed her lips for a moment. She loved Wooyoung very much, and seeing what he was going through at the moment oddly made her fall in love with him even more. “I’ve got to get him back. Can you help me?” 

“How?”

“Just repeat that proposal back there, that’s all. In front of Wooyoung, about going back to the island.” 

“Alright, why not? Let’s go back,” He said, the two of them standing up to return to the court. The commotion from the room didn’t seem to end as they entered, even as Hongjoong was trying his hardest to hear Wooyoung and Taehee out, both of them still arguing in between their explanations. 

“Your honor, there’s just one other thing,” Taehee said to the judge. “I’ve taken all I can stand from this worm and I won’t take any more.” 

“Taehee, I feel terrible about this-this hurts me more than it does you,” Wooyoung reasoned. 

“Yeah? So will this,” Taehee went up to him and before he could register what else would happen, he staggered a little, seeing her shake her fist. 

“My nose,” He noticed some blood on his fingers. “It’s bleeding!” 

Hongjoong hit the gavel a few times again. “Order! Order! Miss, I won’t have any violence in this room and that action will cost you exactly-” 

“I know, 25,000 won and it was worth it,” Taehee put a few bills down in front of the judge. “And as for you Mr. Jung Wooyoung, as far as I’m concerned, you are legally dead,” She stormed out of the courtroom. 

“Well, Jea, I guess I’m not needed here, see you at the boat at 9:00,” Seonghwa turned to her, making Wooyoung whip around in his place. 

“Alright, Seonghwa,” Jea replied loudly. 

“Wait a minute, wait just a minute, what is this?” Hongjoong sounded frustrated. 

“Your honor, we’re not interested in civilization, if this could even be called civilization,” Seonghwa explained. “When a man finds his mate, he knows he doesn’t have to think it out, and there’s an island that can be paradise for them. Goodbye, Jea, until tomorrow,” He said. 

“Bye, Seonghwa,” Jea smiled, hoping that he could tell how grateful she was. 

“Hey, wait a minute!” Wooyoung called out at him. “Come back here!” 

“It’s alright with me if you bring the kids too!” Seonghwa added. 

“Kids?! Well,” Hongjoong tried to wrap his head around the entire ordeal. “Well, in all my experience on the bench I’ve never... I have to study the brief again and I’ll render my decision-” 

“I don’t care what happens, I’m going to get a divorce-” Jea suddenly said. 

“Quiet! The court’s adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow, dismissed,” Hongjoong hit the gavel, making everyone else get up to leave. “Yonsei guy,” He scoffed, shaking his head before leaving the bench. 

Jea turned to leave, following the crowd outside the courtroom. Wooyoung wiped his nose with his sleeve as he tried to catch up. “Jea, Jea!” He called out, trying to stop her. “If you think you’re taking those kids to a fever-ridden pesthole-” 

“Lean your head back,” She said, taking his pocket square out to wipe his nose. “Well, do you have a better offer?” 

“Well, I-I thought that you could take the kids to the mountain house until the gossip dies down or something,” He suggested. 

“Oh you did, did you?” She raised a brow. “And what are you going to do?” 

“I-uh, I thought I’d go on one of those 60-day cruises where I could think this thing out calmly and rationally.” 

“Oh, and when you come back, you might think of forgiving me for not drowning, is that it?” She asked. 

“No, of course not, Jea,-” 

“Well, I’ll think about it too, calmly and rationally,” Jea said. “Only it won’t take me 60 days, I can do it in six minutes,” She put a finger to his lips. “I’ll take the children to the mountain house tonight.” 

“I’ll drive you there,” He mumbled. 

“You’re sweet, Wooyoung, but aren’t you afraid of the gossip?” 

~ 

Wooyoung still offered to drive that night, the two of them spending the drive to the mountainside house quietly, preferring to listen to the stories and chatter from their kids. It almost felt like old times for a moment, only that the kids were a lot bigger now and were probably wondering why Jea was with them if Taehee wasn’t. He almost forgot they likely never remembered her. He pulled up in front of the driveway of the house, the cabin he spent many Christmases with the kids, and now hopefully, with Jea again if she no longer wanted to file the divorce. 

“Alright, kids, we’re here!” He announced. 

“Come on, Jiyoung,” Woojin hopped out of the car, his sister following him. 

“Be careful kids, it’s dark in the house,” Jea advised, watching Wooyoung unlock the front door, carrying some of their luggage. 

“We’ll be careful,” Jiyoung assured her. 

“Come on, dad, aren’t you coming in?” Woojin noticed him standing by the threshold as the rest of them went inside, Jea immediately turning the switches on. 

“No, Woojinie, your father’s going to drive back home,” She said, catching his gaze. 

“Oh, are you going on another vacation?” Woojin asked curiously. 

“Yeah.” 

“Going to Grant again?” 

“No!” 

Woojin looked taken aback. “You don’t have to get sore, I was only asking a question,” He frowned, turning back to catch up with Jiyoung and leaving them alone. 

“Well, thank you Wooyoungie,” She said quietly. 

“That’s alright,” He glanced at the kids, playing together in the living space. 

“Goodbye then.” 

“Bye. It��s going to be pretty dark, going down the mountain with those hairpin turns,” Wooyoung said. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew he had to be clear about what he wanted. 

“Yeah? You’re a good driver, though, Wooyoungie,” Jea didn’t want him to leave either. 

“Oh no, no, I’m not worried about it. I don’t think there’s much fog.” 

“There’s no fog,” Jea stepped back. “Goodbye,” and she turned to close the door, only for him to stop her. 

“Jea, I forgot to ask-” He said, making her turn around. “When are you going to tell the children that you’re their mother?” 

It was one of the things she had been thinking about on the way to the house. Jea paused. “I don’t know, it may be a little difficult. I don’t know how they’ll take it from me.” 

“Well, would it help if I wrote them a letter?” He offered. 

Jea shook her head. “That would be nice wouldn’t it? Enclosed, please find your mother,” She teased. “No, this is my problem. I’ll see how I get along with them and if the right time comes, I’ll know it. If it doesn’t, I’ll know that too. Bye,” She said, closing the door. 

“Bye,” Wooyoung muttered, looking at the three of them from the window as he made his way back to the car. 

~ 

Woojin and Jiyoung had overheard the conversation. “But Woojin, if she’s our mother, what’s daddy?” She asked. 

“Our father,” He replied. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Sure, what else could he be?” 

“I don’t know, nobody ever tells me anything,” Jiyoung shrugged. 

The two of them sat up on the couch when Jea entered, Jiyoung already reaching for the book on the table. “Well, what are both of you up to?” She asked with a small smile. 

“Oh nothing,” Jiyoung replied. 

“Nothing at all,” Woojin shook his head, playing with his action figure. 

Jea sighed. “I love this place, I used to come up here all the time.” 

The two children exchanged looks. “With our...mother?” Woojin asked. 

Jea nodded. “And your father too. We used to have a lot of fun.” 

“The three of you?” 

“Well-” Jea wondered if she should tell them at that moment. “Yeah.” 

“By the way, was our mother good-looking?” Woojin suddenly asked. 

Jea looked up in thought. “Well- most people thought that- some people thought- Oh I don’t know really,” She admitted. 

“I just thought I’d ask, we don’t know very much about her.” 

Jea bent down. “What if-what if your mother didn’t drown? What if she came back?” She asked carefully, watching their reactions. 

“You mean like a miracle?” 

“Yes, what if she was right here with you- what would you-” Jea stopped when she saw the two of them giggling. “What’s so funny? Oh, both of you know, don’t you?” She felt moved and overcome with emotion. 

“Sure,” Woojin giggled. “How do you do, mother?” He asked before she could speak. 

Jea felt her eyes well with tears. “H-how do you do?” 

“How do you do?” Jiyoung giggled. 

Jea tried to blink back the tears that were slowly coming out. “Don’t you think it’s about time somebody started hugging somebody?” She said and before she could say any more, both of them went up to her and gave her a hug. “Oh my darlings, you adorable darlings,” She hugged them tightly. 

They pulled away when the door suddenly opened and in came Wooyoung, looking slightly embarrassed. “Hello,” He greeted them. 

Jea got up. “Wooyoung-” 

“I had a flat.” 

“Hello, dad,” Woojin went up to him. 

“I was driving along, then pssssss,” Wooyoung imitated the sound of his tire. 

“Alright, both of you, upstairs,” Jea called them. “You’ve got to listen to me now, you know,” She added, grinning knowingly at them. 

“Why don’t you stay for dinner, dad?” Jiyoung turned to him. 

“Yeah, and we can all try out mom’s cooking,” Woojin chimed in before climbing the stairs to the second floor. 

As soon as they were out of earshot, Wooyoung turned to her. “You told them already.” 

“They figured it out,” Jea smiled. 

“That’s great-” 

“What about the spare tire?” Jea shifted the conversation back. She figured there would be more time to talk once he figured everything out. 

“There’s no air in the spare tires, unfortunately.” 

“Do you want to call the service station?” She suggested. 

“Uh,” Wooyoung shook his head. “I can’t, there was a landslide, the roads are blocked, we probably won’t be able to use the phone until morning-” 

The phone rang. Jea studied his expression, as if looking for any other excuse he had left to stay before picking up the phone. “It seems fixed to me,” She said. “Hello?” 

“Hi Jea!” It was Mrs. Jung on the other line. “Jea, I’ve got some good news for you. There was a call from Judge Kim Hongjoong’s office. They said that Wooyoung’s annulment has been granted and that you’ve been declared legally alive and you owe him 50,000 won.” 

Jea smiled. “I see.” 

“So you and Wooyoung are husband and wife again and you can pick up where you left off, isn’t that amazing?” Mrs. Jung sounded just as pleased. 

“Oh, that’s fine, bye mom,” She said, hanging up. 

“Was that mother?” He asked. 

“She called to say the roads were open,” Jea replied. 

“Oh, well, there’s no use, I’m out of gas.” 

“You seem to be out of everything but ideas, Wooyoungie.” 

“May I stay?”

She nodded. “Yes, you can stay for dinner.” 

Wooyoung sighed in content and stretched his arms. “I always sleep well up here in this house,” He looked around. Everything was the way they remembered it. 

“Let’s see, I wonder where you’re sleeping tonight,” Jea paused to think. “The children have their rooms, and our room becomes my room, and it looks like the attic is free for you.” 

“Attic?” His arms dropped to his sides. 

“It’s perfect for thinking things out,” Jea reminded him. 

~ 

The bedroom was just the way she remembered it to be. It was one of the things that stayed the same even after having been away for so long. Seven years was still a long time, and she wondered what had gone on during those years. Now, Jea thought, things can change, she can get to know her own children again, find out what they like and what they don’t, and find out how Wooyoung raised them, with Mrs. Jung’s help. At least the dinner they had earlier was another step forward. Now she knew they liked her cooking, at least some of it, just as much as they loved their father’s cooking. She remembered how Wooyoung used to cook for the two of them when they had yet to have children. 

There was a knock on the door and she got out of bed to answer it. “Yes?” She whispered, seeing Wooyoung on the other side. 

“Hi, were you sleeping?” He said softly. 

“I was about to. What do you want? What time is it?” She asked. 

“It’s 1 in the morning,” Wooyoung replied. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I just wanted to tell you- that you were right about the attic, it’s perfect for thinking,” Wooyoung admitted. “Not so good for sleeping, though. The mattress is lumpy.” 

“Oh, then take that one,” Jea pointed to the other bed that he knew was his. 

“That bed over there?” 

“That mattress,” She gave him a look. “Take it upstairs with you.” 

“Oh,” Wooyoung nodded. “That’s very nice of you. Sorry for disturbing you,” He looked over at her bed. “Are you comfortable?” 

 “Very comfortable,” She nodded. 

“You look beautiful,” He resisted the urge to brush her hair away from her face. 

She smiled. “Thank you.” 

Wooyoung couldn’t take it anymore. He sighed in defeat. “Look, Jea, what’s the use? You know how I feel about you, I could go on thinking about it until doomsday- I’m stuck. I don’t care what happened, I don’t care what people say, I was always passionately, ridiculously in love with you and I always will be....Does that help?” 

“Yes,” She whispered, looking down for a moment. “Well, I still think you better go on that cruise-” 

“I’m not going. I’m not going to stay away from you for 60 days.” 

“That’s not so long, Wooyoungie,” Jea assured him. “You’d be back here by December, just around Christmas time, you’d be back.” 

“Christmas?” 

“Yeah, you come back and talk to me about it then,” Jea spoke, with renewed confidence in her resolve. “We’ll have a lovely Christmas holiday. What’s 59 days more?” 

“You’re being very unreasonable,” Wooyoung argued. “And furthermore, I won’t trouble you anymore tonight. Good night,” He closed the door for her. 

Jea stared at the door, her expression falling. “Wooyoung.” 

~ 

“Woojin! Woojin! Wake up, Woojin!” Jiyoung whispered, looking over at the other bed where her brother slept. “Woojin! It’s Christmas!” 

The boy got up with a yawn, looking at his sister in disbelief. “What do you mean Christmas? It’s October.” 

“It’s Christmas, Woojin! I saw Santa!” Jiyoung insisted. “I just saw him come down from the attic.” 

Woojin looked confused. “Santa Claus?” 

“Yeah! With the long beard, red pants, everything,” Jiyoung got out of bed, making him do the same. 

“Santa Claus in October? I wonder when the Lunar New Year’s happening,” Woojin shook his head, trying to understand what his sister meant. 

~ 

Jea was woken up by the sound of rattling on the door. “Ho ho ho!” She heard someone as she approached the door, slipping on her dressing robe. “Hello! Hello! Merry Christmas!” He said as she opened the door. 

“Wooyoung!” She laughed. “You’re crazy,” Jea wrapped her arms around him. 

“It’s that time of year again!” Wooyoung announced, seeing Woojin and Jiyoung close by. 

“You’re an idiot, but I love you for it,” Jea was beaming. “Merry Christmas to you too.” 

Wooyoung pulled his beard down to kiss her. 

[rkyjun]

can’t get you out of my head... (a.k.a yeonjun is a sad lovesick puppy)

a lot has gone on in yeonjun's life. realistically, not much had gone if you were to look at this in a time perspective. however, it can mentally feel like a whole month has happened when it's probably only a few weeks. or even days.

that's how it feels like for him, anyways. his mind is a mess for one person and one person only. after that night of having kissed each other, it was easy to say that yeonjun hasn't been the same since then. in fact, if he had to be honest, the only thing—person in his mind right now was choi san. and he found it very irritating about that being the case. he didn't hate the fact that he was thinking about the fact that he was thinking of him. but after years of having not seen this boy, believing that he's gotten over his feelings that he had since high school, these thoughts were thrown back into his head. and all it does is make him more frustrated than he was before.

he doesn't like the fact that when he's not doing anything important, he finds himself drifting off to replay those memories in his head. he hates how when he tries his best to not think about the boy, the first thing that comes to his mind is his lips. how soft they were against his and how that night wasn't the first time he thought that. how back then, loving him was finding every single interaction precious to him and being able to be vulnerable with someone that wasn't his childhood friends. in fact, he think he's told more secrets to him than he has to despite the fact that they've known each other since soobin was in preschool and yeonjun was in kindergarten.

his crush on him felt as much fun as it did stressful. he remembers constantly thinking about whether or not the boy felt the same as he did. the two trusted each other with almost everything. yeonjun practically told this boy about all the problems he had at the time. if he were to ruin their friendship with that one little secret, it'd be over for him. fortunately, san felt the same for the other boy. unfortunately, college split them up. or, as yeonjun would like to phrase it, his parents split them up.

those first few years in snu were awful. not only was he pursuing a major that he had no interest for in the first place, but he was also missing a part of himself. the part that he gave to choi san all those years ago. no longer were they the friends they used to be, san now following his dreams in k-arts whilst yeonjun is forced to stick to his business major. of course, he manages to try to fill the void in his heart by continuing to talk to more people and trying to find ways to be happier, even though some of them were not the best. after december, he's tried his best to stay focused in school after months of extreme apathy to anything related to it. yet, he still finds his ways to eat fried food and also go to bustling places alone to try and fill the loneliness somehow.

and now the loneliness in him returns. and it was all his fault.

there was no other way of looking at it. yeonjun pushing san away whilst realizing that he was kissing the other was practically a parallel to yeonjun telling him about his parents making him to go to snu. it was a parallel to how after that incident, yeonjun did just what his father did back then to the poor boy. the look of hurt on his face was enough to haunt the boy's thoughts that he even thinks about it while enjoying a good box of fried chicken.

he feels a little bit better after going to jaebum about his issues. it was nice to get it off of his chest once in a while, especially to someone he knows he can trust. but there's still something in his head that he can't seem to get rid of.

so he tries his best to continue letting time go by slowly, his head full of nothing but that boy because he can't do anything about it.

perhaps, in a way, he deserves it.

it starts off harmless. like any other normal sleepover they've had in their past. yeonjun's almost certain that nothing grand would happen on video game night with his best friend. besides getting drunk and complaining about who's cheating, yeonjun expects for the night to normally as it usually does.

but, he should've known already from his past with the boy. when put together, they were unpredictable. not only to their classmates or friends, but to themselves as well. because the next thing he knows, he's waking up in his bed with a painful headache with no clue as to where choi san is. he was not in his room, nor was he in any other room in his house. it makes him question if the boy was even there in the first place.

yeonjun only knows that san was over after he gets ready and asks his mom to make hangover soup when he goes downstairs. amidst all the scolding of how he should not drink so much in order to live healthily, she mentions that san woke up pretty early and left while yeonjun was still asleep. it was another jab at his health: his sleeping habits this time.

he manages to pretend the only pain he's experiencing is his hangover. it's better than talking to his parents about his feelings over a boy. they wouldn't understand it. it'd just be another reason to look at their son in shame before comparing him to his better, superior brother.

he thankful he doesn't have classes today and over the fact that his parents are surprisingly not nagging at him about not going outside today. he's able to stay home and play video games as he always does. classic lazy yeonjun. as he returns to his room, he sends san a few texts to check if he's okay. if he's... fine.

( sms ⇢ ⛰shine ) hey!!! was wondering where you were bc i didn't see u leave ( sms ⇢ ⛰shine ) hope you're okay!! i know we drank a lot so i hope u were able 2 go home safe since it's a long ride

he debates whether he should talk about last night. because as he's sending these messages, the events that happened played in his head. the sweet kisses, the melting touches... just thinking about it all made yeonjun's face heat up. he wonders if he should bring it up. the last time something like that happened between them, yeonjun tried to ignore san for an entire week. of course, it wasn't because of that. but it was unfortunate with how the time played itself.

so he does. in the most subtle way possible.

( sms ⇢ ⛰shine ) thank u for last night

he clicks his phone off immediately as he anxiously waits for his response, getting flustered over how he sent that. he shouldn't be so freaked out over such a text. it wasn't anything bad. perhaps it was because of the context that he's feeling this way.

every notification sets him off for the next few hours. he wants to convince himself that san wasn't avoiding him because why would he? they're becoming the best friends they were before, right? the friends who relied on each other and always went to each other for everything? sure, they have grown up and matured, but they're still the same san and yeonjun they were before... right?

he finds himself disappointed with every notification that didn't come from "⛰shine". though he didn't mind the company of his other friends, he couldn't help but grow more and more upset with each message that came from everyone but him. a part of him even wonders if it's worth it to keep on trying. he didn't want to become miserable in his room all because he was waiting from a response from one person.

there was no read update. it's been hours. and nothing.

he tries not to think about it too much. the more he thinks, the more he finds himself slowly going into a mindset that he didn't enjoy being in at all.

it's hours later when yeonjun hears his notification bell and he hurriedly grabs his phone near his side as he's playing video games in the evening. even though he's been waiting to hear from him since the morning, he still is relieved over the fact that san got back to him. that there wasn't anything weird between both of them. that they were okay.

or so he thought.

( sms from ⛰shine ) yeah sorry i couldnt say goodbye had to head out early because of work ( sms from ⛰shine ) you too

yeonjun's face drops when he sees the word bubbles appear on his screen. he's surprised by how disappointing the response was, even though a part of him believes he deserves it. was that all san had to say about their hookup? is this the same boy that kissed him during that last sleepover? is this the same boy that was all flirtatious with him last night? yeonjun remembers even asking him throughout all of this if he wanted this to happen and he always said yes with the honesty that yeonjun could recognize immediately...

years ago, he said nothing about that night. should he have done the same? because either way, he feels the same type of shittiniess he felt back then.

the you too isn't specific enough. did he hope he was okay despite the hangover that would follow after? was it about him? nothing was clear to yeonjun anymore. his emotions were all over the place. he should be thankful that san at least replied to him... but with this?

he was tired. he wasn't even in the mood for video games anymore. he'd rather not stay up at night watching random tiktoks or going through his social media sites to pathetically think about how his life is lacking compared to everyone else. the time where he'd bother his friends with a bunch of messages to check on how they were doing don't even occur in yeonjun's mind now.

he's already had dinner. he already got what he was wasting all his energy for. yeonjun just wanted to sleep. sleep and not think about how his friendship with choi san was at stake for the night.

hopefully, tomorrow he won't stay in his head too much. but who knows if he'll follow through with that in the end?

[daddychims]

Offside Pt2

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Series Masterlist!

Genre: Smut, Soccer AU, College AU

Pairings: Soccer Player! Jungkook X Sports Trainer! Reader

Word Count: 2k

Other BTS members all make a cameo as well because I’m an OT7 Trash!

You work as a sports trainer, providing basic first aid and injury management for the Hanguk University’s soccer team. Going with your mundane life of caring for the dozen of guys hurting themselves in the soccer game takes a turn when one of the guys catches your eyes. It’s not his breathtakingly good looks or his muscular athletic body usually seducing girls at the campus that catches your eyes. But the action plan in your kit, indicating he is diagnosed with Asthma is what draws your eyes time and time again to the Golden Boy of Hanguk University.

Warning: Slow burn, eventual smut, Taehyung being a freaking tease the whole time, Fuckboy!Jungkook, Asthmatic! Jungkook , mentions of episodes of Asthma, Take your Ventolin kids, Take your medications kids!

A.N. This is unedited so bear with me for now, I’ll probably edit it tomorrow! 

“How’s everything going?”

You look up to the source of the voice, a faint smile dancing on your lips as the sight of the young doctor greets your eyes. The doctor’s beauty never fails to brighten up your shifts and tonight is no exception. Kim Seokjin, the sports medicine specialist taking care of Hanguk University’s sports clinic who also happens to be your boss.

“Not too bad!” You reply back in a jolly tone as you quickly jam pack the strips of tape in the bag carefully, hiding your blushing cheeks from the guy.

“Were the guys behaving while I was away?” The young doctor asks in his soft, polite voice as he helps you pack your tools

“Yeah, they’re alright,” you nod reassuringly, “We just had an ankle sprain over the weekend, that’s the most exciting it got.”

“Jung Hoseok?” He asks and you chuckle in response

“The captain is always a bit too passionate,” You elaborate with a smile “I just taped his ankle off and sat him down on the bench for the weekend. He was doing fine tonight so we compromised under one condition. And  that is he will take it easy for a while.”

“I think its time for me to retire then,” he laughs as he pushes the last piece of tape in your bag “you’re ready to take over huh?”

“Of course not Dr Kim,” you shake your head with a frown “I won't last a day out here on my own, its the finals in a bit and we’ll see how they all start to fall apart.”

He helps you place the bag full of tapes and gels on the side of the room, before looking around and reaching for the plastic bag containing the Inhaler.

"Not that," you quickly call catching his attention "I have to put that away, It's expiring in a week."

 "Oh right," He nods as he quickly looks over at the side of the puffer and checks the date "Are we getting one anytime soon?"

"I placed the order through the office, Mrs Han said it'll be here sometime next week." You explain as you organize the grab a paper towel to clean the table

"How's Jeon doing?" Dr Kim's voice echoes in the room and you pause while doing your cleaning duty, briefly thinking over your earlier observation

"He's alright!" You reply after a moment of hesitation against your real intentions

"That's good, I was wondering if I need to take him in for a review."

Your ears perk at the statement and you quickly stop, glancing up at the young doctor.

"Why?" you asked with a keen tone

"Why what?" Seokjin replies with a dumbfounded expression

"N-Nothing..." you quickly shrug it off, proceeding to dry off the traces of wet water off the chair before pausing again and looking up at the confused doctor "Actually, I dont know!"

"You dont know?" he repeats, his face showing more confusion

"About Jeon, I dont know if he's fine," you state nervously watching Seokjin's questioning eyes for the cue to continue talking "I mean I'm only in my third year and we barely learnt anything about Asthma but-" you quickly shrug off with a chuckle "Its probably foolish assumption of me anyways!"

"No go on," he says furrowing his eyebrows "I'm sure it's worth discussing at least!"

"Well, he was coughing quite roughly in the middle of the game tonight," you explain and Seokjin nods in response

"Was that all you observed?" he asks, his voice suddenly resembling some of your tutors in the classes you attend every day

"He seemed a bit short of breath, I mean he was in the middle of the game so It might be normal but he was hunching over and gasping during his cough," you elaborate your earlier memory of the guy "Which means he was usually extra help from his accessory muscles."

"What's your hypothesis?"  He asks softly as he takes the information in

"I'm not sure, I mean I dont know much about his Asthma  but I know he shouldn't be feeling so breathless if he's taking his meds." you reply honestly  and the doctor nods with a smile

"Well I think someone has been listening to her lectures pretty well," he chuckles placing the plastic bag on the table, " I agree with you. I should probably review his medications. Good call."

"Oh," you respond quite surprised at his reaction "Thanks." you flash a smile before walking across the room to get your bag and leave

"Y/N..." you turn around upon hearing your voice "If you observe anything next time, dont hesitate to tell me," he instructs giving you a reassuring nod "Considering you see those guys more often than me on the field, It doesn't hurt to call things out."

"Sure Dr Kim!" you bow quickly before shifting your bag on your should and leaving the clinic

-

"These pain science lectures will be the death of me. they are so freaking boring.” 

Your friend sighs dropping his forehead on the table, pressing it firmly against the book.

"Calm down Joon, we're in the library, not your living room," you hiss under your breath, grabbing the corner of his MacBook and having a quick look at his screen "hey you're almost done with it."

"Yeah after literally 5 hours," he rolls his eyes at you as he brings his head up "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I was having a look at the Asthma topic-"

"Asthma?" he interrupts, quickly leaning to have a look at your screen  “Dont you guys learn that in the second year!?”

"Yeah," you shrug nodding your head "Doesn't hurt to revise you know!"

"Ugh you're so freaking annoying," he whines pursing his lips forward, "I barely get to catch up and you're already revising!"

"The finals are near, you should start too-" you start your mini-lecture for your friend when he quickly stands up

"I think we've done enough," he quickly jams his notebook, pens and papers in the bag "Pack up, we're partying tonight!"

"I can't," you sigh, pressing your bottom to the chair as you rest your back on the backrest "With the final games coming up I'll have to work double shifts soon, It's not time to party!"

"I came all the way from SNU to study in Hanguk’s library with you,” he raises an eyebrow unimpressed “Now you’re sending me off to the party on my own?”

“Well thank you but no one asked you to come here!”  you shrug in response

”Woah,” he scoffs in disbelief leaning closer over the table “I get called a traitor by my team for coming here and hang out with you just to be disrespected like this!?”

“Seriously, you and your team are SO overdramatic!” You sigh

“Well, with the final games coming we have to keep our guard up,” he replies determinedly “Which is why we decided to go to Jeon’s party this week!”

”What!?” You shriek with wide eyes, receiving a few hushes and glares from those in the library “You’re attending your opponent’s party to hold your guard up!? Are you guys dumb!?”

“Hey hey,” he hisses furrowing his eyebrows “This is highly professional leadership, I figured it’ll be a good idea for the boys to get to know their opponent. As they say, keep your friends close and your enemy closer.”

”Christ, That sounds even more ridiculous when you put it that way.” You chuckle mocking his way of describing things

“Anyways, I’m going to Jeon’s party and you’re coming with me,” He says as he snaps the top of your laptop to close it down and grabs your bag “And you’re gonna be my wingwoman and introduce me to Jiwoo.”

You start laughing right away, covering your mouth so the sound of your hysterical laugh doesn’t receive any more harsh glares from the library attendants.

”Highly planned leadership my ass,” You mock looking at your friend with an amused look “You wanna get in your opponent’s pants huh!?”

“Well, technically it’d be my opponent’s sister’s pants so ..." he explains defensively

“Hoseok will kill you if he knows!” You warn, tone slightly threatening

”I know,” he rolls his eyes as he unzips your backpack and pushes your books in, “I can handle him on the field, how bad can he be!"

”Pretty bad!" you nod sternly "I’m just saying Jiwoo is my friend and I know how protective Hoseok can get,” you throw your shoulder up defensively "Dont tell me I didn't warn ya!"

-

You quickly type a text informing Jiwoo that you're in the place. The house is packed with Hanguk University's party animals, youth in their 20s dancing and getting smashed on the hard liquor.

You're not quite used to these places, considering yourself more of a nerd as your friend Namjoon would love to call you. You hate crowded places like this and prefer enjoying your weekend drinks at a more classy bar rather than a house party like this.

But you can't object your friend's request considering how far he's been travelling from his own campus to yours every single week to give you a hand in your studies.

Namjoon is in his final year, studying the same major as you. But instead, he's pursuing it at the Seoul's National University. You still remember how jealous you were when you studied your ass off and still got rejected by SNU while he managed to get in with full scholarship via what you'd consider as "minimum effort".

His high IQ, however, is not the only matter of envy in everyone's eyes. But the fact that he manages to be the captain of the SNU's soccer team labels him as the official cream of the crop. 

But nevertheless, he's still you dumbass Joonie who used to play with you in the backyard of your house, putting rocks in the middle of your bicycle path so he can laugh at you stumbling and hurt your butt. 

So you have no other choice but to put yourself in a place you'd never voluntarily be just so you can help him out with his love life.

"Jiwoo!" You call getting a sight of your friend who's swaying to the beat with a red cup of booze in his hand.

She turns around and smiles waving at you with her signature bright smile and you walk through the crowd to get to her.

"Look Who's here," she declares with an amused grin on her lips "Did the sun rise from the west today?!" he chuckles teasingly

"I figured I'd be able to finally get a sight of my old friend here!" you hiss looking for a plastic red cup to get some booze yourself

"Hey hey," she crosses her arms across her chest "You're not blaming it on me, I told you I can always be found here."

"Yeah sure," you roll your eyes at her statement "I'll keep in mind your primary method of the meetup is House parties."

"It's fun." she pouts, hooking her hand around yours and placing her chin on your shoulder "Did you hear the SNU boys are coming tonight?" she hesitates before muttering "I wonder how that'll go!"

"I was with Namjoon earlier, he told me he's coming over with the boys," you nod and glance back at her worried expression "why?"

"This a secret, dont tell anyone," she warns as she leans closer to your ear "Jungkook has some kind of history with one of them. He didn't really want them here."

"Jeon?" you repeat and your friend nods to confirm "How come?"

"Not sure!" she purses her lips in uncertainty "I overheard Hoseok talking to him earlier, he didn't look too pleased and kept talking about this guy called Jimin. but Hoseok convinced him its good for the upcoming friendly game they have next week."

"Friendly game?" You ask with furrowed eyebrows, "How come I never heard of that? They should have added it to my schedule!"

"They still haven't confirmed it, they're planning to discuss it tonight."

You nod digesting the new information your friend just gave you. You recent memories with Jungkook flashes through your mind and considering he's such as jerk all the time it's not so unexpected for him to have beef with other people in your mind. 

"I'm going to the bathroom." you make an excuse, drifting away from the girl in an attempt to find Namjoon and hopefully do your mission of the night.

Walking through the crowded hallway you find your way to the bathroom with the help of Jiwoo's rough guide. You stop by a wooden door that appears to be very similar to Jiwoo's description of the bathroom when you hear an unusual sound of breathing. It sounds like rough gasps for breath along with occasional coughs in between which all sound to familiar to your ear.

You furrow your eyebrows slowly walking towards the open door at the end of the hallway, peeking through the crack of the half open door. You watch the hunched view of the guy who has his head between his hands, gasping for air while sitting on the edge of his king sized bed. 

"Jeon, You alright?" Before you even realize your instincts push you inside his room, ignoring other things such as personal space and privacy that might have been a good idea for you to consider before heading inside the guy's room.

His doe eyes travels up to you, pupils slightly dilated which in your mind reminds you of every lecture you sat through about Fight or Flight response kicking in. 

"Hey you alright?" you quickly step closer to him and he winces, body retracting 

"G-Get out!" he yells through his gasps, stumbling on his breath to make it to the end of his short words

"Are you sure you're fine?" you ask squinting your eyes at him as you take another step closer

"I said get the fuck out! NOW!" he shouts back in response, firmer this time and thats enough for you to turn around and run.

Before you know, you're running down the hallway in rushed footsteps. You dont even know why you're running away but before you even try and rationalise you're actions, you bump to someone who's walking in the opposite direction towards you and you both stumble on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" you quickly mutter against the guy's chest who you basically used as a shield against the floor you just fell on

"No, you're alright," he mutters in his quite high pitched sound

You raise your head up to get the sight of your savior just before you attempt to roll off his body. He has a faint smile on his plump lips and his eyes almost disappear as his grins widens upon seeing your face. 

"Hey," he greets raising up on his elbows, while still having your body draped over his comfortably. You shiver as he leans closer and his warm, alcohol scented breath hits the side of you neck "You dont look as heavy as you feel," he whispers and your whole body heats up in embarrassment "But you know I always had a thing for girls who have a bit of meat on them." 

A.N. Please reblog, comment or send in anons and let me know what you think! Love ya’ll! 

[thethoughtsfromthreeam]

Lady of the Lake

Pairing: Ginger Ale/Elizabeth x Merlin/Hamish

Warnings: None

A/N:  I’m back and this time continuing the world I started with some Ginger Ale/Merlin.  This series starts a year before the modern-day events of California and will run concurrent with that timeline by Part 6.  However, you can read this one just fine without having read California, although you should because apparently people around here liked it?  Anyway, enjoy!

Reminder: I haven’t seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so I’m just using the Wikia, IMDB.com, some gifs, and my own weird ass brain to make up this whole ass story.

Tag List:  @zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @tarrevizslas , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder, @lavenderl3mons , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito​ , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale [please message me to be added or subtracted if you were just here for some Jack Daniels goodness!  I don’t want people being tagged in something they don’t want]

[PART 1] [PART 2]  [PART 3]

Part 1

 M'eudail

A Year Ago

Ginger Ale sat back in her chair while closing her eyes and rolling her neck, making a weak attempt to work out the kinks that were ruining her concentration.  She glanced at the date on the calendar and realized it was her seventh working day in a row, and the long hours were taking their toll.  For the last year, Ginger and her staff had been working to support the ever-growing caseload of the Statesman while lending their knowledge and labs to rebuild Kingsman after their destruction.

Few of the recruits coming through training wanted to work in tech, so the workload fell on her small staff and as many admins as she could beg, borrow, and steal.  Sometimes Ginger found herself conscripting Shirley Temple’s small research team and sometimes even Shirley herself to help track active agents and even build or repair weapons.

Champagne agreed the load was getting to be too much, but the focus on recruitment had been new agents for Kingsman and so here she was on her seventh workday and she could feel it.  Shirley keep talking about taking some time off, just the two of them.  Shirley hadn’t really left HQ in the last four years, so it was a big deal for her to making some noise about going on vacation.  Maybe she’s not wrong, thought Ginger.

Nothing on her plate was changing and Chai, her second-in-command, could handle the workload with no problem.  And Champ would gladly let them have their time off; he claimed to never play favorites, but if you just so happened to ask him, he might just so happen to tell you that Ginger and Shirley were right up there in staff he trusted implicitly.  He recruited both women and along with two agents, Whiskey and Tequila, they had made a formidable team for nearly a decade.

But, the support program with Kingsman meant they needed everyone available and until they were at a reasonable capacity, Statesman needed Ginger to stay put.  It was only fair given that Merlin, her Kingsman counterpart, was working just as much as her with virtually no staff at all.  No, no vacation for you, Miss Ginger, she chastised herself.  She had responsibilities to Statesman and to Merlin.

As she sat there lost in thought, Shirley walked up behind her and placed her hands on Ginger’s shoulders.  She could feel the stress like a rock under her fingertips and she frowned at the sensation. Her best friend was working entirely too hard.  She rubbed a little, trying to make it better.

“Ging, why are you still here? You need to take some time away from this computer, your neck and shoulders feel like a solid block of concrete.  Let’s do a girl’s night tonight, you need it.” Ginger tensed up again, but this time with guilt.

“That sounds amazing, Shirl.  But I got to finish these blueprints and get them off to Merlin so he can build the prototype.  I promised him I get them to him in the next few hours.”  Shirley rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath when Ginger stopped speaking.

“Like hell you can’t.”  She leaned over and punched a few buttons on the computer screen and before Ginger could react, Merlin’s face appeared in the video call.  She noted he looked just as worn and tired as she felt and wondered if she looked that way to him.  Without so much as a hello, Shirley started to talk.

“Merlin, will you please tell Ginger that she can have a girls’ night tonight and that the blueprints for whatever do-hickey you’re working on can wait a day or so?  Besides, you look absolutely terrible and I’m going to say that you need to go home and get some sleep, too.”

“Ever the charmer, Shirley.” Merlin’s laugh was weak, and he hung his head. “You’re right, we’re pushing ourselves too hard, it’s not the end of the world anymore.  We both need to relax for a night, m’eudail.  Go have fun with Shirley and I’ll go home and sleep.”

Shirley and Merlin continued to chat a few more minutes, but Ginger didn’t hear anything.  Instead, she blushed and lowered her eyes.  M’eudail he called her, my dear.  He has never called her that in front of someone before and she hoped that Shirley didn’t catch on.  Not that she was embarrassed for Shirley to know about her and Merlin, but Ginger just wanted something that was hers and hers alone.  

---***---

The touch of his hand on her lower back sent sparks across her skin and she drew in a small breath.  She wasn’t sure why she was reacting to him this way.  They were colleagues, two sides of the same coin.  But his eyes were kind and he had a big heart.  And then there was his smile and that brogue and . . .

“Ginger, this way.”  He nodded at her, his hazel eyes sparkling at her from behind his glasses.  She nodded and walked down the hallway to the door, his hand never leaving her back.  And for each step that his hand remained, another spark was added until it felt like her spine was shivering.  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.  He didn’t seem effected at all.

But exterior appearances, especially from a trained agent, are deceiving and internally Merlin was clawing at some sort of stoicism to hide the desire he had for his American counterpart.  When they first chatted face to face some months ago in Louisville, he found himself staring at her mouth, wondering if it was as a soft as it looked and what it looked like when she sighed in pleasure.  He forced himself to pay attention to her words, but it was hard and so was he.

And now?  Here she was in his domain, walking the halls he always walked, about to sit in the chairs he sat in.  How could he keep up this facade when all he wanted to do was push her against the wall they just passed and let his hands feel her skin beneath his fingertips.  Hamish, you idiot, stop this thinking, he told himself.

Now if only he would listen.

---***---

Shirley ended the call with a cheery good-bye and spun Ginger around her chair.  They looked at each other and Ginger realized that for once it wasn’t her giving the Stare of Care, as they called it.  It was a hard look that came from a source of love.  Instead, it was her friend, who loved her as a sister, throwing the Stare at her.  A curt nod followed, and Shirley turned her head towards the only other specialist in the lab at the moment.

“Kefir, Ginger is leaving for the rest of the day and if she sneaks back in here, I want you to call me so I can come get her.”  He smiled and nodded at the two women.  “And you let Chai know when she comes on duty in an hour.  This woman is gonna get some damn sleep for once.”

The latter part of her comment came out as a mutter and at that Ginger began to laugh.  There was a point in time when it had been Ginger in that motherly place, working to support her friend through a tough time.  I guess the tables are turned now, she thought.  But she would be lying to herself if she wasn’t touched that she had people like Shirley that loved and cared for her so much.

But Shirley was right, and Ginger wasn’t going to feel guilty about relaxing a bit, even if it was only a Tuesday.  Even Merlin told her to go home.  She bounced up from her desk and moved to shut her station down for the night. It’ll all be here tomorrow when she came in – there isn’t an imposing deadline and Kingsman wasn’t going to be rebuilt overnight.

Shirley looped her arm through Ginger’s and they ambled down the hallway to the bank of elevators.  Both women live in on-site apartments, which made the commute to work all the easier. As they entered the elevator, Shirley spoke up.

“My place?”

“Whiskey’s not home?”

“Naw, he’s out somewhere in New Mexico on an assignment with Brandy.”

“How’s that going?  It’s been a while since Brandy was in the field.  I’m surprised Champ sent her along on the case.”

“She needed the break, if she spent another month training the new recruits, I’m sure she would have snapped.  You know she installed a punching bag in her office, right?”

“No!  Is it that bad?”

“Probably not, but you know Brandy, she’s overly dramatic when she’s stressed.”

The two women continued gossiping about their co-workers and friends before the elevator dropped them off on the eighth floor.  Shirley took her keys out and unlocked her apartment door, pulling Ginger in behind her, as if she didn’t trust the woman to just run back to the office. But Ginger had no plans to leave.

The homey feeling of Jack and Shirley’s apartment immediately enveloped Ginger and it seemed she dropped thirty pounds of stress just walking through the door.  Shirl pushed Ginger towards the soft leather couch while she went and dug around for some drinks and food, knowing full well that Ginger probably hadn’t eaten in hours.

In no time, Shirley had whipped up a meal worthy of girl’s night while Ginger cued up their favorite films to watch.  She hemmed and hawed between Practical Magic and The American President for a bit before choosing the former.  She felt in this moment she needed a little magical fluff in her life and, with Merlin in her thoughts, a little magical love, too.

When Shirley came into the living room, everything was ready, and the two friends snuggled deep under the blankets and just vegged out.  Through out the night, they oscillated between chatter and quiet before they both fell asleep to the sounds of Robin Tunney kicking Fairuza Balk’s ass.

In the wee hours of the morning, Jack came home and after hanging up his hat, he saw the two women lightly snoring on the couch.  He smiled at the picture before walking over.  He dropped a kiss on each head before heading to the bedroom to change and slip into bed himself.   Just another night in the Daniels homestead.

[kim-seungmine]

i’ll hold your hand (don’t let me go) - part 2 /2

title: I’ll hold your hand (don’t let me go) – part 2  / 2

characters: (fem) reader x hwang hyunjin of stray kids (feat. kim seungmin, han jisung of stray kids, lee chaeyeon of iz*one, myoui mina of twice + other skz members)

genres: fluff, angst, slice-of-life, college au

warnings: language, mentions of bullying & death

word count: 7.5k words

synopsis: hyunjin is no longer fearless and you feel that he’s slipping away from you... or is it the other way around?

a/n: you can read this as a stand-alone but it’ll be much better if you read the first part first. you can find the masterlist in my bio because i can’t put links here!

CHAPTER 2: ... but I love you

It’s finally spring, your favorite season because walking down the street when it’s -19C is definitely not your thing. But it’s also Monday, everybody’s least favorite day ever, no matter what the season is. When Yang Jeongin, Hyunjin’s roommate, tells you that the latter hasn’t woken up yet (it’s past 12PM), you have no choice but to pay a visit to the boys’ dormitory.

The security isn’t too tight during the day, so you manage to slip into the building easily. You stop in front of room number 320, knocking on it softly. Jeongin opens the door, welcoming you with a dimpled smile you always melt at. “I think he’s got a class at 3,” he says, zipping his backpack as he walks past you. “I did everything you told me to do, but it’s been 2 years and nothing ever works unless you do it yourself.”

Jeongin waves you goodbye, leaving you alone with your sleeping boyfriend. “Hyunjin,” you begin, shaking his body with all your might. He doesn’t budge, so you decide to act as if it’s Saturday and he’s staying over at your dorm because you live in a single room (you don’t know how he manages to sneak in, but Hwang Hyunjin surely has his ways).

You lay down beside him before circling your arms around his torso, burying your head in the crook of his neck. “Jinjin,” you try again, using the nickname he loves so much. Hyunjin lives for nicknames, he’s given you so many he can’t even remember them, but you only have one for him. Jinjin. You don’t really use it, but everytime you do, Hyunjin turns into a clingy but obedient big baby.

His eyes flutter open, and you place feathery kisses on his neck. “Please wake up,” you whisper against his skin, looking up to see him smiling at you. Hyunjin nods, wrapping you into a tight hug. “Can Jinjin sleep for five more minutes?” he mumbles.

“What will you do if I tell Jisung that you’re referring to yourself as Jinjin… in third person?” you threaten, smoothing his bed hair. Hyunjin whines, and you’re trying not to chuckle because this is serious. “You can’t make Jeongin and me do this all the time.”

“I know,” he answers, rocking you in his arms. “But it’s just sooo hard to wake up.”

You sigh, pulling away to look at him in the eyes. “Next time I’ll just let you miss classes. This is going to be my last time doing this, okay?”

“Okay,” he replies, and you give him a peck on his lips. “Alright. Now can Jinjin start getting ready so he can walk his beautiful girlfriend to class?” you tease, earning a hard pinch on your cheek.

Hyunjin sits up with you still in his arms. He gives you one more kiss before getting out of bed. “Please let me live, Y/N!”

-

It only takes Hyunjin twenty minutes to get ready. He’s already dressed in the red checkered shirt you gifted him last month and a pair of faded jeans. “You’re trying to turn me into Jisung, aren’t you?” he asks while looking at his reflection in the mirror.

“I just think that you look good in checkered shirts, that’s all,” you reply, feeding him a piece of kimbap you bought from CU*. “Speaking of Jisung, are we still meeting his friend tonight? Do you still have dance practices with Minho?”

Hyunjin opens the door, taking your hand in his before stepping out. “What’s a dance practice?!” he asks dramatically. “I only know staying up all night to design a living room!”

“I’m serious. He’s been asking to meet us so many times this week but we barely responded,” you say. Hyunjin mutters a tired, “Aigoo,” but takes out his phone to call Seungmin.

“Wow, you answered,” he exclaims, putting his phone on loudspeaker so you can hear their conversation. “You better not bail on us tonight, asshole. I don’t want to hear Jisung weep about us not being supportive.”

Seungmin scoffs, you can hear him closing his book. “What the hell? You’re the one who keep canceling! Y/N, tell him!”

You jab at Hyunjin’s waist, causing him to yelp loudly. “I’ll drag his lazy ass, Seungmin. Don’t worry,” you promise him. Seungmin laughs, telling you to take care before ending the call. You turn to Hyunjin who’s busy massaging his waist. “Do you have something you want to tell me?” you ask.

“Like what?” he challenges, squinting at the bright sunlight as both of you exit the dormitory. You’re swinging your intertwined hands softly, pondering whether you should ruin the blissful moment right now. “Like what?” Hyunjin repeats, causing you to stop on your tracks.

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“Nothing happened, baby. I’m just tired,” he reassures you, dropping a kiss on the top of your head. “Now let’s get Jinjin’s beautiful girlfriend to class, shall we?”

-

Jeongin has saved you a spot when you arrive in class. You two went to the same school, but you never actually met him although Seungmin used to be his tutor and talked about the younger boy quite a lot. Sometimes you regret not knowing Jeongin sooner; he’s a brat, but he’s a sweet brat and he’s taught you a thing or two about life.

“So, what method did you use? Scream in his ear? Play his ‘HWANG HYUNJIN WAKE UP!!!’ alarm for a whole ten minutes? Pretending there’s an earthquake and the whole world is falling apart?”

Plus he’s endured being Hyunjin’s roommate for 2 years and put up with his sleeping habits.

You smile sourly at him, cringing when you recall the whole Jinjin-please-wake-up scenario. “He loves me that much, I guess,” you mumble. Jeongin smirks at you, lowering his voice so only you can hear him. “You used ‘the girlfriend method,’ didn’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, the usual. Kissing the life out of him, calling him pet names, begging him to wake up. You went down the soft path, I bet.”

You just stare at him in disbelief, while he’s only giving you a smug smile. “Hyunjin sleep talks. I know a lot of things.”

The professor has entered the class, but you’re too distracted by Jeongin’s words to notice. “What do you know?” you ask, almost fearfully.

Jeongin points at the professor, signaling at you to start opening your book. “Well, let’s say that I know who Jinjin is,” he tells you in a sing-song tone.

You want to smash your head against the table. Dating Hwang Hyunjin is definitely not easy.

-

The café where Jisung wants to meet you isn’t far from your campus. You and Hyunjin are walking hand-in-hand, with Chaeyeon trailing behind you. “You kept hollering at us to meet you and your new friend and now you’re saying you’re going to be late?!” she yells at Jisung over the phone.

Jisung is now a—quoting Seungmin—somewhat superstar. He’s started a hiphop crew with a friend from his academy, and they’ve started to get attention from the public. You’ve only seen his friend on Instagram, so you’re really curious about him.

“He’ll be here soon,” Chaeyeon informs with a tired tone as you’re entering the café. “Is this why Jisung insisted we have to meet here?” Hyunjin asks, referring to the bright neon sign outside that reads “YOUNG WINGS.”

Chaeyeon stifles a laugh, nodding in agreement. “He deadass chose a café that has the same name as our group chat. Yep I guess he’s that sentimental.”

Hyunjin and Chaeyeon then get into an intense battle of recalling Jisung’s most “embarrassingly sentimental” moments. Just as you’re about to interrupt, Seungmin enters the café, huge eye bags under his eyes.

“Dude, are you okay?” Hyunjin panics, pulling up a chair for Seungmin to sit on. “When was the last time you slept?”

Seungmin looks even thinner compared to the last time you saw him, which was three months ago. He’s dyed his hair red at the start of the semester, now the color has washed away and his roots are showing. Red looks amazing on Seungmin, you swear to God, but now it just makes him look more tired.

“Let me order you a drink,” Chaeyeon says, making her way to the counter. Hyunjin scoots closer to his friend, offering his shoulder. “Here, sleep. I’ll wake you up when Jisung arrives,” he suggests as you slowly push Seungmin’s head to Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Do you know any of his SNU friends?” you ask Hyunjin, who only shakes his head slightly. “No. Does he ever talk about them? It seems like he doesn’t do anything but study.”

Chaeyeon returns with a cup of jasmine tea, setting it down in front of a fast-asleep Seungmin. “Oh God, he’s dying,” she whispers, taking off his glasses. None of you says anything for a while, just listening to Seungmin’s soft snore while staring at the door.

“That’s them,” Hyunjin breaks the silence, waving his hand at Jisung and his pink-haired friend before turning to Seungmin. You almost want to stop him from waking the redhead up, but Jisung’s loud voice already makes him stir.

“What’s going on?” Jisung’s voice drops as his eyes land on Seungmin. Chaeyeon only sighs, politely telling Jisung’s friend to sit down. “Should we just let him sleep?” she wonders, asking for Jisung’s permission. The blue-haired boy nods, but Hyunjin grunts in protest. “Can we switch? My shoulder is aching already.”

“I’ll do it,” Jisung offers. “I’m gonna order first.”

Chaeyeon averts her attention to the man sitting beside her. “Jisung as talked about you a lot!” she chirps. He smiles, showcasing his dimples. “I’m Bang Chan. I bet Jisung has talked about you guys a lot more than he talked about me!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I even know your names already! You are,” he stops to point at Hyunjin. “Tall, goddamn handsome, pillowy lips. You must be Hwang Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin looks at him in awe. “How the fuck did you memorize all of that?” he mutters, earning a proud smirk from Chan. He darts his eyes to you, clapping his hands excitedly. “You! You’re Y/N, right? The one who made Jisung start doing all of this.”

You raised your eyebrows as Chaeyeon gasps. “What did he tell you about me?”

“Nothing, actually. Just the fact that Hyunjin gives you heart eyes all the time.”

“And me? How about me?!” Chaeyeon squeals a bit too loud, forgetting that Seungmin is still sleeping on Hyunjin’s shoulder. Chan laughs, pretending to think hard before flashing her a smile. “You’re Lee Chaeyeon, Jisung’s favorite girl.”

Chaeyeon’s cheeks turn pink at his statement, causing Hyunjin to whistle. “He won’t shut up about you,” Chan explains, nudging Chaeyeon playfully. “Although all you do is nag at him.”

“Jisung can’t survive without Chaeyeon’s nagging,” Seungmin suddenly quips. He pats Hyunjin’s back, mouthing a thank you before stretching his body. “And you’re the perfect, almighty Kim Seungmin,” Chan utters, almost starstruck.

“What’s with that look?” Seungmin asks him, sipping his lukewarm jasmine tea. “There’s literally nothing you can’t do. I kept asking Jisung if you were real,” he shares. Seungmin only laughs, reaching out to give Chaeyeon a pat on her head. “Thanks for the tea.”

“Jisung said you have a lot of idol friends!” Chaeyeon exclaims. Chan shakes his head bashfully. “Out of all things he told you that?” he chuckles. You and Chaeyeon are into idol groups thesedays, so you pester Chan to tell you who are the ones he’s friends with.

“Well, I’m friends with Wanna One’s Daehwi and Woojin. I know Pentagon’s Yuto too. Hmm, who else?” he muses while all of you are focusing on him. “Ah! I’m close with Stray Kids’ Lee Jungjin. He recently released a solo album, you guys know him, right?”

The whole table freezes, shooting Hyunjin a worried look. “I see,” Seungmin responds with an awkward laugh. “So are you guys preparing for the audition? Jisung said you two are going to Show Me the Money this year.”

Chan notices Seungmin’s lame attempt to change the topic, but brushes it off.

 “Yeah, we are. I think it’ll be a good experience for us,” he says, looking relieved when Jisung comes back.

“Man, the line is long,” he sighs, putting down his chocolate float on the table. Chaeyeon gives him a look that pretty much says, “Please save us,” and he complies, although you’re sure he doesn’t know what the hell is going on. You grab Hyunjin’s hand under the table, lacing your fingers with his.

Hyunjin squeezes your hand, turning to Chan with a hardened expression he’s trying so hard to hide. “I just remembered that I have something to do,” he announces. “It was nice meeting you, Chan. Good luck with the audition, and don’t hesitate to knock some senses into this stupid squirrel if he’s being annoying.” Jisung is about to retort, but Seungmin stops him.

“Call me when you finish, I’ll pick you up. Both of you,” Hyunjin tells you, pointing at Chaeyeon as well. Chaeyeon nods as Jisung stares at you in confusion. Hyunjin gives you a quick kiss on your temple before heading out of the café.

“Did I say something wrong?” Chan asks, looking guilty and confused at the same time. You, Seungmin, and Chaeyeon exchange glances, wondering whether Chan should know about what happened between Hyunjin and Jungjin.

Jisung is busy with his phone, his fingers typing impatiently and you instantly know that he’s texting Hyunjin. You wait until he gets a reply, while Seungmin and Chaeyeon try to dismiss the conversation.

“Chan I’m going to talk about this just once and you have to keep it a secret, okay?” Jisung instructs. You heave a sigh when Chan nods; you’ve always wanted to know more about Jungjin, but Hyunjin always refused to talk about him in details.

“Lee Jungjin was the one who bullied Hyunjin, along with some other trainees. And he was also the one chosen to replace Hyunjin in Stray Kids when his parents pulled him out of the group.”

-

Hyunjin is already waiting for you in front of the girls’ dormitory building when you arrive. Seungmin, Jisung and Chaeyeon bid you goodbye, but not without silently asking you to update them about your boyfriend.

“See you later, loverboy!” Jisung shouts as Chaeyeon drags him away. Hyunjin immediately wraps his arms around you the moment you get close enough to him. “Chaeyeon’s not going home?” he asks as Seungmin waves at him.

“They’re going for a drink,” you explain, booping his nose with yours. Jisung is going to concentrate on his audition and wants to spend some time with all of you before going M.I.A for a while. You wanted to join, but you knew Hyunjin was waiting for you and wouldn’t be in the mood for socializing. Today was the first time you saw Hyunjin incredibly upset after two years, and luckily your friends think it’s important to console him.

“When’s Mina coming back from New York?” he asks. Mina is currently on tour with her ballet company, and you know that affects Hyunjin more than he wants to admit. One of his best friends is cementing her position as a top dancer, something he desperately wants to pursue as well.

“Probably next month. Hopefully Jisung and Chan pass the preliminary round so Mina will get a chance to see them perform live,” you mutter, squishing his face with your hands when he starts to pout. “How are you feeling?”

Hyunjin sighs as you release your hold on his face. He seems hesitant to tell you; Jungjin is a topic you guys never talk about after high school ended. “I was just… mad. I thought I was doing okay. I no longer want to punch a wall everytime I see him on TV or billboards. I thought I forgave him.” He pulls at his hair in frustration. “But when Chan brought him up… I’m sorry. I ruined the night, didn’t I?”

“It’s fine. Forgiving someone who did something horrible to you isn’t easy. It needs time,” you reassure him. “But will you-”

“I will,” Hyunjin cuts you. “I’ll call Jisung later.”

“You have to stop doing that.”

“What?”

“Reading my mind. Only Seungmin can do that.”

Hyunjin laughs, giving you one last kiss on your cheek before pushing you towards the building. “Good night, Y/N,” he says. You smile at him, your heart feeling heavy as he turns around. This is the beginning of another break down, you can feel it. Hyunjin hasn’t been like himself lately, and what happened tonight only makes it worse.

“Jinjin!” you call out, running to catch up with him. You grab his hand, tiptoeing to capture his lips with yours. Hyunjin rests his hand on the small of your back, bending down so you don’t need to stretch your body. He sighs, trying to whisper how much he loves you in between the kiss. His eyes look slightly brighter when you pull away. “What is this? Usually I’m the one stealing kisses from you,” he asks in an amused tone. You place another kiss on the corner of his lips, hoping that your next few words will make a little difference.

“I’m here for you, Jinjin,” you whisper.

Hyunjin chuckles, light and happy and you’re praying that it will always sound like that.

“I know.”

-

Jisung and Chan turn out to be the biggest sensations on Show Me the Money, with the show constantly highlighting their friendly rivalry and sweet bromance. Tonight is the semifinal, and Jisung has invited all of you to watch him perform live. “If I get eliminated, at least I’ll have people to cry with later,” he said.

Hyunjin has gone full hip-hop for tonight, sporting a black shirt and ripped jeans with a metal lip ring adorning his bottom lip. He’s wearing his usual silver cross necklace along with some new ones, and also a white bucket hat. You don’t know whether you should be embarrassed, but you gotta admit that your boyfriend looks hot. “Will we get to see Zico? Will the producers come out?” He cranes his neck to see the stage better, his hand resting on your hips.

Chaeyeon, who’s also gone full hip-hop with her black leather jacket , stockings, and denim shorts, is pumped up with equal excitement. “I don’t think so but they’re supposed to be backstage? We’re basically breathing the same air!”

“There are a lot of hip-hop concerts and festivals you can go to, you don’t need to embarrass us like this,” Seungmin comments. You laugh, trying to ignore other girls (and boys) who keep checking Hyunjin out.

“Have you been to one?” you ask, waving at Mina when you spot her entering the venue. “I’ve been to hundreds,” Seungmin corrects you, causing Hyunjin and Chaeyeon to immediately whip their heads to him. “What? Day6 isn’t the only band I like.”

The conversation is cut short as the MC appears and Mina joins you. All of you scream on the top of your lungs throughout Jisung’s performance, in which he spits fire and exudes such a mindblowing charisma that everyone here will never even imagine that Han Jisung a.k.a J.One gets blasted by all of you (especially Chaeyeon) at least twice a day.

“If he keeps this up, he can really advance to final round, don’t you think?” you whisper to Hyunjin, who’s not bouncing up and down anymore. He’s focused on Jisung, following his every movement. The audience cheers as the song ends, shouting “J.One! J.One! J.One” so loudly you think you’re going deaf. Hyunjin keeps his eyes on the stage, watching Jisung saluting the crowd as the lights go out.

He’s looking at the stage with so much longing and sadness, and the familiar feeling of seeing someone you love falling into a limbo tugs at your heartstrings.

-

“There’s something wrong with Hyunjin.”

You look up from your book to see Jeongin standing in front of you with a worried face. “It started a while back, but I thought he was just stressed with assignments or something.”

“What happened?” you croak, wanting to hear everything while expecting Jeongin to say that he’s joking. You and Hyunjin haven’t really been talking these days, mainly because he constantly shuts you out while you feel like giving up.

You’re not giving up on Hyunjin. Not now, not ever!

Jeongin bites his lips, trying to relay the information as calmly as possible. “At first he was just mumbling nonsense in his sleep. Then he started shouting, I can’t describe it but it was really scary,” he says. “He does nothing but working on his assignments. Like, can you imagine Hyunjin being studious? He won’t even talk to me. When I asked him why he was all serious and gloomy, he said he’s trying not to get lost.”

Lost. This is it. The beginning of the end.

“I don’t want to be rude but, are you guys fighting?”

You shake your head. “He’s just… a bit stressed out, that’s all. I’m just giving him space.”

“I think Hyunjin needs you, Y/N.”

You know that. You fully understand how much Hyunjin needs you right now. It’s just, it’s hard. It’s hard for you to constantly trying to cheer him up, to make him know that everything’s going to okay.

“If Hyunjin makes you worried, if his behavior is stressing you out, you can ask to get a new roommate, Jeongin. It’s okay,” you tell him, but Jeongin scoffs. “I’m staying. This is our Hyunjin, Y/N. I’ll figure things out if you don’t want to.”

Jeongin doesn’t even look at you during the entire lecture. You, meanwhile, keep looking at his direction, hoping he’ll give you a chance to explain yourself. But do you even know how to explain your feelings to yourself? You’re never good at the whole “I’ll always be there for you” thing; you always want to run when things get hard. You avoid everything, as if nothing is more important than living without worries.

You’ve promised Hyunjin so many times that you’ll always hold his hand, to never let go. But now you’re not sure anymore.

-

felix: park jinyoung is back in korea

felix: i think you should know

felix: he just called me. asked for your number

You nearly drop your phone when you read Felix’s message. Jinyoung left Korea shortly before you moved to JYP High. Shortly after you broke up with him. You know he didn’t leave only because of you, but if you stayed by his side, maybe he wouldn’t have left.

y/n: did you give him to him

y/n: felix

felix: you know theres no way i’d tell him “y/n has a new bf now pls move on” right

felix: you cant avoid him forever

y/n: i know

Hyunjin is sitting in front of you, looking out of the window while sipping his Americano. “Baby?” he calls out, tapping your fingers. You look up, forcing yourself to smile when you meet his tired eyes. You decided to pay him a visit at his dorm while Jeongin is out of town with his friends.

“Yeah?”

“Something bothering you?” he asks.

“What? Nothing.”

“You sure?”

“I should be the one asking you that,” you say sternly. Hyunjin frowns, snatching your phone from you. He opens Felix’s messages, and his eyes become darker as he reads all the recent messages. You reach for his hand, trying to get your phone back. “Hyunjin.”

“Who’s Park Jinyoung?” he demands.

“No one.”

“Your ex-boyfriend? Or are you cheating on me?”

“Hyunjin, please.”

He stops, handing your phone back to you before crossing his arms. You never meant to keep Jinyoung a secret, but you’re not proud of what you did to him. It only reminds you of how selfish you are, how bad of a person you are.

“Jinyoung was my boyfriend in high school,” you explain. “During the 11th grade he and his brother got into a car accident. He survived, his brother didn’t.”

Hyunjin doesn’t say anything, but signals you to continue. “I cared about Jinyoung, I really did. I still do, but he wasn’t the same anymore after the accident.”

“Anyone wouldn’t be okay after such a tragedy, I know. It didn’t make me like him any less, but then he… refused to talk to anyone and kept throwing tantrums. I tried to help him, but after a few months I couldn’t take it anymore. I gave up.”

You finally have the nerve to look into Hyunjin’s eyes although what you’re going to say is going to break his heart. “I broke up with him. I told him I couldn’t stay anymore.”

“I’m sorry, Hyunjin. I know I shouldn’t have done that. I feel so, so sorry. You must be disappointed-”

“Is that why you’re with me now?” he cuts you off. “Because you feel sorry for me? Because you want to redeem yourself?”

He stands up, eyes brimming up with tears as he walks towards his door and opens it. “I knew it,” he mutters through gritted teeth. “Poor Hwang Hyunjin got bullied and now he’s all fucked!” he shouts.

“You’re not, Hyunjin. You can still dance again—”

“I don’t want to disappoint my parents, okay?! I’m all they have so I can’t do whatever I want just because I feel like it.”

Hyunjin is already crying at this point, and you’ve never felt this broken before. The past two years feel like a dream, a sweet dream you both refuse to wake up from. Reality bites, and it bites you hard.

“You didn’t even ask why I chose to go to college,” he quivers. “I told myself that I would stop dancing after high school. No more training. No more auditioning. I have to get myself together. For them. For you.”

Hyunjin takes a deep breath before gripping your shoulders. His next words feel like knives jabbing at your heart. “If you can’t handle me anymore, you can leave. You’re tired, aren’t you?”

You desperately want to tell him no. I love you, Hyunjin, you’re not a burden.

But nothing comes out.

-

“How have you been?”

You wish you can choose not to answer that question, but you smile, hoping that it will conceal the sorrow in your eyes. “I’ve been okay. How about you?”

Jinyoung clasps his hands together as if expecting your response. He only stares at you, like he’s rehearsing a scenario in his head. “I’m fine. Much better,” he answers, and you release the breath you didn’t know you’ve been holding.

“Look, Y/N. I just want to apologize for everything I did back in high school. It must’ve been tough for you.”

You shake your head while he’s smiling at you, as if knowing how you’ll react—once again. “No, Jinyoung. I’m sorry for leaving you when you needed me the most.”

The Jinyoung sitting in front of you right now is the extreme opposite of the Jinyoung you left. He’s no longer drowned. He’s no longer lost. He’s alive and well and whole, like the first love you cherished and treasured.

“I was angry at you for a long time,” Jinyoung confesses. “One day I found my old phone, the one I used before we broke up.”

“I read all the messages you sent me. You asked me whether I ate, whether I felt okay. You panicked when I skipped school. You apologized; damn you kept saying sorry although I was the one being an asshole.”

“It’s okay. You were grieving—”

“That’s not a reason,” Jinyoung says. “I thought I was the most miserable person on Earth. Maybe I was, to some extent. But then I realized that you were hurting too. You were close to my brother as well.”

“I wasn’t the only one who lost him. You did too. And then you lost me.”

Jinyoung chuckles when he sees you tearing up. “Don’t cry,” he coos, patting your head. “I thought I was alone, that nobody understood me. But you were there. Felix was there. Everybody was trying to understand me.”

“Felix told me you have a boyfriend now?” he asks.

You almost nod your head. “I don’t know anymore.”

Jinyoung smiles knowingly (now that you think about it, Jinyoung really reminds you of Seungmin), offering you tissues to wipe your tears. “You’ll figure it out, you’re not a bad person, Y/N. I’ll testify for you if you need me to!”

No matter what side you’re on—good or evil, love or hate, truth or lie—the choices will always be there, ready to attack you at the most unpredictable time. You won’t call yourself a good person; God you probably don’t deserve even half the things you have right now. But you’re going to fight for them. You’re going to fight for Hyunjin.

So you smile, and this time it’s a genuine one.

-

“When are you guys going home?” Seungmin nags, glaring at you and Chaeyeon who are sprawled on his bed, laughing at random Instagram videos. The two of you barged into his house two hours ago, completely sabotaging his study session… on purpose.

“Come on, Kim Seungmin, get a life!” Chaeyeon replies as you sit up, eyeing him from head to toe. “You seem totally out of it. You okay?”

“Why won’t I be okay?”

Seungmin doesn’t really bottle up his emotions anymore, but there are times when he scares you with how flatly he dismisses questions about his well-being. “You’re not going through the same crisis as Hyunjin, are you?”

Chaeyeon sits up at your question, and Seungmin laughs. “I’m fine. I work hard, but I also play hard.”

“By going to hundreds of hiphop concerts?” Chaeyeon teases.

He rolls his eyes at her. “I have other friends, for God’s sake. Didn’t you guys see all my Instagram updates?”

When neither of you responds, Seungmin grabs a notebook from his desk. He flips through the pages quickly before stopping on a page full of flowcharts and notes. “I’m starting a project. I hope I can somehow use this as my graduation project. If not, well then, I’m screwed.”

Chaeyeon takes the notebook from him, humming in approval as she reads all the details. “You’re starting a website? For kids like us? What do you mean?”

“I went through so much shit after I told my parents I wanted to become a baseball player,” Seungmin explains. “Then I got into singing, but I never want to go through that again. It was hard, but things got better eventually. I enjoy what I’m doing now.” He turns to you. “So, to answer your question, no. I’m not going through the same thing Hyunjin is dealing with now.”

You give him a playful smirk. “Although Seo Changbin signed with KIA Tigers?”

“Although Seo Changbin signed with KIA Tigers.”

Chaeyeon fakes a yawn while she, in fact, is hiding a smile. “Sooo… in conclusion?”

“There are kids like me, and then there are kids like Hyunjin, who will never be able to live peacefully before doing what they’re really passionate about,” he continues. “There are kids like Jisung who can be so confident and insecure all at once.”

“In conclusion, I want to create a space for everybody. To let them know that there will always be a place for them no matter what kind of shit they’re dealing with. That’s it. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk!”

Now Seungmin is exchanging looks with Chaeyeon, and you figure it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room.

“Let me get this clear. You and Hyunjin didn’t break up, right?” Chaeyeon asks, munching on the potato chips she’s sharing with Seungmin.

“None of us said that word, but I don’t think that’s important now.”

“How is that not important?” Chaeyeon presses, and suddenly you realize how weird the situation is. You’re talking about your relationship with Hyunjin with Chaeyeon—who had feelings for Hyunjin and Seungmin—who had feelings for you.

“Let’s talk about that later.”

“Y/N.”

Chaeyeon sighs, grabbing your slumped shoulder so she can look directly into your eyes. “I had a crush on Hyunjin. You love Hyunjin. That’s a whole different case. You can talk to me.”

“I didn’t sing in front of the whole school for you guys to break up like this,” Seungmin says, causing you to blush when you remember that he dedicated Day6’s First Time to you. You have to admit that you haven’t listened to the song ever since he did that.

“I let Hyunjin down.”

“Everyone lets somebody down,” Seungmin replies.

“Yeah. Thesedays Jisung always calls me in the wee hours in the morning and I never pick up. Now he’s sulking."

“Lee Chaeyeon, you and Jisung are practically dating.”

“We’re not!”

Seungmin mimics Chaeyeon’s expression before punching her shoulder playfully. “He’s just too scared to confess and you’re just too proud to admit that you like him.”

“Stop it!”

-

Jeongin has bombarded you with messages, but all of them can be summed up into one sentence: Hwang Hyunjin is a mess. You’ve been waiting for the right time to talk to him, but now you find it ironic.

You’re looking, searching, yearning for the right time while losing it at the same time.

After Seungmin and Chaeyeon convinced you to stop dragging this around, you finally texted Hyunjin. Now you’re alone in the middle of the night, reading Hyunjin’s simple “okay” after you asked him to meet you at a small playground near your dormitory where you often hang out together. A familiar shadow walks in your direction, and before you can stop yourself, you have run towards it.

Luckily, it does turn out to be Hyunjin.

“Hey.”

He stops, frowning when he notices that you’re not wearing any jacket. “It’s cold,” he comments in a disapproving tone, but you only shake your head. “I’m fine.”

“Y/N.”

“We have more important things to talk about than me not wearing jacket, Hwang Hyunjin.”

“Okay,” he replies, leading you to one of the benches. Hyunjin takes off his jacket and drapes it around your shoulders. You inhale, staring into his tired eyes and you want to kill yourself for making him even more miserable than he already is.

“I’m in love with you,” you mutter, using the exact same words he used when he first confessed to you. Hyunjin blinks before averting his gaze to a stray dog near the bushes. “How can you be in love with me? Not the one everyone knows, but me.”

“Because you’re my Hyunjin. I love the smiley, clingy, energetic, hard-working, brave, and somehow flirty Hyunjin. But then I realized that even if you’re struggling or stressing out or feeling lost… you’re still you. You’re still the one I’m in love with.”

“Who do you talk to when you feel sad?” he asks firmly. “Not me, right?”

Hyunjin’s eyes don’t seem tired anymore. They’re now burning with anger, and you have no idea how to respond to that. He then pulls you into his embrace, caressing your hair softly although you can feel how upset he is. “I wanted to be angry at you but this is happening because of me. You’re tired, sad, and confused because of me. I’m dragging you down.”

“You’re not,” you counter. “There are times when I’m lost too, Hyunjin. But no, I don’t want to leave.”

He pulls away, sighing as you smile at him. “I’m sorry,” he pleads. “Am I being selfish if I still want to start over? I want to take care of you, Y/N. I want to listen to your rambles, I want to eat ice cream at 1AM during winter with you, and I want to wake up to you calling me Jinjin. But I also want to hug you when you feel sad, I want to hear all your problems, I want to help you solve them. Just like what you’ve been doing for me all this time.”

He starts to smile as well when yours get wider. “No,” you answer, tucking your head in the crook of his neck. “That means you love me.”

“I do,” he quickly says, wrapping his arms around you again like he’s afraid that you will change your mind. “I don’t deserve you, but will you let me try?”

You hum, relishing the comfort of his body heat as he lifts you so that you’ll sit on his lap. “Do you want me to sneak you inside the dorm?” Hyunjin offers, trying to take out his phone from his back pocket.

“You have a ball of sass as your roommate,” you remind him. Jeongin will roast you for another fifty years if you end up sneaking in and kicking him out of his own room, even though you’re sure that Hyunjin will have to endure more than that.

After making exaggerated scenarios of how Jeongin will react if Hyunjin really ends up bringing you back, you spend the rest of the night curling up in Hyunjin’s arms, constantly checking if there are people around. Your boyfriend, meanwhile, makes it clear that he doesn’t give a damn. He kisses your cheeks every 2 minutes (you’re shamelessly counting and proud of it), listening to all sorts of stories you tell him.

“What are you going to do now? Are you going to drop out?”

“No. I haven’t told my parents anything,” Hyunjin states. “I’ll just start dancing again for now.”

He shifts under you, lifting your chin to look into your eyes. “Are you feeling better?” he whispers, his gaze mirroring his shaky voice.

“You’re here. How can I not feel better?”

Hyunjin beams at you as he leans closer to crash his lips on yours. “I’ve missed you,” he rasps, cupping your face to kiss you harder. You want to reply, but everytime his lips make contact with yours, you feel dizzy. Hyunjin whines when you’re pulling away, so you comply, letting him kiss you more slowly. He then trails open-mouthed kisses along your jawline and neck before nipping your collarbone. “Jinjin,” you call out breathlessly.

He looks up. “Hmm?”

“Just promise me one thing.” You reach for his hand, feeling his slender fingers wrap yours in an instant. “Don’t ever let me go.”

“I promise.”

-

“You’re friends with CB97 and never told me about it. I’m rioting!” Jeongin stomps his feet on the ground as he has his ticket checked. Jisung and Chan are Show Me the Money’s newest winner and runner-up respectively, and the two are inviting all of you to their first solo concert.

Felix is recording his surroundings with his phone, pushing Jeongin’s head out of his way as he’s shooting the empty stage. “Jisung will take photos with us, right Y/N?”

“Why are you so obsessed with taking photos with Jisung?” Hyunjin shudders. “I swear it’s nothing special.”

The freckled boy points at his phone. “Gotta do it for the ‘gram, man.”

Mina, who just arrived in Seoul this morning, waves her phone in front of you and Hyunjin. “I have a surprise for you, Hwang Hyunjin!” she squeals as Chaeyeon grabs her phone to read news from an entertainment website.

“Ballerina Myoui Mina has been added to the Dancing with the Stars lineup,” she reads loudly. Seungmin, Jeongin, and Felix clap at this while you and Chaeyeon are grinning, knowing what the news is about.

“When asked about whom her partner, she said,” Chaeyeon pauses, gesturing at Mina to deliver the good news herself.

Mina clears her throat. “She said, ‘This has never been done before but I begged the producers to cast a friend of mine.’ “

Hyunjin perks up at the word friend, but says nothing while Seungmin mutters a surprised, “Ah!”

“’And that friend is my best friend from high school, Hwang Hyunjin.’”

All of you gather around Hyunjin, giving him a tight group hug. Other people are eyeing you with annoyance but none of you cares. Seungmin and Jeongin are beyond ecstatic, trying to attack the tall boy with kisses.

“Myoui Mina!” Hyunjin exclaims as he shoves Jeongin off. “You’re the best!” he shouts, causing Mina to laugh. Everyone has realized that the graceful and famous Mina is here in the middle of audience; they’re now snapping photos of her while whispering to each other. 

“Oh anyways, I also have a surprise for you.” Hyunjin takes out his phone to show you a poster of Lee Jungjin. “He’s holding a concert. I’ve booked tickets for us.”

You squeal, smooching his cheek hard. “I’m proud of you. So proud.”

The music is getting louder and soon, Jisung appears on stage. He just stands there, looking at his fans with so much gratitude. “He’s looking at them like that but can you guys guess what he’s thinking about?” Chaeyeon asks.

“Hmm… he’s forgetting his lyrics?” Seungmin guesses.

Jeongin adds, “He forgot his lyrics and now writing the new one inside his head.”

“This is Han Jisung we’re talking about,” Chaeyeon scoffs. “Pay attention. He wants to pee.”

You snort, about to voice out a witty reply but Jisung has greeted the audience. “Chan and I originally wanted to start with a club banger. But then we decided to dedicate our first and last songs to our loved ones, especially to our friends and family who are here today.”

He points at your direction, waving back at Mina who can barely contain her excitement. “I started writing this song during high school, when I was insecure and unsure about what I wanted to do,” Jisung continues. “I just found out recently that I never finished writing it, so I did it and now I’m going to perform it for the first time.”

The crowd goes wild as the instrumental starts to play. “This is for my friends, my family; the ones who never leave no matter how many times I’ve made them worried.”

“Also, Lee Chaeyeon!”

Jisung stops to locate Chaeyeon, smiling when he finds his girlfriend fiddling with the hem of her blouse, feeling uncomfortable with the attention she’s getting. “Don’t worry, you’ll hear the song I wrote just for you later.”

He smirks, eyes glinting with mischief that always annoys Chaeyeon. “I’m breaking up with him,” she mutters through gritted teeth while glancing at her shoes. “I set my Instagram to private because of this bastard and his popularity and now he’s embarrassing me in public! He’s dead.”

Mina giggles, forcing her to look at the stage because Jisung continues to stare at her (and all of you). When Chaeyeon finally looks up, he gives her a different kind of smile you’ve never seen before. “This is ‘I See,’” he announces.

“Truthfully I’m very much weak-hearted

If the night is really dark, I’ll be too scared to sleep.”

Hyunjin glances at you, who’s burying your face in his chest because you’re crying. He chuckles, wrapping his arm around you. “Was this one of the songs you read on his notebook?” You nod, sobbing harder as Chaeyeon approaches you with teary eyes. She hugs you from the side, crying along with you.

“Eh eh thank you for worrying about me.

Thank you!”

Soon, all of you are huddled together, with the girls crying and the boys cursing at Jisung for making them cry too. “I can’t believe I’m tearing up at what Han Jisung is rapping,” Seungmin sniffles, smacking Hyunjin on his back when the latter laughs at him.

Jisung crouches down as he gets to the last few lines, wiping his own tears. “He’s already crying and it’s only the first song. Unbelievable,” Chaeyeon sobs.

“Just wait right there, I’ll reach it someday

Stop the clock for a while

The flower will blossom someday

This rocky fantasy

I’ll make sure that I’ll reach that mirage and catch you.”

“J.ONEEEEEEEEE!” you shout as the song comes to an end. You look at each of your friends; Felix who’s gone through everything with you, Mina who’s helped you to feel better about yourself, Seungmin who’s sacrificed a lot for everyone, Chaeyeon and Jeongin who have always been honest to you, and Jisung who’s made you feel loved and appreciated.

And then there’s Hyunjin.

He may not always be the dreamy, mesmerizing Hyunjin you fell in love with back in high school. But this Hyunjin—the one who’s facing his demons, the one who’s showering you with more and more love each day, the one who’s fighting for his dreams—is the Hyunjin whom you want to spend the rest of your life with.

“Mina, will you take a photo with me too?” Felix suddenly asks as Chan enters the stage.

“Lee Felix, stop being such a fanboy!” you protest.

Mina nods, flashing Felix her sweetest smile. “Sure! Who else wants a pic with me?”

Seungmin turns to Felix, wiggling his finger in front him. “Don’t do it,” he warns. “I did that once and my comment section was flooded with my friends asking me to introduce them to her.”

“Shut up!” Chaeyeon snaps. “Please appreciate my boyfriend who’s invited all of you to this holy concert.” 

“You want to break up with him, remember?” Hyunjin jokes.

Everyone bursts into a hearty laugh, and you realize how far all of you have come. You and your best friends have survived many obstacles together, and you’re sure there will be more hardships in the future. But you’ll be fine. You have each other, and it’s safe to say that all of you have made a silent promise to always hold each other’s hands. To never let go.

-

* a convenience store in Korea

AND THATS IT!!!! I’ve finished the most tiring project ever. I hope you can somehow relate to this and feel better about yourself. I really love our little group of friends, I love writing about them a lot. Oh, the translation for I See’s lyrics (this is one of Jisung’s solo mixtape anyways!) belongs to @/seungmnis on Twitter! 

[samscns-blog]

      *    𝖎𝖋   ur  ready  to  two  step  into  some  absolute  BULLSHIT  tomfoolery  ,  ya  girl  𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧  is  ready  for  u  with  my  lil  firecrotch  son  ,  𝖘𝖆𝖒𝖘𝖔𝖓  .  strong  silent  type  ,  ABSOLUTE  buffoon  ,  barely  keeping  it  together  so  hopefully  by  the  time  we’re  done  w  him  he’s  still  in  something  resembling  one  piece  :’)  all  my  love  to  u  and  u  cute  asses  !  i’m  so  excited  to  get  this  all  poppin  !

⋆  ╰  another   year   at   hollingsworth   ,  another   year   of   the  big   six rivalry   .   i   hear   that  SAMSON  MAILOTO   is   ensuring  SIGMA  ALPHA  NU   gets   a   solid   pledge   class   and   stays   at   the   top   of   the   ranks   .  oh   ,   you’re   not   familiar   with  HIM  ?  SAM   is   the  KJ  APA   look   alike   from  THE  BRONX   ,   NEW  YORK   .   a  part   of   PC  ‘16   ,  he  is   majoring   in  KINESIOLOGY   and   has   plans   to  ENTER  THE  MMA  AND  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  PUBLIC  EYE   after   undergrad   .   it   makes   sense   they   pledged   their   house   ,   their  PHLEGMATIC   &  SOLICITOUS   attributes   make   them   perfect   matches   .   however   ,   their  TREPIDATIOUS   &  AUSTERE   attributes   keep   their   name   alive   on  greek   rank   .   if   you   don’t   catch   them   dancing   to  BLEACH   -   BROCKHAMPTON   at   a   fraternity   band   party   this   year   ,   you’ll   be   sure   to   catch   them   nursing   their   morning   hangover   at  THE  SNU  HOUSE   .  cheers   to   another   wild   semester  !

⋆ ╰   𝑺 𝑻 𝑨 𝑻 𝑰 𝑺 𝑻 𝑰 𝑪 𝑺  .

𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍    𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 :     samson  ioaleki  mailoto

𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬     :    sam  ,  sammy  

𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆    /    𝒂𝒈𝒆 :    february  4    ,    twenty

𝒛𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒄     :    aquarius

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓    𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚    /    𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒔     :     cismale  identifying    with    he  /  him  /  his  pronouns    

𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏     :     heteroflexible  and  pansexual  ;  he’s  never  actively  considered  himself  as  lgbtq+  but  has  also  never  given  it  much  thought  ddjdjdjdkjdk

𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏    :    kinesiology  major  at  hu  ,  aspiring  welterweight  mma  fighter  ,  us  olympic  representitive  for  men’s  boxing  in  the  2020  olympics

𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔    𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆    :    gryffindor

𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏    𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅    𝒃𝒚     :     eliot  alder  from  mr  robot  ,  kylo  ren  from  the  new  star  wars  series  ,  detective  elliot  stabler  from  law  and  order  svu  ,  steve  rogers  from  the  mcu  

𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔    :    -    trepidatious  ,  austere  ,  apprehensive  ,  hesitant  ,  antisocial  ,  hostile  ,  bellicose  .

+        phlegmatic  ,  solicitous  ,  benevolent  ,  rational  ,  stalwart  ,  loyal  ,  reliable  ,  optimistic  .

𝑃𝐼𝑁𝑇𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑆𝑇  located  here  !

⋆ ╰    𝑨 𝑵 𝑻 𝑬 𝑪 𝑬 𝑫 𝑬 𝑵 𝑻 .

bullet  points  for  the  win  bc  who  has  time  for  all  the  tomfoolery  i  could  spew  from  my  ass  !

sammy’s  mom  was  a  housekeeper  in  upper  manhattan  for  some  fancy  dancy  homes  who  needed  their  gold  toilet  seat  covers  sanitized  3x  a  day  ,  u  know  the  type 🙄

samson  grew  up  in  a  run  down  apartment  in  a  small  samoan  community  in  the  bronx  and  has  always  been  a  lil  antisocial  weirdo  since  those  warm  dark  eyes  came  into  the  light  .  he  rlly  minded  his  own  business  n  wasn’t  really  curious  about  literally  anything  besides  running  and  wrestling  w  his  cousins  .  his  mom  struggled  to  keep  him  fed  and  housed  and  dressed  and  worked  relentless  hours  but  never  left  sam  needing  anything  ,  a  literal  fucking  legend  of  a  woman  and  he’s  proud  to  carry  her  last  name  !

sammy  always  felt  the  weight  of  never  wanting  to  be  an  extra  burden  to  his  mother  and  learned  to  really  be  self-sufficient  ,  likely  explaining  his  satisfaction  with  being  so  alone  

he  vaguely  remembers  the  night  his  life  changed  in  middle  school  ,  the  hushed  strained  whisper  from  the  living  room  ,  he’s  your  god  damned  son  too  ,  think  about  him  for  once  in  your  fucking  life  .  it  hit  like  a  fucking  train  once  the  story  picked  up  ,  5  time  nfl  superbowl  champ  father  to  secret  love  child  .  think  arnold  schwarznegger’s  secret  son  level  scandal  !  suddenly  his  shithead  of  a  dead  is  trying  to  salvage  his  image  ,  fighting  for  split  custody  arrangements  ,  telling  the  press  how  much  in  child  support  he  payed  ,  anything  to  save  his  ass

this  is  the  first  time  samson  remembers  being  fueled  by  rage  in  his  life  ,  as  a  relatively  well-tempered  child  ,  the  injustice  of  having  this  near-stranger  try  to  be  a  “  DAD  ” to  him  while  shitting  all  over  his  mother’s  name  made  his  fucking  blood  boil  and  becomes  a  theme  for  his  future

he  spends  the  next  chapters  of  his  life  going  to  the  fancy  private  schools  in  new  york  his  dad  picks  for  him  and  tearing  his  tie  off  on  the  ratty  bus  ride  into  the  bronx  to  go  home  to  his  mom  .  he  hates  having  to  haul  ass  back  and  forth  ,  wishing  he  could  stay  with  the  only  family  he’s  actually  given  a  shit  about  ,  but  bears  it  for  the  sake  of  not  causing  his  mom  any  more  torment  .  his  father  is  as  awful  as  could  be  imagined  ,  and  samson  hates  every  second  of  existing  with  him  ,  the  snarky  little  comments  at  school  and  in  the  ritzy  wealthy  circles  that  make  him  feel  more  of  a  black  sheep  than  he  ever  asked  to  be

this  becomes  the  root  of  his  anxiety  ,  bearing  the  weight  of  the  world’s  expectations  on  his  young  shoulders  and  repressing  his  own  needs  and  desires  as  a  result  .  he  goes  into  every  sport  imaginable  ,  his  father’s  DNA  being  increasingly  difficult  to  deny  ,  but  finds  a  particular  talent  with  fighting  and  takes  on  as  many  fighting  styles  as  he’s  able  to  master

turning  18  should  mean  freedom  for  sam  ,  but  nothing  is  ever  as  simple  as  he  could  ask  in  his  life  .  in  order  to  keep  the  child  support  payments  that  admittedly  help  keep  his  mother  afloat  ,  his  father  asks  one  more  thing  of  samson  :  hold  off  on  his  pro  mma  dreams  for  just  a  little  longer  in  order  to  attend  his  alma  matter  ,  hollingsworth  university  ,  as  a  publicity  move  and  then  he’ll  be  out  of  sam’s  life  in  every  way  except  financially  .  with  the  dream  of  completing  college  like  his  mom  always  aspired  for  him  ,  sam  agreed  and  went  on  to  appease  the  man  one  last  time  ,  joining  his  former  fraternity  to  sweeten  the  deal  (  and  secure  a  lovely  brownstone  in  his  childhood  neighborhood  signed  in  his  mother’s  name  )  and  is  a  year  out  from  graduating  and  letting  mma  be  the  only  reason  his  name  would  ever  appear  in  the  tabloids  .

⋆ ╰    𝑨 𝑵 𝑨 𝑳 𝒀 𝑺 𝑰 𝑺 .

personality  wise  ,  i  describe  sam  as  the  stupid  bitch  w  big  npc  energy  ,  if  u  want  him  to  talk  u  gotta  talk  to  him  first  and  even  then  he  might  just  give  u  that  hostile  stare  and  just  .. . .  remain  silent  KSDFSDF

he’s  about  as  NOT  a  people  person  as  physically  possible  ,  would  really  be  content  just  sticking  to  his  inner  circle  for  like  the  rest  of  his  life  without  concern  .  he  seems  like  this  rude  stand-offish  dick  but  the  truth  is  he’s  PAINFULLY  SHY  and  has  a  p  severe  case  of  generalized  anxiety  disorder  so  interactions  ?  w  new  ppl  ?  are  a  HARD  pass

did  i  mention  he’s  on  steriods  bc  that  def  adds  to  his  anxiety  and  hostility  !  lmao  !  he  started  juicing  in  high  school  when  his  dad  kept  pressuring  him  for  football  and  how  he  was  “  twice  your  size ”   at  that  age  ,  n  he  HATES  the  dude  but  he’s  also  lowkey  insecure  abt  his  lack  of  a  father  figure  so  ?  used  daddy’s  money  to  start  his  first  cycle  and  pay  off  to  test  clean  and  now  he’s  been  hooked  on  and  off  .  he’s  currently  starting  a  new  cycle  to  bulk  up  for  the  new  season  and  prep  for  the  2020  olympics  but  swears  he  wont  be  on  them  forever  :/

they  make  him  SUPER  aggressive  when  set  off  ,  it’s  a  decent  thing  that  sam’s  so  monotone  and  shy  that  he’s  also  pretty  laid  back  and  kinda  hard  to  rile  up  .  he  really  doesn’t  take  much  personally  and  won’t  do  a  huge  “  chest  pumped  bro  lets  do  this ”  show  bc  he  ?  thinks  all  those  guys  who  do  that  are  tools  LMAO  but  find  the  right  button  to  push  n  he’ll  become  the  very  thing  he  despises  !

if  u  can  get  past  the  literal  awkward  silence  and  resting  bitch  face  ,  sammy  is  actually  really  well  known  for  being  just  a  generally  decent  guy  .  the  perception  is  often  that  he’s  a  dick  bc  he  think’s  he’s  better  than  a  lot  of  ppl  ,  but  the  truth  is  he’s  just  too  nervous  to  start  conversations  n  most  ppl  assume  its  an  ego  thing  vs  a  “  i’m  about  to  piss  myself  thinking  abt  all  the  ways  this  convo  can  go  wrong  so  i’ll  just  not  talk  and  glare  @  u  instead  ”  thing

if  he  had  his  shit  together  he  would  definitely  qualify  as  a  dad  type  ,  but  since  he  doesn’t  ,  he  won’t  SSHSHSHSH  but  he’s  really  just  a  softie  deep  down  ,  he  has  a  stupid  as  HELL  sense  of  humor  and  is  really  objective  and  level  headed  .  the  gryffindor  in  him  is  DEEPLY  loyal  ,  like  to  the  death  ,  but  he’s  got  lots  of  hufflepuff  in  the  sense  that  he’s  really  willing  to  get  his  hands  dirty  to  help  those  in  need  .  u  need  help  moving  ?  someone  to  keep  u  company  while  u  babysit  ?  feel  nervous  walking  alone  after  class  at  night  ?  sammy  might  leave  u  on  read  if  u  text  him  bc  he’s  a  Dumb  Bitch  like  that  but  he’ll  show  up  on  the  dot  ,  hands  in  pockets  ,  exactly  where  u  asked  him  to  be  ready  to  do  what  u  asked  him  to  do  .  the  mans  is  a  super  hard  worker

he  def  still  feels  kinda  weird  at  uni  ?  he’s  p  smart  but  some  of  the  classes  unrelated  to  athletics  and  anatomy  have  given  him  a  REALLY  tough  time  (  dance  appreciation  for  his  fine  arts  credit  almost  tanked  his  gpa  LMAO  )  and  he’s  not  top  of  his  class  or  anything  but  ppl  still  try  to  talk  to  him  bc  of  the  whole  “  famous  dad  ,  future  olympian  ”  thing  ,  which  he  can  pick  up  from  a  mile  a  way  and  makes  him  super  uncomfortable  .  even  being  in  a  frat  w  a  bunch  of  old  money  rich  boys  makes  him  DEF  feel  like  the  odd  one  out  ,  and  he’s  just  counting  down  the  days  until  he’s  OUT  OF  HERE

in  conclusion  :  i  love  u  all  .  lets  suffer  together  .  :~)

[moonbokrk]

Date: 14th June 2019 Location: Seoul Arts High School, Jogno-gu Song used: Octagon by Outsider ft 2TAK, Kuan, Tymee and Bewhy (01:45-02:45) tw: mentions of religion

                                                ~Strongest Skill - RAPPING~

Much to his annoyance, Moonbok has run into the same problem as he did last year, getting his rap audition to meet the 1 minute time goal. Oftentimes, raps in songs sound much longer but when you look at the duration they’re, at most, about 45 seconds. And Moonbok doesn’t want to do anything to risk his chances of making it past the first round.

At least this year, he’d been researching raps far more thoroughly instead of sticking to his favourite artists and panicking because of the length and content. And while he had eventually chosen a song penned by Outsider, it wasn’t his idol’s part he’d chosen to audition with, but Tymee and Bewhy’s raps instead. Like with Cheetah’s Coma 07 from the year before, the lyrics had stood out to him, and he hopes he’s be able to better hold his nerve this time around.

“Jang Moonbok.”

Upon hearing his name, Moonbok calls out an acknowledgment and stands from his seat, pocketing his phone and swapping nods with the other rappers who were sitting around waiting. Once again, he finds himself in a room facing a panel of judges Though this time the intimidation was not there, which meant he had no reason to put on a show of fake bravado for the cameras. Instead, it with an easy smile that he bows to the judges and introduces himself.

“Good morning, my name is Jang Moonbok. Today I’ll be performing Outsiders’ Octagon, specifically Tymee and Bewhy’s raps. I hope you’ll enjoy.”

Once he’s given a nod, he hands over his phone to allow it to be connected to the sound system in the room. Admittedly, he could have performed without a backing track, but Moonbok finds it easier to rap alongside music. It helps him keep in time, not letting him rush ahead or slow down too much. Bouncing on his heels a little, he lets out a breath, his expression fading from a smile into a more determined one.

He won’t make a show of himself like he did last year.

From the second the music begins, he’s off. This is a far faster paced song than Coma 07 or Before the Dawn and Moonbok is glad to show off the fact that he can rap quickly without turning into the verbal equivalent of a keysmash.

Ready, go The fool* is scared to death (expletive edited for audition) Slapping me on my back when I turn around, If you tackle me, I can probably knock you down Looking like a hobo who lost everything Acting like as if you got so much power

There is one reason why he never retaliates to Jiwon’s tormenting of him, besides the vain hope that the other will just get bored because of a lack of reaction from him. It’s because Moonbok knows that, if he truly wanted to, he could beat Jiwon’s ass from one end of the SNU’s music department to the other. He was a graduate from the military, he knows how to handle himself in a violent confrontation, while Jiwon hadn’t even made the moves to be enlisted yet. But Moonbok will never fight back, he won’t sink to the other’s level.

Soul of lies, you said you're calm? Ain't got no swag in reality You've got a long way to go, look at him surrendering already You lost this game the moment you were born

Instead, he hopes this particular segment is shown on television, that Jiwon sees it and realizes that Moonbok might endure his insults and punches, but he’s no longer cowed by him anymore. That he’s not that shy nerdy senior who cried his eyes out on national television at least three times.

This is his warning.

There's no such thing as win-win at the top of this ring Little kid rubbing his chest Hey loser, if you can't go crazy like me, hit the GG and get the heck out of here Before I smack-down you, I won't give up I'll give you a piece of advice, so listen up

Moonbok's not going to lie, he's not sure how much he's matured since his elimination last year. He'd thought he'd come a long way, but Chaewon and Yena's criticisms of his self-written rap had brought him back to earth with a bang. And while he still believed in the words he'd written; they were born from the trauma and guilt he still carried with him, Moonbok can appreciate why Yena said the thing she'd said about it, why Chaewon had laughed her ass off when she'd seen the title.

Moonbok wishes he could go back in time to the year before, to confront his younger self and shake some sense into him. To tell him it's alright to be nervous and uncertain, that acting like he's debut ready is a recipe for disaster. But he can't. All he can do is try to learn from it. And as much as it had hurt, he wouldn't be the person he is today had he not gone through it all. And it's the memories of that time that push him on, even though he's second guessed himself so much, even when he'd half considered not showing up to the auditions at all.

Last year, he'd wanted to prove he was the best, prove to his parents that he was right in pursuing his dream. Now he just wants to prove to himself that despite his flaws, he's still worthy of standing on a stage, even if it doesn't lead to the outcome he wants. It's still this fact that he has trouble accepting, but hopefully someday, he'll come to terms with it.

It's pretty obvious who's the winner between us two, who is next Cut it out already if you don't want to die

He’s not the same Moonbok from last year. He won’t let his insecurities plague him, nor will he let himself be carried away by delusions of grandeur.

I'm J to the M V O K* (Edited to replace bewhy’s name) My weight on the top of this track is completely different from yours So heavy, I am sexy S.T You're running from your life when you see me, return of the David This will be a nightmare for a Goliath like you who only cares about his physique Failure is forever yours

It feels a little conceited to use his stage name in play of bewhy's, but as far as Moonbok is concerned, he's not on the other rapper's level yet, not even close. So he doesn't dare try to use bewhy's name. And as much as he doesn't want to think it, this also feels like a diss against him, reminding him that he's still not the rapper he wants to be. But unlike last year, where he'd been so absorbed in Cheetah's similar lyrics that he'd almost became overwhelmed, it only strengthens Moonbok's resolve to push himself harder. Because surely, one day, he'll be in a place to deserve to write raps praising himself and his growth.

Failure might be forever his right now, but only if he lets himself believe in those words and gives into the pressure from his uncle and walks away. As long as he keeps trying, keeps writing, keeps going to auditions, he'll surely succeed one day. And his uncle will have failed in his efforts to control the image he had of their family name.

He's definitely not sexy though, he's always be a failure in that regard, no matter what some netizens and others might say. In fact, at that particular line, Moonbok fees himself flush and hopes his expression is as serious and as calm as when he started. Him, all of 160cm and a baby face, sexy?! Dream on.

I don't have such thing as a coach, just my god and my way Only the lord will act as my director The residents of I-town have started partying already even though the game hasn't started yet That's because my victory is obvious

Moonbok is not one to be obnoxious about his religion, believing it's not his place to pester people about it one way or the other. But he won't deny that role it's played in his life, or how much it means to him. His faith has been a source of comfort through the hard times, given him inspiration when he needed it and it's been a stepping stone for the start of his musical journey thanks to his church's choir.

He prays now even as he raps that God will give him the strength and courage he needs. That He'll watch over Moonbok and guide him to his destiny, no matter what path it takes. That by the end of his time on the MGAs, no matter how long it may be, that Moonbok will have given his family and friends a reason to celebrate his growth.

The audience you called, the judge inside and outside of the octagon are all your side But, don't play so nasty like that No need to state the obvious, I'm the champion

Once again, he knows that he's at the mercy of the judges and netizens, and of Mnet who'll probably use their evil editing to his disadvantage again. The memories of him being compared to Hojung based on their looks alone, of the focus Mnet had given to his breakdown in the training room and the errors he made on stage make him burn with the injustice of it all. He knows it's effecting him, he can hear it in the way his voice changed to become louder and more forceful as he comes to the end of the rap. But he's not crying this time, not letting his emotions control him. No, he's channeling them into his performance, letting everyone know that even if Mnet play nasty once more and even if he's ripped to shreds by the judges again, he'll become a champion.

The music fades and Moonbok takes a deep breath in, throat dry and suddenly desperate for a bottle of water. But he feels content that how his audition has gone, he kept control of himself this time, there's no tears in his eyes, his breathlessness is not from the emotional overload. Just a feeling that, hopefully, he's proved himself. His serious expression once more fades into a smile and he bows to the judges before him again.

"Thank you for listening to me. I hope you liked my performance."

When he gets the signal to be dismissed, Moonbok heads back into the corridor and slumps a little in the seat he'd been occupying beforehand, gulping down his water as fast as he could without choking. Moonbok watches the next auditionee enter the room before he gets back to his feet and heads towards the interview venue.

[Word Count without lyrics, 1,516] Translation credit: x Hangul lyrics: x

[koelnhbf]

bump into you (knj)

part two: think of you

genre: idk? some fluff ig?

warnings: a very cute and frustrated namjoon

The line had been reaching your favourite café a few kilometres from the bookshop the moment you had stepped into the place. Soul Books had opened three months ago, the opportunity to cater to broke students’ needs to have easy access to cheap books serving as opportune for its existence in the small nook between dorms and cafes.

It was fair to say that the bookshop was your favourite spot in all of Seoul, even after the cafe that served the Bingsu you needed whenever the academic stress got the best of you; even after your friend Mina’s house (probably because the absolute idiot that was your best friend Seojoon was living there, too); and even after your and Mi-sun’s shared apartment. Soul Books was where work made place for pleasure, no matter how much you had to do, no matter how many books were being thrown at your head because the customers wanted a copy of the most acclaimed book of the year, or “the decade” as the homepage of the Pulitzer Prize had so nicely put.

You had not guessed that all of Seoul would be after a copy but you had been quick to catch on and stashed a copy away before your boss had opened the doors.

Hours passed when it finally began to calm down in the shop, though a few customers would continuously stumble into the shop and ask for it. Orders were placed and the shop was empty again, which gave you enough time to browse through the other novels that, in the chaos of the day, were long forgotten, overshadowed by a philosophical treaty on the black swan theory. With curious fingers, reminded by the joined student and employee discounts you got on books, you grabbed one, a simple love story, and placed it atop the one you had so neatly hidden behind the cash register. Then the bell on the door rang and a cold breeze filled the heated shop momentarily as a new customer made their way towards you, a mask and a black cap covering their face, while an equally dark hood hid the rest. Remnants of fallen snow flakes melted into their heavy coat as they hovered over you, a tall and broad frame blocking your view from seeing the street outside slowly being covered in a white blanket.

“Excuse me, hi,” the person spoke, their low voice sounded welcoming in your ears, as if you were the customer and they were the employee ready to help you. You smiled, though you still could not see their face, the faint echo of a grin being audible in their greeting.

“How can I help you?” A simple question, one you asked every customer, having given up on counting how often those five words left your mouth after the first day of work. The person, though, stood still, and you felt them stare even under the hat, so you had no other choice but to blame the heat in the shop for the redness creeping up your neck and cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” they spoke again and shook their head, as if to wake up from whatever state they were in. “I desperately need a book.”

You stared and said nothing, but waited for him to proceed, mind-reading unfortunately not being one of your talents.

“It’s new,” they said, scratched their cap and then their upper arm. “It’s called… what is it called? Uhm…”

You were ready to apologise, tell them there were no copies left but that you were more than happy to order one for them, but they spoke up before you even had the chance to open your mouth.

“I need it for, uh, work in a few days. This shop was my last chance to get it.” They turned slightly to the side, ready to hear your answer and leave accordingly. You saw a bike outside the window, a white film cooling down its saddle and then looked back at the customer.

“You came here on your bike?” You asked dumbfounded. “It’s snowing outside.”

“It wasn’t when I left the house in the morning.” They shrugged as if it were natural to ride a bike on the icy roads of Seoul.

“Well…” You sighed and walked to the cash register, grabbing the copy you could not wait to read later at night, cuddled up to Mi-sun, whose eyes would be fixed on her laptop screen as she was going over her thesis. “I saved this one for me but it’s okay. I can just pirate it. I bet it’s online already.”

“I could not…” They extended their hand to decline the book but you shook your head.

“It’s okay, really.” You scanned the book and, as was typical at Soul Books, stuck a bookmark and flyers for poetry slams and workshops into it before carefully placing it into the brown paper bag, topped off with a sticker that said: “I buy independent!”.

They handed you more money than the book cost, and put the change into the big mason jar in front of you.

“Thank you so much,” they said and bowed, leaving you flabbergasted at their sympathy. “I’ll make sure to think of you… uh, I mean at work, uh, because you were so nice.” And with another bow they left the store, almost knocking over a row of books.

— as a high-achieving student from a poor background at SNU, your life has been all about studies. apart from your three friends, your time was divided between your dissertation and the independent bookshop you worked at after class. looking forward to buying the most sought-after book you desperately need for your thesis you notice the only way to keep it is to stash away a copy. what happens when your bookshop is a stranger’s last resort of buying the book? and what if your copy was the last one in all of seoul?

⟸ m.list ⟹

taglist: @aquaalanah @lettersfromsalome @poutyoongiiii

[apotatomashedbybts]

I'll be your Knight

[ GENRE: fluff, slight angst

Pairing: Jimin×Reader , Taegi

Soulmate!Taehyung, best friend!Yoongi

Word count: 2k+]

[Summary: When Y/n met Jimin she knew that it was a love at first sight. But she didn't expect the consequences that came with loving him. After their unwilling separation will Y/n be able to do what it takes to get him back?

A story of love, loss, fight, dreams, and friendship...]

Chapter I: My Best Friends

The hustle bustle of the airports never failed to amaze me. The Incheon Airport was no exception. Landing here I realized how much I missed my hometown, the air, the people, the stories. I hoped nothing much changed in my two years in UK. It's my last year in university. The university conducts a student exchange program for the last year students every year for six months and I was lucky enough to get transferred to SNU.

                                 I breathed in the air and looked at my watch. My best friend Taehyung was supposed to pick me up from the airport. I told him that I'd call him once I have landed but I was in no hurry. Spending time and observing people in populated areas is one of my favourite things to do. So many people and each one of them have so many stories to tell. 

                        My thoughts got cut off in the middle by the beeping sound of my phone.

After waiting for about half an hour I saw the signature boxy smile that I am so much used to since childhood approaching me. I felt the warmth spread in my heart in this chilly winter. He crossed the crowd with much efficiency and hugged me tightly. After hugging me for good five minutes he let me breath. I saw his eyes twinkle with mischief.

"So, I may or may not have a surprise for you." Tae said giggling.

"You gotta be kidding me! I have a surprise for you too!"

"Wait! Why are you wearing that ridiculous hat? You never cover your hair like that. It can't be what I think it is!!"

With one swift movement Tae removed both of our hats revealing our hairs and I knew that we shouldn't be surprised but still we were. Both Tae and I had dyed our hair the same colour, frosty chestnut with green highlights.

                                    We have been best friends and soulmates too since childhood. There were enough evidences about that since we met. We both were born on the same day at the same time. I don't know if this could be considered as a soulmate sign or not but I do believe it as one. Our first meeting was not that eventful though. Tae moved into our neighborhood when we were in kindergarten. We became friends and as days went by we became inseparable. We can tell what the other is thinking about a certain matter whether or not we look into each others eyes about almost everything. If one of us is extremely happy or sad or any other emotion is really strong then the other one of us can feel it, the distance doesn't matter. One can think that may be we are in a relationship. That's true though, we are indeed in a relationship, the soulmate relationship. Soulmates don't always necessarily have to be lovers, do they? No, we are not lovers, we are best friends.

                     Seeing that I realized how much I missed Tae. I hugged him once more tightly as a drop of tear trickled down my cheek. In my heart I could feel that Tae too was feeling as heavy and at the same as happy as I was.

                        On our way back we kept on arguing on who looks better with the hair colour. After we got in the car the ride was like the normal ones Tae and I have always had. Tae blasted the car's music system and we sang and screamed along with it. Our daily car ride routine also included stopping at multiple ice cream and candy stores. Today wasn't any different.

                 All these took us an hour before we arrived home. When mum opened the door I literally jumped into her arms. Dad was standing behind mum smiling and signalling me to hug him too. Gosh! I missed this warmth and homely feeling too much. The coffee shop near the university campus was the only place where I could confine whenever I felt homesick.

                Taking a quick shower I came down to the dining room. All of them were waiting for me. A person was missing though, and I know where he was.

"Yea! Finally strawberry pie!!" Tae screamed like a child. Mom and dad laughed at his antics as they always do. I am so used to these things that I just rolled my eyes and smacked him, but deep down I smiled as I always do.

  "Yah!" He cried and then whispered in my ear "that didn't hurt~!" and made faces at me. I made faces at him back.

Mom said controlling her smile," yah! You two! Stop bickering and eat!"

           Looking at his plate, Tae whined,"You promised me that you'll give me a whole pie! That's not fair!"

           Mom couldn't control her laughter. She said,"Calm down Mr. Tae Tae, I made another two pies, give one to your parents and treat yourself one. Ok? Are you happy now?"

                 Hearing this Tae grinned from ear to ear and giggled like a baby that he is.

                         I hoped that evenings like these were permanent in my life.

                      Suddenly mom jerked me,"Hey where's your mind? You still didn't comment on the pie!" 

I made my eyes as much big as I could and said," You know what the bubbles in my stomach are saying after eating this pie? Unbeliebubble."

                   Dad laughed so hard at this joke that I was startled at first and then I started laughing too. Mom didn't know how to react to this and Tae facepalmed saying," ISTG! If you don't stop hanging out with Seokjin hyung then I'll find myself a new best friend."

"You can't do that because no one is going to survive your insanity like I do. Besides Jinnie is my only closest friend back there who can keep me sane when I miss you all like crazy!" I replied hugging mum. And Tae made the perfect guess,"I bet you spend more time in Jin hyung's cafe than any other places in the campus!" I looked at my mum and smiled sheepishly.

"You should tell Jin to visit us someday here. He is a lovely boy!" Mom said while putting the dishes away. "Of course mum, he is the loveliest boy!" said this mischievous best friend of Tae while sticking out a tongue at him.

                         Suddenly I remembered and asked Tae, "Hey aren't you going to the underground club today?"

"Which day is it?" asked a calm Tae.

"Saturday, you dumb head!"

"Oh shit! I can't miss Yoongi hyung's performance! Go get ready quickly, we are leaving in fifteen!"

                            Our friend circle is incomplete without Yoongi. Min Yoongi, the parent in our group of three, the protector, the rapper, the brilliant musician and our best friend. Missing him had always made me realise his role in our lives and his qualities distinctively. Since childhood whenever Tae and I got into any problem Yoongs protected us.

                             When Tae and I first started going to middle school we used to get bullied a lot. Specially me because I was really weak looking and in order to save me Tae also got bullied. After the third month Yoongs noticed us and told off the bullies. For some reason they were all afraid of him. But we knew that he was one of the sweetest person ever. After that Tae almost everyday began to hang out with him and seeing Tae me too went to hang out with Yoongs. In spite of being two years older than us he became a permanent and vital part of our group. And surprisingly enough his home was in the same neighborhood.

                             Four years ago when Yoongs started performing at the underground club "Youth" we never missed his performances. As his friends we were his greatest supporters and Tae was his biggest fanboy. Even after I went away Tae never stopped attending and he always took videos so that I never miss a single performance. But videos and video calling is a thing and seeing everyone and everything in person is another.

                         I hadn't told Yoongs that I was coming back today and told Tae to not tell him. "It's a surprise!" I smiled thinking about it. I noticed that there was something unusual when the car didn't take the turn it was supposed to take. Instead it was going to the middle of the city. Well, I love surprises so I controlled my curiosity. When the car stopped in front of "Young Forever", one of the biggest underground clubs in Seoul, Tae noticed me while laughing that I couldn't close my opened mouth. I was too shocked to say anything. I never ever imagined that I could come here. Now I realized why Tae told me to dress up properly and why did he stopped at his house to change too. It was like a dream come true specially for Yoongs.    

                                  I clearly remembered whenever we used to have a sleepover in any of our houses we would build blanket forts and in all those sleepless nights Yoongs would go on about his dreams, Tae and I would stare at his starry eyed and wonder what it would be like to dream and achieve. I guess dreams do come true, sooner or later. And this was just a start for Yoongs.

                      Tae got special passes from Yoongs by which at least two people could get inside. So we were let in with a bow. This treatment made me feel as if I was a royal. I smiled to myself and told Tae,"So this is what feels like to be a royal, like a princess!"

Tae was about to say something but we were already in front of the stage and Yoongs performance was about to start. He had changed his earlier stage name from Suga to Agust D. Except the habit of saying "Suga" so much had changed but I wasn't ready for THIS! This level up was on another level.

We hyped him from the audience as we have always done. But I clearly felt a tinge of a feeling that one feels when you're really happy seeing someone whom you really love and I clearly knew where that feeling was coming from. I looked at him and noticed the heart eyes he was giving to Yoongs.

"Does Yoongs even know about this?" I thought to myself. "I have to do something about them!" and I facepalmed mentally.

                    Yoongs' performance ended after an hour and it got the most applause from the audience. He didn't even notice us while performing. We went to the backstage and Yoongs looked at us as if he was totally expecting us, tch tch, expecting Tae. But when he realised that it was me beside Tae, he looked as if he had seen the sun rising from the west. "I'll be damned." was his first response. I have never been fond of gummy smiles other than his.

                                 "Can I have an autograph please Mr. Min Yoongi? I am a really big fan of yours."

  "Yah! this kid!" Yoongs tilted his head slightly and shook his head smiling. No one calls us kid other than Yoongs and we love that, totally.

"Today's my treat, let's go to aunt's restaurant. After you left we almost stopped going there." Yoongs said while hugging me.

  "So you are rich now! We have been saved from poverty oh God!" I exclaimed dramatically.

  "Will you ever stop being so dramatic? And FIY I am not that rich, not yet, and that's why I am treating you there at aunt's place. Plus the club  is going to pay me a decent amount on the days I perform here, you know high class priorities and all."

                  Tae snatched Yoongs from me and with the boxy smile permanent on his face he rushed us out.

       The ride to aunt's kimchi place was a total insane one. We recorded Yoongs' performance at the club, so we played it all along the way on car's speakers and jammed and screamed loudly with it while bopping our heads with every power in our body. Yoongs was scolding us as loudly as he could while driving but I knew he was happy, a lot. 

Other chapters

A/N: So, another story, another au, a new series. I hope you guys will like it. Please do leave reviews. Thank you for reading. The next part will be uploaded a few days later. Love you 💜💜💜

And a special thank you to @indecisivefangirling for making me realise that soulmates aren't necessarily lovers. Love you sweetheart 💜

[mechagalaxy]

John T Mainer 28840: Two O Clock Gary

Two O Clock Gary

Spirit of Bunny weapons range was a busy place, I was finishing a new run with the new weapon mix. We had just levelled up, and since there are no new weapons coming in, the loot from the last war was not enough to cover the experience gained in Faction War (as always) so we were robbing the back ranks to feed the front, and finding new ways of keeping the disarmed mecha relevant.

I had Don and Holy Damn, and Paul with me on a group run, time and accuracy. We had lost track of the time and my Gary alarm went off. Crap. I keyed my intercom and let the boys know it was time to skedaddle.

“Listen guys, you had best go. Its time for Two O Clock Gary”

Don and Holy made protests, and Paul flashed up a pilot file to make sure we were talking about the same Gary. Gary Muenzel 466 levels of Ooh fracking Rah. As close to an unstoppable killing machine as this Mecha Galaxy, or three of the alternates I had visited, had come up with. Yep, that is the guy.

“Better go, Gary is never late, and holds a grudge like nobodies’ business. This one he isn’t totally wrong either”. I hated admitting it, it was an embarrassing mix up. Probably my fault.

Don was loyal to the core and piped up. “No worries boss, we got your back. I mean what ever you did, we are with you”

I winced, they thought they knew. No. They had to hear.

“You have to understand guys, I saved his life once, and its not the kind of thing you get forgiven for.”

They made protesting noises, so I decided to tell the tale.

“Alright, I will tell you the story, but if any of you mention this to the wives, I will swap your shileds for anti matter mines in the next war. It was after the damned Clone Raids of Drake Novum, the last time he was trying to make up with Tory. We were all a little tired, wired on stims and couldn’t stop, couldn’t sleep, and couldn’t read for shite either. That is how I got in trouble.

I picked up a distress beacon, automated. Gary Muenzel, only level three hundred something at that point, had been lost in a patrol through a new gate that opened on Amazon69.”

Holy Damn was a cyborg, and connected to his databases in realtime, so his blast of machine code was out before I finished talking, and Don and Paul swore as the translation hit them. They said together in shock: “PLANET OF THE CHEERLEADERS!”

****

Yeah, that one. You see, the quantum laws state that somewhere in the mulitiverse all possible outcomes actually exist. One such outcome is, as a really low probability, a planetary population composed entirely of cheerleaders. The universe being cruel, they still require male input to breed, and the universe being really cruel, no gate to Amazon69 has been able to stay stable for more than 24 hours, so they have limited chance to get new….blood. I guess the universe thinks some possible outcomes are too cool for us to be allowed more than a glimpse at.

I hit their defenses hard and fast, my Regis Bun Bun cut through their Skraigs and Nakshi like nobody’s business. They panicked a bit when they saw my Fext and Apatotrons, I guess they weren’t too familiar with mecha over 85 tons as that is the biggest they seemed to field.

I wondered how they brought down Gary with their mecha, I mean he was stronger than me. I had my commo tech working on finding any information about Gary, but I was nursing too much of a stim over use headache to pay much attention.

Red Saviour called me, her Russian Accent so thick you could hear the bitter cheap Soviet style cigarettes she chain smoked.

“I am after finding him. He is to be executed in a public ceremony that will last many days. If he is strong enough, perhaps months. His executioners are even now being chosen through what is decadent western waste of precious food product and why cheerleaders should not be allowed own planet”

I cut her off “GREAT, lets go save him”

Saviour’s voice was cold, cruel, and mocking “You are mistake making. He will not like being saved. He will not like being saved at all. He is, how you say, very ready for death I am thinking”

That was nonsense! Gary was a hard bastard, no way he was in his cell meekly waiting to be murdered. How could he be OK with it.

We hit mostly automated defenses, the guards were in the stadium, where fifty thousand cheering cheerleader descended amazons were watching………jello wrestling. A thousand writhing amazons were jello wrestling to determine their place in Gary’s execution. What the hell kind of execution requires that kind of woman-power?

Gary wasn’t chained, or even restrained. He was sitting on a throne watching the spectacle, and shifting in his seat, as if it was very hard to stay still. I would rescue him! The crowd was chanting something, and the scoreboard was listing names and something beside it, next to a blown up picture of Gary, a full and, well lets just say non uniformed picture of Gary.

I grabbed him in my Regis Arms and pulled him from the stadium. Oddly he was screaming. He was screaming “Put me down you stupid bunny, I swear if you rescue me I will kill you every day for a THOUSAND YEARS!”

Clearly he was drugged. I asked Bun Bun for a chem analysis, was he drugged. The light flashed green, yes. I didn’t wait to see what it was, I just bolted for the gate. Ten thousand angry cheerleader amazons gave chase in their mecha, but we were BUNNIES, no one out ran us with a head start. We got through as the gate collapsed. Gary was weeping.

I looked down at what drug they had given him. Xanadu-Viagra, the Superhatoraid for your sidearm as it were. Why the heck would they give him that for his execution, and who uses jello wrestling to select exceutioners?

I played back the chanting of the crowd “Snu-snu, snu-snu, death by snu-snu!” Oh no

I looked at the score board, his first partners were selected. First a dozen normal sized amazons, then a dozen large sized amazons, then another dozen normal sized amazons. For Snu Snu, until he died.

I had saved him from being a living sex toy for a planet of nymphomaniac cheerleader amazons. Oh god, I would kill me too…….

****

“So there you have it boys, I saved Gary from death by over appreciation, and he didn’t appreciate it. Still want to defend me?”

Don shook his head, Holy D backed away like I was diseased, and Paul was shaking his big lizard head. I mean his kind laid eggs and he thought I crossed the line.

Two O Clock Gary was here, still pissed, and still right. Oh well. That is life in Mecha Galaxy

John T Mainer 28840