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drmflm · 11 months

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home sweet heartbreak | l.hs

summary: you were supposed to be in then out. but the prince has other plans—plans to give you an evening you would never forget, filled with flowers, food, and a bleary black swan mask.

pairing: heeseung x gn!reader (ft. jake and txt’s taehyun, soobin, + yeonjun)

word count: 4.0k

genre: angst angst angst with comedic breaks in between

au: cinderella, spy, royalty

rating: pg-15

warnings: grief, mentions of death, infiltration (which is treason ig?), unhappy-ish ending

event: this is for @kflixnet's fic exchange event!! hi @flwoie!! i hope u enjoyed this fic 🥰 it was so much fun getting to know u and to become an engene as part of this!! <3

note: blame sona for the ending. I WAS PLANNING to make it happy but she wanted sad so. you get sad 😊 oh also, the reader uses a fake name for the first bit of this!!

When the red carpet rolled, you strode.

“Don’t make eye contact with them. Remember, you’re above them,” the radio buzzed as you straightened up and handed the knight your invitation nonchalantly, trying not to look at him. “Good job.”

“For the announcer dude, just slip him the 20,000 bill we gave you earlier,” Soobin said over the radio as you neared the stairs where the steward would announce your arrival.

You couldn’t speak without sounding suspicious, and most especially could not in a setting such as this, so you hooked your thumb into Taehyun’s right pocket and offering a small bow to the small lens tucked into the clip of his tie.

“He’s not very good at his job,” Soobin replied, and you could nearly hear the smirk in his voice. “The guy’s a good friend of Jun’s, doesn’t mind repaying an old favour for a small price. He’ll let the knight know not to go snooping.”

“Are you sure he’s loyal?” you whispered to Taehyun, rubbing his arm softly. “You know that everybody always has their own agenda.”

He nodded, lips pursed as he stared at you for a moment too long through his mask and looking away. “People will always bow to money, and we have a lot of it.”

People loved gossip, but the only thing they loved more than that, was money itself. The more money you had, the more likely you were to succeed in this society. Did you agree with it? No. But could you escape it? Unlikely.

So you just took advantage of it instead.

“I do hope they’ll have those cookies again,” Taehyun sighed, looking at you with an overly wide smile and a scrunched eye smile. “What were they called again? They were absolutely divine last year at the Prince’s private ball.”

Establishing status, a commonality among the ultra-rich you noticed. Of course, Taehyun was less ostentatious about his wealth than others, but he couldn’t allow others to find him weak or subordinate in any way. He represented his family at any gathering, and at this one in particular, he had to establish himself as one of the highest and most important businessmen in the country.

And the easiest way to do that? Just tell people you know the royal family and you had it in the bag. You might not know it, but people always listen to power. It was evident in the way that the people in front of you, upon hearing Taehyun’s words, permitted you to skip ahead with 90-degree bows, until you reached the steward who would announce your arrival.

As the couple before you gave him their card and stood in the front, Taehyung pulled you flush against his side, where you sank your fingers into his pocket and curled it into your fist. As he let you go, you folded your hands in front of you.

He handed you your name slip nonchalantly as the steward announced Lady Jieun and her partner, before you slipped the man the bill, and quickly made your way to the front.

“Kang Taehyun of the Kang Family Corporation and his date, Kim Iseul,” he announced, before gesturing for you to make your way down the stairs.

“People are nosy gossips, but Taehyun’s always been known to go out sporadically—dating rumours have been confirmed and denied so many times that nobody really cares anymore,” Soobin said over the radio. “There might be some articles about it but nothing big.”

“I doubt anything will really make it to the media,” Yeonjun said over the radio as well. Taehyun tightened his grip in yours. “They’re more preoccupied with Lee Heesucks instead.”

You would’ve laughed at the name if it weren’t for the fact that you were there, in the limelight of a dozen of the ultra-rich. You didn’t stand out—not after Yeonjun and Soobin worked hard to make you look perfect—and you hoped you wouldn’t for the remainder of the night.

Everyone was clad in dresses made of silk, suits made of the finest fibres, and every mask you saw was more and more garish the more you looked. Some were animal themed, dipped in gold and silver, others were clad with diamonds and precious gems.

But it was all a feast for the eyes, more so than the heart. When you noticed how careless and shallow most of the people were as they picked glasses off trays, took one sip, then discarded them on the same tray, you felt yourself grow nauseated at the fact that you were sharing the same air as them.

“How long will we be here for?” you asked quietly once he guided you to the dance floor and began waltzing you around.

“Just long enough for Taehyun to look around. We need to get you out before midnight, otherwise it’ll look really suspicious,” Soobin said, and you tried to control your expression as Taehyun swung you around at the lively music. “Hopefully you can blend in, but if things go awry or Heeseung notices you, we need you to distract him as best you can, for as long as you can.”

You smiled, but it fell when he added, “but under no circumstances, Y/n, do you go approach Heeseung yourself. This is dangerous territory right now. You need to be careful.”

You nodded, smiling as the song ended and the trumpets blared. All eyes turned towards the staircase, where the steward would announce the next arrival.

Beside him, stepped out one a man clad in an all white suit, traces of gold wrapping up along the cuffs of his sleeves down the length of his arms, his torso, his legs. They caught the light and the gaze of all who looked at him—towards the diamond that rested on the centre of his chest.

His face was shrouded by the black swan of his mask, feathers trailing gracefully along his face. You couldn’t see his eyes, but you knew they were sweeping across the crowd, looking, searching for—

“Introducing His Majesty, Prince Heeseung of the Lee Family!”

“He looks like an overcooked chicken in that mask,” Soobin grumbled, but you could barely hear him over the enthusiastic applause.

“Okay Y/n, now that Heesucks is here and no longer in his room, Taehyun is going to start the operation now. We’re going to turn off your radio so we don’t distract you or worry you. If that sounds good turn off the camera.” Yeonjun said over the radio.

While Prince Heeseung descended, and all eyes were focused on him, you reached up to the centre of your mask and—under the guise of fixing your mask for anyone looking—pressed one of the stray diamonds by your nose.

“Okay we’re shutting it down in 3…2…1–“ Beep.

At this, Taehyun nodded at you with a smile before slowly, quietly slipping away.

The food was good, you noted as you had your fifteenth helping of the same treats you were eating all evening. They were these small, star-shaped cookies with an orange frosting and sprinkles—so many sprinkles.

Ever since you were a mere child, you always loved the taste of tangerines, of ripe oranges. They reminded you of your mother who had grown an orange tree in your backyard in respect of her good friend Seri—and always made the most delicious freshly-pressed orange juice.

So while you were caught up blending in on the dance floor, you indulged yourself in trying some cookies, reminded of your mother, the sweetness of her oranges, and the sweetness of your childhood.

Things changed a lot the last couple years. Things too big to say in only a few words. Oranges were banned, oranges were a fruit never allowed in your household. Not with their history of heartbreak. Not when oranges really only grew where the heartache wandered.

You wished Yeonjun would come back on over the radio. You wished someone would say over the intercom that this was stupid, that the two of them should just make up.

But you couldn’t. Not when you didn’t know the truth.

The whispers grew louder, more boisterous around you. You heard him before you saw him. The cookie in your hand felt like a deadweight the closer you felt him step towards you.

“May I ask who I owe for depleting the Solarian Cookie supply?” he asked, coming up beside you as he grabbed the one out of your hand. “I thought everyone knew that these are the cookies I fancy the most.”

Jerk. “Well, pardon me Your Highness, I was not aware these cookies were reserved,” you replied. “Please excuse my careless mistake.”

“Mistakes,” he corrected, before taking a bite. “You made more than one, as you ate more than 10.”

“And how can you be sure that, that was me?”

He shrugged, “intuition I guess.”

“But intuition isn’t facts,” you argued as you shoved another one into your mouth.

“I suppose it isn’t,” he mused, before turning to face you, and you instinctively turned in response. “But I think it is when it comes to my cookies.”

“What a lame excuse,” you laughed, before you remembered. You were not supposed to talk to him. Absolutely not. He was dangerous.

Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t. You couldn’t betray your family.

“Just this once I’ll let it go,” he said, staring at you intently. “You remind me of a friend. But no more cookies, do you understand?”

“Yes Your Highness,” you replied, bowing your head.

You waited for him to walk away, but his white shoes never left their place in front of you. You tentatively looked up. He stared down.

“Sorry if I did not make myself clear, I would like to grab my cookies, so would you mind moving aside?”

At once, you immediately moved aside, feeling the hot course of humiliation travel through every fibre of your being until the man grabbed his cookies and left. As soon as he got far enough away, you let out a silent, soft breath. The whispers around you grew louder.

“He can be quite intimidating, can’t he?”

You looked to your right where a man greeted you. His attire was different—with zigzagging lines of bronze up and down his maroon suit, lighter coloured streaks in his hair, and round circular specs on his face. Clipped to his tie was a flag you had never seen before.

“Indeed,” you replied, looking at the flag once more before making eye contact. “For a Prince he is quite cold.”

“Don’t let others hear you say that,” he said, and you could hear an unusual variation in his accent. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sim Jaeyun.”

“Kim Iseul,” you replied before raising an eyebrow. “And what might you do, Mr.Sim?”

“I am part of the Prince’s Foreign Affairs team,” he replied, smiling at you warmly. “Translating for him as well as offering advice on how to best interact with certain cultures.”

Like Hueningkai, you realized bitterly. This man was his replacement.

He noticed your gaze on his tie, “Ah, this is my Australian clip. It was given to me by my father before I left to come here.”

“How lovely. It must have been a long journey. Do you ever miss them?”

He shrugged, “Sometimes. But I don’t really have time to miss them since I’m here.”

The conversation took a deeper turn than you were expecting, one where you felt the time go by faster, less forced. Jaeyun was like you, he wasn’t from an ultra-rich family, and he was much more down to earth than the rest of the people there, including the Prince himself.

“Why is the Prince like that, if you don’t mind me asking?” you asked after a while. You two had relocated to a table off to the side. “Why’s he so cold?”

He thought for a moment, “There’s a lot of things. But, as you may know, the Prince has been waiting, a long time, for his beloved brother to return to him.”

Beloved?

“His brother?” you asked, looking at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

He just shook his head, “it’s of no importance, Iseul. Just know that his anger was not directed towards you, but rather, towards himself.”

Prince Heeseung feeling anger at himself? That seemed very unlikely.

“Ah, Jaeyun. Just the man I was looking for,” the Prince’s voice rang out as he neared you. Upon seeing you he halted. “Why are you with them?”

“I think you may have mischaracterized them, Hee,” was his reply as he stood up. “Don’t worry, I’ll go check on him, you have a good time. This is your ball after all.”

With Jaeyun’s departure, it was just you and him, face to face. When you bristled at the silence, he took a deep breath before sitting next to you.

“I apologize for my unsavoury behaviour earlier. That was unbecoming of me and I hope you can forgive me,” he said, not making eye contact as he fiddled with the strings of his bow tie.

“It’s okay, I understand,” you replied, looking at him. “Sometimes things are just as simple as having a rotten day. I get it.”

“Where’d you hear that from?” he asked, head lifting up to meet your gaze. “That expression?”

You blinked at him, “‘Having a rotten day’? That was a phrase my mother told me. Why?”

“No reason,” he replied, holding your gaze. “What is your name?”

“Kim Iseul, Your Majesty.”

“What is your real name?” he pressed, leaning towards you.

“That is my real name,” you replied, leaning backwards slightly.

“Pleasure to meet you, Kim Iseul,” he said at last, before offering you a hand. “May I have this next dance as an apology for my behaviour?”

You looked at him, trying to find any ingenuity. “But you’ve already apologized.”

“I know, but I want to.” He didn’t want to. He was just trying to be nice. But you entertained the thought, of just this once, under a mask made of midnight, that it’d be okay to pretend like nothing had ever happened.

“Okay.”

That was the moment you knew, as he swept you away, that you would never be able to truly resist him.

“For a mysterious partner of Kang Taehyun, you dance quite well,” he complimented as you waltzed to the palace musicians and basked in the limelight.

“Well, I only learned from the best,” you replied, gesturing to him. “You are a fantastic lead yourself.”

He smiles, “Useless flattery, Iseul. I’ve been ballroom dancing since I could walk.”

So have I. “You can tell, your footsteps are so graceful.”

“Again, useless flattery…” he paused, “Iseul.”

You maintained eye contact and he held you a few moments longer, even after the song ended. You knew people were staring, probably talking about how Taehyun had abandoned his date and said date was all over the Prince and—

“Why?” you whispered tightening your hold on his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you as soon as I laid my eyes on you?” he asked, eyes piercing through the thin veil of his mask, right into yours. “Y/n,” he breathed, leaning in closer. “Nothing, not even Time itself, could ever make me forget you.”

“You’re not supposed to know I’m here,” you sighed, letting go and breaking apart. “Nobody is. I came because of the masquerade. Not for you. Not for anyone.”

“That’s not true,” he replied, grabbing your hand and leading you away. You ripped it out of his grip but followed him out the hall anyways. “You came here for a reason. Why? If not for me, why?”

“It was me, all me, Your Majesty,” you replied, fingers trembling in his hold. “I forced Taehyun to come here with me.”

“Stop lying to me,” he growled, once you the ballroom doors had shut. “Tell me you missed me, even for a second. Tell me you regretted it just once.”

You hesitated. You couldn’t see his face, but his shoulders slumped. “I see.”

You blinked back tears as you cleared your throat, “Both of you made many mistakes. The only thing I regret is not hearing both sides of the story. But Hee—I don’t hate the fact that you were crowned and he wasn’t. I hate the fact that I had to choose between you.”

“It wasn’t even my fault,” he sighed, before he reached up and took the mask off his face. Exposed, you saw every facet of his face, crafted by God and shimmering with tears. “I didn’t want this either.”

“What did you want?”

“To be with you,” he breathed, coming closer and grabbing your hand. When you didn’t yank it away, he grabbed the other. “I would have been happy a commoner Y/n, so long as I had your hand in mind. Please, believe me Y/n. Can’t we pretend, just for a few hours, like nothing had changed, that you never left?”

“Won’t that just hurt us both in the end?” you asked, pursing your lips and sinking your teeth into your bottom lip. “Can you promise me you’ll let me go when the evening ends?”

“If that’s what you want,” he sighed, tightening his hold before letting go and turning around to brush away his tears. “But please. A chance.”

And, just like when he offered you a dance, you took his hand, and let him lead you away once again.

Him, unmasked and exposing the imperfections of his face, the vulnerability of the beauty mark just along his jawline, the soft curls of his hair.

He was a black swan with a pretty smile but you—you were a gold shadow, there was nothing more to you than the shallowness of your own desires, of your own shadows, your own betrayals.

You couldn’t look him in the eye, not because he was above you, but because you stooped down to a level far too low for him.

He led you to a small, circular door at the end of a never-ending hallway, before fishing out a familiar key from around his neck. This was what you were searching for. All this time, all of Jun’s anger and heartache, was because of this key.

The key to his—and everyone else’s—dreams.

He took it off his neck and inserted it into the lock, before the lock clicked open. He led you in, where your eyes immediately latched onto the blooming flowers and the beautiful tree of tangerines before you.

The small, secret garden was a masterpiece; the way the flowers framed the tree was deliberate like the swing gently rocking in a cool breeze, thousands of stars the only witnesses to this small sliver of true, untouched beauty.

This. This was what Yeonjun always wanted.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked after a moment, carefully stepping towards the flowers. “I never showed this to you when we were younger, because I always wanted to surprise you when we grew up. I wanted to save this for the day when I’d get down on one knee and—propose, Y/n. I bloom only for you.”

You heard it, you couldn’t see it though, as the darkness shrouded his face. You only saw the shadow of his tears in the dim light of a dozen fairy lights. Sanctuary. That’s what this was. Sanctuary.

“You always said you’d find your sanctuary. Is this—“

“This became it when I lost you,” he whispered, before stepping into the light, grabbing your hand and leading you towards the swing. “Y/n, all I could think about since you left has been all my mistakes, everything I ever did in the past. Just please—for one moment, let me pretend like all of that never happened.”

“I can’t, Hee,” you whispered softly. It was a sin to ruin the sweet silence of the night. “I can’t because this is what Yeonjun always wanted. How can I take that away from him? He always wanted his mother’s garden, he wanted to be with her, cradling her grave.”

Heeseung’s head dropped as he let go of your hands. You sat down on the swing, while he gently pushed you back and forth.

“I’m sorry. I kept the key because I didn’t want anybody to ruin it. I didn’t want the landscapers to come and bulldoze it down, I didn’t want anybody finding Seri’s treasure and ruining it.”

You were quiet for a moment before he stopped pushing you, “was that why you came here? For Yeonjun?”

You nodded, “Yeah I guess so.”

“Nothing else?”

“I—“

“Y/n, we’re back. We need to get you out of there are soon as possible. Security has caught on that we’ve infiltrated the palace. Beomgyu, the idiot accidentally stole too many cookies and Jun’s friend slipped to the knight so now Head Guard Yang is currently trying to get rid of Taehyun. Meet him out back by the rosebushes ASAP!!” Soobin said over the intercom, startling you out of whatever Heeseung-induced self-doubt you’d put yourself in.

This wasn’t about you. This was about Yeonjun.

He looked at you with something heavy in his eyes. He heard Soobin, both of you did.

“Go,” he whispered, leading you out and ripping the key from his neck. He placed it in your hands. “Get out of here Y/n, I don’t want to see you ever again. I’ll hold the guards off for a few moments. Just go.”

“Hee, I’m sorry,” you started, but he held up a hand.

He slid the mask back over his eyes, “leave. You don’t belong here. Nobody belongs here. I thought that after Seri died, I lost a mother, but I didn’t think in my wildest dreams, that I would also lose the only people who had ever meant something to me.”

His lips curled up, “You changed Y/n. I hope you forget about me quickly. Taehyun looks like a nice man. He looks like he cares about you. Tell him I say ‘Thank You’.”

He pushed passed you and started running down the halls, running from you. You heard the radio buzz, you couldn’t do anything but stand there, paralyzed at the gravity of what you had done. At the person you lost and continued to lose.

Every step felt heavy, and you eventually ran, but you couldn’t walk, you couldn’t be left to the mercy of your thoughts—not when the key sat heavy in your palm, and the tears even heavier in your eyes.

You couldn’t because when Taehyun carried you down the steps, when you got into the car and sped out somewhere under the veil of midnight—nothing could fill that uncomfortable emptiness on your fourth finger, that empty void that nestled in your soul.

Even seeing Yeonjun’s face light up at the key in your hand, or hearing the rest of the guys celebrate, nothing could bring you back.

Not when you knew the life you had left behind. Not when you knew, you made the greatest mistake of your life.

Because you wouldn’t be able to forget him—a black swan who brightened your life with glittering jewels and twinkling eyes, the man who hoarded cookies and smelled like oranges: sweet, homey, and heartbroken.

#kfn: the exchange event #kflixnet #enhypen #enhypen x reader #enhypen x you #enhypen x y/n #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #enhypen oneshots #heeseung x reader #heeseung x yn #heeseung fanfic #heeseung angst

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heart4reigns · 11 months

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OPERATION: TOGETHER, roman reigns and cody rhodes (v).

← previous chapter | next chapter →

warnings: curse words, fighting 24/7, gaslighting (typical roman behavior), cigarettes

tags: still making (y/n) as unlikable as usual <333, original characters to fill the plot

EVER since your friendship bloomed with cody–you had something (or someone) to look forward to every time you went to work. it took a while for you to adjust to his always positive attitude. he was truly the top face of the company. “good morning, ms. (l/n).” the staffs greeted you. it was a regular talent meeting and you were leading the meeting. “good morning everyone. we’ll wait for the talents to come and we can start with the analytics.” they nodded in unison.

you looked at your phone, furrowing your brows at your new texts.

cody: sorry can’t attend the meeting

cody: pharaoh swallowed his chew toy

cody: going to the er now

(y/n): god hope he’s okay

(y/n): i’ll fill u in

cody: thanks bro send me your address i'll go there

“rhodes cannot come to this meeting, due to several circumstances.” you announced to the board. once again, they all nodded in unison. you were still focusing on the report to notice that your ex boyfriend and his entire faction walked inside the room. always early, you thought. the twins and their younger brother waved at you, earning a nod in response. roman smiled at you, only for you to look away. soon, the room was filled with the talents and you were ready to start the meeting.

everyone’s attention was on you. like usual, you didn’t feel intimidated–you were very good at your job. “good morning talents, staffs, and board members. my name is (y/n) (l/n), co-creative director. i will be leading the meeting today.” you introduced yourself to the room. you received several nods as an answer to continue your presentation. “without taking up your time, after we review your performances, you can leave the meeting to prepare for tonight’s event.”

“starting off with the new talents, several college athletes are on their way to the next tryouts, 6 of them are advancing in the tryouts; elliot roberts, kwon iseul, mohammed yazid, and twins kayla and matthew wilson.” you clicked next on the presentation, showing their profiles. “talent management will be supervising their performances.” you continued. “on to the next point of the meeting, analytics.”

you knew it was the boring part of the meeting as you heard several people sighing. “if this meeting is boring to you, please leave mr. perry.” the man quickly fixed his posture. “i’m sorry, ms. (l/n). please continue.” if looks could kill, everyone in this room would be dead, especially roman reigns. “the first analytics report, bianca belair." the meeting continued.

the reports were never-ending, it was indeed a long meeting. soon, the talents left one-by-one, not wanting to miss out their schedules–leaving you with the main event crew; the bloodline. you tried your best to shrug off the look roman kept giving you. “last analytics report for today goes to the bloodline.” you said. “starting off with the usos, still holding the tag-team championships… last year’s backlash did a good job for you, your ratings are up, everyone’s tuning in every time you’re on screen.” after you finished your sentence, jimmy gave a high-five to his twin. “solo, everyone’s interested in your upcoming events, twitter, especially. your feud with riddle earned views, keep it up.” the man nodded.

“as for reigns,” you paused a second, staring into his eyes–unfazed as usual. “your feud with cody has to be one of the most anticipated feuds ever. if we’re able to maintain this energy till wrestlemania, i’ll give props to the entire bloodline." he nodded at your sentence. “now cody isn’t here for his analytics, here are your prints. you’re free to go.” you said, not wanting to spend another second with your ex-boyfriend in the same room as you. the twins and solo sat up, patting roman’s back. “let’s go, uce.” he shook his head. “give me a minute.”

of course they listened to him, you thought. “what do you want, reigns? the meeting is over.” you asked. “what’s up with you and cody?” that question irked you. “again, none of your fucking business.” you replied, giving him the cold shoulder. “i need to know.” he stated. “and why do you need to know?” you barked at him. “because we all know this ‘bitch from upstairs’ doesn’t hang out with people and all the sudden you have him as a dog following you around.” you clenched your jaw at his comment. “first of all, you don’t know anything about me. second of all, cody isn’t my fucking dog. he’s a friend.” roman sarcastically laughed at your sentence.

“a friend? that’s new. also, that’s when you are wrong, (y/n). i know everything about you and this ‘bitch from upstairs’ thing? it’s not gonna work on me… you’re not like that, what happened to the (y/n) we used to love?” that was your last straw. you had to take deep breaths to calm yourself down. “roman.” you turned around and faced him. “please leave.” you gave him a fake corporate smile. he shook his head once again. “i’m not gonna leave until we clear this out.”

oh, you had enough of him. “you wanna know why i changed? there’s a huge mirror behind you, reigns. take a good look at yourself. i think you know the answer but you’re still in denial that you’re a huge asshole when it comes to loving someone.” you gritted your teeth in annoyance. “it’s pretty clear that you,” you pointed your finger at him, slightly holding back your tone. “fucking did this to me, reigns. now go fuck off and defend your title for all i care, just don’t talk to me unless it’s for work purposes.”

“can’t we at least be friends again… forget about everything that has happened between us?” you were boiling with rage. “roman, get it through your thick skull. we can never be friends. and forget about everything? so i’m disposable to you?” the two of you were on each other’s nerves. “it’s not like that.” he defended himself. “then what is going on, roman? jesus, i have a new friend and suddenly you’re back in my life?” you asked him, still not breaking eye-contact. “i’m just saying if you can be friends with him, you can be friends with me too.” you held back your laughter. “fuck off, i don’t want you anymore.”

that wasn’t a lie, that wasn't the truth either. maybe, maybe you didn’t want him anymore. or maybe you were so blinded by your own hatred to acknowledge your own feelings.

the elevator ride was silent. everyone heard you and roman arguing earlier. “so, where are you going after this, (y/n)?” jimmy asked, breaking the silence in the elevator. “i’m going home.” you replied, still feeling the tension in the air. “cool, i was wondering if you want to grab drinks?” jey continued. “thank you, but i’m going to be with rhodes. i’m gonna fill him with the analytics.” jimmy made eye-contact with his twin. roman slightly clenched his fist, still confused with the thought of you and cody. “this is my floor, i’ll be leaving. see you on friday.” you stepped out of the elevator.

to say the least, roman was happy? that you were getting out of your shell, but at the same time, he envied what you had with cody. roman knew that it was all because of his doings, but he didn't want to admit it. roman reigns was trying to make amends with you and he was failing. "get over it, man." jimmy advised. "bro, you really need a reality check, honestly. you said there's nothing you can do, now you're all back in her life? no wonder she hates you." jimmy's last sentence took a toll on him.

she hates me, he thought. "fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?" roman was all alone in his hotel room, trying his best to collect his own thoughts. "she fucking hates me." he repeated. after the break up, he thought everything would be okay; you were still going to be friends with him despite the break up, but he was wrong. why was it all coming back to him? for the first time in his life, roman reigns was confused with his next step. but he knew what he was going to do. he was going to be all over in your life again, not wanting to lose you to cody fucking rhodes.

it wasn't a nice gesture, he knew that. but seeing you with the american nightmare bothered him a bit. hell, he would prefer seeing you all alone without any friends than to see cody following you around, like a lost puppy with his charming smile and his stupid friendly personality. roman told his cousins about his plan and they all disagreed at the same time. "you're fucking crazy." jey added. "i'm starting to regret what i did, i'm gonna take her back, sooner or later." solo face-palmed at his sentence. "we don't want anything to do with this. she's like a little sister to us, uce. we can't afford another heartbreak for her. i don't even know what to say to you."

"i hope you don't mind having pharaoh in your house." you quickly shook your head, petting the dog. "it's fine. as long as he doesn't shit on my fucking carpet." cody chuckled. "who would've thought i'd be in your house, drinking beer at 3 pm?" it really did surprise you that you would end up actually hanging out with someone other than your boss. "so, what did i miss?" you huffed out the smoke from your cigarette, pulling out the reports.

"overall, i'd say this is looking good for you codes." his eyes lit up in excitement. you called him codes, a new nickname. you realized what you said and felt your cheeks slightly reddened. "codes." he repeated, not paying attention to the papers in front of him. "shut up." you smacked his back. "it's cute." you groaned in despair. you passed him the papers. "roman needs to shut the fuck up." you said, all the sudden. "what happened?" cody asked. "at this point, i think he's obsessed with our new friendship." you shrugged your shoulders.

pharaoh was running around your yard, making you smile a bit. "i don't want to deal wit him anymore, except for work.” you added, leaning back on your chair. “sorry i wasn’t there.” cody apologized. "nah, it wasn’t your fault. he’s an asshole and i need a shower, i smell like pharaoh already." you stood up from your seat.

the blond man noticed that you were slowly (but surely) opening up to him. sure, you had your moments, still trying to push him away. it was a push and pull situation. the more you pushed him away, the closer he pulled himself into your life. the friendship you had with him was genuine and you were glad that you ended up being friends with him, for now. you felt that your life was somehow getting better at a very slow pace, but deep down, you were still scared.

cody was reading his reports when he heard a knock coming from the front door. "CODY, CAN YOU GET IT? I THINK IT'S THE FOOD WE ORDERED." "right!" the man skipped to your front door, taking out his money to pay the delivery guy. "hey man, how much- roman?" cody almost choked on his own saliva as he saw his current 'rival' standing in front of him. "what are you doing here?" the two of them said at the same time. there was tension in the air, they noticed it too. "i'm getting my report, what are you doing here?"

"came to see (y/n)." cody furrowed his eyebrows. "what makes you think she wants to see you, man?" he continued. "whoa dude, who do you think you are?" roman's tone was stern. "you do realize she doesn't want anything to do with you anymore right?” they were glaring at each other. “you don’t get to decide what’s good for her, cody.” the black-haired man gritted his teeth. “i don’t, but i know what’s best for her. and you right now? you need to stay away from her…” cody muttered, trying his best to tone it down so you wouldn’t hear the conversation.

as soon as cody closed the door on his face, he was too stunned to speak. the game was on, roman thought. “where’s the food?” he heard your voice from inside the house. “oh, that’s not the delivery guy. there was a dude asking for directions.” cody lied, covering the fact that roman was still actually in front of your house. he hesitated a bit, wanting to knock again–but he knew, you’d hate him even more.

it was a matter of time till he comes back in your life. cody and roman were playing a game of chess.

a/n: sorry for shorter chapters… i’m trying my best </3 it’s getting intense for the three of them

#roman reigns #the usos #wwe #wwe imagines #paul heyman #jey uso #roman reigns imagine #wrestling #cody rhodes #roman reigns x reader #cody rhodes imagine #cody rhodes x reader #jimmy uso

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strxwbloody · 1 year

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GHOUL IN THE BOX | Ch. 1

TAGLIST : @izz3l @honeym0chi @lohsna @writersblockk @kthyg @thelazylemur @asahi-namikaze @addictedtohobi

Summary: Seoul has been invaded in recent years by ghouls, demons with humanoid features that feed on human flesh. The CCG has introduced a curfew for human citizens to avoid losing their skin. What happens when a girl finds herself in an underground pub in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Pairing: Ghoul SS+ Hoseok x Human Reader

Genre: Horror

Warnings:Just a murder

Rating: 18+ PLEASE MINORS DON'T INTERACT

Words: Short

"Another murder case, this time in the university area of Hongdae, human remains of a boy and a girl were found, most likely by a ghoul. But we’re not sure if there’s a ghoul behind it that’s causing panic these days. A ghoul yet to be identified and yet to be ascertained if it is a higher class category. The CCG will try to investigate the matter. As far as we know about the victims, they were a couple of 20-year-old college students found near a not-so-popular pub. The injuries are the usual signs of struggle, bites and mutilation of certain parts of the body. We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of these young people. We recommend that you return soon-"

"Return soon to your homes etc.. etc..." sigh. "How many times have I heard it." You finally get bored by turning off the radio from the counter.

Each time it was so, various murders, bloodshed, carnage and frightened humans who had to return home early to avoid being eaten by these dreaded monsters and blah blah. Not to mention that now there was the new trend of this new "killer". Magnificent, simply magnificent.

Nothing surprises you anymore.

At the time there were no customers, just the background music of some random rock song that infuses in the store and yourself. You rejoiced at the thought of this moment finally, until you looked at the watch on your wrist.

18:13

In a few minutes, you could finally get home. Throw yourself in a hot shower that would soothe muscle pain, listen to music, read a good book, and eat the long-awaited boring noodles and cheap bibimbap you bought in the market on the other block. You admit that this routine had become boring, but what could you do? Until things got worse with these monsters, you couldn’t do much.

Hours were down for curfew, and salaries weren’t as good for work as yours. Of course, who bought CDs at 10:00 p.m.? Certainly no one, but you didn’t complain.

At least you earned money and set them aside out of necessity, without depending on anyone, especially an apprehensive person like your father.

But let’s put that aside.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. You turn over distraught and exhausted. A sigh came out. "I'm sorry, I have to inform you that we are going to close- ISEUL? What the hell are you doing here?" You watched the newcomer break into the store, showing a 32-tooth smile.

Gosh, you should have put on sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses, blindingly. "Y/N! YOU WON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!" She screamed happily jumping to the counter. "Shh, keep your voice down, or he’ll kick our asses." You whispered, showing her the owner who looked at them, reading his stupid newspaper.

"Tsk!"

"Oh... well here I found these in the mailbox." She pulled out of the ticket bag. "So what?"

"Apparently it’s a private party, only a few people get it! And that’s for you!"

"Hey, who told you I was coming? And you know what my dad’s like... why don’t you go with your boyfriend instead?"

"That son of a bitch? Forget it, after what he did to me a week ago, leaving me for another girl." He clenched his fists, looking down.

Understanding your friend’s pain, you pat her on the back. "Okay, I’ll go with you." At that answer the good mood returned on her face. "For what day and what time?"

"Tonight!"

Open your eyes wide. "Tonight?! Iseul, you know there’s a curfew and my father will never let me out"

"I know, I know... but fuck Y/n, all you do is work so hard and you’re always barricaded at home. So you just neglect yourself! You deserve to have fun."

"What if my father finds out about me? Damn it, that day I refused to share the rent with you." You really love your dad, but you just can’t stand him.

"Do you realize that now?" She raises her eyebrow, mocking you.

"Are you done?" You slap her arm and make her laugh, already with the shoulder bag ready to get out of the store. "Mr. Yoo, I’m going home. I’ll see you on Monday." All I get is a "Mh!" And close the door, going out with your friend.

"Try to make up an excuse to come, do like in college, sneak out the window!" She delivers you the ticket. "Are you crazy, are you suggesting to kill myself?" Take a look at the piece of paper.

The schedule said the party would start at 10:30 and the place...

An unusual place for a party....

The old Hogupo subway station.

-----

I'M SO SORRY GUYS, I HAD A PROBLEM WITH CONNECTION AND TRANSLATION (Sorry I'm not english mother tongue :c) PLEASE FORGIVE ME. It's my first time that I write a ff, be patient I will promise you the chapters will be long🫶🥹

Bye

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bro-atz · 3 months

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1024UB CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: WHY ARE YOU HERE?

word count: 2.8k

table of contents ♤ previous chapter ♤ next chapter

It didn’t take Gyuri as long as she thought it would to recover from the emotional damage that Seonghwa inflicted on her. She actually thought she would have to walk on eggshells around everyone especially because they’d never seen her cry before, let alone cry like that. No one really treated her any different, though, which she found incredibly comforting.

Not only that, but she really had San to thank. When he promised that he wouldn’t leave her, he really meant it. He was treating her the same way Seonghwa had treated her when they were best friends. He checked in on her every day, he spent time with her as a friend and classmate, and he did more than Seonghwa because, well, they were still sleeping together.

They didn’t hook up so often, but when they did, they would always go to Gyuri’s place. She didn’t mind that they were at her place, but she was getting tired of running the risk that Iseul would find out. They technically didn’t need to keep their relationship a secret anymore, but because Gyuri was unsure about what their relationship was at this point, she didn’t want to say anything to the group. Instead, she just decided to discuss the situation with San— the location of their hookups, though. Not the relationship itself.

“Just out of curiosity, why do you spend so much time at my place?” she asked.

They were at Ze Cafe drinking coffee and working on papers together. Wooyoung was working, Hongjoong was not. This shift seemed to be especially busy, so San and Gyuri were able to sit at a far away enough table to discuss things that they couldn’t otherwise in front of their friends.

“Well, Hongjoong’s been spending a lot of time at my place because he’s just been attached at the hip to Yunho. I figured that if we did hook up, your place would be better… Hongjoong keeps sleeping over every night. It’s been kind of tiring. Like, I like Hongjoong, but he’s so depressed after kicking Seonghwa out of the house that he can’t be alone,” San sighed deeply.

“Damn, it’s that bad, huh?”

“Yeah. He drinks every night and goes on and on to Yunho and I about how bad he feels. I’m starting to get worried for his liver.”

The two went quiet for a bit as they both typed rapidly on their laptops and tried to get some work done. Then, Gyuri thought about it. Hongjoong was sleeping over at San and Yunho’s every night? “Hey, wait, if Hongjoong is over all the time, then why don’t you just sleep at his place?”

“Then I’d be alone…”

“…You’re an idiot.”

San was quiet for a bit, then the realization hit him. Gyuri couldn’t help but laugh at his animated expression as he put two and two together. “...Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“Think about it. If we do, then that means you won’t have to sneak out in the morning before Iseul gets back. Not to mention, we can wreck Seonghwa’s room.”

“Geez, that’s a different level of revenge.”

“Well, I’m that angry,” Gyuri took a sip of her coffee.

“As you should be, but are you sure about this?”

“Yes.”

San didn’t argue with her after she shot him a serious glance. They both finished their coffee and got as much work done as they possibly could before Gyuri felt a hand rest on her knee. That was the other thing that was a little weird, lately. Not that Gyuri minded, but San wanted to hook up all the time. She was a little concerned because as far as she knew, San and Iseul were still dating, and Gyuri really didn’t want to be in the middle of that (especially after the whole Seonghwa issue). Yet, San was the one asking to hook up, so Gyuri didn’t know if she should say anything, not to mention she was too afraid to ask. If he wanted to, then that was his choice. So, while they sat at the cafe and his hand slid up from her knee to her thigh, Gyuri immediately stood up. She could feel her ears getting hot as she avoided eye contact with San. She knew for a fact that he had that dumb teasing smile on his face, and she wanted to do anything but look at his face; she knew her face would get hotter if she did.

The two packed up their belongings and left the cafe after saying bye to Wooyoung. Gyuri was growing more and more wary of San as they walked back to 1024UB together. He was teasing her more and more even though they were holding a proper conversation. His hand kept “accidentally” brushing against hers, and when they abruptly stopped at an intersection, he would purposefully hold his arm out so she wouldn’t “run into traffic”, but his arm would press against her chest lightly. Gyuri knew that San knew what he was doing, but she didn’t have the energy or will to get him to stop turning her on in public.

As they got into the building, they decided to stop at San’s place first, just to see if Hongjoong was there. He wasn’t, but Yunho was.

“Hey, do you know if Hongjoong is spending the night again?” San asked.

“No, he said he’s super behind on his projects, so he’s probably going to pass out in the studio tonight.”

“Okay, cool. Are you planning on going to the lab tonight?”

“Probably not. Iseul and I both agreed that we needed to take a step away from the project before it gets any worse,” Yunho laughed; that meant Iseul was also going to be home.

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense,” San started to leave slowly, Gyuri already by the door.

“What are you two up to?” Yunho asked as he eyed them leaving.

“Oh, uh, I got some new lights for my room, so I asked San to help me install them,” Gyuri lied.

She prayed that Yunho wouldn’t dig deeper, and he didn’t. He seemed satisfied with her answer, and Gyuri was super grateful that he didn’t ask to come along or offer to help. They waved goodbye to Yunho and left the apartment, a sigh escaping both of them at the same time as the door closed. She felt San’s hand brush against her lower back. She looked up at him to see that stupid cheeky smile on his face and his eyes blazing with impatience. Annoyed, Gyuri grabbed his arm and led him to Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s apartment; he didn’t seem to mind her mild annoyance.

They got to Hongjoong’s apartment a couple minutes later, San trying to take them on multiple detours on their way up the stairs. Gyuri was seriously wondering what San was on— she couldn’t help but think he was extremely horny these days. They entered the apartment, Gyuri behind San. However, the second they walked in, they froze. It was almost as if they saw a ghost— although at that point Gyuri would have preferred to see a ghost. Instead, they were met with with a very much alive and in the flesh Seonghwa carrying a bundle of clothes.

Gyuri had never been so anxious in her entire life. She felt her chest tighten up and her palms were starting to sweat, which was super embarrassing for her because she never had such a physical reaction to a stressful situation. She felt like the world was spinning, like she could throw up at any given moment, but she kept focusing on her breathing as she slowly tried to sneak out of the apartment, only for San’s strong grip to keep her right there with him.

“Oh, uh, hey… Hw-Seonghwa,” San was the first to speak. It seemed like he was unsure whether to call Seonghwa by the nickname the group had given him or his birth name, but the look on Seonghwa’s face seemed to suggest that he hated being called by his full name and not his nickname. Apparently, he hated it so much that he dropped, more like slammed, whatever belongings he had in his arms to the ground.

“Hey,” Seonghwa responded coldly, sending a shiver down Gyuri’s spine. She hid behind San.

“Everything okay?” San continued.

“Yeah.”

This time, his response was not so cold. Gyuri had never heard Seonghwa speak so despondent in her entire time of knowing him. He sounded bitter and like he was in pain. His voice was hoarse. Gyuri peeked from behind San to see that his eyes were red and puffy. His hair looked like a mess— not like he didn’t shower, but that he was messing up his hair every chance he got.

A wave of compassion overcame Gyuri. She didn’t like seeing Seonghwa like this regardless of the nasty things he said to her. She slid her arm out of San’s grasp and stood next to him, her arms crossed over her chest. “You don’t seem okay,” she talked to him the same way she always had when they were friends— best friends.

“What’s it to you?” his voice turned cold again; and this time, rage pumped through Gyuri’s veins. She didn’t realize she was pushing the sleeves to her sweater up until San placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, woah, let’s calm down,” San said as he also held a hand out in front of Seonghwa.

Seonghwa scoffed. Gyuri saw red. She shoved San away from her and walked right up to Seonghwa, their eyes locked on each other. An angry Seonghwa was something she never wanted to see, but now that she had to, she hated it. She hated everything about him now. Fuck treating him like a friend. He didn’t deserve that luxury anymore, she decided to herself.

“What is your fucking problem?” Gyuri pushed her pointer finger into his chest, causing him to take a single step back.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone,” he slapped her hand away from him, his jaw tense.

“I am doing that, you dickwad!”

“Yeah, sure, that’s why you turned all my friends against me.”

“What the fuck does that have to do with leaving you alone?! And I never turned anyone against you.”

“You’re still fucking bothering me by not letting me see my friends the way I want to! You’re such a manipulative bitch.”

Now complete and utter nonsense was spewing from his mouth. Gyuri watched him in shock. What the hell happened to him? He’s the one who was brainwashed.

“There is no way in hell that I’m the manipulative one. I didn’t do shit. You did this to yourself. Why are you acting like this?” Gyuri held her own and stood in front of Seonghwa as if she had all the confidence in the world, but inside she was trembling like a tiny kitten in the rain.

“I’ve always been like this.”

Gyuri felt her mouth drop slightly. He said that so definitively. She’d known him for seven years, and not once did he speak like that to her, or anyone for that matter, ever. “Lies. I know you, Seonghwa—”

“You never really knew me,” Seonghwa interrupted her.

That did it for the girl. Who the fuck did he think he was kidding? She had spent countless days and nights with him. Albeit, they were only friends in that regard, but she still knew so much more about him than anyone else in the group. For him to say that she never really knew him was a punch in the gut. So, she slapped him. She didn’t even know she was going it. It was like instinct. The craziest part was that Seonghwa just took the slap. He didn’t move an inch. His face turned to the side. Hhe didn’t hold his cheek or anything. He just stood there.

“We were friends for seven years. I know you better than that whore does,” Gyuri bit out.

Seonghwa turned his head and said, “Don’t you dare call my girlfriend a whore, you slut.”

San gasped. He stood behind Gyuri and held her shoulders back, but that didn’t do anything. She raised her fist and tried to punch Seonghwa, seeing as her slap was successful, but Seonghwa stopped that physical attack. His hand held onto her arm tightly. It was definitely hurting Gyuri, but she refused to show any sign of weakness. Instead, she found herself staring right into his eyes, searching for answers for where this behavior came from.

She saw pain in his eyes. Not pain from the slap, but a deep pain from within. There were tears in his red eyes, but none of them rolled down his face. Gyuri wanted to decode the pain. She wanted to know what it was that was causing him pain. Was it her? Was it him treating her like this? Was it his relationship with Bora? She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she knew better. She knew that he wouldn’t answer a single question, and if he did, he would give her the most infuriating answer. There was only one thing she knew for sure: he did not want to do any of this.

Gyuri ripped her arm out of Seonghwa’s painful hold and lowered her hand. She took a step back, San still holding onto her shoulders. Seonghwa, who maintained eye contact with her as she stepped away, broke their eye contact to grab the rest of his clothes he dropped— slammed— earlier. Before he could run his shoulder into hers on his way out, San pulled her to the side. Seonghwa left the apartment, the door slamming on his way out.

The second he left, and the second San let go of her, Gyuri fell to the ground. Her legs couldn’t keep her up any longer. She was upset, but she was not going to cry. She had no reason to. He may have been hurting her, but he was definitely hurting much more than her. San, meanwhile, remained standing, his eyes darting back and forth from the entrance to the fallen girl on the ground.

“What…” he croaked. “What just...”

“My thoughts exactly,” Gyuri whispered.

“Was he about to cry or something? He was the one calling you nasty names, he shouldn’t be crying.”

“He doesn’t want to do this… He’s hurting. I don’t know why he’s hurting, but he is,” Gyuri tried her best to vocalize her thoughts maturely.

“If he’s so unhappy, then why doesn’t he just break up with her and come back to the group?”

“I don’t know why he’s unhappy— it might not even be because of that bitch,” Gyuri refused to say her name. “All I can tell is that he’s unhappy with something.”

“He needs to get it together,” San bent down to help her up.

“Go tell him that, not me,” Gyuri ignored his hand and stood up on her own, her legs still numb.

“Hey, Gyu, I’m on your side,” Gyuri looked to see a small frown on San’s face.

“Sorry, I just… When we were best friends, he never said those kinds of nasty things to anyone. I can’t believe he said those things to me…”

Gyuri sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She was way too frustrated and confused. She closed her eyes and tried to think about what just happened between her and Seonghwa. She came to the conclusion that he was not Seonghwa. That couldn’t be him. She didn’t know who the fuck that was, nor did she have any positive feelings for that person. She felt San’s arms wrap around her waist familiarly, his lips pressing lightly against her temple. She turned and pushed herself further into his embrace.

“This is so annoying,” she managed to say after a moment of silence.

“Frustrated?”

“More than you could possibly imagine.”

“What would you like to do?” he asked her softly.

“…I’m not really in the mood to do anything crazy,” she admitted honestly. “I mainly don’t want to be alone.”

San nodded and moved away from her slightly. “Do you still want to go into Seonghwa’s room?”

“No, let’s go to the roof,” Gyuri sighed and looked away. “I’m exhausted.”

“Okay.”

The two left the apartment and went up to the roof, the two of them sitting side by side in the couch near the lights. San put his arm over her shoulder, and she leaned into his chest while sharing the occasional soft kiss. She didn’t care if anyone walked in on them, but she didn’t have to worry about that. The two were on the roof alone as the sky transitioned from blue to purple to starry.

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1024UB tag list: @dalsuwaha @eyeryis @choisanswifexo @haebaragisworld @dazzlingstarrs @hongjoongswifefr @yjpumas @my-lightspirit

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artzzyb00-27 · 6 months

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{💜Kimchi Prep & Dish💜}

Korean readers need more representation. That's it. Also, if I ever offend any of you white people. Please, respectfully, get over it. No one has said anything(maybe because I haven't joked about it yet satirically) but I've had experience with people telling me the being racist to white people was a thing. And that they shouldn't be responsible for their ancestors actions. Then later on go to make racist jokes. Not saying I hate white people, I just don't immediately like you guys. The bar is not the hard to overcome anyway. Just don't be a racist biggot and we're good.

In Queens there was a small Korean restaurant with a pretty decent community filled with familiarity. Something that attracted a quartet of mutant turtles who were always longing for new experiences. And places like this were perfect.

The culture was unique, music was widespread, and people were of different variety and presentability. Proven especially with Iseul Ok(pronounced; 'Ock'). One of the daughters helping out at her grandfather's restaurant. The turtle brothers had saved the blind man before from some low lifer's and he repaid with food for life. No complaints were made, anything to stop eating pizza whenever they couldn't get any specific ingredients.

So when they told him about their situation, he told them to come after hours so they could eat in peace behind the building. Which turned to them meeting his youngest grandchild. She was really sweet. Shocked about their appearance at first but then quickly turned when she started cracking jokes with Mikey. So Donnie watched. Observed. Tried to make sense of her. Learn about her.

He gained an interest to learn about the culture of her and her family. Which turned to him asking about Kimchi. Since it had gained a lot of popularity on TikTok, and it reached his 'For You Page'. To say she was ecstatic was an understatement.

"Kimchi's really important to us. It's a national treasure. You know for some people it represents love and future?" She asked rhetorically, which made Donnie tilt his head to the side smiling. Listening to her ramble was something he found appealing. She wasn't ashamed for her culture, which sadly was something that happened to often in cultures who weren't colonizers.

"How come it's popular?"

"Our ancestors wanted to achieve balance between nutritional qualities and health. At first it was pretty bland. Some salted vegetables with Korean Radish. Later on spices were added. There's a lot versions of it now but they each have the same origin. At least 180 varieties."

"Damn! People sure love their food." Donnie mused as Iseul collided her hip with his playfully. After fully making it Iseul turned to Donnie with a weary smile. He smiled back at her nervously.

"Sorry, it's just,... usually for it to get good fermentation it should be stored for at least one or two days. Or sometimes two weeks. You can try it now and bring your brother's back so they can taste the good version."

"Whatever you think is best. I'm only just learning." Smiling, Iseul grabbed a piece that looked more covered in the spices and fed it too the 6'11 turtle. Who leaned to reach her 5'10 stature, which was taller than most women in her community. Older generations barely reaching 5'3.(Y'all are tiny, no offense)

Savoring the flavor, Donnie's eyes lit up at the texture and amount of flavor. He was so happy in fact, that he started churring. Shamelessly might I add. Which made her happy. It showed that he was comfortable around her and didn't try to mask himself to appear more "normal".

"It's delicious, can't wait to try it again in a few weeks." He smiled at Iseul and helped clean up the kitchen after putting the Kimchi away in storage.

"Remember to bring your brothers. I want them to get a good taste of it." Nodding in agreement, he left her apartment and arrived home around 2:30 am.

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

A few weeks later the brothers were headed to Iseul's apartment to try out the infamous food Donatello had been hyping up. Smirking in amusement Raph nudged his older brother who returned the emotion and turned to his nerdy brother.

"Question. How long have you been waiting for this?"

"Not long, like two weeks. Only because it makes the flavor set in more." Nodding at the explanation Leo glanced at his other two brothers and looked back to Donnie.

"And you're sure it isn't because we haven't been able to see her that you're so excited?" Rolling his eyes, Donnie turned away from his leader.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." A small laugh came from Mikey as he walked up to his brother in purple coloration.

"Bro, if we were messing with you, you could tell. Be honest now,.." A pause fell over the turtles waiting for the youngest one to finish his sentence, "Have y'all kissed yet? Ow-!"

Getting hit by a pebble to the noggin wasn't fun. Especially when it was thrown slightly faster than usual by the most yolked out of the ninja quartet. Glaring at his little brother, Raph turned to his twin brother.

"Ignore him, let's just go. But D, seriously. Just ask Ise out man. Her family already knows about you. Not much stopping you," Donnie went to open his mouth to retort but was shut down by Raph. "Cept for losing the friend-ship, and yadda yadda."

"We'll make give Donnie advice later. We gotta hurry before Iseul starts spamming our phones." Leo told the others before running off with the three in tow.

Arriving at the apartment, Iseul opened the window for them to come in and made sure no one was watching. Setting their weapons down somewhere safe the brothers went to relax on the couch and started the Nintendo to play Mario Party. All of them except for Donnie and Iseul who was getting the giant container of Kimchi out.

"Feast your eyes, Dontron." She said while lightly pushing it towards the turtle. The food was bubbling and making noises. Eagerly Donnie grabbed a piece of cabbage ate it. Eyes lighting up in enthusiasm. Turning his head to the tall girl next to him.(Who was still small compared to Paul Bunyan over here.)

"It's even better than before! You have to let me take some for Splinter. Guys get in here!" With a few seconds the turtles and Iseul were snacking on the Kimchi while also enjoying video games and at some point a movie. After some talking the brothers got ready to leave. All but one.

"You guys get going. I'll catch up." He said handing Leo the bag containing a portion of Kimchi for their master. Agreeing, the three turtles left through the window and headed up to the roof. Iseul looked at Donnie confused. That is till he pulled her into a hug, which she reciprocated, and began talking.

"This is really hard to say and get off my chest. I know we're best friends and we don't keep secrets from each other and you've said before that you can tell me anything,.." Taking a pause after putting the girl down and looking at the ground to avoid eye contact he barely lifted them to see her face. She caught on to what he was saying. "But that's also why I'm not as nervous to tell you this because I know that you're not someone to shut out others who are emotional or don't think before acting. Something I admire about you the most."

At that point Iseul got on her tip toes and kissed him on his cheek. Standing there in shock and lifting a hand to touch the area she kissed. Hearing a click they both turned to the window and saw Mikey laughing and running back onto the roof. Groaning Donnie looked back to Iseul and smiled.

"Let's make this official tomorrow. My grandpa is making a giant buffet for the community and he wants all of you to come. Could also give them a chance to meet Splinter." Nodding, Donnie leaned down slightly and kissed her forehead and ran out the window.

Jumping up to the roof ignoring his shit-head brothers staring him down after smiling at the pictures the youngest turtle took.

#bay tmnt #bayverse tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2014 #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2016 #tmnt #bayverse tmnt fanfic #tmnt 2016 #bayverse turtles #tmnt 2014 #bayverse donnie #bayverse donnie x oc #tmnt oc #oc #korean oc #korean readers please critique if needed #tmnt oots #tmnt out of the shadows

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sakuramidnight15 · 4 months

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-RSA MC Information-

[Gacha Life 2 Ver. Below]

Name: Hei-Ran Sowol / Sowol Hei-Ran

(Japanese and Korean: ヘイラン・ソウォル / 소월혜란)

Quote: "One should know the creation of a masterpiece."

Romaji: Sou~oru heiran / Sowol Hyelan

V/A: Endou Aya (Japanese)

Laura Post (English)

Bae Jeong-mi (Korean)

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: November 1

Star Sign: Scorpio

Eye Color: Light Ocean

Hair Color: Faded Grey Blue

Height: 176 cm

Race: Human

Homeland: Crystalsle Village (The fifth country in the Island of Enchantment)

Family: Sowol Haneul (Father)

Sowol Iseul (Mother)

Sowol Baek-Hyeon (Grandfather)

Sowol Gyeong (Grandmother)-(Deceased)

_______________________________________

School Status and Fun Facts

Dorm: TBA (If There's RSA Canon Dorms in the game)

School Year: Third

Class: 3-A (Same Class with Venomia, Aine and Lucia)

Occupation: Student

Heiress to the Sowol Family (Currently in training)

Violinist and Pianist (Formerly)

Orchestra Conductor

Club: N/A

Best Subject: Literature, History, and Musical Arts

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous

Favorite Color: Shades of Blue, White, Grey, and Light Purple

Favorite Food: Seafood (Mostly at Various kinds), Kimchi, Korean Food (Mostly Spicy), Desserts (Only 10℅ Sweetness), Fried Meat (Mostly Thigh and Goat Meat), Peppermint Icecream (Mostly), Various Tea Flavors (Mostly),

Least Favorite Food: Candies (Mostly), Too much sweets (Mostly), Radish Stew, Frozen Sherbet, Stale Cookies (Mostly), Cakes (Especially with too much Frostings)

Likes: Flowing in her Career as a Conductor (Mostly), The Musical Artes (Mostly), Puting effort in her works (Mostly), Her Work going smoothly, Pure Peace and Quiet, Music, Reading through Novels, Sleeping at longer hours, Playing Instruments, Peppermint,

Dislikes: Anyone getting in her way (Mostly), Getting herself involved (Mostly), Her efforts going to waste (Mostly), Off-tune Music (Mostly), Her ex-fiance and his lover (Mostly), Her ex-lover (Mostly), Not getting any sleep, Losing her Patience, Someone who can't even do math, Herself getting messy,

Hobbies: Working on her Music Sheets and Records (Mostly), Preparing for the Concert (Mostly), Reading through Novel, Seeing through Observation, Playing Chess, Working (Mostly), Playing with Various Instruments (Mostly), Dancing through Various Genres (Mostly),

Talents: High Debate Skills, Castor Skills, Self-Defense, Weaponry (Various), Chinese and Korean Martial Artes (Mostly it's Legwork but still), Spell-casting Musical Notes, Mistress of Manipulation, Iron Grip, Words of an Alibi, Mind of Progression,

Nicknames: Hei-Ran or Ran (From her family and friends)

Hei-Ran-senpai or Sowol-senpai (From the freshmen students)

Ran-Ran (From Vendetta)

Hea (From Ismene and Xander)

Rani (From Rainier and Eliot)

Other Nicknames:

Maestra of '神性' (Divinity)

_______________________________________

Appearance and Personality

Appearance: Hei-Ran has a tall yet slender female body build, though her own body figure shows more of her femininity than a normal female body structure. She has a long faded grey blue colored-hair which it reaches to get foot ankle and ties it into a single braid which it reaches to the bottom of her foot heel, and she has light ocean colored eyes. Hei-Ran is a woman describe as an silent yet elegant young lady.

Personality: Born through the highest class wealth within the Island of Enchantment, Hei-Ran's childhood is mostly throughout on by many expectations, but she was never bothered by it, although as she grew up her skills with music evolved into a masterpiece of exclusive art work, which got her to settle in with her talent. Much likely her family and her were in normal common and terms but as she grew older and her talent grew, her parents mostly grew in rather of concern for their only daughter while the grandfather wondered what her life will be since she's been this way without further explanation.

As for Hei-Ran herself, she didn't do this just for family reputation or meeting expectations of the crowd viewing her as a way to improve her efforts, as her skills grew much better, and around of it all? Nothing else much matter to her bearings than her way of living thoroughly.

The current Hei-Ran we're seeing in the current timeline is now a posed yet silent young lady but dignifies with elegance and regal of a noble within the high-class society within her home country, but to her quiet aura makes it hard for many students to approach her, some few did try but regardless enough, Hei-Ran showed no interest of reaction and instead walked along though resulting to many to be slight intimidated by her presence. She isn't very social to many due to focusing on what's more important in her schedule on her plate, however she can be seen interacting with others but it only lasted for much. Hei-Ran is often seen with the other scouted rift students and seems to communicate with them than the students within the academy.

As an expertise with music throughout her childhood and current timeline, it is possible that she is considered to be one of the mysterious yet elegant third-year students to be scouted by the school, needless to say that they find it tough to handle her thanks to her family and her social status which anyone wouldn't want to go near her. But whenever she's with her friends, she seems to be normal like any other person would. Though she lacks the feelings though but it wasn't a serious kind of way though. Though Hei-Ran tends to get blunt sometimes rather in a effective way when it comes to facts. Let's just say that some are pretty much are getting effected through words that hits pretty much hard in the gut.

When silence becomes a weapon treatment, but the stronger it grows, the more you sealed your lips tight as a it remained locked. Hei-Ran finds dealing to those often oppose or go against her rather normal within her life, getting things going her way is not problem even if it meant through the works of violence. Please understand, she's not a stubborn women but will not hesitate to get things under back in control as before mentioned... Nothing else mattered in her life ever since the day she was born, no threats of death will even end her as long as her efforts continue to flow.

No one knows how of what she had become, regardless of countless reasons being stacked, Hei-Ran will always finds them false for they do not know the reason.

_______________________________________

Trivia

-The name 'Hei-Ran' means 'Grace and brightness'. While her surname 'Sowol' means 'the white moon, the bright moon, the true moon.'

-She's double on Cha Se-Eum, the main protagonist within the KDrama Series called: 'Maestra: The Strings of Truth', and Serena from a manhwa series called: 'I'm the Villainess, can I die?'

-Mostly the students avoids her but that didn't matter.

-Is often seen working on her career, whether at home or at the school. No one dared bother her.

-A expert at music since it was her talent ever since she was child, she then nurtured it further as she became an conductor of her own orchestra to perform various numbers of concerns despite her age.

-Was formerly a pianist and a violinist before becoming an conductor.

-Often arranged her music sheets whenever she practices.

-She and Xander morefully often assist Ismene whenever they are chatting. Especially when it comes to advanced planning.

-She and Vendetta are often close with each other before entering RSA, making them an unapproachable duo within the school.

-Elliot finds her inspiration fascinating and would listen to her work.

-Rainier also helps her assisting whenever she prepares her concerts.

-Knows the SIDC company and especially their connections and their employees.

-She's seems to be aware of RSA's past case regarding back to her home country, which she didn't seem to be bothered by the school's current situation.

-She and Westyn are often seen together but no one ever seen them on campus, morefully they talk in casualties and nothing else more.

-With her past background being complicated and not much from her childhood life is unknown, she has an ex-lover but broke up due to them not supporting her work and finds it unworthy which resulted to an very violent break-up between them. Then gained a fiance from her parents and grandfather through an arranged marriage but it went turmoil after learning that they had a lover which resulted the engagement to dissolve to dust five months after she became a conductor by witnessing the affair alongside with her grandfather and her maid. Despite what had happened, Hei-Ran showed no reaction or damage despite of how massive it hit on her.

-At first she had a decent relationship with her family, but after what had happened as she grew up later they then grew to be concern for her but they still support her career which it was enough for Hei-Ran to appreciate them.

-Her Mother and Deceased Grandmother were former solo pianist as the talent passed onto Hei-Ran.

-Her Grandmother passed on due to a unknown disease.

-Her voice sounds very mature and composed, but the tone rises whenever she settle her foot down to the problem arising. Which is why I chose Endou Aya as her Japanese VA, Laura Post as her English VA, and Bae Jeong-mi as her Korean VA.

-She seems to be a bit obsessed about her career which is why she sees the other situations mattered to her regardless of being involved. Though her friends and other fellow riftians seems to know the point of it without asking.

-Is seen reading through niveks whenever she's not working.

-Has a large pet Black and Blue Falcon named 'Niru', who is very loyal to his mistress.

-Is fluent in various languages, especially in ancient language within the rift.

-She tends to be tired sometimes, which is why she needed sleep.

#mc #oc #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #gacha games #bio #character information #gacha life 2 #hei-ran sowol #hien #royal sword academy #rsa

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purplesimmer455 · 22 days

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Meanwhile in San Myshuno, Cara’s over at her best friend Grace’s apartment for a movie night and just to hang out. The two of them chat in the living room for a bit, and Cara asks where Iseul is. “She’s doing a photoshoot in Chestnut Ridge.” Grace explains, and Cara nods. “It must be weird without her.” She adds, and Grace nods. “Yeah, I miss her but the wait is worth it.” There’s a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she adds. “Especially the woohoo we have after she comes back.” Cara makes a face but laughs. “Simsus llama, Ace*, I did not need to know that.” She says, and Grace smiles at the nickname. “Sorry, Cara-bara.” She teases back. “But I’m glad you’re happy with her.” Cara says softly. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft and cheesy on me, Mulawin” Grace says. “Never, Siddiqui.” Cara says, grinning.

“I love you, Cara.” Grace says after a bit, and Cara’s heart skips a beat. “I love you too, Gracie.” She says. “I’m so glad you’re here. Issy is great but it’s nice to have someone from home, you know?” Grace goes on, and Cara nods. “Gracie…” she begins, and stops when her eyes land on the engagement ring on Grace’s hand. “Yeah?” Grace says, and Cara looks away from her. “I-It’s nothing.” She says. Grace frowns but is interrupted by a call from Iseul, who’s slightly tipsy and at a place called the rusty horseshoe with Tess and Megan. Cara overhears this and raises a brow at Grace, who smiles. “That’s great jaan. Have fun and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Grace says. “See you tomorrow, Jagiya, and I love you.” Iseul says. “I love you too, Issy.” Grace says, and Cara’s heart clenches at the soft look on Grace’s face as she hangs up. What was she thinking, almost telling Grace how she feels? As jealous as she is of Iseul being with Grace, she’d never do anything to hurt either of them. She decides to try and get over her feelings as soon as possible, maybe she’ll go out on a few dates and meet someone new and move on.

#ts4 #mysims #Grace Siddiqui #Cara Mulawin

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neowinestainedress · 2 years

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Everything has changed ; lee haechan

title: everything has changed | part of the “loving him was red” series

pairing: lee haechan x oc | side members: oc best friend!kim jungwoo

genre: coffee shop!au, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff, mutual pining, getting together, (tiny little bit) angst

warnings: none

summary: She would’ve never imagined that the person that would’ve turned her life around was going to show up in that small cafè where she worked every day and hated so much. But sometimes, it only takes a coffee shop, brown eyes and a rain storm for everything to change.

words: 11.937k

taglist: @meowniee @commentgirl @b1kon131 @blossom-rea @kyungsooislifeu @jenosbliss @multistan30 | if you’d like to be added comment on the masterlist of the series

a/n: I should’ve published this one ages ago but I just couldn’t finish it and somehow I’m still not quite satisfied with the result. I feel like something is missing (probably it's the pain so that's a personal problem) but anyway it's here and I still hope you'll like it! Feedback is always appreciated, I’d love to know what you think about it.

All I knew this morning when I woke, is I know something now know something now I didn't before. And all I've seen since 18 hours ago, is green eyes and freckles and your smile, in the back of my mind, making me feel like...

Mondays were always the same for Iseul, a traumatic start for yet another stressful week. It wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy working at the small coffee shop on Jeju Island. People were nice, but seeing the same old faces made her feel stuck. Being born and raised on a small island can make you feel trapped, and that was exactly how she felt. Trapped.

Grandma Park’s sweet smile wasn’t enough to make her feel better. Just like the curious questions of the three-year-old Sooyoung, or the stray dog that always ran on the back to get some leftovers and let her cuddle him.

But she had to bring money home and take care of her family. Her grandmother had always been there for her, and she surely couldn’t leave her behind right now when she needed her the most. So, shaking the sleep off her face, she got up, ready – more or less – to face another day.

The strong scent of coffee filled her nostrils as she greeted the nth customer of the day, bidding goodbye. It was almost five in the afternoon, and she felt exhausted.

“God, I hate full-day shifts,” she whined, sitting on the stool in front of the cash register, resting her elbow on the desk and placing her cheek on her fist to stare at Jungwoo that was washing the cups and plates of the last customers that just left.

“At least people here are nice,” he commented, putting the pottery in its place. “And they aren’t always in a rush, pressing you to get their coffee done in two seconds.”

“But it gets so boring here,” she complained, twirling on the chair.

“It’s because you make it boring,” Jungwoo replied, shrugging. “Look at me, I enjoy the little things of life and live amazingly.”

She glared at her friends and shook her head. She also enjoyed the little things of life, but sometimes, they just weren’t enough. Most of the time they weren’t enough. The idea of spending her whole life like this wasn’t appealing at all, especially when it wasn’t what she had studied for and craved. She saw her dream break right in front of her eyes when her grandmother’s conditions worsened, and she had to give up flying to Seoul to take a degree in psychology to look after her grandmother and her little brother.

“I have to go check the back, look at the customers,” Jungwoo announced before disappearing without giving her time to answer.

She nodded, even though he wasn’t there anymore and stood up to stretch her back, not hearing the doorbell ring.

“Though it was a bar, not a gym,” a voice said playfully and she stilled before recomposing herself again and turning around to meet what appeared to her like the most handsome boy she had ever seen.

She coughed, shaking her head and trying not to get lost in his golden-brown eyes, or his tan skin, or his plump pink lips and his silky brown hair… “Oh, yes, sorry,” she apologized, bowing politely.

The boy chuckled, passing his tongue on his lips, “Oh, no, there’s really no need for all this formality, I get it, really.”

She smiled shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and said, “It was a really long day.”

“No worries,” he reassured, resting his elbow on the counter and peeking his head to see what sweets were left behind the window. “It was a long day also for me, waking up early to prepare the last things and fly here from Seoul. I’m starving,” he confessed, letting out a huff and rolling his head back.

“Wow, you’re from Seoul? What brings you here?”

“I used to live here, then moved to Seoul and now I came back because my grandpa needs help.”

“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath, “I’m sorry for being inconsiderate.”

He shook his head, “You’re not being inconsiderate for asking me a question I decided to answer, but for not proposing anything to eat,” he chuckled, dragging a stool closer to him, and sitting on it.

She snapped out of her trance, cursing herself for being so dumb and grabbed tongs and opened the small glass window where they kept the food, “Sorry. So, what’d you like?”

“That sandwich will be fine,” he answered, pointing at the one closest to her.

“Can I serve you anything else?” She asked while placing the bread on a clean plate and handing it to him.

“No, I’m fine for now. Can I pay when I’m done?”

“Sure,” she smiled, and right when she was about to ask him something else, Jungwoo came back from the storage room.

She turned around, not even trying to hide the big smile on her face and that made Jungwoo furrow.

“Are you okay?” He asked, tilting his head before walking close to her.

She nodded, “Yeah, why?”

He shrugged and started to walk around the desk, ready to serve a new customer who sat down at a table, “Nothing. You’ll tell me soon, anyway.”

She rolled her eyes and then turned around, making eye contact with the boy from before, he was staring at the scene with curiosity while eating – more like devouring – his sandwich.

She lowered her head, smoothing the creases on her apron and grabbed a cloth before walking out of the counter to go clean some tables. In reality, they were already clean, but she needed to keep herself busy and don’t stand near that handsome stranger.

But as she moved around the small coffee shop, she could feel his gaze burn on her skin as he kept ordering other things; first a glass of water, then coffee and then a sweet. And there weren’t other tables anymore, so giving up, she came back behind the cash, throwing the cloth in the bin.

“I feared I had to buy the whole cafe to have you here again,” he teased, chin resting on his intertwined hands.

She raised a brow and cocked her head, looking at him, “And why?”

“You started to serve me, I wanted you to finish,” he explained before standing up from the chair and fixing the leather jacket that wrapped his upper body perfectly. “It seemed fair since I let you know why I’m here.”

She nodded, “Okay, here I am,” she smiled, hand pointing at herself, focusing on what he had ordered to give him the bill instead of getting lost in him. “It’ll be 9.325 won.”

When he paid and walked out of the door, she felt her world go still once again. It was the middle of May, so it wasn’t cold at all, yet she felt cold wrap all around her body.

But his eyes, his smile and his nose didn’t leave her mind. His face was on every same old customer that came in to grab something to eat or drink. His face was in the back of her mind while she cleaned the dishes and fixed some boxes of food in the fridges in the back. His face tormented her all the driveway back home, when she greeted her brother and her grandma and even when she went to sleep.

Something about him made her heart lit up, finding a flame she thought she had lost long ago. She knew nothing about him, he was just a complete stranger, and he easily could’ve just been added to the mass of people that crossed her path only once in her life. And that night, that thought made her heart break a little as the fear of never seeing him again crept into her bones.

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now. I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now. I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now. I just wanna know you, know you, know you...

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was destiny that for once reserved her something good, but that mysterious boy started to show up every morning at the coffee shop.

And every time that his head popped from the front door, her day lighted up. Just seeing his face, hearing his voice and seeing his beautiful smile, was enough to turn her day around.

He never stayed a lot, just grabbed his over caloric pumpkin spice latte and a chocolate muffin and then sprung out of the door. It killed her; she wanted to know him more, at least know his name, but he was always out of reach.

“What’s with that sad face?” Jungwoo asked her, sitting next to her since the bar was empty. “It’s because Pumpkin didn’t show up?”

“Pumpkin?” She laughed, trying to play it cool and avoiding his interrogating gaze. “And who’s that?”

Jungwoo rolled his eyes and grabbed her knees to make her turn around to face her. “Don’t play dumb, you know who I’m talking about.”

She huffed, crossing her arms on her chest. “Fine, I’m just worried. Maybe something happened.”

Her friend raised a brow, “Sure, whatever. It’s not that you miss him and are dying to know him better, right?”

“Why do you care? I care for him just like I care for any other regular customer,” she defended, standing up from the stool to start to set up the dishwasher that had just ringed, letting them know it had finished cleaning.

“Yeah, you’re super worried when Mr. Kim doesn’t show up for a day, I saw you crying in the bathroom the other day, terrified something terrible happened to him,” he ironized, helping her with the dishes.

She stopped for a second, fist resting against her waist, “Maybe I care for him a little bit more.” It felt so humiliating to admit that she cared for someone she barely even knew, but it was the truth. And Jungwoo already knew it, they grew up together, and she always acted the same when she had a crush... if she could call him that. Jungwoo was just waiting for her to admit it out loud.

“I knew that!” her friend chanted, throwing up a fist. “So, it’s a crush. Finally, you have eyes for somebody that is not Oh Sehun?”

“Oh, shut up! You make me sound delusional if you say that.”

“You were the one saying to me that no men on this island come close to him.”

“And, in fact, Pumpkin is not from this island.”

“Who’s not from this island?” His voice resonated in the room and Jungwoo winked at her before leaving her all alone, disappearing in the back again. She damnded her best friend and then took a deep breath before turning around.

“We were discussing the drinks we sell here, and how small is the Korean offers,” she lied, heart skipping a beat when he smiled at her.

Jungwoo peeked from the back door and stared at the scene while pretending to be busy doing something.

“And Pumpkin spice latte with an extra whip is surely not typical,” he joked, running a hand through his hair, it seemed damp as if he had run there.

“No, definitely not, but I guess that’s what you’ll take, right?”

He nodded with a big smile on his face, and all the worries of the day left her mind. It didn’t matter he didn’t show up this morning, he was there now, and even if he seemed tired – even stressed – he looked beautiful as always and somehow found the strength to be positive and joyful.

Once she was done preparing the drink and handing it to him, she gathered the courage to ask his name, but before she could open her mouth, he was already out of the door.

And somehow it always happened like this, some morning she couldn’t even take him because she was already busy with other people and – as much as he loved her – Jungwoo couldn’t make him wait forever solely for her to talk to him.

It felt like a stupid game; life wanted to give her a reason to wake up in the morning and carry through every day, no matter how terrible it was, but without never letting her get to the prize. It was tiring, and she had no idea what else to do to get closer to him.

'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello". And your eyes look like comin' home. All I know is a simple name, and everything has changed. All I know is you held the door You'll be mine and I'll be yours. All I know since yesterday, is everything has changed

Iseul yawned as she finished fixing the chair around on of the tables. She was alone since Jungwoo had to leave early, but anyway they were closed, and she was just trying to keep herself busy waiting for the storm to calm down before heading home.

“Sorry, we’re closed, I’ve forgotten to lock,” she turned around and gasped when she saw him. “Oh, hi.”

“I can leave if that’s a problem.”

“No, no,” she said immediately. “I might do some company.”

“Why are you still here?”

“Jungwoo had to go. So I was just finishing things up to don’t leave a mess in the morning,” she explained and then looked at him. “What are you doing standing there? Come here.”

He smiled at her, “I don’t want to make a mess, I’m a little… wet,” he chuckled, head lowering to point at his wet clothes.

“It’s fine, come sit here. I’ll get you a cloth,” she said, before turning on her heels and going on the back to grab something dry to help him warm up a little.

“Do you want something to drink? I can’t give you your usual sugary favourite drink but maybe… some tea? I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to be more of a pain in the ass,” he laughed, wrapping the cloth around his body.

She giggled, trying to hide how fast her heart was beating right at the moment. “You’re not. Actually, I rather don’t be lonely. Nothing ever happens here, but you may never know.”

“Aren’t I just a stranger?”

“I guess, you never told me your name,” she dared to say, subtly trying to let him take the hint she wanted to know it. “But we see each other every morning, so we’re not so strangers to each other.”

“I’m Haechan,” he replied, reaching his hand out.

“I’m Iseul,” she replied, trying to don’t blush when their hands touched. “So, what were you doing around here? You’re here in the morning usually.”

“I was coming back from work, actually. But I lost the last bus and since it’s raining, I guessed you were still open, but you aren’t.”

“I didn’t kick you out, though,” she chuckled.

“With all the money I give to this bar every morning, it’s the bare minimum,” Haechan joked, leaning his back against the table, scrolling the towel in his hair to shake out more water. And it was a miracle her mouth didn’t gape at the sight.

Shaking her head and giving him a small smile, she said, “Not my fault I make the best pumpkin latte.”

“I don’t come here for a drink,” he replied, wetting his lips and staring at her straight in the eyes.

“No?”

He shook his head. “There’s somebody I really like that comes here too.”

She felt her heart drop. Did he like somebody else? Who was she? He never stayed there for long, how could he even see somebody and fall for them?

“Oh, who is… do I know her?”

“It’s you, dummy.”

Her brown eyes widened in shock as she felt her whole body heat up, “Me?”

“You’re the reason that drink is so good, if I went to any other bar, it wouldn’t be so good.”

Oh, he meant it like that.

“Oh,” she whispered, looking down on the floor. What a fool. Of course, he couldn’t like her in any other way.

“You never told me why you work here, you don’t seem really excited to be here,” he said, “Wait, let me explain, you smile a lot and you’re super polite with people, but it had happened I just stopped and stared at you, and when no customer is in front of you your face changes.”

She stammered silently, attempting to find the right words but she had no idea what to say. Should she lie? Or tell the truth? What did he even care?

“I like working here,” she said, forcing a smile on her face. “But it’s not what I really had in mind when I imagined what my life was going to be.”

“Things gone wrong?”

She shrugged and crossed her arms to her chest; she didn’t like talking about that. There was nothing she could do to change that, and she already dwelt on it by herself.

“What about you? What do you do back in Seoul?”

“I work for a company, kind of boring, to be honest, but it’s all experience and then if everything goes well when I’ll get back I’ll have the chance to work as a script supervisor in another agency.”

“Wow, that’s cool,” she said, smiling at him. “So you plan on going back?”

“Yeah, with all respect, here is not really where I want to be.”

She nodded. “And are you going soon?” She knew this was going to happen, she was the first one that wanted to leave, but she hoped that the only person that made her look forward to the new day wouldn’t leave already.

“No, it’s not happening soon,” he said, before stretching and yawning.

“Tired?” She chuckled, leaning onward to rest her arms on her knees.

“A little bit,” he replied, “What about coffee? I don’t think the rain is going to calm down soon, maybe we could avoid falling asleep here.”

She nodded, she was tired too after the long day, so she could use some coffee. “But I only have instant coffee, sorry but I don’t want to clean the machines again,” she said, standing up and heading behind the counter, followed by him.

“That’s fine,” he replied, before taking off the cloth and folding it, leaving it on the desk in front of him.

“Do you work tomorrow?” He asked, watching her grab two cups and the other things she needed to make coffee.

“I’m always here,” she reminded him. “I don’t think you look at me very much,” she joked, adding two spoons in the cup.

“I do,” he replied, “I look at you attentively,” he added, voice low, almost provocative.

She gulped and tried to hide the excitement with a nervous laugh.

“Like right now, for example, you’re blushing.”

She almost choked on air and then laughed awkwardly, “You’re just making things up.”

“Whatever,” Haechan shrugged, before grabbing the cup from her hand and bringing it to his lips. “You’re really pretty by the way,” he added, smiling smugly as he watched her blush brightly and almost choke on the sip of the drink.

The rain calmed down just when the clock hit eight, and they talked and talked, so much that they almost didn’t realize they were finally free to go home and enjoy a warm shower and a hot dish after a long day out.

“So, this is it,” Iseul said, locking the door of the cafe and then pulling down the shutters before turning around to face Haechan that was waiting behind her with his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans.

“Yep. Thank you for letting me stay,” he repeated for the nth time, making her roll her eyes.

“How many times do I have to tell you it was no problem? I would’ve died from boredom all alone,” she reassured him, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ears and then hugging her black purse tighter so it wouldn’t have slipped from her shoulder.

Haechan beamed and then scratched his neck, looking around.

“Wait, you don’t have a car…” she realized, tilting her head. “Come on, let’s go,” she ordered, before opening the umbrella and waiting for him to get underneath. He smiled and she felt her heart jump in her chest when he intertwined their arms and started walking to her car.

“By the way, you could’ve asked, I would’ve dropped you home anyway,” she said, chuckling lightly, when they finally arrived at the car.

The drive home was spent with the radio keeping them company while they kept talking about this and that, mostly about stories they shared of growing up there, finding it weird how they’d never crossed paths before that moment.

“We don’t live that far from each other,” she noted as she pulled up in the driveway and parked in front of his place, well, his grandfather’s place.

“Really?”

“Yep, I’m just a street away, actually.”

“Well, then, maybe next time I could take you home,” he smirked.

“Without a car?”

“I can drive, I just don’t have it here.”

“Oh, and what are you going to do? Use my car to drop me home and then you drive here? And what will I do in the morning?”

“I could pick you up,” he winked.

She chuckled, shaking her head. God, he was really making her go crazy.

“Goodnight, Haechan,” she greeted, watching him open the door.

“Goodnight, Iseul,” he replied before handing her a small paper and rushing to the door before she could ask him what it was.

She froze on the spot when she opened the paper and read his number.

What had just happened that night? When did she get so lucky?

And all my walls stood tall painted blue. But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down, and open up the door for you.

There was a reason if Haechan didn’t let people in. He had no time for that. He had one thing very clear in mind, and that was his future. He just wanted to get there; to the finish line, and finally, do the job he so long worked hard for.

And well, there was also another reason. He wasn’t exactly lucky with relationships. He had to admit that half of the time – all the time – it was his fault for running away when things went well – too well for his liking. He didn’t picture himself settled with somebody at his side for the rest of his life, not yet at least.

So he couldn’t understand what was the feeling he got with Iseul. He couldn’t understand how she slipped past his walls so easily. He couldn’t understand how he looked forward to meeting her in the morning at the bar, smiling behind the counter with no need to even ask him the drink he wanted. He couldn’t understand why the only thing that made him look forward to the end of the day was knowing that she was there, ready to pick him up to go back home. And he couldn’t understand why he hated the bus so much when they had different shifts and she couldn’t do that. He couldn’t even understand why every time he looked at her, he pictured himself settled in a house with somebody at his side, her.

“I shouldn’t be doing this and if my boss sees me, she will kill me. But we were going to throw them away anyway,” she said, lifting a little box full of sweets as she rushed out of the workplace, Jungwoo was going to close tonight. “You know, dumb rules about not selling food after a day.”

Haechan smiled and then grabbed the box from her hand. “And are they for me?”

“Yeah, I know you always eye them but can’t eat them because you’re in a rush in the morning so you can enjoy them tonight."

“Maybe we could eat out?” He asked hesitantly, eyes not finding the courage to look at her. What happened to his openly flirty personality?

“Us?"

“Well, we did that once, right? Two weeks ago, for lunch.”

“Maybe not tonight.”

He almost felt his heart break in his chest at those words. He was doing too much, and he had just crossed a line, scaring her forever, right? “You don’t want to?”

“I do. But let’s go on a date, a proper one,” she proposed, no idea where the confidence came from. But she felt like she just couldn’t wait any longer. The lunch they had together wasn’t a date, but she wanted to seriously go out with him and get to know him better. “Saturday night? I’ll come pick you up at 7:30.”

“Oh, fine by me,” he replied with a shrug, but he had to lower his head to hide the happy grin that curled his lips as they walked to her car.

He had no idea what was happening, but she was making his walls fall down, and for some reason, he wasn’t scared at all.

And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies, the beautiful kind, makin' up for lost time, takin' flight, makin' me feel like...

Iseul had no idea when it was the last time she felt like that. Electrified. On edge for something that was about to happen. Probably it was because she didn’t have a date in ages, and also because she never asked someone out. Or more easily because she never liked someone as much as she liked Haechan.

Calling it love was a big word, but she was now more than sure that she felt something for him, and whatever it was, was big.

So now she was rocking on her tiptoes as she waited for the clock to hit seven in front of her mirror, trying to fix the last details. He had seen her worn out after work, like a mess in the morning during those days when she couldn’t even find the strength to fix the eye bag under her eyes, yet, she wanted to be perfect for that night.

The place they were going wasn’t even expensive but she still wanted to be beautiful and wanted the night to be flawless.

She took a deep breath, fixed her hair one last time, and then rushed to the front door after bidding goodbye to her grandmother and brother.

She had been driving down that street for weeks now but she had never felt like that before. And maybe these butterflies in her stomach were rather stupid, maybe for Haechan it meant absolutely nothing. They were good friends and that was it, but she still couldn’t control the way her lips stayed curled for the whole drive to his house, or the way her palms were sweating, making it hard for her to grip the wheel and how her thighs were bouncing nervously against the leather seat as she waited for him to come out of the door.

And there he was, jumping down the few stairs that lead into the small garden, his black boots at the feet, the black tight jeans highlighting his beautiful long legs, the white shirt and the leather jacket wrapped around his torso.

“Hi,” he greeted cheerfully, entering the car and smiling at her.

She blinked twice, drifting her eyes from his handsome face and the way his hair fell around it, and greeted back before coughing and starting the car again.

“The restaurant is quite close,” she said, trying to fill the silence even if they had been together for less than a minute. Why was this so awkward? Why did it feel so different? They used to do this every single day basically. But this was different, they weren’t driving to work, they were going out on a date, a real one, and it felt so surreal.

But Haechan wasn’t listening, too caught up to stare at her. His eyes ran over her figure over and over, wondering how she could be real, now more than ever as she didn’t carry the tiredness of a whole day of work.

“You look amazing,” he said with no hesitation, not even realizing those words slipped past his lips and didn’t stay in his brain until she turned around, almost swerving with the car.

“Wow, wow, I didn’t want to scare you,” he joked, hoping that in the dim light of the evening she couldn’t see the way his face blushed.

“I just, I wasn’t expecting that,” she reassured him with a small smile, hands gripping the wheel tighter and then her eyes focused on the street again.

“Pink looks good on you,” he complimented again and this time she didn’t shake but she simply mumbled ‘thanks’ and smiled.

The rest of the drive went smoothly as they chatted about stupid gossip they read on Twitter and sang along to the songs passing on the radio. It wasn’t much different from their usual drives, but the atmosphere between them was different.

“Do you come here often?” He asked when the food arrived and they started eating. They had arrived at the small restaurant for around fifteen minutes, but the talks between them were still centred around what they talked about in the car.

“I don’t really go out, I prefer my grandma’s homemade cook,” she admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes curling up in a smile.

“I need to try it someday, then,” he said, winking at her. A sneaky, subtle remark, for her to invite him home.

“I’m sure she’d love you. She’s very picky with people I bring home, that’s why I have like two friends allowed,” she joked.

“Jungwoo included, I hope.”

She chuckled, “Yes, he is for now, but I’m not sure how long it will last. She’s very protective of her porcelain collection and last time he almost made one piece fall to the ground.”

“Okay, if you’ll ever invite me I’ll make sure to don’t go near them. I can be quite clumsy if I want to.”

“Another thing in common, I guess. When I was younger I broke so many things because I couldn’t stay still.”

“And not only when you were young,” he teased, referring to the cups she made fall the day before at work.

“Listen, that was a mistake, they were still full of soap because the dishwasher broke,” she defended herself, rolling her eyes. Out of all the times it could’ve happened, they slipped out of her hands right in front of her boss. And Haechan sitting a few tables away from the crime scene, laughing under his teeth didn’t help her keep a straight face.

“’Kay, ’kay, I believe you, but just because I love you,” he said, a small smile on his face as he looked at her.

“You love me?”

He froze, suddenly realizing what he had said and then laughed it off, “As friends, of course.”

“Oh,” she mumbled, trying to pretend that the absolutely heartbroken gasp was a breath of relief. “You scared me for a second,” she kidded, head lowered, trying to focus on the food in front of her, her fingers struggling to hold the chopsticks as her hands started shaking.

“Were you single back in Seoul?” She asked, trying to change the topic, trying to hurt herself more by reminding herself that it was better like that. He was going to go back there without her, falling for him was just so stupid. But maybe it was far too late...

“Yep, almost never dated in my life,” he said, not really understanding why she asked that.

“You? Single your entire life?” She asked incredulously.

“No,” he chuckled, “I had a fling or two, mostly very superficial things. Love’s just not for me. I’ve always prioritized my studies and my career,” he added. “And you?”

“Single, and not because as Jungwoo says, Sehun doesn’t know about my existence.”

“You’ve never, never, dated?” His voice was full of surprise, not only she was gorgeous and he couldn’t believe people wouldn’t find her attractive, but she also seemed to be extremely romantic, at least, that was what he could guess about her in the last weeks they got to know each other.

She shrugged, averting his gaze, “Just had a… had a life that didn’t give me much time to focus on relationships, let’s say,” she then forced herself to look up and force a smile at him. She never talked about what her life had been, too painful, a weight that still felt too heavy to carry around and she didn’t want to ruin this date with sad things. A talk about her parent’s death was the last thing she needed that night. “But let’s not talk about it,” she cheered, clapping her hands and then leaning to grab the bottle of Soju. “We should cheer.”

Haechan nodded, smiling shyly at her, deciding to let the topic drop. “Cheer to what?”

“To our future, for it to be as bright as possible and to be full of all the things we want.” And probably the thing, the person, she wanted the most wasn’t going to be in her future, surely, it was going to be like that, but she wanted to hope anyway. She deserved a miracle.

And maybe that cheer had been useful, brightening up the date once again. Probably Haechan got that their last conversation made her sad and he did everything he could to make her smile again. Staying around him was so easy that she forgot about everything else. He was such an easygoing person and she was surprised how far under her skin he had gotten in such little time.

And when at the end of the night, she dropped him home, she wondered if it was a good thing that they got so along with each other.

“I had fun,” he confessed, leaning against the passenger seat, staring at her before he would’ve had to go back inside and put an end to a night he just wanted to last forever. “We should do it again,” he proposed, hoping she was in just as much as him, and when her lips turned up in her usual warm smile, his heart warmed up.

“I loved spending the night with you, we should definitely do it again.”

Haechan nodded, turning his head to look at the door, feeling his heart sink in his chest at the thought of leaving. “Well, I should go, now. Don’t want to make you go home too late.”

“Yeah,” she hummed, waiting for him to open the door. “Goodnight, Haechan.”

“Goodnight,” he replied, waving at her one last time, and then getting inside.

She sighed, standing there in the driveway for some minutes, trying to take in what had just happened and calm the beat of her heart.

The butterflies were taking flight, but they were flying so high that she feared their wings were going to get burned by the sun.

Days went over and so did the dates together. It was ‘just one more’ until going out on Saturday became a little tradition between them, whether it was going out to eat dinner together, a walk in a park, or an afternoon spent at the arcade while she cursed because she couldn’t win a single game against him – a big thank you to Jungwoo for often switching their shifts so she could go out even in the evening.

Being around Haechan made her feel good. He just had a personality and a way of being that made her heart feel light, light enough to fly. And his mischievous grins and jokes were a plus that made him so intriguing and exciting. The more she knew about him, the more she wanted to know. And he surprised her every time, he always had a story to tell her, an adventure, anything. And the way he was so free, made her realize even more how many occasions she had lost in her life. And that was the hanging reminder of how this little patch of paradise was meant to be over soon. He needed to fly, and he could do that, and as much as she needed to do it too, she couldn’t just take everything and leave.

It was that stinging pain that hit her every time she took time to look at him more than usual, and when her heart would let itself go more, her brain was always there to put her back on the ground.

“You still didn’t take me home,” Haechan whined while they were walking around the Spirited Garden. They decided to prolong their usual Saturday trip and drive all the way to the other side of the island to visit it and some other parks near to it. Just them and three days immersed in nature.

“You really want to eat my grandma’s food, I get it,” she joked.

“Yeah, and I want to hear embarrassing stories about your childhood.”

“I was good as a kid, a little clumsy, but good,” she told him with a pout on her face.

Haechan sighed, clicking his tongue and shaking his head, not believing her, “I need to hear it from who knows you better.”

A small smile crept on her face while her brain tried to come up with something fast, “She’s a little bit tired, now, that’s why.” Lie. She didn’t bring him home because she knew her grandmother would’ve read right through her and never let her breathe again. She already sensed something just from the way she acted without him around, there was no need to make it worst. ‘It’s either a raise on the check or someone that makes you smile so much,’ her grandma had told her one day and she just laughed it off before running out of the door to go to work.

“Don’t worry, I can understand that. We need to take care of them, right?” He smiled and she nodded.

“We should take some pictures here,” Haechan proposed, pointing ahead of them where a small bridge stood, letting go of the topic of their conversation. “We still don’t have a pic together, that’s a scandal after so many months,” he exclaimed, dragging her by the hand and running on the bricks.

“Oh God, at least warn me when you decide to sprint like this,” she laughed, holding her chest as she tried to regain her breath. “I’m not athletic as you can see.”

Haechan laughed, rolling his head back, shaking his hair out of his forehead.

“You can fully feel the breeze if you do these things randomly.”

“You follow your heart a little bit too much,” she replied, trying to adjust her hair for the picture.

“And you take things a little bit too seriously,”

She sighed and then fixed her skirt and top, hands tight around the bag as she walked closer to him. “Let’s take our first picture then,” she said, ignoring his comment because it was true but she didn’t want to think about it.

“Say ‘cheese’,” he exclaimed.

“Nobody does that anymore,” she huffed, side-eyeing him.

“Okay then just come here, close to me,” he said, wrapping a hand around her waist.

“Here.”

“Closer,” he whined, pressing his cheek flat against hers before lifting the phone again and snapping the photo. She smiled, feeling her skin burn up against his and starting to giggle when he started leaving kisses all over her face.

“Stop! You’re embarrassing,” she screamed through the laughs, trying to squirm away from him, trying hard to pretend that those kisses weren’t the highlight of her day so far.

“You love kisses,” he replied, letting her go, but still close enough that if just one of them leaned in, the kiss would’ve landed on a portion of skin they never dared to graze. And their eyes fell right there, on top of their lips, staring intensely, throats gulping and hands reaching to touch each other. And she was about to give in, she could feel the voice in her brain, the one she never listened to, scream to just let go and kiss him, and for once she wanted to listen, she was going to listen to her impulses and close her eyes and lean in.

But Haechan didn’t want to listen to the voice inside his brain. No matter how much he wanted to give in and finally get a taste of her cherry-like lips. He took a step back and turned around, coughing lightly.

“Should we keep going?” He asked and only his voice brought her back to reality and made her feel so stupid for how vulnerable she showed herself to him.

“Yes, sure. We still have a lot to see,” she replied, trying to hide the shame she felt with a giggle. But that wasn’t enough to stop herself from repeating the memory over and over again and damn herself.

The remaining two days there passed quickly as they tried to brush off the awkward feeling of knowing they were so close to kissing each other, but the embarrassment was only getting bigger thanks to other countless flirty words and other almost given kisses.

And it was their last night there, Iseul stood by the small balcony of their hotel, letting the breeze caress her skin and blow in her hair as her brain flew far away from there, far away, where she wanted to be the most.

“A little pensive tonight?” Haechan’s voice made her snap up, head turning around to look at the man leaning against the frame of the window.

“You should be in your room,” she said, surprised he was there, even mad, maybe, because right now he looked just so… so real, he looked as if he could be hers. He didn’t look like her friend, but her boyfriend, just casually standing there, staring at her with his shiny brown hair and his deep eyes that felt like something she couldn’t define, but oh, if it felt so good and right. And he was just wearing his boxers and a long white shirt, he had nothing to hide as if she knew his body by heart, but she didn’t. She knew so much about him, and yet she knew nothing. He was like a dream, he also looked like one.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied, voice lower than usual, full of unspoken words that he had no idea why he couldn’t say. He was straightforward usually, and even if he knew exactly what he wanted even right now, he wasn’t so sure he could risk it all.

Her lips curled in a small smile, closer to a smirk, while she turned her head to the side, just enough to see him rest against the rails too, perfect profile cutting the view of the city around them, showing her the small moles on his cheek and neck, the ones she loved so much because they reminded her of the Ursa Minor constellation. And she loved the stars, they shine so bright in the pitch-black sky and are so far from there, she wished to be like them. And she loved to think that Haechan was a little star sent from above to light up her darkest night because that was what he felt to her.

“Maybe you are the one that thinks too much,” she whispered, eyes drifting in front of her back again.

A snicker left his mouth, “Staying around you turned me into this,” he joked, this time he turned around to stare at her, windblown at the way she looked and heart jumping in his chest for the way all of this felt. He had no idea what it was, or probably he did, and just didn’t want to put a name on it because it was scary and because it was a feeling he knew he never wanted or cared to feel, but it still felt comfortable. With no names or labels, the way they just existed around each other felt good.

And he would’ve paid to stay there just a little longer, lost in their small bubble. He would’ve even given up Seoul for her.

“You’re beautiful,” he said straight from his heart when he felt that he couldn’t take the silence any longer, it wasn’t awkward, but he needed to fill it with words. Words he needed her to hear. He needed her to know that he loved the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed, and he loved the small scar on her left cheek, close to her ear, and he loved the small acne scars on the right side of her forehead that she hid behind her bangs.

She didn’t answer, not right away, but her eyes moved on him to study his expression, and, scared from the way they were so real and honest, she looked away again. “You always say it,” she replied, awkwardness concealed behind a light chuckle. She would’ve sat there and listened to him call her beautiful for hours, but knowing he had no real intentions, those pretty words just fuelled her delusional thoughts and after the glow of the moment just brought the rain with them.

“Because it’s true, you are. Inside out.”

She nodded, lips pressed together, and teeth nervously chewing the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“And… are you just going to stare at me?”

“Why not? Are you shy? Do I make you shy?”

She stammered under her breath, and shook her head, “I just…” Come on, think fast. “I just thought you were here to, I don’t know, talk. You said you couldn’t sleep.” Here. Another lie. Piling up with all the others she had told me to hide her true feelings.

“I did,” he replied, rubbing his chin as his eyes never left her body, attentively watching how she would fidget at every word. “I couldn’t sleep because something was keeping me up.”

“Oh, and what’s that? Your grandpa’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, he’s doing better,” he replied. And that surely was a good thing, but him getting better also meant something else… “Anyway, I wasn’t thinking about him.”

“Is it your job? Are you afraid of that?”

“I was thinking about how some people come into our lives in the most unexpected ways,” he replied, cutting her off from guessing other stuff that didn’t even cross his mind for a split second.

“Well, that’s the beauty of life, isn’t it?”

“I was thinking about you,” he confessed, and her eyes moved up, straight into his, wide open in shock. “I was thinking about us.”

“I…”

“When my mom told me to come here, I felt lost and as much as I love my grandpa, I truly had no other reason to stay, and I was terrified that everything I had worked so hard was going to be taken away from me. But then I met you. I could’ve gone to any other cafè, or simply just headed home, or convinced myself that the coffee from the machines is good just the same and we wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have met the only person that gave me a reason to stay and hold on.”

She swallowed hard, feeling her heart beating so fast she was silently praying he couldn’t hear it. And she had no idea if she should’ve confessed that she felt the same, that since that day, he had been her only reason. And then the voice in her brain showed up again, and she did.

“You were the same for me,” she admitted, direct, no stammering, no hesitation. “I felt stuck, well, I feel stuck, but you, well, you are the new exciting thing I needed to give my life a shake.”

After hearing her words, Haechan let out a small breath of relief, relieved she felt the same, he could let himself believe that maybe, they were on the same track, they wanted the same thing. “If it didn’t rain so hard that day we wouldn’t have talked so much and got to know each other, you wouldn’t have carried me home. And guess what, I always hated the rain.”

She smiled, “I like it, you know. Okay, only when I have nothing to do in the comfort of home but it’s nice.”

His lips twitched into a small smile, before he whispered, “I like it now because it brought me to you.”

She felt her throat dry, gulping hard while she tried to find the right words to answer him, but nothing that made sense crossed her mind. And just when she thought she had found the right words, something silly to mumble out to don’t look like a complete idiot, she raised her gaze to find Haechan way closer to her. His hand was looking for hers, and his chest was almost pressing against hers.

“You are the best thing that happened to me here, and I know that usually, I would never go this far but, now that I have you here,” he whispered, hand raising up to caress her soft cheek, fingers brushing her face and then moving a strand of hair behind her ear, “I need to let you know how deeply I care for you.”

“I-I,” she stammered, eyes moving on his face, trying to understand if he was real or if this was one of her thousand’s hopeless dreams at night.

“You don’t have to like me back, I mean, I know this won’t work out but –” At these words, she shut him up, an unknown force pushed her forward, maybe it was the same voice she never listened to that pushed her to lean in and kiss him, hands cupping his face before one crept to the back of his head and tangled with his hair. And Haechan was caught by surprise, never expecting her to make the first move, but well, it wasn’t the first time she did. And he couldn’t care about who gathered the courage, he had her right there, and that was all he ever wanted.

So, he closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, letting his hand wrap around her waist and pull her flat against his body.

And probably they were making up for lost time because none of the two seemed to have the intention to pull away and let go of the other. So, they kissed, again and again, hands getting braver each minute that passed until they felt their lungs burn and had to pull apart.

“I like you, Haechan,” she whispered, eye to eye, nose bumping against each other, “I like you a lot.”

He smiled dearly, deeply looking into her eyes, and felt at peace with the world. After all the wandering around, he felt his place in the world, and it was her. “I like you, too, Iseul.”

Come back and tell me why, I'm feelin' like I've missed you all this time. And meet me there tonight, and let me know that it's not all in my mind.

Jungwoo huffed, moving the chairs of the coffee shop around with more frustration, trying to gain her attention, but not even the loudest alarm in the world would’ve made her turn around.

“Iseul,” he called her, walking behind the desk and turning her around. “You can’t spend the rest of your life sulking on him.”

She rolled her eyes, and swung in the chair again, attention back on her TikTok for you page – there were no customers anyway, and she needed to fill her mind with something.

“Ugh,” he almost hissed, raising a brow at her attitude. “Really? He’s not worth it,” he tried to open her eyes, for the nth time by now, he had honestly lost count of how many times he had that talk with her in the last two months. “You let summer fly by, not even enjoying a little bit of it, well, since he went back.”

She sighed, blocking her phone and standing up. Went back. He didn’t go back. He disappeared. Left without saying a word around two months ago and she still had no idea why.

“I... I’m sorry I’m not in the mood to go out with you and dance all night, okay?” She replied, trying to leave him out of the conversation. She already felt played enough, she didn’t like to mull on it, but the problem wasn’t Jungwoo. He just wanted to lift her up, he was trying his best to don’t make her fall into the oblivion once again. The problem was herself because for how much she knew she shouldn’t have focused on Haechan, she still did. She loved to hurt herself by going back on the memory train and replaying each moment together in her mind.

“Just know that I’m here for you,” he reminded her, caressing her black hair gently and then going back to work.

“I know,” she found the strength to reply. “Thank you, for everything.”

At least she had him, he was the only one that knew about Haechan and what had been between them. Jungwoo was there when they walked into the shop together, he was there when Haechan would wait outside to go home, he was there when Haechan loved to distract her while he sat at a table and she had to focus on other people. Jungwoo was the only comfort she had, because unfortunately the silent one of her grandmother that understood that the same light that brightened up her sky for these past months wasn’t there anymore, wasn’t enough.

She felt incredibly stupid, she was sure she had missed something along the way, that she misunderstood him and his words. And that was the main reason why she kept playing their story in her brain, she needed to find where they went wrong, she needed to find the exact moment when she scared him away, or when he told her he didn’t like her the same.

She wondered how it could’ve been all in her head, though, when no wrong step bloomed in her mind. He had confessed to her, he had kissed her back. They kept kissing and going out when they came back to town, they never called each other boyfriend and girlfriend but they acted like a couple, so why, why did he disappear like a ghost all of a sudden? Why did he have to make her worry for him?

Not that she feared he wasn’t doing good, she was sure he was doing great, back in Seoul, with his dream job, in his dream house, all by himself. But she still missed him, and she wanted him to come back.

She at least needed to hear from him that all of this wasn’t in her mind, that there had been something between them, that he felt the same, even if it was already over.

But he wasn’t coming back, and she knew that if he ever would’ve had the need to go back there, he would’ve done everything to avoid her.

He didn’t mean his words. He didn’t love her. He just let himself get carried away, it was so typical of him. She could at least say that she got to know him a little bit and this should’ve been less surprising considering he was the one that always ran away in relationships and didn’t make them last. And yet, she kept waiting. Dreaming of his eyes, his hugs, his jokes. Missing going to the arcade with him and losing, she even missed hearing him bragging about it. Just like she missed hearing him talk shit about half of his office. Or laugh loudly about a joke he had made that wasn’t that funny.

She just missed him. Or maybe she missed the way he made her feel. He was such a dreamer that, for a moment, also her, the most rational and practical person she knew, believed that dreams can come true.

“Are you sure I can leave? Can you deal with this alone?” Jungwoo asked Iseul as he started packing his stuff, about to leave her alone to clean the shop as outside rain came pouring down, he had a last-minute emergency and couldn’t close with her.

“Yes, I told you it’s fine, you don’t need to worry,” she reassured him as she put away the last cups, watching him come back again to leave a peck on her cheek.

“I love you, you’re my saviour. I owe you one!”

She shook her head, waving at him with a smile on her face before she watched him disappear.

She felt the tiredness fall on her when she was halfway done with the tables, and couldn’t help but yawn, just waiting to be done soon and hoping that the storm would chase soon and she could finally go home and sleep, she wasn’t even hungry, she just wanted to collapse on the bed and forget about everything.

Just when she was done with the last table, she heard the bell ring and rolled her eyes. Once again, Jungwoo had forgotten to turn the sign that showed they weren’t open. “Sorry, we’re closed,” she warned before turning around and almost passing out on the floor. She gasped when she saw him. This was just like the first time they seriously talked to each other. They were standing in the same position, she was still wearing her apron and he was wearing his drenched clothes, hair sticking to his forehead and chest panting for the run.

But everything was different between them.

She didn’t feel that need of wanting to know more about him anymore, because now, she had him down in the palm of her hands, or well, at least she thought. Now she knew his name, she knew his favourite song, she knew his favourite colour, she knew that his nickname was fullsun and she could totally understand why. If only he didn’t always come into her life with the rain.

But at the same time, there were still so many things she didn’t know about him. For example, the reason why he left, why he left her all alone, making her feel empty and stupid for getting it all wrong.

“We’re closed,” she repeated, not sure she could take an answer to the questions that tormented her at night. Not sure she could take him coming back with some made-up excuse because just the way he was just standing there was enough to bring her feet to move toward him mindlessly. But she didn’t, she fought it back.

“I know,” Haechan replied, his eyes never left hers, and in these few minutes he could see all the pain he had caused her. “I’m sorry,” he confessed, starting to walk closer to her but she took a step back.

“I don’t want to listen,” she stopped him, hands raised in the air to maintain the distance between them and he stopped, mortified eyes looking at hers. “You’re dirtying the floor, I had just cleaned everything and I need to go home. Please, leave.”

“But I need to -”

“I said, leave,” she stopped him, diverting her gaze, looking down on the floor to hide the way her eyes were fogging up. “Please, leave.”

Haechan swallowed the bitterness in his mouth, pressed his lips in a thin line and then sighed. And if she lifted her gaze she would’ve seen his shoulders drop and his eyes beg for forgiveness, but she never did. And so he turned around, message loud and clear.

And just when she heard the sound of the doorbell again she raised her head and tried to go on with the things she needed to do. But this time she didn’t wait for the storm to calm down, she wanted to go home as soon as possible, and when she stepped outside the raindrops were still hitting the ground violently as the wind blew, loud and strong.

“I know you don’t want to listen but I need to talk to you,” between the loud whistles of the wind and the rain, she heard his voice, making her stop in her tracks, stilling to stay under the tent to stay safe from the water. “I had to leave, I had no other choice. My grandpa was getting worst and we had to fly him to Seoul and I didn’t want to put you under the pressure of another bad news. I didn’t want to fill you with also my problems-

“Great, I hope he’s doing well,” she replied about to make her way to the car.

“No, Iseul, please,” he called, hand reaching for her even if they were too distant for him to catch her.

“Please what?” She asked, turning around to face him and make eye contact. “Listen, I’m deeply sorry for him and your family but… what did I mean to you? I guess I meant nothing to you, right? You could’ve at least let me know. I knew damn well that you weren’t going to stay, I knew that we weren’t meant to go anywhere but I deserved respect.”

“I know, I’m so sorry but we never, we never called it love. I never called anything love, I was terrified, of playing with you, of promising something I wasn’t going to be able to give, I -”

“But you did it, you played me. You told me you liked me, you kissed me, you, ugh,” she groaned, throwing her head back and stomping her feet to the ground. “We did all those things I’ve never done before, you stopped making me feel like a loser, I was so happy and then you just brought me to the ground again.”

“I didn’t mean to,” he whispered again, voice shaking.

“Fine, and what do you want? Do you think that popping here out of nowhere and standing under the rain is going to change something?” She yelled. And even if she said that, she had to admit that she found that kind of romantic. Nobody ever went that far for her, nobody would’ve let the rain pour on their skin in the middle of the street, not caring about the few people passing by. But, still, he had left her, and she couldn’t pass over it… not so easily.

“But I’m back right now, I’m back because I know what I want, now I’m sure, 100% sure that I want you, that I love you. It’s you, it has always been you. I was just too dumb to see that this was real, that I wasn’t going crazy.”

She sniffled, tears started to run down her face, and she just wanted to step forward and kiss him. Why did he make her so weak? Why did she want him so badly?

“Do you know how much I missed you? How many nights I had spent up thinking about you? Your face the only thing I knew in these past months, the only thing that haunted me, hurt me, and at the same time kept me going. I missed you so so much, I couldn’t believe we were already over, I just… I needed you. I needed you so badly and you… you, God, you weren’t there,” she wanted to appear strong but the more she spoke the more she broke down, feeling like she just wanted to fall on her knees and let the rain soak her too, maybe it would've washed away the pain, maybe it would’ve felt like she wasn’t crying all alone.

“I can only imagine all the pain I put you through, but I’m sorry,” Hachan replied, he was now in front of her, a few centimetres keeping them apart. “But I’m here to show you I only have the best intentions with you. I’m here to show you I want you, and if I have to get on my knees and beg to show you how much I love you, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll take you to Seoul, I’ll take you to the end of the world, anything and anywhere you want to be, I’ll be. I just want to be with you.”

“Stand up!” She screamed, feeling her face burn up from embarrassment when he seriously got on his knees, head low, beneath her. “Stand up, dumbass,” she repeated, lifting his head up by his chin, finally feeling his bronze skin once again. “I hate you much,” she said, face serious before a smile crept on it, twisting her lips in the grin he loved so much, “I think you proved it enough and people are already staring.”

He looked up, eyes shining with a newfound hope. “So, you forgive me? You want to give us a chance?”

She nodded, lower lips trapped between her teeth before she let go of it to answer. “Yes, but you’ll have to work extra hard to make up for the lost time.”

And Haechan hopped up on his feet, he didn’t give her time to add anything else that his arms wrapped around her waist, he lifted her up, and made her spin around while their lips met, rain now wetting them both.

And she couldn’t even complain about the wet hair and clothes, because finally she got to taste him again, finally she was in his arms, and she felt the happiest. Her heart started beating for living again, and not just for surviving like she was always used to doing. She was alive, in a way only Haechan made her feel.

“I told you,” he whispered, against her lips, still holding her up, “I’d do anything to prove to you how much I love you.”

All I know is we said, "Hello". So dust off your highest hopes All I know is pouring rain, and everything has changed. All I know is a newfound grace. All my days, I'll know your face All I know since yesterday, is everything has changed

“Maybe Jungwoo was right when he told me that people here in Seoul are insufferable,” Iseul huffed, throwing her bag on the cabinet next to the door as soon as she entered the house, shoes already discarded on the rug.

Haechan chuckled, getting up from the couch to meet her halfway, “Just hold on, soon enough you’ll be done with college and you’ll get your dream job,” he reminded her before leaning in and kissing her softly. She hummed against his lips, raising her hand to lock her fingers in his silky hair and he took advantage of it to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer.

She had moved to Seoul with him since her grandmother had gotten better, and wanted Iseul to have a nice thing in her life, the only thing she had asked for was for them to come back during the holidays or anytime they could. And finally, in Seoul, she could study psychology just like she always wanted, while she worked in a little coffee shop to pay the bills.

But the most exciting thing was that they got a small apartment together. Living together at such a young age wasn’t something Haechan ever imagined, or better, he had never imagined he would’ve lived with a partner ever, but here they were. In their little place, setting their own rules, finding out together the good things about relationships. It was new for the both of them, she wasn’t used to relationships at all, and he wasn’t used to the serious ones, but they worked, because they wanted it to work. And no matter how reckless it all felt when he proposed it to her under the pouring rain of that passed September, they now knew they couldn’t have done anything better.

“I missed you so much,” she said when they pulled away.

“See, it was better when I used to come to your coffee shop every time I had a break,” he joked while they walked to get to their bedroom and then he leaned against the doorframe, watching her get out of her clothes to change into the ones she used in the house. They didn’t want to cook that night, and he had already called her before to pick what to order, so they just needed to wait for the food to arrive.

“Yeah, it can get boring without your annoying face around,” she replied, making a face from the mirror.

“Have I ever told you that you’re beautiful?” He said, hugging her from behind, chin resting against her shoulder and nose snuggling in her neck.

She rolled her eyes, and then said, “Yeah, you always do.”

“Good, because I don’t think I’ll ever stop.”

She smiled, turning around to kiss him again, and again, until they got lost in each other. And when the food arrived, Haechan had to rush to the door, putting on the first clothes he had found while she laughed at the unpresentable state he was in, before coming back into the room.

“We’re not eating in the bedroom,” she said, stealing his t-shirt and pushing him out of the room.

“Oh, come on,” he whined. “Just for once, you could relax.”

“I am. I changed a lot over the past year,” she said. They both did, to be honest, Haechan had learned to have more sense of responsibility, while Iseul tried to be less hard on herself and loosen up, and together they had found a perfect balance.

Haechan hummed, shrugging before running to the couch, “But we’re eating on the couch. I chose tonight.”

She sighed, shaking her head before following him. “Will you ever grow up?” She asked, sitting next to him, stealing the chicken wing that he wanted to grab.

“Hey! That was mine,” he complained, trying to grab it but she only moved her hand away and laughed.

“And the answer is no.”

Haechan rolled his eyes, “As if you don’t love this side of me.”

“Oh, I do, but it’s not just a side,” she replied, chortling.

“Still, you love me, and you should be grateful that rain brought me to you,” he bragged, biting his wing.

“Never said I wasn’t.”

“Great, because I’m very, very grateful that we met and now I can have you all to myself,” he said, kissing her cheek with his dirty lips and making her push him away while he laughed evilly.

“You were sent from hell to make my life unbearable,” she joked, cleaning her face with a napkin.

“Shh, don’t reveal the plan,” he replied, before grabbing the remote control to turn the TV on.

Iseul stopped for a moment to look at him as he eat happily and then started proposing what to watch on Netflix, and she smiled, agreeing with him but not really paying attention. She still felt incredulous that he was there, that he was hers, somehow Haechan still looked like a dream, no matter how much she had kissed him, touched him, told him she loved him and vice versa.

But he was a daydream, because he was there, right next to her, chatting lively with a hand on her thighs to caress her. It wasn’t like more than a year ago when he was just a handsome stranger’s face, he wasn’t a ray of sun lighting up her clouded sky just for some minutes anymore, he wasn’t just in her dreams, being the only reason she wanted to wake up in the morning to see him.

She had never imagined she was going to be where she was right now, she never imagined that she would've finally found a way to make that handsome stranger hers. But here they were, sharing their dreams and plans for the future, sharing kisses, hugs, texts, midnight talks and breakfasts in the morning. Their future was there, in the intimacy they never imagined they could have with someone.

“Have I told you that I love you?” Haechan asked, cuddled up against her on the couch, as her fingers played with his hair and their legs were tangled together.

“Mhh, I don’t know,” she joked. “Why don’t you tell me again? I’d love to hear it again.”

Haechan chuckled, turning around, and kissing her. “I love you and I want you to know you still give me butterflies, just like the first day I saw you standing behind the counter.”

“I hope those butterflies will last forever, then,” she replied, kissing him again.

She knew nothing about what was about to come, and she knew that life could always take weird and unexpected turns, but of one thing she was sure, everything had changed and for once, she was glad that nothing went as planned.

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