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#*then explains all my choices in an extremely long author's note*

ppangjae · 2 years

Text

FIVE PLUS ONE | JAEHYUN

SYNOPSIS. Five times world-renowned chef Jeong Jaehyun tried to end your journey to be a chef because you weren’t ‘qualified enough to be a chef’ and that one time you proved him wrong.

—or: your villain story quite literally

PAIRING. jaehyun x fem!reader

GENRE. fluff | angst | enemies to lovers!au | chef!jaehyun | aspiring chef!reader

WORD COUNT. 28.8k+ words (is this my new record? omg)

author's note. i posted a long time ago about how i must write a chef!jae fic and now, here she is. i'm so sorry for such a long wait (and all those postponements oop) but i'm glad that she's finally done and posted for you to enjoy reading! i hope you enjoy this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it :-) also pls reading the author’s note at the end for all my thoughts about writing this fic! happy reading~

THE FIRST TIME.

The first time you and world-renowned chef Jeong Jaehyun crossed paths was when you were doing your culinary internship at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Italy. In fact, you had no idea who Jeong Jaehyun was. It was your second day of internship at the Michelin-starred restaurant and because you needed a bit more time to adjust to the new working environment, you worked as a waitress. You had no customer complaints about working as a waitress for the first week and had agreed it was the best way for you to get accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. While you had no idea who Jeong Jaehyun was at the time, he made sure you knew who exactly he was when you had accidentally stumbled over your two feet and spilled his glass of Barolo all over his cream-coloured button-up shirt.

“I’m so sorry!” You exclaim, looking at him with extreme horror all over your face. Your knees were planted onto the red carpet floors, and you were too horrified and embarrassed to bring yourself back up onto your own two feet. You would rather be sucked into the red carpet floors and the pits of darkness, never to be seen again. Slowly looking up at him, he stares down at his stained shirt before meeting your gaze.

Your blood has never run cold until that very moment. He reads your name on your name tag with a piercing gaze before muttering. “Please get back up. You’re just creating a scene and humiliating yourself even more by gathering attention from other customers—”

“Oh, mi dispiace! Here’s a napkin, Mr. Jeong!” The executive chef, Alessandro, rushes over to the two of you with a large napkin. You’re not sure if you should be relieved to have Alessandro come in to save yourself from the embarrassment, especially with Mr. Jeong staring straight at you with eyes like shooting daggers. You’ve settled on standing behind Alessandro, feeling completely ashamed and embarrassed of yourself.

“Is she new?” Mr. Jeong asks, burning two holes through your forehead with his dark brown eyes. With your head hanging low, you could only momentarily distract yourself by noticing that the heel of your two-inch black high heels has completely broken off.

Great. You had just bought these high heels, and they've already broken. You’re left with no choice but to glue the broken heel back on.

“Yes, she’s new. I apologize, Mr. Jeong. She’s still in training, and thus, she’s a little flustered," Alessandro explains. You don’t have the strength to look at any of them, but the damage has already been done. You’re no superhero with the power to turn back time and undo mistakes. Although, you wish you did have those superpowers at this very moment.

Your conscience forces you to do what you’re supposed to do. First, apologize. Second, make an offer to clean up the spill. Three, offer compensation after consulting Alessandro with ideas. Four, scan the tables around and apologize for the commotion. You learned this in culinary school. You draw in a deep breath, stepping towards Alessandro’s side and forcing yourself to look at Mr. Jeong.

That piercing gaze… that stone-cold face… You wonder who did him so dirty to be so cold-hearted.

“I apologize, Mr. Jeong. The mess will be cleaned up and we’ll get you a new glass of Barolo. In compensation—” You begin until Alessandro decides to finish it for you.

“In compensation, your main course will be on the house. We deeply apologize, Mr. Jeong.” Alessandro bows and you take it as your cue to bow with him.

Mr. Jeong slowly nods his head. You can still feel his burning stare. Who is he? Why is he being acknowledged with such high regard? Mr. Jeong mumbles, “no worries, do you mind showing me where the washroom is?”

“Yes, Mr. Jeong. It’s right this way.” Alessandro takes over and leads Mr. Jeong to the washroom. As they’re walking away, Alessandro flashes you a look. It’s not a warning look. But with his gaze, you can tell that he’s telling you to head to the storage room to clean up the spill before Mr. Jeong comes back to his table.

As you head to the storage room to grab hot towels, you bump into one of the other waitresses, Stella, who looks just as horrified as you are. Your legs almost give out at the sight of her.

“Stella, do you mind taking over his table? I don’t think I can—”

“No, yeah, sure, I’ll take over that table for you. Are you sure you’re okay?” She asks with a face filled with concern. She bites her lip. “You do know who that man is, right?”

You slowly shake your head. “I have no idea who he is—”

“Oh mio dio!” Stella gasps in shock. “Bella, that is Mr. Jeong Jaehyun. Chef Jaehyun. He is a world-renowned chef. He owns five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the world—”

“World… renowned… chef…” You trail off, growing more horrified by what you’ve done.

“He’s won almost every cooking competition you could think of. He’s a legend. Both of his parents are culinary chefs too. His parents also teach at one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea for its culinary arts program. He started cooking when he was only ten years old—” She continues to hammer it into your head that the man you have spilled expensive wine all over is a living legend that cannot be messed with.

And you… have messed with him.

Unknowingly.

“A legend… started at ten years old… won every competition…”

You’re going to pass out. You feel faint. Your legs feel like jello. You’re surprised that you still haven’t been sucked into the red carpet floors. Maybe fate wanted you to experience this humiliation. Did you do something horribly wrong in your past life to deserve this? It’s only been the second day of your internship and you already want to go home. Hell, you haven’t even started cooking—which is why this culinary internship is for—and you already want to go home to your parents and cry your eyes out.

“Yeah. He’s a big deal, Y/N. But don’t worry, I got you covered. I’ll take over his table. In the meantime, you stay here and get yourself together, alright?” Stella reassures you.

You slowly nod your head, falling back against the stool. Stella grabs some towels and leaves you in the storage room all by yourself. Complete shock and embarrassment, you’ve really dug yourself a huge hole. After you’ve gathered yourself together, you head towards the door to look out the small round window that peeks into the restaurant. You could see Stella wiping up Mr. Jeong’s—or should you say Chef Jaehyun’s—table. When Chef Jaehyun returns, she greets him with a wide, pearly-white smile. He returns the same energy as her, almost mirroring her warm and bright aura. It’s a complete one-eighty from how he was with you. You can’t help but feel small. You can’t help but feel miserable.

Maybe you’re not fit to be working in a restaurant. Maybe you’re not fit to be working in a kitchen.

If you can’t even handle guests on the floor, what makes you think you could handle cooking meals in a kitchen? What makes you think you could even step foot in a kitchen? As a chef?

Maybe you’re just not fit to be a chef at all.

As you clock out of your shift, you kick off your high heels to replace them with a pair of running shoes. It’s almost midnight, and you’ve spent the closing hours cleaning up the dining area and the kitchen. It’s been hours since your encounter with Chef Jaehyun but it still feels fresh in your mind. You don’t think it’ll ever leave your mind for a while.

You hear Stella call out your name as you put on your sweater. Looking over your shoulder, you spot her entering the room with a box in her hands. You quirk an eyebrow out of curiosity.

“Hey, bella. This is for you.”

She hands you the box, and you take off the cover to see a new pair of high heels. They look just like the ones you had on earlier, but it has a shiny finish. It’s an expensive brand as well. You place the cover back on, shaking your head and returning it to her.

“Oh, no, Stella, I don’t think I can take this.” You hand back the heels to her.

She shakes her head. “Oh, no, bella, this is not from me. These heels are truly for you. I was just told to hand this over to you.”

“Oh…” You mumble softly. “Alright, then. Thanks, Stella. Thank you for having my back.”

“No worries, beautiful.” She smiles. “Now, forget about what happened today because tomorrow will be a new day! I don’t want to see your frown tomorrow morning when you clock in, alright? Promise?”

You chuckle. “I promise. By the way, do you know who gave the heels?”

She waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about who gave them.”

“What secrets are you hiding from me?”

“I’m not hiding any secrets from you, beautiful. In fact, I have no idea who gave them. Alessandro just told me to give them to you.”

“I should probably thank Alessandro for these,” you mumble softly.

“Oh, no, these aren’t from Alessandro. He just told me that someone dropped by to give these heels to you and then he asked me to give them to you before you leave.”

THE SECOND TIME.

You didn’t think Mr. World-Renowned Chef would come back, especially on the last day of your culinary internship. Ever since your full experience of a nightmare with Chef Jaehyun, you were quite surprised that the restaurant made you stay. You were expecting them to kick you out and let you find your way on your own. The first time you encountered Chef Jaehyun, you were a waitress. But this time… you’re a line cook.

And you’re cooking two dishes for him.

“Bella, is the filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento ready?” Alessandro asks when he pops into the kitchen.

Ever since Alessandro announced and acknowledged Chef Jaehyun’s presence in the restaurant, you’ve been a jittery, nervous mess. This is all because you want to prove Chef Jaehyun wrong. You want to see him sit in his chair and dig into the dishes you’ve made for him, appreciating every single second of your hard work and effort. There are many dishes in the hot sanitizing bath; most of them are yours because they haven’t turned out the way you want them to be. You’ve been assigned two dishes; the filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento and tiramisu. Two completely different dishes, one is the main course while the other is a dessert.

“It’s ready.” You answer, placing the dish of filet mignon and gnocchi Sorrento over the counter for Stella to serve the intimidating chef sitting right outside of the door. In terms of what happens beyond that door leading to the dining area, you hope it’s everything but a repeated nightmare.

You take a step back and wait for Stella to return to the kitchen with Chef Jaehyun’s input on your dishes. A couple of minutes later, Stella returns to the kitchen with not a single trace of a smile spread across her lips. You wait in absolute terror.

It’s almost as if you’re experiencing a real-life Kitchen Nightmares episode. But the chef tasting the food is not Gordon Ramsay (fortunately). It’s Jeong Jaehyun (unfortunately).

“He doesn’t like it,” she mumbles softly. She draws in a deep breath, eyes finding yours. “He actually wants to have a word with the chef who made it.”

“Oh god,” you groan, rubbing at the temples of your head. You’re feeling a migraine beginning to throb every single angle of your head. It feels like your head is becoming a construction site, pulsing and pounding painfully every thirty seconds. “I’m going to pass out.”

When you step out of the kitchen, you nervously make your way toward Chef Jaehyun’s table. He’s sitting there, eyes shooting daggers right through your head. He definitely remembers you. There’s no doubt about it. There it is… the same piercing gaze he gave you the first time you encountered him. But that piercing gaze that he gives you is for a similar reason.

You messed up.

And he’s going to grill you for it.

You clear your throat and muster up a small smile as you reach his table. “Hi, Chef Jaehyun, I’m—”

“Y/N.” He cuts you off. You clamp your mouth shut. You were hoping he would be a bit nicer this time around. With the way he shuts you down, you’re starting to learn that you shouldn’t hope for better outcomes in your miserable situations. He tilts his head. “You’re the one who worked as a waitress for my table during my first visit. It’s quite surprising to see you in a chef’s apron. So… tell me, are you actually a culinary intern?”

You slowly nod your head. “Yes, chef.”

“Well, you have many things yet to learn. I’m surprised Enoteca Pinchiorri even considered taking you in as a culinary intern because the dish you had sent out to me is quite… disappointing.” One by one, his comments throw axes at your weak heart. “Take a good look at the gnocchi. Is this hand-made?”

“Yes, chef—”

“It’s rubbery. You’ve added too much flour.”

“I apologize, chef—”

“And I asked for a medium-rare for the filet mignon. It’s well-done.” He points at the filet mignon that he’s sliced with a fork and knife. You feel defeated yet again. You’re not sure if you would rather have the same person or a group of people criticize your cooking. “You should be grateful to be an intern here at this restaurant. This isn’t something you should be taking for granted. It’s not something that should be taken lightly. Other aspiring chefs desire to be in your shoes but don’t have the resources for it.”

“Again, I apologize, Chef Jaehyun.” You bow at him. “I’ll work harder.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your co-chefs. You are lacking in many skills, Y/N. Take this and my comments as a way to improve, or else you will never make it as a chef in this industry.”

That night, you barge into your bedroom with red, swollen eyes and a heavy heart. There must be a reason you keep fucking up in front of Chef Jaehyun. But you’re not sure if you’re courageous enough to be able to withstand such embarrassment. You want to go home. You want to stop your journey of becoming a chef. If the world’s most renowned chef thinks your cooking is horrible, how different would it be for a regular customer?

You feel crushed.

Just like your dreams of becoming a chef.

THE THIRD TIME.

When you told your father that you would take a chance at MasterChef, he didn’t believe you until he saw you on his TV screen. Ever since you signed up to be a part of the competition, you’ve worked diligently to create the perfect dish to cook and present to the chefs. But when you stand behind the curtains that lead into the kitchen, you can’t help but grow afraid that all you’ve tried to remember and keep note of has completely vanished from your brain. You can’t afford to mess up.

You can’t afford to lose this chance, this opportunity.

It’s been years since your mother passed away due to cancer. She had run a diner, Mina’s Place. She named it after her. It was the only diner in the city that had good reviews. The reviews were a reflection of her passion for cooking. She loved cooking for others but mostly for herself. She had many skills. She perfected many dishes. The university nearby had a highly reputable culinary program, and the professors of that program had frequented the diner from time to time. They would always tell her that there was something special about the diner and that it was surely on its road to something even bigger.

But before your mother had seen the highest success of her dream, her diner, she fell ill and was diagnosed with cancer. In a short time, her health deteriorated, and she eventually succumbed to her illness, leaving the diner and bringing all its light with her.

If there was something you wanted to get out of this competition, it was a reputation. It was another chance to continue your mother’s dream. You know that this is something your mother would have wanted if she was still alive, to see her diner up until its end. But she was the one who let go first. Your dream is to bring back the diner, and you’re not sure how, but all you want is to fulfill her dream.

Your mother’s dream has become yours.

“Let’s welcome the next potential contestant, Chef Y/N. She’s interned at many restaurants in Florence and wants to open up a restaurant of her own someday.” The host introduces you as you wheel your cart into the kitchen.

When you reach the workstation situated right in the middle of the room, you place your things down before looking up to introduce yourself to the judges. As you look up, the first person you meet eyes with is Chef Taeyong. Chef Taeyong is known for being the co-owner of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Florence. You’ve always wanted to become a culinary intern at his restaurant, but you always chickened out. Standing right next to him is Chef Doyoung, who nods his head at you. Chef Doyoung is known for being a world-renowned chef in the making. He was the winner of MasterChef four years ago and since then has opened a lot of successful restaurants, all of them with Michelin stars. And standing right next to Chef Doyoung is—Chef Jaehyun?!

When Jaehyun’s eyes land on you for the first time in years, his eyebrows raise with surprise. Seeing you for the third time cannot be a pure coincidence. He tries to compose himself and get himself together when you finally acknowledge his presence. From the corner of his eye, he could see Taeyong glance at him. His shoulders tense up, but he feels them slowly relax when you look away from him.

“Plans to open up a restaurant, huh?” Chef Doyoung smiles and you bite your lip, nodding your head in reply. “You know, that was my plan when I started my journey here in MasterChef. My plan worked out in the end! That means you can fulfill whatever your heart desires, as long as you put your mind to it.”

“I truly believe that if you put your mind into something, it'll be easily attainable if you put in the work and effort.” Chef Taeyong agrees with his co-judge. “Do you have anything planned for today?”

You clear your throat. “I’m planning on baking up a dish that my mother used to make for me. Well, it’s a dessert among many desserts that my mom used to make for the family.”

“But will this dish be enough to give you a spot in MasterChef?” You almost choke on your spit when you hear his voice for the first time in years. Chef Jaehyun. His voice still sends shivers down your spine. As you slowly look up from the stove, you find him already looking back at you with the same piercing gaze that you never seemed to forget.

You gather yourself together. You nod. You like to believe that you’ve learned to handle your nervousness and anxiousness. “More than enough, chef.”

“You seem to have a close relationship with your mother,” Chef Doyoung begins. While you’re conversing with the chefs, you’re preparing your dish. You start by dipping the truffles in melted chocolate. “Is she the one who inspired you to join MasterChef?”

You smile at the thought of your mother. You answer as you place each chocolate-covered pumpkin pecan truffle onto the plate. “Yes, chef. She’s very special to me. I just want to make her proud.”

“Well, what are you making us for today?” Chef Doyoung questions. You’re placing the spiced pumpkin roulade next to the truffles and adjusting them to make the dish look presentable overall.

“I’ll serve you a spiced pumpkin roulade with pecan maple truffles. It’s something my mom used to make every Thanksgiving.” You answer. “It’s also my dad’s favourite dessert, and because it’s his favourite, my mom would make it for him every now and then. I would have to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night to get a bite because the whole thing would be gone the next day.”

Chef Taeyong chuckles. “Sounds sweet, spicy, and delicious. It also sounds like it brings warm memories. You have five minutes left, Y/N.”

Five minutes later, your dish is ready. You place it right in front of you at your station. Chef Taeyong is the first one to taste your dish. He heads over to you and picks up his spoon. He scoops a spoonful of everything in your dish underneath the warm spotlights that shine over your station. Pumpkin pecan truffles… spiced pumpkin roulade…

“Do you mind walking me through this dish?” Chef Taeyong asks.

“What you have on this side are the truffles… the pumpkin pecan truffles, to be exact. It’s glazed with maple syrup.” You explain before pointing to the sliced pumpkin roulade on the other side of the dish. “And on the other side of the dish is a spiced pumpkin roulade.”

“You seem nervous,” he says softly.

You let out a shaky laugh. “I am indeed quite nervous, chef.”

“How bad do you want this, Y/N?” He asks.

“So bad.” You answer simply. “You don’t even know how bad I want this.”

“Let’s see if this dish is enough to earn you a spot in the competition.” He tastes your dish.

You study and observe him as he tastes the hints of pumpkin and pecan, all punched deep with some spice. You fiddle with your fingers nervously. It’s a bad habit of yours. If there’s one thing that you wanted to get out of this audition, it was at least one yes. One yes is enough for you to be satisfied. But oh, how you want this so badly.

“Wow.” He tilts his head with surprise. It’s almost as if he’s caught off guard. “It’s delicious.”

“R-Really?” You blurt out before shaking your head. “I mean—thank you. Thank you, chef, that means so much to me.”

“It tastes amazing.” He smiles before heading back to his seat.

You’re starting off strong. You like what’s happening. Two more chefs and your fate will be determined. You hope fate is on your side this time. You know you deserve a break from all of your horrible chances with luck and fate. You deserve this. You’ve worked so hard for it. It would be a huge disappointment if you didn’t earn a spot in the competition.

Next up is Chef Doyoung, who grabs his spoon and digs into your dish without uttering a single word. Once he’s finished tasting your dish, he folds his arms and raises an eyebrow. “Y/N, are you satisfied with how your dish turned out today?”

“More than satisfied, chef.” You mumble softly, but there’s a hint of a lack of confidence in your voice. You’re sure the chefs could pick up your low self-esteem. Chef Doyoung purses his lips into a tight line.

“Are you a perfectionist?” He asks.

“I try to be, chef.” You answer.

“Well, perfectionism is one of the best qualities to have as a chef.” He adds. He clasps his hands together and sucks in a deep breath. “I taste a light hint of lemon, but I am immediately kicked with the spices. I could taste the hint of cloves that burst right through the hints of lemon. I think you have a great sense of flavours. You have a great sense of spices. This dish has the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and savoury.”

“Thank you, chef.” You smile, not sure how to contain your happiness.

“Well done,” he complements you before heading back to his seat.

Last is Chef Jaehyun, who walks up to your station. Your smile immediately vanishes from your face and is replaced with horror. You’re especially nervous around him. With all the horrible encounters you’ve had with him, you wish he had a poor memory because you wouldn’t want someone like him to remember you. You’re looking everywhere but him.

“I’m not a fan of sweets and desserts.” He says flat out. You wince. “That should be more than enough to make you nervous.”

“I hope that with this dish, you’ll start to appreciate desserts more, chef.” You mumble softly. It’s just barely above a whisper. You sound like a guilty child admitting fault after being caught lying. But you’re not lying, not at all. You’re just nervous.

“is this dish going to change my mind? Is this dish going to be enough to change my mind about desserts?” He continues to grill you, and you let your head hang low.

“I just… want to impress you, chef.” More like prove you wrong.

“I hope this dish doesn’t disappoint me.” His low voice sends shivers down your spine. He takes a spoonful of the cake and the truffle before shoving them into his mouth.

It feels like it’s just the two of you at that very moment. It doesn’t feel like Chef Taeyong and Chef Doyoung are there. Your entire body feels tense just standing within his line of sight. He folds his arms and looks down at your dish. “It’s good. But it’s not good enough. There’s something that’s lacking in this dish. Do you know what that is?”

“What is it, chef?” You ask.

“The presentation.” He answers. “Look at how you presented this dish to us. It does not look MasterChef-worthy. The presentation of this dish, I might say, is predictable. The presentation of a dish that you make is something you must pay attention to because if it doesn’t visibly look good, your customers would assume that it doesn’t taste good.”

“I understand, chef.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

Chef Jaehyun definitely remembers you. Why? Because he loves nitpicking every single lacking detail of your cooking. He truly never changed. He’s still the same cold-hearted, selfish, rude prick.

The three chefs discuss their decision. You continue to fiddle nervously with your fingers to calm yourself down, to distract you from what’s about to come. You’re so sure that you’re not going to get a spot in the competition, and it’s all going to be because of Chef Jae—

“Y/N?”

“Yes, chef?” You blurt out with surprised, caught off guard eyes.

“It’s a yes for me,” Chef Taeyong smiles.

“It’s a no for me,” Chef Jaehyun says. “Simply because you’re lacking in presenting your dishes. I think that is very crucial to becoming a chef. I was not impressed with your dish simply because I’m not a fan of desserts. I was hoping you would change my mind, but I guess it just fell short.”

“I understand, chef. I agree that I could’ve paid more attention to the plating.” You nod your head in agreement. For the first time, you agree with Chef Jaehyun.

“Now, that leaves the pressure on me.” Chef Doyoung smirks. “If I say no, you won’t have a spot in the competition. But if I say yes, you will advance in the competition, and you will have your own MasterChef apron.”

“You won’t regret giving me a chance, chef. I want this so bad.”

Tension continues to fill the air. Chef Doyoung’s touch gaze softens, and you feel your tense posture relax. He clasps his hands together before saying, “it’s a yes for me. Congratulations, Y/N.”

“Please come up and take your MasterChef apron.” Chef Taeyong gestures for you to come up to the front.

“Oh my gosh,” you sigh with relief. “I promise I’ll do my best, chef. Thank you so much for taking a huge risk on me.”

As you near the three chef judges, you stand in front of Chef Taeyong, who helps you put your apron on. You smile, taking his hand that he extends out to you to shake. Moving onto Chef Doyoung, you shake his hand, thanking him many times for giving you a chance. Last but not least, your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun. You’ve never been up close to Chef Jaehyun like this. He’s quite handsome, you think to yourself, but it’s also a shame that he’s such a rude, cold-hearted person. He extends his hand out to you for you to shake. When your hands interlock, you can’t help but notice how warm and soft his hands are. The both of you exchange such intense looks. You’re the first one to break away, pulling back your hand.

“Long time no see. Congratulations, Y/N.”

“Thank you, Chef Jaehyun.”

THE FOURTH TIME.

On a quest to become MasterChef, you are expected to learn how to work with a team of chefs. The round that awaits you is a team challenge, where you and a couple of other contestants will work together to cook up a full course meal. The team challenge usually occurs after the first mystery box challenge and elimination round. Sitting at the front of the kitchen is a box filled with two different coloured aprons, red and blue. These aprons will split everyone into two teams based on their apron colour. From the corner of your eye, you can see your station mate, Taeil, gawking at the box at the front.

He turns towards you and whispers, “I hope we’re on the same team.”

You flash him a small smile. “I hope so too.”

Ever since the competition began, you have learned how to become a competitive chef. You’ve also learned how to make connections and new friendships. It’s what you have learned to value the most, especially working in an industry that relies heavily on networking and connections. Two rounds into the competition, you became friends with Taeil simply because he cooked up his dishes right next to you, and, over time, he also looked out for you and helped you with your dishes. He’s completely different from you. You’d like to think that he’s the complete opposite. But somehow, you both work in tune with each other. You wouldn’t have asked for a better station mate. Both of your different personalities shined the most in your cooked dishes.

“Y/N, please step up to the front and pick your apron for the team challenge.” Chef Jaehyun calls out to you, and your heart beats out of your chest. You share a look with Taeil.

As you make it to the front of the kitchen, you stick your hand into the black box to pull out a red apron. You avoid eye contact with Chef Jaehyun like you always do, but you could still feel his burning gaze. You always feel insecure and nervous around him. How embarrassing it must seem to him.

“Taeil, your turn has arrived. Come up and pick your apron.” Chef Taeyong smiles.

You wish Chef Jaehyun was like Chef Taeyong. Nice… sweet… genuine. He genuinely wanted every contestant to be successful, whether it be in their dishes or their confidence. You wish Chef Jaehyun would forget about all the horrible encounters you’ve had with him. You wish Chef Jaehyun would break out of his shell and turn his cold personality into a personality similar to his co-chef.

When Taeil arrives at the front and sticks his hand into the box, he pulls out not a red apron but… a blue one. The both of you share looks, and a pout can’t help but form across your lips. Chef Jaehyun notices your slight pout, and you immediately let it drop from your face. Taeil returns to his station, and you begin to overthink. Who are you going to work with? You’ve only become acquaintances with the rest of the contestants. Taeil is the only contestant you’ve become close to and the only contestant you consider a good friend. He’s the only contestant you see having a friendship with even after the competition ends.

After all the contestants have been called up to choose their team, the chef judges have you gather together. You and Taeil wave goodbye as you both part to your own assigned teams, you with the red team and him with the blue team. As you walk over to your team, you can’t help but notice how you’re the only woman. Your teammates are Junhwa, Jay, Mason, and Euntae.

“Today’s challenge will be quite different because you’re all expected to work together as a team with your teammates.” Chef Doyoung announces. “For today’s team challenge, we will be headed to the beach to cater for a wedding.”

Your head shoots up. You’re doomed. You know that your team is done for even before the team challenge begins. Junhwa was just saved from the elimination test the other day because he had messed up his dish for the mystery box challenge. Jay hasn’t been up to par with his dishes and has yet to cook up his best dish in the competition. Like Junhwa, Mason had messed up his dish for the mystery box challenge but was saved from the elimination test by Chef Doyoung. Euntae, however, is the only one on the team that’s been performing well in the competition. But as for you… you’re not sure where you stand in this competition.

“Let’s all head to the location and we’ll explain more about the team challenge.”

It’s the perfect day to have a wedding on the beach. The wind currents aren’t strong, but they bring a light warm breeze. The wedding takes place on a weekday which explains the small number of people hanging out at the beach. When you all arrive at the beach, the first thing you spot is two different cooking stations, differentiated by your respective team colours. You draw in a deep breath. This is going to be a long day.

“Everyone, please gather around as we begin today’s challenge.”

Everyone gathers around the three young world-renowned chefs following the producer's command. You can see Chef Jaehyun staring right at you from the corner of your eye. He’s drilling two holes through the side of your head. It’s almost as if he’s praying and manifesting for you to mess up in the team challenge. You wouldn’t be surprised if you mess up and his prayers and manifestations were served right to him on a golden platter because his intensity and strive for perfection always cause you to do so.

“Today, you will be cooking up a three-course meal for wedding guests at the beach. The couple that will be wedded later on today has laid out their menu and their expectations.” Chef Doyoung explains.

You have learned one thing so far; never have a team of aspiring chefs competing in competition be in charge of cooking and serving your guests’ food. Why? Because there’s huge room for failure. Food poisoning? Traumatizing. Undercooked food? Horrifying. You wouldn’t imagine getting married and having scared chefs-in-the-making cater to your guests at the reception. To you, it sounded like a nightmare waiting to unfold right before your two eyes. And here you are now, living out that nightmare in disguise.

“The menu consists of cranberry and brie bites for the appetizer, roasted pork loin on wild mushroom risotto for the main course, and a spiced carrot cake for the dessert.” Chef Taeyong reads off the menu that the wedding couple has put together for their guests.

You hold in a sigh of relief. You think you could handle doing the appetizer and dessert. Baking is your expertise. It’s something your mother loved doing the most. Baking up a dessert can be daunting and taxing, but once you’ve mastered the basics, everything you pop into the oven will come out beautifully. You’ve spent most of your childhood sitting in the kitchen helping her make the desserts. You’ve spent most of your childhood sitting in the kitchen and breathing in the aroma of sweet desserts.

You just hope that your team leader assigns you the appetizer or dessert. If not… you’re not sure how you’re going to put up a good performance. Will you be eliminated? Is this going to put you at risk for elimination?

“Have you all picked a team leader?” Chef Jaehyun asks.

On the blue team, Taeil raises his hand. You smile. Taeil is quite the introvert, but you know that he’ll be able to bring his team together and make the most out of it. On your team, Euntae raises his hand. It was predetermined that he would be the team leader mainly because he’s the only one who’s been doing well in the competition.

“Taeil for team red and Euntae for team blue.” Chef Jaehyun notes it down on his notepad. “Alright. Let’s have you go over to your stations to start prepping for the service.”

“You will have one hour and thirty minutes to complete your three-course meal.” Chef Doyoung announces.

“Please use your time wisely because regardless of whether your dishes are done, they will be served to the guests.” Chef Taeyong warns you. Everyone falls silent. “Your two goals are one, to make sure that there is food on the table for every single guest and two, that the food you serve has been cooked to perfection.”

“Yes, chef.” Everyone says in unison.

“Alright. Get ready because your time starts in three…”

“Two…”

“One…”

“Go!”

Thankfully, you’ve been assigned to work on the spiced carrot cake. Euntae and Jay will work on the roasted pork loin on wild mushroom risotto. Euntae will work specifically on the roasted pork loin, and Jay will work specifically on the wild mushroom risotto. Mason and Junhwa will work together on the cranberry and brie bites. It’s been about twenty minutes since the timer started, and you’re almost done mixing the batter for the cake. You’ve added carrot bits and slices in the cake batter to make the carrot stand out when someone takes a slice out of it. You’re also planning on making a cream cheese frosting to drizzle on top of the cake.

“Y/N, make sure you don’t go off track with the cake, alright? I know you’re excited, but we don’t have much time left.” Euntae commands, and you nod your head.

Euntae is such a perfectionist. It’s been obvious since the start of the competition. He’s been winning almost every challenge. If he wasn’t the winner of the challenge, he would most likely be second. Carrying your team must be difficult for him because most of his teammates have been performing poorly.

“Yes, I’ll work faster.”

“And make sure you follow the demo recipe.” He adds. “I don’t want you making something completely different from what we’re asked to do.”

You like to think of your dishes as an experiment. Most of the time, you depend heavily on your sense of taste and extensive knowledge of spices. Thus, this results in you neglecting recipe books and instructions. You like experimenting in your cooking because there’s a thrill when something turns out delicious. There’s a sense of excitement and surprise when two unlikely ingredients somehow pair well with each other.

Euntae probably notices your experimental way of approaching your dishes. He doesn’t want you to fuck everything up. You can’t blame him for playing it safe. You would do the same thing.

“This look different to you?” You ask, pointing to your cake batter.

He dips his fingers into the batter and tastes it. “Put more clove. I don’t taste the kick. I thought spices were your thing?”

You purse your lips into a tight line. He looks taken aback by your confused gaze. If there was one thing you wish you could change about yourself, it’s how you are easily readable through your facial expressions. Your emotions are easy to detect because they’re spread across your entire face. Knitted or raised eyebrows, jutted chin, pouty lips, you’re very expressive with your emotions.

“It is. I did put in clove. Is it not enough?” You dip your finger into the batter to taste it yourself. Indeed, you taste the kick. Your gut tells you not to add any more of the spices because it will be too spicy for the guests if you add more. “I don’t think we should add more. I think it’s enough—”

“I don’t taste the spices, Y/N—”

“Well, I do—”

“But I’m the team leader, right?” He reminds you. You clamp your mouth shut. Where is all of this coming from? How could he talk to you like this? You could feel your gaze hardening at him. “Do you want me to save you a spot in the competition? You do, right? So follow what I tell you to do, and everything will be fine.”

You squint your eyes at him before shaking your head. “No way. I’m not letting you sabotage my cake.”

“And I am not letting you bring the entire team down. We cannot afford to lose.” Jay butts in as he shoves you aside to place a pan on the stove. You almost stumble back, and you’re on the verge of tears.

“Ugh, this is ridiculous.” You mutter to yourself, grabbing your bowl of cake batter and moving to a different table in your station to work. You’re standing alone as the rest of your team gathers together to talk about how they will prepare the dishes. You feel left out. You feel like an outcast. You wish you were on Taeil’s team.

You feel like this is planned.

You feel like they’re planning to sabotage you.

“Y/N?” Chef Doyoung calls out to you.

You look over your shoulder to see him waving you over. You dust your hands off before heading up to him. You don’t know that Euntae walks over to your bowl of cake batter and puts in a couple of more teaspoons of clove and cinnamon behind your back. He adds a bit more than what is required. Chef Doyoung folds his arms at you.

“Yes, chef?” You mumble.

“Why aren’t you being included in your team?” He asks. He noticed, and that’s all that matters to you.

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m not quite sure, chef. We have different opinions on how we should make the spiced carrot cake. Euntae thinks there’s not enough spice, while I think there’s more than enough.

“Trust your gut. But you should also keep in mind that this is a team challenge. You’re all supposed to work together as a team.” He reminds you. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thank you, chef.”

Suddenly, Chef Jaehyun yells out. “Your spiced carrot cakes should be in the oven right now or will be undercooked!”

Upon returning to your station, you grab your bowl of cake batter to pour it into a baking pan. Hurriedly, you place it into the preheated oven. You do not want to mess this up. You can’t mess this up. If your team fails the challenge, you are at risk of being eliminated.

You can’t afford to lose the competition.

You can’t go home.

You’re not surprised that the cranberry and brie bites were almost burnt out of the oven. You’re not surprised that your two teammates were running behind on time with the roasted pork loin and wild mushroom risotto. At this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if your team were unable to put out your dishes on time.

When you pull out the tray of cranberry and brie bites, you place them on the table. One by one, you place the burnt ones aside and the good ones on the serving trays. Standing behind you, Mason and Junhwa continue to panic, not even bothering to help you save their dish that they’ve been assigned to do.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” You feel yourself stiffen. Chef Jaehyun stands next to you and looks at the burnt and unburnt cranberry and brie bites. He clicks his tongue and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Were you the one assigned to do the bites?”

You shake your head. “No, chef.”

“Who was assigned for the cranberry and brie bites?” He asks your teammates.

“Us, chef.” Mason answers.

Chef Jaehyun points at you while looking at Mason. “And why is Y/N taking over your task?”

“Because she likes getting into everyone’s business—” You hear Euntae mutter underneath his breath. You’ve confirmed it: Euntae is plotting your elimination. He hates you.

“She said she would help us salvage some of the cranberry and brie bites for the guests. She’s picking it out for us while we make another batch.” Junhwa explains.

“And you’re both just standing there and watching her?” Chef Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows with anger. “Where’s your team leader?”

“Here, chef.” Euntae walks over.

“Where is the direction, Euntae?” Chef Jaehyun frowns. You could see steam coming out of Chef Jaehyun’s nostrils. “Your teammates are lost. They’re panicking, and you’re just standing in front of your pan doing your own thing. You’re in your own little world, Euntae. It’s time to wake up.”

“Excuse me, I have to take out the carrot cake.” You mumble softly as you excuse yourself to head to the oven. You take a quick peek before putting on your oven mittens to take the cake pans out.

It comes out beautifully. They’ve baked and risen to perfection. You can smell the strong aroma of spices. Hidden within the sponge cake are the grated bites of carrot, giving it a beautiful orange colour. From your periphery, you see Chef Jaehyun walking over to you. You hold in your breath.

“Can I have a taste of the cake?” He asks.

You slowly nodded your head. “Yes, chef.”

Chef Jaehyun digs into the cake with a small teaspoon while your teammates gather around to watch. He winces, and you wish you could disappear. You’ve noticed that he always winces and grimaces with disappointment whenever you mess up. It’s like you could tell what’s about to come before it even happens.

“You were in charge of the cake, right, Y/N?”

“Yes, chef.” You mumble.

Clatter. He tosses the teaspoon onto the table and frustratingly runs a hand through his hair. “You can’t serve that. It’s too spicy. You’ve put too much clove and cinnamon.”

You look at him confusedly. Completely flabbergasted, you take a bite from the cake yourself and indeed, it’s too spicy. It’s overpowering the sweetness of the carrot and sugar. But wait—you never added any more clove or cinnamon.

“You can’t serve this. This entire team is set up for failure. You cannot save yourselves from this challenge. Take off your aprons. You don’t have any more time to send out any dishes. You’ve completely failed the team challenge.”

You glance at Euntae, who avoids your gaze. He turns around and walks back to his pork loin and mushroom risotto pan. He tosses the pans into the sink out of frustration and anger.

Euntae sabotaged you.

At the end of the team challenge, you and your teammates find yourselves standing in front of the three disappointed chefs. You’re too ashamed of yourself to look at them. You distract yourself by fiddling with your fingers. You were thinking of all the ‘what if’s’. What if you were on the blue team? What if you paid more attention to your teammates that were plotting your failure? What if you worked harder? What if—

“As you are all aware of what happened today, your team lost the challenge. This only means that not one, not two, but four of you will be eliminated from the competition.” Chef Doyoung says.

“But first, we are going to tell you what you did wrong and where you all went wrong.” Chef Taeyong frowns, “as a team.”

“The first thing that went wrong were the cranberry and brie bites. They were overcooked to the point that they were burnt. You had only realized that they were burnt when you took them out of the oven too late, leaving you no time to make another batch.” Chef Doyoung explains.

“We are aware of that, chef.” Mason and Junhwa speak in unison.

“The second thing that went wrong was the spiced carrot cake. I was surprised that Y/N put too much clove and cinnamon into the batter. From your audition, Y/N, you had a good sense of the spices, so I figured this task wouldn’t be difficult to do.” Chef Taeyong outlines the second mistake of the team.

“The third thing that went wrong had completely gone over our heads.” Chef Jaehyun begins. “We were wondering why out of all the dishes you were assigned, the roasted pork loin and mushroom risotto turned out fine.”

“It was because we—” Euntae begins.

“It was because you wanted to sabotage your own teammates. Am I right, Euntae?” Chef Jaehyun catches him red-handed. “Don’t try to lie to us. Don’t you dare try to lie to me because I saw it myself.”

“I did not sabotage any of my teammates—”

“Y/N, you know why your spiced carrot cake was too spicy?” Chef Jaehyun asks you.

You courageously look into his eyes. “Why, chef?”

“Because your own teammate, Euntae, sabotaged your cake and added three tablespoons more of clove and cinnamon, which is way more than what we asked for in our demo.” Chef Jaehyun reveals. “I saw it happen right before my eyes. Euntae, if you were going to sabotage your teammate, you should’ve made sure that none of us chef judges would see it.”

“Chef, I—Y/N has always been doing her own thing in the competition, and I didn’t want her to sabotage our team by doing things the way she wants to,” Euntae explains.

“You’re supposed to work together as a team.” Chef Taeyong shakes his head in disbelief. “Did you plan this all out so that Y/N would be eliminated from the competition? Don’t lie to us because I overheard you planning this out with the rest of your teammates.”

“I—”

“Okay. That’s enough.” Chef Doyoung raises up his hand to shut him up. “We have made up our minds on who will be leaving the competition.”

“The first contestant that will be saying goodbye is…”

You clench your eyes shut as you wait for your name to be called out. You hate everything that’s happening right now. You’ve never been so careless. Now, you pay the consequences.

“Jay. Please say goodbye to your teammates.”

You feel your heart drop.

“The second contestant that will be saying goodbye is…”

Your heartbeat begins to pick up its pace once again. Once your name is called out, you’re going to have to pack your things and head back home.

“Junhwa. Please say goodbye to your teammates.”

You hold in your breath.

“That leaves Y/N, Euntae, and Mason.”

You close your eyes again, praying that your name wouldn’t be called out. You’re already thinking about what you would say to your father if you’re eliminated from the competition.

“Y/N, please say goodbye to your teammates…”

Your eyes flutter open. This is it. You’re officially eliminated from the competition. You shake hands with your two teammates who have completely sabotaged you. You’re keeping yourself together. You’re holding yourself back from bursting out into anger.

“Because you will advance to the next round of the competition. Euntae and Mason, you are both eliminated from MasterChef, please take off your aprons.”

Your heart stops. Wait.

“Wait, what?” You look at the chefs in shock.

“Y/N, you are the only one that will stay in the competition.” Chef Taeyong smiles.

“It was a tough decision.” Chef Doyoung adds.

“But we do not tolerate cheaters in this competition. You are innocent and had no bad intentions, Y/N, which is why you are safe from elimination.” Chef Jaehyun confirms everything for you. “But that does not mean you are safe from the remainder of the competition. What this means is that we will all be putting more pressure on you to be the best chef you say you are.”

“I will do my best, chef. I am confident that I will win MasterChef.”

Chef Jaehyun purses his lips into a tight line.

You feel your blood run cold.

“Don’t make us regret choosing to save you from elimination.”

THE FIFTH TIME.

“Don’t make us regret choosing to save you from elimination.”

The pressure is all on you. Chef Jaehyun’s voice echoes throughout your head the entire hour that you’re granted to create a dish. In this round, all of the contestants are given a mystery box filled with random ingredients. In your mystery box, you were given beetroot, beef tenderloin, and blackberries. They are three completely different ingredients that you’re not quite sure will mesh well together.

Five minutes before the timer started, you decided to make beef tenderloin with roasted beetroot, all covered by a blackberry sauce. And now here you are, thirty minutes in, and you just hope that your dish turns out well.

“Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Chef Jaehyun.” You mumble softly, checking up on your beef tenderloin to see if it’s being cooked correctly on the skillet pan. You’re hoping to cook the tenderloin medium-rare to keep the monochrome colour of your dish.

“What are you making for us today?” He asks.

He’s distracting you. Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s breaking your focus. You clear your throat as you answer, “beef tenderloin with beetroot, all covered by a blackberry sauce.”

“Are you sure this is going to work out well? It seems quite… difficult to pull off.” He grabs a spoon and digs into the blackberry sauce that you have boiling in a saucepan. He tastes it and steps back, tilting his head as he loses himself in thought. “Interesting. You’re truly making this difficult for us, huh?”

What is he trying to say? You bite your lip, pretending to ignore him. “It should work out well. It is a mystery box challenge, after all. I’ve been given three ingredients that you never truly see together in a dish, but here we are.”

“The blackberry sauce is perfect. But regarding whether this blackberry sauce will complement your beef tenderloin and beetroot… you’ll have to prove that to us.” He gently places his spoon into your sink and moves on to the next contestant.

“You have fifteen minutes left! In about five minutes, you should all be plating your food!”

You turn off the stove to cool down your blackberry sauce. With fifteen minutes left, you need at least five minutes to let the beef tenderloin rest. You’re still not sure if it’s cooked medium-rare. It’s a risk you’re willing to take. You take the skillet pan off of the stove and transfer the beef tenderloin onto a wire rack for it to rest. As for your beetroot, you take each slice out to begin plating them.

“I’m not going to lie, that looks incredible, Y/N.” Taeil compliments you. You almost jump in surprise. You’ve been so focused on making sure you do well in this challenge that you forgot about Taeil. As you glance at him, he lets out a low chuckle. “Sorry for scaring you. I’ll shut up now.”

“Thanks, Y/N. I just hope it’s edible.” You crack a joke to ease your nervousness. He snorts.

“I’m sure it’s edible. You’ve made it this far, Y/N. You should give yourself more credit for your hard work.” He reassures you.

One minute left on the timer, and you’re placing the beef tenderloin right in between two slices of beetroot. To complete your dish, you drizzle blackberry sauce all over the dish. To amplify your dish even further, you take a couple of blackberries and scatter them across your dish. Overall, your dish is a dark magenta colour. Monochromatic.

“Five…”

“Four…”

“Three… Two…”

“One! Time’s up!”

“Y/N, please bring up your dish.”

With shaky hands, you grab your plate and head up to the front. You place your dish down onto the table that stands right in front of the chef judges. Each one of them looks surprised to see what you have presented to them. Chef Doyoung is the first one to take a bite. He steps forward and grabs a knife and fork, slicing himself a bit of beetroot before poking at the beef tenderloin.

“How did you cook the beef tenderloin?” He asks.

You bite your lip. “I was hoping to cook it medium-rare. But I didn’t have enough time to let it rest, so I’m not quite sure if it turned out that way.”

“Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” He insists. You slowly nod your head. Standing behind him, you can see Chef Jaehyun standing on his tiptoes to get a look at the tenderloin. As Chef Doyoung slices through the tenderloin and you sigh with relief. “It’s perfect. You doubt yourself a bit too much, Y/N. The tenderloin is indeed medium-rare.”

“Thank goodness.” You let out another sigh of relief.

He takes a bite. As he chews, you study him and wait for his reaction. When he finishes eating, he clasps his hands together and breaks out into a smile. “I think it’s quite delicious. I would definitely serve something like this in my restaurant.”

“Really? Oh wow… thank you, chef.” You beam.

“Blackberries, beef tenderloin, and beetroot. These three ingredients seem hard to cook together, but you balance them beautifully. The plating is amazing. You’ve improved your plating skills since the start of the competition. Overall, this dish is my favourite.” He places his cutlery down and flashes you one last smile. He heads back to stand next to Chef Taeyong, who’s the next one to step forward and taste your dish.

“First off, the dish looks lovely. I love the monochrome theme you have going on here. It amplifies your dish. But as for the taste, we shall find out.” Chef Taeyong takes a bite of the beetroot and tenderloin, making sure he dips it in the blackberry sauce. He tilts his head and lets out a chuckle. “That’s… amazing. You truly have a great sense of your spices. I wouldn’t even have thought of making a dish like this with these three ingredients. Well done, Y/N. You continue to perform well in this competition. I also see Chef Doyoung serving something like this at his restaurant.”

“Thank you, chef.” You hold in a happy sigh.

Next up is Chef Jaehyun, who barely waits for Chef Taeyong to step aside for him. He quirks an eyebrow at you before digging into your dish. “After we spoke earlier, I wondered how you could pull off a sour blackberry sauce with savoury beef tenderloin and beetroot. They are two unlikely tastes that should not be paired together.”

“It is a mystery box, so I just tried to work with what I was given. I hope it tastes good for you, Chef Jaehyun.” You avoid his eyes. But you could see him trying to look into them.

He takes a bite. He chews and swallows. He places his cutlery down and purses his lips into a tight line. “I’m going to be quite honest. I don’t like it. The sour blackberry sauce completely overpowers the savoury tenderloin and beetroot. However, I could definitely see why others may like it. This dish is catered for people with a specific palette. I’m not one of those people. The plating looks beautiful, however.”

“Thank you, chef.” You whisper.

“As I’ve said time and time again,” he says sternly, “you are making this extremely difficult for us, Y/N. You need to step up to the plate. I know you can do it. You have the tools and the talents to do it. You just need to use them.”

As he turns his back to you, you can feel your eyes well up with tears. Throughout this entire competition, you’ve learned that you not only want to win it, but you want to prove Chef Jaehyun wrong. He’s ignited a fire within you, a burning passion. His brutal honesty truly gets the best of you.

If you can’t prove him wrong, what’s the point of continuing your journey?

He’s a world-renowned chef. He knows what tastes good and what doesn’t. He knows whether a chef will be successful in the field. He knows everything about the cooking and food industry. If he thinks you’re not fit enough, then maybe you’re truly not fit to be a chef.

You’ve already tried to step up to the plate, but he thinks it’s not enough.

You’ve already used all of your tools and talents, but he thinks it’s not enough.

You’re not enough.

What is considered enough?

He looks over his shoulder, and you hear him mutter.

“We saved you from elimination. You must prove to us that saving you was the best decision. You must prove to us that you are more worthy of winning than your teammates that were eliminated. Remember that.”

A tear almost slips from your eye.

You give up.

THE ONE TIME YOU PROVE HIM WRONG.

“I have come to the decision to withdraw from the competition.”

“If that’s your decision, then so be it. We regret seeing you go. Thank you for showing us your talent. You may go and pack your things because your journey at MasterChef ends here.”

Upon entering the huge kitchen, you head towards the light switches to turn on the spotlight for your workstation. The kitchen has never been so quiet nor has it been so peaceful. You feel your feet being glued to the ground, almost as if they’re keeping you from leaving. When you were a kid, you loved ditching your homework to spend time with your mother in the kitchen. You would even take a stool from the dining room to place it right next to her to have a full view of how she cooked your meals. Your home kitchen was your safe haven, your safe space, where you could truly be yourself. It was what brought you closer to your mother. It was what reminded you of your mother.

But you had no choice. You force yourself, trudging your way towards your station to pack up all of your utensils. From cooking knives to ladles, you packed them away in a moving box. From your favorite fine China dishes to your custom-made chopsticks, you admired them one last time underneath the spotlight before tucking them away. You turn on the sink to dampen your towel. You wipe down your station one last time before wringing the towel out. Letting out a sigh, you wipe the beads of sweat that are forming on your forehead. This is it. Your journey at MasterChef ends here—

“What on earth are you doing?”

Looking up from your counter, you spot Jaehyun walking along the front of the space. He’s the last person you want to see. He’s the last person you want to talk to, especially right now. He has his hands tucked into his pockets as he makes his way towards you.

“I’m packing up my things.” You answer simply with a blank face.

“Why are you packing up your things? The competition isn’t over yet.” He finally makes it to your counter. Underneath the spotlight, he notices how bloodshot red your eyes are. You’ve cried all night over this competition and it brought you to your decision of withdrawing.

“The competition isn’t over yet for my fellow contestants,” you begin, “but the competition is over for me.”

“I’m not sure if I understand what you’re saying—”

“I’ve withdrawn from the competition.” You make it make sense for him. Jaehyun takes a couple of seconds for your words to sink in. Once he’s processes your words, his eyebrows furrow in confusion and frustration.

“What?” He blurts out. “W-Why?”

You grow confused. That’s his reaction? “Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m leaving the competition? It’s one less thing to worry about, right? Your decision in choosing chefs to advance to the next round won’t be hard anymore because I’m leaving. Everything will be better without me—”

“Why would I be happy over a contestant’s voluntary withdrawal from the competition?” He cuts you off.

You fall silent. Suddenly, you have no energy trying to defend yourself. With everything piling up, you’ve decided to give up. Everything that has happened to you in the past has led you to this moment. From spilling wine all over Jaehyun’s drink to messing up Jaehyun’s dish at your internship in Florence to your time here at MasterChef, it has brought you to the conclusion that maybe Jaehyun was right: you’re not fit or qualified enough to be a chef.

“In a competition, you should not associate your emotions with your overall performance. Whatever you create here in the kitchen is what we judge.” He says sternly with his hands placed on top of the marble of your countertop. “You and I are both aware that this is a competition. You are aware that your performance and the dishes you create are going to be commented on by judges. But as judges, we make those comments, good or bad, are to help you improve.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like comments to me. I don’t feel like you’re helping me improve. I feel stuck with no direction given. I just feel like you have this predisposed idea of who I am after all those negative encounters we’ve had in the past which is why you treat me like this.” You finally get it off of your chest. You feel extremely vulnerable in front of Jaehyun. All of your emotions that you’ve held in for so long are beginning to hit the surface. “And this is why I’ve decided to do everyone all a favor and withdraw.”

He pushes himself off of the countertop and holds in a sigh. You let your head hang low. His eyes land on the cardboard box sitting on the floor. It’s filled with all of your cooking utensils. He sees an old washed out apron sitting right on top of all the pans and dishes. Stitched right near the upper corner of the apron is a name. It’s not your name, but your mother’s name. The apron has been through a lot. It’s been through a lot of washes. It’s been through a lot of spills. But you have never once thought of throwing it out because it was the only thing you had left of your mother. Aside from all the memories you have of and with her, of course.

“Well, withdrawing from the competition means that you’re aware that you have no confidence in yourself.”

“I hope you’re hearing yourself right now.” You mutter softly.

“Do you really think you’re not fit to be a chef?” He questions.

“Well, you sure make me feel like it—” You scoff.

“Cook me your best dish, then. If I think it’s horrible, then maybe withdrawing is the best decision.”

“I thought you’ve already made it clear that I’m not fit or qualified enough to be a chef—”

“You have sixty minutes.”

“Chef—”

“Your time starts now.”

Before you could protest, Jaehyun turns his back towards you and walks away. You’re trying so hard not to burst out into flames. The urgency to flip him off makes your blood boil. As he takes his seat at the front behind the judges’ table, you bend down to finish packing up your things. Jaehyun seems to pick up that you’re not taking up the challenge.

“You claim that I was discouraging you this entire competition. You said that you have potential. You want to prove me wrong, right?”

You stop in your tracks. You sure do. You want to prove Jaehyun wrong so badly. With a burning passion. When he sees that you’ve stopped, he knows that he’s slowly changing your mind.

“This is your chance to prove me wrong. Prove to me that you deserve to stay in this competition.”

You will yourself back up, fiery eyes meeting him. He knows that he’s turned the gears in your head. After you’ve given it much thought, you decided that if you were going to withdraw from the competition, you might as well show him what kind of aspiring chef they’re going to regret letting go of. You guess it was a pride thing. But you’ve never wanted to prove Jeong Jaehyun wrong so badly until now.

Jaehyun stares at you as you walk away from your station and into the large pantry with all the fresh ingredients. A smirk slowly begins to spread across his lips. You’re grabbing many ingredients from the pantry. There are some questionable pairs but ever since the start of the competition, you’ve always been experimental with your dishes. Surprisingly, they always turn out delicious no matter how ambiguous the ingredients are relative to each other. You finally return to your workstation to begin cooking your dish.

“Fifty-five minutes left,” he yells out to you.

You slightly jump. It’s just the two of you in the kitchen. If you were quite honest, it felt a bit intimate. But you felt a lot of pressure on your shoulders. Here you are, cooking for a world-renowned chef, after voluntarily withdrawing from a competition that he judges for. Here you are, cooking for a world-renowned chef who asked you to cook him a dish to prove him wrong.

A deconstructed pie. That is what you have in mind.

There are two ingredients that you’ve never paired together before; grapefruit and basil. You’re planning on making a deconstructed raspberry and basil pie. The pie will consist of basil jelly and grapefruit curd, topping it all off with Italian meringue.

“What are you making?” Jaehyun asks when he walks up to your station.

“A pie.”

“In an hour?” Jaehyun questions. You slowly nod your head, trying to keep yourself focused on your work. “Pies usually take more than one hour to make.”

“It’s going to be a deconstructed pie. Grapefruit and basil. Instead of using the crust, I’ll be using graham cracker crumbles.” You explain while juicing your grapefruits.

“Grapefruit and basil? Don’t you think that those two together would be a bit… risky?”

You shake your head. “Basil goes well with lots of fruits. I wouldn’t be surprised if basil went well with grapefruit.”

“I’ve tried a grapefruit and basil pie once. I don’t remember where, but it was delicious. I have high expectations for this. Yours will be the second grapefruit and basil pie that I have ever had in my entire life.” He comments. What a way to put the pressure on you. You don’t say anything. “Alright, then I guess—”

“You’re distracting me.” You cut him off. “Do you mind going back to the front and sitting there while I continue doing whatever it is that I need to do?”

“Sassy,” he grins. “Fine. I’ll be up at the front. You have forty-five minutes left.”

Forty-five minutes left to prove yourself. At this point, you’re not trying to prove you are worthy of staying in the competition. You’re trying to prove that you are nothing what Jaehyun thinks of you. You’re trying to prove Jaehyun that you are fit and qualified enough to be a chef and that this is made for you. It is something you love doing. It is your passion.

Jaehyun plops his butt down onto his seat and watches you cook up your dish. You’re making grapefruit zest while making sure the grapefruit curd isn’t being overcooked. He finds himself staring at you with awe.

When Jaehyun met you for the first time, he didn’t like you. You ruined his shirt. His favorite shirt. But another reason why he didn’t like you was because you didn’t look confident enough. When Jaehyun met you for the first time, you were hiding behind the executive chef, too humiliated by your own actions. He saw right through you at that moment. You had an inferiority complex. You were not confident enough in yourself. You were shy. You always doubted yourself. But when his eyes met yours, he saw a fire ignite within them.

When Jaehyun met you for the second time, you weren’t a waitress. You were a line cook. A culinary intern. You ruined his dish. When Jaehyun met you for the second time, he still didn’t like you. It was because after all the months that have passed by, you still don’t look confident enough in yourself. It made him uneasy. But the only difference that time around is that although he still didn’t like you, he knew that eventually, he would, because he saw potential. Leaving the restaurant that day after tasting your subpar dish made him uneasy, knowing that he could’ve done something to lift your spirits up. He knew that he had to do something to make you learn how to be confident in your cooking because that was the first step to making perfect dishes. If you were confident to cook, your dishes would reflect it. When Jaehyun met you for the second time, he realized that he didn’t like you because you reminded him of himself.

When Jaehyun met you for the third time, you were taking a chance at MasterChef. It was a year since the last time he saw you. On your first and second encounters with Jaehyun, the both of you were in Florence. But the third time, the both of you are in Seoul. It almost seemed fated. When Jaehyun boarded the plane in Florence going back to Seoul, he couldn’t get you off his mind. What if he tried to lift you up? What was it that he could’ve done to encourage you? He regretted being cold to you. He knew that if he had just been a bit nicer, a bit more sincere, it would’ve further ignited the flame that was already lit within you. It was like the heavens had heard him and sent you to him for a third time.

He knew this was his third and final chance to make things right.

“Twenty minutes!” He yells.

“I heard you loud and clear, geez.” You place a hand over your heart as you continue your work.

You’re working on your Italian meringue. It was something you learned how to do while you were doing your culinary internship in Florence. Making Italian meringue is completely different from making regular meringue. It requires more precision and accuracy. It requires more attention to detail. If you mess up the meringue, you’re practically messing up the entire dish.

You don’t want that happening. That’s the last thing you want.

While you’re waiting for the sugar water to boil at an ideal temperature, you’re beginning to plate your dish. Gently and slowly, you place a layer of grapefruit curd at the bottom of the bowl. It acts almost like a bed for the basil jelly and Italian meringue. At perfect timing, the sugar water has reached its ideal temperature and you immediately take it off of the stove. You walk over to your stand mixer, turning it on and gradually pouring in the sugar mixture into the egg whites. The egg whites slowly turn into a beautiful meringue. Sweet. Fluffy. Almost like marshmallows. Once you’ve poured the entire sugar mixture, you continue to mix the meringue until the bottom of the bowl runs cold to the touch.

“Fifteen minutes!”

Jaehyun waits for you to say something but nothing comes out. He checks up on you and realizes you’re too focused on placing the meringue into a piping bag. He never knew how pretty someone could look under the harsh light of the stage kitchen. The brightness only highlighted your features that were solely focused on creating the perfect deconstructed pie.

This was a first for Jaehyun—being mesmerized by a contestant under his wing. And as his heart caught on fire, much like the gas stove he used to use when he learned to cook all those years ago, Jaehyun also hoped it would be the last.

Having the chance to see you again is definitely a chance given by fate. The idea that you could be gone from the competition out of your own will absolutely terrifies him. It’s the last thing he wants. He wants you to realize how much talent you have. He wants you to realize that you have a lot of potential. He wants to be close to you. He wants to get to know you more. He’s only been able to do that through your dishes. Lately, it’s been hard to look directly into your eyes because it makes him grow nervous. While you’re the only contestant that’s around his age, he’s never felt more connected to someone until he met you. You most likely feel the complete opposite of him, but this is because he has the tendency to push people away. He pushes you away because he’s scared that once he screws up this chance to make things right, he might not forgive himself. It’ll be all his fault.

“Ten minutes!”

You’re piping the Italian meringue onto the bed of grapefruit curd. After that, you’re slicing up the basil jelly into small cubes. You place the basil jelly cubes on top of the grapefruit curd along the Italian meringue. Lastly, you’re grabbing a handful of graham crumbles and scattering them carefully on top of the Italian meringue, basil jelly cubes, and the grapefruit curd. Your deconstructed pie is almost done. You rummage through the drawers to find a torch. You light the torch on to slightly toast the Italian meringue. You don’t want it to burn, you want a nice toast on the top.

“Five minutes!”

You fix up your dish one last time with roughly four minutes to spare. You slowly head up to the front of the kitchen with your deconstructed pie. Jaehyun meets your gaze and he smiles. Oh, how you wish you could wipe that smile off of his face. Placing the dish right in front of him, you step back for him to taste it.

“Do you mind going through how you prepared this dish?” Jaehyun asks as he opens one of the drawers to pull out a spoon.

You clear your throat. “It is a deconstructed grapefruit and basil pie. It consists of grapefruit curd as a bed layer with basil jelly, graham crumbles, and Italian meringue.”

“Why did you choose to make Italian meringue instead of the usual meringue?” He asks.

“I chose to use Italian meringue for this dish because Italian meringue has a more marshmallowy, soft, fluffy consistency in comparison to ordinary meringue.” You explain. “I think the soft, fluffy texture of Italian meringue fits perfectly with the creamy grapefruit curd and basil jelly.”

“I’m going to take a spoonful of everything.” Jaehyun begins as he scoops a little bit of grapefruit curd mixed with graham crumbles, a single basil jelly, and a single Italian meringue. The both of you meet eyes and he puts the spoon into his mouth.

As he’s taking a moment to savor the flavors, you let your head hang low. You’re expecting him to let out a frustrated sigh. You’re expecting him to come up with the rudest comment on your dish. It’s horrible. It tastes horrible. You’re waiting for those words to come out of his mouth—

“It’s… delicious.”

Your head shoots up. He digs in for another spoonful of your deconstructed pie. “Sorry… what?”

“I said,” he says, “it’s delicious.”

You let out a breathless laugh. Were you hearing things right? Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow at you and you straighten up your posture. “Sorry, I just—this is the first time I’ve ever heard something nice coming from you.”

“It not only tastes delicious but it tastes familiar.” He mumbles softly. “It reminds me of this diner my parents used to take me to after basketball practice. The diner was somewhere near Yonsei University where my parents used to teach. That diner served grapefruit and basil pie. I think I was about twelve or thirteen years old. It’s been a while since I’ve had it but I could still remember it so vividly—”

“Mina’s Place?” You whisper.

Jaehyun’s eyebrows raise with surprise and his face is overcome with realization. Mina’s Place. The reason why he hasn’t been to the diner in a while is because it closed down when he made a visit. It was a sudden shutdown and his family never knew what happened to the owners. They were unique and both of his parents’ favorite place to wind down after a day of teaching culinary students. That diner’s grapefruit and basil pie had inspired him to follow the footsteps of his parents. It was the unusual pairing of basil and fruit that made him curious, it was what drove him to start cooking.

“Yeah… Mina’s Place.” He mumbles softly. “It’s too bad it closed down too soon.”

Your head hangs low again. Mina’s Place was your mother’s product of hardwork and dedication. Your late mother had bought the space and created it into a diner where she was able to cook up whatever she wanted for her guests. It was what made her happy. But when your mother started to grow sick, it was your father that took over the diner in hopes that she would return. But your mother’s health continued to deteriorate until she passed away at an early age of forty-seven. Ever since her passing, the diner wasn’t the same. Your father had decided to sell the diner to a young couple who were looking to start their own restaurant.

Your mother’s best-selling item on the menu was the grapefruit and basil pie. Until this day, you are grateful that she managed to pass the recipe down to you. You had loved and admired your mother’s love for cooking. You would spend most of your days watching her cook. You would ditch everything to learn how to cook, especially from your mother. The deconstructed pie that you had made for Jaehyun is a representation of how much you miss her and how much she inspired you.

“Thank you,” you whisper. Jaehyun looks at you confusedly. “Thank you for cherishing my mother’s passion, for cherishing her love of cooking. She would be thrilled to know that there was someone who loved her grapefruit and basil pie.”

“Y-You’re joking,” he shakes his head. “She’s your mother?”

You purse your lips into a tight line, nodding. “We closed down the place because she died of cancer. It didn’t make sense to take on the diner after her passing. My father had no idea how to cook.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorry—”

“I decided to study culinary arts because it’s the only thing that reminds me of her. It’s the only thing that brings me closer to her. I also wanted to open up a diner in her honor, to celebrate her life. I think that’s what she truly wanted… to spend most of her life with her family and at the diner.” You chuckle, wiping away a tear that slides down your cheek. “And don’t apologize. You had no idea.”

“But still, I—”

“I’ve decided to stick with my decision regardless of whether you enjoyed my dish or not. I’m going to withdraw from the competition.” You clasp your hands together.

Jaehyun watches you as you carefully take off your apron. You place the apron right next to your dish before bowing to him. “Y/N, no—”

“Thank you for everything, chef. It was an honor cooking for you and I’m glad you enjoyed the pie.”

“Y/N, no, please. Stay here with—” Me. That’s what he wants to say. It almost terrifies him that this is the first thing that crosses his mind. It catches him off guard. He’s never had the urge to let you stay. He’s never been afraid of losing you. He’s never been terrified of slowly realizing your importance and your effect on him. “The other contestants. You’re worthy of the chance. Just like them.”

“I’ve already told the producers—”

“We can always take it back. You can always take it back.” He cuts you off. “Don’t withdraw. You have so many more things to accomplish, to conquer, to show off. You have talent, Y/N. Withdrawing from the competition will be the biggest mistake of your life—”

“Please don’t say all of that if you don’t even mean it—”

“I mean it. Stay.” He’s so close to begging. “Your mother was one of the few driving forces that led me to becoming a chef. If it weren’t for your mother, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.”

“You’re lying,” you shake your head in disbelief. “You’re just making this hard for me.”

“Stay for your mother. I’m sure she would want you to finish the competition regardless of whether you win or not—”

“But you wanted me gone since the first round—” Never. He never wanted you to leave. He wanted you to stay. He wanted to help you. He wanted to encourage you to work hard for your dreams.

“Do it for her. Do it for Mina’s Place.”

You fall silent. For a moment, you could hear your mother’s voice chanting you on. You could hear her giggles and laughter. You could see her bright smile. It makes your eyes glassy. Your eyes trail down towards the pie that you made. As you fixate on the pie, you wipe away a few more tears.

“Yes, chef. I’ll stay.”

“How did you change her mind?”

Taeyong stands next to Jaehyun and watches you as you return your things back into their respective drawers at your station. Taeyong, along with Doyoung, had expected your station to be empty the following morning. But there you were, absolutely present, setting up your station before the next round of the competition begins. Jaehyun shoves his hands into his pockets and watches you intently, not being able to tear his gaze away from you.

“Let’s just say I worked my magic,” he answers softly.

Doyoung glances at his co-judge, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. He follows Jaehyun’s line of sight and it lands on you. Taeyong seems to pick it up as well and a cheeky grin spreads across his lips. Taeyong has worked with Jaehyun for many years. They opened up one three-Michelin starred restaurant in Florence together and they ran the restaurant for many years. From Jaehyun’s inner thoughts to his feelings, Taeyong knows him so well. In fact, Taeyong hasn’t seen Jaehyun like this in so long.

Work has been the main priority for Jaehyun. Taeyong was always trying to get his best friend to loosen up and meet some people while they were in Italy. But Jaehyun was always closed up and always stayed back in the kitchen. It was sad for Taeyong to see his best friend have a lack of social life—moreover, a dating life. Jaehyun’s last relationship was a couple of years ago and it ended on horrible terms. In particular, his breakup happened right before he boarded his flight to Italy. Taeyong knows that it left such a negative impact on his best friend. Jaehyun had promised to never fall in love again after his breakup, devoting his entire life to cooking and being in the kitchen… never leaving it once.

But seeing how Jaehyun looks at you, Taeyong is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Alright, chefs! We’ll be starting in ten minutes! Relax, grab a drink, and we’ll regroup.” Doyoung announces.

You suck in a deep breath, heading towards the water dispenser to get yourself a cup of water. Taeil follows behind you, grabbing himself a cup of water too. He tilts his head in confusion, analyzing your every move. You seem to notice and when the two of you finally make it up to the balcony that oversees the entire kitchen, you face him.

“Is there something on my face?” You ask.

Taeil shakes his head. “No! No, not at all. I was just—I thought you said you were going to withdraw from the competition.”

You take a swig of your water. “I did. But… I changed my mind. I decided to stay.”

“What changed your mind?” Taeil questions. Everyone’s beginning to gather at the balcony before the new round of the competition begins.

Before you could even answer Taeil’s question, Chef Jaehyun stands in the space between you two. He leans over the railing of the balcony. You and Taeil share a look. You clear your throat, adding a bit more distance between you and Chef Jaehyun. Taeil studies your body language and it’s almost as if he reads your mind. Ah, Chef Jaehyun changed your mind.

“Ah, I see.” Taeil slowly nods his head. “Well, good luck, Y/N. I’m sure you’ll do well in the next round.”

Taeil leaves you and Chef Jaehyun alone to talk with other contestants. You’re looking everywhere but at Chef Jaehyun, busying yourself by the water in your cup.

Jaehyun can’t comprehend what’s going on with him. He can’t find the courage to look at you. But when he does, he can’t seem to breathe because his heartbeat picks up its pace. He clears his throat. “Are you ready for the next round?”

You finally look at him. You straighten up your posture. “Yes, chef.”

“Y/N, no, please. Stay here with—the other contestants. You’re worthy of the chance. Just like them.”

“Don’t withdraw. You have so many more things to accomplish, to conquer, to show off. You have talent, Y/N. Withdrawing from the competition will be the biggest mistake of your life.”

“I mean it. Stay. Your mother was one of the few driving forces that led me to becoming a chef. If it weren’t for your mother, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.”

It’s hard to get rid of Chef Jaehyun’s voice out of your head. Whatever happened a couple of nights ago in the kitchen felt a bit too intimate. You were cooking one of your best dishes, a dish that meant a lot to you, for one of the most famous chefs in the world. It was just the two of you in the kitchen. Chef Jaehyun had begged you to stay in the competition. All of those events that night were driving you crazy.

What Chef Jaehyun does next snaps you out of your thoughts. He places his hand on your head and ruffles your hair. Your eyes slightly widen and you freeze. “Good luck.”

When he leaves to speak with the other contestants, you’re left all alone by the balcony with a heart beating so fast. You almost drop your cup of water but you catch yourself just in time. You place a hand over your heart as if it’ll help it stop beating so fast.

There’s been a shift between you and Chef Jaehyun ever since that night.

You’ve always despised Chef Jaehyun. You didn’t even like him to begin with. Not one single bit.

But now… you’re not quite sure anymore.

“There are only two more rounds left in the competition. But this round determines who has a chance to be the next MasterChef. Who will make it to the final round of MasterChef? We shall find out! For today’s challenge, the three of you will be paired up with one of us to cook up a special meal for your own friends.”

There are three contestants left in the competition. Those contestants are you, Taeil, and Seokjin. Each one of you is called up to the front to pick a slip of paper from a box. The chef that’s on your chosen slip of paper will be the chef that you will be paired up to cook with. Whoever you end up with wouldn’t matter because the three of them are perfect in their own way.

Chef Jaehyun is a perfectionist. He’s also competitive. He loves making sure that the food he puts out is more than perfect. It gives him relief and satisfaction knowing that his customers love the food that he makes for them. He’s surely known all over the world for being overly meticulous. He’s also known for running many successful restaurants. He has strong ties with restaurants in Florence. Being paired up with Chef Jaehyun means that you are guaranteed to make a successful dish.

Chef Taeyong is also a perfectionist but not as competitive as Chef Jaehyun. He always makes sure that he thoroughly enjoys the process of cooking. He’s almost like a mother. He cooks for people because he genuinely enjoys doing it. It’s a hobby that he enjoys doing and somehow, it brings him fortune and success. Being paired up with Chef Taeyong means that you’ll not only make a perfect dish, but you’ll also have fun making it and create a story along with it.

Chef Doyoung is not a perfectionist, but he has a great sense of his ingredients. He knows the compatibility of ingredients, which is something every chef wants to have. It’s a trait that is rare to find in chefs. This trait had led him to win MasterChef when he was a contestant. To others, his dishes might be ambiguous but once people try it, they would have never imagined such a dish to work out. Being paired up with Chef Doyoung means that you are willing to take risks that will elevate your dish and bring out uniqueness.

When you open your slip of paper, you almost let out a laugh.

Chef Jaehyun.

Fate loves playing games with you.

“I got Chef Jaehyun,” you hold up your slip of paper. You and Taeil exchange looks.

When your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun’s, he bites back a smile that’s threatening to spread across his lips. The two other chefs can’t seem to hold back their smiles either. You look down, growing too shy with all of the attention on you.

“I got Chef Taeyong.” Taeil shows his slip of paper.

“And that means I got Chef Doyoung.” Seokjin finishes, holding up his slip of paper.

“Perfect. We’ll start in five minutes. During these five minutes, we will all discuss with our partners and plan out our dishes accordingly.” Chef Taeyong announces.

When Chef Jaehyun heads over to your workstation, you can’t seem to compose yourself. Your mind is going insane. You’re not sure if you’re going to end up regretting having Chef Jaehyun as your partner or be grateful that he could help you secure a spot in the finals.

“I’m surprised you’re not sick and tired of me yet,” he mumbles. “It’s just always gonna be you and me, huh?”

“I’m surprised you’re not sick and tired of me yet either,” you shrug your shoulders.

“I guess fate likes the two of us together.” He says, avoiding your gaze.

“I’m sure fate hates me and is punishing me by pairing me up with you.” You mutter underneath your breath.

“I heard that.”

“You were supposed to.”

Working together with Chef Jaehyun is a pain in the ass.

“The sashimi should be cut like this!”

“Yeah, I know! I can see it!”

It’s been non-stop bickering for the past fifteen minutes. There’s forty-five minutes left before you have to send out your dishes to your friends. With the grin planted across Chef Jaehyun’s lips, you’re not sure if he’s doing this for fun or if he’s genuinely being strict and serious.

“You’re in the way.” You nudge him aside to grab the bottle of Japanese mayonnaise. “Do you mind checking on my rolls?”

“They look good—”

“You didn’t even look at them!” You look at him as if he had ten heads.

“I don’t need to look at them to know if they look good or not.” He rolls his California rolls. “You need to be more confident in yourself. Do you think they look good?”

“Of course, because I made them.” You fold your arms.

“Then they look good! You have to trust yourself, Y/N.” He slices through the California roll before rolling each of them into Panko. “I feel like you don’t trust yourself enough.”

Chef Jaehyun’s right. You don’t trust yourself enough. When he notices how silent you’ve gotten, he finally takes a look at your California rolls. He analyzes the contents of your roll before smiling. “It looks perfect to me. You see, I didn’t need to look at them to tell you that they’re good. You put the right amount of crab meat. There’s a balance between the crab meat and rice. The roll is consistent. The rice is sticky enough. It’s perfect, Y/N, stop doubting yourself.”

“Really…?”

“Really. Now, get back to work because we don’t have much time left.”

As the two of you both get back to work, Jaehyun can’t seem to stop himself from smiling. If there was one thing he wanted to do with someone special to him, it was to make a meal together. He learns more about someone through the art of cooking. You’re an expert at baking and inherited those skills from your mother. You know your spices so well that they come to you so naturally. You know how to balance your ingredients. You know when two ingredients work and when it doesn’t.

You’re the complete opposite of him. Jaehyun is an expert at everything but baking. He doesn’t have a great sense of spices and would often plan out his dishes carefully. Making a perfect dish doesn’t come naturally to him. He’s more on the practical side of cooking. Jaehyun thinks you’re the perfect match for him. Whether it be in the kitchen or as someone he’d like to pursue… he’s not sure.

It would be a huge lie if Jaehyun wasn’t attracted to you. He doesn’t know when the switch happened. Maybe he liked you from the start.

It’s almost as if fate had you written in his stars. When Jaehyun had been dumped by his ex-girlfriend right before he boarded his plane to Florence, he was devastated. He was devastated knowing that his ex-girlfriend whom he was planning on proposing to was cheating on him that entire time. He was devastated knowing that he lost one of his few passions; the love of his life. Heartbroken. Closed off. Focus on working. Focus on hustle culture. Never falling in love again. That was Jaehyun’s mindset.

But now that he thinks about it and all the encounters you’ve had with him, meeting you for the first time in Florence must be a fateful encounter. From spilling expensive wine all over his shirt to serving him a horrible dish as a culinary intern, no matter how embarrassing those experiences were, it must be fate. You make him worry about you. You make him think about you a bit too often. He goes out of his way to make sure nothing horrible happens to you. He doesn’t want you to be hurt.

Meeting you may be a special event that has happened in his life.

“Chef? Chef…?”

He snaps out of his thoughts. You’re giving him a funny look.

“You were saying?”

“You have some seaweed on your face, chef.”

“I-I do? Where—”

Before he could even wipe his face with his hands, you’re already reaching up to rub off the seaweed crumbs off of his face. He freezes in his spot. His eyes look down to meet yours. When you finally brush the seaweed crumbs off of his crimson red cheeks, your eyes shift to his. It’s your turn to freeze. Out of instinct, Jaehyun gently holds your arms. He holds you so carefully… almost cautiously. Somehow, he can’t speak. Somehow, everything that surrounds the two of you becomes nothing but white noise. His eyes slowly trail down to your lips.

“You have fifteen minutes left! Fifteen minutes!”

You both are startled, repelling from each other. To calm your unsteady heart, you focus on finishing your last few sushi rolls before you begin plating them. Jaehyun stands more than a meter away from you, not making any sort of conversation with you for the remainder of the fifteen minutes. His heart is beating so fast that he’s afraid you could hear it ramming out of his chest.

It’s all starting to make sense. To him, at least.

He’s slowly—but surely—falling in love with you.

The morning of the final round of MasterChef, you wake up still in disbelief that you’re one step closer to becoming the champion. In the semi-finals, your great teamwork with Chef Jaehyun has secured you a spot in the finals, giving you a bigger chance of winning the entire competition. There’s no backing down for you. The possibility that your dreams can come true is still surreal for you and now you’re willing to put in all the effort to make sure that possibility becomes reality.

As soon as you enter the kitchen, you spot none other than Taeil, who’s already setting up his station. You and Taeil both find it funny how although you’re both closest to each other and have become good friends in the competition, here you both are, competing against each other to become the champion of MasterChef. It’s a friendly competition. You can’t imagine finishing the entire competition with anyone else.

“Hello, chef.” You greet him.

“Good morning, Y/N. Today is the day.” He smiles. “Good luck. Let the MasterChef win.”

Everyone begins to gather around. Your friends and family and Taeil’s friends and family. The three chef judges make their ways to the front after getting their hair and makeup done. The kitchen is set up differently this time around. Instead of the normal rectangular work stations, the station is set up as a circle that surrounds both you and Taeil. The two of you will work on opposite sides of the circle.

As you and Taeil get settled and wait for filming to start, your eyes catch Chef Jaehyun’s. You’re almost surprised and a bit taken aback to catch him already looking at you. He’s dressed up quite nice today. He’s wearing an indigo suit with his hair styled back. He has such prominent eyebrows, you notice, since he’s always had his hair down. He’s… handsome.

And he smiles at you.

Not knowing what to do in return, you flash him a small, timid smile before looking away. In just a few minutes, the final round will begin and your fate will be determined. You spot your father who’s wiping away tears with his handkerchief. Sitting in his arms is a framed picture of your mother. Your eyes slowly tear up but you blink them away.

“We will start in three… two… one… action!”

“Welcome everyone, to the final round of MasterChef.”

“Today, we will find out who is this season’s MasterChef.”

“Will it be Taeil? Or Y/N? We shall find out!”

For the final round of MasterChef, you and Taeil will be cooking up three dishes for the chef judges. The first dish will be the appetizer. Following the first dish is the entree. The third and final dish is the dessert. You and Taeil were given a week to figure out what you’re going to serve the chef judges. You have decided to base your dishes around the theme of apples. All three of your dishes contain apples.

The first round of three begins and you’re cooking up your first dish. For your first dish, you’re creating a scotch quail egg that will rest on top of a bed of parsnips and potatoes. You envision this dish to replicate a bird’s nest, where the bed of parsnips and potatoes act as the nest that protects the scotch quail egg. The scotch quail egg is different, however, because you will incorporate apples into the coating that surrounds it.

“Your time starts now!”

You and Taeil busy yourselves at your own sides of the circle. You’re beginning your dish by boiling a pot of water for your quail eggs. At the same time, you’re bringing out the ground pork and a couple of red gala apples. As you’re cutting the gala apples, you make sure to cut them into cubes to make them stand out in the scotch egg. From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun step off of the stage to head towards you.

“Hello, Y/N.” He greets you as he approaches your side of the station. “What are you making for us?”

“A scotch quail egg,” you mumble.

“With apples?” You hum in reply. “And what are you going to do with the potatoes?”

“I’m going to slice them up to replicate a nest for the quail eggs to rest on.” You answer.

“That seems like a bit of an easy dish, don’t you think?” He purses his lips into a tight line. “Do you think it’ll be enough to impress us?”

“Yes,” you mumble, trying your best not to let him distract you.

“Are you sure your quail eggs are going to be cooked properly? They shouldn’t be—”

“Overcooked, yes, I am very much aware of that, Chef Jaehyun.” You cut him off.

He chuckles. Your ears perk up. “It seems like you don’t want me around. Am I distracting you?”

“Yes,” you answer and everyone around you laughs. “I guess you’ll just have to see what I have planned for you when I serve it to you later.”

“Sounds good. I’m excited to see what you bring to the table, Y/N.” He searches for your eyes, but they’re busy looking at other things. In reality, you’re just too shy to look at him. “Good luck, Y/N.”

“Thanks, chef.”

Returning to your station, you keep the judges’ comments on your appetizer in your thoughts to improve on the next dish. The next dish that you’re going to cook up for them is the entree. Because your appetizer was easy to make, this left you ample time to begin preparing for your entree. You plan to serve the chef judges an entree dish that you call, rabbit two ways, in which you will serve them two different kinds of rabbit meat while incorporating bursts of apple flavors into it. The timer starts and you and Taeil get to work.

“I like how you presented this dish. It looks like a bird’s nest!”

Chef Taeyong’s comments on your dish had given you the motivation and desire to win the competition. From the start of the competition all the way to the final round, Chef Taeyong has been nothing but encouraging and genuine. All of his comments and advice shaped you into who you are as a chef today, at this very moment.

“Although there are some burnt potatoes and parsnips in my dish, I think that it surprisingly complemented the sweet flavors of the apple in the scotch egg.”

Chef Doyoung, a MasterChef champion, is someone you always looked up to. You remember watching the season that he was competing in and having a gut feeling that he would make it to the final round. There was something special about Chef Doyoung and his dishes. Every dish he created had its own story, and of course, it would always look and taste delicious. Hearing his comments throughout your journey in the competition has also helped you learn and create a chef’s mindset.

“I think I would definitely serve something like this as an appetizer at one of my restaurants. The presentation is spot on. I couldn’t have imagined a scotch egg to be presented in any other way. It’s almost as if you’re recreating nature, mother nature I would say, through your dishes. The flavors balance so well, which is not surprising because you’ve always had a good sense of your spices. Very well done, Y/N.”

Chef Jaehyun, although you disliked him at first, has truly been the one who wanted to see you succeed. Ever since he had tried to change your mind about withdrawing from the competition you couldn’t help but think that he was the one who truly liked you and your performance in the competition all along. If he didn’t try to change your mind, you would have probably withdrawn from the competition and returned back to the starting position of your journey. Chef Jaehyun has made you realize that if you truly want something, you have to work extremely hard for it. He made you realize that you’re better than what you think and most of the time, you’re just being hard on yourself. Someday, you plan on thanking him for being tough on you because it helped you on your journey to becoming a chef.

As you heat up the pan on the stove, you slice and dice up your apples to fuse them with the rabbit meat. Placing them onto the pan, you begin creating your artichoke puree that will amplify the flavors of the dish. From time to time, you could check up on the rabbit meat to make sure that you weren’t overcooking it. Overcooking rabbit meat would be horrifying because it would only mean that you would have to cook a new batch in so little time. It is extremely crucial to your dish.

“You have fifteen minutes left!”

You spent the remaining fifteen minutes focusing on the rabbit meat since you have finished making the artichoke puree. After already beginning to plate your dish with the puree, you place the rabbit meat onto a frying rack to drain out the oil. Your hands are shaking out of complete nervousness. You want this so bad. But the fact that you’re serving a dish that you haven’t even tasted is such a huge risk to take.

“Five minutes left!”

Drizzling a bit more of the artichoke puree on top of the rabbit meat, your nervous hands cause you to drizzle a bit more than needed. Pulling out a clean towel, you wipe off some of the puree that scattered on the sides of the dish. Glancing up at the time, you have one minute left to spare. You take these last few seconds to make sure everything looks good before handing them over to the servers.

“Time’s up! Hands up! Servers, please head to the back to serve the dishes.”

The last and final dish you are going to serve the chef judges is dessert. Dessert is your expertise. Everyone is aware that if there was one thing you excelled at as a chef, it would be through your desserts. You would like to thank your mother for exposing you to the world of baking at such a young age. It truly helped you later on in life, especially in this competition. For this dish, you decided to create a dish that represented a fallen apple or an apple that has fallen from an apple tree. The dish is simply an apple panna cotta, but you will be presenting it in such a way that it looks like an apple that has fallen onto the ground. This dish is going to tie up your ‘apple’ series and hopefully help you win the competition.

“Hey, Y/N. I’m back.” Chef Jaehyun smiles as he visits you at your station once again.

You smile back at him. “Hi, Chef Jaehyun. Is there anything I could help you with?”

“You could help me by letting me know what you’re planning on serving us for dessert.” He grins.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out,” you mumble softly.

“Mysterious.” He nods his head as he begins to move on to Taeil’s station. “You’re going to surprise us?”

“Yes, chef.” You reply.

“Well, I hope it’ll be worth the surprise! Good luck, Y/N.”

“Thanks, chef!”

For your dish, you’re not planning on serving them a whole apple. You’re going to recreate the apple by making apple jelly. The apple jelly will be shaped like an apple by pouring the mixture into a silicone tray. Since an apple has seeds in the middle, you are going to toast up some pine nut seeds and place them into the middle of the jelly mixture once it’s set. To recreate the red color of an apple, you are going to place a red glaze all over the jelly. Since this dish is going to replicate a fallen apple, you are going to recreate soil by grinding up a mixture of nuts and raisins. This will act as the bed for the fallen apple. Lastly, you are going to recreate the leaves of the apple tree by using sugar and water, and the twigs of the branches with a sweet dough.

“You have twenty minutes left!”

You pull out your silicone trays and you nearly have a heart attack. The jelly is not completely set but you don’t have much time left to keep it in the fridge. You still have to plate the entire dish. Taking the toasted pine nut seeds off the stove, you place them onto a tray to cool down. One by one, you shove pine nut seeds into the apple jelly. The seeds keep popping back up, which confirms that your apple jelly still isn’t set properly. But with the time you have left, you have to take this risk.

“Ten minutes left!”

You begin plating your dish. To plate your apple-themed dessert, you grab the bowl of fake soil that you created with an assortment of nuts and raisins and scoop out two spoons to create a bed for the fallen apple. After you do that on three plates, you carefully pop out the apple jelly from the silicone tray and place it on top of the soil. Then, to decorate the apple jelly, you stick your fake twigs into the jelly and place sugar leaves on top. As you grab the pot of red glaze, you stop in your tracks.

From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun looking at you as you freeze in your spot. You look deep in thought. Suddenly, you shake your head and place the pot of red glaze back onto the countertop. He tilts his head in confusion.

“Ten seconds left!”

Everyone is beginning to count down and you’re making final touches to your dish. Taeil, on the other hand, already has his hands up to indicate that he’s already done.

“Time’s up! Hands up! Servers, please take the dishes to the back.”

“Alright, Y/N, please tell us what you have served for us.”

Stepping forward, you clear your throat. Each one of them looks at you with anticipation, but it makes you grow even more nervous. You feel more nervous than how you were at the start of the competition. When your eyes meet Chef Jaehyun’s, your mind can’t help but go blank. He gives you an encouraging smile and it’s enough for you to snap back to your senses.

“For dessert, I’ve recreated a fallen apple by making an apple panna cotta. The fallen apple is supported by a bed of soil which is recreated with an assortment of nuts and raisins. To replicate the twigs and leaves of the apple tree, I’ve made a dough for the twigs and used a sugar glaze for the leaves.” You describe your dish. All of their eyebrows raise. You’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“I saw you holding a pot of red glaze earlier and I assumed that you were going to use that to glaze over the apple jelly. But I see that you’ve decided not to use it. Is there a particular reason why you decided to do that?” Chef Jaehyun asks as he’s digging into your dessert by taking a bit of everything onto his spoon.

“I decided not to use red glaze for this dish because I felt like it would look a little bit too fake. I also think that it wouldn’t match the overall colors of the dish.” You explain.

Chef Jaehyun smiles. “I think that was good judgment on your part. If it doesn’t look like it belongs on your dish, then don’t add it. Well done, Y/N.”

“Let’s all dig in.” Chef Doyoung insists.

As they all taste your dish, you nervously fiddle with your fingers. After they have all finished tasting the different components of your dish, they look back up at you.

“I think this is a unique dish, Y/N.” Chef Taeyong begins. He’s the first one to make a comment on your dessert. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The presentation is spot on again. I really like the balance of sweetness from the apple jelly and the richness of the soil. I enjoyed this dish. Thank you, Y/N.”

“Thank you, chef.” You mumble.

“I agree with Chef Taeyong.” Chef Doyoung smiles. “I really like how the jelly melts in your mouth and how this is counteracted by the crunchy texture of the nuts. The presentation of the dish is executed very well, it looks like a fallen apple. You’ve done a beautiful job, Y/N.”

“Thank you so much, chef.”

“I agree with all of them.” Chef Jaehyun chuckles. “I see why you decided not to add red glaze to this dish. It would have completely ruined it. I am not one who likes desserts, but this has completely changed it for me. I love how it has the right amount of sweetness. The nuts balance well with the sweetness due to it being so rich in flavor. I would also serve something like this at my restaurant. You’ve come a long way, Y/N. You’ve done an excellent job in finishing up your three-course apple menu.”

“Wow, that means a lot, thank you so much.” You sigh with relief.

“Alright, we’re going to have a bit of a meeting now.” Chef Doyoung chuckles. “The two of you can go back and meet with your family while we go over your dishes and choose this season’s MasterChef.”

“Good luck, Y/N and Taeil.”

“We have finally come to a decision.”

Everyone is gathered near the front of the kitchen. The three judges are standing right in front of you. You and Taeil share glances. Taeil flashes you a huge smile that you mirror back at him. It feels like a dream standing in front of the three chef judges, waiting for them to announce the winner of MasterChef. The journey that you took on this competition is one that you will never forget and one that will change your life forever.

“It was hard to choose a winner for this season’s MasterChef.” Chef Taeyong begins. “Because the two of you have come such a long way since the start of the competition. The two of you have been through tough challenges and elimination tests, but you persevered, and that’s why you’re standing here today.”

“You have both improved and learned a lot since you started your journey here at MasterChef, and your journey continues even after the competition.” Chef Jaehyun clasps his hands together. “I personally think this season is my favorite. This final round has been special. You both served dishes that we have never even seen in the previous seasons of MasterChef. The both of you should be extremely proud of yourselves for making it this far.”

“But we do have to choose one MasterChef winner. The winner will be getting the first prize and a chance to open up their own restaurant or catering service. This will put you out into the field of cuisine and culinary arts, something that we’re all sure that you both came here for.” Chef Doyoung smiles. “Shall we announce the winner?”

“I think we should.” Chef Taeyong chuckles. “It was such a hard decision but…”

“But we have finally chosen this season’s MasterChef.” Chef Doyoung finishes it for him. “Y/N, Taeil, could you please step up to the front?”

You and Taeil head towards the front, hand in hand. Taeil gives your hand a tight, reassuring squeeze. Standing right behind him is his own family. Standing behind you are your relatives and your father, but also your mother, who’s looking down at you from the sky.

“This season’s MasterChef is…”

You close your eyes. Your heart begins to beat faster than horsepower. You would feel like the only woman in the world if you hear your name being called out. Standing right here, with Taeil, in front of three world-renowned chefs, is another reminder of how much you wanted this, why you started this journey, and what you want out of it. It’s not only for you, but for your mother, who would always chase her dreams.

“Congratulations, because you are this season’s MasterChef…”

“Y/N! Congratulations, you are this season’s MasterChef!”

It’s all a blur. Confetti shoots up into the air and falls down like snowflakes. You open your eyes when you feel yourself being attacked by your family with hugs. Taeil’s hand never lets go of yours and he pulls you into a tight, celebratory hug. Your eyes well up with tears.

You can’t believe it.

If only your mother was here to celebrate your win with you. But you’re sure that she’s up in the skies, cheering you on, celebrating your achievement. It’s hard to breathe because it all feels so surreal. When you blink away your tears, your vision becomes clear again and you see the three chef judges coming in to join the big hug. Chef Jaehyun falls within sight and you share gazes.

He flashes you a wide, warm, genuine smile while mouthing ‘congratulations’.

Your heart skips a beat but you pay no attention to it.

You mouth back a ‘thank you, chef’.

AFTER MASTERCHEF.

It’s been a couple of months since you won MasterChef and you’ve been assigned to work alongside Chef Doyoung at one of his new branch locations. You’ve been assigned this job in the meantime while you renovate your new diner that you’ve always wished of running.

If Jaehyun were to be honest, he was quite sad (or should he say, jealous, but he will never admit it) that you were assigned to work with Doyoung. The days after MasterChef have been uneventful and boring. Everywhere he looks, it reminds him of you. Everything he does, it reminds him of you. Stubborn to admit it, he misses it. He misses you.

And so when he steps inside of Doyoung’s new branch location of his restaurant, Doie, he hopes that he could catch you there. Why? Because finding you has been extremely difficult these days.

As he steps into the restaurant, he heads straight to the front desk. The woman working at the front slowly looks up and upon realizing who’s standing right in front of her, her posture straightens.

He flashes her a warm smile. “Is Chef Y/N here?”

“O-Oh! You’re Chef Jaehyun!” She exclaims.

He smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “Yes, that’s me. I decided to drop by and check this place out. I had only found out that Chef Y/N was assigned to work here in the meantime before the opening of Mina’s Place.”

“Unfortunately, Chef Y/N already left. She left a couple of hours ago to attend to some personal matters.” The woman frowns, spinning a pen in between her fingers.

“Oh, is that so?” He’s trying so hard to hide the disappointment in his eyes. “I guess I was a bit too late.”

“Do you want me to pass a message on to her, chef?” She asks insistently.

“Oh, there’s no need. I guess I’ll just drop by tomorrow.” He says with defeat.

Why is it that it used to be so easy to bump into you? Why is it that it’s become so difficult to bump into you now? Why is it so hard to cross paths with you now? It’s been so easy to find you before. But now, when he tries to find you, he can’t. It’s grown into a difficult game of hide and seek.

“Actually—” Jaehyun begins before cutting himself off. “I’ll be right back.”

He rushes out of the restaurant and spots a flower shop right across the road. Stepping inside of the flower shop, he’s greeted by an elderly woman who’s watering a fresh batch of tulips. She places the pail of water back onto the black and white tiled floor.

“Hello, young man, how can I help you?”

He lets his eyes wander around the shop. He can’t seem to figure out what to get.

“I’ve been wanting to get a bouquet of flowers, but I’m not quite sure which flowers to put together.” He scratches the back of his head.

She giggles sheepishly. “Is it for a young lady that’s taken your interest?”

He’s caught off guard by the question. He lets out a shaky, breathy laugh. There’s no way he could be feeling this way for you. Even if he does feel like you’re someone special to him, it’s something that will take a while for him to understand. Liking you is one thing but falling in love with you is another.

“I—I mean—Yeah, I guess so?” He sounds confused.

She tilts her head. “You guess so? Well, young man, the fact that you’ve stepped foot into my shop to get a lovely lady a bouquet of flowers must mean something. She must be someone special.”

The old woman has a point. He wouldn’t be going out of his way to do all of this for you. He wouldn’t be trying to find you. He wouldn’t have the urge to talk to you, to get to know you more.

“I guess you’re right,” he slowly nods his head when everything slowly becomes clear for him. “Alright. Do you mind putting a bouquet together for a young woman that I’ve taken interest in? I want her to like me just as much as I like her.”

The old woman breaks out into a wide smile.

“Right away, sir.”

When the bouquet of white daisies and red tulips is wrapped and bundled together with a plastic wrap, Jaehyun pays for the old woman’s efforts and time before heading back to the restaurant across the road. But before he leaves the flower shop, the old woman gives him words of encouragement. He gives her two thumbs up and heads back.

The woman standing at the front eyes the bouquet of flowers in his hands when he enters. He places the bouquet on top of the counter. “I’m back.”

“You’re back, indeed.”

“Do you mind giving Y/N these flowers when he comes in tomorrow? You could place them in a vase to keep them fresh too.” He asks.

She nods her head. “Will do, chef.”

“Alright, thank you so much. I’ll head on out now—”

“Chef Jaehyun, are you sure you’re just going to give her the bouquet of flowers without a note?”

Shoot. He turns back around. “You’re right, I didn’t write a note.”

She slides over a stack of sticky notes and her own pen. “Here you go, chef.”

He grabs the stack of sticky notes and walks over to one of the tables for two. He plops his butt down onto one of the chairs and thinks about what to write and what type of note he wants to leave you. To him, it seems like he’s been sitting there for hours. There are so many things he wants to tell you, but he’ll have to say them one by one.

To Y/N,

I dropped by Doie in hopes of seeing you. Would love to meet and catch up with you over a cup of coffee. I miss hope that we could get in touch soon. On the back of the note is my number. Hope to hear from you soon.

Jaehyun

“A short video?”

The production team exchanges looks before nodding their head. Jaehyun has been called to have a meeting with one of the food companies that he helps endorse. The company is popular for their gluten-free food products. From gluten-free flour to gluten-free bread, the company most likely carries it. It was the first brand that Jaehyun endorsed mainly because he’s always been picky with his food, especially since his mother’s allergic to gluten.

“Yes! With Chef Y/N! It’s a promotion video for one of the new brands we’re carrying here at the supermarket. We’re planning on having the both of you shop around one of our supermarkets and use the groceries to create a dessert for Valentine’s Day.” One of the PR managers explains.

“Did Chef Y/N agree to do the video?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, she just got back to us this morning. She’s interested in doing the video.” Another PR joins the conversation.

“Great. I’ll do the video.”

Everyone looks at each other weirdly. That was such a fast response. They always had trouble negotiating with Jaehyun mainly because of his busy life. But this time, it was different.

“O-Oh? That’s perfect, chef!”

“When do we start?”

A couple of weeks later, you arrive at a supermarket that’s been closed off to the public until noon. It’s been a while since you last saw Chef Jaehyun. You were quite surprised to hear that he had decided to do the cooking video with you. You were even more surprised when the PR team had told you that the MasterChef viewers had voted for the two of you to collaborate for the video. As for the reasons why the viewers voted for the two of you specifically… you still have no idea.

“Chef Jaehyun will be arriving in a bit, he’s running late because of traffic.” The videographer informs you.

“No worries, I’ll keep myself busy in the meantime.” You smile, heading inside of the supermarket to take a look at the groceries.

You start off in the produce section, trying to see what you can come up with for the video. There are fresh large strawberries that you think would be perfect for chocolate-covered strawberries. After all, you and Chef Jaehyun are supposed to create a dish that would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. You try to look for other alternatives, steering away from doing the basics.

“Miss Y/N? Chef Jaehyun has arrived. He’s just outside of the supermarket.” One of the PR interns approaches you, almost startling you.

“Oh! Yes, alright, I’ll head on over with you right now.” You join her as you both walk back outside of the supermarket.

As you walk through the automatic doors, the first thing you spot is a tall figure standing a few meters away. He’s talking to the videographers and the PR interns who are telling him what they have planned for the video. You hesitantly approach them, mumbling a soft, “hello.”

When Chef Jaehyun turns towards you, you see his eyes slightly widen before a flame ignites within them. For a brief moment, you get lost in his eyes because you find yourself focusing more on trying to steady your fast heartbeat. When you come back to your senses, you’re the first to look away.

He clears his throat and you feel his shoulder brush against yours. “Nice seeing you again, Y/N.”

“Nice seeing you too, chef.” You mumble softly. Why do you feel shy?

“Are the two of you ready to start filming? From the scripts that we sent you, it’s going to be a casual type of video.” The videographer explains. “Just to briefly brush over what we have planned for the video, the two of you will be shopping for groceries that the company carries and sells and you will both cook up a dish together. It will be Valentine’s Day themed.”

The both of you slowly nod. “Are you ready?”

You look up to see Chef Jaehyun already looking down at you. You flash him a small, timid smile. “Ready, chef.”

“Perfect! Let’s start with the filming. Be yourselves and of course, have fun!” The videographer clasps his hands together and he pulls out his camera.

You brace yourself.

It’s going to be a long day, that’s for sure.

“Hello everyone, I’m Chef Jaehyun.”

“And I’m Chef Y/N.”

“And today, we’ll be shopping around for ingredients to cook up a meal that you could cook for your loved ones this Valentine’s Day.”

Chef Jaehyun pushes the cart while you look for some fresh fruits in the produce section. The two of you have agreed to cook two different dishes, a dessert and a main course. Chef Jaehyun will be in charge of the main course dish while you will be in charge of the dessert.

“To spice things up, we have a couple of questions to answer while we shop.” You begin while you’re grabbing a bag of raspberries.

“You’re going to play the couple game!” One of the PR interns says from her script. Your eyes almost bulge out of its sockets. You don’t remember a couple game written in the script. From the surprised look on Chef Jaehyun’s face, you don’t think he remembers it either. “We will give you two options and the both of you will answer on the count of three. Think of it as a compatibility game!”

“C-Couple game? Compatibility game?” Chef Jaehyun chuckles sheepishly.

“First question! Fried chicken or pizza? One… two… three!”

“Chicken.” You both answer in unison.

“Wow, the compatibility is strong right off the bat.” The PR intern giggles. “Next question! Snow or rain? One… two… three!”

“Snow.” You both answer in unison again.

“Wow, this must be fate.” The PR intern swoons. “Third question! Ice cream or cake? One… two… three!”

“Ice cream.” Chef Jaehyun answers.

“Cake.” You answer.

“The last few questions will only get interesting from here. Next question!” The PR exclaims. “Fall in love with your childhood best friend or fall in love with a celebrity! One… two… three!”

“Fall in love with your childhood best friend.” You both answer.

“Interesting. Next question!” The PR continues to read off of her list of questions. “Choose the one who likes me or choose the one I like the most? One… two… three!”

“The one that I like the most.” You both answer. The PR intern grins as if her mission was accomplished successfully.

After all of your horrible encounters with Chef Jaehyun, this was one of the few times that you were actually on the same page as him. The only times that you felt like he was on your side was when he begged you to stay in the competition and when he was your partner for semi-finals. You were slowly starting to forget about cold-hearted Chef Jaehyun, the perfectionist that loved to nitpick every single detail of yours. This side of Chef Jaehyun… is a side that you want to see often.

In fact, you wouldn’t be surprised if you fell in love with him.

“Last question before we let you finish grocery shopping,” the PR intern snaps you out of your thoughts. “What are your ideal types?”

“I like someone who is easy to talk to, someone that I can communicate with without feeling embarrassed. It’s nice to have someone who’s transparent.” Chef Jaehyun is the first to answer the question.

“How about you, Chef Y/N?”

You think about it for a moment. You hum to yourself before shrugging your shoulders. “I don’t think I have an ideal type.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because I think that no matter what you like in a certain person, when you actually fall in love with someone, that person could be completely different.” You explain.

“You’re a hopeless romantic, Y/N.” Chef Jaehyun nudges you.

It’s an odd gesture, coming from him. You bite your lip, nudging him back.

“If there’s a hopeless romantic out of the two of us, it would be you, Chef Jaehyun.”

The PR intern chuckles.

“It would definitely be you, Chef Jaehyun, since you were born on Valentine’s Day!”

At the end of the shoot, you and Chef Jaehyun had insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before leaving the set. You’re busy washing the dishes and he’s busy putting the ingredients back into the cupboards and fridge. From the corner of your eye, you can see Chef Jaehyun leaning against the countertop, watching you. You almost drop the dishes into the sink, catching yourself right in time.

“How have you been?” You hear him ask.

You bite your lip. “I’ve been well, chef. You?”

“Better now that I’ve seen you again.”

You clear your throat, letting out a lighthearted chuckle. “I’m not sure how you want me to react to that, chef.”

“Did you… get them?”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion. “Get the…?”

“The flowers…?”

“Flowers…?” You place the dishes back into the hot bath before gasping. “Oh, right! The flowers! Yes, I got them. Thank you, Chef Jaehyun. You didn’t really need to.”

“I wanted to give you a gift since I heard that you’re planning on opening a diner,” he mumbles softly. Is he… blushing?

“It’s true.” You smile. “I’m going to make my mother’s dreams come true.”

“I’m sure she’s proud of you.” He flashes you a smile. It’s a different smile. This time, you can feel the genuinity he’s expressing. It feels sincere. “Have you finalized a grand opening date?”

You turn off the faucet and wipe your hands with a towel. As you turn towards Chef Jaehyun, you don’t realize how close he’s been standing to you. You almost stumble back. Gulping nervously, you nod your head. “Sometime in July.”

“I’ll keep my schedules flexible in July, then. I’d love to join you for the grand opening.”

“Oh, you don’t need to, chef. I’m sure you’re busy with other things.”

“If it’s for you, why not?”

The two of you stare at each other. His eyes slowly trail down to your lips. You lick them out of instinct, frozen with your feet glued to the floor. As you fake a cough, he regains his focus and is the first to pull away from you.

“Jaehyun? We have to get going for your next schedule.” His manager calls out to him.

The two of you glance at each other. He gives you a look you can’t seem to read. Jaehyun doesn’t want to leave. He wants to stay with you. He wants to spend more time with you. He’s aching to get to know you more. There’s a sense of urgency and neediness.

“You should get going, chef.” You mumble shyly. “Wouldn’t want to be late to your next schedule.”

What Chef Jaehyun does next completely catches you off guard. He ruffles your hair before caressing your cheek with the same hand. With widened and surprised eyes, your heartbeat picks up its pace. He smiles. It feels warm. He feels warm.

“I won’t be able to see you for a while but Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/N. You don’t know how happy I am to see you again.”

When Chef Jaehyun’s figure gets smaller and smaller, your heart feels tighter and tighter. You’re not sure how Chef Jaehyun feels about you. But what you’re sure of is that you no longer despise Chef Jaehyun.

You’re slowly falling in love with him.

[NEW] COOK UP HEARTWARMING VALENTINE’S DAY DISHES W/ CHEF JAEHYUN AND MASTERCHEF CHAMPION Y/N 1.2m views | 56k+ likes | two days ago

COMMENTS:

[pinned comment] Chef Jaehyun Official: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone~ #chefjaehyunxYN should we do another video together?

pastrychef_amy21: omg is it just me or does anyone feel like chef jaehyun has a crush on chef y/n?? doggolover312 replied: omg I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT NOTICED. luminescencexx replied: the way he looks at her >> get you a man like chef jaehyun ugh he’s handsome AND he cooks??? perfect package kjhdskjfh

galaxiesandstarsxo: they act like an old married couple sobs i always found their bickering cute since masterchef doggolover312 replied: but doesn’t chef jaehyun have a gf? i swear he did galaxiesandstarsxo replied: i think they broke up a long time ago? they were supposed to get married apparently… but something happened. they even unfollowed each other on socials doggolover312 replied: omg if that’s the case… chef y/n you still have a chance!!

It’s your last day helping out at Doie and it feels bittersweet to be leaving. Here, you close a chapter to open another one. You’ve been helping out in the kitchen at Doie for months, right after you had won MasterChef. The time you were at Doie is something you’ll cherish. But you’re moving on to make bigger moves, making you and your mother’s dreams come true as one of them.

On your last day of work, Chef Taeyong decides to surprise you with a visit. You’re in the middle of cooking up a dish when he arrives and asks you if the two of you could have a chat. You both find yourselves sitting in the loft that’s been closed to customers for the season.

“How have you been?” He asks.

You smile. “I’ve been well, chef. I’ve been enjoying every single day.”

He chuckles. “I can definitely see that you’re enjoying every passing day. You’re a MasterChef, after all.”

You cut right to the chase. “Am I in trouble, chef?”

“No, not at all. Far from it, actually.” He shakes his head. “I wanted to talk to you about something… or should I say, about someone.”

“Who?”

He snorts. “Jaehyun, of course. Have you seen him recently?”

“Yes, chef. We filmed a video together for Valentine’s Day with one of his sponsors—”

“Now that makes sense!” He exclaims. He sighs with relief. “He’s been acting incredibly weird lately. In fact, he’s been acting weird for the longest time, since MasterChef, and it’s been driving me nuts.”

“Chef Jaehyun? Acting weirdly?” You ask confusedly.

“How do I put this?” He sighs. “He likes you, Y/N. You may not think he does and he may not think he does either, but I see it. It’s crystal clear. It’s as clear as day.”

You fold over, bursting out into laughter. It’s the reaction he expected from you. He got the same exact reaction from Jaehyun. Complete disbelief. Complete obliviousness.

“Oh no, chef. I don’t think he likes me—”

“He does, Y/N.” Chef Taeyong cuts you off. “Listen, before his flight to Florence, his ex-girlfriend dumped him because she was cheating on him. Ever since then, Jaehyun has been such a cold-hearted person and worked his ass off. But I always felt that there was something off about him.”

“He got dumped before flying out to Florence?” You purse your lips into a tight line. “Maybe that’s why he was such in a bad mood when I spilled wine all over his shirt—”

“You both met each other before MasterChef?” Chef Taeyong flips out, eyes rounding like saucers. “In Florence, too?!”

“Yes…?”

“Makes sense.” He squints his eyes. “He kept talking about this restaurant, specifically about this waitress who somehow became a culinary intern—”

“That was me—”

“—and how he kind of regretted being so cold and rude to her because he truly saw potential and thought that she needed a boost of confidence—”

“He saw potential in me even back then—”

“—wait, the girl he was talking about was you?!” His jaw drops.

You slowly nod your head. “I was the waitress who spilled wine all over his shirt. I was the culinary intern who messed up his dish. All those horrifying encounters with Chef Jaehyun had led me to think that he absolutely hated me. He was blunt and honest, which made my unconfident self to join MasterChef to prove him wrong.”

“And you did.” Chef Taeyong smiles before it turns into a grin. “But Y/N, you got it all wrong.”

“I got it all wrong? How?”

“Jaehyun never hated you. He never disliked you.” He confesses. “In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Jaehyun’s a weird guy, I know.”

“H-How? I don’t—I don’t understand.” You scratch the back of your neck, face filled with confusion.

“When he told me about a waitress spilling wine all over his shirt, he laughed and said it was like fate was telling him to wake up.” He chuckles. “When he told me about a culinary intern messing up his dish, he couldn’t help but regret being harsh to the intern and wanted to go back but he already had to fly back to Seoul.”

You’ve never really thought of how your encounters with Chef Jaehyun looked through his point of view. Now that Chef Taeyong was laying it all out for you, you were slowly realizing that your low self-esteem and confidence caused you to immediately conclude that he hated you.

“Huh—”

“When you auditioned for MasterChef, Jaehyun actually wanted to say yes. In fact, he was the first one to say yes, but the producers of the show told him to say no to add more drama for the viewers.” He continues. “For your team challenge, Jaehyun was the one who spotted Euntae sabotaging your cake.”

“It was him?” You whisper.

He nods his head. “When we were deciding who to eliminate after your team lost the challenge, Jaehyun was proactive in convincing us to keep you in the competition. You were close to being eliminated but Jaehyun kept telling us that you had potential.”

He saw potential in you. He was persistent in keeping you in the competition. In the end, Chef Jaehyun really cared.

“I—”

“The day after I found out that Jaehyun stopped you from voluntarily withdrawing from the competition, I was curious as to how he managed to make you stay.” He smiles. “But when I looked at him look at you, I had already gotten the answer.”

You fall silent. Chef Jaehyun did everything to make sure that you felt like you were fit to be a chef. But you were just closed minded and immediately shut him down. All of his actions translated into intentions out of hate. You wish you had known, perhaps you would’ve developed a great friendship with him. You’re surprised he’s still coming back into your life to try at being friends with you after being so rude to him.

“I’ve worked with Jaehyun for many years. I know him so well. I can read him like a book. When I saw how Jaehyun looked at you that day, I felt relieved because I’ve never seen him like that for so long.” He places a hand on your shoulder. “If my best friend decides to pursue you, just know that he has good intentions and that it’s a huge step for him, especially after a heart crushing breakup.”

“That is, if he really likes me.”

“Oh trust me, honey, he does.”

Chef Taeyong lets out a sigh. The two of you stand there, looking out at the blue skies that overlook the busy streets of Seoul. Your life may be busy, but you wouldn’t trade it for anything else. You’re living out your dreams.

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Yes, chef?”

“The reason why I dropped by was because I wanted to give you this.” He pulls out an envelope from a bag filled with many other identical envelopes.

You quirk an eyebrow. “Can I open it in front of you?”

He hums in reply. “Go ahead.”

As you open the envelope, you pull out a white card. It’s almost as if you could read his mind. As you slowly open the white card, you let out a gasp.

“You’re getting married?!”

THE GRAND OPENING.

It’s been a year since you won MasterChef. It’s also been a year since you started planning to start your own diner in memory of your mother. Mina’s Place. You decided to keep the name because it’s one of the few things that remind you of her. You even made sure the interior and exterior of the diner looked exactly how it did when the diner was still open. From the yellow seats and booths, the use of purple and lavender lighting to the gray tiled floors, you kept everything the same. The only difference is that the diner is located in a different area, right in the middle of busy Seoul.

Today is the grand opening of the diner and you’re expected to serve a large group of customers. PR and advertisement has been your best friend, but your appearance and your win at MasterChef drove the anticipation of the diner’s grand opening even further.

You arrive at the diner at six in the morning to prepare all of the ingredients. From the ingredients to the grapefruit and basil pie to the ingredients for your Korean brisket and kimchi burger, you had prepared them all on your own. It was only until eight that your co-chefs and waiters and waitresses had arrived to prepare for the grand opening. Around eleven-thirty, customers, Instagram influencers and foodies began to show up at the door, forming a long line around the strip.

“Chef Y/N?” One of the waitresses, Luna, pops her head through the door.

You’re crouching down, filling up the mini fridge with cartons of milk. You dust your hands off your apron and you slowly get up. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Someone’s here to see you,” she flashes you a warm smile.

You look at her confusedly. “Are we missing someone on the team? I don’t remember anyone telling me that they were going to drop by—”

“It’s Chef Jaehyun,” Luna bites her lip. She’s biting back a huge smile.

Your eyebrows raise. Confused, you continue to gather yourself. Chef Jaehyun? “S-Sure, you can let him in.”

Luna leaves the kitchen to go fetch Jaehyun and you finish placing all the cartons of milk into the mini fridge. Moments later, you hear footsteps entering the kitchen. You stand back up, bumping your head against the table and groaning in pain. Crouching back down over the floor, you hear footsteps begin to scurry closer to you.

“Oh! Are you okay, Y/N?”

Before your hand touches the sensitive area, you already feel a familiar hand gently rubbing it to soothe the pain. You freeze up in your position, gulping nervously. Suddenly, Chef Jaehyun’s face is right in front of yours. He has a look of concern. Looking back at him with slightly widened eyes, your mind is completely wiped out of thoughts. What is this feeling? You’ve never felt this way before. You’ve never felt your heart beat so fast. You’ve never frozen up in front of someone. You’ve never lost your train of thought because of someone.

Seconds later, you clear your throat, pulling yourself away. You’ve finally come back to your senses. “Chef Jaehyun… I had no idea you were planning on dropping by—”

“I wanted to join you in the ribbon ceremony for the grand opening!” He exclaims.

He remembered? He knew it was today? You and Chef Jaehyun have never established some sort of friendship after the competition. You like to think that the both of you have achieved the status of being acquaintances, but definitely not the status of being friends.

“A-Ah,” you mumble softly. “Thanks, chef. You didn’t need to, I feel like it would be a bother and I’m sure you have other plans too—”

You’re not sure when things began to change. You’re not sure when the atmosphere began to shift between you and Chef Jaehyun. It’s almost as if you’re seeing a different person. He’s much brighter, nicer, happier. Why is it making your heart swell? What are his intentions?

“I wouldn’t miss the grand opening to Mina’s Place for anything else,” he says softly. “Hey, Y/N?”

You raise an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“I got you a present to congratulate you on the grand opening of Mina’s Place.”

“A present?” You blurt out. “Oh, no, Chef Jaehyun, you didn’t need to—”

“I wanted to.” He cuts you off. “Let’s go?”

For a brief moment, you see his hand reach out to grab yours but he quickly pulls away upon realization. The two of you are not that close for such skinship. When he realizes it, he looks back up at you with panicked eyes. Was he really going to hold your hand? You clear your throat, tearing your eyes away from his. Instead, you both walk out of the kitchen side by side.

Sitting on one of the light brown hardwood tables is a lavender box wrapped with a thin white ribbon. You glance at Jaehyun as if asking for permission, he gestures to you to go right ahead. Gently untying the ribbon, you take the lid off the box. A small gasp escapes your lips.

Sitting inside the box is an apron, but it’s not your regular apron. The apron looks just like the one in your old family pictures. Yellow with white straps. It’s simple and clean. It’ll show the stains of your hard work. It’ll feel like home.

But when you pull it out, there’s one little difference to the design. There, embroidered in white on the top left corner, reads the words “Mina’s Place.” It looks just like your mother’s handwriting, the original font of the brand, and it makes your eyes well up with tears. For a brief moment, when you hold up the apron, you could imagine your mother standing right before you with it on.

“Chef, I—” You’re having trouble forming the right words to say.

“So she’ll be with you, right above your heart, every step of the way,” Jaehyun pauses for a moment, “Chef.” He gives you a smile so fond, you are again struck with disbelief.

Hearing the word ‘chef’ come from Chef Jaehyun is something you want to hear over and over again. You want it to play through your head like a broken record. Chef Jaehyun has always been hard on you, but you knew that he was only hard on you because he only wanted the best. Chef Jaehyun is always hard on everyone and you failed to notice that. He truly wants the best for the people he works with and most importantly, the people he teaches. Maturing is realizing that you were ignorant of Chef Jaehyun’s true intentions and immediately thought negatively of him because of your past encounters with him.

“D-Do you mind saying that again?”

“I’m proud of how far you’ve come, Chef Y/N. This is only the beginning.”

After a long first day of opening, you and your team of chefs and waiters and waitresses see the last customer out. The grand opening has been such a dream to you. There was a long line that wrapped around the block. The diner was packed with many people. The line never truly saw its end until an hour before closing. When the last customer walks out of the diner after complimenting how delicious their food was, you feel your legs give out and you sigh with relief. Slowly getting back up onto your feet, you head to the back kitchen to congratulate your team.

“And we are officially closed until tomorrow morning!” You exclaim. That is, until you spot a celebratory cake sitting right in front of you on the countertop. Your team of chefs and waiters and waitresses have their phones on and recording your surprised face. “Oh you guys, you shouldn’t have!”

“Congratulations on your grand opening, chef!”

Your eyes scan the kitchen. There’s Luna, a good friend of yours from university who worked as a waitress at a hotel restaurant. She quit her job in a heartbeat after you had offered her to work front of house with a better pay. Standing right next to Luna is Minhyuck, who just graduated from culinary arts college and has been wanting to get into the kitchen as soon as possible. You saw your younger self in him, which is why you hired him on your team. Right next to Minhyuck is Yena, a rookie pastry chef that’s planning on entering MasterChef and figured working with a MasterChef champion would help her. Next to Yena are Wheein and Dohyun, who are line chefs and also your co-culinary interns in Florence. Lastly, there’s Mark and Donghyuck, two best friends and college students who were looking to get jobs as waiters.

“You guys are going to make me cry.” You pout your lips.

“To Mina’s Place!” Mark exclaims.

“To Mina’s Place!” Everyone else exclaims.

You smile, leaning in to blow out the candles. Everyone cheers. But slowly, everyone puts down their phones and stops recording video. You look at them confusedly as they begin to flash you encouraging and cheeky smiles and grins.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” You ask.

“Well, would you look at the time, we should get going!” Dohyun looks down at his wristwatch, avoiding your question.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. My mom’s going to kill me!” Wheein is rushing to gather her things.

“Wheein is my carpool driver, so I should get going too.” Yena bites her lip.

One by one, everyone starts to leave the kitchen and the diner. When it’s just you, you slowly turn around to see Chef Jaehyun entering the kitchen. He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck nervously. You tilt your head in confusion.

“Y-You’re still here, chef?” You question.

He nods his head. “I wanted to drop by and see your last customer out.”

“O-Oh, you didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to.” He smiles. “I was wondering if you could…”

He falls silent, having trouble finding the right words to come out. You stand there, expectantly, waiting for him to finish. The first thing you notice is how red Chef Jaehyun’s ears are becoming. The second thing you notice is how he can’t seem to look directly into your eyes. The third thing you notice is that… Chef Jaehyun has become shy and nervous around you. Have the tables turned?

“If I could…?”

“If you could teach me how to make the grapefruit and basil pie.” He blurts out and it comes out as a jumble of words.

You bite back a smile. “Are you going to steal my recipe and start selling grapefruit and basil pie at your restaurant?”

“Of course not,” he panics. “I would never do that.”

“I’m not sure if I could trust you,” you fold your arms, continuing to tease him. “Jaehyun.”

“I won’t,” he says softly, finally finding the courage to look into your eyes. When it sinks in that you called him by his name, his gaze softens. You feel your heart swell. “I promise. That is, if you promise me one thing too.”

“Of course,” you smile. “What is it?”

“You’ll accompany me to Taeyong’s wedding.”

“I’d love to, in fact, I was invited as well—”

“As my date.” He finishes. You almost choke on your spit.

Is this really happening? Jaehyun looks incredibly nervous. You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling so wide. You slowly nod your head in response.

“I’d love to, Jaehyun.”

THE ‘REAL’ FIRST TIME.

When Jaehyun’s parents pick him up from elementary school, it’s pouring showers outside. But the only thing that lit up the gloomy streets of Seoul was Mina’s Place, a diner that he and his parents would frequent every Friday to reward their efforts for the past week. Both of Jaehyun’s parents are well-known professors at Yonsei University, specifically in the culinary arts program. Jaehyun’s father was a chef alongside famous chefs like Baek Jongwon and Lee Yeonbok. Jaehyun’s mother was a pastry chef who was known for her win at a famous pastry competition back in her days.

And Jaehyun… was a mini chef in the making.

On a gloomy Friday afternoon, Jaehyun and his parents sit in their usual corner of Mina’s Place. A woman seeming to be in her late thirties heads over to their table with a menu. She’s wearing an apron and a chef’s hat.

“Welcome to Mina’s Place, what can I get you started for today?” The woman asks, pulling out her notepad after gently placing the menus down onto the red table.

“Hi Mina, we’d love to have the usual!” Jaehyun’s father exclaims. “That grapefruit and basil pie has never left my mind since the last time we were here.”

“That’s such a relief to hear…” The woman, whom Jaehyun now knows is Mina herself, sighs with relief. She writes it down in the notepad along with his mother’s order. She clicks her pen before stuffing it into the pocket of her yellow apron. “I’ll have your orders ready in a bit. In the meantime, make yourselves at home!”

Jaehyun’s eyes wander around the diner. Although this diner was the place he and his parents would frequent, this diner was extra special for a reason. That reason being that his parents got engaged right in front of the diner while it was owned by different owners. During that time, the diner wasn’t Mina’s Place yet, it was a fast-food restaurant.

Jaehyun’s attention is disrupted when Mina comes back to their table with their orders. His eyes land on the little girl standing right beside her. She has such large innocent eyes. She looks curiously at him. She seems to be somewhere around his age. She’s sporting a mini apron that looks exactly like Mina’s.

“And who is this cute little girl?” He hears his mother ask Mina.

Mina places her hand on the little girl’s shoulder, bringing the little girl closer to her. She cuddles against Mina. “This is my daughter. Her name is Y/N.”

“How old is she?” His mother continues to ask questions out of curiosity.

“She’s ten.” Mina pinches her daughter’s cheek.

“Oh, she’s two years younger than Jaehyun!” His father joins in the conversation. “They could be friends!”

Jaehyun makes eye contact with the little girl. She looks up at her mother before looking at both of his parents. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she looks back at him and sticks out her tongue. He feels taken aback, eyes slightly widening.

“I think they would get along quite well!” Mina smiles. “Doesn’t little Jaehyun want to be a chef when he grows up?”

“He does,” his mother nods her head. “Does Y/N want to be a chef as well? Take after you?”

“She sure does! They could even go to culinary school together! Maybe go to a cooking competition or something!”

Friends? Jaehyun scoffs, sending a glare at the little girl. They have an intense staredown. To the adults, it looks like they’re staring at each other because they have crushes on each other. But in reality, Jaehyun’s having a staredown with the little girl because she provoked him. He pokes his tongue at her in return. Her eyes widen as if she did not expect him to put up a mini fight. They could even go to culinary school together? There’s no way that that’ll happen. Cooking competition? Absolutely no way.

“I think my little daughter here has a crush…”

“Jaehyun, sweetie, isn’t Y/N so pretty? You can’t seem to stop staring at her.”

THE REALIZATION OF (MANY) THINGS.

“That was you?!”

“I can’t believe that was you!”

Sitting by the water fountain, you and Jaehyun talk about your real first encounter with each other when you were kids. From the outside of the reception venue, you can hear the DJ playing a remix of cha cha slide and the guests chanting along. Taeyong’s wedding has been memorable. It was nice to see one of your mentors getting married to the love of his life. Not only that, but you’ve been having a great time with Jaehyun. Since it was getting quite stuffy inside the venue, you and Jaehyun decided to stroll around the garden outside to get some fresh air.

“You know, sometimes I think that we’ve always had fateful encounters.” Jaehyun begins. He’s aching to hold your hand. But he knows that he wants to take things slow and carefully. He’s so in love with you that he doesn’t want to mess this up.

“Fateful encounters? What makes you say that?” You ask.

“I came out of a horrible breakup before flying to Florence to run a restaurant with Taeyong. It was such a huge coincidence to have a beautiful woman spill expensive wine all over my shirt.” He chuckles.

You jokingly glare at him. “It was an accident.”

“I know, I know.” He waves it off. “It was an even more big of a coincidence to have the same beautiful woman serve me a dish at the same restaurant.”

“Makes sense.” You nod your head in agreement. “And then we met again at MasterChef but I was a contestant and you were the judge.”

“You know, when I heard that you were withdrawing from the competition, it was like my entire world was crashing down.” He says softly. “It was like I was reminded of all the times I’ve met you and how I couldn’t let you go. I had a feeling that there must’ve been a reason why I met you after getting dumped by my ex-girlfriend.”

“But you showed me that it’s worth working hard and that it’s worth chasing your dreams.” You smile. “I haven’t thank you yet for that but... thank you, Jaehyun. If it weren’t for you, I would probably fly back out to Florence and pick up another job as a waitress.”

“And yet, I would still look for you.” He confesses. “If somehow you stuck with your decision of withdrawing, I would’ve still looked for you, no matter how far the distance.”

“Really?” You whisper.

He smiles. “Yes. I mean, how could I forget the beautiful woman that spilled expensive wine all over my shirt?”

You playfully slap his arm. “You’re really going to tease me for that for the rest of my life, huh?”

“Of course, if only you allow me to be with you for a long time.” He says and it slowly turns into a soft, shy mumble. “Agh, this is so hard!”

You quirk an eyebrow. He’s turning away from you, throwing a cute little fit. “What’s so hard?”

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something but I keep getting nervous because you look—” He stops himself. “You look so pretty and whenever I look at you, I lose my train of thought and all of the things I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

“What is it that you need to tell me?”

“Our fateful encounters.” He begins to tell you, with his back facing you because he’s too nervous to look at you. “After MasterChef, I did everything I could to find you, to see you, to get to know you more. When Doyoung told me that you were going to be working at his restaurant for a while, I kept visiting in hopes to see you but you weren’t there.”

“You did?”

“Yes, which is why I gave you those flowers!” He exclaims. “And then when we were asked to shoot that Valentine’s Day video, I agreed to do it in a heartbeat when I found out that you were going to be joining the project.”

“Oh...”

“It used to be so easy to look for you because of all of our fateful encounters. But after MasterChef, it’s become a mission to find you. But now that I’ve finally found you again, I knew that I couldn’t let you go no matter what.”

“Jaehyun...” You trail off.

He sucks in a deep breath before slowly turning back around to face you. “Y/N, I hope you know what I’m trying to say, where I’m trying to get at with this... but...”

“But?” You have a feeling you know what he’s going to tell you, but you would rather wait for it to spill past his lips.

“I’m—” He begins before looking down at your feet. His eyebrows raise in shock and he lets out a small gasp. “Oh, you’re wearing them.”

You almost want to curse at your two feet for ruining the moment. You look down at your heels that you’ve chosen to wear to the wedding. It’s the pair of heels that Alessandro had given to you when you broke your heels after tripping over yourself and spilling wine all over Jaehyun.

“These heels? Yeah, I was given—”

“You’re wearing the heels that I gave you.” He cuts you off.

“You were the one who gave these?” You whisper.

His eyes meet yours and he chuckles, nodding his head. “Of course. When you got back up after tripping over, I noticed that your heels broke and so I stopped by one of the shops along the strip to get you a new pair. I think I dropped it off with Alessandro because I was running a bit late to—oof!”

“It was you. It’s always been you. This entire time.” You crush him with a hug. He’s caught off guard and sits there in shock for a brief moment before melting into your embrace.

He slowly pulls away and grabs your hands. “As I was saying...”

“As you were saying...” You continue.

“With all our fateful encounters... with those pair of heels... with all of the times I’ve crossed paths with you, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way in so long.” He continues. “Y/N, I’m so in love with you. I’m already so nervous telling you this right now, especially while holding your hands. I just wanted you to know that I have feelings for you and you could completely reject me, I understand—”

“I’m in love with you too, Jaehyun.”

“Really?” He whispers, still in shock. “You’re giving me a chance?”

“Only if you give me a chance.” You chuckle.

“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me, Y/N.”

“You don’t know how much I want to make you happy, Jaehyun.”

WELCOME TO THE NEW SEASON OF MASTERCHEF.

“For today’s challenge, we will be recreating Y/N’s most famous dish!”

All of the contestants let out gasps when you step onto the stage to join the three chef judges. The judges for the new season of MasterChef remain the same; Chef Taeyong, Chef Jaehyun, and Chef Doyoung. After having them beg you to guest on the show, you decided to give it a shot.

“For today’s challenge, you will be recreating my famous dish of a deconstructed basil and grapefruit pie.” You smile. “To start this challenge, let us all gather around the front so that you could learn how to master your own deconstructed pie!”

You begin by making your way towards the demo station where you will be showing the contestants how to make your famous pie. Everyone joins in and gathers around you to get a glimpse of how to make your famous pie themselves. Standing on the stage a couple of metres behind you are the three judges, you watch you begin your demo.

Jaehyun folds his arms and lets out a happy sigh. Taeyong glances at him and quirks an eyebrow. “I wonder who that beautiful woman is cooking at the demo table over there.”

Taeyong snorts and rolls his eyes. “Jaehyun, that’s your girlfriend.”

Jaehyun chuckles, nodding his head. “Oh right... she is. That’s my girlfriend—actually, my fiance.”

“Your what? Since when? H-How—” Doyoung and Taeyong share shocked looks while Jaehyun digs into the pockets of his jeans to pull out an engagement ring. Your engagement ring, to be exact.

“Since last night.” He holds up your engagement ring in one hand and shows his engagement ring that he’s wearing on his other. “She doesn’t like cooking with her engagement ring so I’m just holding it for her.”

“Dude...” Taeyong clenches his chest.

Jaehyun snorts. “Dude...”

“Wow, I’m really the only one left that’s single, huh?” Doyoung sighs.

The two chefs comfort him by patting his back.

“She’ll come around soon, Doyoung. You just gotta be patient.”

“You never know, she’ll be a chef too!”

“Chef Jaehyun?”

The three of them shift their attention back to the contestants. You’re the one calling out to Jaehyun. He quirks an eyebrow. “Yes, Chef Y/N?”

“A couple of the ladies here are wondering if you’re single,” you chuckle.

Jaehyun shares a knowing look with you. “Well, I hate to disappoint but I just got engaged to the love of my life.”

They let out sad sighs and groans before everyone gets back to learning how to make your famous pie. Taeyong smirks.

“You’re breaking so many hearts right now, Jaehyun.”

💌 author’s note. she’s FINALLY here 😩 again, i apologize for keeping this off for such a long time. i’ve been super busy with school and just life in general. to everyone who’s been super understanding and patient, thank you so much. from the bottom of my heart, i sincerely thank you for waiting for such a long time. i also wanted to thank @sehunniepotwrites for hearing me voice out my frustrations and all of my excitement throughout writing this fic. nikki truly saw all of the emotions that i’ve experienced and gone through while writing chef!jae. i remember always wanting to write a chef!jae fic and bring chef!jae to life, but there was a lot of pressure and the feeling of doubt.. i felt like i had to do it justice and the fear of not writing it to the best of my ability (esp with me being a perfectionist), it was something that held me back from finishing this fic. but i managed to pull through and i realized that it doesn’t matter, what matters is that i enjoyed writing this fic and if that feeling of enjoyment can be felt through those who read it, that’s more than enough for me. but anyways before this gets longer, thank you so much for reading!

and as always, feedback and comments are always appreciated!

taglist (some of the tags didn’t work so if u didn’t get the notif, i’m sorry!): @anya-writes-stuff @swifterauhl @tyongblr @alwaysthefirstsight @doyoungsmovingcastle @pinkyzae @sunshinein17 @jaehyunnie77 @dreamycomets @seventeeneration @srutz @coupsiesluv @nctdom @moonchele @freshprunecowboyapricot @chimmybaek7 @forhaever @ten10vly @fluffyjaes @gyujaehyun @so-showme-ill-shownu @winniet @yipyipmorals

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obsessedelusional · 1 year

Text

Ruin My Life

Eddie Munson x fem! Reader

summary ✦ You’re a new student at Hawkins Highschool. Over the summer you befriend Chrissy Cunningham not knowing she’s the queen of Hawkins. You don’t fit in with her friends at all, start wondering if you made a mistake sitting with them. You take notice of Eddie Munson and he doesn’t notice you, annoying you. What happens when you’re finally fed up? (Modern AU)

word count ✦ 1,700 ish

authors note ✦ y’all I’ve been struggling writing smut for whatever reason so I haven’t been producing much Eddie content so hopefully y’all like this too, appreciate all of you

masterlist

Feedback & Reblogs are helpful and extremely appreciated ♡

⊹ ꙳ ✦ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹

Starting at a new school is hard enough. To start at a new school your senior year is even harder. Your parent’s divorce had you and your mother moving to her home town, Hawkins Indiana. You felt guilty protesting against the move considering what lead to it. Your father cheating twenty something years into the marriage is not at all what you could ever imagine happening. To make matters worse you were the one to find him cheating. You had no choice but to tell your mother.

As an attempt to escape your new home you found a job in the mall working at a trendy clothing store. That’s where you met your first friend, Chrissy Cunningham. Little did you know that you befriended Hawkin Highs queen. When you showed up to your first day of school Chrissy’s friend group welcomed you with not so welcome arms. It was apparent they wanted nothing to do with you.

During lunch you sat nearly entirely in silence. Only speaking when spoken to. Wondering if you had made a mistake sitting with Chrissy’s crew. Would this be how you spend the rest of your senior year?

Your picking at your lunch with no intention of eating it. Your arm bent supporting your head as you try to listen to the cheerleaders and jocks surrounding you. They’re blabbing on and on about basketball or maybe football you weren’t sure. Someone’s loud laughter gains your attention.

Your busy admiring the man whose mouth emitted that sound. He has long brown curls, the most beautiful smile that features dimples, and covered in tattoos. Your first thought is you would gladly let this random person ruin your life. Thinking about how you’d let him do whatever he wanted. You don’t realize how hard your staring until he stops laughing. Must of felt your gaze because his eyes meet yours.

You’re embarrassed but you refuse to show it, sending a small wave his way. He has to glance around him just to verify you weren’t waving at someone else. Even when he doesn’t see anyone else you could possibly be waving to he doesn’t believe it. Going back to his conversation, ignoring you. Your face falls, saddened but more annoyed this man ignored you.

“Who’s that?” You ask, interrupting Chrissy conversation.

“Who?” She asks following your finger that points at him.

“The freak?”

“What?” You ask taken aback by her nickname for the beautiful boy.

“Eddie “the freak” Munson. That’s what we call him.” She laughs, you only nod in respond unsure of how to respond. Not sure if your ready to loose Chrissy’s trust quiet yet.

“If you smoke though he sells the best shit in town.”

“I don’t.” You respond, suddenly reconsidering your stance on weed. Maybe you would try it if it meant you could get closer to this mysterious man.

Your first week of school is spent by Chrissy’s side. It’s fine. Your gaining popularity points but at what cost? Her friends are about as interesting as watching paint dry. Every interaction with them feels so forced. It’s Friday and your sat at the same spot you’ve sat at all week for lunch. Contemplating whether or not it’s truly worth it.

Thankful that this seat gives you perfect view of Eddie Munson. In this short week you were able to learn tidbits about him. Apparently he’s the leader of a DND club which explains the matching shirts with his friends. Jason claims it was some devil worshiping shit. A quick google search shows it’s just an innocent fantasy game. You research it thinking maybe it’d be a way to befriend Eddie. Quickly realizing it’s a lot bigger thing to tackle than you thought it would be. Giving up just as fast but for Eddie you’d consider it.

Since the unreciprocated wave you both catch each other stealing glances. Eddie is confused why Chrissy’s latest follower was often looking his way. Truth be told you found Eddie very attractive, forming a crush quickly. Another part of you jealous of how much fun his friends would be having while your sat wishing you could join. At the same still stuck on the fact that he didn’t wave back.

One point you had mustered up the courage to talk to him. You had excused yourself from class to use the restroom. When you out of the classroom expecting an empty hallway you found Eddie bent over rummaging through his locker. He looked up from what he was doing from the sound of the door opening. It was now or never, you thought.

You start to say hello but stop talking when Eddie stands up, shutting his locker. Walking straight towards you and then right passed you. Not looking at you once while your eyes follow him.

“Never mind.” You mutter to yourself, more annoyed than before.

—

Against your better judgment you agreed to come to a party this weekend. Apparently a tradition to have one every year, the first weekend of the school year.

When you arrive Friday night the party is in full swing. Chrissy is no where to be found. After asking around some one finally says they last saw her going up stairs with Jason. Which tells you all you need to know, you will be riding solo. You find your own way to the kitchen finding a drink you can pretend to sip on for the rest of the night.

You walk into the dining room area, the table had been turned into a beer pong setup. You watch for a few moments before looking around hoping to see a familiar face only to be greeted by Chance. One of Jason’s bone head friends.

“Hey sexy.” He purrs, breath heavy with the smell of alcohol.

“Hi,” you politely smile before trying to squeeze past him.

“What’re you doing here all alone?” He asks, standing in you way to leave.

“I’m not alone. Here with Chrissy.”

“Me and you should hook up. Ya know considering your Chrissy best friend and I’m Jason’s best friend. It just makes sense, ya know?” He laughs closing in on you.

“No thank you.” You respond as his mouth has already found its way to your lips. It takes all the force you can muster up but you push him off. He stumbles backwards calling you a slur of profanities before walking off.

You take one look at the empty back yard before your headed outside through the sliding glass door. Your quiet when you shut the door hoping no one noticed you slipping out. Thinking you’ll find an escape route so you can leave.

“Fucking disgusting.” You mutter, throwing your drink down. Using your sleeve to wipe away at your mouth. You’re looking for a gate that would lead you to the front yard so you can go home.

You walk around the house finding the gate, groaning out load when you see it’s locked. You fiddle with the lock hoping it’s unlocked, it’s not. You give up and head for the door that brought you outside. Before you can reach it you are startled by someone else’s presence. It’s Eddie.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” His laugh let’s you know he’s not that sorry.

“What’re you doing out here?”

“What’re you doing out here?” He repeats your question.

“Trying to leave.”

“Aww but you just go here.” His voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Did I do something to you? Am I missing something? Cause I’m having a really shit time and you being a prick isn’t helping.” He doesn’t say anything just grins at you with his stupidly handsome face.

“Fuck you.” You add.

“Fuck me?” His smile falls and turns into confusion, stood there with his arms across his chest.

“Yeah you. I saw you that first day and my first thought was I would let that boy ruin my life. Tried to be all cute and wave to which you ignored. Then all week long every time you catch me looking at you, you look at me like I’m the crazy one. Even when I tried to talk to you, you walked right passed me like I didn’t even exist.” Your pent up anger slipping out and crashing onto Eddie who doesn’t deserve it.

Doesn’t matter though because suddenly Eddie is moving closer until there’s only a few inches between you two. When he catches you looking at his lips, he takes the hint. Resting his hand at the nape of your neck, pressing his lips to yours pulling you in closer. Eddie’s gentleness melts your anger into butterflies as you kiss him back. He’s the first to pull away.

“Why’d you come out here?” You ask.

“I saw what happened with Chance. Wanted to make sure you were okay but then I actually saw you and froze. I didn’t know what to say so naturally I was a dickhead, my usual route.” He explains.

“Do you want to leave?” Is your response. He nods his head yes in response. You grab his hand, heading into the party. He goes to pull away, you look back.

“If you go in there holding my hand you can say goodbye to your royal status.” He says. You just grab his hand and continue with your plans to leave. You’re almost half way through the house, Eddie close behind. All eyes are on you.

“What’re you doing?” Chrissy speaks up when she sees you.

“Leaving.” You respond stoping to face her.

“With him?” She asks, energy full of judgement.

“Yeah. Full offense Chrissy, you kinda suck and you’re friends really fucking suck. I don’t want to be your friend anymore if it means sitting by while y’all are a bunch of assholes.” You respond, the room now silence. Eddie smiling in shock but at the same time so pleased with your words.

“Whatever.” She mumbles, going back to Jason who makes some nasty comment you don’t care enough to entertain. Eddie waves goodbye with a laugh as you drag him out of the party.

“That was badass.” He says when you two are finally alone outside.

“It felt so good. I’ve been absolutely miserable this last week.” You smile, now excited for what the rest of the school year brings.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson pov #eddie imagine #eddie x reader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson st4 #stranger things #stranger things eddie #stranger things season 4 #stranger things 4

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pedroslass · 1 year

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confessions.

authors note: hehe first post. if you have any suggestions lemme know !

pedro pascal x f reader :)

warnings: talk about loss of a family member, trauma. smoking. but two cuties n just fluff

—

the door opened with a loud creak, making you cringe. it was way to early in the morning to be making to much noise. 2am to be exact, your apartment complex is extremely sensitive to the amount of noise someone makes. you tiptoed in trying to avoid making noise, your roommate wouldn’t be too happy you disturbing them from their deep slumber. as you thought. taking off your coat and shoes you looked behind you, jumping a little as you saw your roomie sat on the sofa.

“pedro what are you doin? it’s two in the morning you should be in bed” a cloud of smoke caught your attention, you began moving to the sofa. a small grunt being heard from the man, making a smile creep it’s way into your face.

“i cant sleep, ‘was worried about you.” the familiar feeling came back, your face feeling ever so warm. “how come your so late, hun” standing in front of him you smiled, he was shirtless. you admire his body, he’s a beautiful man, well he was more then beautiful. always making you happy, smile and allowing you to feel safe. you took the tobacco filled stick from his mouth and placed it between your lips, taking a long drag. blowing it out you sat down next to him, stretching you legs across him.

“well” you gave it back to him “today was a little shitty, so after i finished the rest of my work i-i went to see my mum. i needed to let it all out yano, it’s been a while and she’s really been on my mind. it’s been the worst week so far”

about a year ago, you lost your mother. it didn’t affect you as much when she passed, you have never had a wonderful relationship with you mother. you two even stopped speaking for months n months, but recently it is all that has been on your mind.

“hey talk to me hun, what’s happened today?” pedro asked, placing his hand in yours and taking another long drag of that cigarette. you threw your head back, sighing loudly. it wasn’t because he asked you what was up, it’s just explaining things wasn’t exactly your strong point.

“my manager is just pushing me too much recently, all these modeling companies are asking me to do shoots but they are way to far, like showing off my arse type of far” you leaned in closer to pedro “don’t get me wrong i love my job, i really do, but my manager is making me sign up to all of these. i wanna say no and i wanna tell them how i feel but i’m a people pleaser and i cant bring myself to do it”

pedro put the cigarette out, pulling you closer to him. your head rested under his chin. he kissed the very top of your head comforting you “listen sweetheart, this job is a difficult job. you know it, and because it’s so difficult you need to be able to tell them what you want and don’t want to do. i know it’s difficult hun, but you need to. keeping all of these emotions to yourself isn’t healthy, tell your manager okay? they may not even realise what they are doing is wrong”

you pulled your head away from his shoulder, looking up at him. “thank you pedro” smiling at him, he smiled back kissing your forehead. “right now, let’s watch a movie. your choice mi amour” the name gave you butterflies, however you tried your hardest to cover it up.

taking the remote, you flicked through channels finding what to put on. nothing. of course. the room was silent.

“do you just wanna go to bed, it is two in the morning” pedro suggested “stay in my bed” he said with a sly smirk.

jesus. you couldn’t hide it from the man anymore. for months you have had the biggest crush on the man, daydreaming about him, actually having dreams about the man, relieving yourself thinking about him. it was getting harder to keep the thoughts of him outta your head. you first met pedro when you did a shoot for calvin klein, the two of you clicking instantly. at the beginning you were just friendly, but after numerous times of hanging out with one another, living together. it turned into a more flirty relationship, both of you teasing, cuddling, small pecks on each others faces.

“of course, i do most nights silly” standing up in unison, you looked at him. well, stared. he’s so gorgeous, you thought to yourself, taking in the sight of his body, his messy locks and that beautiful face. you realised you may have looked a little creepy staring at him, so you looked away almost too quickly.

but what you didn’t know is that pedro was doing the same thing.

waking down the hall to his room you stretched your arms above your head, once reaching the room you opened the door. the smell of your favourite cologne hit you, pedro smelt amazing all the time. always wearing the best scents. taking small steps into his room, pedro followed.

“here ya go princess” lord have mercy. hearing him call you that ALWAYS makes you crumble.

turning towards him, you were met with a shirt hitting you. catching it before it hit the ground, you looked at him “thank ya handsome” the name slipped from you mouth, eyes widening a little.

“ahh that’s a new one, i like it” smiling, you turned around. your back facing him. you took off your shirt, pealing it from you body. it felt amazing having the air hit your body. you pulled pedros shirt over your head, it fell to you mid thighs.

perfect length. you pulled down your joggers, making sure you don’t exactly bend over too far. you turned around to pedro, who’s eyes were already on you. he was definitely watching you. he was stood there in nothing but boxers. you looked at his body.

“how do i look?” he walked over to you smirking “perfect as always hun. let’s get in” he took your hand and pulled you over to his bed allowing you to get in first. you crawled across the bed to get to your side of the bed. feeling his eyes burn into the back of you. you shuffled under the covers, pulling them up. you moved onto your side.

pedro followed suit, he lay on his back “c’mere” he said, extending his arm. you wriggled next to him, placing your head on his chest, wrapping your arm around his waist. his fingers traced various shapes on your arms.

“are you okay? your heart is beating quite quick” you asked worried, lifting your head to look at him “you k-kinda have that effect on me amour” you both looked into each others eyes.

“as do you” pedro looked at your eyes then you lips “do it” you whispered to him. he leaned into you pressing his lips against yours, your hand reached up towards his cheek. deepening the kiss. you both pulled back to smile.

“i’ve been waiting for you to do that for so long pedro” he adores when you say his name. he kisses you again. this one a little more heated, he wraps his arm around you, holding onto your hips. your head is now resting on the pillow with pedro on top. you both admire each other. pedro really wanted to go further with you however, he really wants to take things slow with you.

he gets off of you, lying down. he pulls the covers back over the both of you. he kisses you once more before holding you in his arms.

you are so incredibly happy !

#pedrostories #pedro pascal #pedro pascal imagines #joel miller #cute

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nouies · 11 months

Photo

hello and welcome to this month’s fic rec featuring works that i’ve read and loved during the past weeks. as always, please check tags before reading. if you liked the fics please reblog their posts, leave kudos and write a nice comment. happy reading! 🔒 = only for ao3 users rec tag | more rec lists

— harry/louis —

໑ Nights Like These, We'll Remember by @fallingdefenceless (T, 1.8k, strangers to lovers, music festival au) this was so much fun to read. i loved the characterisations and the bands and songs mentioned. it’s a sweet take on the song “Silver Tongues”.

໑ face to face at the kitchen table by @disgruntledkittenface (NR, 2k, exes to lovers, hopeful ending) this was amazingly written! and when the tags said “hopeful ending”, they really meant it!

໑ My Arm Might Be Broken, But I Won't Be Broken Down by BoosBabycakes / @boosbabycakes28 (T, 2.3k, established relationship, canon, fluff and humour) omg this was so sweet and cute! the fic truly means ‘canon’ bc this is something Louis would do.

໑ 🔒 Five Zero Five by Stria / @nooradeservedbetter (E, 2.5k, established relationship, canon divergence, pwp, dom/sub, read tags and author’s note) remember when Louis sang “505” for the first time and we all collectively lost it? well, this fic encompasses extremely well my feelings about Louis’ cover choice.

໑ love was a pretty lie by dragmedown / @itsnothesameasitwas (M, 3k, established relationship, college au, sex while high, read tags and author’s note) a story based on the song “Silver Tongues”. this was so entertaining to read, i loved how their relationship worked, and even more to know it exists a sequel to this story so you know how they ended up.

໑ Together We're the Greatest by @hellolovers13 (E, 4.6k, getting back together, dystopian au, read tags) this story fits very well the vibe of “The Greatest”. i always thought that song would make a nice soundtrack for an action movie. if you don’t like blood though, be careful with this one.

໑ 🔒 The Light Streams Out by Stria / @nooradeservedbetter (G, 6k, friends to lovers, magic au, animal transformation) this was such a lovely read! it had pining, longing, embarrassing moments, and lots of fluff.

໑ That's The Way Love Goes by red_PANdaaa28 / @red-pandaaa (M, 8.7k, established relationship, lilo friendship, song fic, flashbacks) this story was so pretty. it’s inspired by the song “That’s The Way Love Goes” and shows not only Louis’ support for Liam, but also the other way around. it hurt but i enjoyed it a lot.

໑ 🔒 High Tide by Stria / @nooradeservedbetter (E, 14.3k, strangers to lovers, covid au, pwp, dom/sub, read tags and author’s note) i absolutely loved the chemistry between Harry and Louis, and it showed in all the activities they did together, and i mean it bc even shopping online together was cute coming from them.

໑ Captain Cupid by @2tiedships2 (NR, 15.3k, friends to lovers, a/b/o au, nesting, touch deprivation) this was such a fun and lovely story! Captain Niall always knows best, and this time it wasn’t the exception. there were so many moments that warmed my heart, especially the tub scene! go read it so you don’t miss out.

໑ Moments of Memories by momentofclarity / @gaycousinlarry (M, 17.8k, friends to lovers, reunited au, old louis, old harry) a beautiful story about second chances and reunions. i honestly loved the way everything was told, and how it felt like i was too an old friend who got to learn abt their life after years of not seeing them. it was cosy and sweet, and very hopeful.

໑ Hold Me How the Deep Night Has by @crochetsunsets (E, 48k, enemies to lovers, magic au, historical, read tags) my heart is still beating fast just remembering everything that i felt when i read this story. it’s about hope, about love, about time… it really cut so deep, but it didn’t hurt, i just can’t explain it. please go read it.

໑ Welcome Home by Jelon (E, 49k, strangers to lovers, kid fic, football au, football player louis, baker harry, dad harry) i love kid fics and this one has the best elements of one. i truly liked Louis’ relationship with Max but also the passion of his relationship with Harry.

໑ your memory over me by @shimmeringevil (E, 64.3k, exes to lovers, greece au, journalist harry, rich louis, vacation) loved that this was set in Greece, and all the tension surrounding the vacation, not only between Louis and Harry who were the exes, but like with everyone there. it was just delicious and so entertaining to read!

໑ Gemma's Dad (Could Use A Guy Like Me) by @lululawrence (NR, 82k, neighbours to lovers, stacy’s mom au, age difference, summer) i loved this story bc it made me feel like i was spending summer with them (it was that or the 31°C on the day i read this). it was a sweet fic, with lots of flirting, and love all around.

— rare pairs / categories —

໑ Bound by @ladyaj-13 (zayn/liam, G, 619, vampire au, arranged marriage, vampire zayn, human liam) this fic was amazing! it might be tiny but it had me screaming bc of how good it is.

໑ hoping it never ends by @lvinlou (spanish, louis/sebastian stan, E, 1.2k, established relationship, pwp) this was so hot! i usually don’t read fics in spanish but i saw this one under the pairing tag and i knew i had to read it.

໑ Quite the Pickle by @lululawrence (harry/louis/nick grimshaw, NR, 1.4k, crack, pregnancy cravings) this was so sweet and funny. relatable if you either dislike pickles or like gossip, or both lol.

໑ after hours by edensrose / @holdingthornsandroses (louis/pedro pascal / louis/pedro pascal/oscar isaac, E, 16.7k, friends to lovers, coffee shop au, dancer louis, read tags) i don’t know how else to describe this fic other than hot hot hot! but also there were so many romantic and sweet moments. it was perfect!

໑ Bloom by @ladyaj-13 (louis/liam, T, 29k, enemies to lovers, 1970s, murder mystery, endeavour au, read tags) i absolutely enjoyed this story! i was so hooked with the way everything was written. as someone who enjoys crime solving stories, this one amazed me in so many ways, and that’s not considering the romantic aspect of it bc that was great in another level.

໑ take me back, take me back by eynap / @panye (niall/shawn mendes, E, 32k, strangers to lovers, wedding au, coming out) this such a fun and entertaining read. it put a smile on my face and kept me at the edge of my seat. definitely check it out!

#28th appreciation #1dficvillage #hlcreators #hljournal #hlficlibrary #trackinghome #ficsfor4am #*#*rec

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mann-walter · 20 days

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I Strongly Dislike the Concept of Palpatine as Naturally Evil

I am a Palpatine fan because I like how fun he is on-screen being evil (largely due to Ian McDiarmid’s acting and the overall shallowness of the characters in the movies), but forty-something years after the Emperor (and I like him called that way better than “Emperor Palpatine”) first graced the screen, I do feel tired of the same tricks played over and over again, that Palpatine is basically a male evil witch. I’ve long been a supporter of a deeper dive into Palpatine the person as a solution to this fatigue. We don’t have to have a formally Palpatine-centric major story (i.e. something on-screen), just something explaining his personal philosophy a little deeper would be welcome. Sadly, I do think such a project is unforeseeable in the near future because there’s a shift in vision.

In Lucas’ era (pre-2013, let’s just say), Palpatine is incredibly evil but there are still gapes of humanity within him, there even—as some visual guides, interviews, and novels would indicate—an attempt to build some type of “molding the world according to what I see as good” character with him starting in the Prequels years up to 2012. As a digression, I do find this concept coupled with his pursuit of power fascinating, “he is selfish, but” but “he is for progress, but”. A rather brain-tickling fictional fellow if executed correctly. But, and I do sense it becoming more and more evident, the idea has never been advanced since. There’s a prevailing concept of Palpatine as naturally the personification of evil nowadays.

On a more laughable basis, I don’t like the concept because it prevents my favorite character from being something much more interesting through character study pieces or simply by not being always relegated to the role of Final Boss in a Popular American Sci-Fi Franchise. On a deeper note, I think that the core message of Star Wars is choices between doing the right or wrong things. The story of Anakin’s redemption is ultimately that, his fall too though within more complicated circumstances. Ben Solo made the decision to emulate his idealized grandfather, and so on. I do think it would be unfair to suddenly enact extreme predestination on one guy to be evil (but how does “the will of the Force” work, does it set a rigid roadmap for everything?). And more, it would erase the profundity of his evilness so much if you think about it.

See, you have this man right here, he is incredibly evil, billions suffer because of this single human being. But then you find out that he has a severe, undeniable urge to maim, to destroy, to oppose all authority, value, and system, to play God whatever the cost, all for his own natural satisfaction. I do think there could be arguments for him not fully out of his mind, intelligent and educated enough to know norms and values, and there are steps to prevent natural predispositions to become harmful, but I personally would be a little less harsh toward such characters compared to characters who without any internal or external pressure choose evil freely. This relates to accountability, how much can we attribute to his free will?

I like my villains soberly choosing evil. (this doesn’t mean I sideline the “nurture” factor or the more complex “nature” reasoning, only that I hold them to some extent lesser of a consideration when judging). If he is evil out of his own free will, the question would be “Why?” which would be answered with a multitude of interesting personal history, cultural influences, and beliefs, making the character interesting. Let’s compare that to a scenario where Palpatine is naturally evil. You ask “Why?” and the answer you’ll get is akin to “It is how it is”, which is an incredible bore for me. The more freely the person chooses evil, the better for me.

So, yeah, I don’t like Palpatine fixed as the Dark Side incarnate. I like him incredibly evil but still very much human. Note, I do not see his pursuit of power as something inhuman, it is terrifyingly human, but maybe couple it with something else (needn’t be redeeming or sob-story-ish). Or maybe, let him mature into the incredible evil with nearly all of his humanity absent. I can totally enjoy that, as long as it’s not him being born evil.

#sheev palpatine #palpatine #emperor palpatine #darth sidious #natural evil #the nature of evil #evil #nature vs nurture #villains #start wars #star wars novels #star wars legends #star wars prequels #pre-Disney era #star wars villains #Sith Order #Star Wars morality #Mann Walter

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avelera · 1 year

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Giving Sanctuary Behind-the-Scenes: Destiny

Who is Destiny in Giving Sanctuary, how does he differ from his canon counterpart, and what lesson was he trying to teach his siblings in Ch. 18 of Giving Sanctuary?

So I've answered this in a few places, but I thought I'd post somewhere more publicly about what lessons Destiny had for his siblings during the events of Ch. 18 of Giving Sanctuary.

First of all I will note, readers are not expected to agree with Destiny's methods. He is an eldritch being and I try to do him justice at such. It was an interesting thought exercise to try to operate as someone with absolute knowledge but who lacks absolute power. Which is to say, Destiny can see all the choices his siblings have made and and branching paths of varying probability of choices they will make, but he can't compel their actions, he can only guide them by inserting himself into the process, which he does sparingly.

Below the cut, I will go into an exploration of Destiny's personality, goals, and lessons as I wrote them in "Giving Sanctuary", which is a deliberate canon divergence AU that originates from a choice Destiny made long before the events of the story begin.

There will be spoilers up to Ch. 18 of the fic, so be warned if you're not caught up:

To begin, a quick disclaimer: the Destiny of Giving Sanctuary is not meant to be 1-to-1 exactly the Destiny of the comic canon, though I do my best to cleave to his overall vibe while also engaging in the Butterfly Effect - one choice made long ago has impacted all of the Endless, which I use as blanket cover in the fic for why some actions by characters in the story might be mildly OOC or not agree perfectly with comic canon. However, it is a privilege I claim as a transformative works author. That said, having characters be in-character is very important to me, so by and large, points of divergence are carefully considered when they occur.

The Background - where Giving Sanctuary diverges from canon

The original point of divergence in this story began at least around the time of Orpheus's death (though its first stirrings may have been earlier) when Destiny made the calculated decision to save Dream's life 2,500+ years into the future by advising Death not to grant Orpheus's request for "super immortality".

(Side note: Orpheus in Giving Sanctuary is already "immortal" in the same way Calliope and Dream are, ie, immortal but they can be killed if extreme measures are taken to destroy them by beings of equal or greater power, because I find the comic canon idea of him being purely mortal when having an Endless father and a Muse as a mother to be completely baffling, and I believe it's more emotionally resonant if Dream expected his son to live for many thousands of years. It also better and more sympathetically explains why Dream was so cruel and detached at his son's wedding in the comic: he saw the entire Eurydice episode as a phase, a spat of youthful rebellion that would fade as his then 18 year old (of potentially thousands) son matured and lived beyond a single mortal lifetime to see just how painful it would be to love a mortal woman.)

To get back to Destiny: the Giving Sanctuary Destiny saw that Orpheus's fate was inevitable, that he was doomed from the moment he fell in love with Eurydice because as a child of the Endless, he too was bound by the restriction that loving mortals only brought doom, and Destiny did his best to make sure Dream would not be destroyed by his son's desire to die and that Orpheus would be granted the mercy of a quick death that returned his soul to the cycle of living and dying without spending 2,500+ years in a fate worse than death as a living severed head, largely abandoned by his friends and family, until Dream is forced to kill him in Brief Lives, and thus seals his own fate due to the restriction against the Endless spilling family blood.

Dream learned from Death after that Destiny had advised her against granting Orpheus his wish (the wish she, by the way, granted to Hob). While Dream eventually forgave Death because she is his favorite sibling (currently) and because she too was grief-stricken and apologized to him after she saw the results of following that advice, ie, Orpheus's death, however there are still some traces of bitterness and lost trust by Dream towards Death, Destruction, and Destiny, because Destruction sent Orpheus to Death for help (just as he did in the comic), she denied it based on Destiny's advice, and Destiny gave the advice, and none of them warned Dream that his son was taking on a suicide mission to save Eurydice.

Now, the mission itself did not kill Orpheus, but when he failed, according to the myth and canon, he played a song so sorrowful that the maenads (divine servants of Dionysus) descended upon him to tear him limb from limb, and his dismembered body washed up upon the shores of Naxos and was collected by Calliope and Dream (once found) and buried there. Unlike in canon, his severed head did not live on. Is Dream hypocritical to blame his siblings? Yes, absolutely, he missed the signs that Orpheus was in danger because he was deliberately giving Orpheus the silent treatment and had stopped listening to his dreams or checking in on him. He is also grieving and looking for others to blame, irrationally if realistically.

Ultimately, Destiny's choice set us upon a timeline where Dream fully lost his son that day, there is no lingering sense of guilt because the severed head of Orpheus is still dubiously alive somewhere. However, this on the one hand deepened a rift between Dream and his siblings but on the other, allowed him to fully open up to Hob in 1689 in this 'verse because Orpheus was fully dead and he could without reservation open up about his grief to Hob, as he could not/did not in canon, which allowed both of them to find healing with each other.

Who is Destiny in Giving Sanctuary?

All of this is to say: we are starting from a 'verse where Destiny is A-OK with allowing short-term grief in order to allow long-term healing and more importantly, the survival of Dream and his other siblings.

Destiny's siblings are stubborn, competitive, and infinitely powerful beings. This means in order to guide their actions, Destiny when he does intervene in this 'verse, often relies on reverse psychology and "spite as motivation". He also has his own personality, so while other methods might work, like being a nicer person, Destiny is his own entity and operates through that lens. He is not, as I view and write him, a very touchy-feely person.

Destiny's task requires him to keep a certain emotional distance, one might say he loves his siblings but he does not necessarily like them or feel particularly bothered if he sees less of them from day to day. He is an introvert and a workaholic, think Dream but on steroids. He is also the eldest and therefore the most powerful of the seven.

Given the emotional absence and cruelty of their father, Time, and their mother, Night, Destiny has taken on some of what he sees to be the responsibility to look after his siblings as a second father. However, like his siblings, he too is the victim of Time and Night's cruelty and neglect, so his vision of what a good father would do is limited by his experiences. Unlike Death, who interacts regularly with mortals and therefore has developed a more sophisticated view of what a caring relationship looks like, Destiny is emotionally underdeveloped and direct. As he sees it, simply being less cruel than Time is an improvement. He sees himself as a protector on the macro level of his siblings, but not responsible or overly concerned with their short term happiness. Keeping them alive is his priority, though that does include making sure they're not suicidally miserable.

Destiny's Lessons for His Siblings

Destruction: As I mentioned, Destiny's goal is to keep his siblings alive and if the point of divergence was his awareness of how Orpheus's death would lead to Dream's self-destruction one day. As such, "Why didn't he stop Destruction from leaving?" is a question that has arisen and it's a good place to clarify: letting Destruction go was saving him, and so Destiny "allowed it" or rather, did not prevent it by intervening sooner. With 6 strong personalities to balance, he does not have the omnipotence of simply aiming for a universe where all the siblings are mentally stable, happy, and industriously working at their designated roles. There's no universe where all of those are possible at once. While Destiny personally disapproves of Destruction leaving, he prefers that his brother is alive. When Destiny said reality would be wounded by the loss of an Endless, he was in his own, indirect way, talking about his own heart. That's about as close as Destiny ever gets to saying, "I would be sad if any of you died." Yeah, he's that repressed.

Dream: Many readers were struck by how Destiny's actions seemed designed to drive Dream away from the family, to which I answered: yeah, isn't that interesting?

Destiny is, as mentioned, by necessity a master of reverse psychology and spite-as-motivation, because of how stubborn his siblings are, particularly Dream. So let's walk through the takeaway from this dinner arc, starting from Ch. 15, and what Dream has learned, because we are dealing with Destiny having complete knowledge of how to nudge branching paths, which means everything that has happened since Jessamy showed up, including Jessamy showing up, is guided by his choices of when and how to intervene for maximum benefit.

1 ) If Destiny had called a conclave, Dream would have gone immediately, resentfully, and returned to the status quo in which he and Hob were dancing around each other, refusing to use their words, for who knows how long.

2 ) Sending Jessamy instead means a messenger Dream will listen to, it also inserts Jessamy's 3rd person perspective into the relationship between Dream and Hob, breaking the logjam of miscommunication. Dream learned that Jessamy approves of Hob, Hob learned that Dream isn't keeping him a secret from the other people in his life and indeed, values him. Hob was slowly introduced to the how the Dreaming works, even if he didn't totally get it right away, the fact he doesn't get it was introduced to Dream and to Jessamy. (Ch. 15)

3 ) Jessamy was there to interrupt the morning of panic following Dream and Hob's first, *ahem*, "tryst* shall we say. Without a friendly 3rd party to interrupt the panic they were both experiencing, Dream would have done anything to make Hob happy, including answering Hob's request to use the boon to "go back to the way things were". Dream interpreted that as, "Go back to being friends" which would have effectively mind-wiped Hob as badly as Dream did Ric Madoc years later. Dream having a healing relationship like the one that was blooming between him and Hob end after a week because he permanently lobotomized his lover by trying to return them to a state of "friendship" that never existed because Hob never saw Dream as just a friend, totally uncolored by romantic or sexual interest, would have broken Dream, undone all the healing he'd done and worse, confirming all his worst views of himself as incapable of being loved or loving others without destroying them. I cannot express just how dark Dream would have gotten if that had happened. This was averted by the dinner.

4 ) Dream (thanks to his interactions with Hob) learned how to stand up for himself without blowing up at the Endless family dinner, so it was important he attend. He learned through his siblings that Hob does desire him, and always will, that Hob has been literally haunted by Despair these past 80 years and more, and he had a valuable heart-to-heart with Death, who added her voice to the loved ones in his life like Jessamy who pointed out that the misunderstanding might not be what it appears and Hob doesn't really understand the Dreaming yet. Dream was able to calm down and was in a good place to gain perspective. He is now armed with this knowledge and resolved to do better, communicate better, and has been talked out of some of his worst instincts (such as abandoning Hob out of guilt) and learned the truth about why he and Hob were introduced at the time he needed it most: after that first disastrous tryst nearly ended the relationship before it started.

5 ) Dream made an overture of peace to Desire. Granted, it was framed as something he should do not something he would when he said he should ask for mercy and for them to knock it off with the grudge match, but it was a step in the right direction of voicing his weariness with the fight, even if Desire wasn't ready to hear it in the moment.

6 ) Dream saw Destruction's note, something that never would have happened if Destiny did not collect it for him, because Dream was never going to go to Destruction's realm before the note dissolved. Thus, the idea was introduced to him before the Brief Lives canonical arc that he could retire instead of destroying himself, something that in this universe he also would never learn because it took talking to Orpheus's severed oracular head for Dream and Delirium to find Destruction, which is no longer possible now because he's dead.

7 ) Dream swore off his family, or at least, all family except Death and possibly Delirium. This is not necessarily counter to Destiny's intentions. Every interaction Dream was having with Desire was only driving their feud deeper, and Destiny is at peace with not seeing his siblings as often. He sees them all the time anyway since he Knows All and he's an introvert who thinks in terms of eons. If anything, it's a relief. But more importantly, Dream finally makes the break from his sense of family duty that he must subject his mental health to the battering it takes mostly from Desire. He is now more purposeful in who he chooses to interact with, his found family of loved ones like Hob, Jessamy, and Lucienne, and his favorite sister Death (with an exception made for Delirium).

8 ) Dream is now returning to Hob, restored with hope that the relationship between them is possible and indeed, desired, with the revelation that he has not told Hob enough about his existence, and most importantly, resolved to do better and make his feelings known clearly rather than dancing around them forever. He returns to seeing just how badly a month without him left Hob, unequivocal proof of Hob's love and devotion towards him, his fidelity that he stayed during that absence (just like being at the New Inn in 2022), and without any possibility of lingering illusions that he means anything less than the world to Hob.

Whew, that was a long one, I'm amazed if you're still reading but, ONWARD!

Death:

Death began the dinner by saying she was nervous about leaving her job for four (4) hours after presumably not taking any other break. I know "Sound of Her Wings" doesn't make this point explicitly, but that is deeply messed up and unhealthy. Destiny made the point that as Endless, they are shaped by their forms in return and thus certain allowances must be made for the fact that they are not emotionally impervious concepts. They are people-shaped so they have people-shaped needs. Including the need for rest and some sort of work/life balance. (Destiny is being a hypocrite in this respect, but he is trying to get his siblings to have work/life balance even if he does not.)

The assumption from most readers was that a month away from her task was meant to show Death she can't take a break but as Desire pointed out, Destruction's realm is still there years later. If Death delegated more, perhaps to other psychopomps of other religions, the personal touch would be maintained and she could take a break on occasion.

This might be the most obscure of the lessons taught by Destiny, since canon doesn't show us Death breaking down, per se, when her duties get to be too much. But this is something that could/would happen in a few eons, and Destiny is taking steps to avert it now by showing her that hey, actually, a month away wasn't as catastrophic as you feared! Life (and death) goes on without you! You need to reevaluate how you approach your task before you break and then existence is super screwed because you leaving or self-destructing totally is catastrophically worse than you learning to take occasional breaks before that.

Desire:

Desire's is a bit more of a slow-roll, but as mentioned above, Dream finally used his words to say he's tired of this fight with Desire, setting into motion the possibility of it drawing to a close at some point in the distant future, or at least reaching a mutually agreed cease-fire.

Also worth noting that Desire was introduced to the idea that maybe some of the things they blamed Dream for were not entirely his fault like Destiny slowing time to punish Dream but punishing all the rest of them too is Destiny's fault, not Dream's and Destiny is A-OK with Desire blaming him if it stops the destructive bickering with Dream, because Desire would never dare take him on.

This will have a long-term impact of not necessarily stopping but perhaps reducing the severity of some of Desire's later plans for revenge against Dream.

Despair:

Despair had an absolutely fabulous time throughout the dinner and did not need convincing to be there. Family time on its own, dinner and a show, was more than enough. ;)

Delirium:

Delirium also got family time with Death and received the message she would have received at the end of Brief Lives from Destruction that he loves her, but he will not return.

#giving sanctuary #1689 fic #giving sanctuary bts #LONG post #destiny of the endless

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carecrowgames · 10 months

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Yazeba Read Through #4

We are on Page 18 now, and I am extremely excited, as it seems we have actually entered the rules this time folks! And I thought that might make me go less granular .. BUT as I said I have been wondering how the book would begin to explain to its reader what it actually is, so I just have to immediately hone in on the second sentence of the page.

It's a bed & breakfast of course but it's also this book right here.

There is something about stating these two as a dual existence that just works so well with the magical realism of the bed and breakfast itself. I guess I also just love when a fictional world gets legitimacy as existing similar to how the book (or in this case pdf) does

The playful voice from the welcome section continues here, but as it invites you to explore the bed and breakfast it also gains a gentle tone. The specific metaphor used, the sprawling bed and breakfast standing in for the complexity of a rulebook, both promising to become easily navigateble after some guidance, somehow manages to make both of them a more imaginable space. My mind begins to draw in what's missing within my image of one one with what I know of the other and conjures my own experiences of sprawling social spaces to lend familiarity and extrapolate development over time. I find myself remembering how I got used to life in the computer science faculty until it’s sprawling series of laboratories and hallways were simply another home.

I get away being able to imagine both Gertrudes life in the b&b after months and years pass and my own potential relationship to the version of it that could manifest in my games in it.

This is where the melancholic Amelie OST (the fact that this movie has the same name as one of the residents will break me oh my god. I am only noticing now) reminds me that at some point in this book there are late chapters, the last of which is Goodbye Yazeba and I have to wonder how much this is going to be a story that will have to end. What I can also imagine is the late chapters giving a number of open ending points, that would still allow you to replay some chapters, but this also feels like the kind of story that at some point just. Ends. I think I would find myself feel very content and sad in the healthy measures about that.

As a note, I am delighted to see the playlist I'm making for this already influencing how I interact with the book. The fact that the moon princes melancholic longing was able to carry forward to make me think about how this story might end is just really cool. Can recommend the method!

And now we get the confirmation that there are parts of the book that are off limits to start with - a super cool decision for a ttrpg book honestly. Explaining the choice by likening it to the way some parts of a bed and breakfast might be off limits to a new visitor is so clever too. It continues to build the book-building double reality, and in that playful way puts rules for reading the book down without having to spend much time explaining them immediately. It just makes sense this way!

This is also why this reading experience is extremely different for me than the usual ttrpg book I read. Normally I would have jumped immediately to the playbooks, read up on central mechanics and started browsing different parts of the book as I put some first session prep together. And I know that's not how other ttrpg books are intended to be read either, but the way Yazeba specifically presents itself as overlayered fiction book / bed & breakfast / ttrpg makes me want to engage with it as an authored experience more then I tend to with a ttrpg book, that invites me more to approach it as a box of toys.

If i were to read it like I usually do though, this is where I would actually feel invited to start jumping, as the page continues to lay out how exactly Yazebas Bed and Breakfast is played it gives us all the needed key elements to get started, and importantly all of their page numbers.

I find this whole buildup so far works really well for me. We've been invited layer for layer to the fantasy and fiction of Yazeba, got first impressions of its central cast, narrative hooks to go along with then and some character voices to lead us along when trying to play them.

Now the book is pointing all the unruly readers with no attention span, who might have been hooked by the fiction, but won’t stay long for rules explanations (that’s normally me!) to exactly where the toys are - with just enough context to use them well. The rest, I would feel if I took on that mindset, can be figured out in play.

I really appreciate when a game recognizes, that not all its players are going to approach it the same way. Laying out different courses through it, that reward different interests and needs is a great way to do so.

The entire part laying out the rhythm of play is wonderfully efficient btw. Every section is at most 3 sentences long, contains bold keywords to keep attention going and manages to leave me with a good grasp of what's going on. For how gigantic this book is, making such short work of the overview feels very restraint, I'm super impressed.

I also love how encouraging the language is. You WILL be able to confidently guide your friends. Remember to take breaks, the bed and breakfast will wait. Rules often are hard for me to keep focus on mentally, and I know for many they can be overwhelming. The use of a strong, friendly and guiding voice here I think really helps keep the mind motivated.

In honor of that, the new song added to the playlist is Ben E. Kings “Stand by me” which, is a song that has symbolized a vibe of positivity and support for me since years now.

Speaking of language, the Nouns for the mechanics integrate so very well into the fantasy. Concierge for the facilitator for example is very flavorful. I feel like this book makes a consistent effort to make the feeling of playing the game make you feel like you’re a part of the b&b and that rules. In addition, Whoopsies and Bingos as names for what I’m pretty sure are going to be weak and strong moves feels like they very much help reinforcing the genre space, making the characters feel less mechanic and more like people with fuckups and cool moments to come, you know?

But now I’m really getting ahead of myself. Afterall the section is about the flow of play and I have not talked at all about it yet!

Let's get this out first: chapters are so cool! They are so cool it makes me want to work out my thoughts on them so bad, that I forget we don't even know much about them yet as far as the book goes. I already know a bit on how they look like from the ashcan (which released along the indiegogo campaign), but that only leaves me burning to revisit them as part of this more!

In addition, i think this is where we actually see how powerful the fiction book/ttrpg double-life the book is living is in communicating information. It is obvious from the text that chapters are at the core of playing out life at the bed and breakfast, being the thing characters are used to play, and putting out what is needed to unlock more chapters and characters (more on that in a sec). They are how you interface with life in the bed and breakfast, but that alone would not give much of an impression of what they are. But the name *chapters* and the consistent fiction book/ttrpg duality that has been build up, immediately conjures the kind of stories they will tell in your mind. We already know what it is like to read a chapter in a story, now our mind is left to ponder what it will be like to play them.

Excitingly, we have learned how unlocking works now!! As I said I already knew how to play a chapter from the Ashcan, but with added context much more about it is coming together. The way the loop works feels super elegant to me. You get familiar with characters and their connected narrative threads, you look at what chapters you are able to play and which might allow you to explore what you are interested in, you slot in your preferred characters and play to find out what happens, you go and check what characters and chapters you’ve unlocked and that gives you new chapters to pull on more threads, and new characters to explore and play with. The entire thing feels a lot like a narrative exploration loop I would design for a video game, which is actually the second time in today’s session that I was reminded of video game design specifically (the first being the way the page numbers create a dynamic playspace that can be explored based on player preference). I am fascinated to see these strategies implemented with how you interact with the BOOK instead of in play loops only.

Talking about game mechanics, the whole Shelf, Journey and Track system reminds me a bit of achievement systems. Which in turn makes me wonder if the game will invite us to look at the potential unlocks and what we’ll need to do for it beforehand. If it did it would give extra incentives to explore the chapters as well as extra prompts of what to do with them. If it doesn’t it makes for nice surprises. I am super curious about this!

As a last note on the page for now, Mementos you can put on your Shelf is another one of these amazing images, that already makes me nostalgic for experiences I didn’t even have yet. It actually reminds me of my favorite game Signs of the Sojourner ~ maybe I’ll add an ost from that game to the playlist at some point.

Aand I think that’s about it for the day. I might actually have even more notes on this tomorrow, but I need to sleep at some point don’t I.

See you tomorrow as we enter Page 19: Characters.

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you can find my other Yazeba readthrough posts under #zeebthrough!

Preorder the game on https://possumcreekgames.com/pages/yazebas-bed-breakfast

#yazeba's bed & breakfast #possum creek games #zeebthrough #ttrpg

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ghoul-bonez · 1 year

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~Through the Wind and Rain~

Chapter 4 (Promise Not to Leave)

OC x OC set in the “Avatar: The Way of Water” universe…

Summary: Jake Sully has always been an intimidating man, so when he asked Niri’te to talk with him she feared the worst.

Word count: 1.2k

Author's note: Life has been crazy so this took 2 days to edit…

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Masterlist

Chapter 4 (Promise Not to Leave)

I knew the Sullys enough to call them by a first name basis. Jake's attempts to get his kids to be friends with me had failed because I refused to let them in, but for some reason they still seemed to like me.

They would call us friends, even after the many times I would try to correct them, denying our friendship. I had always liked Kiri more than the rest, but saw a lot of myself in Lo’ak which I think is why I fought so hard against their attempts at being friendly. I was already a troublemaker. I would not turn the Olo’eyktan’s son into one like myself.

Walking towards the Sully’s marui I knew Jake wouldn’t do anything to harm me, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely worried about what would lay past the doorway, many outcomes came to mind, only about half seeming good. As soon as I entered their home Neytiri immediately stood in front of me, she hissed frustratedly while Jake rubbed her arm, “How could you abandon your own kind!?”

Jake seemed just about as upset and I finally had my first real doubt about my choice to come, I was so screwed if I messed absolutely anything up, “Yeah, what sort of idea wormed its way into your head that made you want to leave the Omatikaya people.”

I didn’t want to explain my whole story to the Metkayina who I barely knew, but I felt I owed Neytiri and Jake an explanation, “It didn’t feel like I was among my own kind.” I sighed, almost just as frustrated as Neytiri, “My parents died alongside you fighting the Sky People, and after they passed I had my aunt who basically counts as nobody. Nobody came to my side. I was essentially the clan’s pet, you should know that of all people. I know you tried your best to help, but I was stubborn and didn’t accept it, but when you left I truly had nobody. So I left the forest. Here I won’t just be “the orphan” that people feel the need to be kind to. I won’t have to mostly fend for myself. I will be my own person here.”

It was once the Sully children started to really stare at us that Jake sighed and spoke again, “Let’s go have a conversation outside.” I knew I didn’t want to be a part of the conversation that was about to happen, but I accepted it.

Whatever he had to say to me had to be better than the tongue lashing Neytiri would give me. We walked outside, him guiding me to the edge of the pathway and sitting down. I awkwardly sat next to him, making sure to keep my distance.

Jake sighed, “I want you to realize no matter how much you hated your aunt, or how little she did to show her love for you, your decision hurt her. I have felt the pain of losing a family member, I know how you feel with your parents, how long the grief sticks with you. I have promised the clan leaders that I will take care of you. I want you to succeed here, I want you to grow. I don’t want to watch you go back home with your tail between your legs. I know you don’t want to go back either. You will follow the same rules as my kids, you will adapt, and learn fast. You will pull your weight, and stay out of trouble. Got it?”

I let out a relieved sigh, happy that this was an accepting conversation, not a “go back home” one, “Yes sir. I know she is upset, but I did this for myself, and you of all people should know sometimes you have to be selfish for yourself to thrive.”

Jake placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing slightly to reassure me, “I get that kid, but you need to learn that you can’t run from your problems. I need you to promise me one thing.”

I frowned, I was never great at keeping promises, “I’ll try.”

He smiled at me, “Alright, I need you to promise me that you will not leave. No matter what happens, no matter how much you struggle to learn or adapt. You will stay.”

I smiled back at him, that was a promise I could keep, “I can promise you that. Also you do know you don’t have to feel obligated to watch out for me, right?”

“But I do, I was your Olo’eyktan. My job was to watch over my people and keep them safe. I may not be Olo’eyktan anymore, not with the Omatikaya, and definitely not with the Metkayina, but that spirit still resides in me. To care for my people, you are still one of my people.” He seemed a lot more relaxed now, “Alright, back inside. It's time to eat.” He ruffled my hair before heading back inside with me following behind.

When we got inside Neytiri was still visibly upset, but she seemed to not want to skin me alive anymore. I quietly took a seat between Lo’ak and Tuk, trying to not draw much attention, and after a couple minutes the food was served.

I ate happily, except for having to smack both Tuk and Lo’ak’s hands away from my food which they were trying to steal. Eventually they gave up though after Kiri pestered them.

It felt a bit empty without Neteyam, but I silently worked through the feelings I was having on my own. It led to me being quieter than usual, which I’m sure everyone noticed, but thankfully nobody brought it up although I would easily be able to pass it off as exhaustion after my trip.

Eventually we split ways and I found my way to my own marui which Leyra had shown me to earlier. I was exhausted so I quickly set up my hammock, hanging it from two support beams across from one another. I sat down in it but before laying down and going to sleep I decided to pray to Eywa as I added a bead to my song chord.

A bead for my new life in Awa’atlu. I felt this was a big enough occasion to add to the song of my life. I gathered my song chord and rifled through my things looking for the perfect bead, but as I came up short I looked around my marui.

Hung on one of the walls was a net with little shells weaved into it. I slowly went to it, exhaustion weighing down my bones, and used my knife to snag the net, cutting it and releasing the shell into my hand. It was perfect.

As I sat down to tie the shell into my song chord I spoke, “Eywa, if you are listening, I would love a sign that I am truly meant to be here, I don’t really have the choice to leave now, but I would like to get confirmation I made the right decision. I want to make sure I am on the right path. I will be watching for your sign, Great Mother. Thank you.”

Once I was done praying I heard a noise, once, twice, then more times than I could count. The rain had come once again. I knew that was some sort of sign, it had to be, but it wasn’t enough for me.

The rain will never be enough for me, and someday that will be my downfall.

After the rain began I felt at peace, and laid back, falling into a peaceful sleep. I will be looking for her sign.

Word Bank:

Olo’eyktan (Clan leader)

Marui (Metkayina homes)

Omatikaya (Forest Na’vi)

Metkayina (Ocean Na’vi)

Sky People (Humans)

Awa’atlu (Metkayina village)

Eywa (Na’vi goddess)

#avatar movie #avatar the way of water #fanfiction #fanfic #avatar fanfiction #avatar oc #avatar 2009 #avatar #platonic jake sully #platonic sullys x reader #sully family #sully family x reader #atwow #atwow fanfiction #atwow fics

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age-of-greta · 1 year

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The Lovers

The Lovers represent relationships and choices. Its appearance in a spread indicates some decision about an existing relationship, a temptation of the heart, or a choice of potential partners. Often an aspect of the querent's life will have to be sacrificed; a bachelor's lifestyle may be sacrificed and a relationship gaine, or one potential partner may be chosen while another is turned down. Whatever the choice, it should not be made lightly, as the ramifications will be lasting.

Author’s note: hi again! As always this fic has two parts, then and today. I proofread, but typos happen. Next chapter will be out next Wednesday at midnight! Thanks to all the regulars who read and interact, I see you and appreciate you :) enjoy!!

Pairings: Jake x reader & Sam x reader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, adult content, oral, angst

Word count: 5.8k

PART 9:

THEN:

It wasn’t long until the other two had found out about you and Jake, but I’ll get to that part in a minute. A few months had passed and the guys wanted to sit down and place some roots away from home. Jake had been the one to suggest Nashville, it was only a few hours from Atlanta. He pitched it as a great city for music, which it was, but you had an inkling he had other motives with the move. They had all collectively bought a house together. Nice rooms for everyone and of course a studio space. Their first album was in full production after their massive EP success. You were now about to go to their home in Nashville for the first time. They had just moved in last week, but you couldn’t get away from work to help them unpack. Josh had been extremely trustworthy with your secret. He never pressed you or made you feel weird about what he knew. You weren’t sure if he and Jake had talked about it. You were weirdly nervous since that conversation with Josh. You had wanted to go ahead and tell Sam- and Danny, but couldn’t find the right time. Jake had also begun to be a lot more bold with you. Jake often acted like you two were in a relationship, but you brushed it off as general flirting. You had decided to drive to Nashville, as you didn’t feel like dealing with an airport right now. You were nervous but also excited as you pulled up outside of their house. Sam was outside waiting for you. He practically ran and hugged you as soon as you opened your door.

“I’m so happy you made it! I can’t wait to show you around.” Sam says, opening your trunk and grabbing your bags.

Jake was standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. You smile back at him and follow Sam in with your bags. Jake embraces you in a tight hug.

“I missed you.” Jake says in your ear.

Josh and Danny are next to hug you and it’s a nice little reunion.

“Wow guys look at this place! It’s so nice.” You say looking around.

Sam drops your bags in the living room and grabs your hand. “Come on, I'll give you the grand tour!”

Sam takes you around the whole house and beams with pride as he explains every room to you. When he finishes he takes you back into the living room and tells you to sit while he makes you a drink.

You plop down next to Jake who immediately throws his arm over you. This is the most PDA you have shown in front of everyone. You look at Jake with a slight confused look and he raises his brows at you.

“Here you go madame.” Sam says handing you a pink drink with strawberries in it.

You raise up, slightly brushing Jake’s arm off. “Thank you Sammy. This looks yummy.”

“It’s a strawberry mint margarita. I wanted to learn this recipe to show you that mint in drinks can actually be good.” Sam says through a chuckle.

“Oh Sammy, always broadening my horizons.” You say jokingly.

“Always. I’ll take these to my room.” Sam says motioning towards your bags.

You nod your head.

“No need.” Jake says, seemingly out of nowhere.

You’re taken aback and you look over at him with wide eyes.

“Huh?” Sam asks.

“I said no need. I’ll take them to my room.” Jake says calmly.

Sam pinches his brows together. “Why?”

“Jake.” You say quietly.

“Because she’s staying with me.” Jake says, putting his arm around you.

Josh coughs loudly.

“Why would she…? Wait what?” Sam says with a bizarre look on his face.

“Oh shit. Are you two are like together?” Danny asks in an amused tone.

“Yes.” Jake says.

You can’t believe what is happening. It feels like Jake just blindsided you.

“Not like that.” You say softly as your cheeks flush.

Sam has a scowl on his face that looks like it may never leave. “How long?”

“Few months now.” Jake replies nonchalantly.

“You know I could say I’m surprised but I’m not. That explains why Jake had lost interest in other girls.” Danny says with a laugh.

That comment makes you feel warm inside, but you shove it to the side. Now is not the time.

“Mhm yeah.” Josh says, trying to play along.

Sam is still standing there with a scowl. He sucks in his cheeks and lets out a breath.

“I need a minute.” Sam says walking off towards outside.

You’re still dumbfounded.

“Jake, can I talk to you?” You turn your head and say to him.

“Sure. I’ll grab your bags.” Jake says getting up.

When you climb the stairs and make it to his room you close the door.

“What the fuck?” You say crossing your arms.

“What?” Jake replies.

You scoff. “Don’t do that. Why would you say that without talking to me? Now Sam is pissed.”

“We have been talking about it for a while now. And did you ever think why Sam is pissed?” Jake replies.

“Probably because one of his best friends has been fucking his brother behind his back?” You say with an attitude.

Jake lets out a laugh. “Yeah that’s why.”

“Jake, this isn’t funny. This could have been handled better.” You say sulking.

Jake sighs. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just wanted to get it over with and out in the open so we could enjoy our weekend. No more sneaking around. I mean it was hot at first and fun, but it stresses you out and I don’t like that.”

You huff and think for a minute before responding. “Okay, I get it. I really need to go talk to Sam though.”

“Yeah yeah. I’m glad you’re here and I’m glad you’re going to help me christen this bed tonight.” Jake says, stepping closer to you with a smirk.

You roll your eyes at him, but kiss him back when his lips meet yours.

“Okay I’m going to find Sam now.” You say, breaking the kisses that have turned into a brief make out.

“Be gentle with him, lover.” Jake says in a patronizing voice.

“Lover huh?” You question.

“Where’s the lie?” Jake says, smirking at you.

You huff out a laugh and head back downstairs. Danny and Josh are still on the couch, they smile at you but are aware of the weirdness that just unfolded.

You finally find Sam sitting outside by the pool. His feet are dangling in and he has a drink he’s nursing.

“Hi.” You say as you sit down next to him.

“Hi.” He responds in an almost sorrowful tone.

You sigh. “Sam, I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just didn’t know what to say. He and I aren’t dating or anything like that.”

Sam doesn’t avert his gaze towards you, instead staring at the pool, but he nods.

“I don’t know, I just thought it would be awkward if I out right said…” You pause before finishing that sentence, trying to find the least vulgar words.

“That you’re fucking my brother.” Sam says flatly.

Your cheeks burn pink. “Um, yes.”

Sam still stares off into the pool, he looks like he’s in a trance.

“I felt bad about not telling you, but it’s always been a lowkey situation.” You say.

“Doesn’t seem that way to Jake.” Sam spits out. “Did Josh know?”

“Yes.” You start. “But I swear I didn’t tell him. It’s some weird twin telepathy shit and he just knew.”

“Yeah I figured as much by his reaction.” Sam says.

“Sammy I’m sorry. I don’t want this to change anything between us, you’re my best friend and still my number one Kiszka.” You say giving him a big smile.

He softens at that and turns towards you. “It won’t. I still adore you, it’s just going to take some getting used to.” Sam looks directly in your eyes and makes a more serious face. “But I do want to tell you to be careful. Jake doesn’t have the best track record with women. I would hate to see you hurt over his dumb ass.”

Your stomach sinks. Sam is giving you a gentle warning. You know you will never allow yourself to get hurt by Jake, that comment just sealed the deal. You push that sinking feeling aside and lightly smile at Sam.

“Noted.” You say. “But enough about Jake. Tonight will be about you and I. Let’s go out! Jake can sulk by himself at home.”

Sam cracks a genuine smile at you. “Now we’re talking.”

Jake was pissed that you were going out with just Sam. You didn’t care. You told him this is what he got for doing it like that, you needed to make it up to Sam. He was even more pissed when he saw your outfit. You were in a pink tank latex bodycon dress with clear heels. You straightened your hair and did a full face. Josh had called you Barbie before you left, which definitely further irritated Jake. You wanted him to know that you didn’t belong to him. The other three were staying at home as far as you knew. You were happy to have a night out with Sam. He wore black pants and a vintage patterned button up. You had to admit that you two cleaned up nicely. Your first stop was a bar in Nashville away from the crazy strip. You and Sam had decided to drink and do shots there. As the both of you got more tipsy you had decided this bar was not the environment. You two ended up at a club, not typically your scene but tonight it was. The music was blaring pop and sweaty bodies filled the room. Sam was having too much fun to even complain about the music, and that says a lot. You both grabbed drinks and you dragged him out on the dance floor. Just then “Doses and Mimosas” started playing and you and Sam were hyped. You were drunkly slurring the words to one another and dancing on one another. This was a perfect party song in your opinion and it was obviously for Sam too. The alcohol made you feel warm and open. Sam had a hold of your hand spinning you all across the dance floor.

“Look at those moves!” Sam yelled out with glee.

You giggled at him. “Learned it all from Dirty Dancing.”

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner!” Sam continues to yell over the music. “Go over there and run and I’ll catch you in the air!”

You belly laugh at this. “Absolutely not Sammy.”

“Why? Don’t trust me?” Sam says close to your ear giving you a huge smile.

“You? I wholeheartedly trust you. I don’t trust myself.” You say back.

When the song ends you both make your way back to the bar and get one of the special shots of the hour. It’s a blowjob shot, so you suck your mouth around the glass and shoot it with no hands as Sam watches you in awe.

“Fuck.” Is all he says while staring at you.

You huff out a laugh. “Come on now. Your turn!” You say as you present him with his shot.

He gives you a look before attempting it. He gets most of it, but some spills out all over him. You’re wildly laughing at the sight. You take your fingers and wipe some of the whipped cream off of his mouth.

“You’re so messy Sammy.” You say playfully.

He smirks at you. “You have no idea.”

Then you feel a tap on your back. To turn around and are greeted by a bouncer. You give him a confused look.

“You both have been invited to VIP upstairs. Follow me.” He says.

You look back at Sam and cackle. “Oh my god. Is someone recognizing you? Sammy, you're famous!”

Sam grabs the small of your back and laughs while escorting you up the stairs. But when you’re taken to the VIP area your face drops. There sits a very amused Jake, as well as Josh and Danny.

“Ah so glad you could join us.” Jake says giving you two a smirk.

“You fuckers had to come crash the party huh?” Sam says, playfully but there’s a hint of sincerity behind it.

Josh senses the tension, so he grabs Sam’s hand and tells him to come try some drink.

You walk over to Jake and give him a look. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just out on the town. A mutual friend called us when he saw Sam come in, asking if we were here. Said he could get us VIP. Who was I to refuse that? How was your shot by the way?” Jake says looking down at you.

In a way it turns you on that Jake is a little jealous and bruised that you’re out without him. But you can’t let him know that. “It was good. I think we might go back down to the general population. I liked that vibe better.”

Jake grabs your hand. “Come on now lover don’t be like that. I’m already here, let’s have a good time.”

“Tonight was supposed to be about Sam.” You spit back.

“He’s had you for long enough. I can’t stay away from you when you look like that.” Jake says in a sultry voice.

It was hard to pretend to be irritated with him, especially when he complimented you.

You sighed. “Fine, okay. But I’m not totally ditching him.”

Jake throws his hands around your waist. “Okay. Let’s get a round of drinks.”

Drinks continued to flow and you were still having a great time. Jake was sitting on the couch with Danny while you, Sam, and Josh were up dancing.

“I’m going to order more drinks!” Josh says, pulling away from you and Sam.

“I have to pee!” You yell over the music to Sam.

“Want me to come with?” Sam asks.

“No it’s okay. I’ll be back in a minute.” You say heading off as well.

Jake gives you a look as you walk away but you motion towards the bathroom. Once in the bathroom you pee and then wash your hands before staring at yourself in the mirror. The VIP bathrooms were just three different single bathrooms not gendered. You were blotting your face when someone started knocking on the door.

“Someone’s in here!” You yell.

The knocking still proceeds. You huff and head over to the door ready to yell at whoever is on the other side. But when you open the door Jake is there and he steps in and shuts it behind you.

“Hi lover. Are you enjoying yourself?” Jake says, stepping towards you.

“Hi Jake I am. I’m ready to get back to the party.” You say teasingly.

Jake takes his hands and wraps them around you and dives in to kiss your neck. “Are you sure?”

You laugh a little. “Maybe I could spare a few minutes.”

Jake backs you up and slides his hand up your dress. “You look so fucking hot tonight.”

You cock your head to the side and Jake begins to suck and lightly bite your neck. You’re enjoying the attention, but you want to do something for Jake. You move your face to his and start kissing his lips. Jake’s hands are roaming your body and you feel electric. You flip Jake around and pin him to the wall before sinking down to your knees. You make quick work of undoing his pants. Jake stares at you in complete awe as you take his length in your hand. You flick your eyes up at him and take the tip in your mouth. You spit twice, then start slow. “Fuck baby. Fuck.” Is all Jake says as he slowly laces his fingers in your hair.

You start bobbing up and down, swirling your tongue around and pumping your hand. Jake is quickly becoming undone. You take him all the way as your eyes begin to water. You look up at Jake and he’s still staring down at you with a filthy look on his face. Damn. You will save this mental image forever. Jake tilts his head back and tightens his grip in your hair. You can tell he’s close. You push through and speed up your pace.

“Baby I’m so close fuck angel.” Jake moans out.

Then you feel him release in the back of your throat. You gag slightly but swallow before pulling back. You wipe your mouth and look up at Jake who is breathing slightly hard. You both clean yourselves up before you head towards the door.

“Not so fast angel.” Jake says as he grabs your arm. “It’s your turn. I’m not going to ever let you go without.”

He pulls you back towards him and engulfs you in kisses while sitting you up on the counter. The next few minutes are full of even more obscene sounds.

After your bathroom escapades you and Jake returned back out to your section. You tried to be nonchalant, but you could only imagine they knew you two had been shacking up. Especially since Jake had become much more handsy with you. You had begun to wind down, but still wanted to entertain Sam.

“Sammy, are you ready to go home? I’m feeling a movie, one of your frozen vegan pizzas, and maybe a touch of Mary Jane.” You say approaching him.

“Oh sorority girl, you just get me.” He says throwing his arm around you. “Josh call the Uber.”

When you all made it back home you and Sam split off to have your night while the other three sat in the living room and discussed music. Sam didn’t stay awake long, you were thankful for that as you were also tired. You ended the night next to Jake who kept his arm around you all night. Everything seemed like it was going to be okay.

TODAY:

It was Thanksgiving, but your nerves were killing you. You had spent all day trying to secretly google what a negative but also positive pregnancy test could mean. There were a million answers. You had already made up your mind that you wouldn’t have a baby right now either way. All day you were on edge. You hid your tests in your skincare bag under the sink. Putting them in the trash can was way too risky. More than likely it was just a mistake, but the other outcome made you ill. You had called Lana because you knew she could help. Her cousin worked at an OBGYN, she had already made an appointment for you next week just to see what was happening even though it was Thanksgiving. Would you tell Jake? No, you didn’t think so. You just wanted to forget about it and try and enjoy your Thanksgiving. You had gotten back in bed with Jake and just stared at the ceiling.

“Good morning lover.” Jake says kissing your shoulder.

“Morning.” You say back kind of weakly.

Jake furrows his brows. “What’s wrong?”

You put on a small smile. “Nothing. Just tired I suppose. I didn’t sleep well.”

“Go back to sleep then babe. I’m going to go start the turkey, but I’ll be back in here to check on you soon.” Jake says as he traces little circles on your arm.

You nod your head and Jake kisses you before getting up. But you can’t go back to sleep. You just turn over and look at the wall. Eventually you peel yourself out of bed and turn on a hot shower. You sit there holding your knees, allowing this to be the last of your wallowing for the day. Once you get out, you do your routine. Shuddering when you open up your skincare bag. You throw on leggings and a sweatshirt and head out to the kitchen to see what everyone is up to.

“Good morning mama.” Josh says with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Jake is working on his basting, Danny is assisting Jake, and Josh and Sam are watching.

“Good morning.” You say back.

Jake holds his hands up at you. “I would make your coffee, but I’m a bit unable to at the moment.”

You laugh at him. “It’s okay, I can do it.”

You make your way to the refrigerator and start getting out everything you need. Once you make your coffee you put everything away and start to head back to the island to watch with everyone.

“Wanna go sit outside with me sorority girl?” Sam asks.

You nod your head and follow him out on the patio. It’s beautiful this morning, not too cold and the view is amazing. You sit down and sip your coffee but Sam keeps looking at you.

“Are you okay?” He asks.

You glance back at him and make a face. “Yes. Why?”

“Something seems off. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Sam says.

You smile lightly at him. “I know Sammy. But seriously I’m good.”

He bites his lip. “Okay, if you say so.”

It’s evident how much Sam knows you. He can tell when things are off with you, but you don’t want to talk about the impending potential anxieties. It would also feel weird talking to Sam about it over Jake.

“I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to eat tonight.” Sam says, obviously trying to change the subject.

You giggle at him. “You can’t even eat a lot of the food tonight.”

Sam chuckles. “That may be true, but I do have a whole pie to myself.”

You sip your coffee. “Mhm I’ve heard it’s probably the best vegan pie in the world.”

“Oh is that so?” Sam asks.

You nod your head. “Yeah, I’m afraid so. The baker is some sort of genius. She’s hot too.”

Sam laughs. “That’s obviously the most important trait in a baker. But if that’s the criteria, then this will be the best pie in the whole world.”

“Jake the Thanksgiving tyrant needs you Samuel.” Josh says, opening the sliding door.

Sam huffs and looks at you. “Pray for me.”

You laugh and follow them both inside.

Jake is stress cooking and Danny is trying his best to help. Jake was a perfectionist when it came to a few things, music and cooking being two of them. You loved seeing him in the zone with both.

Jake barely glances up before saying, “Sam get over here and stir this shit.”

After everything was prepped and on its way to being cooked you all sat outside on the patio. You and Jake were sitting on the swing, his arm around you, slowly swaying back and forth. The other three were sitting at the table. There was quite the entertaining conversation of the best Thanksgiving movies. Mostly Josh and Sam argued this one out.

“Okay I’ll interject here.” You start. “Why has neither one of you said A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving?”

Jake cocked his head and looked at you. “You know what I agree with her.”

Sam smiled at you. “That’s not a movie, that’s a special.”

“So? It’s objectively better than everything else you two are arguing about. We should watch that tonight.” You say.

“Hm I am feeling rather nostalgic. But we will watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles after.” Josh says.

You nod your head. “Fair enough.”

Sam continues to argue for his pick.

“It’s such a beautiful day today.” Jake says, turning his head towards you. “I’m so glad I get to spend it with you.”

You smile brightly at him and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you.”

Jake kisses you right back. “And I love you.”

You hear a gagging sound and look over at Josh who is dramatically pretending to throw up. “You two and your cute lovey dovey shit. Makes me sick!”

“You sound bitter.” Jake says, egging his twin on.

“I need to go check on the potatoes.” Sam says, rather quietly getting up.

“Yeah I probably need to go tend to the turkey. Should be ready in an hour or so.” Jake says.

“I’m going to change and fix up a little.” You say.

With that everyone is going and doing. You go into your room and pull out a white off the shoulder frayed sweater and your brown corduroy flare pants. You put some loose curls in your hair and some light makeup. You spritz yourself down with perfume and you’re done. That hour has almost passed, so you head out to the common area. It’s a little bit chaotic, but everything seems to be done.

“You look nice.” Jake says as he kisses your cheek. “I’m going to set the table, then I’ll get changed.”

“I can do that. Go get changed, you've done enough.” You say, taking plates from Jake.

He gives you a smile and heads off towards your room. Danny is setting up all of the food and Sam and Josh are working on cocktails. You set out all of the plates, fold the napkins, and set out the silverware. Jake’s back rather quickly. He looks nice with his everyday jeans, a flannel, and his boots.

“Okay everyone. Let’s eat.” Jake says, sitting the turkey in the center of their table.

You all took your seats, Jake sat at the head of the table. You were next to him, Josh next to you, Sam across from you, and Danny next to Sam.

“Shall we have a toast?” Josh says, raising his glass. “I don’t want to be cliche and make everyone go around the table and say what they’re thankful for. But, I do want to say that I love everyone at this table, very much. Here’s to this wonderful meal, this wonderful place, and these wonderful people. May we live long and prosper. May we find love and provide it where there is not.”

“Here here!” Jake says while everyone clinks their glasses.

“This is so good. What is it?” You ask after sipping the drink.

“Cranberry and sugared lemon gin. I came up with this one.” Sam says.

You smile at him. “I should have known.”

The food was magnificent. Everything was so beyond delicious, but the turkey was the star. After you had all stuffed your faces it was time to clean up and have dessert. The boys made quick of the clean up while you cut the pie and squirted whipped cream on all of the slices. Jake came and helped you carry the plates to the living room where “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” was already queued up.

“Shit this is so good.” Josh says chewing his first bite. Danny hums in agreement.

“There’s no way it’s better than the vegan version. This is probably the best vegan dessert I’ve ever had.” Sam says.

“I told you it would be.” You say pushing the pie around on your plate.

“Yeah this is great babe.” Jake says, rubbing your knee.

“I wanted to run something by you guys.” Danny says.

Everyone looks up at him and nods.

“So my birthday is obviously coming up, but I was thinking we could combine that with New Years and have a party for both?”

“Ooh that sounds so fun!” You say.

“Right. But I want to do it in Atlanta” Danny finishes.

You smile at that. “Even better!”

“I’m always down to go to Atlanta.” Jake says.

“Perfect. It’s settled then.” Danny says.

You all spent the rest of the night watching Thanksgiving movies and talking. It had been a rough start, but overall a really good day. Jake pulled you into his arms and you both fell asleep full and happy. You woke up the next morning and everyone was ready to spend another day at the beach. You had all packed a cooler full of leftovers and a volleyball match had broken out. Of course Sam and Danny with their height advantage, won. You all stayed in the sun the whole day, so everyone got pretty toasty. You had tried to make everyone apply sunscreen every hour, but they didn’t listen. Before you went to bed that night you had to lather Jake in lotion so he wouldn’t peel. He returned the favor, but his massage had ulterior motives. Tomorrow was your last full day before you had to fly back on Sunday. You didn’t want to think about next Friday, this was your appointment date. You looked down at your sleeping Jake and tried to stay present in the moment. You told yourself over and over that everything was going to be fine.

You awoke the next morning to noise in your bathroom. It was rather early, but Jake wasn’t in bed next to you.

You sat up and whispered. “Jake?”

No response. You begrudgingly left the warm bed and got up to make sure everything was okay. When you opened the door there stood a very pink Jake rummaging around the bathroom.

“Jake?”

He turns around and looks at you strangely. “Hi… I was looking for the lotion for my face. It was starting to sting.”

You laugh a little at that. “Do you need help?”

You step forward and then immediately your stomach drops. On the counter is your skincare bag, opened. On the counter lay your serums, creams, and two pregnancy tests. The color from your face drains and you look at Jake with horror.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jake asks, quietly.

You start to feel defensive. “Because I’m not sure.”

“You don’t have to be sure. You can tell me anything, especially things like this.” Jake says.

You huff. “I appreciate that. But I don’t want this to be the focus of this trip. Can we just side table this and enjoy today?”

Jake bites his lip and looks at you. “Is this something that needs to be sidetabled?”

“Please.” You say, looking up at him.

“Okay yeah.” Jake says, in the least assuring tone.

The rest of the morning was odd. Jake was being incredibly distant and kept looking at you. He shook his leg profusely when he sat and you knew he was bothered by earlier. You all went back to the beach for a few hours just to read and relax. But you didn’t feel super relaxed. You tried to distract yourself with your book, but you could feel Jake’s eyes on you. Josh made dinner reservations at a somewhat fancy seafood bar for tonight. You excused yourself back to the house to start getting ready. You decided to wear a black tank bodysuit with pleather black pants. You paired it with black heeled booties and gold jewelry. You put waves through your hair with a decent amount of makeup. Finishing off with pink gloss and perfume. Jake walked in and nodded at you before getting in the shower. He usually complimented you, but today wasn’t one of those days. You went out in the living room to wait for everyone. Sam was out there with Danny already pregaming dinner.

“Tequila shot?” Sam asks you when he sees you.

“Two.” You say, slumping down in the barstools.

Sam smiles at you. “Oof I heard that.”

He lines up the shots and you all take them. You barely flinch as the liquid burns your throat. Jake comes out and eyes the shot glasses, but doesn’t say anything. The ride to the restaurant is a little tense, for you anyway. There’s no touching or normal warmness. When you arrived at the restaurant Jake took his seat next to you, but didn’t participate in the group conversation.

“So Josh, are we feeling a feast of appetizers tonight?” You ask.

Josh places the menu down. “Absolutely we are. Assuming there is something for the diva.”

Sam rolls his eyes at him.

“Hi guys, what can I get us started with over here?” The waiter asks, approaching your table.

Josh, Danny, and Jake all go ordering various cocktails.

“Can I have a peach sangria?” You ask.

The waiter nods at you.

“Ooh that sounds good. I’ll take one of those as well.” Sam says.

“Okay I’ll be right back with those drinks.” The waiter says.

“Are you serious?” Jake says, turning towards you.

You make a face at him. “What?”

“You’re seriously drinking right now?” He retorts.

Everyone at the table gets quiet. Sam looks at you with confusion as to why Jake is being like this.

“Can we go outside for a moment?” You ask Jake.

He nods his head and escorts you outside.

“Why are you being like this?” You say, crossing your arms.

Jake huffs out. “I’m not being like anything. Forgive me if I’m a little bit stressed after this morning.”

“We were supposed to put that to the side for now.” You say.

Jake laughs. “Put it to the side? How do you just put something like that to the side? It doesn’t go away if you don’t think about it. The fact that you’re drinking is also ridiculous. I get it’s not an assured thing, but even if there is the slightest chance that there is, drinking is absurd.”

You feel a heat rise in your chest. “For fuck’s sake Jake. It won’t matter anyway.”

Jake furrows his brows at you. “What do you mean? Of course it matters. I could possibly be a Dad, and I don’t want our child having fetal alcohol syndrome because you want a goddamn sangria.”

Now you’re pissed. “I’m not having a fucking baby, Jake. Either way I’m not. No way in hell is that occurring, so get that out of your head.”

Jake makes a face at you. “So that’s it then?”

“Yeah, it sure is. I don’t know who the hell you think you are telling me what I can and cannot do” You spit.

“I’m not trying to fucking tell you what to do. I thought this would be something we would discuss together, as you and me.” He says running his fingers through his hair.

“Well you thought wrong. Now if you’re done having your tantrum I would like to go inside and have my goddamn sangria.” You say, bitterly.

Jake stares at you for a moment, then shakes his head. “Go ahead.”

You march back into the restaurant with your blood boiling. The audacity for him to act like this. Sam can immediately tell something is wrong. He shoots you a look but you nod him off. The drinks arrive and you can’t wait to down your whole sangria in front of Jake. But he never arrives. He never came back inside of that restaurant. Where he went, you have no clue. But the next time you would see Jake things would be very very different.

#greta van fic #greta van fleet #greta van fleet fic #jake gvf #jake kiszka #jake kiszka x reader #sam gvf #sam kiszka #sam kiszka x reader #the lovers

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snotbuggle · 10 months

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Introducing my clone OCs

Den

Captain of the guard on the Holy City of Jedha. He was sent to a place away from the war as punishment for doing something right. Den became an older brother to Zeta as he spent more time there. Out of him, Zee, and a five clone squad, Den is pretty much the eldest brother. He’s quite the goofy, weird kind of guy. He doesn’t normally start or engage in any fights, but he’ll interfere if he feels he needs to.

Note: he was originally going to be an ARC Lieutenant but I changed it cause of authority

Omen

One of a five clone squad who were defects. These clones’ tanks malfunctioned and caused the stress management engineering to fail. This has affected all clones in his squad’s ability to fly. Not only was he a defect, but he seemed to be around a fair amount of bad events. After a while, it became a joke that he was bad luck, earning him the name “Omen”. There was a gas leak on Kamino one day which tore up the insides of Omen’s vocal cords and lungs, leaving him mute and unable to talk. Omen is an extremely emotional and expressive person. He doesn’t really care about fighting if it’s his brothers, but he will start a fight with anyone who dares try his brothers.

Note: Originally, his name was Jinx but I came to the realization there was already a canonical clone named Jinx

Windy

Second out of the five defects. He is extremely queasy. Even after getting over his fear of flying, he still sometimes has issues with it. Windy is not the best at managing his stress and has a bad habit of suppressing it. His brothers get on his nerves, but he’s usually calm with other people. Windy will absolutely will throw hands with anyone (mainly Russ).

Croi

Third out of the five defects. He also has a foul mouth, but he can control it pretty easily. He likes setting up Windy and Russ’ conflicts to watch them unfold because he’s bored. He is a master instigator of fights. He will start a fight, but you won’t know it. However, when the day is done, the most important thing to him is his family. It’s all fun and games to watch his brothers hurt themselves in stupid ways, but the thought of actually losing them terrifies him. The stress makes it hard for him to focus on a task if his brothers are in danger. He is 100% the middle child.

Russ

Fourth out of the five defects. He has a very foul mouth and vulgar humor—and he’s not the brightest bulb in the shed. However, he’s a very sweet person with a fear of messing up around kids (saying or doing something that will be a bad influence, making a choice that may end in them getting hurt, etc).

Side note: A few days ago I could’ve sworn I saw someone mention an OC clone with the name Rus but I’m not sure. If that was you, please let me know so I can change his name and avoid conflict :)

Skye

The fifth and last of the defects. A happy-go-lucky optimist that had tragically passed away during order 66. It’s hard for the family to talk about him. He has no picture because- honestly I haven’t drawn him.

Additional information

Before, I had mentioned Zeta, a Mirialan who was raised on Jedha. As a mechanic with a passion for droids, she did what she could to help refugees on Jedha who fled the war. Rigorous efforts to help leave her constantly exhausted and overworked. After the stationing of clone forces on Jedha (to which she protested), she became rather good friends with Captain Den. They eventually became tight knit siblings who brought the best out of each other.

Also, Den really loves exotic teas, foods, and clothing items. Whenever Zeta leaves Jedha, she tries to bring something back for her brother.

Omen is very easily flustered! Even an indirect compliment can turn him cherry red. Whether it’s by children, adults, or elderly, as long as it’s some sort of compliment his heart melts. One time, a woman had tried to give Omen her civilian comm number. He tried to explain to her that he was mute and could only speak sign while he blushed profusely. To this, she responded saying that she had a sister who grew up as deaf and she learned to speak sign at a young age. This absolutely melted Omen’s heart and he began to struggle to find the words—or signs—to continue the conversation as he turned a special shade of red. She continued on, “if you don’t like women, my brother thinks you’re cute too.” Which was the straw to break the camels back. At this point, Omen had given up. Curled into a ball, he sat on the ground with his face in his knees. Now, whenever his brothers drag him to a bar, he ends up sitting under a table with his nose in a data pad because he ends up getting embarrassed.

#I hope people like them :)#star wars #star wars tcw #clone oc #star wars oc #sw ocs #sw oc #star wars ocs #clone wars oc

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annepsilvaauthor · 1 year

Text

Fighter Weapons — Chapter 5

Pairing(s): Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC (Claire Mitchell) / Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Natasha "Phoenix" Trace

Summary: An untold story. A series that shows what happened during the Top Gun of our beloved pilots of Top Gun: Maverick.

Warnings: Subtle sexual innuendos, brief language, alcohol consumption, angst, smut, fluffy.

Word Count: 3.511

Author note: I'm back my loves with another chapter for you! I tried to make the dogfighting as convincing as possible. Let me know if you like it when there's more aviation involved or the aviator drama, or both.

The darlings who don't want to miss any updates ↪️ @missathlete31 @togetherisawonderfulplacetobe @switch3rr @na0my @aprilwithapricots @goldenloverschild

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

ғɪɢʜᴛᴇʀᴛᴏᴡɴ, ᴜsᴀ

At twenty-eight thousand feet, the two planes were circling each other, going in opposite directions. As they jockeyed for position, they passed each other like whiplashes. The earth turned, the horizon appeared and disappeared. At each difficult turn, some grunts from Hangman and Rooster could be heard to keep the blood in their brains in order not to pass out.

The fight was hard, physical and exhausting. The extreme G-forces – 6.5 – flattened them against their seats, making their heads weigh over a hundred pounds. Hangman struggled to turn his head and track the other jet as it passed at Mach One.

“I lost him. Where is he?” Rooster asked.

They had been chosen as a tag team in that first training against Blade. Obviously, they weren't happy with the choice.

“You're my wingman. It's your job to know where he is.” Hangman sneered in his cabin.

“We didn't decide like that.”

“Well, now it's clear. You're the wingman and I'm the pilot.” Hangman waved at him from his fighter a few feet away.

Rooster didn't have much time to vent his indignation, as his radar started beeping loudly.

“Six o'clock…coming fast. Four hundred, losing speed! He's at six and fast! Left! LEFT!”

Rooster shouted into his communication radio with Hangman, but he didn't answer. Hangman took the opposite direction, in which Rooster had to be quick to dodge his own duo.

"The mission is to attack Blade, not me!" he complained breathlessly in the cabin. “Why didn't you do what I said?”

"At that speed, he'd easily intercept you and then me. He knew I was going to the left...it was too obvious.” he explained in a haughty tone.

“Yes! The obvious works most of the time!”

“Not here.”

Rooster, driven by rage, pushed the stick to the left and the F-18 made a surprising turn. He can hear Blade's frustrated grunt over the radio.

“Not bad!” Hangman praised from the other side.

"He almost got us. Let's get out of here. We reached a draw.”

“No way! Going vertical.”

Hangman's F-18 exploded into speed, hurtling into space. Blade was left in direct sunlight, and its canopy was sprayed with a blinding glow.

"He's blind, Rooster! Pick him!” he ordered in euphoria.

“I’m arriving!”

"Rooster, hurry!" He won't stay like this all day."

Hangman maintained his speed towards the sunlight, gaining more and more altitude and feeling the enormous pressure on his lungs. He had trained a lot for that, he had been on dangerous missions, but he was aware that he wouldn't last long in a straight line, just as Blade wouldn't either.

"What the...fuck, Rooster! What are you doing?” He struggled to speak with the heat of the sun hitting him and the gravity.

"It's in the crosshairs! In sight!”

The heat intensified more and more. Beads of sweat formed and ran down Hangman's face. He shook his head to get her out of his eyes. He waited for the beeping sound at his point, indicating that Blade had been hit, but it never came.

Then, Rooster watched as Hangman's F-18 dove downward. He raced out to sea, picking up speed. Over the roar of the jets, the scream of the wind, Rooster reached out to Hangman, but the sound was muffled, like a distant voice in a typhoon.

Blade darted towards Hangman, trying to take aim at the plane, but he was too fast and in uncoordinated movements. It was almost as if he had let go of the steering wheel.

Rooster followed them downstairs and watched the numbers go down on his visor, listening for the alarm in the cabin.

"Hangman, man! You are going to the hard deck!”

“I know what I'm doing.”

Rooster watched the numbers. 20000, 18000, 15000, 10000, 8000 and going down faster and faster. Gravity slammed into him, making his throat itch and his stomach heave.

“Hangman! We are at 6000!”

“If you get to 5000 feet, you're out of Top Gun. It's the law.” Blade reported over the radio.

The alarm grew louder and louder, blaring even inside the cabin. Rooster recoiled in his speed and hovered in the air. If Hangman was going to break the rules and they went out it was no worse than him suffering even more from the pressure on his body in pursuit of a point.

Suddenly, Rooster witnessed a maneuver he had seen only once before, when facing a German fighter. The F-18's engines shut down and Hangman gained negative speed, overtaking Blade's fighter on top. There was no way for the instructor to anticipate or act in time. Hangman used gravity to his advantage. Then the beep sound.

“You're done! Blade dead.” Hangman cheered and whistled in the cabin. "Hey, Rooster?"

“What?” he asked grimly.

“That's how you get to the top of the world.”

Rooster watched his smug smile under his mask and shook his head. He turned the wheel and the F-18 went right, diving back through the clouds towards the base.

When they landed on the flight line, Rooster got out of the fighter and removed his helmet, then walked straight away from his insufferable duo.

Storm was getting off the fighter and Phoenix was taking off her helmet, running a hand over her sweaty face. Strands of black hair fell out of her bun. When she put her feet on the ground, Storm pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dragged Phoenix for a photo, even though she knew she didn't like it very much.

"Storm..." her friend complained.

"Say 'victory'!"

Despite Phoenix's protests, they both smiled with their fingers up. It was a beautiful celebration photo. But she noticed an intruder on the screen and looked back.

She spotted Hangman getting out of the F-18, sweaty, hair slightly tousled, but with that cocky grin on his face.

"You really are a cowboy!" She got his attention. She had heard the control tower almost go crazy on the radio.

Hangman looked back at her, widening his smile and squinting a little due to the strong sunlight, casting a shadow of him. From that angle, he was passable, she thought.

“Fuck the hard deck! I beat that bastard.”

“You two won.” Storm corrected, walking beside them.

“I did it all myself. Rooster sat there perched like a bird in a nest.” He explained loud enough for the pilot to hear from the front.

Fungus and Pork approached them. Phoenix winked and gave a thumbs-up sign with a smile. She watched as the other riders behind her reacted with handshakes, high fives and victory punches.

“You win?” Pork asked the girls.

"Everyone, huh?"

Phoenix heard a few "ooohs" and giggles behind her and exchanged confused glances with Storm.

"No… He kicked our asses." Fungus replied frustrated.

“Thirty seconds. We were like that, he was like that.” Pork demonstrated with his hands. "And I said to Fungus: Where did he go? Fungus said: Who went where?”

“And he was laughing. Right there on the radio, he was laughing at us!” Fungus complained with a grimace.

The other pilots passed in front of them and watched Hangman. He paused dramatically and gave a thumbs-up with a smug smile. The students cheered Hangman's victory, and he handled the attention with the composure of someone used to winning. Rooster walked ahead, ignoring him.

Hangman went on to explain how he had won, all the maneuvers and ambushes, not forgetting to emphasize Rooster's inertia.

“It wasn't like I saw it.” Rooster could not bear to remain silent with the provocation.

“Of course you didn't, you were too busy looking for the target in the viewfinder. Hangman glanced at an invisible watch on his arm. “Rumor has it that you're still up there, looking for the perfect moment.

"You nearly threw us out! We were almost on the hard deck!”

“Keyword: almost. I knew what I was doing. Obviously I wasn't going to miss the great opportunity to be the best in Top Gun on the first day.” He took a long look at Rooster. "You must understand that since you love the obvious, right, Rooster?"

"What's your problem, Hangman?" everyone could see a vein pulsing in Rooster's forehead. “You don't communicate with your wingman and you don't take orders. What kind of pilot are you?”

“I'm not the type that let the whole team die by waiting too long. That's for sure, I'm not.”

"You are rash and showy!"

"And you're afraid!" Hangman kept calm and the smile on his face, unlike Rooster, who huffed with anger. “I'm a lone wolf, but I know my way around. How about you? How long are you going to wait to take action?”

With that statement, Hangman ended the discussion and walked back towards the hangar, being accompanied by Coyote and other pilots. Phoenix approached Rooster and looked at him with compassion. He was panting, frowning and head down. His fists were clenched.

“He beat you on that one, you know? Not because he's better than you, but because you got carried away by him.”

“He's an asshole. You should be there to see how he flew. He seemed to have no love for his life. Or the team.”

“Maybe that's why they call him the Hangman.” She lightly patted his shoulder. “Don't let him get you down. You are good. You wouldn't be here if you weren't.”

“I know.” He looked up and flashed a smile. “Thanks.”

“Thank me tonight. I want a whole song dedicated to me.” She teased and saw him relax his shoulders.

“Just choose.”

They headed for the hangar as well, following the others. Phoenix headed towards the women's locker room with Storm and they took off their flight uniform to get rid of that sweat that was already part of them.

Phoenix chose a stall at the end of the locker room and turned on the shower, soon feeling the cold water wash away all the tension in her shoulders. They won, they did great teamwork as a wingman. But she couldn't forget the times she came close to losing, getting hit.

Those trainings weren't just activities for her, they represented reality. She imagined herself on the battlefield, in a real dogfight. And whenever she got this close to being hit, she thought of Storm. She wasn't alone on the plane. There was a person with dreams, wishes and family in the back seat. And that always terrified her.

If she had been alone in that F-18, she might have been more daring to risk maneuvers that the book didn't teach or that played with danger. But she couldn't. Not with a life on the line. She couldn't risk losing a pilot, not only because she was a great coworker, but because she was her best friend.

So she understood all of Rooster's hesitation in the sky. He was careful, cautious. He wasn't going to risk losing his buddy for the chance of taking down an enemy. He valued the safety of his colleagues. And maybe that led him to Top Gun.

But...a part of her, reaching deep down inside, also agreed with Hangman. She clenched her fists upon realizing this. Phoenix knew the importance of being fast, agile and skillful up there, otherwise she could lose her team too. Boldness was part of her flying style. She knew the predictable could get them killed. She needed the boldness to protect Storm.

She realized that there was a fine line between confidence and daring, and perhaps she was the only one there who understood that.

They left the locker room with just the ivory uniform pants, boots and white blouse, as they wouldn't have any more classes for the rest of the day.

"What's on today's schedule?" Storm asked when they passed through the corridor that gave access to the dorms.

“I hear Hollywood Garden is reproducing some classics.”

"Is that what I'm thinking?" she asked excitedly. Phoenix nodded, slowly returning to her mood. Storm had that power.

"First rule of Fight Club…”

"...don't talk about Fight Club."

They walked towards the girls' dorm as empty as the locker room. It was a good thing they were the only women there, at least they had a lot of privacy.

At night, they left the Fightertown facility in euphoria, eager for some fun that didn't involve risking their lives. Phoenix wore pale ankle boots, dark tight pants, a beige knit sweater, and a leather jacket with a fur collar. It was a cold night in San Diego.

They took an Uber and headed towards the suburbs, where there was a great outdoor cinema. They had a plan. Make friends with random guys until they get a car to watch the movie. Would it be easier to go to a regular movie theater? Yes. But what fun would that be?

The lawn was crowded with cars of all kinds, most with people sitting on the hood or outside, always accompanied. The opening of the film was already playing on the huge screen and they were still looking for someone who looked friendly.

“Are you lost?” The annoyingly familiar voice rang out.

Phoenix looked over to the side and saw Hangman sitting in the front seat of a blue Porsche. His blond hair was impeccable, not a single strand out of place. He wore a white shirt with a dark denim jacket over it looking expensive. And on his face, obviously, that smug smile. Eyes fixed on her.

“No, we are expecting our company.” She lied with her chin high.

“It's pretty rude to keep a lady waiting.Good thing you're not ladies.”

Storm laughed exaggeratedly, feigning humor. Phoenix watched the confusion in Coyote's eyes behind the wheel, but Hangman continued to stare at her like a hunter.

“You are so funny, Hangman. Uff... you should get into a career as a comedian.”

“No, I'm well served as a fighter pilot. But you could just as easily work as waitresses at a country restaurant.” He pointed at their plain clothes. “Although my people are still far more elegant than that.”

“I don't know, Hangman. Someone might slip in your hair.” Phoenix returned.

He stopped smiling, presumably with a bruised ego, and Phoenix felt victorious. Wiping that smug smile off his lips had almost become her life's mission.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Storm asked Coyote.

“So you assume we follow you. What if it was the other way around?”

“Of course, because our life revolves around your navel.”

“Let it go, Storm. They are not worth it.” Phoenix took her friend's hand and was already leading her away.

"I hope your companions don't come! No one deserves to look at that there!” Hangman shot back with arrogance.

Phoenix responded with a finger in mid-air, already with her back to them. His presence was already giving her a headache. How did she manage to have fun with him at some point? She must have been really, really drunk.

“We need a car.” Storm announced after paying for a beer. “We should have asked Uber to stay.”

“No, he had more runs to do.’ Phoenix ordered a beer. "Fuck...did they really have to come here?"

"I bet they heard our conversation in the hall." She looked around at the cars. "Let's do it this way: let's split up. We have a better chance of finding a car.”

Phoenix wasn't too keen on the idea, but she went along with it since she didn't have a better one. Storm headed toward the first few rows of cars and Phoenix remained at the kiosk considering where to start. She found two guys in a truck further back and worked up the courage to go there.

The men were about her age and greeted her with a smile. She invented that she had taken a cake along with her friend and they felt sorry, soon calling her to watch with them. She smiled victoriously and pulled back a little to send Storm a message. Suddenly, a huge body stopped in front of her. She looked up and immediately rolled her eyes.

“That was ridiculous." he commented after a sip of his beer.

"Hangman... your existence gives me a headache. Please go live further away from me." She snorted and went back to writing to Storm.

"Are you really going to be in the car with two strangers?"

"What, are you going to tell me you care about me?"

“No, I worry about them. You are not a saint."

Phoenix decided to ignore his presence there, maybe then he would go away and leave her alone. It worked. He pulled away and she was able to breathe normally again. But to her misfortune, when she looked up, she saw Hangman talking to the two boys. She approached them and noticed the startled way they were looking at her. What was that asshole saying?

"Ahm...you know, we're expecting some people." one of them said avoiding her gaze.

“But you said you were alone."

“As it happens, we're expecting company now. I'm sorry." the other replied embarrassed.

Phoenix smirked and walked away from them, stomping her boots on the ground in pure rage.

"You should at least thank me." She heard the annoying voice again. Was he still after her?

"What the fuck...?"

She suddenly parked on the lawn and turned around, but the unexpected movement caused Hangman to collide with her, pushing her backwards. Phoenix landed on the spiked grass, bruising her bottom. She watched him from below. He was as big as a Greek statue with the movie lights reflected on his face, now without the smirk. She panted in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Arrg! If he just made a joke about that, he would definitely get a slap on that perfect face.

But to her surprise, he offered her a hand. Phoenix considered some possibilities regarding that gesture. Could it mean empathy, no. Not that. It could be that, by accepting his help, she would owe him in some way. It could also mean that she needed him for something, which she didn't. So Phoenix denied his help and got up on her own, which drew a muffled chuckle from him.

“You are so predictable."

"And you are insufferable!" She wiped her pants and glared at him. “Seriously, how do the women at the bar put up with you? Oh, I know, it's because they don't spend a whole day with you. I'm sure they would die of heartbreak."

'You didn't seem to dislike it one bit that day in Lemoore."

"I was drunk. If a scarecrow appeared in front of me and played with me, I would like it!"

“You know, if you could stop yelling at me for a second, I would show you a much more fun and productive way to use that mouth of yours."

She had to swallow her anger at that sentence. And she also needed to gather her strength not to weaken her legs with the firmness and intensity with which he said those words. Hangman was looking at her the same way he had that day at the bar, fixed and intense. She could see that glow of tenderness dancing there in the green, moonlit orbs. Fuck! He was maddeningly sexy.

Hangman took a step forward, standing less than a foot away from her. There, so close and sober, she realized how big he was, massive and hard as a rock, as she felt when she bumped into him. He averted those damn eyes from her eyes to her mouth so many times, Phoenix was getting dizzy. It was too dark here, too close, too dangerous. She needed to get away. But why couldn't she? His eyes held her in place like an anchor.

He reached out a hand to touch her waist, but a shout woke her up:

"I am here! I arrived!" Storm approached them. "Where are the guys?"

Phoenix immediately remembered what he'd done and the comments that night and her expression changed. She was pure rage now.

“No, Bagman here has done us a favor by spoiling our cinema."

“If you weren't so proud, you could watch with us." he commented, returning to the Hangman state.

"And who said we would accept the invitation?"

“Like I said, proud."

Phoenix clenched her fists and counted to five not to play his game and attack him right there, tooth and nail and even boots. Then, she took Storm's hand and started to walk away from him without saying a word.

"What is that? Will you ignore me?" He insulted, but they didn't answer anything.

“Okay, you can try ignoring me. But you're going to miss me in five minutes!"

Phoenix once again offered him the middle finger. What was worse was that she was even more furious with herself for allowing him to destabilize her this way, both ways. But that wouldn't happen again, ever!

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troped-fanfic-challenge · 2 years

Text

TROPED Chapters: Round 2 — Fics + Voting Link!

And we’re back for Round Two of our Multi-Chapter TROPED Challenge! We got SEVEN (7!!!) incredible fics for the second round, and we are so excited to see how our Tropesters handled the curveball we threw at them (and what obstacles they picked out for themselves)!

Please try to read as many fics as you can! Take some notes, leave some kudos/comments for the authors, and help us vote on the winners!

Voting ends July 1st at 11:59pm EST! Winners announced on July 2nd!!

Dragons and Alicorns and Political Weddings - Chapter 2 (Rated T) [My Little Pony - Princess Ember/Twilight Sparkle]

In order to better relations with the Dragon Lands, Twilight has been arranged to marry the current dragon lord, Ember. With her friends by her side, she’s excited for the big day, even if she’s nervous at the prospect of not meeting her fiancee yet. When she finally does, things seem to go well, spurning on her excitement.

At least, going well for now.

Whatever Our Souls Are Made Of - An Unusual Courtship (Rated M) [The 100 - Raven/Roan]

A decade ago, Roan was exiled from the Kingdom of Azgeda when his brother, Rapier, ascended to the throne. Roan travelled to the other side of the ocean aboard his ship, the Exiled Prince, and took on a new life as the Captain of his own pirate vessel. For ten years, Roan was content.

However when his beloved brother is lost, Roan is faced with unexpected choices, the weight of obligations and the presence of the woman who broke his heart as he returns to Azgeda and reclaims the throne.

—

In which Roan endeavours to win over his future wife, Clarke.

Waiting On The Winds Of Change To Blow - ivory, carnelian, tiger's eye, gold (Rated T) [Emelan - Briar Moss & Sandrilene fa Toren]

Briar was taken in from the streets of Summersea by Duke Vedris and raised to hold a position in his household. He’s been given many honours and opportunities, and now his match to a wealthy merchant’s daughter will give him money and connections as well. He’s grateful, really he is. But sometimes he wonders if it’s really what he wants.

“Is something the matter, Briar?” Sandry asked.

Briar sighed. “No, it’s nothing, I just…” He trailed off, not sure how to explain it without sounding ungrateful.

Sandry studied him for a moment. “Are you nervous?” she asked. “I wouldn’t have expected it of you; you’re always so confident – but this is a significant moment for you.”

“I suppose I am,” Briar said slowly. Nervous wasn’t exactly how he’d describe it, but he could work with it. “I just… wasn’t expecting this. Marriage was never really something I considered for myself – given my upbringing, you know.”

—

Briar and Daja get to know each other a little better, at Sandry's urging. But although they get along quite well, there's still something keeping them at a distance.

The Wedding Planet - Chapter 2 (Rated T) [The 100 - Octavia/Clarke]

Bounty hunter Octavia Blake has chased her latest prey, Josephine Lightbourne, all the way to the second moon of Arkadia–the last place she’d expect Josie it be, and the last place Octavia wants to visit–ARK-1002014: The Wedding Planet. There, Clarke Griffin arranges beautiful destination weddings for people from all over the galaxy, every detail provided for, right down to the spouse. Her AI-driven system has turned the ancient art of matchmaking into a commercialized, mechanized, streamlined, and extremely successful, enterprise.

Octavia’s already found and lost the great love of her life. She’s not looking to love again. But an accident, a chance meeting, and a high-stakes bet change all of her plans. Now she’ll either find her match, or spend years of her life providing fairy tales for others, while she proves that chemistry, passion, and spark can never be forced into being by a machine.

—

Octavia meets her fiancee.

With Your Name In My Throat - Chapter 2 (Rated M) [The 100 - Lexa/Clarke]

Lexa is content in her life just the way it is, until a so called “perfect match” on her friend’s matchmaking service promises to help the people she cares most about in the world. The only catch is she has to marry a perfect stranger. But Lexa can do just about anything, if it helps her friends, and there’s no way she will fall in love. Right?

wishing on city lights - Chapter 2 (Not Rated) [Spider-Man - Michelle Jones/Peter Parker]

Peter loves the city lights. Loves his work at the law firm, loves his best friend Ned, loves dancing. And he might love that sullen girl with ink-stained fingertips and fire in her steps.

Michelle loves dancing too, although she would never tell. She loves rainy days in her small apartment and hearing secrets in the halls of Brant Enterprises. She most certainly doesn't love the young lawyer with eyes like copper and honey.

But when their two company-inheriting millionaire best friends are set up for an arranged marriage, someone has to guide them through slimy speakeasies and glitzering debutante balls.

Michelle doesn't think story-book love is real. But this boy dancing in a tiny jazz club with her?

He is.

come morning light - hold on to that lullaby (Rated M) [Chronicles of Narnia - Susan/Caspian]

Seven years ago, Susan and her siblings were sent away from a war to the safety of the country side only to be thrust into another war. As the years wear on, their soldiers return from battle fewer and fewer in number, and the graves multiply overnight.

Running out of options and manpower, their last chance is proposing an alliance with the King of Telmar, a kingdom seemly just barely allied with the Witch and itching to get out from under her power.

Susan walks into the meeting with the King with Edmund at her side and little hope left in her heart, and leaves with an alliance that could turn the tide of the war - and a husband.

#TROPED Chapters #troped: chapters #troped chapters: round 2 #round 2: chapters #troped: multifandom

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violetmuses · 2 years

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Black Rose || Chapter 9

Author’s Note: It's time! As a warning, this chapter includes dark content, strong language, angst and other possibly triggering themes. Please read at your own risk.

2013

Leo Hill

Even after “joining” our group back in the day, I’ve watched it all from the sidelines ever since Drew and Russ walked into the shop. I’d picked up that trade in an effort to make money and fall back on something just in case my dream didn’t work out.

“About time.” I was in the middle of drinking coffee in the kitchen on my day off when this long-awaited subject line pinged on one email:

Subject Line: Findings Updated.

For as long as I could remember, I’d always been fascinated by family history, whether it related to me or not. Not only had I made a point to help Cyrus find his biological brother, but we moved deeper, trying to figure out why he never favored his mother from a genetic standpoint.

Although recessive traits were known around families, something still didn’t add up. This case had bothered me ever since, even if Russ and Tobias didn’t make a bigger deal out of this scenario.

“Oh, shit.” I pulled back and covered my mouth, scaling over exactly what I’d read at this point. Hurrying to call Russ, I should’ve speed-dialed or something just to stop letting my own heart race.

"What’s up?” On the line hand during the phone call, Russ answered by that second ring and sounded exhausted for whatever despite this weekend’s usual happiness.

“Bro, I found more information. Remember how we couldn’t figure out why your family isn't really lining up?” I shouldered the phone, but kept glancing towards my laptop screen in one way or another.

“Recessive traits, L. Stop tripping.” Russ yawned on the other line and probably hadn’t reached for coffee yet. Relatable.

“Nah, it’s bigger than that. Someone in your family was placed in foster care about two years after you were born.” I squinted, scrolling down on my screen again to see more information.

“You found one of my cousins? That’s dope.” Cyrus aimed to guess and joy perked up in his voice by now.

“No, closer than that.” I lowered my voice, which sent him back into reality. Silence reached for the phone this time before he spoke up.

“What are you saying, L?” Speaking up on the other line, Russ handed over that extremely logical and fair question. Of course, I had no other choice but to answer him.

“Keep score. You’ve got another brother, man. Born in 1981.” It wasn’t long before I finally brought down the hammer. Enough was enough.

“Damn. So far, there’s three of us.” Russ whispered. “Tobias, me and this new cat.”

“Yep.” I affirmed.

“What’s his name?” Cyrus questioned.

“Let’s see. He was adopted by Italians who lived not far away from us. I’m about to check his name for good now because that could have been anybody, y’know?” I scoffed without explaining some kind of joke.

“Right, right.” Cyrus understood my point again. We had lived around people like that most of our lives anway and those particular surnames were common in New York to begin with.

“What the fuck?!” I nearly jumped out of this kitchen table’s chair and nearly dropped my cell phone.

“Yo, what happened?” Cyrus shouted on the other line. My heart dropped and raced all at the same time.

“Shit! No way. No way. That’s impossible.” I stammered over and over again, trying to blink away what I’d just read from the laptop screen.

“What happened, L? Whose name do you see?” Cy repeated himself before I could even pick up the phone and calm down.

“Bro, you gotta come back down here. I can't give out everything else over the phone.” I shook my head again and hung up our call, still surprised.

______

Days after we freaked out together during that phone call, Cyrus returned to my neck of the woods. He even brought Tobias and Drew along with him. I set out printed pages of the family tree like blueprint documents. Soon after, these two three men sat next to each other with baited breath, already searching for more of the truth.

“Where’s the jackpot?” Cyrus put both eyes downward and faced the printed pages as if staring down another enemy.

“Right here.” Instead of beeline straight towards his father’s lineage, I pointed near his mother’s end of these documents and slid my finger downward three times:

First Biological Child - Tobias

Second Biological Child - Cyrus

Third Biological Child - Eric.

“What the hell?” Cyrus’s voice bridged between bewilderment and anger, probably trying to figure out how to even feel right now. I couldn’t blame him at all.

“Same Mom. Different Dads.” I whispered through the silence.

“That explains so much.” Cyrus nearly fell back in the chair, but Tobias and Drew were there to keep upright.

“It explains everything. Think about it, fellas: How would any complete stranger know that much personal information about Dad to begin with?” Cyrus blinked tears away.

“In my opinion, something felt off when Eric would still visit the club despite so many warnings from us already. Now, it all makes sense.” Drew finally chimed in.

“What’s the move now, are you calling a truce?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“Not yet. I gotta figure out why he kept all these secrets from me.” Cyrus bolted after sitting down and we couldn’t help following behind him.

_________

“What is wrong with you?” Russ yelled straight at Eric the following night. No looking back this time around.

“What are you talking about?” Eric rasped his voice while standing in one VIP section of the club. On the other hand, Tobias kept his distance and returned home to avoid this kind of drama.

“You’re my brother?” Cyrus nearly shoved this man, but stopped himself. Too many witnesses.

“How do you know?” At that moment, Eric froze and turned to face all of us. Cyrus folded both arms, pissed.

“All documented.” I asserted. “Tell the truth. Did you know about your real family this entire time?”

“Yeah. Found out in 2002.” Eric deadpanned.

“And you never told Cyrus?” I pointed backward and Cyrus was on the brink of losing it. Whether anger or sadness would show up, I couldn’t tell yet.

“How was I supposed to say anything? Back then, Cyrus was out here taking people down everywhere. Do you really think I’d want to be in the crossfire?” Eric tried to defend himself, but we all called bullshit.

“Who’s your Dad?” Cyrus lowered his voice this time and we all listened.

“Your father killed him.” Eric shocked us with those words.

“Underwood was your Dad?” Cyrus bellowed out of the question and ended pacing.

“Yes.” Eric confirmed.

#family dynamics #tw angst #strong language #mafia tw #ben barnes #joel kinnaman #my ocs do not steal #black rose #chapter 9 #this changes everything #i've been waiting so long #team eric #team cyrus #tom hardy #plot twist #i've been waiting to write this one #tw: violence #dark themes

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looye29 · 1 year

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So, you know you are getting the right information and not some automatic pre-set reply. The Negative Side Following the program would mean a significant shift in your eating habits. You would need to forego your regular comfort food and go by Mike’s advice. Of course, it would definitely mean you would get a leaner, fitter and healthier body. Be prepared to change the way you look at food! The book can get a tad technical, i.e., many scientific explanations relating to the human body form part of the book. However, what you need to do is very easy to understand. Why you need to do it, may take some time to understand. Final Verdict The Fat Burning Kitchen is a revolutionary ebook offering superb insights into the whys and hows of weight loss. If you are struggling to lose weight despite working out and eating healthy, this is a great option. The diet transformation is sure to fire up the fat-burning hormone in your body. This product is effective and advocates a program that's sustainable in the long run. The pricing is extremely affordable, in fact, it is one of the lowest I've seen for such a great product. Coupled with excellent customer service and a 60-day money-back guarantee, you have absolutely nothing to lose (except all that weight of course!!).

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curatorofvibes · 2 years

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Sun in 8th House Overlay (Once Upon A Time)

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REPOST, PLEASE GIVE CREDIT.

Artwork by Aldous Massie.

Synastry. Don’t let astrology limit you, you can have the relationship you dream of!

Moonlight.

First, I would like to state that I am not an astrologer. I’m writing this description or whatever you’d like to call this because I created a playlist based on this synastry overlay. My process of creating playlists is like an author writing a book. For this reason I wanted to write this short story (or whatever you’d like to call this) to explain my song choices into my own words based off of the research I did on the Sun being in someone’s eighth house. If you have any experience with this overlay or if you are an astrologer, let me know your thoughts and experience because I genuinely am interested.

Deep transformations (8th House) of the ego (Sun).

There’s a mysterious physical connection between the Sun and the Eighth House person from the start. The Eighth House person is deeply physically attracted to the Sun person and physical intimacy can happen quickly with this synastry overlay. While this is the case, this connection is far from superficial. The eighth house represents the hidden, shared resources, transformations, etc. The Sun represents the ego, willpower, the conscious mind, etc. The Sun person is coming in and lighting up the things that the Eighth House person chooses to keep hidden. This can leave the Eighth House person feeling exposed and extremely vulnerable at the hands of the Sun person. On the other hand, the Eighth House person has a way of sort of making the Sun person feel trapped in their world of eighth house things. This can scare the Sun person because they’re being faced with the awakening of their hidden things in the light and that can lead to a deep transformation occurring in their life. While this synastry overlay can be challenging, it has the potential to create a binding and deep connection if both parties are open to being vulnerable and understanding with each other. I see it as a synastry overlay that kind of turns you inside out, but for the better. It teaches you how to love who you really are and not just the you that you choose to show to the world.

Okay, now to get into the playlist I created and the story it tells based off of this synastry overlay. The playlist (can be found by pressing the link at the bottom of this post) contains 5 songs put all together to create an 18 minute long vibe with the subtitle “Moonlight.”

To start this playlist, I used the song Hurting by SG Lewis and AlunaGeorge. To me this song can be used to represent the Sun person and all the thoughts going through their mind about the Eighth House person, as well as the transformations and healing that they go through as an individual. From the first line of this song we can see the Sun person coming to the realization that it’s really up to them as an individual learning to transform the ego, “I'm in trouble now, 'Cause it's down to me to heal.” Verse 2 may be short, but I truly feel like it represents how anybody would feel if someone were to come into your life and basically bring out all of the things that you keep in the dark and hide behind barriers that you only breakdown when you’re alone, “I wanna blame you now, but I know what tortures me. Those lies that I tell to myself disguised and sending me to hell.” The Sun person essentially feels psychologically troubled and wants to put the blame on the Eighth House person for these feelings. As a cover-up for how uncomfortable they feel, they put on a facade to hide their own personal eighth house feelings, and living a lie can make them feel like they’re living in hell. Despite feeling like they’re living in hell, they’re still really scared to put their trust in the Eighth House person (rightfully so), that they’d much rather just put all the blame for how they’re feeling on them. Even though the Sun person wants to run, they still feel these intense feelings and pull towards the Eighth House person. “Hurting for your body and your soul. But I know you had me begging for the power that you stole.” As a result of the feelings that the Eighth House person uncovers, it can leave the Sun person feeling powerless at the hands of the Eighth House person, but still no matter how far they want to run they’re bewitched by the Eighth House person and want their body and soul. Then, the outro of this song leaves a bit of longing and optimism that this connection can work, “And I can't wait till I look at you and all I see is love. 'Cause I'm tired of trying to hate you.” …

The second song of this playlist as well as the namesake of the subtitle of this playlist is Moonlight by Ali Gatie. I used the subtitle “Moonlight.” because in the darkest of nights — through the darkness of the eighth house — the Sun person becomes the moon. The Eighth House person is the darkness, but the Sun person is their light. The Sun person is shining light onto the insecurities of the Eighth House person. Although the Sun person is being transformed through this connection, they’re also helping the Eighth House person to find and love their most authentic self. It’s an equally transformative connection, which can somehow explain why both partners are shaken, yet spellbound by the other. From Verse 1, the lines, “I bought you things that I didn't even have the money for. If I could make you feel so rich, I don't mind feelin' poor.” We see another eighth house theme which is other peoples money/shared resources. Ali Gatie mentioned using this line as a metaphor for loving someone so much that what you buy them can feel as if it’s yours too, like their happiness makes you happy. For me, and in connection to this playlist, it represents the lengths that you would go through to make the other feel happy and satisfied, despite the damages that it can bring into your life. I wanted to use this song as a representation of the Eighth House person in this playlist so this next line is their feelings towards the Sun person. “There's something 'bout you so addictive, had me needing more.” In my research it was mentioned that the Eighth House person feels an intense, uncontrollable connection to the Sun person and deeply wants them, all of them. After encountering the Sun person, these list of lines from this song can represent the profound feelings and thoughts that the Eighth House person has about the Sun person:

“Ain't nobody gon' love you like I love you.”

“Ain't nobody gon' want you like I want you.”

“Ain't nobody gon' trust you like I trust you.”

“The thought of losing you just makes no sense inside my head.”

“I can't love nobody anymore, you're the only one that I ever want.”

“Nobody love me like you, and I can't love nobody back.”

“What am I supposed to do? If I'm so in love with you.”

From verse 2, “I cannot get over you, doesn’t matter what I do”. The Eighth House person feels as if the Sun person has a pull over them, no matter how much they try to get rid of the feelings and the thoughts running circles around their head. “Everyone just looks like you. Girl, I smell you everywhere. Smell your perfume and your hair.” It can feel as if the Sun person is haunting them in a way because no matter what the Eighth House person tries, the Sun person follows them without even physically being present. It makes sense that with this synastry overlay, both parties can feel a deeply intense connection and can try to ignore it by keeping their distance from the other, which can make them question the feelings and the connection felt, “You’re the reason I believe that love is real (love is real). Ain’t nobody make me feel the way you make me feel. Darling, tell me, is it real? Or was I lying to myself just to make it feel so real?” …

The third song of this playlist is Pressure by Tone Stith and this song I feel can represent the questioning of the connection that both parties can have, but also them trying to overcome the fear that this connection blooms between them by weeding it out and making a place for the beneficial and positive aspect of this synastry overlay to get some sunshine and be watered and nurtured. They ask themselves questions along the lines of the end of the last paragraph, “Was I lying to myself just to make it feel so real?” and also, the questions asked throughout this song:

“Do you love me, or the thought of me?”

“Do you love me, every part of me?”

“Do you know that love comes and go?”

“How you know, how you know, how you know?”

“How you know this is what/where we 'posed to be?”

“How you know you ain't trippin'?”

“How you know that you're ready?”

“I could be out here wildin', how you know that you trust me?”

“Everybody wanna say somethin', but are you gon' believe me?”

This next line I feel can represent the Sun person trying to get the Eighth House person to see the beauty in their individuality, the beauty in being their most authentic self, “I be tryna show you that you valuable. Yeah, I know you got a lot goin' on, and you keep a lot inside, holdin' on.” Again, it’s a trust thing. The Sun person can only try to get you to see the beauty in yourself, but do you trust them enough to open your eyes and your heart to see for yourself? To love yourself deeper than the surface? But I do personally think that it is important to — like this song mentions — take things nice and slow and don’t pressure each other to open up, just let it happen naturally. This next line is from the pre-chorus, “You told me anything that you want.” Based on my research it was mentioned that both parties will share secrets with each other and have open discussions about taboo subjects and topics that most people try to avoid. Once the Sun person and the Eighth House person start getting comfortable with each other, then yeah, you’ll be more open with each other and tell each other things that you would otherwise be uncomfortable sharing with people outside of this profound connection. Start sharing things that you’ve probably always thought you’d take to the grave. And that starts happening because, “We’ve been getting comfortable.” …

I guess it wouldn’t be a description of an eighth house synastry overlay if the topic of sex wasn’t brought up at least a hundred times? Lol. To represent the sexual aspect of this overlay, I used the song Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye. Honestly, I feel like this song speaks for itself from the title to the actual song, so I’m not going to spend too much time trying to break down my interpretation of the lyrics. I truly feel that if you close your eyes and listen or make love to this song with your partner then you’ll catch a vibe lol. This line is from Verse 2, “We’re all sensitive people with so much to give.” This I feel is a representation of the Sun person and the Eighth House person’s vulnerability in this synastry overlay. This overlay brings their vulnerabilities to the forefront, yet at the same time, they actually do have so much to give each other. I mean that in a body, mind, and soul way. From the transformations that they go through mentally, to the connection that they feel for each other on a soul level, and the loving of their bodies from the other to themselves. Oh my gosssshhhh this next line is actually so beautiful, it’s “Since we got to be, let’s live, I love you.” But what just made me love it even more is the annotation written about it on Genius which is:

“Gaye knew all too well that merely existing is not the same as living life to the fullest. To deny ourselves the opportunity to express our feelings and connect with each other because of repressive taboos, he implores, would be a tragic denial of our own life’s potential.”

Like oh my gosh, that is just so freaking beautiful, can I just end this paragraph here? Lol. I feel like their annotation kind of just put into words the fighting the feelings that the Sun and the Eighth House person can do in this connection, but then making the conscious decision to stop denying yourself of the opportunity of experiencing a love and a connection so profound because of fear, the eighth house is often referred to as the house of taboos so just like they said, “because of repressive taboos.” And ignoring it would be a tragic denial of our own potential because in my opinion (please use discernment based off of your situation) this type of connection can be a painful transformation DURING the process, but in the end I feel you’re coming out of it a better person as an individual. I actually did want to end this song description here, but there’s more lyrics I wanted to get into such as, “giving yourself to me can never be wrong if the love is true.” This to me represents the answer to the questioning of whether or not you can trust each other. If the love is true then this next line from verse 3 will do the talking, “let your love come out. If you believe in love.” This next line is from the bridge of this song and to me it’s the Eighth House person talking, “I know you know what I been dreamin' of, don't you, baby? My whole body makes that feelin' of love, I'm happy.” From the research I’ve done, this kind of connection has a sexual theme from the start so the Eighth House person is letting the Sun person know that they’ve been wanting this sexual experience with them from the first moment they met and have even fantasized and dreamed about it and now that they’re here, feeling you, connecting with you on a whole new level, their entire body is lost in it, they’re letting their feelings unfold and take over during this experience instead of repressing them. These next few lines are all from the refrain of this song, “If the spirit moves you, let me groove you good. Let your love come down.” Now to me, this is the Eighth House person talking to the Sun person and telling them to let go, in more ways that one of course. “I've been sanctified, hey, hey. Girl, you give me good feeling. So good, somethin' like sanctified.” Oooweeeeeee this line right here is spiccccyyyy lol. Mmmhhh let’s see, though having sex can be considered sinful to some, is it okay to say that every release from this sexual experience can feel as if they’ve just confessed all their sins and are now free from it? “Nothing wrong with love. If you want to love me, just let yourself go. Oh baby, let's get it on” …

The final song of this playlist is Steam by Shagabond and goodboy noah. This line is from the first verse, “I ain't got no words to describe you.” This line represents how bewitched both the Sun and the Eighth House person feel about one another. This next line is from the pre-chorus and I feel like it connects to the ‘Let’s Get It On’ theme of the last song, “All I really want, is loving on the table. I don't wanna hold it back no more.” The next line is from Verse 2, “Don't know what time it is, 'Cause that don't mean a thing.” Like, what is time when you’re lost inside the pleasure of it all? When you’re experiencing a rebirth of all that you’ve ever known? “Wake up from my dream and I see better things.” To me, “the dream” is the world that you’re living in filled with all of the things that you repress, surrounded with barriers “protecting” the things that you want to hide which can prevent you from letting go and actually living because you’re scared to live fully. When you wake up from all of that and let the barriers drop, you see how much better life can be. This is from the Break-Down of this song, “Wanna ride you, and inside you. Speaking my language, look into your eyes, and I've gotta insist, this is all the love that I'm ever gonna need.” Now after all the Sun and the Eighth House person has gone through, there is clarity in this connection. They’re finalllyyyy speaking the same language. They don’t even see other people anymore, this is all they need. Which is where this might get a little obsessive and possessive, so watch out for that. This line is from the chorus, “I love you more than life itself.” Ooooooo lol, I think it speaks for itself. I’m gonna end this final song breakdown with the first few lines of the pre-chorus, “'Cause all I really want, is us inside the pages. Look at what we wrote, a story for the ages.” …

Through the darkness of the eighth house, the Sun brought light and became the “Moonlight” that shone on their Happily Ever After…

Added March 1, 2023: So I’m sitting here bumping Bryson Tiller and Just Another Interlude comes on and I immediately connect it to this synastry overlay. I want to add it to the playlist because I feel like it combines all of the songs mentioned in this post. The link to the playlist can be found by pressing the link after the added song.

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