#jang joon
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⏳ what eludes you now ⏳
by airauralintensity (aka me, jasonbehrs!)
“You could have asked for one hour.” Insights into Johnwan’s love story measured in one hour increments.
fandom: love is for suckers / love that will freeze to death
characters: park jiwan, john jang | jang joon, yeoreum and jaehoon mentioned
ship: johnwan
genre: romance, humour
themes: fluff, angst and its resolution, 6+1, fatphobia mention, sexual assault mention
word count: 11.8k+
rating: T+
read it on ffnet, aff, wattpad, ao3, or below!
~~~
A/N (2.23.2023): Title from Eat Your Heart Out by Walk the Moon. This fic is dedicated to Dez, who bears my Johnwan brainrot with enjoyment and responds in kind.
WARNING for #3. I describe fatphobia and its effects on Jiwan briefly. I also discuss Jiwan’s history of sexual assault in non-grievous terms. Between the way she talked about it on the show and the fact that Johnwan get canonically married, I am taking the liberty of presuming that Jiwan’s healing leads to empowerment with regards to her sexuality and needs. Of course, recovering from trauma looks different for everyone and may not include that path. That all being said: if you wanted a hurt/comfort, first-time-esque kind of description to Johnwan’s sex life, you will not be finding that here.
~~~
1. substitution
John can't believe his luck. Not only did his manager get the time for his Kingdom of Love 2 interview wrong, but the old hag told him it's not worth it to go somewhere else in the meantime when all he has to do is wait for an hour. Hello, it's an hour. He could be working on his deltoids or enjoying a glass of Chambertin Grand Cru with all those minutes!
Instead, he's waiting in the hallway outside of DNA TV's conference room for an interview which should really have been waived for him considering a) he's already done business with the station before and b) said business was only successful thanks to his face and personality anyway.
Yeoreum said they'd interview him early if the 11:30 doesn't show up for her timeslot, but that still means he has to occupy himself for thirty whole minutes in the best case scenario. He tsks. So annoying.
He grumpily settles onto a bench and elects to hate-watch Paik Jongwon's latest youtube video with one airpod in to help pass the time. Not long later, someone takes a seat a few places down from him. He doesn't bother looking up to acknowledge that the person exists, which is more than can be said for the other's behaviour.
"Excuse me. By chance, are you Chef John-nim?"
He straightens out of his slouch in offense at the soft, hesitant voice that dared call his attention. The owner looks like an anthropomorphised garbage bag mated with a Cabbage Patch Kid, and he is less than impressed.
"Yeah, that's me."
She titters a bit in excitement, but she actively reigns it in. He might have appreciated it if only he didn't subsist on attention. "I'm a big fan of Ramen Chef! I watched it every week."
John scoffs. She'd be the only one, and the reminder of that utter failure he had participated in only worsens his mood.
Misunderstanding his scoff as one of disbelief, the woman continues, "It's true! After the final episode aired, I was so sad about it that I rewatched it and followed along as you cooked. It ended up that I didn't have most of the ingredients you used, but that didn't stop me! I just replaced things with what I had, like mung bean paste with doenjang and enoki mushrooms with beansprouts because at least they look the same—and daebak. It didn't taste like any ramen I had before!"
There are noticeable stars in her eyes as she recounts the anecdote, but he stares at her aghast. "Well, of course it didn't. You replaced two of the most crucial ingredients! It probably tasted terrible!"
The bubbles of the woman's effervescence are popped, and she blinks rapidly as she comes back to herself. "Ah. I did, didn't I?" she says with a sheepish shrug. "Those aren't even the only parts I replaced... Well, I still liked it. To be honest with you, I'm not much of a chef," she admits as if he couldn't tell by the everything about her. "That's why my mom owns the restaurant and I—"
"Park Jiwan-ssi?"
Yeoreum waits at the open doorway to the conference room where the new phase of John's life will begin, and the woman stands up to answer her. "Yes, that's me!"
The two women enter the room together, and the door closes on John's flabbergasted face. Not only is Garbage Patch Woman apparently auditioning for Kingdom of Love 2, but she showed up for her interview on time, which means he still has thirty more minutes to kill!
To make matters worse: dissatisfied with ruining his life, she had to go and ruin his recipe, too. He worked hard on those! He made up a brand new one for every episode of that godforsaken show. She had the gall to edit it according to her limitations and claim she loved his cooking? 'At least they look the same,' he mocks in his mind.
He refuses to stand for this, so he gets out of his seat. He spent enough time at the DNA TV headquarters to know where Yeoreum's workstation is, so he goes over and filches a memo pad and a pen. Thirty minutes is more than enough time.
He is still reviewing the paper before him with a critical eye when the conference room door opens again. He looks up with wild eyes, and Yeoreum mistakes his eagerness.
"Yes, yes. It's finally your turn." She gestures into the room with a sarcastic wave of her arm, but John ignores her in favour of stopping the woman, whose name he has already forgotten, from leaving.
"Listen, I get it if you can't afford Hokkaido-farmed enoki on the salary you earn from cashing in the plastic bottles collected off the side of the road, but that's no excuse for leaving your fridge and pantry bare of the necessities. Here." He hands her the paper he had written on while waiting. "This is a list of value brand ingredients that wouldn't offend me if you used them in my recipes. Do yourself a favour and go shopping after this, will you?"
Garbage Patch Woman accepts the list with both hands. "Oh my god. Thank you, Chef John-nim. I will!" She bows gratefully, and she doesn't stop until Yeoreum intervenes, saying it's John's turn to be interviewed.
Yeoreum waits until the other woman is far enough away before chiding, "Yah. You didn't have to talk to her like that." She enters the room without hearing his response.
John shrugs her off then takes a moment to himself before following after her. He needs to be at his most charming for the next 30 minutes, and someone ruined his mood.
God, it's been a while since someone got under his skin like this.
~~~
2. crosshatch
It's no secret that John fell for her words first.
Jiwan is as genuine as he is fake. She cannot help but say what she thinks and feels, a trait that would be dangerous if not tempered by her decorum and natural propensity for kindness. There are no ulterior motives or hidden meanings to her words. For a man who continually forges himself from the fires of insecurity and greed, Jiwan's authenticity in the way she speaks makes him feel more like glass than steel.
Transparent and fragile are not the attitudes you're supposed to have when your girlfriend asks you such an innocuous question.
"Come again?"
"Would you let me draw you?"
He senses that there is a right answer by the way she does not equivocate in the face of his silence, which has gone on a tad too long at this point. He ultimately decides to ignore his silly trepidation, and Jiwan squeaks in excitement when he nods. "Be right back!"
She returns with an A3 sketch pad and a few pencils then resituates herself in the love seat she was previously occupying. "Okay! Please continue what you were doing before. Don't pay me any mind." She sends him a toothy smile then focuses on the open book in front of her.
John gamefully settles back onto the couch, but he can no longer relax as he did before.
As charmed as he was by her way with words, he can't truthfully say he's ever given much thought to her visual art skills (though he proudly announces he's dating the web cartoonist Park Jiwan whenever he catches up with friends and colleagues). The shameful realisation that he has been utterly disregarding half of his girlfriend's livelihood is certainly part of why he was so uncomfortable with her request.
The other part is that he doesn't get it.
It's a lazy morning on a day with no schedules. Before she turned his world upside down—as she seems to have a knack for doing—he was simply hate-reading articles of Paik Jongwon's latest variety appearances on his tablet while drinking a mug of Moroccan coffee. He doesn't have his contacts in, he doesn't have BB cream on, he doesn't remember the last time he washed the sweatshirt he's wearing… yet this is the version of him Jiwan wants to memorialise in graphite?
He has modeled before. He has plenty of experience in sitting still and looking pretty, but the pretty part is controlled. Intentional. He isn't like Jiwan, who only needs a smile to tie her whole outfit together. If there is a subject worth capturing in this room, it's her.
Like the days of Kingdom, John sneaks glances at her to pass the time. Stretched out on the couch as the sun shines into her living room and watching his love do what she loves, John can finally relax again.
"Okay, thank you!" Jiwan chirps.
He lurches out of his slouched position. "That's it? You're done?" He looks at the time on his tablet, surprised to see that almost a full hour has passed since she asked.
His girlfriend nods with a sweet smile. "I appreciate your patience." She gets up to put her sketchbook away, but he stops her with a shout. When she turns to look at him expectantly, he flounders a bit. He hadn't gotten that far in his head. "Well… Can I see it?"
She is clearly thrilled that John asked. Before the shame can fully take root, she tugs him down to squeeze them both into the loveseat, and a rush of affection surges through him instead. She used to be so afraid of taking up space when he was around. She still is, sometimes, but not right now.
Jiwan eagerly offers the whole book to him with both hands, just like she did her love. He accepts it with the same propriety, then his eyes rove over the paper.
The sketches littering the open page depict his full body in the various poses he apparently held himself in while daydreaming on the couch. Though rough in quality, as a set they evoke contentment and domesticity. That is him in these sketches, and yet he is still jealous of the subject for looking so at home.
"This is very impressive," John breathes out.
Jiwan cheers a bit at his earnest praise. "There's more!" She flips to the next page, which contains far fewer sketches. In one corner, it is the grip of his hand on the tablet. In another, the press of his lips against the rim of his mug. The center displays the bangs which he usually keeps out of the way hanging messily over his forehead, right above the rim of his glasses. A stark contrast from the figures on the previous page, everything is so hyper-realistic that he itches to open his selfie camera and compare what he sees to what she drew.
Like never before, he understands now what Jiwan means when she says she can feel his emotions through his food. He is made to remember such innocuous moments—the nights when she sits in the kitchen just to watch him nimbly chop ingredients, the blush on her face when he smiles at her, all the times she tells him he doesn't need to wear gel at home—just by looking at the page.
"Is this what I look like to you?"
Jiwan tips her head curiously. "Hm? What do you mean? You don't think they look like you?" She frowns as she inspects her sketches with a discerning eye, trying to identify improvements to help the subject recognise himself better, which is just so Jiwan.
John chuckles freely as he cups her cheeks to bring her in for a kiss in lieu of a proper response, unheeding of her concern and subsequent surprise. It takes only a moment for Jiwan to let go and enjoy the affection, and the sketchbook eventually falls off his lap in their ardour.
The sound surprises her enough to pull away, and John blinks into awareness to find an embarrassed Jiwan averting her eyes.
"Um. Thanks for letting me draw you."
He loves his girlfriend when she is confident and persistent, but this Jiwan is too cute. He brings her drawing hand to his lips to leave a kiss on her knuckles. "It was my pleasure," he says in English, knowing full well the effect it has on her.
John reaches down to hand the sketch pad back to her, but his attention is drawn to the page it fell open to.
"What's this?"
'This' refers to a four-panel comic in Jiwan's classic manwha style, and the characters portrayed are unmistakably the two of them.
Jiwan blushes as she snatches the book out of his hands. "Stop looking at me like that!"
He doesn't know what he looks like, but he feels delighted and deeply surprised. "Is this the new trend for the web cartoonist Park Jiwan-ssi? Raunchy, suggestive humour? I have to get WEBTOON on the phone; I bet they'd love to know," he teases as he tries to get the book back. He needs to get a picture of that.
"John Jang! Don't you dare!" she squeals as she escapes his determined hands. He playfully pursues her through the house, taking note of the joy lining her eyes and her peals of laughter despite her admonishments.
For a woman who always means what she says, Jiwan doesn't always say what she means. He may have fallen for her words first, but falling in love with her means learning the difference; and that attention to detail proves there is strength in clarity.
~~~
3. chemistry
It's a little embarrassing, but Jiwan understands. To an extent, she's even grateful for it. Her relationship with her body was complicated enough thanks to the fatphobic rhetoric she's heard her entire life. Add in the ways she was abused in middle school, and it's no understatement to say she spent more time ignoring her body and pretending it isn't there than treating it like an actual part of her.
With age and therapy, though, things are different. She loves herself the way she is, and she wants to be loved for it, too.
John, however, refuses to get the memo.
They haven't gone any farther than touching over the shirt, no matter how she tries to convey that she is more than okay with going further. What is the point in dating the Fourth Most Eligible Bachelor in Seoul if fans can see more of her boyfriend's body in magazines than she can in real life?!
Once, John called her cute 'like a Cabbage Patch Kid', and she thought nothing of the sheepishness and odd note of contrition in his voice at the time. Looking back, she's now entertaining worries that he considers her childish, that he doesn't see her as a woman. She resolved to do whatever it takes to change his perception of her tonight.
Luckily, two of Jiwan's best friends happen to embody every conceivable tenet of Korean femininity, and they were more than happy to help.
Under her coat, she's wearing the sheer and lacy babydoll set Jiyeon assured her was becoming and beguiling. The bluetooth speaker is playing a mixtape Yeoreum made of mood-setting, sensual tunes. The perfume she knows John likes is applied to both typical and strategic locations. If the two of them don't see any progress tonight, they never will.
When she finally hears the front door unlock, she allows herself a self-satisfied glance at the clock in the entryway. She timed her preparations well: it's only been a little less than an hour since she herself got home. She positions herself at the top of the stairs, visible from the front door.
"Jiwan-ah!" John calls distractedly as he shucks off his coat and shoes. "I'm back from Cheondam Jjang!"
She steels her resolve, recalls the twin wishes of Fighting! from her friends, and walks down the stairs to meet him. "John. I've been waiting for you," she says in what she hopes is a seductive voice.
He regards her long coat with panic. "Did we have something planned tonight that I forgot about?! How long was I making you wait? Are we late? Give me, like, 5 minutes, and I'll be ready to go!"
Jiwan hurries to bodily get between her frenzied boyfriend and the door. Perhaps 'I've been waiting for you' was not the best opening line, and perhaps her low tone sounded less like seduction and more like a reproach. "Wait! We're not going anywhere; we're not late to anything!"
His relief is quickly replaced by confusion. "Then what's with the coat?" His head tilts as he realises something. "And the music?"
She kind of wants to hide in her room and cry frustrated tears at how inauspicious the start to their evening is, but she is determined. She takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders, meeting John's eyes with intention. Instead of a verbal reply, she slowly unbuttons her coat and shrugs it off her shoulders in one fluid motion.
The way his eyes draw immediately and automatically to her chest is a good sign.
She takes advantage of his arrested state to stalk toward him, one high-heeled foot in front of the other. She relishes in the way his eyes clearly don't know which part of her to look at even as he stumbles backwards in an attempt to keep some distance between them.
He eventually collides with the newel of the stairs, and Jiwan firmly presses up against him. "You can do more than look, you know." She reaches for his hands, held up by his head like he was caught red-handed, and guides them down to her sides, high enough above her waist to almost reach her chest.
The thin fabric of the lingerie is no barrier for the heat of his palms. His fingers flex once then hold her; and for a split second, all she can think is yes.
Then he pushes her away. "Jiwan, what's happening right now? Are you pranking me? Which network thought this would be funny? I just want to talk."
The night is quickly spiraling out of control, but she tries a last-ditch effort to save it. "This isn't a prank," she explains firmly as she steps back into his space, twining her arms around his neck. "I am trying to seduce you."
Both of his eyebrows raise. "Like this?"
"Yes, 'like this'!" she finally erupts. She stomps back to the entryway to collect her crumpled coat from the floor, and she hastily buttons it up around her as she brushes past her boyfriend. "When I'm not 'like this', you ignored all my other attempts to have sex with you, so what else was I supposed to do?"
"Jiwan, I wasn't ignoring you. I was trying to take things slow; I was trying to respect you!" he justifies as he chases his irate girlfriend up the stairs. He grabs hold of her arm; and when he cannot encourage her to turn around, he jumps up the steps to face her.
His chivalry is neither appreciated nor warranted. "I'd feel a lot more respected if you listened to me all the times I was trying to tell you I was ready," she retorts with crossed arms and without meeting his gaze. "Middle school was ages ago, and I trust you."
John tentatively reaches out for her; and after a huff, she lets him. He rubs comforting circles across her shoulders and down her arms. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry. Can you blame me, though? I'm your first boyfriend, and you're the first person I've dated seriously since I became a celebrity. I think I was going slow for me, too."
Her embarrassment and annoyance ebb away with every turn of his palms and every word he says. Forgiveness is easy after that. "Now that we understand each other, can we stop going slow?" she pouts.
He leans down to kiss her forehead in response, but she deserves a little more than that after what he put her through. She tilts her chin up for a proper kiss, and the simple affection deepens into something heady and encompassing without either of them meaning to.
"You look great in this, by the way," John gasps out between kisses. His hands slip through her suddenly open coat and wrap around her waist, fingering the lace patterns against her back. "Like, really great."
"Oh, Joon," she exhales when his lips descend to her neck.
(She says his name three more times that night.)
~~~
4. foot-in-mouth
As the owner-operator of several successful restaurants, John knows how important it is to honour a time commitment. This is why he is currently freaking out.
"Can you stop freaking out? I called ahead of time; they know we're running late."
"Jiwan-ssi," he says with all the patience he bought second-hand at the store once he realised Jiwan deserved better than his hotheadedness and gut reactions. "We aren't running late to just any restaurant reservation. This is the reservation to end all reservations!"
She laughs at him outright. "Why are you acting like we're eating at Paik Jongwon's restaurant? It's just lunch at my mom's pork feet place."
John presses harder on the gas.
Ten minutes into their reservation, they finally arrive at Devil's Jokbal. Instead of a minimum wage teenager at the front counter who politely explains to them that their table has been given up to people who showed up on time, there is a middle-aged couple on the older side who greets them with unrestrained exuberance.
Well, they greet Jiwan. John is just there.
"Omo, omo, omo. Is that my Park Jiwan-ssi finally making time to visit her poor old mother?"
"You're more lovely in person! That damn show. All those cameras, and they couldn't capture any of your beauty? Whatever they paid you, it wasn't enough."
"Mom! Dad!" Jiwan cheers as they wrap each other up in a big hug. The sight is so heartwarming, it makes John want to call his mother and tell her he loves her.
Jiwan breaks away and pulls John closer. "This is John, my boyfriend," she introduces with a wide smile, and it's showtime.
"John Jang is my name." He bows deeply and articulates clearly, pausing between the two names. He learned to do that because people kept thinking John was his family name. He rises and passes along the flowers he brought. "These are for you, eomeonim. It's nice to meet you both."
"Omo, such nice manners. I'm Yom Syejin, but eomeonim is definitely fine with me!" Her mom bows cutely.
"You can call me 'sir'." Her dad reaches out for a handshake, and he doesn't let go after a polite amount of shakes. "'John', huh? That's not Korean, is it?"
"No, sir. My Korean name is Jang Joon." Her dad finally lets go of the handshake, and John steps back and hastily gives a shallow bow just for lack of something better to do.
"Why 'John'?" Syejin asks politely, and John freezes. If he tells them the truth, they'll (correctly) think he's greedy. Worse, they might think he's unpatriotic. He's served his mandatory conscription already; he can prove it!
Jiwan, as always, comes to his rescue. "He's a celebrity, Mom. You know they always need to change their names to get more popular. It's good for brand recognition."
"I'm gonna call you 'Joon'," her father states with a smile that doesn't seem to reach his eyes.
John tries very hard not to think about the fact that the last person who called him 'Joon' was Jiwan, and he tries extra hard not to think about the circumstances in which she was calling him 'Joon'.
"Yes, sir." He doesn't salute, but it's a near thing.
The four of them—polite, appraising, hopeful, and panicked—stare at each other in the waiting area of the restaurant for a few seconds before Jiwan's mother claps her hand with intention. "Why don't I show us to our table?"
As he and Jiwan trail after her parents, he can't help but feel like he's walking to the gallows.
As soon as they sit down at the booth, the minimum wage teenager he expected appears to take their drink orders. A glass of beer would really take the edge off right now, but he doesn't need to look sloppy in front of Jiwan's parents. "Water is fine."
"Not a beer man, huh, Joon?"
He chokes on his own spit.
Jiwan fusses over his face with a napkin and defends, "He's driving us, Dad."
"Oh, he drives! Our Jiwan never learned. She was so busy with her sketchbooks and expensive markers," her mom teases, and Jiwan picks up the banter easily.
John is ready to cut in with praise for how far Jiwan's talents have gotten her, ready to start making a good impression, when her dad speaks up again. "What kinda car you drive, Joon?"
He straightens in his seat proudly. He loves his car. "A Genesis G70, sir. Latest model."
"Hyundai, huh? What's wrong with Kia cars?"
At his side, Jiwan meeps. "Dad works at the Kia factory in Gwangmyeong."
"Kias are great cars!" John interjects hurriedly. "I was looking at the Stinger, actually!"
Her dad hums noncommittally then turns to Jiwan with a friendly smile. "You're so down to earth, Jiwan-ah. Where did you find this flashy pretty boy?"
"Yes!" her mom pipes up, eager to talk about things she cares about again. "Tell us how you started dating! What happened to Kim Joonho-ssi?"
Jiwan's face perfectly shows the displeasure that John feels at the name. "We agreed to give it a try for a month, but it was clear from the beginning that it wasn't going to work out." The harsh tone of her voice softens. "John confessed to me before I could get too lonely, and we've been dating ever since."
John doesn't know what Jiwan's parents' stance is on PDA, so he doesn't do anything more obvious than squeeze her knee under the table. At the sweet smile Jiwan sends him, he's sure she understands what it means.
"You make a habit of going after taken women, Joon?"
Simultaneous shouts of "Dad!" and "Park Youngwon-ssi!" are not enough to drown out the bang of John's knees hitting the underside of the table. He hisses in pain; and after he waves off Jiwan's concerns, she turns on her father. "Dad, that was uncalled for."
"I'm just tryna to get to know the guy!"
"Sure, but you're supposed to ask things like 'What are your hobbies?', not 'Tell me all of your past misdeeds'."
"I've gotten really into golf, lately," John pipes up, desperate to find something they can talk about.
"Celebrities and their golf," her dad mutters.
"Okay, I have two waters, a beer, and a Coca-Cola," the minimum wage teenager recites as they set down each order, effectively cutting through the tension that built up between the four of them. "Are we ready to order?"
John hadn't even had a chance to look at the menu yet. "We'll have pork feet, of course. Family style and diablo level," Youngwon says.
If there's one thing John can appreciate, it's a restaurant's shtick: Devil's Jokbal named their spice levels after international words for 'devil', and diablo is their spiciest level. Separate from his anxieties about today's meeting, he was really excited to try the food.
"You can handle spice, can't you, Joon?"
John puffs out his chest. "Of course. I'm Korean, after all," he adds in, still worried about the patriotism thing.
"Actually, I'd like to ask John something," Syejin speaks up before her husband can corner him into another battle of wits, and for that she has John's eternal thanks. "We watched Kingdom of Love, of course. There probably isn't a single person in Seoul who didn't," she jokes off-handedly, "and I couldn't help but notice that you were very interested in the weatherperson. What's her name again? T-T-Tae…?"
John nods. "Jang Taemi-ssi." While a little bit uncomfortable, this is at least a line of questioning John expected and is confident to answer. "My story is very similar to Jiwan-ssi's. Taemi-ssi and I tried dating for a little while, but it was clear to me from the beginning that she wasn't right for me." He looks over at Jiwan and says earnestly, "If I could live my life a second time but only change one thing, I would have appealed to Jiwan's heart as soon as I met her."
Simultaneous "awww"'s are cut off by Youngwon's gruff interruption. "So you wouldn't have pushed my precious daughter off of another contestant after a harmless game of chicken fight?"
To be completely honest, John kind of forgot he did that. Based on the look on Jiwan's face, she did too. They were strangers to each other back then, barely blips on each other's radars and far more preoccupied with people they thought would be better fits for them.
In the same instant that he feels guilty, he can also feel Jiwan's forgiveness, and that's what matters.
It bolsters him to respond the way he does. "Sir. Eomeonim. I understand that you may have preconceived notions about the person I am based on what you saw of me on the show, and as a result you may not approve of my dating your daughter. I will not lie to you and say I'm different now. I remain a prideful man with singular focus, and it manifests in high standards that burn more bridges than they mend.
"I wholeheartedly apologise for every offense I've caused you or your daughter, but I cannot apologise for who I am, not when it has allowed me to achieve my childhood dreams twice over despite my relative youth. Eomeonim, when you look around this restaurant, don't you feel good? Like all the sacrifices you made were worth it because it led to such a great establishment?"
Tears delicately well up in Syejin's eyes without spilling over, and John smiles. He sees where Jiwan got the habit.
A glance reveals Youngwon's rather impassive face, but John isn't deterred. He isn't done yet. "I am not very different now, but I have changed, and that is all thanks to the amazing woman Park Jiwan-ssi is. She reminds me that it is always worth it to fight for something that matters to you, that true criticism is offered out of kindness, that being yourself is the only way to find the things that are meant to be… She reminds me why I love cooking.
"You don't need me to tell you that you've raised an amazing daughter. All I'm saying is… If I can spend my time with her, watch her laugh, and give her even half the support that she gives me, then I want to do that for as long as she lets me."
No sooner does the sentence end before Jiwan tackles him into a side hug that he gladly returns, onlookers be damned. He is unsurprised to find Syejin's tears freely falling down her face, but the mistiness in his own eyes does take him aback.
With a brief kiss to her forehead, he arranges himself and Jiwan back in the booth they're in and turn to receive Youngwon's appraisal.
They don't have to wait long. "Did you just ask me for my daughter's hand in marriage?"
Spit take. "Dad!" "Park Youngwon!"
"You're tryna tell me you used every damn word in the Korean dictionary to tell us how much you love our daughter and you're not tryna put a ring on her finger?! This is the problem with you Seoulites; you're all talk and no action. The next time I see your sorry face you better be ready to beg for the privilege of marrying Jiwan-ah, alright? And don't you dare for a second even think that she'll be joining your family register just because you have more money. Now sit your butt down; the food is here."
.
"That wasn't so bad!" Jiwan chirps as they wave goodbye to her parents.
"Jiwan-ssi, that was the longest hour of my entire life."
She frantically checks her phone. "That was only an hour?"
"Exactly," but honestly he would have taken however long he needed in order to win over her parents.
He is just happy that by the end of the lunch, he fully accomplished this goal. Any bruises on his pride and knees are completely worth it for that alone.
Besides, he received helpful, explicit instructions on how to approach the marriage conversation when he's ready, and he doesn't think it'll be long now.
~~~
5. dis/appointment
Opening up a new restaurant was no less work the third time around.
The parts he actually enjoyed—negotiating with ingredient suppliers, planning the menu—were constantly set aside in favour of more pressing concerns like confusing zoning ordinances and remodeling mishaps. He hired a project manager to handle the daily headaches, but decisions still had to be finalised by him. Besides, he couldn't help but want to personally oversee as much of the process as possible. His livelihood (and more importantly, his reputation) was at stake.
A long day poring over contracts and licenses just didn't bring him the same satisfaction as a long day in the kitchen, and he's coming up on two months' worth of long days.
To make matters worse: he couldn't even seek absolution in his girlfriend's reprieving embrace. Production on the drama adaptation of I Loved That Jerk had ramped up not long after he and his business partners decided it was time to open a third location. Jiwan had been spending more and more time at the production studio than in her own home, and their schedules hadn't lined up nearly as often as either of them would have liked. He missed her so much.
Even now that he can see the light at the end of the tunnel, he still does.
This morning, the ink dried on the final papers that mean Seorae Jjang can officially open for business. There is now only a month of last-minute adjustments and double-checking details left between him and peace.
Jiwan even texted him earlier confirming that she would be home today, which means he could tell her this good news in person. It's shaping up to be one of the best days in his entire life.
When he arrives home, he can hear Jiwan puttering around in the kitchen the way she likes to do because "cooking at home compromises your work-life balance, John!" He can't recall the last time she was home before him, and he says as much in lieu of a greeting.
"John!" Jiwan hastily shuts off the gas before launching herself into his arms, and he staggers a little from her momentum. She smells like day-old perfume and his homemade gochujang, and it's his new favourite smell.
She drags him to the kitchen island and bustles about to plate the food. "Come, come! I made us dinner. I want to hear all about your good news. I have something exciting to share as well."
"You go first," he encourages as he takes a seat. He just wants to hear her voice and experience her presence. He's been utterly denied of both for too long.
"Are you sure? Well, okay." She blazes through the dance of polite deference easily and quickly gets to: "We got the premiere date for the I Loved That Jerk drama! It's real; it's actually happening!"
"No way. No way! That's fantastic news, Jiwan-ssi!" He stops whatever she's doing with a firm kiss on her lips then picks up his phone. "When is it? I'm letting my manager know to clear the 24 hours before and afterwards."
"Afterwards?"
He wiggles his eyebrows at her. "Afterwards."
She pushes at his shoulder to distract from her blush, but the pretty hue that blossoms on her cheeks is all he can pay attention to… So much so that he thinks he mishears her.
"Come again?"
"It's next month. On the 30th."
He puts his phone down with a heavy hand. "You're sure it's the 30th? Not the 29th, or the 31st?"
But of course, it's on the 30th. It wasn't enough for their careers to keep them separate during the hard times, but now they can't even share the good parts together either.
"Is something the matter?" she asks with genuine worry.
John would love to tell her everything is fine, except… "The 30th. That's the day Seorae Jjang opens."
She frowns and pulls out her phone to scan through it. "That's inconvenient, but I think we can make it work. The premiere events start in the afternoon but continue well on into the night... Do you think you can step out of the kitchen in time for the—?"
His eyes bulge out of their sockets. "—I can't abandon the restaurant during the grand opening. What if they need me? My team is good, I trust them, but I should still be there."
Jiwan's face is carefully blank. "You don't want to support me?"
"No, that's not it at all!" He gets up to hold her hands tight in his, as if the physical contact will make her believe him more. "Just because I can't go to the premiere doesn't mean I can't support you in other ways! I'll watch it on Naver as soon as I get home," he promises fervently. "I'll make a bunch of burner accounts so that I can rate and vote and comment and whatever else they make fans do to prove they invested in the right IP."
Jiwan keeps her attention fixed on their hands. "But you won't go to the premiere with me."
John sighs. He brings their hands up to his lips to place an apologetic kiss on her knuckles, hoping to catch her gaze as he does so. "I'd love to, Jiwan-ssi, but I can't."
When she does look up to face him, it's with shiny eyes. "If you'd love to, then do it anyway," she says, steadfast despite obvious reluctance for what she is instigating.
"… What?"
"I get that this is your big night, but it's mine too, and... and my night is bigger." He reels from her bold statement, and Jiwan keeps going. "This is my first show, for my debut webcomic. This is easily the biggest thing that's ever happened to me. Can you say the same? Is this your singular greatest professional achievement?"
He isn't speaking with "I have to buy this; there's a bow on it!" Jiwan or "like the game says: sorry~" Jiwan. This is the Jiwan that had to rescue herself from an abusive environment, that had to ignore disparaging remarks about her size and shape everywhere she went, that had to force herself to keep creating even when no one would pick up her webcomic pitches. Maybe he would still love the persistent Jiwan if she weren't being so unfair.
"It could be!" he seethes. "Seorae Jjang is my most specialised and ambitious dining experience yet. No one else in Seoul is offering French-Korean fusion the way I've designed it; it's practically Michelin worthy. I could even overtake Paik Jongwon as the most influential chef in South Korea! My reputation is at stake here."
"And mine isn't?" She crosses her arms with a huff. "You have two successful restaurants already, John; you won't be set back if this one happens to fail. If my show doesn't succeed, I'm not only losing out on potential licensing deals. The success of all my future webcomics will suffer—whether people will read them, whether they're adapted. No, don't look at me like that. I am not exaggerating. It happens all the time."
It bothers him to no end that they are standing here, defending their livelihoods to each other, when they've had this exact same conversation under much happier circumstances before. She knows why Seorae Jjang is a big deal to him; he knows how important this premiere is to her. He is still incredibly happy for her despite the circumstances.
He forces himself to breathe, to de-escalate the tension. Finally, "I would never ask you to choose my important night over yours. It's unfair of you to ask that of me."
She looks him dead in the eyes when she counters, "It's selfish of you to weigh them with equal importance," and it sounds like a funeral toll.
John turns away. He doesn't want to see her like this. He wants to calm down.
After a long moment, he senses her depart from the kitchen, and something about her stride makes him nervous. He listens carefully as she stalks up to their bedroom, and he springs into action once he hears some heavy thuds and the sound of zippers.
"What are you doing?" he calls out as he sprints up the stairs, trying to rationalise that perhaps he is jumping to unwarranted conclusions. Unfortunately, he reaches the bedroom door to find his conclusions very much warranted.
She doesn't stop packing. "I'm going to Hyejin's. I don't want to sleep next to you tonight."
She's leaving?! "Jiwan-ssi. Jiwan, please. That's no reason to leave your own house. I'll take the couch if it bothers you that much." He tries to stop her moving hands, but she jerks free of his touches. "Jiwan, please."
"It's still too close," she maintains as she heads for the bathroom to retrieve her toiletries.
How far away from him does she want to be? "I-I'll leave then," he shakily offers. He's already trying to remember where his own suitcases are. "Come on. If you don't want to be in the same house with me, I'll leave then."
"John."
He turns to face her again with confused, blurry eyes, and she at last has stopped moving. "You gave up your condo to move in with me, remember? You don't have another place to go."
She's right, of course. In practically no time at all, he had centered his entire way of life around her, and this entire house is filled with proof of that.
When he focuses on the present again, she is zipping closed her suitcase. "I just need some time, John."
He wants to ask so many questions—How much time? Why is she doing this to them? What happens now?—but before he can settle on any one, she takes tentative, measured steps towards him. She's bridging the distance, but it brings him none of the comfort that he seeks.
She takes one of his hands in hers and rests her other on his cheek. The only thing he wants most in the whole wide world at this very moment is to reach for her, but he can do nothing but watch.
Her face is set in determination reminiscent of the night they had their first time, and the emotional distance between that memory and the present makes his heart ache.
"I'm angry. I'm so angry at you, John Jang, but it's because I love you just as much."
She places a kiss in the scant millimeters between her thumb and the corner of his mouth and steps back.
On unsteady feet, he follows down the stairs, and he makes no move to stop her when she closes the door on his face. In the resulting silence of the house, the click of the lock echoes.
He collapses onto his knees and drops his head into his hands. He needs a drink, he needs a shower, he needs a bed. He raises his head as he decides which to do first, and his eyes happen to catch sight of the clock in the entryway.
An hour.
It only took one hour to define the worst day of his entire life.
~~~
6. countdown
10:45pm
Despite the late hour, she still finds herself answering the same questions. "Yes, I'm the Park Jiwan in Kingdom of Love 2." "No, the show turned out even better than what I imagined." "Yes, let's take a selfie!"
"No, John couldn't make it tonight."
If it was tiresome four hours ago, it's downright irritating now. Thank goodness there are only fifteen minutes left before it's socially acceptable for her to leave.
The night wasn't all bad, though. Far from it. She was glad to hear for herself the joy and laughs as people watched the first episode. She appreciated all the fans who came up to tell her their journeys of discovering her work. She even made some new industry friends tonight that she can't wait to get to know better, professionally and personally.
Regardless of her gratitude and the success of the evening, she's ready for it to end. All things—good, bad, and beyond the spectrum of moral judgment—must come to an end.
10:51pm
With less than ten minutes to go before closing time, he explains to his business partner in no uncertain terms that he will be leaving as soon as the clock strikes 11.
"But it's Seorae Jjang's grand opening! Stick around a bit. Have a celebratory glass with the staff for a fantastic first night." And it was fantastic, more than they expected it would be and even still further than he had hoped.
It's just that he's still wondering if it was worth it. "I'm sure they value their time as well. I'll give them a bonus or something. We got plenty of investors tonight, that shouldn't be a problem."
"You haven't cared about punctuality before," his partner comments with suspicion. "Are a few more minutes really going to make that much of a difference?"
"Yes," he says quickly, but he actually doesn't know for sure.
Jiwan did come back home after a few days, not that a casual observer would be able to tell. If he wasn't seeing her before, he saw even less of her in this past month. The handful of times he managed to catch her, she didn't stay, and he didn't ask her to. He didn't want to rehash the same argument, and he was afraid she'd refuse besides. The memory of her closing the door on him still replays in his unguarded moments.
Now the baneful day has come and gone, he doesn't know whether the tension between them will still be there when he gets home. He doesn't even know whether she will be getting home.
But if she does, he would rather find out earlier that he was too early than find out later that he was too late.
11:06pm
The taxi she called doesn't come a moment too soon. She recites the address as soon as she opens the car door and settles into the seat with a sigh.
The breath carries with it all of the adrenaline and tension and unadulterated emotion of the day, annoyances and regrets included. The farther away she gets from the private club where the afterparty was hosted, the less everything matters to her except the deep, immovable satisfaction of a job well done.
It isn't forgiveness, necessarily. More like acceptance. The decisions were made, the night is over, and she is simply tired. In her unguarded moments, she didn't give much thought to what happens afterwards except for a fluffy blanket and catching up on a month's worth of lost sleep.
She knows a conversation is impending, but she refuses to be responsible for the timing. Maybe it's cowardly, maybe it's selfish.
She's made a habit of those attitudes, lately.
11:22pm
The cars had been bumper-to-bumper as soon as he hit the on-ramp, and he slams his hand on the steering wheel one more time in frustration. Twenty minutes into his commute home should have already brought him into her neighbourhood, but he was still on the highway. It was a gamble to take the Gyeongbu Expressway, and he knew it, but he had hoped.
He anxiously checks the clock again, and it seems like time is speeding up just to mock him.
This whole time, he's been operating under the presumption that she will come home tonight (he can't bear to think of what it would mean if she doesn't), and he has never enjoyed making her wait. They've both spent too much time waiting—waiting for a sign that she might be interested in him the way he was getting interested in her, waiting for an apology he didn't know how to give, waiting for her sham of a relationship trial to end, waiting for this day to finally arrive.
He's so tired of waiting.
11:45pm
She scrambles out of the taxi cab tiredly and inelegantly, a far cry from her glamorous and refined entrance onto the red carpet five hours ago. At this point, the concrete path from the sidewalk to the front door is looking better than any red carpet.
She is home.
From the road, however, she could tell the house remains dark inside. Her heart sinks, but she resolves herself. Maybe he hasn't come back yet. She figured he'd make it back before her since Seorae Village is at least on the same side of the river, but traffic can be a real pain, especially if he chose the wrong expressway home.
She refuses to consider that he had no intention of returning tonight at all, but then she does, and she collapses onto her small lawn as a cold emptiness sprawls through her chest. It's not like she gave him a reason to come back; she herself didn't know she was ready to come home until the taxi pulled up in front of her.
She was barely home this past week, caught as she was between the demands of the show and her own avoidance of him. What if he packed a bag and moved out too? Oh god, what if it's permanent? They weren't supposed to break up over this; she just needed space—!
The sound of rubber squealing on asphalt aggressively jolts her out of her spiraling.
11:46pm
He had already been speeding, but when he turns the corner onto her street and sees her there just sitting on her lawn and looking at nothing, he gives up on all pretence of being a law-abiding citizen. His relief to see her home is completely overshadowed by his dread that something was terribly wrong.
He zoomed right up to her house and put the car in park, nevermind the fact that he is decidedly not parked. "Jiwan!" he calls out before he's fully exited from the car. "Are you alright?!"
There is no mistaking the tears in her eyes when she fully turns to face him, so he doesn't even bother shutting the car door in his haste to get to her. "Jiwan, what's the matter? Did something happen at the premiere? Did they not like it? Don't listen to them, they wouldn't know entertainment if it hit them in the face. I bet it's great. It should be online now, right? I'll go watch it right now, I promised you I would. I'll set it up on the tv and my phone and my laptop and my tablet—"
Her hug shuts him up. "John," she sniffles. "You're late."
His arms wrap around her in reflex. "I'm late?"
Between her already weak voice and the muffling from his chest, he has to strain to hear her. "You were supposed to be home by now."
God, he shouldn't have taken the Gyeongbu. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm here now," he soothes with gentle tones and backrubs.
"I thought you were breaking up with me!" and then she's sobbing, heavily and loudly, into his chest.
John could honestly care less about anyone potentially finding them like this on an empty residential street at midnight, but he knows Jiwan will be embarrassed about it later, so he regretfully forces her away from him. "Come on, let's get in the car."
While she cries into her hands, he opens the door for her and buckles her in. He grabs a packet of tissues from the glove box and leaves it on the dashboard for her to use when she's ready. He gets into the car himself and has a split second panic as he tries to recall where he put the keys, but they're just waiting for him in the ignition. From there, it's an easy thing to start the car and park it properly.
The minutes it took to do that give Jiwan enough time for her wails to subside into sniffles, but he's still afraid she might not be able to hear him. "I have no intention of breaking up with you," he declares with a strong voice. "What made you think that?"
She takes a moment to blow her nose then confesses, "You weren't there when I got home, and I… I couldn't help but presume the worst."
God, he shouldn't have taken the Gyeongbu! "Jiwan-ssi. I had every intention to make it home on time, I swear it. I wanted to be here already for… well, for if you came back."
Her face crumbles like a paper with discarded ideas. "I'm sorry I made you think I wouldn't come back," she sobs into her hands.
Getting into the car was a mistake. John can't hug her properly like this. "No! No, I could have asked. I should have asked. I was afraid to, though. Not asking was easier than dealing with your reply. Please don't blame yourself, Jiwan-ssi."
"But this is all my fault! You knew from the beginning that we were just going to have to go to our own events separately, but I was being unfair. I called you selfish when I was the selfish one. I wanted more from you. I made you choose between me and your restaurant, and I got mad when you didn't choose me. What kind of girlfriend does that?"
So they're talking about this tonight. "I'm not gonna pretend that you didn't say things that hurt me. It was one of the worst things anyone has ever said to me, and I wondered a lot afterwards if anything I did was worth doing when it was just gonna hurt people I love and make them hurt me… but I got angry at you, too. I answered your challenge instead of trying to calm us down. If I could have just kept my frustration in check, maybe if I presented the option differently, I could have spared us from all this."
Jiwan resolutely shakes her head. "No, I know myself. I wouldn't have accepted it until today—tonight, rather. Not until it was all over. I couldn't feel relaxed until the taxi ride home," she confesses.
He watches her closely, splotchy face dappled by the light from a distant streetlamp. "And how do you feel now?"
"So very sorry," she answers immediately. "Also… relieved? You're not leaving me, my show is on the air and will be for the next two months, and my time on set will be measurable in hours and not days. I feel like everything is good again for the first time in a while."
Despite the solemnity of the conversation, John has to laugh. "I feel you. If I never have to look at the Ministry of Economy and Finance seal again, it would be too soon. All I want to do is cook good food and usurp Paik Jongwon, but I can't help but be involved at every stage. I do it to myself, really."
She grabs his hand, earnest as she always is. "Your reputation matters too, John, just as much as mine. I'm sorry that I implied otherwise."
He shifts their hands so he holds onto hers too. "I'm sorry, too. I could have stopped this cold war ages ago but I didn't. I told myself it was because I was giving you space, but really I think I just rely on you too much to make the first move." Saying it out loud makes him review all of their interactions since they first met on Kingdom, and he sees just how true that statement is. "I can be better."
Something about the way she smiles at him makes him think she doesn't believe him, and she laughs outright when he pouts. "Can we go inside? I ran out of tissues."
With a roll of his eyes, he lets it go. "You can take a shower first, if you want," he comments as he gets out of the car. "I have something to take care of."
Jiwan checks her phone as she follows him into the house. "It's half past midnight. What could you possibly need to do?"
"I wasn't kidding about watching I Loved That Jerk tonight." He beelines for the living room, knowing all his devices are there. "I want it trending on Naver by morning even if it kills me."
"That's big talk coming from someone who wouldn't even read it until this week," she teases.
"I wanted it to be fresh in my mind for when I watched!" John defends rotely. They've gone over this already.
To his surprise, she sits right next to him while he gets everything set up. "I'm watching it with you, obviously," she answers his unanswered question, and he just has to hug her. They both relish in the contact with no console nor conflict to separate them, and Jiwan pulls away first. "Hurry up! The episode is already an hour long, but with my commentary it'll end up being more like two hours," she warns in jest. "Every minute counts, you know!"
He's struck by the distinct memory of when she was too considerate, yet so brave, to ask him for even thirty minutes of his time. It would be false to say the woman she is now is a far cry from the woman she was then: she is still polite, she is still gutsy. It's just that now, she is all his, too.
"I know."
~~~
+1. distinction
Waiting in her bridal suite for the ceremony to start is a lot more difficult than Jiwan thought it would be. Her friends, punctual people that they are, have already bade her well-wishes and taken selfies; and no one else has come since.
Somewhere past the doors is her husband-to-be, entertaining guests as they arrive and helping them find their seats. She'd rather be out there where it's busy and exciting instead of in her quiet, posh, sequestered cage. Her family may be bigger, but his circle of friends is wider than hers. (Much of her family isn't invited anyway, for obvious reasons.)
Suffice it to say, she is kind of lonely and a lot of bored. Jiwan lets out a heavy breath.
"Is something the matter, ah-ee?"
She didn't have to, but Jiwan deeply appreciates that her mom is waiting with her. "I'm just ready to get to the good part, I guess."
Unfortunately, her mother misunderstands. "It's not all good, you know. I'm not even talking about the big arguments. Kids, religion, finances—those are easy. The worst are the small things: running late to date night, doing the laundry improperly. They don't bother you at first, but then they kind of do, and then they build up, and then one last small thing is what causes you to flip. It always looks like an overreaction to the most recent thing when it hardly ever is. Those arguments are almost impossible to handle rationally."
Jiwan is scandalised. Her parents seem so happy! "Where is all this coming from? Are you and Dad getting a divorce?"
"Omo, omo, omo. I was just warning you that these things happen!"
"Are you also going to warn me against getting married? It's a little too late for that."
Her mother narrows her eyes the way other people would roll them. "I'm warning you about the inevitability of polite miscommunication. It's only natural that you don't tell your partner every little thing they do that bothers you; your nerves would fray very quickly, I'm sure!"
"So what do you do?"
She hums. "You choose to understand each other, no matter what," her mother says at last. "You each express yourselves the best you can, and it's up to the other to pick it up from there. Minimising the space between what you say and what they hear is how a relationship gets stronger; and that holds true for friendships, too."
That's a good line. She's going to steal it. "Is that what you and Dad did?"
Sparing a glance to the bored photographer in the corner, her mother leans over conspiratorially. "Your father thinks worse than he listens; but after thirty years of marriage, I've learned to work around him as well as he's learned to work around me." She straightens, then looks Jiwan in the eyes. "I get the sense that you and John will be different, though. I hope you two can do something with the lessons I've learned."
Jiwan nods. She does think she and John are different. "Thank you, Mom."
Her mother smiles warmly at her, holding Jiwan's hands between her liver-spotted ones. "Our darling ah-ee. You don't have to thank me for being your mother."
The moment is broken by a frazzled John Jang. "There you two are! It's time!"
The photographer springs into alertness as he follows after the three hurrying guests of honour, switching to filming just in time to capture the conversation which will later get a hearty chuckle during the wedding highlights video.
("What do you mean 'there you two are'? We were in my bridal suite the whole time."
"Yes, I know, but I couldn't remember where. There are so many in that hallway; I surprised three other brides before I found you. And they put you in the farthest one!")
Her mom hands her off to her dad and joins John's mom in front of the closed doors to the wedding hall, as is customary. The event staff grandly open the door for their entrance as the emcee (Goo Yeoreum was happy to do it) introduces them.
John sends her a quick wink once it's his turn to enter, and he strides through the doors like the model he might have been if only food hadn't called to him first.
The doors close. She and her dad step forward, her dad squeezing her arm so hard it's like he's the one about to get married. Jiwan's dolor evanesces, and excitement lights her nerves on fire. She faintly hears Yeoreum introduce them, then the doors open before her.
The hall looks the same as when she saw it earlier this morning, but as she steps onto the stage and walks down the runway, it feels different. Magical. It's not just the filled-in seats and wearing the dress, but her whole outlook on the event is different. It feels like she has a plot bunny she just needs to write down before she forgets it.
This is real. She's getting married.
Right before her dad passes her off to him, Jiwan sends John a wide smile with all the happiness she has, and his face goes slack with helplessness. Her blood feels like champagne; she's so giddy. This man—who is helplessly in love with her, whose vanity is more than mirrors and compartments, who is so much like her darling protagonist that she initially worried she was projecting onto him, who would crumble if she ever told him that she found his one-sided rivalry with Paik Jongwon adorable, whom she loves just as recklessly—wants to marry her.
Yeoreum invites the guest singers to the stage, and Jiwan squeezes John's hand before turning her attention to the two men. As his wedding gift, Jaehoon got his friends who happen to be idols to perform at their wedding. She only met them once before, and they seemed rather kind, so she is looking forward to their performance…
… Which ends up being a questionable uptempo remix of the I Loved That Jerk OST.
She glances over at Yeoreum, who fortunately looks as perplexed as she feels. When Yeoreum notices her attention, she schools her face into something more professional and makes a complicated hand gesture that Jiwan chooses to interpret as 'Don't worry, I'll make sure Jaehoon gives you a real gift'. John, for his part, is less than impressed.
"Thank you so much for that unique performance," Yeoreum speaks into the microphone as soon as the music cuts out. "At this time, I'd like to invite the honoured couple to recite their vows."
An event staff hands John a microphone from off stage, and he takes it in one hand as the other reaches into his suit jacket to pull out his written vows. He spares the rest of the room a glance before turning his attention to Jiwan.
His eyes remind her of the night he confessed to her, intense and singularly focused on her.
"Jiwan-ah." He licks his lips, fiddles with the paper nervously. "I wanted my vows to be… better, but I don't have pretty words like you do. I even wrote them in a bulleted list, so I don't get aesthetic points either." He shows off the page as proof, earning distant chuckles for the action. "I'm sorry."
As if he had anything to apologise for. She shakes her head resolutely, pleading with her eyes for him to continue.
He nods, takes a deep breath, and begins. "To Park Jiwan: If you only have one fan left in the entire world, I promise that fan is me. If your pencil dulls, I promise to be your sharpener. If your dinner tastes bad, it means I didn't make it, so I promise to make you a new one."
"I promise to earn your trust. I promise to be brave enough to start hard conversations and patient enough to end them properly. I promise to support you, and I promise to compromise on what support looks like. I promise to love you in all the ways that make you feel loved and create new ways, too.
"And lastly, I promise that these are not just promises. They are privileges you are granting me by letting me be your husband, and I promise I will never forget that."
She has no clue how she's supposed to recite her own vows with sobs clogging her throat, but it's her turn.
The applause dies down, the event staff brings her the microphone along with the basket she prepared ahead of time, and John raises an interested eyebrow. "There's a legend that says if you fold a thousand paper cranes while having one wish in mind, the wish will come true," she explains. "I only have twenty here, but each crane has a vow written in it."
She gently unfolds one and encourages John to read it out loud. "I promise not to use my webcomic characters to vent my frustrations about you," he reads, the end of the sentence broken off by his own laughter and that of the audience. She can only nod. There are many like that, genuine promises over benign hazards of being bound to her for life.
"I could pull them out and read them all, but instead I'll simply say this: I am going to complete this project. I will think of 980 more vows I want to make to you; and with every fold and crease, I will think about the single wish I want for us, which is…"
Originally she was going to say "which is that we will always love each other," but she looks out to her side of the runway and meets the teary eyes of her mother. Neither of them thought she'd get to this stage.
She faces John again. "Which is that we will always choose together. No matter what happens to or around us, as long as we keep choosing each other, I know we'll be okay."
As soon as the event staff free her hands, John pulls her into a hug that she returns with all her might.
"Can I kiss her yet?" he demands.
From there, the exchange of rings and the officiant's pronouncement of marriage occur in short order. Korean weddings are notoriously quick affairs to begin with, but Jiwan is still shocked at how soon everyone sits to eat the celebratory meal John himself designed—complete with a side of potatoes au gratin, of course. The first guest bids them goodbye before the top of the next hour.
("The wedding industry is very efficient, isn't it?" John's mother, Sunok, says during her talking head interview for the wedding highlights video.
"We were getting ready for longer than the ceremony actually lasted," Syejin comments wryly during her own interview.)
Their pyebaek is scheduled for tomorrow, so the new family of five head their separate ways: Syejin and Youngwon to the restaurant, Sunok to her hotel, and Jiwan and John back home.
Is that it? Can such a life-defining occasion pass so quickly? Surely there must be more, something that will make her feel different, something like when she stepped through the open doors and the ceremony commenced.
"I know we were planning to go straight home," John broaches once his new car (a Kia sports sedan which he uses whenever he knows they would be meeting her dad "just in case he changes his mind about me") is on the road, "but would you mind if we drove around a little bit? I'm not ready for the day to be over, to be honest."
Jiwan looks over at John in open wonder. That's it.
She doesn't feel different because nothing changed. John is still the person that knows her best, and she is still the woman that loves him for that. The wedding passed so quickly because it was never meant to last. It was a formality, really for everyone else's benefit. She and John were already bonded in all the ways that mattered before today, made even more evident by how his one question was able to completely undo her slow spiral into dejection.
By the same token, marriage isn't an event. It's effort, it's trial and error, it's choices. It lasts as long as they want.
They were wedded this morning, and they are married now. If there were at all a difference to find, it is that.
"I don't mind," she says at last. John sends her a grateful grin and directs them towards the highway. "The place I wanna go to… It'll take us an hour to get there," he hedges.
It's just an hour.
"Can't wait."
That's nothing compared to a lifetime.
~~~
A/N (2.23.2023): Let’s play a game called ‘how many times did I write the word hour in this entire project’.
John’s restaurant names have no canon. I’m calling them “[location] Jjang” b.c jjan is the Korean onomatopoeia for ta-da, his family name is Jang, and I bet he felt very clever when he came up with this pun because I felt very detestable for having done so on his behalf. The two canon locations are Cheongdam and Hannam > these are wealthy neighbourhoods along the Han > I picked the third location to be Seorae Village, another wealthy neighbourhood along the Han > Seorae Village houses almost all of South Korea’s French expat population > French-Korean fusion.
I have actively refrained from wedding ceremonies in my years as both a fanfic consumer and creator and would have happily continued if not for the fact that Johnwan’s story did not feel complete without one. It was a good challenge for myself, but wow never again lol. (Interested in learning more about the modern Korean wedding? Check out this Soompi article… It’s a sad day when the most comprehensive resource I could find on a topic of Korean culture is Soompi, haha.)
#love is for suckers#love that will freeze to death#kdramas#kdrama fanfiction#park jiwan#john jang#jang joon#johnwan#jaso*
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Upcoming Kdrama December 2023 💚
1/12: My Man is Cupid with Jang Dong Yoon, Nana, Park Ki Woong. 16 episodes; rom-com, fantasy. Trailer
1/12: Sweet Home 2 with Song Kang, Lee Jin Wook, Lee Si Young. 8 episodes; horror, sci-fi. Trailer
2/12: Welcome to Samdalri with Ji Chang Wook, Shin Hye Sun. 16 episodes; rom-com. Trailer
4/12: Night Has Come with Kim Woo Suk, Choi Ye Bin, Lee Jae In. 12 episodes; thriller, mystery, horror. Trailer
9/12: Maestra: Strings of Truth with Lee Young Ae, Park Ho San, Lee Moon Saeng. 12 episodes; music, thriller, mystery. Trailer
15/12: Death's Game with Seo In Guk, Park So Dam, Go Youn Jung, Kim Ji Hoon. 8 episodes; thriller, fantasy. Trailer
20/12: Like Flowers in Sand with Jang Dong Yoon, Lee Joo Myung, Kim Bora. 12 episodes; rom-com, youth. Trailer
22/12: Gyeongseong Creature with Park Seo Joon, Han So Hee, Wi Ha Joon. 7 episodes; Action, Thriller, Historical, Sci-Fi. Trailer
30/12: My Happy End with Jang Nara, Son Ho Jun, So Yi Hyun. 16 episodes; thiller, psychological. Trailer
What a great way to end the year!
*REBLOG FOR UPDATES*
#upcoming kdrama#december 2023#my man is cupid#jang dong yoon#nana#sweet home 2#song kang#lee jin wook#welcome to samdalri#ji chang wook#shin hye sun#night has come#maestra: strings of truth#death's game#seo in guk#park so dam#go youn jung#like flowers in sand#gyeongseong creature#park seo joon#han so hee#wi ha joon#my happy end#jang nara#son ho jun
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Drama: Vincenzo (Episode 8)
Han Seok - the villain you love to hate. He is quite intimidating, but also hilarious :)
#vincenzo cassano#vincenzo#tvn vincenzo#song joon ki#jang han seok#ok taecyeon#kdrama#korean drama#asian men#korean#kdrama edit#apedramaedit#apevincgifs#kdramanetwork#kdramaedit#korean actor#kactor#kdramasource#korean series#netflix kdrama#kdrama gifs#kdrama daily
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" Are you ever going to show up on time? "
[S02.E01] THE UNCANNY COUNTER (2023)
#the uncanny counter 2#the uncanny counter 2 : counter punch#kdrama#kim se jong#cho byeong kyu#the uncanny counter#kdramaedit#dailynetflix#kdramagifs#userdramas#dailyasiandramas#yoon joon sang#yeom hye ran#ahn suk hwan#so mun#ga mo tak#do ha na#chu mae ok#choi jang myeol#i missed my counter family#kdramasource#*tucedit#netflixkr#netflix
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‘ 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥 ‘ — 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐧-𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤
𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨, 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫
❥ 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠: ‘𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥’ 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐚𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥
summary ┆ working at wusang was a dream come true for you. you had great friendships there and even began to develop feelings for a certain intern. but things started to change — big reveals left you shocked, and instead of running away you felt yourself become more captivated by him. . . and he seems to notice you as well. nothing in this world really matters to jang han-seok, but you? he will burn the whole world for you.
key: bold = english
warnings ┆mild smut (i will put a warning to let you guys know where it begins and ends)
After slowly accepting the fact that your boyfriend was not only a psychopathic CEO — but a murderer as well — spending time with him and going on dates has become a bit more easier. You decided that there’s no reason to add more stress onto your relationship, especially when Cha-young and Vincenzo are still trying to dig for more information regarding the true chairman of Babel. Luckily, to your knowledge, they haven’t discovered that Han-seok is Joon-woo, so the both of you have been living with a peace of mind and enjoying every second you could spend together. Any fear or any doubts you felt towards Han-seok has completely vanished at this point.
You were both in his apartment trying to bake some cupcakes, but instead, Han-seok found it funny to plaster some of the baking mix on your face. “Baby!”
He rarely lets out a genuine laugh, and when he does it is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard. Needless to say, you’re the only person who gets to hear it considering that he pretty much despises the rest of the population in the world.
But you weren’t going to let it slide, so when he least expected it, you got him back by rubbing baking mix on his left cheek and nose.
“Ah, you got me,” he mischievously smiled. “You sneaky little devil.”
“I do learn from the best.”
“Oh I’m sure you do.”
Without warning, you felt him place his hands on your waist as he lifted you up and set you down on the counter, positioning himself in between your legs. You were at eye level with him, and your heart beat raced as you began to wonder what devious idea did he have hiding up his sleeve.
“You better not cover me with baking mix,” you warned.
“How about I give it a taste test?”
“Oh, okay. You can use this spoon to–”
He took you by surprise when you felt his lips against your cheek, licking and sucking on the baking mix that rested there. “Hm, delicious, how about here?”
He placed some baking mix on your lips before leaning in and repeating the same action. You caved into the kiss, letting out a small moan when you felt his teeth graze your lower lip as he gently pulled on it with his teeth. You knew he was about to pull away, but your needy side kicked in and you quickly hooked your arms around his neck, re-connecting your lips in another passionate kiss.
Han-seok pressed himself close to you, his fingers slipping underneath your shirt while gripping your waist tightly. You could feel his erection pressing against you, and that was enough to send you over the edge as a warm wave shot up your body. You still haven’t had sex, but there were moments where the two of you would get super intimate before being either, interrupted by a phone call, or you would grow shy and stop before it could escalate.
Right now, though? You wanted this. Your fingers were beginning to scrunch up his shirt from the neckline and you were both too engrossed in one another, that you didn’t hear the front door opening.
“I-I’m so sorry, sir!”
The two of you froze at the same time, but reacted differently to the intruder. While you ducked your head in embarrassment, Han-seok clenched his jaw as his body — menacingly and slowly — turned to face Han-seo.
“Do you. Fucking. KNOCK?!”
You both flinched at his loud voice and you silently prayed that your boyfriend would take it easy on his brother.
“I’m sorry! I-I’m so sorry! The door was unlocked so I thought it was okay enter, sir.”
Cue you mentally slapping yourself since you were the last person to come in to his apartment. “Fuck, I’m sorry. It’s my fault because I forgot to lock the door.”
“No, no,” Han-seok had a crazed look on his face. “Don’t apologize for the idiocy of others. It’s not your fault.”
“But–”
“He’s right,” Han-seo cut you off with a nervous laugh. “I’m an idiot for not knocking. It’s my fault.”
You wanted to argue and say that it was indeed your fault, but knowing these two, it would be pointless. Han-seo would just become more persistent in blaming himself and if you tried to defend him, then it would cause Han-seok to lose his shit and possibly go after his brother behind closed doors. Instead, you nodded your head at Han-seo, not wanting to press onto the matter.
“So, brother, are you going to stand there like a dumbass or are you going to tell me why you’re here?” Han-seok’s voice dripped with irritation.
“Sir, the research team has found crucial information that I believe you may want to know.”
“About what?”
“Its about Vincenzo.”
The three of you sat down with one of the investigators from the team, consulting and talking about Vincenzo’s true identity. You didn’t know what to expect. You assumed they were going to expose him as a con artist or someone who’s stealing money from his victims, but what you least expected to hear was that Vincenzo was a part of the Italian mafia. The fucking mafia. The blood drained from your face at the news, your mind beginning to replay every little encounter you had with him, hoping that you didn’t tick him off in any way, shape, or form. Your eyes were trained on the coffee table in front of you as you refused to look at the pictures that Han-seok held in his hands.
Holy shit, does Cha-young know? What if she’s completely unaware of the monster she has by her side. There’s a high probability that he didn’t disclose such risky information, or, she knows about it and is using that to her advantage to take down Babel. You need to double-check with her; also to make sure that she’s okay.
“So he’s one of the best consiglieres in Italy?” Han-seok questioned with a hint of excitement.
“Yes, he’s a consigliere both acknowledged and dreaded by all of the Mafia families there,” the investigator answered.
“And Vincenzo really did everything I see in these photos?”
“It’s the tip of the iceberg. He’s much more brutal than you think.”
“I knew something was wrong,” Han-seo groaned next to you while he rubbed his face.
“Hey, look,” Han-seok shoved a gruesome picture towards his younger brother, a sinister smile appearing on his face the moment Han-seo cowered away. “Look at this.”
“This is sick,” you grabbed the photo and crumbled it in your hands. “It’s not funny.”
“Wow, so angry,” Han-seok poked at you in a taunting tone.
You were not in the mood for his immature games. Vincenzo was a threat to everyone. Who knows what his true intentions are? He’s a menace who threatened Han-seo, Ms. Choi, and Mr. Han, and sickeningly left behind his initial to taunt your group. What will he do the moment he finds out about Han-seok’s identity?
You felt like throwing up.
“Come to think about it, he’s attacked us a way the Mafia would all this time,” you pointed out.
“You’re right,” Han-seok stood up as he began to list everything with his fingers. “Terrorism, threats, negotiation, mockery, and murder. I was completely wrong. Vincenzo wasn’t just a sparring partner. He’s like a Mayweather.”
His laugh echoed throughout the living room, making Han-seo stand up, with both desperation and fear resting on his features. “Will you let him go on as a sparring partner?”
Han-seok cackled. “You crazy? I’ll have to kill him, or he’ll kill us.”
And he was true to his word. Han-seok went ahead and got in touch with his contacts — as he likes to call it — to lure Vincenzo out to a secluded area, and kill him. You on the other hand, attempted to fish out information from Cha-young, trying to see if she knew anything about Vincenzo’s true identity. She either knew about him being in the mafia or just straight up had zero clue on what was happening, and you were convinced it was the first option, because she urgently asked for your help as she feared for Vincenzo’s life.
The moment Han-seok found out you were going to “save” Vincenzo, he jumped at the opportunity in chauffeuring your group to his location, but you knew the truth behind his intentions — he wants to make sure Vincenzo is dead.
You pulled up in front of Geumga Plaza as Mr. Nam and another tenant hopped inside the back of the SUV.
“Who is this?” You questioned.
“This is Mr. Lee. He’s a master of breaking people’s necks,” Mr. Nam responded before being grabbed by the neck by Mr. Lee.
“Your first love?” Mr. Lee demanded.
“An Seong-eun.”
“Your treasure?”
“My bike, Cheetah.”
Both you and Han-seok were utterly dumbfounded at the interaction that just unfolded in front of you, but Cha-young looked completely unamused.
“I’ll take care of the killers as soon as we arrive,” Mr. Lee stated with a serious expression.
“Alright,” you shot him a hesitant nod before looking over to Han-seok. “Let’s go.”
He stepped on the gas as the tires screeched into the quiet night, your adrenaline slightly kicking in the closer you got. You weren’t the type to wish death on someone, but if Vincenzo is as dangerous as he is, then he needs to be eliminated. At this point, you don’t care if Cha-young knew of his identity and was just using him to get back at Babel and Wusang, your only concern was Han-seok’s safety. There’s no doubt in your mind that Vincenzo would jump at the opportunity to kill him if he were to find out the truth.
The feeling of disappointment overcame you the moment you guys arrived, and it was self-evident that Vincenzo was alive while the men Han-seok hired were either dead or just knocked out. Cha-young ran and embraced him in a hug while you stood next to Han-seok.
“He’s alive,” you whispered.
“I can see that.”
It appeared that Cha-young and Vincenzo were discussing something, but the sound of a phone vibrating next to you caught your attention. You turned to look at Han-seok, who wore a panicked expression on his face as he clutched his left coat pocket.
“Who’s calli–”
“Fuck,” he silently hissed while clenching his teeth.
You frowned at his behavior, not understanding what was happening. When your eyes followed his and focused on Vincenzo, it didn’t take long to figure out who was calling. Your blood ran cold and your palms grew sweaty. Vincenzo was getting closer to you by the second and you couldn’t risk Han-seok getting exposed.
You subtly turned to face him while reaching for his pocket. “Give me the phone.”
His eyes widened at your request. “Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m not asking you twice,” you angrily whispered. “Give me the phone. He won’t suspect me.”
Not wanting to argue with you, Han-seok carefully passed the phone over to you, giving you the opportunity to shove it inside your own coat pocket. Just as you expected, Vincenzo didn’t question you when he walked past you, but he did shoot you a glance upon hearing the phone vibrating in your pocket.
You felt like you were about to die in that moment.
But much to your relief, he didn’t question you and only let out a deep sigh as he hung up. “There’s no answer.”
“That’s odd. He would answer if he wanted to know what happened.”
You remained emotionless throughout the whole interaction, but deep down you were shaking in fear, that not even Han-seok’s tight grip on your hand was enough to calm you down. The two of you left the scene the moment Vincenzo’s henchmen showed up, and Han-seok drove for a while before swerving the SUV onto the side of the road. He immediately stepped out and slammed the burner phone onto the ground, letting out a few curses and yells.
“Are you okay?” You asked while stepping out of the vehicle.
“He almost got me,” Han-seok breathed out. “How did he beat the three of them all at once?”
You were immune to his yelling and outbursts at this point, and all you could do was stare at him with worry as he repeatedly stomped on the phone.
“We need to think of a plan to take him down.”
“We?” He turned to look at you. “No babydoll, you’re not getting involved anymore.”
“What?”
Han-seok made his way towards you, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “It won’t be long until he finds out that I’m Han-seok, and the first thing he’s going after is you.”
“That’s not–”
“No. Stop. Listen to me. He will go after you as a way to blackmail me. You’re a walking target at this point, so no more visits to their little law firm. I’m sending you away to the States.”
Hold up. You took a step back as you stared at him in shock. “What? You’re sending me away? Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m playing around? Yes ______ I’m serious.”
“You can’t do this.”
“Oh yes I can, and you better not fight me on this. Get in the car.”
Earlier you were shaking in fear, but now you’re shaking in anger. He’s your boyfriend, not your legal guardian. You’re a grown woman who can fend for herself and you don’t need his or anyone’s protection. How dare he think he can just order you around?
When you made no move towards the SUV, he rolled his eyes and spun you around, slowly pushing you towards the truck.
You dug your heels into the ground. “Han-seok stop!”
He only shoved you harder. “Shut up before you piss me off.”
What the fuck is wrong with him?!
You tried to turn your body, but Han-seok had your shoulders in a tight grip. He left no room for you to move and it infuriated you by the second.
“Let me go.”
He ignored you as he tried to push you in the vehicle.
“Han-seok!” You managed to kick his shin which caused him to loosen his grip on you. You wriggled out of his grasp and took a few steps back. “Please listen to me.”
He was livid while he looked at you, and you were unsure if he felt that towards you or Vincenzo. His nostrils were flaring and his fists were clenched. You’ve never seen him this mad before in your life.
“Baby…” you softly muttered. “Please calm down.”
His chest was still heaving but he made no move to grab you anymore, so you saw that as your opportunity in walking towards him and wrapping your arms around his neck. Almost immediately, his arms encased you in a tight embrace and he buried his face in your neck. Han-seok held onto you tightly as you ran your fingers through his air, murmuring soft and soothing words into his ear, causing his erratic breathing to slow down.
“Shh,” you cooed. “I’m right here. He’s not going to hurt me. I’ve seen how close him and Cha-young have grown, so there’s no way she would even let him touch me. If you want me to stay hidden, I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is being a thousand miles away from you because baby, at that point, I would much rather be captured by Vincenzo if that meant I would be closer to you. I can be your spy, informant, or whatever else you need me to do. If you need me to kill someone, I’ll do that too. I absolutely adore you Han-seok, and I am willing to do the most fucked up shit for you. I’m not leaving you. You’re stuck with me until you grow sick of me.”
You felt him sigh on your neck before placing a gentle kiss on your skin. “Shit, I fucking love you.”
You froze at his words, but as the seconds passed, your lips curved into the biggest smile you’ve ever experienced. You waited so long to hear those words leave his mouth; to have them be addressed to you. Ever since you first met Han-seok — former Jon-woo — almost a year ago, you immediately fell in love with him. You daydreamed about him confessing his feelings to you, about the two of you growing old and having a family together. You were deeply and utterly in love, and to experience this moment now, was a true blessing.
“I love you more, Jang Han-seok.”
-
“I fucking hate you Han-seok.”
You were sweating liters — no scratch that — buckets of sweat as you leaned against the treadmill. Ever since you devoted your loyalty to your boyfriend, he’s been physically pushing you like crazy. Every day you’ve gone to work out with him and he even hired a martial artist trainer to teach you basic self-defense moves, in case you’re ever in a situation that requires it. You understand why he’s doing all of this but dear god, was it so much.
The sound of a whistle made your body jolt as you quickly shot Han-seok a glare.
Yes, the idiot brings a whistle to your sessions every time.
“Come on babydoll, pick up the pace!” He clapped his hands. “You got this!”
“I’ve been running for the past thirty minutes!” You plopped yourself on the treadmill as it slowly moved you towards the edge, gently dropping you on the floor. “Can we please take a break.”
“You think Vincenzo or his goons will give you a five minute break mid-fight? I don’t think so.” Cue him blowing the whistle. “Now pick up the pace! Hustle!”
“Geez, are you preparing me for Vincenzo or for the fucking war?”
“Baby, this is a war.”
“Says you,” you mumble. “I just wanted to stay home and play Call of Duty.”
“Babydoll, I’ve told you a thousand times, Call of Duty is not good firearm practice.”
Oh great, he mentioned that again. You embarrassingly told him that you could practice using a firearm by learning how to aim and shoot in Call of Duty first. Let’s just say, Han-seok nearly died from laughter when you first brought it up.
“Do not insult NoobMaster69,” you defended yourself. “I’ve gotten so good.”
“I’m sure you have,” Han-seok’s tone was taunting as he made his way towards you. “By the way, have I ever told you how hot you look when you sweat?”
“Mm, no I don’t think so. Enlighten me.”
He grabbed your hands and lifted you up on your feet, and the devil himself wasted no time in gripping your ass. You immediately felt him growing hard against you and your body reacted the same way when you felt a sudden feeling of heat pooling in your area.
After that night where the two of you confessed your love for each other, you went back to his place and basically ripped each other’s clothes apart. That night was filled with both passion and hunger. The two of were craving each other’s bodies for a while, and finally getting a taste of it was so overwhelming that you couldn’t stop. You both went round after round, going at it like animals, before completely knocking out and taking the following day off so you could rest.
Ever since then, neither of you could take your hands off the other.
“The way your body shines with sweats makes me go insane. Your beautiful skin looks so mesmerizing, makes me want to bite you.”
He hoisted you up and placed you on top of a counter, causing you to squint your eyes at him. “Wait don’t you have to go in to work soon?”
“We can make this fast babydoll.”
- smut begins here -
You shot him a smile before connecting your lips together, your hands reached down to pull your leggings off while he fumbled to untie his sweat pants. He pulled you close, lightly tapping his tip against your clit, the action making you both jolt and moan into his mouth. He wasted no time in filling you up completely and pushing you down so you laid with your back against the counter. His movements were fast and rough while he gripped your hip with one hand and had the other wrapped around your throat.
“Oh fuck,” you moaned while gripping the arm that was holding your throat.
“You look so beautiful babydoll,” he groaned, his eyes connecting with yours. “You take it so well. Good girl.”
Fuck, you love it when he praises you.
He knew your body too well already, and while he was thrusting in and out of you, he began to rub your clit with his thumb, the sudden action sending you over the edge. You came all over him as you squirmed underneath his hold, your screams and moans echoing throughout the workout room, as his pace quickened. He was slamming into you repeatedly before he quickly pulled out and spilled his seed all over your stomach, his hips slightly thrusting as he jerked himself off.
- smut ends -
“Fuck, I want to come inside you so bad,” he huffed as he grabbed a towel.
You giggled. “Baby, I told you I’m on birth control.”
“Still a risk I’m not willing to take.”
“Fair point,” you smiled and closed your eyes while he cleaned you up. "Are you going to be busy after your meeting?"
"Yep. I'm going to meet up with Cha-young since we're going to exchange intel."
Now that was news to you. You sprung up and furrowed your eyebrows. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if she just baits you or gives you false info?"
"The information I'm giving her isn't too important. Don't worry babydoll, I have this all planned out already," he shot you a smile before quickly pecking your lips. "I'll see you tonight okay?"
You nodded your head in return and watched him walk away, feeling relieved that you now have some time to test your theory about Vincenzo. Ever since Han-seok was almost caught by him, he has stuck you to his side every second of the day. You barely had time on your own and you understood where his worry came from, but come on, you’re a girl for pete’s sake. Every girl needs her privacy at some points.
You quickly took a shower and changed into something comfortable. You felt a bit nervous attempting to test your theory, but doing this will only ease your conscious and his.
It felt so odd stepping foot into Geumga plaza; the last time you were here was almost two months ago. You weren’t sure if everyone was going to shoot you a stink eye upon arriving, but the moment you saw Mr. Nam’s eyes light up at your figure, you smiled.
“_______!” He sprung up from his seat, causing a half tired Vincenzo to flinch. “Why haven’t you stopped by?”
“I’m sorry. I kind of felt like I didn’t belong here since I work at Wusang.”
That was true.
“You can always leave them and come work here,” Vincenzo yawned before turning to look at you.
“I think I’m okay for now, but I still took Cha-young’s offer into consideration.”
“Oh! Is it because of Joon-woo?” Mr. Nam wiggled his eyebrows.
“Maybe,” you replied with a grin.
“Have you two kissed?”
“We may have given each other a little peck here and there.”
The two of you giggled like little schoolgirls while shaking each others hands in excitement. Vincenzo groaned at the sight in front of him as he rubbed his face.
“Do you two really have to talk about this right now?”
“Oh come on Vincenzo, it’s not like I haven’t noticed how close you and Cha-young have gotten.”
“What?” He stared at you, completely dumbfounded, while the tip of his ears began to turn pink. Both you and Mr. Nam giggled again and ran towards his desk.
“Is that true Mr. Cassano? Do you like Miss–”
“No,” he immediately responded while avoiding eye contact.
“Oh he totally likes her.”
“He does,” Mr. Nam geeked. “Mr. Cassano, if you both were to get married, can I be your best man?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Don’t tell me you prefer Mr. Lee over me!”
“What? No! I meant the wedding is not going to happen Mr. Nam.”
“But you two would make such beautiful babies!”
“Who’s making beautiful babies?”
The two men beside you froze at Cha-young’s voice, neither of you expecting her to show up. Vincenzo quickly began to type gibberish on his laptop, Mr. Nam ran towards his desk before tripping, and you? Well, you grabbed a nearby magazine and pretended to read it.
“______? Why are you…” you heard her pause before letting out a scream. “No!”
“What?!” The three of you questioned.
“Don’t tell me you’re pregnant with that idiot’s baby!”
“What?!” The color drained from your face as you processed what she asked you. “Who said that?!”
“You did!”
“I did not–”
“Who’s pregnant?”
Now it was your time to actually freeze. You should’ve assumed that Han-seok was going to be tagging along with Cha-young, but it never occurred to you that he would show up here. Oh boy, the moment his eyes landed on you, you wanted to run away and hide. He looked pissed.
“You!” Cha-young thankfully broke the dangerous stare down he was giving you as she pointed at him. “You impregnated my best friend?!”
Now it was Han-seok’s turn to freeze as the color drained from his face. His eyes shot open and he genuinely looked mortified. “I… no wait… you’re pregnant?!”
Whatever anger he was feeling towards you before was gone, but at this moment, you felt so embarrassed and awkward. No one gave you a chance to explain yourself because before you knew it, Cha-young ran towards Han-seok and began to hit him with her folder.
“You moron! How dare you not consult with me first! You think it’s okay to just impregnate her after barely getting together?!”
“What?! I’m innocent!” Han-seok defended himself from her blows. “We’ve been careful!”
“Joon-woo!” You covered your face in embarrassment, not expecting him to out your business like that.
It was complete chaos in the Jipuragi Law Firm. After a couple of more seconds, Cha-young and Han-seok calmed down before everyone slowly turned to look at you — more specifically your stomach.
“I’m not pregnant,” you whined.
“Oh thank goodness,” Cha-young breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way towards you. “Also, why the hell haven’t you visited me?! I should beat you up as well.”
“I’m sorry. Things have just been hectic.” Your apology was sincere, but at the same time, your moments with Han-seok has lately been more important than anything else.
Cha-young only huffed out in annoyance. “Fine I’ll accept your excuse. Anyways,” she turned to look at Han-seok, “you ready to go?”
“Sure thing ex-boss,” he beamed his innocent smile before looking at you directly. “Can ______ come as well?”
“I actually need her for something.”
You did not expect Vincenzo to speak up, let alone need you for something. You shot him a questioning look, and before you could even ask, he once again replied.
“She’s going to help me with a certain case.”
“Wh-wha..?” You were too stunned to speak.
Han-seok’s shoulders grew rigid, and if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to keep his identity a secret, you know he would’ve stormed across the room and snatched you up.
“Really? About what?” To everyone else, he might’ve appeared curious, but you knew that your boyfriend was silently losing it.
“It’s confidential as of now,” Vincenzo grabbed his belongings before standing up. “Let’s go.”
“Where though?” You questioned. You didn’t necessarily feel safe heading out with a fucking mafia member. You were one-hundred percent sure that he wouldn’t harm you, yet you still feared for your life.
“It’s not anything dangerous or scary,” he reassured you. “You’re a girl, and I need your opinion on something.”
Now he was making no sense, but nonetheless, you nodded your head and followed him out. You sent Han-seok one last look, trying to tell him that you’ll be okay, but the moment you stepped out of Geumga plaza you felt your phone vibrate.
‘You better turn your location on right now.’
That was a demand, not a question. You quickly did as he asked before hopping inside the SUV with Vincenzo.
“You okay?”
Your palms are super sweaty and you feel like you’re going to pass out any second. No, you’re not okay. You have no clue as to why he needed you to come with him. Is he planning on using you for one of his dirty tasks? Does he know the truth and is actually kidnapping you? What if he’s going to try to torture information out of you?
Oh god, you regret coming along. You should’ve listened to Han-seok and take him up on his offer on tagging along with him and Cha-young. The three of you were so close before, and it would’ve felt nostalgic having the three musketeers reunite for a bit.
“I didn’t think shopping for jewelry would put you in a nervous wreck,” Vincenzo’s voice brought you back to your senses.
You blinked at him, feeling unsure on how to respond. It took you a while to process his words before you answered back like a lost idiot. “Huh?”
Huh? That’s all you could say?
He quirked up an eyebrow. “Are you deaf too?”
“Okay now you’re just being straight up rude.”
“Because you’re not answering me.” You could tell he was getting a bit annoyed, something that made your skin crawl. God, you were so on edge because of him.
“Okay… so enlighten me then. Why are you bringing me along?”
Now it was his turn to look uncomfortable, making your curiosity peak as your eyes trained on the shifting of his shoulders. What he said next almost made you lose your shit.
“Do you know if Cha-young likes jewelry?”
Four hours and fifteen stores later, you managed to help Vincenzo find a gorgeous pair of earrings for Cha-young — though a part of you hoped it would’ve been an engagement ring he was searching for. Nonetheless, this confirmed your suspicion of him fancying Cha-young, and it also eased your worry in suspecting that he would hurt you in any way. You felt accomplished on your mission in getting closer to Vincenzo, more importantly, squeezing your way onto his good side.
After your boy-girl shopping trip, he dropped you back off at Geumga plaza, claiming he had somewhere to go and stating that Joon-woo and Cha-young should be back any time soon. You were currently swirling in one of the chairs in the office, playing Call of Duty mobile, as Mr. Nam typed away on his computer, drinking what appeared to be some soju. The sound of his phone ringing caught your attention, but what made it more peculiar was the way he stared at you in horror.
What the hell is going on?
“Yes, she’s with me.”
He’s talking about you, but who’s on the other line?
“Got it. Okay.” Then he hung up.
Not wanting to be left in the dark, you stood up and made your way towards him. “What’s going on?”
“Um nothing… actually no… Cha-young will explain everything.”
“Explain what? I have a right to know since it was obvious that you were talking about me.”
His phone pinged, resulting in the two of you to stare at it at the same time, and before you knew it, you ran to grab his phone, making him yell and push you back as he held it up high. You didn’t want to hurt him, but you needed to know what was going on. You aimed and kneed him where the sun doesn’t shine, and Mr. Nam let out a choked up scream before collapsing on the ground. You snatched his phone from his grasp and read over the message that Cha-young sent to him.
‘Please don’t tell her yet. I don’t know how she’ll react knowing that Joon-woo isn’t who he says he is. He’s definitely using her to get information from us so let me break the news to her slowly.’
They know. They fucking know.
How? Who told them? What clues were left behind? Was Han-seok being followed? You were sure that your group tossed out the important pieces to the puzzle, that way the Jipuragi Law Firm could not piece together what was destroyed. You guys hid his identity so well, so what the fuck happened? The situation slowly dawned on you when you remembered what Vincenzo said earlier.
“Wait here. Joon-woo and Cha-young should be back shortly, but I have somewhere to go.”
“Where?” You questioned.
You knew he was hiding something, but what exactly? All Vincenzo did was smile and say that it was something important.
You pieced it all together; knowing too well that Vincenzo was most likely on his way to end Han-seok. No, over your dead fucking body. You ran out of the office, ignoring Mr. Nam’s pleas as you whipped out your phone and called Prosecutor Jung, letting him know to check up on Joon-woo as soon as possible.
Vincenzo may or may not be there, but you’re not taking the risk. You are not letting that bastard take away the love of your life. The fear and anger that shook through your body made you almost loose your footing as you wasted no time in calling your boyfriend. He didn’t answer, something that made your worry spike ten times more. You hastily called Ms. Choi who picked up on the first ring.
“What–”
“They know.” You were safely out of Geumga plaza at this point. “They know he’s Han-seok.”
You didn’t have to explain more to her, because she knew who you were talking about. “How?”
“I don’t know yet, but I just found out from looking at Mr. Nan’s phone and seeing Cha-young’s text. Ms. Choi I’m afraid something happened to Han-seok. He’s not answering his phone and…”
You couldn’t even finish your sentence as you began to hiccup with tears running down your cheeks.
“Okay, calm down,” you could hear the frustration and annoyance within her tone. “I’ll try calling him as well. If he calls either of us, let me know.”
“O-Okay.” You hate being weak in front of others — absolutely despise it — especially when it comes to those who show no fear. “I called Prosecutor–”
Then the line went dead. You looked at your phone, your body furiously shaking when you noticed that it lost battery.
“Motherfucker!” You screamed and punched a nearby wall, ignoring the pain that shot up your arm. You simply couldn’t stop. You were livid, your emotions were in no control as you repeatedly punched the brick wall in front of you. Your mind began to envision a certain male figure; making you lose more control of yourself.
“You Mafia bastard!”
You wanted him dead. Funny how things can quickly change within a blink of an eye.
Searching for a cab was surprisingly difficult, but you were thankful that the driver was kind enough to let you borrow his phone. You immediately dialed Ms. Choi’s number and felt relief hit you when she answered.
“Ms. Choi, it’s me.”
There was a long pause on her end before you heard his voice on the other line.
“Babydoll? Are you okay?”
“Han… Han-seok?” You shakily cried.
“What’s wrong? Whose number is this? Fuck _______ where are you right now?”
“I-I’m in a cab right now, on my way to your apartment, but please… are… are you okay?”
You heard him breathe out a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry about me. Take a detour and head to the Prosecutor’s office. I’m currently here with Ms. Choi, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a second. I love you.”
“I love you too, babydoll.”
The drive to Prosecutor Jung’s office felt like it dragged for ages — even though it was ten minutes away. The moment the cab came to a halt, you scurried out and made your way inside, desperately searching for Han-seok. When your eyes caught sight of him, it felt like you could finally breathe, and before you knew it, you were sprinting towards him. He turned at the sound of your footsteps; looking like he experienced hell as well. In two big strides he was already in front of you, and he scooped you into his arms and held you tightly against his chest.
That’s when you let the tears come out. You were hyperventilating onto his shoulder, gripping the coat of his suit tightly with your sprained hands before they moved to touch his hair, all while he cooed in your ear and left soft kisses on your shoulder. Hugging him has never felt better before. You can be at peace knowing that he’s safe in your arms, but how long will that peace last now that Vincenzo knows about his true identity? The war has just begun, and you plan on fighting in it, to protect the one thing that means the most to you.
No one is going to take him from you. No one is going to ruin your happiness.
You pulled away and took a hold of his face, bringing your lips together in a desperate kiss. He responded almost immediately, but the sound of someone smacking their lips behind Han-seok made you stop. You slowly turned to look at an easily annoyed Ms. Choi, who watched you two with her arms crossed.
“Do you have something stuck in your teeth or do you have a problem with me kissing my boyfriend?” You snapped.
Your comment definitely caught her off guard, and it even threw off Han-seok as well.
“Hey hey,” he directed your attention back to him. “No need to be aggressive baby. You–” his eyes finally trained on your knuckles. “What happened?”
The way his voice got dangerously low made you shudder. “I punched a building, I’m sorry. I was so angry thinking that Vincenzo possibly hurt you and I just couldn’t stop. I’m okay though, it just stings.”
Han-seok proceeded to kiss your knuckles with delicacy. “Mm, so you do get crazy for me, huh babydoll?”
“No one’s taking you away from me.”
“And no one will. I won’t allow that.”
After being in the clear to leave, the three of you were heading towards the exit, both you and Han-seok holding each other close by intertwining your fingers together. After finding out that Han-seok feigned innocence when Prosecutor Jung showed up — thank the lord that you called him — you all collectively agreed to continue to lie about him being Han-seok. As far as you know, Vincenzo has no solid proof against him, which means he can still play the role as Jang Joon-woo.
“You’re leaving already, Mr. Chairman?”
The sound of Cha-young’s voice broke you out of your thoughts. You were hoping that you wouldn’t bump into her, but of course nothing is inevitable.
“Cha-young,” Han-seok spoke out.
“Of course,” Ms. Choi hissed in irritation. “Mr. Jang is a victim of attempted murder. There’s no reason at all for him to kept here.”
Cha-young ignored your supervisor as her eyes were trained on you. “I hope you know he’s lying to you ______.”
“Cha-young, there must be a misunderstanding,” Han-seok tried to explain in a calm tone.
Your body had a mind of its own the moment Cha-young began to slap him, because you shoved yourself forward, pushed her, and slapped her back just as hard. Everyone went silent while her eyes looked at you with betrayal, and for a second you felt a wave of disappointment hit you. Why did I do that? She’s my best friend. Then everything began to flood back. Her and Vincenzo trying to ruin your happiness; to take him away from you. You’re not going to let that slide, and she absolutely deserved to get slapped in the face for even putting her hands on Han-seok.
“______ stop,” Han-seok pleaded while pulling you away from Cha-young. “She needs to hear me out.”
Neither of you said anything, giving him the perfect opportunity to clear his name. “I have no idea what’s going on.”
“Fine, let’s say it’s no big deal for a person to fool another person. You had fun, I feel like shit. You turned my best friend against me and you’re also lying to her. But this is on another level. You brutally murdered innocent people and shamelessly put on an act without feeling any guilt about killing them. That means you are less than human and don’t deserve to live.”
You heard enough. Once again, you placed yourself in between Han-seok and Cha-young. “You need to stop. You’re lucky Joon-woo decided not to press charges against your crazed mafia bastard. If anyone is less than human, it’s him.”
Cha-young scoffed. “Are you serious right now?”
You didn’t feel like entertaining the conversation more, so you took a hold of Han-seok’s hand and made your way towards the exit, but not before saying one last comment to Cha-young as you walked past her.
“You better keep your dog on a tight leash.”
But of course, she always has to have the last word.
“Take good care of your master. We’re done.”
-
The ride back to Han-seok’s apartment was definitively eerie, no one bothering to utter out a word. The severity of the situation was finally settling in, knowing that Han-seok has a target painted at the back of his head, and soon you will too. You’ve come to terms with knowing that Cha-young is no longer going to talk to you. Whatever relationship you had left with her has vanished. Vincenzo is going to come for you all; you will have to plan accordingly to take him down.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Mr. Han and Han-seo waiting for you all in the living room. Han-seok shook his coat off and threw it on the floor, not bothering to take a seat as he began to slowly pace in front of the couches. You took a seat in one of the arm chairs that sat behind him, your body facing the rest of the group. After a few more moments of silence, Han-seo decided to speak.
“It’s a relief seeing that you’re okay, sir.”
“Yes, yes. We’re glad to see that you weren’t harmed,” Mr. Han agreed.
“Damn it,” Han-seok muttered out. You turned to look at him, noticing that he was bent down and slightly grazing the floor with his fingers. He appeared to flick something off before standing up. “The floor got all dirty!”
“That bastard almost shot you, yet you’re worried about the floor?” You deplored.
“Yes babydoll, I am,” he replied almost sarcastically. “Why did they have to come in here with their shoes on?”
Really? You pray that he’s just messing with you.
“Why wasn’t Vincenzo arrested?” He questioned Ms. Choi. Before she could utter out a response, Mr. Han spoke instead.
“Prosecutor Jung concluded that his gun was fake and he should only be charged with intimidation.”
Now that was news to both of you.
“His gun was fake?”
“I think Prosecutor Jung fabricated it,” Ms. Choi explained.
“He calls himself a prosecutor of integrity, but he’s colluding with a Mafia member,” Han-seo scoffed in annoyance.
Oh lord, was that true? You were the one who called Prosecutor Jung to Han-seok’s place, but you weren’t aware that him and Vincenzo could possibly be working together.
“I called him to your place,” you answered while anxiously biting your nails. “When I found out that Vincenzo was possibly going to your place, I called Prosecutor Jung. I didn’t know he could be working with Vincenzo.”
“We don’t know that for sure. We’ll have to do some digging,” Ms. Choi stated before turning to look at Han-seok. “Why don’t you stay low for a couple weeks?”
“Nope, no,” Han-seok plopped down in the armchair next to you. “I’m fine. Let him kill me if he can.”
“Shut up before I slap you,” you snapped, not realizing that you were slightly shaking. Was it anger? Anxiety? Who knows, but you felt very irritable right now.
“Wow, really?” He laughed and leaned his body forward. “Okay, give me your best hit. Come on.”
You had enough. Without saying another word, you stood up and walked towards his bedroom, not wanting to cry in front of the others. You tend to get overly emotional when you grow angry, and you’re not sure why Han-seok is trying to push your buttons after this whole situation. Maybe he’s just trying to act tough and cold in front of the group, but whatever he’s doing, it’s pissing you off. Could he at least be more considerate of your emotions? He saw the way you were back at the station — broken and hysterical.
None of this is a game to you. He could’ve died if Vincenzo chose to show no mercy. It’s frustrating to see that Han-seok fails to grasp how severe the situation has gotten.
Letting out a groan, you plopped yourself on the bed, but the stinging sensation of your bruised knuckles hitting the duvet made you hiss. You inspected them carefully and noticed the dried blood; you also saw the area beginning to swell up. You made your way to the bathroom and began to search Han-seok’s cabinets for any first aid equipment.
And speak of the devil, you heard him walk inside the room.
“What are you going?” He questioned with curiosity.
“Do you have any rubbing alcohol?”
He frowned at your question, before his line of vision focused on your hands. He swiftly marched over to you and grabbed both of your wrists.
“Are you sure they didn’t hurt you?”
You don’t even want to think about that moment. You remember feeling so hopeless, useless, and lonely.
“Babydoll don’t cry please. Just tell me what happened. Did anyone hurt you?”
You didn’t even realize that you were crying, but now that he mentioned it, you couldn’t stop. He brought you in for a hug, careful to not hurt your hands, as he let you cry against his chest.
“I thought I lost you,” you bellowed with anguish. “You… you weren’t answering my calls. I cou… I couldn’t get a hold of you. All I could think about was how that bastard possibly took you from me… so I just lost it and punched that brick wall so many times, pretending that it was Vincenzo.
“He’s fucking dangerous, yet here you are… joking and saying that he can try to kill you. Do… do you not realize how much you fucking mean to me? How frustrating it is to see you gamble with your life. Baby…. please just lay low.”
He kissed the top of your head as he rubbed circles on your back. “I am.”
Your eyes sprung open before looking up to see him. “What?”
“I’m going to stay at my father’s vacation home for a while. Han-seo will handle everything here temporarily.”
You were relieved to say the least, and you couldn’t help but smile at him, your heart leaping in your chest when he smiled back at you.
“I want you to come with me,” he explained while caressing your cheek. “I want to keep you close.”
He doesn’t even have to ask you twice, the answer will always be yes. His fingers tucked themselves underneath your chin while his thumb grazed your lips. You softly kissed it, feeling a warm hum of affection building inside you as you met his gaze. Without a word, he leans in, pressing his lips against yours in a tender, meaningful kiss. You felt his fingers wrap themselves behind your neck while you placed both of your hands on either side of his face.
You held each other closely, as if making sure that this moment was real and you were both safe. Today was a close call — something neither of you could risk happening ever again. Others may see your relationship as sick and twisted, but nothing is more powerful in this world than love, and that’s something that’s holding you two together. You’re each other’s motivation; the sole reason of not giving up. Han-seok would kill every single person that tries to take you from him if he has to, and you? Well, you would do the exact same.
You may not be sinister or sick as him, but you’re crazy in love, and that’s enough motivation to keep you going, to fight for what is yours. No one — not Vincenzo or Cha-young — will take Han-seok away from you.
And if they do, then you can play the crazy mourning girlfriend, and strike them both when they least expect it.
-
a/n: i was lowkey imagining han-seok and the reader hugging like this at the station. the ANGGSSTT
also… be prepared for more angst in the next part.
#SoundCloud#vincenzo kdrama#jang hanseok#jang hanseok fic#reader x jang hanseok#jang hanseok oneshot#reader x jang joon woo#jang joonwoo#vincenzo hanseok#jang joon woo#vincenzo
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#shitpost#lookism#good lird#jake kim#samuel seo#park jonggun#kim joon goo#yenna jang#eli jang#vin jin#zack lee#mira kim#johan seong#ryuhei kuroda#gungoo#googun#i was giggling the entire time making this#jake x samuel if u want it to be#idk their ship name
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Matching his crazy — (6) Jealousy || [Jang Han-seok x reader]
<part 5>
You worked until three in the morning, not getting any closer to the end of unread emails as they just kept pouring in. But Han-seok had enough of you not being in bed with him, so he came out of the bedroom to take the laptop away from you, even putting your phone on the coffee table so it wouldn’t wake you up. Despite being tired, you didn’t want to finish it yet, but he was persistent, so he just picked you up and carried you to bed.
In the morning he woke you up by placing kisses on the back of your head and neck, then shifted in bed to have access to your lips. You returned his kiss, your body reacting automatically despite still being half-asleep, but when you turned to face him, he pulled away with a smile then kissed your forehead.
“You were up late, I’ll let you go back to sleep,” he told you as he swept a strand of hair behind your ear. “Just wanted to remind you of our lunch. At noon. I’ll text you the address.” Nodding, you buried your head back into the pillow and wrapped an arm around his body. “Hey, I have to get ready for work,” he said with a short laugh before peeling your arm off of himself.
A disappointed groan left your lips, but you didn’t object. He could tell you would be asleep in a minute or two again, so he got out of bed and went to take a shower. Though he wished he could stay to spend more time with you, he couldn’t do that. As long as he played his role at Wusang, he couldn’t let himself get to work late. For now he had to be the goofy intern, the one who was eager to learn from all of those big-shot lawyers. With Cha-young gone, though, he wondered how things would go from now on.
After taking a cold shower, he stood in the spacious walk-in closet and looked down at his watches, trying to decide which one to wear today, but then his eyes fell on the smaller, more delicate watch on the side. It was yours, the one he had given you as a gift a few years ago, the very same you gave him because you assumed it would end up being a trophy one way or another anyway. But he would never hurt you, and he didn’t think you would ever give him a reason to do that.
The two of you were perfect together, he knew that, and you were the only person in the world he actually cared about. Being away from you after the break-up, after he had been such an idiot to sleep with a woman he barely knew just to mess with the man she was with, was the hardest thing he ever went through.
He missed you every day, he tried to call you, he sent you countless messages, but you ignored him, and at one point you even blocked him on social media. Until this day he had no idea why you had decided to pick up the phone right when he needed you, but he was glad you did. It just meant you were supposed to be together, that fate or whatever was working in the background wanted him to get you back in his life.
Once he drank a cup of coffee and was ready to leave, he went back to the bedroom to give you one last kiss. He couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. In the current situation his attachment to you was a liability, he knew that. But he wasn’t about to give you up, he just had to find a way to get what he wanted with you on his side.
The day went by, and in a blink of an eye Han-seok found himself in the small restaurant he chose to meet you for lunch. He glanced down at his watch and noted that you were late. It wasn’t like you, you were known for being punctual. Letting out a sigh, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed your number, but just as it told him the line was busy, his eyes finally fell on you.
You were gorgeous in the royal blue dress you wore, and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He stood up to greet you, happy to let everyone know you were coming to meet him, but you were on the phone and your attention wasn’t fully on him. When you got within earshot, though, you quickly ended the call you were in, then wrapped your arms around his body. He wondered who you were talking to, after all it was late night back in the States.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked you as you both sat down.
Nodding, you reached for the water bottle and poured yourself a glass. “But I hated that you left me there like that.”
“I thought you were half-asleep,” Han-seok noted with a smirk. You gave him a pointed look over your glass. “Anyway,” he spoke up again, changing the subject. “Today we will celebrate. They made me a partner at Wusang.”
You carefully put down the glass and watched him with a curious look on your face. “Why? I thought you didn’t want to be in the spotlight,” you told him with your head sweetly tilted to the side.
He reached out to take your hand, his thumb drawing circles into your skin. He wanted to trust you, he truly did, but until he figured out who you were talking to on the phone when you arrived, he couldn’t think straight. Jealousy was clouding his mind despite his brain constantly reminding him that you were loyal to him.
He explained his plan to you, although he kept certain details to himself. Details like still looking for Cha-young to get information he might use against them. He knew you would overreact and assume he would make the same mistake again. You didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t interested in him, and honestly, he had no idea how he else should have told you there was nothing to worry about.
When he finished, you leaned back in your chair and took a good look at him. “You thought of everything,” you noted.
“As usual,” was all he said in response. For long seconds he watched you in silence, wondering what to say. The thought of you talking to someone else was still bothering him, so he took a deep breath and braced himself for your possible reaction. “By the way, who were you talking to when you got here? It’s pretty late back home, isn’t it?” he asked as casually as he could.
“A friend of mine,” you replied with a shrug, refusing to elaborate.
After all those years together, he knew your body language. The way you looked away after answering meant you weren’t really interested in keeping this conversation going. He wondered if you just avoided the topic or just had enough of him for the time being. He felt offended by the thought of you not wanting to be in his company, but since he wasn’t sure if that was the case, he didn’t say anything.
“I should probably go back to the office,” Han-seok said eventually, even though he didn’t move. He didn’t want to leave you, mostly because he didn’t trust you right now.
But you seemed relaxed, as if you weren’t keeping any secrets from him. “I’ll go back to your place and work a little. Hopefully I won’t have to pull another all-nighter.”
After he nodded with a forced smile, both of you stood up and he pulled you into a hug that was probably unnecessarily tight considering you quickly tried to push him away. So he let go, coming to the conclusion that playing nice was his best option for now.
The next days passed in a kind of tension that could hardly be described. With each passing day he became more sure that you were hiding something from him, but he didn’t know what it was, and he didn’t think you would tell him anytime soon, even if he asked.
So he wasn’t expecting to be welcomed by you throwing a bunch of photos in front of him in the living room, all of them having him and Cha-young on them.
“Care to explain?” you asked with a sweet smile.
There it was, the jealous side of you he hadn’t seen since you arrived. “I need to keep an eye on her and her friend.”
“I thought I made myself clear back when I got here. I had a bad feeling and look at what the private investigator found.”
Han-seok nodded, but he didn’t say anything. He wanted to know what was going on in that gorgeous head of yours. You had said you would hurt Cha-young if he kept playing his game, he remembered, but he wasn’t sure if you would follow through in a country where you had no connections apart from him.
You let out a sigh as you stood up and stood in front of him. “But I’ve been thinking. It would be unfair of me to punish her when you’re the one chasing her,” you said surprisingly calmly with a cold edge to your voice. “Now, I’ve already packed my suitcase, and I guess my taxi is waiting outside. If you’ll excuse me,” you began, but instead of finishing the sentence, you just walked by him and pulled out your suitcase from behind the couch.
“You can’t be serious. You can’t leave me,” he told you sternly, having a hard time keeping his emotions under control. When you let out a carefree laugh and began to head towards the door, he walked up to you and grabbed your arm to yank you back. “You can’t leave me,” he repeated slowly.
He was already frustrated because of being beaten in court on the first day, and now you were making things worse by leaving. There was no way he would let that happen. Not after he finally got you back. He had fucked up once and lost you, he wasn’t about to go through that again.
“Watch me,” you hissed as you pulled your arm away and turned to walk out of the house.
“And where are you going?”
“Home.”
No. No, no, no, you couldn’t go home, not yet. “Remember how you asked me to trust you when you talk to other men?” he asked, making you come to an abrupt halt with this question. “I’m asking you the same thing. I wouldn’t cheat on you again, you need to believe me.”
Letting out a loud, almost theatrical sigh, you turned around to look at him. “I still need space,” you replied. “Just for a couple of days.”
“But only for a few days and you stay in the country,” Han-seok said with a finger pointed at you. For a few seconds you thought about this, then you nodded. “Good. Promise you’ll answer the phone when I call you. I need to know you’re okay, I need to hear your voice.”
“Sure. Goodnight,” you said then left the house.
Once you got into the taxi, you asked the driver to start driving in any direction while you made a call. You tried to work yourself up, bringing out the tears and making your voice sound like you’ve been crying for a while now. By the time the person you called picked up, you were a mess.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you this late, but we got into a fight and I can’t stay with him. I–I could go to a hotel, but I don’t want to be alone after what happened. Would it be too much to ask to let me stay at your place tonight? Just one night, I’ll leave tomorrow,” you begged.
“No, it’s okay, I’ll text you the address,” the voice at the other end of the line assured you.
With a wide smile on your lips, you told the driver the address then put away the phone and looked out the window. It was a good start. Your dear boyfriend will soon learn that two can play this game.
#vincenzo#jang han seok#jang han-seok#jang han seok x reader#jang han-seok x reader#jang joon woo#jang joon woo x reader#jang joon-woo#jang joon-woo x reader#jang hanseok#jang hanseok x reader#matching his crazy
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Attack
Requested by anonymous: Greetings miss, can you please do a Jang Joon-Woo x female reader story where for some reason reader gets seriously injured accidentally by his enemies and join woo is angry and wants revenge but before that he reader gets conscious and calms him down. Kinda where Joon woo has soft spot only for reader... P.S. sorry if the idea is annoying, you can just ignore this then.
Pairing: Jang Han-Seok/Jang Jun-Woo x fem!reader
Word Count: 0,5k words
Warnings: Han-Seok/Jun-Woo is a socio-/psychopath, talk about an attack
Part 2
Jang Jun-Woo was a man who cared for none, a proud man that hated when he was bested by others. Especially the fact that some went after the people near him, his pawns that he needed for his plans to work. He'd get mad, but his anger would dissapear when he found someone new that could fulfil the same tasks.
But none of those factors applied to you.
You were different to the sociopath, his heart yearned to keep you near him and protect you. To watch you fall for him and stay with him, always near him and there for him. You were more than a pawn, you were his. Only he was allowed to lay his hands on you, the only one who was allowed to harm you.
So the man that stood in front of him was dead in his mind and soon enough, he would be in real life as well. The man stood on the side, eyes wide of shock as he stared at the body of the woman that he had believed to be Jun-Woo. He was quick to notice the sociopath and just as quick to dissapear from the house, leaving a cursing Jun-Woo and you. Jun-Woo was quick to be by your side, his cursing continuing as he notice your slowing heartbeat. And only after stitches and at least 20 bandages, he was less panicked about your state and more for how to kill the intruder.
When you reawakened, he was still in the room while pacing and cursing. Myung-Hee was their as well, showing the CTV-footage to the man. Jun-Woo knew quite quickly who the man on the footage was, he'd seen the bastard more than once and he'd bested the man quite often. In a way, Jun-Woo could only be glad that it wasn't him but at least he would've awoken unlike you.
"Jang Han-Seok!" You decided to call him by his birth-name, something you wouldn't usually do unless it was serious. The man was quick to look your way, moving to your side in the matter of seconds with a semi worried look. Even when he looked calm, you could quickly spit the anger hidden in his eyes and the sift curses that fell from his lips were only heard by you. So you took his face in your hands and closed your own eyes as you pushed your forehead against his.
The man seemed to relax instantly, body tensing up before slowly melting in your touch. It was something that you were always able to do, neither you nor Jun-Woo could explain it. This was often something that also shocked others, for example Myung-Hee who could only stare at you in shock.
The man she knew was aggressive and violent, yet the same man was now beside you like a puppy as he pushed his head into your touch. It was almost frightening to see him like that, so normal compared to his usual self and more like his fake persona. Myung-Hee didn't want to see it any longer, it wasn't good for the plan. She had to get rid of you.
Properly this time.
#vincenzo#vincenzo junwoo#vincenzo hanseok#vincenzo x reader#vincenzo joon woo#Jang hanseok#jang hanseok x reader#jang joon woo#jang junwoo#jang junwoo x reader#reader insert#x reader#request
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2022 Korean BL Dramas (part 1)
Just wish they had more and longer episodes :)
#korean bl#bl drama#semantic error#park jae chan#park seo-ham#cherry blossoms after winter#ok jin uk#kang hui#the director who buys me dinner#park jeongwoo#park youngwoon#jang you sung#blueming#kang eun bin#jo hyuk joon#to my star 2: our untold stories#son woo hyun#kim kang min#roommates of poongduck 304#kim ji woong#yoon seobin#2022 korean bl
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#parasite#bong joon ho#cho yeo jeong#park so dam#lee sun kyun#jang hye jin#park myung hoon#bts#behind the scenes#korean movie
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Upcoming Kdrama March 2024 🌈
1/3: Wonderful World with Cha Eun Woo, Kim Nam Joo, Im Se Mi. 14 episodes; thriller, mystery.
9/3: Queen of Tears with Kim Soo Hyun, Kim Ji Won. 16 episodes; rom-com.
11/3: Midnight Photo Studio with Joo Won, Nara, Yoo In Soo. 16 episodes; romance, fantasy.
15/3: Chicken Nugget with Ryu Seung Ryeong, Ahn Jae Hong, Kim Yoo Jung. 12 episodes; fantasy, comedy.
18/3: Grabbed by the Collar with Kim Ha Neul, Jang Seung Jo, Yun Woo Jin. 16 episodes; thriller, mystery.
23/3: Hide with Lee Bo Young, Lee Moo Saeng, Lee Chung Ah. 12 episodes; mystery, thriller.
23/3: the Resurrection of the Seven with Uhm Ki Joon, Hwang Jung Eum, Lee Joon, Lee Yubi. 16 episodes; thriller, mystery.
Looking forward to Kim Soo Hyun x Kim Ji Won couple! ���️
#upcoming kdrama#wonderful world#queen of tears#midnight photo studio#chicken nugget#grabbed by the collar#hide#the resurrection of the seven#cha eun woo#kim soo hyun#kim ji won#joo won#yoo in soo#ahn jae hong#kim yoo jung#kim ha neul#jang seung jo#yun woo jin#lee bo young#lee joon#lee yubi
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Drama: Vincenzo (Episode 16)
Han Seo telling Vincenzo that he was the one who called firefighters and save all the people from being blown up with the whole building. He is so cute here, but it actually is quite sad that he seeks friendship in his enemy because he treats him better than his own brother.
#vincenzo cassano#vincenzo#tvn vincenzo#song joon ki#song joong ki#jang han seo#kwak dong yeon#kdrama#korean drama#asian men#korean#kdrama edit#apedramaedit#apevincgifs#kdramanetwork#kdramaedit#korean actor#korean series#kactor#kdramasource#netflix kdrama#kdrama gifs#kdrama daily
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My guy smacked her in the face with a bamboo stick and the next you know he's gone. Head over heels in love.
#gyeongseong creature#park seo joon#han so hee#kdrama#gyeongseong creature kdrama#jang tae sang#yoon chae ok
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‘ 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥 ’ — 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐧-𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤
𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨, ⇨
❥ 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠: ‘𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥’ 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐚𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥
summary ┆ working at wusang was a dream come true for you. you had great friendships there and even began to develop feelings for a certain intern. but things started to change — big reveals left you shocked, and instead of running away you felt yourself become more captivated by him. . . and he seems to notice you as well. nothing in this world really matters to jang han-seok, but you? he will burn the whole world for you.
key: bold = english
warnings ┆ not really a warning but a bit ooc han-seok only cause he’ll be a simp for you… but i’m still writing his character as accurate as i can!
Your feet were killing you from all the running you’ve been doing today. It’s been a hectic day at the law firm and it seems like everyone has it out for you since you simply could not catch a break. From having to file paper work, make phone calls, even grabbing coffee for some people; it was a lot.
You were out of breath and leaning against a wall when someone ran up behind you to spook you.
“Boo!”
You screamed and slapped whoever it was that scared you, your eyes widening when you saw Joon-woo rubbing his cheek.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry!”
“That was very funny,” Cha-young laughed and wrapped her arm around your shoulder.
“Wow you hit hard,” Joon-woo pouted down at you.
“Don’t scare me like that,” you playfully slapped his arm, earning a groan from him in return.
“Yeah well he had it coming,” Cha-young rolled her eyes before giving you a hug. “By the way, we won!”
You hugged her back just as tightly, a smile forming on your lips. “Really? I’m so proud of you!”
You could say the two of you were rather close, almost like sisters. Other than Joon-woo — who she can barely tolerate — you were the only person in the law firm that she genuinely liked. You both grew incredibly close and are practically inseparable. She was your favorite person in the world until Joon-woo started to work at Wusang, and it’s been a battle for your attention ever since.
You and Cha-young both held hands and began to jump around in circles while you squealed before Joon-woo wrapped his arms around you two and jumped in.
“Hey hey,” Cha-young shoved him away. “This is our girl moment.”
“Aren’t I considered one of the girls?” He grinned while pressing his index finger against his cheek.
Cha-young looked at him with disgust. “No you moron.”
“You’re so mean to him,” you rolled your eyes and grabbed his hands. “You will always be one of the girls.”
He smiled at you but had to quickly excuse himself when he felt his phone ringing. “I will see you two later. Bye besties.”
He proceeded to twirl away like a ballerina, and while you looked at him with admiration, Cha-young was definitely unamused.
“You like that?”
“He’s so cute.”
The three of you decided to celebrate after work and although you insisted that drinks would be on you, Cha-young refused to let you pay at all. You sometimes get a little too carried away when it comes down to drinking, seeing as how you already drank about four bottles of soju and was feeling tipsy already.
“I love you twooo,” you slurred as you grabbed both of their hands.
“______ you’re drunk,” Joon-woo laughed and you quickly hushed him.
“Not yet. I’m just tipsy.”
“That’s what they all say,” Cha-young shook her head with a smile before looking down at her phone. “Anyways I have to go. This is for the soju.” She placed a couple of bills in your hand but quickly grabbed them and handed it over to Joon-woo. “I don’t trust her with it.”
“I got it boss,” Joon-woo gave her a thumbs up. “Bye!”
“Goodbye my love!” You waved at Cha-young and blew her a kiss.
“Why don’t you ever call me that?” Joon-woo pouted.
You weren’t sure if he was joking or being serious, but considering your friendship, he was probably kidding around with you. It sort of hurt, knowing he probably doesn’t feel the same way, but you still cherished every little comment and touch you shared with Joon-woo. You felt yourself lean against his shoulder as you softly caressed his arm.
“Okay my love, I’m sorry.”
Your heart began to beat erratically inside your chest and you felt him wrap his arms around you. Maybe the alcohol was making him act weird as well, but when he asked if you wanted to go for a drive, you almost slapped him again. Even though you weren’t one-hundred percent sober, you were very much aware that drunk driving was not only against the law but super careless. Joon-woo promised you that he wasn’t tipsy or under the influence, and he shook his two empty bottles of soju in front of your face to prove his point — he also drank a good amount of water too.
In the end, you agreed to go on a drive through the city with him, having the windows rolled down while the wind fanned your faces and you both sang your hearts out. You sang to Perfect Man, Careless Whisper, some BTS songs, hell you even did some throwbacks and sang to the Backstreet Boys.
The night was amazing. It felt like a dream.
You were currently blasting ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ while you stuck your head out the window and let the wind blow your hair back, your eyes closed as you held your right arm out.
“But now, there’s no where to hide! Since you pushed my love aside! I’m outta my head, hopelessly devoted to you!”
You were too busy singing to even notice Joon-woo smile in your direction. You looked ethereal to him. The way your beautiful hair is flowing in the wind, how your voice sounds angelic when you sing, the way your smile lights up the night sky. He was incredibly whipped — if you could put it that way. He has never met anyone be so…perfect. He doesn’t know what it is about you, but he feels drawn to you, like you were meant to keep him grounded. The one pure thing in this world that he genuinely deserves.
He wants you to be his. He wants that so bad.
But for now, he has to wait. There’s no rush in making you his yet. Joon-woo wants to make sure he does this correctly because usually, he makes sure he gets what he wants when he needs it. But you’re delicate, you’re pure, you’re someone that managed to crawl inside his cold heart and slowly thaw it out. He doesn’t want to risk losing you or scaring you away, so in the mean time, he will cherish whatever friendship it is that you two share.
—
“He said what?!”
You and Cha-young were in her office as you spoke about your amazing night with Joon-woo. After he dropped you off at your place, you could’ve sworn it was going to lead to a kiss. The way he looked at you, with so much intensity, it made you feel weak in your knees. You wanted that kiss so bad but all he did was open the door for you, guide you inside, give you a glass of water, and give you a goodbye hug.
“At first when you left he pouted and asked why I never call him ‘my love’. Then I lean into him, apologize while calling him that, and he wrapped his arm around me. Cha-young I almost fainted.”
“Okay, then what?”
“We went on a drive and I made sure he wasn’t tipsy or drunk, which he wasn’t. It literally felt like something straight out of a kdrama. I just,” you let out a dreamy sigh and dropped yourself onto the ground, “it was perfect.”
“I mean this isn’t the first time you’ve hung out with just him right?”
“No, but it was definitely… different.”
“Ah that Joon-woo,” Cha-young frowned while pursing her lips. “Such a moron to not realize what a catch he has in front of him.”
“Maybe he likes you,” you suggested with a pout but wasn’t being serious about it.
“Me? Ha! Never in a million years! I terrorize him enough and even if he did, he’s not my type. I can beat him up for you.”
“You already do with your words.”
“I can also do it physically.”
“But then you’ll ruin his perfect face–”
“Hello my besties!”
Your eyes widened at his sudden arrival, and he walked around the table only to stop when he noticed you on the floor.
“Oh? What are you doing down there?”
“Dying.”
“Ah,” he nodded his head.
Cha-young stomped towards Joon-woo and slapped him on his shoulder. “Do you knock you moron?”
He awkwardly laughed. “So sorry but the boss man called. Mr. Han said that Babel Pharmaceutical’s Drug Development Division called because one of their researchers that was in quarantine went missing.”
“What?!”
You slowly sat up. “This is top secret information. I must go.”
“No, you’re coming with us.”
“Huh?” Both you and Joon-woo said at the same time. Cha-young seemed pissed and didn’t even acknowledge you both as she grabbed her bag and marched out the office, like a lion ready to mangle its prey. You and Joon-woo looked at each other with confusion before you both hurried out of the office and tailed behind the angry lawyer.
The three of you reached your destination in no time and you stood behind Cha-young — who was sitting down and was eerily quiet. Joon-woo on the other hand? He was getting after the two pharmacists in front you.
“It’s been two days. Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Look at her,” he gestured at Cha-young. “She’s so upset!”
“I’m sorry,” one of the pharmacists apologized.
“My god… seriously,” Joon-woo hissed out.
Seeing him angry…was kinda hot.
Cha-young finally broke her silence as she glared at the two men. “I told you to keep a close eye on all the newly employed researchers. I didn’t want them to complain, so I got them to stay at the chairman’s villa!” She stood up and paused for a second before continuing. “If that researcher talks nonsense, we’ll lose this suit.”
“And that new drug, it’ll be the end of it as well!” Joon-woo stepped in.
“I’m truly sorry,” one of them apologized… again before the two bowed.
This was truly frustrating to watch.
“Do the higher ups know?” You involuntarily spoke without realizing it, making everyone look at you. You placed a fist over your mouth and slowly turned away.
“No ma’am. They don’t.”
“Then let’s keep it that way. Don’t you dare tell them,” Cha-young glared at them.
“Never!” Joon-woo pointed a finger.
After the two pharmacists agreed and you three took your leave, you walked out of the building to sort of decompress the conversation. Cha-young was still irritated — rightfully so. Joon-woo was saying things that irritated her more. And you? Well, you were there for support. Things took a turn when Cha-young spotted the Chairman of Babel, Jang Han-seo, and practically ran to him. The whole encounter was short since he seemed to be in a hurry and it almost felt like he brushed her off in the end, which made your jaw drop.
“I get that he’s a chairman, but how can he talk down on us on our first encounter?” You frowned and crossed your arms.
“And he’s young too,” Joon-woo hissed.
“Anyone who’s rich and powerful can do so even if they’re younger than me,” Cha-young spoke with displeasure.
You scoffed. “With that mindset, you might as well have a child actor tell you what to do.”
The three of you stood there for a while before Cha-young excused herself and said her goodbye’s, claiming she had somewhere to go. Both you and Joon-woo watched her leave before he tapped your shoulder with a smile.
“Want some steak? I got paid yesterday.”
“You don’t even have to ask me twice, let’s go!”
And boy was that steak so damn good. Maybe it’s the fact you were starving since you skipped out on breakfast, which was definitely a bad idea on your part. You didn’t even bother eating anything since you woke up with such a grimm taste on your mouth due to the alcohol. All you did was pop a mint into your mouth after you brushed your teeth, got ready, and went to work.
“Wow you’re going to finish before me,” Joon-woo’s jaw dropped. “Did you not eat breakfast?”
“I didn’t have time. After you dropped me off last night I went to bed and felt super woozy and just knocked out. Woke up feeling like crap, plus, I was running late too.”
“You can’t skip out on meals though,” he pouted with a small frown. “You’ll get sick.”
“Aw, you care about my well being?” You cooed.
“Of course I care,” he muttered to himself before taking a bite out of his steak.
You ignored the butterflies in your stomach at his words and you took a sip of your water, trying to fight the blush on your cheeks.
“______ do you like anybody?”
Cue you choking on your water as you lightly spit it out. Joon-woo immediately stood up to help you while you embarrassingly coughed so loud that everyone decided to look at you. You cleaned your face with a napkin while Joon-woo patted your back, and you were quick to hit his stomach, making him flinch.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Because you and Cha-young were talking about it.”
Holy fuck did he hear us?
“I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything, but I did hear her saying she’ll beat someone up for you and you said no since it’ll ruin his perfect face,” he sighed. “Am I not one of the girls after all?”
“That’s different girl talk though,” you quickly defended yourself.
“So you do like someone?”
“I never said that.”
“But you’re acting suspicious.”
“Okay so what if I do?”
“Do I know him?”
“Maybe.”
“Who is it?”
He was bombarding you with questions and you felt cornered. It didn’t help that he was practically leaning into you while one hand rested on your chair and the other on the table. If he leaned in just a little closer, you could easily move your head up and kiss him. Why is he curious about your love life? Does he like you?
“Why do you wanna know so bad, hm?” You pressed.
“Just looking after you. Cha-young may be fierce but I have the muscle.” He stepped back and punched the air while doing sound effects. “No one will dare hurt you.”
Oh, so he’s just being a good friend. You’re gonna let that disappointment sink in right about now.
“I’m still not telling you.”
“But why?” He whined.
“Do you like anybody?”
“I actually do.”
Your fork clattered onto your plate while you stared up at him. He was smiling and looking up at the ceiling, and he appeared to be daydreaming or something. He sat back down on his chair and you did your best to hold your composure.
“Oh. What’s she like?”
Joon-woo let out a dreamy sigh. “She’s amazing. Hard-working. Has a good sense of humor. She’s perfect to me.”
You wanted to throw up. Your appetite vanished and the delicious steak that sat in front of you didn’t seem appetizing anymore. Your hands felt numb and you could literally feel your heart breaking at his words.
“She sounds nice,” you mumbled while plastering your best fake smile.
“Mhm. I really want to ask her out but I just don’t know how do it. I think she likes someone else though, but that won’t make me give up.”
Maybe you should. Forget her.
“Joon-woo, she’s an idiot for not liking you.”
“You think so?” His eyes brightened. “How should I ask her out then?”
Why the fuck are you the one that has to listen to this conversation? Why couldn’t it of been Cha-young? You could either just walk away and lie about your stomach hurting and leave him here, or you could genuinely help him. You didn’t want to be a bad friend, and you most definitely didn’t want to bail on him just because you felt jealous and was undergoing a heartbreak. You weren’t that type of friend. He deserves everything, especially your support. If he doesn’t like you, then you can’t do anything about it. It is what it is and you have to suck it up.
“Start off by getting her small gifts. Flowers, food, anything she likes. Compliment her when she’s feeling down or when she thinks she doesn’t look great… she’ll eventually start to notice you. Buy her a bouquet of flowers, something really pretty, then pour out your feelings and let her know how much she means to you.”
You wanted to cry. Your eyes were brimming with tears and you were just a second away from a breakdown.
“Excuse me I have to pee.”
You shot out of your seat and ran to the bathroom, and the moment you stepped inside, you broke. You have never felt this type of heartbreak before, not even with your previous partners. Joon-woo isn’t even your boyfriend, and yet, he’s the one who broke you more. You were a crying mess while you pulled out your phone and called Cha-young. The moment she heard your sobs, she went crazy. You told her what happened but made her promise to not kill Joon-woo after this, and that took a lot of convincing.
“Can you just… p-please call him and make up an excuse. I-I don’t think I can be here right now.”
“Ah! This is so frustrating! I can’t just hit him at all?”
“No.”
She mumbled a few curse words before replying. “Fine. Send me the address and I’ll be on my way. I’ll think of something.”
“Thank you.”
You hung up and gave yourself a bit more time before stepping out. You washed your face and applied a bit of make up to hide the fact that you were just crying. When you stepped back outside and began to walk towards your table, you noticed Joon-woo was on the phone.
“But we’re having steak,” he replied and shot you a wave when he saw you. “Cha-young please,” he whined before letting out a huff. “Fine.”
“What happened?”
“Cha-young called saying she needed you for some errands. She said you weren’t answering her calls.”
“Really?” You acted clueless and pulled out your phone, staring at your empty lock screen. “Oh wow, I didn’t even notice.”
“Yeah,” he huffed. “She’s on her way to pick you up.”
“Did she say where we were going?”
“Nope.”
You nodded your head and turned your attention back towards your steak, gently stabbing it with your fork. Joon-woo squinted his eyes when he noticed your change in demeanor.
“Hey, you okay?”
Fuck.
But right on cue, your phone began to ring and you quickly answered it. Relief hit you when you heard Cha-young say she was outside and you shot Joon-woo a sad smile.
“Sorry, I have to go. Be safe heading back home and text me when you get there!” You scurried out of your seat and paused for a second. “Good luck with that girl.”
Then you left, leaving a completely dumbfounded and upset Joon-woo behind.
—
The next few weeks definitely felt different and you tried to put as much distance between you and Joon-woo as possible. He seemed to pick up on it and would try to follow you around, asking if something is going on. You would put your best poker face and tell him that everything was okay and you were just busy with work. He didn’t seem to buy your excuse but you didn’t care anymore. You wanted to get over whatever feelings you had for him.
Then, the tragic news hit of Cha-young’s father passing away, and she was a mess. You knew they never got along but you weren’t blind to the fact that deep down she cared for him. He was her father after all. Even though Joon-woo was there for her, you were the one who slept over at her place — well her dad’s house — to cheer her up and offer her a shoulder to cry on. You were devastated when she left Wusang though, but nonetheless, you’ll still be able to see her outside of work.
When you received a call from her that she was apparently detained, you grabbed Joon-woo and ran towards the police station to bail her out.
But instead, a rather handsome guy wearing a suit waltzed in, providing concrete proof and demanding for her to be released. He definitely held some power to him and you wondered if he was her new partner since she did take over her father’s law firm. The moment you all left, she immediately walked towards his direction as he spoke on the phone.
“He’s smart,” spoke Joon-woo.
You nodded in agreement. “He’s also hot, but wow do they look good together.”
“Hot?” Joon-woo’s voice sounded a bit rough, but he cleared his throat and fixed his collar. “I mean, maybe they’re dating.”
You squinted your eyes. “No… she would’ve told me about it. I think he’s that lawyer she’s been telling me about.”
“Vincenzo Cassano?”
“Mhm,” you nodded your head and shoved your hands in your pockets while walking over to them, Joon-woo following behind.
“Lawyer Vincenzo Cassano?” Joon-woo curiously asked.
The man turned around with an impressed look. “You’re the first Korean to pronounce my name correctly.”
Joon-woo smiled at the compliment. “I used to be her assistant back in Wusang. I’m Jang Joon-woo.”
“And I’m _____ _____, you’ll probably hear more about me.”
Vincenzo nodded his head but squinted his eyes at Joon-woo. “How do you know me?”
“Ah, because I did a background check on you for Cha-young.”
Cue him doubling over after Cha-young kicked his leg. You choked back a laugh and shook your head when everyone’s eyes landed on you.
“Sooo, are you two working close?” You asked with a smile.
Vincenzo just looked at you with a bored expression before walking off. “No.”
Your jaw dropped at his rudeness, and Cha-young apologized on his behalf before saying goodbye to you and chasing after the dickhead.
“What an asshole,” you muttered. “He’s not boyfriend material.”
“Well I think him and Cha-young are perfect for each other. They’re both cranky, lawyers, and–”
You didn’t even bother listening to what Joon-woo was saying as you walked away, waving him over to follow since you both had to head back to work.
“Wait.” Even though he was limping, he managed to catch up to you. You felt him grab your wrist and twirl you around to face him. “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been… different lately. Ever since that day I took you out for steak. Did something happen?”
“No,” you feigned innocence.
His expression grew serious when he let out a deep sigh. “I know you were crying in the bathroom.”
“How? You spied on me?”
He shook his head. “No but the lady next to us was heading to the bathroom too… until she heard you crying. She thought you were my girlfriend and told me, and she mentioned you speaking to someone on the phone.”
Why the fuck are people so nosy?
“Did you call Cha-young to pick you up?” He was grabbing your shoulders at this point and you refused to make eye contact with him. “Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about Joon-woo,” your voice was barely above a whisper.
“______,” he bent down so he could be at eye level with you. “Why won’t you talk to me. Did I do something?”
He looked defeated and it made you feel guilty. Why are you making his life hell when he doesn’t deserve it? It’s not his fault he doesn’t feel the same for you. You preached about being a good friend to him, yet, you’ve been giving him the cold shoulder ever since your conversation about his crush.
You swallowed back the lump on your throat and smiled up at him. “No no, it’s not you. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch lately–”
“You’re not a bitch.”
“Shh,” you placed your finger on his lips. “Let me finish. I was going through some stuff and my boy trouble didn’t help. Then when you started to talk about the girl you liked and how you probably made more progress with her, I just felt like poop because the guy I like and I have made zero progress. I was just sulking and the whole thing with Cha-young’s dad also happened. I took it out on you and I’m sorry Joon-woo.”
He didn’t say anything as he processed your apology, so instead you hugged him, not even caring if he returned it, but the moment you felt him wrap his arms around you, you felt happy. “Can my bestie forgive me? I’ll treat you to some ice cream.”
His chest rumbled as he laughed. “Let’s get some ice cream.”
And for the first time in a while, you felt happy.
—
You were once again running around the law firm, attending to errands and requests by the lawyers around you. You have never been bossed around so much in your life before and it was definitely frustrating. Some of these lawyers had ridiculous requests but you knew better than to question them. You were exhausted, probably since you didn’t get a good nights sleep. As you were rounding the corner your eyes fell on a dancing Joon-woo, and it took everything in you to not laugh at his dorkiness.
“Joon-woo?”
He turned around at the sound of your voice, a huge smile forming on his lips. “_______!” He practically ran towards you and gave you zero time to react as he picked you up and spun you around.
“Oh my god! What are you–”
“Guess what?” He looked up at you, completely forgetting how he was holding you.
“What?”
“You’re looking at Lawyer Jang Joon-woo.”
Your eyes widened in surprise and your mouth fell open before you wrapped your arms around his neck. “Oh my god! Really? Congratulations Joon-woo!”
“Thank you!” He smiled as he continued to spin you around. You were really hoping he wouldn’t be able to feel your heart beating like crazy against your chest. He was holding you so close and it almost felt like it was just you two existing in that mere moment.
Until it got ruined.
“What are you two doing?”
You both froze and turned towards the sound of the voice. Standing a couple of feet away was Lawyer Choi and she was looking at you two with confusion. You never interacted with her much, but according to Cha-young’s description of her, she is a pain in the ass. Neither you or Joon-woo dared to move, and he was still holding you up while Ms. Choi appeared to be growing impatient.
“Are you two deaf?”
“N-No,” you stuttered out while wiggling in Joon-woo’s arms. He quickly set you down as he fixed his suit, flashing her a small awkward smile. “We were just celebrating his promotion.”
“What kind of celebration was that? It looked like he just proposed to you and you said yes.”
You immediately turned red at her words, but Joon-woo was quick to step in. “We just got a little too excited.”
“Hm. Don’t do it again.”
That was the last thing she said before walking off. It felt like you could finally breathe and that’s exactly what you did as you let out the biggest exhale of your life. You leaned back against the wall and fanned your face, but Joon-woo stared at you as if you grew two heads.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve never been in trouble before,” you whispered. “She’s one of the top dogs.”
“Top dogs?”
“Yes, top dogs,” you repeated. “She’s scary.”
Joon-woo chuckled and ruffled your hair. “You’ll be fine. You want to grab some dinner with me?”
You wanted to say yes so bad, but your evening was swamped with work. “I can’t. I’m working late today.”
He shot you a pout. “That’s not fair.”
“I know,” you groaned and slammed your head against the wall. You already hated the idea of working so late today, but knowing that you’re going to miss out on having dinner with Joon-woo, it makes the situation worse for you. But it still makes you wonder why he’s asking you to eat with him? Didn’t he have a crush on someone? Wouldn’t he ask her instead? You shook those thoughts away, not wanting to stress yourself over it.
All you could was say goodbye to Joon-woo and smile as he shot you an army salute before walking off. Maybe he’ll ask his crush since you declined his offer. Curse your overthinking brain because now you’re definitely left in a bad mood.
—
You don’t know how it happened but somehow Joon-woo was able to have you as his personal assistant, so you began to follow him everywhere to provide some assistance whenever he needed it. You were glad to finally have a break from your previous position, but that also means you’re spending more time with Joon-woo now. You just don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing. Being with him almost every day of the week made it hard for you to get rid of your feelings, especially when he’s been acting rather close to you.
Joon-woo has been sending mixed signals and you’re not even sure if this girl he spoke about is even in the picture anymore. You did lean towards the idea of him possibly liking you, but you didn’t want to get your hopes up.
Your relationship with Cha-young has also been hard to manage ever since she begged you to leave Wusang and work for her law firm. She went on a whole rant how Wusang is covering up for Babel’s illegal schemes and you shouldn’t support them or get caught up in their mess. She even said you could try to convince Joon-woo to join her law firm as well — even though she was half against it. He was quick to turn down her proposal, which left you in the middle. You told her you’ll think about it and get back to her as soon as possible.
But for now, your mind was focused on assisting and following Joon-woo — along with Mr. Han and Ms. Choi.
Your first time in court was… unexpecting. First Cha-young “fainted”, then the power went out, and lastly, giant hornets were flying around the courtroom and stung the judge. His face was left so swollen he couldn’t even talk, so the trial was postponed until the following week.
“This is better than a kdrama,” you whispered to Mr. Han who sat next to you.
He looked around, trying to make sure no one would hear him as he leaned in and nodded his head. “I agree.”
But his demeanor completely changed on the ride back to Wusang.
“Gosh. In my twenty-five years as a lawyer, I’ve never experienced such chaos in court before,” he chuckled before kicking Joon-woo’s seat. “It’s my first time! Okay?”
“That hurts, boss,” Joon-woo hissed while he winced from pain.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes.”
“Well, suck it up! Suck it up!” Mr. Han yelled while repeatedly kicking and punching the seat again.
“Sir aren’t you being too rough?” You tapped his arm to grab his attention.
“Too rough? I don’t think so,” he waved you off.
“On top of that, my first trial as a lawyer was a flop,” Ms. Choi stated, unamused.
And yet experiencing my first trial was hilarious. You thought.
“God those dirty bastards. Of all things, how could they think of bringing in those hornets? What should we do?” Mr. Han sarcastically laughed.
“It was so funny,” you blurted out, causing everyone — but the driver — to face you. Your heart hammered in your chest while your eyes widened, and you slowly sunk in your seat as best as you could. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“You didn’t mean to… oh god,” Mr. Han flicked your forehead which made you wince. “Should we just leave you stranded here?”
“No, sorry sir.”
“Ah! It’s not like you’re of any use anyways,” he shoved your shoulder, making you bump into Ms. Choi. “Gosh this is frustrating. You think it’s funny?!”
“Sir, that’s no way to treat a lady.”
The sudden change in tone on Joon-woo’s voice caught you by surprise. It was low and if you didn’t know any better, it sounded like he was warning Mr. Han. You could see his eyes staring into the backseat from the rear view mirror, and he was glaring at his boss.
“You shut up. Gosh you’re so annoying,” he kicked Joon-woo’s seat once again but this time, he showed no reaction. He was stiff and continued to glare at Mr. Han, and that was something you will never forget.
The car eventually arrived back at Wusang and you followed Joon-woo up to his office. He was eerily quiet. Not cracking any jokes or trying to converse with you about the trial. The moment you two stepped into his office and he closed the door, he turned to face you.
“Are you okay?”
You blinked at him. “Huh?”
He walked up to you to touch the same spot where Mr. Han flicked you. It felt a little warm to the touch and you noticed him clenching his fists. Was he… was he actually mad on your behalf? You quickly grabbed his hand and pushed it away from your skin.
“Oh that, don’t worry I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
“What he said to you…” he shook his head and turned his body, causing you to flinch when he slammed his palms against the wall.
“Joon-woo… are you okay?” You walked up to him and placed your hand on his back. “He was kicking your seat as well. I know you said it hurt.”
“I don’t care what he does to me, I can tolerate it. But you? I don’t want him doing that shit to you. I don’t want him talking down on you as if you don’t mean anything.”
“Well in the eyes of Wusang, I really don’t.”
“But you mean something to me.”
His words left you speechless. Joon-woo turned to face you while his eyes held some form of emotion you couldn’t decipher. He was always care free and even during the times when he showed anger, he still seemed… normal. But the Joon-woo standing in front of you right now was cold and full of hostility — something you’ve never seen before. His hand hesitated to reach up and touch you, and he appeared to be having an internal battle with himself.
“I have to make a phone call. You want to grab something to eat after?”
“Y-Yeah, sure.” You were honestly too shocked to speak and your own stutter surprised you as well. Joon-woo shot you one of his sweet signature smiles before walking out of his office.
What the hell was that?
—
“And then, his demeanor completely changed. I’m talking like Billy showing himself as The Scream and saying his famous quote ‘we all go a little mad sometime’,” you ranted while mimicking the movie quote.
“You’re comparing Joon-woo to Billy from that Scream movie?” Cha-young gave you an incredulous look.
“Okay it’s not my best analogy but the personality change was there! He got so mad. I have never seen him act like that.”
Ever since that specific encounter with Joon-woo, you had to tell Cha-young about it. Sure you could’ve called or texted but talking about it in person is ten times better, plus you always prefer to ‘gossip’ face to face. You made sure to include every detail that happened, including the ones of your interactions after his comment. Joon-woo was stuck to your hip since then and he even asked if he could call you ‘babydoll’. The pet name caught you off guard and you did not hesitate to ask why, his simple answer was that he thought it was cute and fitting.
You nearly exploded when he said that.
Cha-young rubbed her temples as she appeared to be soothing herself. “______ I didn’t think you were this clueless.”
“Huh?”
“He likes you.”
Rewind and pause. “No way.”
“Yes way,” Mr. Nam answered from behind his computer. “Sounds like he has the hots for you.”
“You were listening to our conversation the whole time?” You asked with a puzzled look.
“Against our own will,” Vincenzo groaned. “Can you talk about this some other time?”
“Why? You guys have important stuff to do?”
“We do. We’re trying to find out who the real chairman of Babel is,” Mr. Nam answered for Vincenzo but was immediately silenced the moment the Korean-Italian lawyer glared at him. “I-I mean… so Joon-woo is Scream?”
You frowned at his words and faced Cha-young. “Wait what? Is Chairman Jang not the real chairman after all?”
Before Cha-young could answer, you felt your chair being dragged away from the table, the sound of its feet scraping against the floor was hell for your ears. Vincenzo pulled you back to the entrance before walking towards Cha-young.
“Hey!” You stood up and marched over to him.
“We can’t trust her,” he spoke with seriousness. “She works for Wusang.”
“As an assistant,” you clarified and bent your head down so you could face him. “Not really an important job.”
“Then why don’t you quit and work here?”
“Uh, because I’m still debating on it.”
“She’s trying to marry her future husband,” Cha-young clarified with a roll of her eyes.
“Love like this only comes once in a lifetime,” you whined and slammed your forehead on the table. “I’m a mess.”
“I agree,” Vincenzo muttered to himself but you heard him loud and clear. You shot up and pushed your body towards him as you began to shove him into a corner, your eyes shooting daggers his way.
“What did you say?” You quirked up an eyebrow and felt victorious when he clearly seemed to be uncomfortable at your proximity. You let out a huff of victory and sat down next to Cha-young but your relaxation was short lived when you felt your phone ringing in your pocket, a smile plastering on your face when you saw Joon-woo’s name pop up.
“Hello?”
“Is it your boyfriend?” Vincenzo’s voice caught you off guard as he bent his head down towards your ear, speaking very close to the microphone. The panic settled in as you stood up and began to hit him, Mr. Nam running to stop you.
“Uh, hello?” Joon-woo sounded incredibly confused.
“Hi!”
“Who was that?”
“Oh just Vincenzo being his goofy self. You know how he always wanted to be a comedian,” you stuck your tongue out in his direction when he pointed a finger at you.
“Vincenzo? You’re with him?”
“Not by choice. I came over to gossip with Cha-young. You know, girl talk.”
“Ah,” he chuckled and cleared his throat. “Well I’m going to pick you up. We’re supposed to meet up with Chairman Jang.”
At the mention of him, you thought back to your earlier conversation with the Jipuragi group, since they believed he was not the real chairman. Thanks to Vincenzo they couldn’t go into too much detail about it — much to your disappointment since you’re naturally a very curious person.
“Alright I’ll be waiting,” you smiled and hung up the phone while letting out a sigh. You did a double take when you noticed three pairs of eyes looking at you, and your face became red in embarrassment. “Don’t say a word!”
—
“I’m so busy as it is. Why does he want me to brief him all of a sudden? Why does he need me?” Mr. Han was on another one of his rants during the drive, and he kept looking at you and Ms. Choi when he spoke. “All the Babel companies must know how things are going.”
He may be your boss but he can sure be annoying at times.
“Joon-woo you better do a proper job. Don’t you stutter.”
“Sorry? Right, okay okay.”
You wanted to laugh at his obliviousness. He’s so adorable. He looks so innocent whenever he puts on his smile and you absolutely love it. When Mr. Han started to get after him and Joon-woo seemed to find it funny, you quietly let out a small laugh before pulling out your phone.
You: stop aggravating him. i’m suffering back here
Joon-woo ♡: LOL. I feel sorry for you
“Who are you texting?” Mr. Han poked his head by your shoulder and you swiftly flipped your phone over as you turned it off.
“No one!”
“You’re texting your boyfriend aren’t you? Ah, this is going to drive me insane,” he scratched his head and pointed a finger at you. “No texting while we’re with the Chairman, got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
The drive was rather quick before you all made it to Babel’s office building. You all were escorted to one of their conference rooms and you took a seat next to Ms. Choi, but you couldn’t stop staring at Chairman Jang without thinking about Vincenzo’s and Cha-young’s speculation. He’s a phony… apparently. But he didn’t look like one to you, if anything, he fits the CEO look perfectly.
You turned your attention to the front and shot Joon-woo a thumbs up, sending him all your luck for his presentation in front of the Chairman.
“Begin. I said, start,” Mr. Han whispered.
“Alright then, I will begin the briefing,” Joon-woo spoke through the microphone before stepping aside, giving you all a good view of the TV. ‘The Secret of Babel’ ascended on the screen and you choked back a laugh when you realized Joon-woo went for a Star Wars theme as the intro.
“I will now reveal the secret of the Babel Group, WOW!”
You looked towards Ms. Choi and Mr. Han who seemed super confused with the direction the briefing was going, but Mr. Han was quick to let out a laugh before turning to face Chairman Jang.
“We came up with a fun briefing,” he awkwardly laughed but was brushed off by the Chairman.
“Chairman Jang Guk-hwan, the founder of Haemun Group, now known as Babel Group, had two sons.”
You felt your body freeze at his words, giving you confirmation that the theory Vincenzo and Cha-young have could be true. Is the other brother the actual Chairman? And if so, who is it? But right now, you were more confused on where Joon-woo’s presentation is actually heading to. You thought this was going to be a quick briefing about Babel, not the Jang family. Your superiors seemed to share the same confusion as you and even the Chairman looked a bit uncomfortable.
Yet, Joon-woo continued with a smile before skipping to the next slide. “He and his wife, Hwang Suk-jin, had their eldest son. As for his second son, he was birthed by Seo Min-hui, a young secretary,” he paused for a second while walking up to the screen. “Instead of focusing on the company, he cheated.”
Your hand shot up to your mouth at his words and you quickly turned to look at everyone else. Mr. Han let out another one of his discomfort laughs before standing up. “Hey, Joon-woo! What are you saying? Joon-woo! Come back here.”
But Chairman Jang tapped the table to grab his attention, ordering him to sit down which threw you off. He’s allowing this presentation? Mr. Han did as he was told but when you looked at Joon-woo from the corner of your eye, you noticed his expression. It was the same expression he wore that one time when you were insulted in the car after the trial.
“First,” he continued on like nothing, “who is his second son? It’s none other than Chairman Jang Han-seo! What a surprise!”
He aimed a laser at him and Chairman Jang opened his arms up with an awkward smile before resorting back to his emotionless face. You were not liking this. The air felt thick and your palms were beginning to sweat.
“Now, who is the eldest son?” Joon-woo began to click through pictures on the screen. “He was always smart and active. He was always the top student.” He began to walk around while appearing to be passionate about his wording. “He didn’t graduate from Stanford Law School as a top student, but he got good grades. On top of that, God has made him perfect and charismatic.”
The way he’s talking about the eldest son… you didn’t like it. It sounded like bragging. Like he was taunting all of you.
“So who is it? Who?”
Your hands began to shake as you held them up to your face. The moment the screen switched to a ‘Who is the true king of Babel?’ and a picture of Joon-woo sitting on a throne with a crown popped up, you nearly fell out of your chair. He walked to the edge of the table and leaned his hands down against it.
“It’s me. Jang Joon-woo.”
You heard Mr. Han stutter something out but you didn’t even care. Your mind is trying to process the information that was just given to you. You really, really hoped this was just a silly prank from Joon-woo, but doing this in front of his superiors? He wouldn’t risk his career for that.
“The real owner of the Babel Group is Jang Joon-woo!” He screamed out before looking at Chairman Jang. “Han-seo, are you ready?”
Then the brother’s proceeded to start singing and chanting with Mr. Han joining them soon after.
“I fooled you all! Babel Group is actually mine!” Joon-woo chanted as he ran towards your side of the table, started to do the worm, and grab your shoulders as he shook you from side to side. Let me go, is what you wanted to say but you didn’t seem to have a voice right now. Mr. Han was the first to apologize as he bowed down to Joon-woo.
“I’m sorry, sir. Please forgive me for my transgressions.” He looked petrified.
“It’s okay. I had fun,” Joon-woo waved him off with a smile.
So was your friendship with him just pretend as well? Something to add to his Joon-woo persona? You remember Cha-young and Mr. Nam telling you that it appeared Joon-woo likes you, but after this situation, you started to wonder if his feelings are even real. Was everything a fucking lie? He wasn’t even looking at you yet, which is giving you the opportunity to shoot a murderous glare towards his direction. How dare he play with your fucking heart like that.
“Sit down,” he gestured for all of you to take a seat, but you remained standing up, which caused everyone to look in your direction. “______?”
You clenched your jaw but refused to move. The sound of someone kicking the table made you flinch, and your eyes landed on an irritated Mr. Han. “Hey, you! Are you deaf? Gosh you never–”
The sound of a hand slamming against the table made everyone flinch, and it quickly shut Mr. Han up. “Mr. Han,” Joon-woo spoke through gritted teeth. “Is that any way to speak to a lady?”
“S-Speak to a lady? Uh, no no no you’re r-right, my apologies ______,” he stuttered out with fear.
“Sit,” Joon-woo smiled up at you.
“Yes, sir,” your voice was dripping with venom as you slowly sat down. You practically tuned out the whole conversation, not paying attention to what they were discussing. Nothing that they spoke about was of any importance to you, and frankly, you could care less about your career at Wusang now. Joon-woo was a two faced liar who played everyone, including you. He made you feel special and you thought everything he did for you was genuine.
The meeting was rather short and it ended quickly before everyone began to get out of their chairs. You didn’t wait for a response as you left the room, that suffocating feeling completely gone now since it felt like you could finally breathe. You wanted out, especially when the guy you like turns out to possibly be a murderous CEO. Come to think of it, Joon-woo is Billy from the Scream since he just revealed himself to all of you.
Yeah, things were definitely not going your way.
#SoundCloud#vincenzo kdrama#reader x jang hanseok#jang hanseok#jang hanseok fic#jang hanseok x reader#reader x jang joon woo#jang jun woo#jang hanseok oneshot#vincenzo#ok taecyeon vincenzo#jang joonwoo
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can I request how would Jake, Goo and Eli react to reader having wiggly legs after some [redacted] ?
JASJDSGSD yes of course!
Jake, Goo and Eli reacting to reader having wiggly legs after sex.
warning: a bit of insinuation, sex mention and these things?
Jake
After the wave of pleasure hit both of you Jake had you in his arms, kisses lingering your body, praises escaping from his lips.
He gave you some water and helped you sit on bed "good?" he asked "good" you reassured, Jake left a chuckle and patted your head "do you want to take a shower? or should we do it tomorrow morning?" sleeping in his arms was really tempting, really, but both of you were sweaty, sticky and smelled awful, honestly all the room smelled of sex; you took a deep breath and decided to go take a shower, Jake was the first to get out of bed and waited for you to do so, it is easy, right? you just have to put your feet on the floor and walk; turns out your legs weren't legging.
Before falling on the floor Jake had time to pick you up on his arms, he was proudly laughing "I'm sorry babe, do your hips hurt?" he massaged your hips and held you close to him, he left some kisses on your forehead and carried you to the shower.
Jake Kim couldn't be more proud of himself.
Goo
You and your partner were recovering your breaths, both of you looking at the ceiling and with a dumb smile on your faces.
Goo turned to look at you "should we order pizza?" you turned to look at him, grabbing your phone and handing it to him "you order" you commanded him, Goo kissed your forehead and proceed to order. "Done" the blonde handed your phone back to you "we should get dressed" you ignored him and hid under the blankets "dress yourself, I'm tired" Goo laughed, he smacked your ass and got up "tsk, tsk, you lazy thing" he complained, as if you two didn't just spend a whole afternoon having the most nastiest sex; fuck Goo and his fucking stamina. He let you rest and told you he would wake you up once the pizza arrives, good for him so he could use your card to pay the food without you complaining.
After a while you noticed some weight on your side "wake up" Goo kissed your cheek, you sat next to him and put on you pajamas, once you stood, your legs betrayed you, they wiggled the most exaggerating way and collapsed; you where lucky Goo could grab you, so you fell on his lap.
The blonde was happily surprised "what happened" he laughed and hugged you tight, you groaned and hid your red face on his neck; Goo carried you to the living room in princess style, still having that dumb smile on his face.
Eli
Eli kissed all your face, you were so precious to him.
Eli massaged your hips and left little praises to your ear, he slowly separated from you “they’re about to arrive, we should get ready”, right, finding some privacy in hostel was difficult, you both got quickly dressed, you got up on your feet and grabbed his hand, giving it a kiss.
At the first step you felt your legs wiggling and you hold onto Eli, he quickly grabbed you, placing your legs around his waist, facing him; he took the chance of being so close to you to kiss all over your face “you should rest, after all the good job you did, you deserve some rest” Eli took you to your room giving you kisses on all the way to the room “I’ll be back in a bit” he placed you on your bed and tugged you treating you with so much care as if minutes ago he wasn’t just rearranging your guts like a beast <3.
#lookism#eli jang#jake kim#kim gimyung#goo#kim joongoo#kim goo#goo lookism#lookism jake kim#kim joon goo#joon goo
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