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adventuringblind · 10 months

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Defensive Maneuvers

Max Verstappen x Leclerc!reader

Genre: fluffy with a pinch of angst

Request: yes! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Requests are open for Max, Charles, Oscar, and lando. Don't hesitate to send me ideas!

Summary: The normally soft-spoken leclerc sister becomes the out spoken girl her family knows. What triggers this change? Max Verstappen and his ridiculous father.

Warnings: Jos being Jos, mentions of verbal abuse, mention of physical abuse if you squint, *best Daniel Riccardo voice* nooooot prooooofreaaaad

Notes: written in third person . I am neither the youngest nor have brothers, so I tried my best to get an accurate relationship depiction. Ironically, I'm the oldest with sisters.

Masterlist

The Leclerc sister is known by her brothers as the baby of the family. Even Arthur, who is only older by mere minutes, holds it over her head that she is the youngest.

The constant teasing from her siblings made her learn how to use her quick wit. Verbal comebacks becoming her specialty at a young age. Because of her ability to be polite in public, no one suspects what she is truly capable of.

Her brothers tease her regardless but she lets them. Her sharp tongue making them regret not holding theirs.

Pierre had made this mistake once. Mainly under the influence of Charles convincing him to say something at her expense. The verbal lashing he received in response had him apologizing profusely. Charles doubling over in laughter as her practically lectured his friend. Needless to say, Pierre has yet to make this mistake again.

Charles was by far her favorite sibling. Lorenzo had a habit of bossing her around and Arthur shared a room with her. She loved all her brothers, but felt the most connected to Charles. She followed him around like a lost puppy some days. Ready to cheer him on at every Karting race.

This was where she first encountered Max.

After the race, she went to go congratulate Charles for a race well done. He was third but all the Leclerc’s were proud nonetheless. On the way over to him, she saw Max. He was at majority of the races Charles was at. The two had never talked formally, but they were aware of the others existence.

Something about the situation she was witnessing didn’t felt right. Max was standing with his dad, his knuckles turning white from gripping his second place trophy so tightly.

As she walked by, she almost fell over at hearing how his father was treating him. The slander leaving his mouth over his son placing second almost made her tear up. She was only nine at the time, but even she knew whatever was happening was wrong.

So she steeled herself, took a deep breath, and entered into the conversation. She walked up and tapped Max’s shoulder. He jumped at the feeling, not having seen you coming.

“Hello Max, Charles is busy with family but wanted to congratulate you.” She smiled warmly at the Dutch boy. Obviously taken off guard.

Jos turned to her, also not knowing how to handle this. “Not much to congratulate,” he sneered. The young Leclerc narrows her eyes at him. Not realizing how brash the older man is.

“What do you mean, Mr. Verstappen? There is plenty to congratulate.” She questions back, her tone mildly snarky. Obviously having no intention of backing down. The older man didn’t even bothering responding to her. He turns on his heels and walks away. Yelling back to Max “I’ll be in the car.”

Max looks between the girl who he’d never spoken too and his father. Unsure of what he should do in this situation. Thankfully the girl notices this. “Sorry for stepping in. He sounded unreasonably upset.” She apologized with a huff.

“Thanks actually- for what you did.” Max stutters out. No one had ever taken the time to defend him.it was an unusual feeling. He knows he can’t stay long though. “I should go. I’ll see you around- I guess.” Then he runs off. Waving as he goes.

She had told her mother about it. The older woman explaining what was probably happening at home. It made her sad for the Dutch boy. Having to hear that it happens more often then just races.

This was only the first encounter with Max. The Leclerc sister made it a point to find Max after every race and praise for a job well done. Much to his fathers dismay. She knew she couldn’t stop what was happening, but maybe her words would help ease some of the hurt.

The girls mother occasionally helped out with her quest. Walking with her daughter to find the Dutch and congratulate him.

It became a routine. One that Max was starting to enjoy. The seeking out now being reciprocated. The two even finding time to converse about things aside from racing.

Max’s father had started to become increasingly more annoyed at this fact. Pulling Max away from you. Spitting vulgar words at a child that wasn’t even his own.

Pascals had made a note that if she was directly insulting to Mr. Verstappen, it might make things harder for Max. She still made her snarky remarks and threw insults at the older man, but only loud enough to make Max chuckle.

Her brothers eventually caught on. Charles and Arthur saying nice things to Max in passing. Charles was more strained, but was trying nonetheless.

The brothers began teasing her relentlessly as they grew up. Her fondness for Max only growing. Her quick tongue seemed to falter when they brought up Max. She held a soft spot for him, as he did for her.

When Max and Charles were in formula 2, she was incredibly proud of both of them. She divided her time equally between the two boys. Still always making sure to sing Max’s praises loud enough for everyone to hear.

Originally she though Max’s father would cool down and maybe start to see how talented he is, but she was mistaken. The older man somehow seemed to get more competitive.

It was increasingly easier to talk to each other now since the two both have phones. She comforted over video calls as he ranted about something stupid his father said to him. He listens to her talk about her fathers battle with illness. The two became inseparable. Being the reason for each others smiles on most occasions.

Then formula 1 came. Charles driving for Ferrari and Max for Redbull. The youngest Leclerc baskets in both boy finally making it. Years of hard work paying off.

Max no longer lived at home. Having moved to an apartment in Monaco. This meaning the two could spend more time together. The, now young woman, takes pride in that fact she convinced him to move closer to her.

She’d become more outspoken recently. Opening defending both her brothers and Max. Most people knew not to say anything if she was within earshot.

The year is now 2021 and Max and Lewis are both fighting hard for the championship title. Max was visible upset at the end the race. Second place wasn’t enough if Lewis is going to keep winning.

The young woman immediately trying to find him after the podium celebration. She had seen the look in his fathers eyes and is now frantically trying to beat him to Max. Charles and Arthur found her in a frenzy. Confused because she is usually calm, her sarcastic remarks and opinions given so level that you’d think it was rehearsed.

“I need to find Max.” She explained, panting from running around the paddock. They decided three sets of eyes would be better then one and split off in different direction.

She was so caught up in her search for Max that she hadn’t noticed her phone buzzing in her pocket.

A text from Charles reading: In the back of the Redbull garage. It doesn’t look good.

She took off running spotting snarled waiting for her outside. She could hear the commotion from Jos.

“I was going to try and break it up but they won’t let me in.” Charles gestures to the wall of Redbull engineers. She however, wasn’t going to let them stop her from getting to Max. She shoved her way through with determination and surprising strength. Immediately settling herself between the two Dutch men.

Jos had turned his anger towards her now. His finger getting dangerously close to her face. “You are part of the problem.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “The only problem currently is you.”

“My son has been distracted because of you. His hopes for a title this year not getting any better because of you.” He spits. She can feel his breath on her face.

“Personally, I think Max is a good racer because he wants to be. Not because of you or me helping or distracting.” She lets a smirk form on her lips. “Your just angry because your finally running out of things to berate him about. Hard to be angry when Max is better then you.”

Jos’ face had turned red. She could feel Max’s anxiety increasing from behind her.

Then everything happened in slow motion. She hadn’t noticed Jos’ hand raised above her. Charles moved faster then anyone. Shoving Jos to the side, his hand not getting to connect with anything but the nearest wall.

He was raging now. Thrashing like a child who didn’t get their way. Pierre and Charles who had somehow managed their way inside kept a firm grip on him as Christian ran to get security.

The Youngest Leclerc. The one who spent her days defending Max in secret, keeping the haters at bay never letting Max go a day without know he is loved. Finally she turned around and stared deeply into his eyes. Blue irises glasses over from tears he’d been holding back.

She embraces him warmly. His face buried into the crook of her neck. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” She apologized softly.

Max pulled away and gives her a confused look. “On the contrary, I think you were right on time.”

Security had come and grabbed Jos to escort him out of the paddock. Charles and Pierre now finding then tension between the two heating up. The two boys giggling. “I swear if you two don’t kiss or something I will no play nice with Max.” Charles laughed.

She didn’t care about the teasing. Just taking time to comfort Max. The two still conjoined in a loose hold.

Max leans his forehead against hers. “You know I’ve loved you for awhile right?” He smiles.

“You would be stupid to not.” She remarks. Max shaking his head at the remark. “But I have to agree with Charles on this one.”

Max doesn’t hesitate any longer. Placing his lips on hers. Pulling her as close to him as he can. He then pulls away, his lips still close to hers and voice barely a whisper.

“Thank you, for protecting me all these years.”

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thepersonnamedsam · 1 year

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healing the inner child - mv1

pairing: max verstappen x fem!reader

summary: healing max‘s inner child was something you’d do again and again

word count: 1k

warnings: jos verstappen (because he deserves a warning on his own), a bit of angst maybe

note: it was inspired by a post i read earlier here on tumblr and it reminded me of something my therapist once told me; healing the inner child is the greatest way of healing trauma

masterlist / taglist

Max didn’t have a good childhood, Jos ruining the most of it. When you met Max he just won his first championship. You saw him in that nightclub, smiling from ear to ear and glowing like a light bulb. And then there was Jos. He was standing next to Christian Horner, having a heated discussion with him. Christian was seemingly uninterested, rather watching Max having the time of his life. You couldn’t hear what Jos was saying to him, but the fragments you did understand weren’t exactly nice things about his son. If you didn’t know that Jos was Max‘s father, you would think he was his biggest enemy. And that’s exactly what you thought.

You had no idea who Max was at first, you knew he was some big smoke show. But what he actually did, you couldn’t have guessed. You were visiting Abu Dhabi with some of your friends, only just agreeing to the night out, if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have met Max. At first, he didn’t notice you, a timid shy young woman, standing at the bar and waiting for a bartender to give you your drink of choice. He walked up to the bar, wanting to order a new bottle of champagne. The bartender immediately noticed him and came to his service. You scoffed, how the hell have you been standing there for nearly 10 minutes and no one asked what you wanted, but he just walks up and everyone runs to serve him?

„Everything alright?“, he was asking you, already drunk and careless. Nobody could do him wrong that night, not even a visible angry and confused lady. „I was just standing there for 10 minutes, or more probably, and couldn’t order anything.“ You rolled your eyes. You were annoyed, annoyed with your friends for taking you to this place and annoyed with him and the busy bartenders.

„What would you like, I‘ll put it on my tab and you‘ll have it in a matter of seconds.“ He only meant it nice but to you it seemed cocky. „No thank you, I’d rather wait 10 minutes more, or better, I‘m just going to leave“, you muttered. „Hold up, I only meant it well. What’s going on?“ Max was visibly confused, blending out all of the other people around him, even the upcoming bartender with the new champagne bottle. „None of your business“, you told him, but Max didn’t let go.

You ended up leaving with him, nothing happened that night, just you two talking. He was sharing things with you he never shared with anybody. Things that included Jos. Feeling bad for Max you gave him the card of your therapist, but he just laughed at you and told you he didn’t need a therapist to help him. You once again rolled your eyes. You couldn’t believe what he just told you, everyone needs a therapist, but you couldn’t argue with him.

And one leads to another and you and Max got together. You tried to help Max as much as you could, but Jos didn’t agree with your relationship and always got in your way. It was hard, constantly hearing bad things about you, Max and your relationship with him from Jos. Max noticed your mood change every time Jos was around, so he changed the rules for him. He was only to come to races when you were not around. You didn’t want Max to change anything from you, but you were glad Jos was not attending a race. Not for you but for Max. Max deserved to be surrounded by people who loved and supported him.

You made it a habit to celebrate after every race, no matter what position he placed. You went out for ice cream, waffles, pasta or dumplings, everything he couldn’t have regularly during the season. One time you went out for dumplings, soup dumplings to be specific. Lance knew this great place for dumplings in Montréal. Celebrating his wins were always the best. You smiled and laughed a lot together and on nights like this, where everything was perfect, you didn’t want it to stop.

„Darling, you’re making a mess“, you laughed and looked at your boyfriend. He was trying to eat the dumpling in one go, but the dumpling exploded and the hot soup burnt his mouth, which led to him having soup dripping down his chin. He just smiled at you, ignoring the burning sensation on his face or all the looks he was receiving from the other guests. With you by his side, everything was okay.

„I don’t care, it’s delicious“, he smiled and looked at you. „Do you think we could go to the parc afterwards?“ He was looking at you with hopeful eyes. This was the other ritual you had; playgrounds were there to be played with and if Max felt like playing, you two played. And that’s what you did.

You two sat on the swings, giggling and laughing together. Max was feeling free, free from the pressure and free from anything negative. He was feeling just you and the wind in his face. Everything felt like it was perfect.

And when he won his second championship that year, you didn’t go out to party. Max took you by your hand and pulled you towards the nearest ice cream place, where he ordered himself the biggest sundae they had. You had laughed when he looked at you and asked what you wanted. You thought he was ordering for you two, but turns out, he wanted that ice cream all for himself. You simply took some ice cream in a cone and told Max, you’d eat the rest of his sundae. „I will finish this, believe me“, he told you. He infact did not finish it.

Max was your greatest gift that kept on giving. Healing his trauma was just one way of showing him how much you loved him. He appreciated it and after a while he felt like a little child who had the best childhood. You two had a relationship that wasn’t unusual, helping each other and being there was normal. And Max was definitely glad to have you by his side.

°°°

taglist: @ironmaiden1313

#f1 x reader #f1 #formula 1 #max verstappen #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x f!reader #angst with a happy ending #jos verstappen #red bull racing #red bull f1 #childhood trauma

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slvttysstuff · 3 months

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Wanna be yours

(Owen knight x reader)

Summary: you hated it when Owen got into fights you always nagged and scold him about it but what happened this time is new to you..

I was sitting my ass in this hard chair for an hour now doing my school works, suddenly my attention got taken away from my works when my phone makes a 'ding' noise, someone texted me

I looked at my phone for a minute before taking it, I pressed the button turning it on revealing my lock screen a picture of me and Owen together, a small smile plastered over my lips as I saw the picture of the two of us

I unlocked my phone looking at the notification Noah sent a message I take a look at my messages it was noah, my friend and also Owens, what could she be sending me this time? I thought as I opened her message

' y/n! Owen got into a fight again, I don't know where he went He just left immediately ' noah texted,

my heart raced, I immediately put my phone on my desk and stood up from my seat not minding if I haven't finished my school works yet. Owen comes first I took my jacket and wore it putting my phone inside it's pocket before leaving my apartment with my own bike with me

I rode off letting my feet pedal where it's taking me, Me and Owen had been friends since elementary, he was a very good friend of mine, he makes me smile, laugh and everything, but one thing I hate about him is when he gets into fights, any kind of fight that involves him, I hate it, Owen is not a short tempered guy but once his red button has been clicked

may God be with you

It was already night, at 9pm sharp the sky was already dark and the street lights illuminated the street, it was quiet, suddenly I stopped my bike when I saw a familiar blonde haired figure sitting in a bench his head was fall down in his hands holding it, I walked towards that person I already knew who it was, without hesitation I smacked his head making him jolt in shock and also in pain

Owen looks at me pain wais visible on his looks, bruise was all over his face making me feel bad for smacking him earlier if I could go back in time I would definitely repeat that...

"Did you get into another fight again?" I asked even though it was completely obvious, but he just looks at me for a second

" Wasn't it obvious? " He sarcastically said I was about to open my mouth and start scolding him when he spoke

"Can you please stop scolding me?" He said as if he already knew what I was going to say, He raises an eyebrow, but remains calm and direct with you, despite his rage over what happened after he lost the race earlier against Jay, his words makes me close my mouth

" what happened this time Owen? " I asked looking at him worried " nothing.." he answered looking away from me then looking down at his bruised fists" How many times do I have to tell you that stop getting into fight- "

" Enough, I told you to stop scolding me " he cut my sentence once again, I scoffed at his attitude and words

" how can I not scold you? You always got into fights" I spoke putting both hands on my waist looking at him " how many times do I have to tell you to stop getting into fights owen!"He rolls his eyes as you continue to scold him

you sometimes feel guilty for nagging him, but he's just so hard headed, even though he seems to ignore it

"What am I supposed to do?" He sighs "Just stand back and allow Jay to do whatever he wants? I can't just let him." He continues

" why do you have to fight? You can talk with him about it Owen, you don't need to fight with someone every time, don't you understand what I am saying? " I frustratedly said to him, looking down at him as he was sitting on the bench

I pulled his chin making him look up at me " look! You're all bruised up again " I nagged

"Oh please, don't be so dramatic. It doesn't hurt that bad, plus it's not the first time." He raises his eyebrows and looks at you sarcastically. He thinks you're joking right now "I'm used to fighting, you should know that by now." He continues

I looked hardly at him before letting go of his chin huffing at the air, gosh his head is hard as rock I put my hands back on my waist turning around not knowing what else to say, He won't listen to me

" can't you listen to me for once? I've been scolding and telling you 'bout this since we were kids " I muttered to him glancing at his side view

Owen scoffs at my words before he shakes his head. "You're still scolding me till this day. Haven't you done enough?" He sighs and looks at you with a serious face.

"Look, I appreciate you for worrying about me, but you're being overprotective. Let me handle my business." He hissed before looking away His words sent me to the edge of my temper

" I'm your god damn friend Owen and I care that's why I worry about you! " I yelled at him, gritting my teeth as I feel frustrated and annoyed about what was happening right now

Owen rolls his eyes at me "You're still treating me like I'm a kid. It's different now. I can handle it myself! I don't need you to tell me what to do! Mind your own business damn it!!" He raises his voice emphasizing each words

His words shots a million bullet in my heart

' I don't need you to tell me what to do '

' I can handle it myself '

I got hurt at what he said I feel like he's saying that he doesn't need me anymore, I put both of my hands inside my pocket, I looked up trying not to let my tears fall down, luckily it's night time and he can't see it, how can he say those words easily? How do he expect me to react at his words? Should I laugh?

" y-yeah you're right..." I looked down at my feet as I let out a fake laugh " you're not a kid anymore...you can handle yourself already haha..." I bit my lip trying not to let out a sob " okay fine..." I said " I'll just go home, I don't know why I am here anyways " I said as I pointed at my back, looked at him first before turning my back at him taking my bike with me

Owen immediately notices how you changed in a second. He knew that look when you were struggling to keep it together so he quickly stood up and went to you. He knows that he's wrong and he immediately felt guilty,He gently grabs your shoulders and turns you around so you can look at him in the eyes.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. Don't take it personally." Owen sighs, it wasn't like him to be rude and insensitive to you, he just got carried away by his emotions and he hated it every time his emotions take over him, he doesn't like hurting you, how can he hurt someone he love? He loves more than friends

I just scoffed at him not looking at him, a tear left my eyes making me wipe my cheeks with my sleeve

Owen sighs, he hates it when he makes you sad. Seeing you hurt hurts him also

"Hey..." He gently caress your cheek and pulls you closer in front of him, so you can make an eye contact with him. "Look at me." He said, I do as what he told me to, I looked at his baby blue eyes those orbs that left me speechless and mesmerized " you speak as if you don't need me anymore, like I was just a mere distraction to you " I spoke as a tear left my eyes

Owen's heart sinks as soon as he heard you say those words. He immediately wraps his arms around you and pulls you in tightly on his chest."Stop that, you're always going to be important to me. I'm sorry if what I said had hurt you." He said as he wiped your tears with his fingers.

"I'll never act like that again, I promise. You're so important to me how can you be a distraction? You're the one person I always seek comfort from you're too important for me to lose." He said as he gently strokes your hair,he felt guilty for acting like that he doesn't like what he did to you, I rested my head on his shoulder as I let out a quiet sob

" I hate you so much Owen " I sob as I grip his shirt " I hate you for making me worry about you all the time " I cried

Owen chuckles slightly because of how you're expressing your feelings while crying on his shoulder. He smiles, he finds it so adorable and charming to see you so emotional towards him. He hugs you a bit tighter and strokes your hair again.

"I'm sorry, you might hate me right now, but that will never change the fact that you're always going to be an important person to me. I'll make it up to you. Just forgive me." He whispered to my ears his hot breath hitting my ears his gesture makes my heart beat so fast and the closeness we had he might notice my heart so fast

" do you know how worried I am?earlier when noah texted me that you got into a fight with jay again?! " I yelled " I don't want you getting hurt Owen " I punched his chest slightly " why are you so stubborn? " I mumbled

Owen couldn't help but feel guilt and regret for making you worry about him so many times. The way you're crying into his chest and begging him not to get hurt anymore makes him feel like he's the worst person you ever had.

He sighs and shakes his head, wishing that he hadn't said what he said earlier.

"I'm sorry, I'll promise you I won't fight anyone anymore." He said as he looks at you with his blue eyes that look so irresistible under the night sky I looked back at him, looking at his wounds " damn you Owen! You always know how to make me soft towards you " I said as I bit my lip looking at him

Once again, he couldn't help but chuckle when you were being so cute and sweet towards him. You were very vulnerable and emotional right now and that's what he really loves about you.

"I'm a bit stubborn, but I really mean it." He smiled and leans closer to your lips. He gently grabs your chin and turns you toward him.

My heart started to run like crazy, out face are so close to each other, I looked deeply in his baby blue eyes noticing the affection it was in, this time I'm already sure that owen does feel the same as I am

I felt my cheeks heated up as I looked at him with my red eyes and red cheeks, I feel embarrassed fuck

Owen couldn't care less how red your eyes are, in fact he loved it because it makes you look irresistible to him. A grin appears on his face as he gets closer and caress your cheeks slowly with his hands. He brushes your jawline and chin with his fingers. You can feel his touch as it sends shivers up and down your spine.

His breathing is heavy and he leans closer and he's almost inches away from your lips.

" God damn it Owen " I hissed

then pulled his face to me as our lips crashed into each other, it was obvious that he was shocked at what I did but didn't mind it was also his plan in the first place, he wrapped his left arms on your waist pulling you close to while his right find it's way to you cheeks, his lips started to move and you did the same, you both kissed under the moonlight, he kissed you passionately with full of love

After a second he pulled away catching an air, he layed Hindi forehead on yours as your eyes were still close, I hope this isn't a dream

" Y/n....I like you "

Owen finally said, making you look at him, a smile went on your lips

" I like you too Owen.."

I confessed back, same as mine, Owen smiled as he cupped both of my cheeks before placing a light peck on my lips

" That's good to hear then.. I've been wanting to tell it to you..." He said closing his eyes before saying..

" wanna be mine y/n? "

#owen knight x reader #Owen #windbreaker angst #jo jay #Noah #windbreaker webtoon #windbreaker #dom kang #vinny hong #hummingbird #minu yoon #angst #shelly scott #Light Calvary

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undercoverpena · 4 days

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you think that the only thing javier peña likes about you is how you feel around his cock. when in fact, javi likes a lot of things about you—your smile, the way you dot your i’s, that you make him coffee (remembering how he takes it), that your laugh is sweet. but mostly, he likes the feel of your hand in his. how you slid it under the table—when he’d been close to unravelling—being an anchor, a root, not realising how much it meant. and he won’t change that, won’t correct your thoughts or confess the truth. it’s too dangerous. better to keep you at arm's length, just for now, at least. or so he tells himself when you fall asleep next to him, heart trying to double in size.

#angst with jo 🎶#javier peña #javier peña x reader #javi peña x reader #javier pena x reader #javi peña #javier peña fanfiction #javier pena fanfiction #javier pena narcos #narcos x reader #Pedro Pascal character fanfic #pedro pascal characters #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction

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kimakento · 4 months

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&team when you leave home after an argument

pairing:(s) ot9 x fem!reader ⌙ 1.0k

genre(s): fluff + very minuscule angst(?)

warning(s): none?

author’s note: i’m so proud of myself bc i wrote this all today 🤭 this was a request and again, i’m so sorry for taking so long to write this but i really hope you enjoy this !! tysm for those who read this :D

euijoo —

ej would definitely literally run out after you, apologising profusely. he’d cling to your arm and ask for a second chance, saying that the argument was his fault.

you couldn’t bare being away from him and eventually gave in. he’d make it up to you by taking you out and peppering your face with little kisses.

euijoo tries to make you laugh with jokes and embraces you constantly until that smile he loves to see on your face shows up.

harua —

harua would feel it’s his fault and he’d torture himself by filling his mind with the sight of tears streaming down your face just before you left. a sense of remorse would continue to haunt him.

but tell me he wouldn’t continue to spam your messages, with a bunch of apologies and asking you to come back. midnight voicemails are a definite, he explains his side to the argument and express that he misses you.

harua would appear the next day, with flowers in hand, asking for forgiveness. he’d admit that you were the only one for him and the argument you had was nothing to him if it meant being away from you.

maki —

very like harua to be honest, he would be so persistent. it depends on the nature of the argument but he swallows his pride and admits fault. although he’s quite a hot-headed person, he still felt as if he should try to get you back.

you also come to the realisation that you miss him more than ever. he’d send you little gifts with notes saying things like ‘come back to me.’

he adorns that same puppy-like frown every passing day. that moment when you return is his happiest, maki couldn’t bare one single day of not waking up without you beside him. the promise of never doing it again lingers fulfilled as the chemistry between you grew even stronger.

nicholas —

nicho is a very clingy guy, when he feels how his bed feels so empty without you, regret would consume him. you on the other-hand, missed warmth that his presence provided.

the warmth that made you feel so safe. he acts so tough, but is literally so weak for you. he’d show up at your door the next day, asking so sweetly for a second chance. nicholas would start beaming when you told him that you missed him as well and apologised too.

taking your hand and kissing your knuckles is his favourite form of affection. also, you remind him that you forgive him and that the argument was only something small and meaningless.

k —

k would give you space, understanding that sometimes we all need a little break. he’ll let it rest for a few days, but also checking in on you consistently. but you being stubborn, left him on read which made him even more worried.

his name stands for king of apologising and making up for stuff with big gestures. “i’m so sorry, i understand it was my fault.”

his guilt would definitely eat him up from the inside and he’d insist on taking you. that’s when he realises that you’re the person who he cares most about.

knowing him so well, you can tell that it affected him as much as it did you, so you try to make it up to him and reassure him every chance you find.

yuma —

he always has a smile on his face, but when you go it also suddenly disappears. the similarity between you both is your stubbornness, neither of you wanted to apologise. but in the end, you ended up asking to meet up.

at the sight of you, yuma would start grinning and open his arms for you. no words would have to be exchanged. you both knew what the other was feeling without even having to say anything.

the fact that he’s with you is enough to make you happy and give you an extra bounce in your step. he was your calm that grounded you during the storm and you loved him for that.

fuma —

mentally scolds himself for ever taking a petty argument that for that you leave. spends the whole time thinking about how to get you to return back to him; he even starts asking his own members.

while you’re gone, he feels like he can’t genuinely enjoy anything. fuma calls you nonstop until you pick up and cry on the phone to him.

he’ll ask you to come back and when you do he’d hold you in his arms all night, tending to your every need, even when you say you’re fine he insists on doting on you like you’re his princess. (he calls you that daily)

jo —

i can’t imagine a scenario where he’d let you leave. jo would resolve the situation then and there, choosing to pull you into his lap and wrap his arm around your waist.

all while whispering how much he adores you and how sorry he is. even when you cry, he’d probably kiss them away. you’d turn around to him and peck his nose and pinch his cheeks.

his half-stifled sniffles don’t go unnoticed by you and at that both of you chuckle, even wondering why the argument was even that important.

“i love you, yeah?” | “i love you too, jo.”

taki

leaves you alone for a while and reflects on the whole situation.

instead, you turn up again the next day, apologising for being so stubborn. you see his weary, tired eyes and bad posture. but when he sees you, his smile is groggy and you jump into his open arms.

he opens up about his inner turmoil and also says sorry. you join beside him in his bed, stroking his soft hair.

while his eyelids flutter from the overwhelming fatigue, he repeats how much he loves you and promises not to let you leave ever again. he pecks the side of your mouth and falls asleep.

they’re all so cute !!

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strgrlxox · 1 year

Text

༒ some things never change༺

✟ ꙳ sexy pic to distract from angst? is it working?? idek why i was in such an angsty mood but… ❞¸

+ ¸ ❞ break up sex is literally the saddest thing to write ever omg?? ꙳ ✟

✟ || SUMMARY :: break up sex with ellie :/

✟ || CONTAINS :: reader cries, ellie cries (briefly mentioned tho i think), i cried (damn). oral (r!reciving). scissoring.

✟ || WORD COUNT :: 1.4k!

she still looked at you like she loved you.

you knew that she still did. love like the kind the two of you shared doesn’t just disappear.

but even then, all you could think about is how that love that you had spent years dedicated to building will simmer down one day until it’s barely there…she won’t even recognize it but she’ll stop thinking of you and you’ll no longer think about her. the love will fade, the moments shared will become a distant memory, the taste of her lips will be forgotten on your tongue.

you sighed as you felt the movement of her hands—feeling you. unlike all the other times where she’s felt you up like she couldn’t touch you everywhere fast enough, she took her time with you now.

when she pressed her lips to yours, you couldn’t help but melt into her and relish in the way she tasted…so that maybe you could delay the inevitable. so that her kiss could belong to you for a little while longer. you couldn't even really call it kiss, more of her trying to memorize your mouth. swirling her tongue around, lips smacking against yours—it was messy but you let her anyway, parting your lips further to give her more room. she needed this, and you did too.

you’d been arguing with her for so long you almost forgot what silence was like. but now, the room was almost dangerously silent if it weren't for the sounds of your heavy breathing. ellie trailed down your body, stripping you bare as she went. she stopped at your stomach, slowly placing little kisses there.

“can i…” she breathed out deep, barely able to ask the question without her voice shaking. “can i taste you?” one last time. she doesn’t say it, but you sense it. you can practically feel the unsaid words against your skin.

it had been so long since you heard her voice like that––so genuine, so fucking gentle. you allowed your hands to dance in her hair, shutting your eyes tightly to stop yourself from letting persistent tears fall.

“yes.”

at your agreement, her head sunk down in between your legs.

her desperation to savor you for the last time led her to not allowing even a drop of you to escape her tongue. you couldn’t help the moans that you let out, you couldn’t help the tears that brimmed in your eyes either. you relax into her—gaze fixed on the way she devoured you. her arms wrapped around your thighs, keeping you steadily in place.

“please.” you beg. you’re not even sure what you’re begging for anymore. don’t leave me, keep going, i hate you, i love you, never stop? maybe all those things at once.

you squirm, but her grip never falters. it’s one of your favorite things about ellie…she’s so strong.

it’s all you can do to slump in her hold and just watch her, the way her mouth consumes you and the way her eyes watch your every reaction. the sight is so lewd you could cum from just watching her work.

“how did you get so good at that?” you mewl, clinging to the bed sheets so hard your fingers cramp and your knuckles turn white. “how are you so damn good ?”

she ignores you. instead licking faster and sucking harder, like this was a reminder for you. that even when she made you feel terrible, she could always make you feel so good.

“ellie…i’m gonna—“

“come for me, please. i need it.” you shivered at her words, gripping her hair while your body convulsed around her. she rode it out for you, still holding on tight despite your squirms.

when her mouth left you, she kissed the inside of your thigh like it was muscle memory. it was something she always did, but it has never made you want to cry before now. now, it only forced you to realize that it was the last time you’d ever feel her lips there.

you closed your eyes again, listening to the sound of her clothes being thrown off haphazardly. you relaxed into the sheets behind you, it was a familiar sound. one that brought you comfort, even if it was only fleeting.

another reminder, maybe some things never change. it never changes, you reminded yourself. again and again. it was so easy to forget why you had to part from her when she touched you so good and loved you so right.

you felt her hands trailing up and down your spread thighs, her breathing was heavy in the noiseless room. she licked her lips, like the taste of you was still there. you could tell she was coming to the same realization you had.

unlike the other times she had had you underneath her, completely at her mercy, she didn’t tease you. she settled in between your spread legs, lining up your cunt with hers so she could slide against you slowly. you gasped, your hand going up to cover your mouth. she reached up to grab it, covering your palm with hers while interlocking your fingers together.

she was so close, so warm. so uniquely scarred and fragile but so undeniably her. you remember how good it used to feel to call her yours.

it was painful but not physically, it hurt the way she rutted against you so perfectly. the way she looked at you with a silent acknowledgment…this would be the last time.

it hurt you because it felt so good…and because you’d never get to have her like this again.

“you feel so…” you sniffled a little, laughing at yourself for crying. “so good.”

she kissed away your tears, some of her own falling down her cheeks despite herself.

ellie always did like the intimacy of having you like this. it was a way to show you how she felt about you rather than just tell you. she always said that actions spoke so much louder than words…but her words could be so loud, so fucking mean. some things never change.

and for the first time since the first time, ellie williams was not fucking you——not making love to you…she was saying goodbye.

you began to whine as she started to move entirely too slow. you knew she was trying to savor the moment but you couldn’t help but wonder if she was still punishing you for your earlier arguments. she always knew exactly how to hurt you.

“you can take it, know you can.” she panted above you. you didn’t miss the way her voice shook or the glossy look in her eyes.

“ellie…” your voice rasped in a way you did not recognize, your eyes met hers as your legs began to tremble.

“i know, baby. i know, i know.” she melted down so her head was in the crook of your neck and her arms were around your frame, bracing your body against hers——trapping you against the warmth of her chest. you were as close to her as you possibly could be and yet it didn’t feel close enough. she was still so far.

“i don’t ever wanna stop.” if you didn’t know her so well, you wouldn’t have been able to make out the barely coherent sentence. she rested her forehead against yours, you could feel her head jostle with every movement of her hips. “tell me to stop or i never will.”

while she wishes she could do this forever, you both have learned that this will end. some things never change. your hands gripped her hair again, her eyes rolled back at the feeling.

“please, don’t stop. i don’t want you to, not yet.” you pull her hair just a little to make her look at you. “i wanna feel it tomorrow, make me feel it.”

she groaned, the sound itself almost enough to make you cum again. “you were always so good for me, weren’t you?”

you buck up instinctively at her praise though you take note of her use of past tense. once more, she took your heart and broke it like only she could. because it was hers, for now at least. hers to have and hers to break to her will; your heart belonged to her. even if it wasn’t for much longer.

“fuck, you are so beautiful.” she panted, a whimper leaving her lips as she held back more tears.

you hum, allowing her to take you for as long as she needed to…until it was over. then she’d leave, and the love that you two shared for so long will be gone with her.

#ꗃ%ellie bellieˑ༄#ellie williams x reader #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams x you #ellie williams smut #ellie williams blurb #ellie williams angst #ꗃ%jos library⤷✰

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manipulatedstars · 10 months

Text

We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

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ma1dita · 4 months

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en route

photos are not mine, 3rd photo is a concept by @geloyconcepion on ig

to be on the course of a journey; on the way.

(james potter x fem!reader)

summary: Set during the First Wizarding World War, James and Reader are both Aurors who are sent off on an undercover mission to help gather intel for the Order of the Phoenix. Both of these people are in different phases of their lives– Reader has just lost both her parents after graduating from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic & James is newly married with a child on the way. What happens when two strangers’ lives intertwine for the better, or for worse? The lines blur quickly, and there’s no way to undo them.

general warnings (tagging chapters accordingly as I go): ANGST, loss and descriptions of war, religious iconography (i'm not even catholic anymore i just... its so poetic), fake marriage trope, james and reader are twin flames, infidelity, character injury and possible gore, possibly smut (chapter will be tagged)

—

ONGOING

i. imaginary friend (12/28/23)

ii. kind enough to be cruel

iii. to be your man

iv. without looking for you

—

playlist

ask to be added to the taglist!

(posted 12/21/23)

#made by ma1dita ♥︎#james potter x reader #james potter x fem!reader #marauders x reader #marauders era #james potter angst #mischiefmoons er #jo's navi <3

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winteringdream · 2 years

Text

post it confession

this was a requested by @allysheart, sorry for making u wait!! i had a lot of fun writing this <3

p. jo x artist!reader g. fluff

jo was always drawing. it didn't matter to him if it was in his notebook, textbook or sketchbook.

you didn't know about this until your teacher decided it was time to change up the seating plan. even though you didn't draw everywhere like jo did, you liked to create art as well.

it was awkward at first, he never paid any attention to you and you just let him draw to his heart's content.

one day you were drawing on this post it, just something small and silly. it was a doodle of your friend, who was sitting in the row next to you.

jo had accidentally caught a glimpse of it, and a small smile formed on his face. when you asked him why he was smiling, he pointed to the drawing. embarrassed, you had shoved it under your notebook.

the next day, around the same time, he passed you a sticky note. this time it was a silly doodle he had drawn of his friend yuma, who was sitting at the front.

you smiled at him, and ever since that day it had become a routine to pass post its with doodles on it back and forth.

you often wrote something on it as well.

do you think you'll pass the test?

i haven't listened to a thing the teacher has said the past semester 🤫

months went by like this, and the two of you eventually started talking to eachother.

but you'll never forget the day he finally decide to show his actual sketchbook. you knew he was good, you could see it even when he was drawing those doodles.

"and this is a random dragon i sketched two weeks ago." he continues.

"what about the last page?" you asked. he had clearly skipped that one.

"that one is for you," he starts, "but you can only look at it when you're at home."

you nodded, but you were very curious. what could he have drawn for you? he even ripped it out and folded it up nicely.

your heart beat with anticipation when you sat down on your bed. slowly, you unfolded the piece of paper.

a beautiful sketch of you at school, from jo's point of view was displayed on the yellow-ish paper.

the side note saying : i've wanted to tell you that i like you for long time now. i hope you'll return my feelings — jo.

the composition of the sketch was the same as the post its. a drawing with a message beneath it.

you could hardly contain your happiness. who knew this shy boy would've ever confess through a sketch?

#andaudition drabbles #andaudition boys #andaudition #andaudition scenarios #jo andaudition #andaudition jo #jo asakura #asakura jo fluff #jo asakura angst #jo asakura fluff #jo asakura drabbles #jo fluff #jo angst #jo drabbles #jo &team #&team hybe #the howling jo #&audition the howling #hybe japan jo

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adventuringblind · 10 months

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I See Your Beauty

Charles Leclerc x Verstappen!reader

Genre: a little angst mixed with fluff and comfort

Summary: the youngest Verstappen is forced to do life without her vision. Thinking she might not be able fully experience her life due to the remarks of her father, she concedes that finding love is unlikely. Until she runs into Charles who helps her believe she doesn’t need her eyesight to be loved.

Warnings: Jos is his own warning now. Talks of disability and reader having an accident. Talks and depictions of verbal and physical abuse.

Request: nope this is self-indulgent. However, I am taking requests for Max, Charles, Lando, Oscar, and Daniel.

Notes: written in third person. Also, this fic deals with disabilities, particularly blindness. I myself am blind though I still have some vision left, which is mainly what I’m basing this off of. Please remember that blindness is a spectrum like many other disabilities. It is defined really by a loss of vision that can’t be corrected. I’m open to answering questions about it if y’all have any. My inbox and asks are always open :)

Masterlist

The youngest of the Verstappen’s very close with her brother, Max. The two are barely a year apart so it makes sense. Though they get in each others nerves often as well. Victoria doing her best as the oldest to settle arguments between the two.

Jos decided that two children in racing gives him better odd then just one. Electing to have both start karting at an early age.

They liked racing together. Getting used to being each others rocks when their father was harsher then necessary. It became routine for the two to defend each other.

Then everything changed.

The two were moving up through the ranks. Competing harder then ever to make your dad proud.

The accident wasn’t her fault. A consequence of her father from trying to build a faster car and not having test run it.

The engine exploded during the race. Every one of her senses ranged useless as she tried to react.

Ears ringing.

Smoke from the fire burning in her nose.

Blood from whatever hitting her knocking her teeth into her lip.

Heat nipping at her skin.

Lack of sight making her steering erratic.

Max had immediately rushed to aid his sister. Their father only staring in disappointment. He became resentful of his father that day.

The ambulance arrived and took you away. Max begged to go with but Jos ignored his request, telling him he needed help cleaning up his youngest daughter mess.

After hours the finally arrived back home. The other two Verstappen’s confused why the youngest was nowhere to be found. Max finally broke down in tears, much to his father dislike, and clutched Victoria for comfort. Telling her everything that had happened.

While three of them went to the hospital to find you, the fourth sat wallowing in disgrace at the display from his children today. He couldn’t admit he’d made a mistake. One that might have cost him a child.

Meanwhile the youngest was out of surgery. Continually crying for her family. The nurses had tried to reach her father who had given the medics his cell number, but they had yet to hear from him.

When her family arrived she tried her best to make out their faces. The sparks from the engine had been so bright that they burned her retinas. The combination of the fire doing permanent damage. The impact of the engine had knocked her helmet almost all the way off and she instinctively pushed it away to try and see again. The protection of the visor gone.

The three siblings cuddled together in her hospital bed. The youngest not fully comprehending why she couldn’t see. The lights were too bright. She was squinting to make out the small details.

Things didn’t improve after that. Jos became angry towards her. Constantly reminding the girl of what happened, what she did wrong, and how if she hadn’t messed up she might have been successful.

Regardless, she listened to him berate her at everyone of Max’s races. He stopped commenting about Max when she was within earshot. Mostly because she told him off every time he insulted her brother. Jos already deemed her the disappointment of the family, standing up for Max couldn’t possibly make things worse.

Max had also gotten more protective of his sister. Having been the one to pull her away from the wreckage and cleaning up the damage made him realize he didn’t want you to get hurt again.

He made it to every doctors appointment he could. He attended as much physical therapy as you would let him. He even put on a blind fold so he could understand a bit better. He helped her learn cane skills and how to guide you himself. All in an effort to help his sister feel less alone.

He was aware she still had some eyesight lift. Mostly cloudy and bright patches dotted her eyes making it difficult to make out where things are and any specific details. She liked seeing what she could of her siblings faces though.

Max determined he was going to bring you to every race with him. The Verstappen losing all ability to drive now making things harder for her and she didn’t want to stay with her father.

Victoria had a room for her in her house and let her stay when she needed. Max always made sure there was a room for her if she wanted to travel with him. She loved how willing her sibling were to help her out. However, it left her feeling useless and vulnerable at times.

Eventually, Max helped get her a job with Redbull as a strategist. She enjoyed playing with the different data. Listening became a more essential job then seeing.

Race days were spent in the garage unnoticed in the back. Hopefully out of view of the cameras and away from her father. They saw each other often, much to her dismay. He always had something to say to her when Max wasn’t around.

It was during her downtime that she met Charles.

Deciding her cane was unnecessary since she knew her way around the paddock and the ground is relatively flat, she went to hunt down her brother.

Neither party was paying attention leading to them running straight into each other. She could vaguely make out the Ferrari red race suit standing in front of her. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Came the voice of Charles Leclerc. Though the two had never formally met, she had heard during interviews enough to know his voice.

“It’s alright, neither was I.” She smiled at the Monegasque. “Have you seen Max anywhere?”

He chuckles. “Unfortunately no. Are you his girlfriend?”

The question makes her laugh hysterically. “I’m his sister.” She can hear him sigh in relief at the clarification.

“That’s better at least because I wanted to say that you are very beautiful.” The playfulness in his voice doesn’t go unnoticed. Completely taking her off guard. Sure she’d gotten complements, but not often enough to make her used to them. The words of Jos not letting her believe them anyway. “Would it be alright if I give you my number?”

She lost all words in that moment. This had never happened before. “Sure-” she manages to stutter out before handing him her phone. The screen reading out things to her so she could get to her intended destination.

“I’ve never see a phone do that before.” Charles takes the phone from her and starts to put in his information.

She mentally face palms herself. Obviously he hasn’t realized she’s blind. “Actually I don’t have much of my eyesight.” She play with the bottom of her shirt. Her father having instilled in her that her blindness is something to be ashamed of.

“Wait- so you are blind? That is very interesting, I would like to know more if you’re okay with it.” The curiosity in his voice rising.

She wasn’t prepared for this. Nobody asks her questions about her condition. Even Christian doesn’t touch the subject and she never brings it up in conversation. “I guess, if your really interested.”

“Great, I’ll see you later tonight. Send me the address of where you’re staying.” His playful and flirty manner never faulted as he walked past her. Leaving the girl confused and blushing.

Little did she know that Charles had seen her around the paddock. Mostly hanging off of Max’s arm. He assumed she’d never notice him wave or try to get her attention. Turns out she couldn’t see him. He knows better then to assume. He blames it on the anxiety of being around her.

The youngest Verstappen finished up her duties as quick as possible. Catching a ride with her brother back to the hotel. He has learned to read her though and immediately noticed something was different. “What’s going on with you? You seem very smiley today.” He laughs.

“I can’t tell you because you’ll hate me.” She did her best not to appear nervous but was ultimately failing. Her hands fiddling in her lap.

“I could never hate you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

She glances over at him. Eyes planted on the road. His calm demeanor putting her at ease. “Charles Leclerc asked me on a date tonight.”

Max begins laughing hysterically. His once smooth driving now a bit jerky from his sudden movements. “You thought I would hate you because of a date?”

She stutters a bit. “Well- aren’t you two rivals?” She manages. His laughing throwing her emotions all over the place.

“Sure, on the track. Off the track we are still friends and I trust him.” He explains. Relief floods through her body at his words. Her confidence in the situation going up a little.

She can feel the smug look on Max’s face. “Do you want help getting ready?”

The two siblings spent over an hour playing dress up. Max eventually having to video call Victoria and ask her opinion. The two trying to make their sister feel like she owns the world.

Dressing is less tricky then make-up. Sometimes she didn’t feel like it was worth the struggle and didn’t put it on. Some day she had to call Victoria to make sure everything looked right. If there was good lighting she was typically fine, but tonight was not one of those nights.

Growing up between two sisters, Max had learned a decent amount about make-up. He even enjoyed getting to do it on his sisters if they would let him. The almost squeal he let our when his sister asked for help was both hilarious and ridiculous. Immediately setting things up on the bathroom counter and going to work.

Max could tell his sister was anxious. Their father having scared away any of your potential boyfriends. Even going as far as to tell they that she is diseased. One of the worst things about having Jos around the garage, is that you’re left with him.

Though Max has stepped in many time and even lectured his father about his word choices, he never let up on any of the Verstappen children. All of them getting some aspect of their father’s insecurity thrown back at them like it’s their fault.

When he was done, Max tried to sooth your nerves. “Dad isn’t around. He’s in his own hotel room. Go have fun.”

And that’s exactly what she did.

The conversation between her and Charles flowed. He asked questions that weren’t invasive and was respectful if she didn’t want to answer. He made her laugh ridiculously hard.

So they kept doing it. She had to follow Redbull for work which made things easier in the two. Finding down time to meet up or celebrating together after races.

After the season was over, the two went on a holiday together.

Charles spent a good amount of time learning from her (and in turn Max) how to guide if the need ever arose.

Charles was so gentle with her. Always letting her know if there was something unexpected around. Telling her who was in the room.

If felt like a dream. One she never wanted to wake up from. Charles had assured her multiple times that she wasn’t dreaming and that their love is very real.

But alas, Jos likes to make things difficult.

A few races into the new season, Charles still had yet to formally meet Jos and the Verstappen siblings intended on keeping it that way. It wasn’t secret. Everyone in the paddock know the two were dating. Jos just hadn’t had the chance to talk to him yet.

She’d mentioned her childhood a few times but could never get out the full extent of what happened. Charles thankfully is patient with her and lets her take her time. He knows Jos’ reputation. Her childhood couldn’t have been the most amazing with him around.

This particular race, she was forced into close proximity with him. There had been a mistake during a pit stop for Max which made him lose some positions. Ending the race in fifth. To her it isn’t bad at all, but to the angry Dutchman unleashing his fury on everything, it most certainly is.

Sensing his rising anger, she had pulled her father into a more secluded area. Hoping that Max wouldn’t come back to the garage for awhile. At least not before she could talk some sense into their father.

She said nothing as strings of curse words left his lips. Only waiting for him to run out of breath.

“Did you see how he got lazy? He would’ve finished higher after the idiots didn’t do their jobs if he had put in more effort.”

“Max put in all his effort and you know it.” She scoffs. Arms folded over her chest. This is nothing new to her.

“Like you have any room to talk.” He snaps back. Her head now sagging, knowing his anger is now finding a new direction.

Charles, on the other hand, had been looking for her. It’s his first win of the season and she is nowhere to be found. Max ran up to him as the podium celebration ended. Patting him on the back for his well earned win.

“Have you seen your sister anywhere, mate?” He asked the Dutch.

Max ponders for a moment. “She might still be in the garage debriefing after what happened.” He replies. “I can walk you over if you want.”

The two drivers made their way to the Redbull garage to find most of those who would normally be inside, standing outside in a huddle. “What the hell is happening?” Max shouts over to Christian as the two approach him.

“I was just about to go find you.” Christian sighs in exasperation. “Can I call security on your father? He hasn’t stopped shouting since the race finished up.”

Charles and Max exchanged glances. The young woman’s absence now making more sense. “I’ll try and talk him down.” Stated Max before weaving his way through the sea of Redbull shirts. Charles following close behind.

Before the two could get further away, Christian yelled out to them. “Good luck, your sister has been trying!” The statement make the two move faster.

Charles could feel his emotions bubbling as the shouting got louder. As him and Max turn the corner, he immediately spots who he’d been looking for. Tears rolling down her cheeks as she felt around the floor looking for something.

Max steps in between her and the angry Dutch, shouting back and forth in their native tongue. Charles tries to spot what she’s feeling for. Scanning the ground until he spots her phone. The entire thing shattered. Small pieces of glass just barely reflecting the light. He’s down by her side in an instant.

“Love, it’s Charles, max is here also, I’m going to get you out of here okay?”

Her body turns towards Charles. It’s then he notices the specks of blood dotting her hands from feeling around the glass and a deep purple bruise forming on her forehead.

She’s struggling to breath now. Listening to the angry shouts. The pain in her head and the bright fluorescents not helping her see anything. She back in the crash.

Her father had spend from the end of the race until now laying into her. She had successfully defended Max and thought she was prepared to take the brunt of it. Until he snatch her phone and threw it at her. It hit her head so hard she was in the ground in seconds. Trying to feel her way around to where it might have gone so she could call Max.

The words were so familiar to her. The ones she heard in her nightmares when she was once again surrounded by smoke and bright lights stealing away her vision.

“I don’t want to crash again Charles. It’s to hot. It hurts too much. I can’t see anything.” She tried to search for him but ended up with more glass in her palm. The tears only thickening.

“Stay put, okay? I’m going to help Max and then I’ll be right back.” He didn’t want to leave her on the floor. She looked like a child, and so did Max in this moment. The two getting their fathers wrath with no end in sight.

Charles sprints back to Christian, yelling at him to call security, then sprints back to Max.

“Mr. Verstappen I think you are out of line here.” Says the monegasque. Signaling Max to stay with you. He didn’t move at first but it was obvious he was getting nowhere, so he obliged. Kneeling down to help his sister calm her breathing.

Jos scoffs at Charles. “You have no right to get in between me and my children.” Anger pooling from his features.

“I mean no disrespect sir, but you’re being an asshole.”

“And is she-“ he jabs his finger at the girl on the floor, “-not disgusting.” Charles almost hits him but refrains from doing so knowing security will be arriving soon.

“On the contrary, I think she is an angel.”

“She’s diseased. She hasn’t even tried to fix her mistakes. Look at her! She just wants attention for what she did to herself!”

Now Charles doesn’t hesitate to punch him. His fist colliding with Jos’ jaw, sending him stumbling into the wall.

Max took his attention off his sister, who was leaning against him, and placed it on Charles. Shock clearly evident of his features.

Jos attempted to confront Charles again, but security finally showed up and escorted Jos out of the paddock.

Charles exhales, glad the confrontation is over. “That’s not how I imagined meeting your father for the first time.” Charles chuckles nervously.

Is doesn’t take much longer until Charles has his love safely wrapped in his arms. Whisking her away to his hotel room. Max had stayed ti make sure everything got cleaned up at the paddock. Kelly arriving shortly with Penelope in tow, ready to comfort Max.

She cried when they were finally safe inside. Pouring out to Charles about the accident and what it had caused in her life. He listened intently, doing his best to soothe the girl. Her panic still clearly evident.

Soon enough she’d calmed. Her head laying in Charles lap while he threaded his fingers through her hair.

“It don’t care what anyone else says. I see your beauty and it is not defined by what you can’t see.”

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raevior · 6 months

Text

A familiar feeling - Somun x reader

warnings: blood, violence, choking, punching, cursing, smoking, drinking, fighting

genre/type: angst, slight fluff, slight comedy, enemies to lovers

wc: 8.2k

synopsis: evil spirit!yn is teamed up with hwangpil. fighting the counters has been a journey. you hate the counters, you hate hwangpil, and you hate this never ending battle. despite hating everyone, there's something that no one knows about you. until the truth is revealed when you wake up at the counters hideout, one day after you were almost killed.

title track: tunnel (inst) - kim sejeong

a/n: hello everyone! thank you all so much for being patient! I know a lot of you guys anticipated the release of this! I apologize for the delay, but it is finally out! I hope you all enjoy this as it took me a while to write. I hope the wait was worth it :) enjoy and I will update you all when a new story is going to be released!

“You seriously think that?” you ask Hwangpil while taking another sip of red wine. “If I’m able to just kill that kid, think about how powerful I’d be.” he says while lighting another cigarette. You smile and bite your lip out of nervousness. You’re fairly new to this whole evil spirit thing, as you have only consumed three souls; whereas Hwangpil has consumed over 10.

But, there’s a secret he doesn’t know about you.

He keeps you around as his own personal sacrifice, since to him, you’re weak. You lean back on your chair and sigh. Hwangpil cocks his eyebrow at you, but you already know what he’s thinking; you don’t need to ask. You never expected to be a so-called “evil spirit”, but here you are sitting beside the strongest, most evil man you’ve ever encountered.

Though you hate Hwangpil, you also love him. You constantly try to please him, but he is never satisfied. To his knowledge, you’ve only consumed three souls; he doesn’t know the full truth about you. To him, you are a beginner and nothing but a rookie, but there’s much more to that story.

Hwangpil stands up, bringing your hand to his lips, placing a kiss. You smile before he quickly shuts you down. “Get to bed. Long day tomorrow.” and before you know it, he’s gone.

*next night*

You and Hwangpil walk into the crowded junkyard. You lean against an old car and look up to the night sky. You laugh and feel butterflies grow in your stomach. “This is my first fight with Hwangpil. I’ll be able to show him that I’m more than just his toy.” you think silently. After about 15 minutes pass, you sigh impatiently as you wait for the counters to sense Hwangpil’s territory.

Just before you start to stretch, you see headlights blaring at you and Hwangpil. Hwangpil covers his eyes with his arm, squinting; while you stare directly at the car ahead. You smile at him and you two run separate ways, making sure the counters have to split up to find you two.

You run into the maze of abandoned cars and wait, but you can’t see or hear anything. You look around cautiously, anticipating one of the counters to sneak up on you. With your back turned, you leave an open spot for vulnerability. As soon as you turn around, you are met with a strong hit to the face. You cover your face and wipe the blood off, looking up and seeing a short girl with dark curly hair. You smirk as you stand up in an attempt to land a punch on her, but she trips you and you fall on your back. You moan in annoyance, “Ahh, you’re that annoying bitch aren’t you?” you say sitting up. You swing your arm and hit her in the leg with full force. She falls as you get up to run away. While running, you feel a force stopping you in your tracks. You look around and see a man. “It’s him.” you think to yourself.

You break away from his force and run towards him. You leap and miss your hit on him. He lands a punch right on your nose and blood runs down your face once again. You shriek out in pain. “You fucking bitch!” you yell out. The man smirks, “Actually, my name is Somun.” he says calmly. His calmness angers you even more. He lands another forceful punch on your abdomen and you stumble backwards. “He’s stronger than I thought.” you say under your breath. You look up and your eyes widen as he stands there, inching closer towards you. Somun stands there, not doing anything. You lock eye contact with him and his eyes widen. “You’re not… an evil spirit?” he says with a sharp inhale

You don’t have time for small talk. You muster up the strength to punch him, but he stops you with just one of his hands.

You hear footsteps running up behind you and flinch, covering yourself with your arms, crouching down. “Stop.” Somun says. The footsteps stop and you overhear a female voice, “Somun! What are you doing? Summon her!” she yells. Tears form in your eyes. Now that you’re in actual combat, you come to the realization that you’re not fit for this life.

A force picks you up from the throat and drags you across the busy yard. You open your eyes and are met with Hwangpil. He furrows his eyebrows at you as tears continue to stream down your bloody face. “I’m sorry.” you say through a choked voice. You look around through blurry vision and see all the counters staring at you two. You sniff once more, until Hwangpil throws you 50 feet across, making you crash into a car. Your back crashes against the metal as you fall onto the cold dirt. You wipe the tears from your face, standing up again.

You hate the counters.

But you “hate” Hwangpil even more.

He has been manipulating and using you as his toy for the past few months. You sit and think about the outcome, if you just consumed one more soul you could please him. Whilst standing up, you hold your abdomen from Somun’s punch. You let out a scream and run towards Somun, successfully landing a punch. Hwangpil smiles at you and you can’t help but feel proud of yourself. This feeling quickly changes when Somun wipes a tiny amount of blood of his lip turning towards you, “Is that all you’ve got?” Your eyes widen in fear and determination. You punch Somun in the abdomen with little force that you can muster up. Somun spits out blood and you laugh. But you remember the part you promised to play. You step back in realization. Hwangpil then grabs your throat once more, lifting you off the ground. You struggle for air as he looks at you with a face of disappointment. “You poor thing. I really thought you could be of use to me.” he says with a low tone. His fingers tighten around your neck and you shut your eyes, accepting your fate. Just then, you fall back onto the ground, gasping for air. You look up and see that Somun now has Hwangpil in his grasp. You scoot back in fear, until you feel a soft touch against your head, and you drift into a coma.

*next morning*

You wake up to the smell of pork broth infiltrating your room. You think to yourself, “Is Hwangpil making breakfast?...” but as soon as you open your eyes, you realize you are not in your room. You shoot up, looking around the room in confusion. You walk to the mirror and gasp. You’re in comfortable pajamas and all of your wounds are healed from last night. You hear the sound of a small crowd laughing and talking just outside your door. Your heart warms at this nostalgic feeling. Just before you’re allowed to smile, your neck twitches and you grow with anger. You hate that you are always fighting this constant battle. Hwangpil’s manipulation has really taken a toll on you, as just a few months ago you were celebrating your birthday with your closest friends and family. That was the last time you felt genuine happiness and peace. You continue to fight with yourself between your feelings. But eventually, curiosity gets the best of you.

You crack open the bedroom door, making eye contact with the same woman you saw last night. You gasp and turn around to run back into the bedroom, but you're caught in your tracks when someone catches you by the collar of your shirt. You attempt to fight back but the person isn’t budging. “Ok, I give up.” you sigh out. The pressure from your shirt releases and you turn around to confront the force. You are met with a tall, semi middle aged man with curly hair. You look at him and say nothing, furrowing your eyebrows with hate. He laughs right in your face. Your expression changes from hate to confusion. You speak up, “why aren’t you hurting me?” “You’re not an evil spirit.” he says. You say nothing and look at the floor. He clears his throat, “Come eat.”

You shoot the man a dirty look and walk over to the table where everyone is sitting. Once you look around, you realize that you had just slept at your enemies hideout. Your eyes widen and squint in anger, then soften again in seconds. The counters continue to stare at you, till an older woman gestures for you to take a seat; a steaming bowl of soup and an empty chair waiting for you.

You stare around awkwardly, while the group stares back. You gulp, “Why am I here?” you say in a flat, monotone voice. “You’re not evil.” the young boy that you had punched last night speaks up. You dart your eyes at him and snarl. “Yes, I am.” you say confidently. The table falls silent once again. The older woman leans over and rubs your back. In the matter of 3 seconds, you go to slap her hand off of you, but something stops you; your conscience. You make eye contact with her and she gives a reassuring smile. “Don’t be afraid, we are here to help you.” You finally relax your stiff shoulders and slouch over, bringing your hands to your face to avoid the overwhelming emotions running through your body.

After you compose yourself, you remove your hands while clearing your throat; readying yourself to dump everything on the counters.

“Hwangpil. He found me while I was outside walking home after celebrating my birthday. He saw that my guard was down, and to him, I was his perfect victim.” you speak up. “These past 3 months have been a living hell. He had forced me to watch him kill and consume my best friend's soul. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He laughed right in my face and I saw his body contort in a way that I didn’t think was humanly possible.” You pause your sentence and look up, the counters are staring at you with both empathy and hatred. Not hatred for you, but for Hwangpil. “Continue.” the young man speaks up. You nod and continue.

“After that, he continued to manipulate me and overtime, his words got to me. Everyday I fight with myself, battling the internal war between good V.S. evil. I want to be good. I really do. But something about pleasing Hwangpil excites me so much.” you say as you squirm in your seat.

The counter's empathy then turns to confusion. You twitch your neck and start laughing. The counters all stand up, backing up out of fear. You stand up, laughing even harder. “Did you really think I was serious?!” you say. You clutch your stomach in pain from laughing so hard. “Go ahead! Open your territory Somun!” you say pointing to the ground, mocking his ability. Somun opens the territory, and immediately, the young girl's neck twitches. “Someone has step foot.” You burst into laughter once more. “You still don’t get it, do you? I didn’t expect you all to be this gullible!” They all stare at you once more. “Here, I’ll spell it out for you since you all are too dumb to understand… I am a so-called “Level 3”, or whatever you wanna call us. My power you ask? Hiding all the souls I’ve consumed! Meaning, you won’t be able to sense me. No matter how hard you try.” you say with a cocky smile.

Somun and the young girl jump at you, fists full of power. You land a kick on his stomach and grab the girl’s hand, looking at her in the eyes. “What was your name again? Jana? Dana?” you say laughing. You land a strong punch on her, causing her nose to bleed. “Doesn’t feel good does it?” Once you see Somun getting up, you can feel the anger piercing the atmosphere. You smile and wave at him, “Bye!” you say. As soon as he pounces onto you, the counters look around searching for you. You’re nowhere to be found.

*clink*

Your wine glass taps Hwangpils, as you two laugh together about your interaction with the counters. They don’t know that you and Hwangpil have been teammates for 11 months. “Their faces were hilarious! And they totally thought you were gonna kill me! And you know what? That Somun kid is pretty cute.” you say laughing. Hwangpil smiles, “You did a good job playing your weak girl role the other night. When I was holding you, I almost believed you.” he says. “What else?” you ask teasingly. “Yes, I read your mind when I was choking you, even your inner monologue was perfect. You almost had me fooled.” You smile at his compliment and tilt your head down, blushing. Hwangpil grabs your chin and tilts your face so that you two are eye to eye. “But don’t let that get to your head.” he says with a wink, slowly leaving the couch where you two are sitting.

*timeskip: 1 week*

You wait inside the empty abandoned mall, waiting for the counters to show up. “I hate waiting” you say while pacing, fixing your leather gloves. Finally, you sense him. “Ahh! Somun! Long time no see my love!” you say waving, purposely trying to anger him. He runs up to you, wasting no time. He hits you straight in the face, causing blood to stream down your face. You smile as you wipe it off nonchalantly. “Is that all you’ve got?” you say, mocking him from your fight last week. He runs back up to you and you kick him in the stomach. He smiles, grabs your leg, and slams you onto the ground. You moan in pain and quickly try to stand, but Somun overpowers you, straddling you. He begins to repeatedly punch your face, until there is a pool of blood around you. You grab both of his hands, squeezing his fists. He winces in pain as you smile, blood covering your teeth. “Where’s the rest of your team, darling? Or did Hwangpil take care of them already?” Somun screams, loud enough to bust both of your eardrums. You slide across the floor from the waves of his voice. You put your finger up to your ear, feeling blood leaking out. You’re drenched in blood, but you won’t let this fight end this early. You reach out your hand, pulling Somun to you. You knee him in the abdomen. As he bends over in pain, you knee his head. He stumbles backwards as you continue to slap him around, not allowing him to land a single hit on you.

You stop for a moment to catch your breath, panting from the intense fight. You look over and see Somun laying on the ground. Your eyes widen in excitement, thinking you have actually killed him. You walk over slowly, kicking his head once more to ensure he’s out. He shows no reaction. You smile and bend over, preparing to consume the strongest power you have ever encountered. Just as you open your mouth, you are flung across the floor. You crash into an abandoned store's entrance, hitting your back against the hard wall. You groan in pain, but before you can process what happened, you are flung back towards Somun. In what felt like 1 second, you are met with his grasp around your throat. You feel his fingers tighten. You flail your body in an attempt to fight back, but each passing moment you are getting more and more lightheaded. As soon as your eyes begin to roll backward, the grasp is let go from your throat. You stumble onto the ground, looking at Somun. He straddles you once again, landing punch after punch. You don’t try to fight back, you are exhausted at this point. Somun goes to land his final blow, but you stop his fist, speaking up through gurgled blood. “I hate you.” Somun lets out a cocky smile, “I hate you even more.” As he delivers his final punch, he completely knocks you out unconscious.

Somun stares at you with immense hate and anger. He takes your hand in his and places it upon your chest; summoning you.

*next morning*

You wake up, rubbing your eyes and yawning. You walk to your bathroom with fuzzy eyes, but you are met with a wall. You bump into the wall, stumbling back. You rub your eyes once more, scanning your surroundings. Once again, you’re not at home. You get a feeling of familiarity. You take a deep breath, trying to remember, but the smell of pork broth hits you. You still don’t quite understand, as everything is both physically and mentally blurry. You walk to a mirror, gasping at all of the cuts and bruises over your body. You whine and throw your head back, frustrated from confusion. You exit the bedroom expecting an empty room, but there sit 4 faces that you have seen somewhere before. You stare at the group and immediately yell in anger. “Who are you and where the hell am I?!” The group laughs, “Seems she hasn’t calmed down yet.” a middle aged man speaks up. You furrow your eyebrows, stomping towards the man. “Hey! Listen! You can’t kidnap me and expect me not to a-” just then a voice interrupts you. “Y/N, sit down.” a young boy says. “And how the hell do you know my name?!” you yell, rubbing your forehead in immense frustration. “Just sit down.” he repeats.

You sit down, staring at the group. “Y/N, do you remember anything?” the boy speaks up. You reply with silence. He cocks his eyebrow at you, awaiting your response. “I remember being punched. I don’t know if it was last night or last month.” you speak up. “Do you know my name?” he asks. “No. But I have a feeling I have met you all before. Especially you.” you say pointing to the younger girl. She smiles and looks down. “Yes, we have met before. I’m the one you called a bitch.” Your eyes widen. You don’t remember any of this, but this topic sounds familiar. “We’ll explain.” she says.

The counters explain everything, a long list of information that you can barely process. “Okay so let me get this straight. A man named Hwangpil is an ‘evil spirit’ and he killed people and made me consume their souls, then we were teammates. Then I met you all and we got into a fight. I told you all my power, and then I fought Somun and he summoned me. So I was an evil spirit? Am I getting this all right?” the group nods. “Pretty much.” they all say in sync. “I’m sorry to have put you all through this much trouble. I don’t remember much. But the Hwangpil guy sounds really familiar.” you pause. “Thank you.”

“Hey, just because you’re all nice now doesn’t mean we forgive you.” Motak speaks up. Your eyes dart down. “I understand.”

*time skip: 10 months*

It’s been 10 months since you saw the counters last, but for some reason, Somun won’t leave your mind recently. Maybe because winter is approaching and this is around the time the whole thing went down. Your life has returned to normal, and you feel at peace again. You lay down, preparing to sleep. You look out your window admiring the beautiful city lights of Jungjin. While staring at the city, you see beams of light radiating from the busy street below. You look at the people walking below; but they seem to not notice the lights. You can almost feel the luminescence calling your name. You throw on a jacket, and run out your door. You step outside, seeing the bright lights leading you towards a location. You run, following the light. While running, you bump shoulders with someone. You turn around quickly to apologize, but see the familiar face of Motak. “Y/N. We need your help.” You stare at him in confusion, knowing you haven’t had anything to do with the counters in months. “Why me?” you ask. “Do you see the lights?” he asks. You pout your lips, “These lights?” you say pointing to the beam between you and Motak. His eyes widen and he grabs your wrist in a hurry, forcing you to follow him. “Motak! What is going on?” you yell, out of breath. “Somun.” he says. You sigh, not feeling any less confused. Motak stops and looks at you. “Hwangpil. He’s back.” your eyes widen. The name rings in your ears, it sounds so familiar, but not in a good way.

You reach the end of the lights, seeing the silhouette of him. You stumble back, all of your memories from the fight coming back. Blood is scattered on the ground of the same junkyard you were once in. You fall back, Motak catching you. You look over and see Somun lying on the ground, while Hana is in combat with Hwangpil. Memories infiltrate your mind as you see Somun coughing up blood. “He needs your help.” Motak whispers to you. “What can I do? I don’t have any powers!” you reply. “You said you see the lights right?” he says. You nod in reply to his question, “Then you can do anything.” You gulp in nervousness, but you are determined to save the life of the boy who once saved yours. You sprint towards Hwangpil, but before you can do anything, you check on Somun. He’s barely conscious, blood and tears falling from his face. “Somun, you’ll be okay. You saved me. This time, I’ll save you.” you say kneeling over him. While standing up he grabs your wrist, “Don’t.” he says weakly. You look at him while tears form in your eyes. There is no way you’re going to let him, or any of the other counters die.

“Well, this is unexpected! My dear Y/N, how I’ve missed you! You’re all innocent now. What happened to my determined teammate who worked so hard to satisfy me?” Hwangpil says in a degrading tone. You rip your wrist away from Somun’s grasp, standing in front of him to guard his body. Hwangpil laughs, “You’re weaker than ever now. What are you going to do to me, honey?” he asks. The lights from earlier rise once more and you feel adrenaline rushing throughout your whole body. Before you can react to Hwangpils words, you are sprinting towards him. You land a punch under his jaw, sending his head flying back. You are running on pure energy. You land punch after punch, making Hwangpil stumble backwards. Just then a pole hits the back of his head. You stop your punching and look besides you. There stands a bloody Hana, holding a 4 foot steel pole in her hands. You two smile at each other and continue kicking and punching Hwangpil until he is completely knocked out.

Before you know it, you are straddling him, placing his hand under yours. “Y/N! You’re not a counter. It won’t w-” Hana yells before Somun quietly shushes her. You yell and the lights around you grow. You can’t even comprehend what you’re doing until a bright glow rises from Hwangpils chest. He yells out, then collapses. You slouch down, rolling onto the ground. The counters stare at you in shock. “She just…” Motak stutters. Somun smiles and lays his head back. “He’s really gone..” Hana speaks up.

You sit up, dusting your hands like nothing happened. You look up and see the counters still staring at you in disbelief. “How did you do that?…” Hana speaks up. “Do what?” you reply. She says nothing and just points to Hwangpils body next to you. Your eyes widen and you scoot back. You cover your mouth in shock and stutter out random sounds. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll call the cops.” Motak says, pulling out his phone. You nod and slowly stand up, motioning to Hana to help you move Somun to the car.

“I’m sorry for calling you an annoying bitch Hana. You’re pretty cool.” you speak up shyly. You expected her to roll her eyes or just ignore you. Instead she grabs your hand and smiles. “That was so cheesy, but it’s okay. We’re friends now.” she says. Your stomach does flips over your once enemy calling you her friend. “Hey hey hey, we are not friends!” Somun whines while sitting up from the passenger seat. “Somun, she just saved your life.” Motak spits out. Somun begins to speak again until Motak pushes him back against the seat, making Somun wince in pain. You and Hana laugh. You move your gaze towards the window, beginning to drift into the sleep you were preparing for before you had to go and save someone’s life.

*next morning*

“Boom! I hit him right in the jaw! Then Hana came in and knocked him out with a pole. I don’t even know where she got that thing!” you blurt out, explaining last night's activities to Ms.Chu. She laughs and takes another bite of food, which she had prepared for you all. You sigh, “Thank you all again for letting me stay here and treating me to breakfast. But I should be going. I hope we cross paths again.” Just as you begin to stand, a sleepy Somun emerges from his bedroom. He yawns, scratching his messy hair. You laugh at him, never seeing him like this before. “Goodmorn-'' he says, interrupting himself, “What is she doing here.” you laugh, “Good Morning to you too.” you say. “Somun don’t be so rude to the girl who saved your life.” Ms.Chu speaks up with a mouth full of food. You laugh once more, preparing to leave. Somun looks at you and cocks his head towards his room. You look at him confused “Come.” he says through a raspy voice. The counters look at each other with a look of mischief on their faces. You hesitate, but follow Somun to his room.

“What’s up?” you ask him. “Y/N, I wanna talk to you about something.” he says, motioning you to take a seat on his bed. You sit down on his bed and stare at him. “I still hate you.” he says. You turn your head in confusion. “...but thank you.” “For what?” you ask teasingly. Somun clenches his jaw, then releases it. “Thank you for helping me.” he says stubbornly. You let out a breathy laugh, “You’re welcome, Somun.” Silence follows until you decide to speak up once more. “About those glowing lights, what are they?” you ask. “You don’t remember? You mocked me, asking me to open my territory back when you were still a spirit.” You say nothing. “Anyway, I opened them, hoping you could see them.”

“I saw them, and something told me to follow them. On the way, I ran into Motak. He told me that you needed help. I don’t know what happened but your territory helped me.” Somuns eyes widen and he grabs your hand, looking at your palm. On your index finger, there is one small little black dot. He looks at it with confusion, until you pull your hand back. “I thought you hated me? Why are you holding my hand?” you ask. Somun takes a sharp breath, “Hey don’t get any ideas, I was just checking something.” A moment of silence passes until Somun asks for your phone. You hand him your phone and he types in his number. “What is this?” you ask, staring at the screen. “What does it look like? Text me if you need anything.” You look at Somun full of confusion. ‘First he hates me and now he’s giving me his number. What is this guy's problem?’ you think to yourself. You shove your phone into your back pocket and grab your jacket, exiting his room. You say your goodbyes to the counters and walk on the cold streets of Jungjin, back to your apartment.

While walking back to your apartment, the beams of light rise from the streets once again. You look at them and whine out loud, turning around to make your way back to the counters hideout. After about 15 minutes of walking you storm in, “Somun! Stop opening your territory! I thought you asked me to text you if I need something!” The counters sit at the table looking at you confused. You widen your eyes, staring at Somun waiting for a response. “I didn’t open anything…” he says. You run your fingers through your hair, “Who else could’ve done that then? I saw them!” you say angrily. “I was just about to get home too!” you yell out. Somun stands up, “Maybe I wanted to see you!” he yells out. The room falls silent. “...What?” you say. Somun clears his throat, “Maybe I wanted to see if you could still see the lights!” he says through an obvious lie. You roll your eyes, “Okay well I can see them. Stop bothering me!” you reply. You turn around and walk out the door, rolling your eyes again. ‘Why does he want to see me now? He’s so weird’ you think to yourself.

You arrive home and plop on your bed, feeling exhausted. You start to think about your interaction with Somun. You saved his life, he says you two aren’t friends, proceeds to give you his phone number, then opens his territory for you to see. You sigh, getting up to take a shower. You look in the mirror and notice the ends of your hair curling up. You brush it off to stress and sweating. You hop in the shower, ignoring everything, trying to clear your mind.

In your robe, you go to grab your hair brush. Bringing the brush to your head, you notice the black dot on your index finger. You stare at it closely, thinking that it was a freckle. You remember back to sitting in the car with Hana, she had the same dots; except they were on all of her fingers. You remember Somun grabbing your hand that morning, he also had the dots on the tips of his fingers. You’re even more confused now. You brush it off once more as a coincidence, and continue brushing your hair. Your hair goes back to its natural state and you smile, until a small curl pops up, curling just above your forehead. You furrow your eyebrows, brushing the curl, only for it to coil back up. You’ve never seen a curl like this on yourself before. You continuously brush it, but each time, it bounces back. You sigh out once more, accepting the curl. You proceed to dress yourself in comfortable loungewear, needing to relax for a day after last night.

After about 2 hours of relaxing, you find yourself staring at the curl that’s now resting on your forehead. You pull it down, watching it bounce back into shape. Now that you think about it, this cannot be a coincidence. The counters all have curly hair, and you have confirmed that two of them have the same dots that you have on your index finger. Maybe they’re siblings? No that can’t be. You stand up from the vanity staring back at you, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and making your way to the counters 'hideout’. Once you step outside, you have completely forgotten how to get there despite leaving 3 hours ago. You pout, knowing the only person who can help you get there is Somun. You pull your phone out of your pocket, hovering your thumb over his name. You text him, “It’s Y/N. Open your territory please :)” You shut your phone off expecting at least a 10 minute wait. In a blink, the familiar lights are shining. You smirk, shoving your phone back into your pocket and walking to the hideout.

Once you reach the hideout, you walk in, only to see the normal meeting spot empty. You scan the room looking for Somun. You walk in further, finding a sweaty Somun in the boxing ring, throwing invisible punches. You stare and admire for a while, your face growing pink. You’ve never realized how attractive Somun is until now. The past times you’ve seen him you were trying to kill each other or thinking about killing each other. Somun turns around, flicking the sweat off of his forehead. “What’s up.” he says nonchalantly. “Can we talk?... Please?” you ask. Somun smirks and lets out a breathy life, sitting on the edge of the boxing ring. “You’re being awfully nice. Do you need me to do something for you?” You roll your eyes playfully, “Yes, well not really, but yes.” Somun stares at you. You point to the curl hanging in front of your eyes. “What?” Somun asks. “What is this!” you ask. “A curl?” Once again, you roll your eyes. “and what about this?” you say while holding your finger out to him. Somun stares at it with no emotion, until he starts putting two and two together. Under his breath he mummers out, “Is she turning into a counter?” You stare at Somun while he looks at your finger. A full minute has passed at this point. “So?” you ask. “I think you’re turning into a counter.” he says. You tilt your head in confusion, how is this even possible? “I thought I had to get into some type of fatal accident to even be granted the opportunity to become one.” Somun says nothing, he stares at your eyes and pulls the curl down, watching it coil back into it’s shape. You grab the curl with your hand, “What are you doing?!” you yell. “I wanted to see if it was real.” You breathe out, “Somun, you’re no help.” you say. “Did you want me to help?” he asks. “Of course I did! I came here for a reason.” He stares at you, then slips out of the boxing ring, taking a drink of water. Your face flushes pink once again. “Come sit. Let’s have our talk.”

You both sit at the table, waiting for each other to speak up. “Y/N, I want to be honest with you.” he says in a tone, different from his usual tone. This tone sounds more genuine, compared to the monotone and raspy voice he usually talks to you in. You raise your eyebrows, signaling him to continue. He sighs, dropping his shoulders down to relax. “I’m sorry,” he says. ‘Where is this coming from?’ you think to yourself.

“I’m sorry that I’m so rude to you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to fight Hwangpil; I’m sorry that I had to rely on you. I’m sorry for all of the trouble that I’ve put you through. I hate you, because I envy you. No one would be brave enough to face their once enemy, but you did it with ease. I’m sorry, I really am.” he says.

You take a moment to process what he has said. You really don’t remember much from being an evil spirit, so this whole situation is quite confusing. Before you respond, you feel a sharp pain in your temple. You yell out, laying your head on the table. A few seconds pass, but you sit up and look at the Somun with tears forming in your eyes. Somun looks at you confused. “Somun… I almost killed you.” you speak up. “Our fight. I remember everything now. I tricked you all into caring for me, I hurt you and Hana, I almost killed you.” you say, now sobbing. Somun stays silent. “If anything, I should be sorry to you. I apologize, Somun.” you say bowing your head. While you feel tears of guilt streaming down your face, you feel a hand cup your face, wiping your tears. You look up, Somun is staring at you with pain painted on his face. You sniff, embracing his touch. “I’m sorry too.” he says through a choked voice.

You pull his hand away, sitting back in your chair, wiping your tears. “When you hurt us, that wasn’t you. It was the spirit inside of you, but it’s gone now. You’re safe now” he speaks up. Those are the words you needed to hear. ‘I’m safe I’m safe I’m safe’ replays in your head. You smile through your tears. “Most importantly, you’re safe with us.” he says once more. You look at his glistening eyes and nod, “Thank you, Somun. Thank you for everything.” He smiles, and grabs your hand. “You don’t hate me anymore do you?” he asks. You laugh, “I never hated you.” you confess. He shares a laugh with you, “Good.” He sighs out, “Well since you’re part counter, let’s train some.” You nod, accepting the challenge.

*2 hours later*

Hana, Motak, and Ms.Chu all walk in, all tipsy from bar hopping on their day off. They walk in and see you and Somun laying down in the middle of the boxing ring, completely passed out. Motak laughs, walking over to the ring. “Looks like these two are friends now. Just last night Somun was going off about how they weren’t friends.” “You know what that means when Somun says he doesn’t have interest in someone.” Ms.Chu speaks up. “It means he likes her.” Hana says in a monotone voice. The thing is, they don’t know that you woke up 5 minutes ago, you are just too exhausted to move. You fake sleep for another 3 minutes, until you hear the lights switch off, feeling a blanket drape over you and Somun.

You wake up in the morning, sitting up from the uncomfortable sleep you had. You rub your blurry eyes, until you notice Somun’s arm laying across your lap. Your eyes widen and your face grows pink. You go to move his arm in a rush, but right before you grab him, you stop. You stare at his arm, relaxing yourself. You decide to slowly move his arm off of you, slipping out of the ring.

Making your way to your unofficial room, you bump into Ms.Chu. “Ah! I’m sorry, I’m just getting ready to leave. I have a lot to do today.” you say in a hurry. She looks at you with confusion, watching you grab your things and rush out of the door.

You make your way back to your apartment, hoping that today you can relax with no problems.

You change into clean clothes and open your laptop, wanting to catch up with friends. You haven’t spoken with your friends recently, let alone see them. You and your friend Suyeon decide to meet up at a local cafe to catch up. You apply some light makeup but while looking in the mirror, you notice the stubborn curl is still there. You run into your bathroom, attempting to style it to fit your natural hair, but each time, it bounces back. You sigh in annoyance, pinning it with a barrette. You walk out the apartment door, heading to the cafe.

30 minutes pass by at the cafe, laughing and catching up with your old friend. You are having an amazing time until a familiar face walks in. of course, it’s Somun. You decide to ignore him and focus on you and your friend. You just want one day of peace. This feeling didn’t last long. Somun walks up to you two, smiling. “Are you stalking me or something?” he asks jokingly. “Weren’t we the first ones here?” you ask. He nods his head, “Fair.” “I’ll catch up with you later.” you reply. Somun gives you a look of what seemed to be puppy eyes for just a quick second, then his eyes return to normal. You stare at him while he walks away, turning to your friend like nothing happened.

“Bye! Text me when you get home!” leaving your friend, walking in opposite directions. You turn the corner of the building and bump into someone. Before you can look, you start apologizing. You look up and see Somun, again. “Somun! Are you sure you’re not stalking me?” you yell in a teasing manner. He laughs, “Just wanted to make sure you’re safe.” You roll your eyes, but secretly, butterflies are growing inside of your stomach. “Ms.Chu is making lunch, do you want to join us?” he asks. “I just left, and I kind of wanted a day to myself. But thank you for the offer.” you reply. He shoots you his intentional-unintentional puppy eyes, his silent way of saying please. “Okay, I’ll go today, but tomorrow you better leave me alone.” Somun’s eyes soften and he smiles. He starts walking and you follow behind him.

You two have been walking for 30 minutes, despite the hideout being 10 minutes away. You notice that you’ve been walking in the opposite direction. “Somun, are we almost there?” you ask, interrupting your conversation. “5 more minutes.” “‘till we’re there?” “5 more minutes of being with you.” he says. You stop in your tracks, and stare at him. Your face immediately turns red. Somun seems to notice this as he laughs and turns his neck at you. “Is that a problem?” he asks. You shake your head no, biting back your smile. You continue to walk alongside Somun until you reach the place you’ve become familiar with. You two walk in, smiling and laughing together. You two sit at the table, not even acknowledging the counters in the room. While you two continue your conversation, Motak comes and slaps Somun on the back of the head. “Hello to you too!” he yells out. You and Somun laugh, ignoring the room once again.

Motak walks over to Ms.Chu. “Jesus, they’re acting like they’re in love or something. They hated each other the other night. But they have one sleepover and now they’re lovers.” Motak says in a whisper to Ms.Chu. She rolls her eyes at him and hits his arm. “Leave them alone, just be glad they’re not fighting anymore.” They look over at you two, watching you and Somun stare into each other's eyes, deep in conversation, laughing and flirting. Motak fake gags. Ms.Chu grabs the pot of stew and sits it right in the middle of you two, halting your conversation. “Okay okay okay, let’s eat! Y/N, go get Hana.” she says to you. You nod your head and go look for Hana, but while looking for her, you overhear Motak and Ms.Chu nagging Somun with questions.

“Didn’t you two hate each other the other day?” “Why were you two cuddling last night?” “Did you guys go on a date?” “You might as well abandon us for her!” “You can’t fall in love this quick!”

You laugh, overhearing their questions. You continue walking down the hall to find Hana. “Hana, lunch is ready if you’re ready to eat.” you tell her. She pauses her workout and stands up, walking with you back to the table. Hana sits next to Somun, like she normally does. But before you sit, Somun is staring at her like she has a death wish. She looks at you and back to Somun, nodding her head in realization, scooting to sit next to Ms.Chu. You laugh awkwardly and sit next to Somun.

You all talk and indulge in conversation for hours, getting to know each other. During this, you had told them about the obnoxious curl and the single dot on your finger. They had no answer, but they explained Yung to you, and how summoning works. You feel grateful that they decided to share this information with you. You look at the time, realizing it’s 9pm. Time flew by while you were eating and hanging out with everyone. You stand up, announcing that it’s time for you to go. The counters nod, but Hana and Somun are shooting each other a look. Hana then shoots up, “Why don’t you stay here?” she says, shooting an obvious wink at the other counters. “She’s right! It’s getting late!” Ms.Chu says. By now, you can see right through them; but they are all horrible liars. Motak fake yawns, getting up from the table walking into your ‘unofficial’ room. “Motak! That’s my room!” you yell. He pretends not to hear you and slams the door shut. You look back at the table, seeing that everyone has left except Somun. He looks at you before you shut him down. “No! I am not sleeping in the boxing ring again!” you yell out. Somun laughs, “I wasn’t going to suggest that,” he says. You shoot him a confused look.

You are now laying in his bed, only a pillow dividing you two. You lay there with your eyes wide open, being able to hear your own heartbeat in the silence. With Somun laying beside you, you think back to all of the interactions you two have had together. First you were enemies, then you didn’t speak for months, and now you’re laying in the same bed as him with nothing but a pillow separating your bodies from touching. Somun groans, rolling over to face you. Throwing the pillow across the room, wrapping his arm around your waist. Your eyes widen, while you stare at his closed eyes. His touch instantly calmed you. You embrace his touch once more, admiring his face while he sleeps beside you. You feel a smile growing onto your face, now hearing your heartbeat 10x clearer. You hesitantly cup his face, “Goodnight, Somun.” you whisper, while closing your eyes.

As soon as you begin to drift into sleep, you feel Somun move around again. You try to ignore it, but his constant rustling around is not allowing you to sleep. You sit up, whining, “Somun, why do you keep moving around?” you ask. “I can’t sleep.” You ask in a panic, “Have you been awake this whole time?” “Yes” he replies. You fall back onto the soft pillow, covering your face from embarrassment. “So you heard what I said?” you ask through your hands. “I can’t hear you when you're covering your face.” he says teasingly. You sit up again, now facing him. The only thing illuminating his face are the city lights. “You heard me say goodnight? and you felt me cupping your face? you also purposely threw the pillow! this is not fair!-“ You are cut off mid sentence, but instead of being interrupted, you are silenced by Somun crashing his lips onto yours. You close your eyes, embracing the moment. Somun pulls away, his face a shade of light pink. “Now you can relax. Go to sleep.” he says nonchalantly. You stare at him in shock. “Did you just….” you trail off. “Kiss you? yes, do you want me to do it again?” he asks. Before you can answer, Somuns hand is on your waist, bringing his lips slowly to yours once again.

You pull away, still not processing what just happened. “Now seriously, go to sleep! You’ll be tired tomorrow.” he says while laying back down. You follow his action laying down beside him, this time with no border between you two. You hesitate, but you slowly move his arm to caress your waist; falling asleep together under the city lights.

*time skip*

It’s been 6 months since you joined the counters, and 7 months since you and Somun started officially dating. You have moved in with the counters now since you’re here everyday, and also, your landlord increased your rent. You train hard everyday so that the counters will finally allow you to fight one day. Over the past 6 months, you have found 5 new curls and 2 new dots on your fingers; one on your pinky and one of your ring finger. You have learned to summon territories as well, it takes 3 nosebleeds and an inhaler though. The counters have always been by your side, helping and guiding you.

You are so glad to have been accepted into such a wonderful space, and have a wonderful boyfriend. You don’t know where you would be if you never found them.

Though being evil was the worst time of your life, you feel a sense of thankfulness. You would have never been where you are now. You wouldn’t be dating Somun, you wouldn’t be helping Hana with her hair and makeup, you wouldn’t be training with Motak, and you wouldn’t be helping Ms.Chu prepare dinner each night.

You are beyond grateful for where you are right now; and it’s all thanks to Somun for believing in you.

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