#might just start sharing my photography from seoul | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

insfiringyou · 3 years

Text

BTS - Going Solo (Part One) - Jimin x Ara

Contains: Angst. *Potential trigger warning for descriptions of panic attacks*

Set a few months following their scene in ‘Private Moments’, Ara is faced with a decision which will change the course of her future.

(Part Two will be uploaded soon, after a few fics focusing on some of the other members.)

You can find out more about our headcanon universe and ongoing storyline here and more about our headcanon girlfriends here.

To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM / Jin / Suga / J-Hope / Jimin / V / Jungkook & our full masterlist of fanart and fanfictions can be found here

If you wish to follow all member’s storylines in chronological order from the beginning, you can find them listed here.

Content below the cut

‘Jimin,

We just spoke, and you asked if I was happy. I think I am. At least most days.’

Ara typed slowly. Her nails had just been manicured and were longer than she was used to. The sound of acrylics against the keyboard rang through the small hotel room.

‘When I’m with you I can feel really happy. You can be so sweet and loving and I appreciate you always check up on me - to make sure I’m okay. Touring is hard. You know it better than anybody else, and you tried to prepare me for it.’

She gave a soft sigh, knowing no one else would hear. The words were spilling out of her fingers before her brain had time to catch up, though she knew based on experience she would eventually work out what she was trying to say. The room was dark and the white glow from the word document was starting to make her eyes water. The contact lenses had been in all day and were getting on her nerves. Still, she persevered. She could remove them once she had finished.

‘I’ve been asked to renew my contract.’

She stopped typing, heart thudding, and realised she felt scared. Her hand moved automatically to her stomach and she exhaled slowly before taking a deep, drawn out breath. She had been practicing and it had gotten easier. At first she would panic, and find her chest rising and falling like crazy, on the verge of hyperventilation, but soon she learned the trick; it was her stomach which was supposed to be moving, not her chest. Her cheeks were a little warm and she knew it was shame she was feeling, not embarrassment. She hadn’t told him yet, despite having known for over a week. Tentatively, she continued, fingers picking up speed as she became used to the sensation of the new nails.

‘You remember me telling you the first was on a trial basis, based on sales. Well - whatever target they set for us, we must have hit it. Even you have noticed the increase in publicity lately...the T.V appearances. They’ve asked me to film a reality show. I don’t know what they’re expecting.’

Her brow furrowed, wondering...

‘I guess they might have asked you too?’

The laptop stayed silent for a long time and she rested her hands against the small, cheap desk as she gazed at the screen. Her mind suddenly seemed blank and she felt stupid. She would never send the document to Jimin, just as she hadn’t sent the ones she had written before; three month’s worth of unopened, worthless ramblings saved in some obscure folder on her desktop, trapped in the harddrive somewhere between her acoustic recordings and photographs of hairstyles she had saved from Pinterest. She often wondered why she even bothered to save them. Her counsellor had told her, time and time again, that keeping a diary would be helpful. She could record her mood swings and track her periods, along with keeping count of what she ate; wholegrains made her bloated, red food colourings brought out a rash. She sometimes worried she might be lactose intolerant, though could handle it in coffee. That type of thing. She kept it up at first; bashfully bringing the sparkly diary into the small office she visited once a month and reciting what she had written to the man opposite. He would nod sympathetically as she spoke, making a comment from time to time; asking how she felt about what she had put. But the company was paying him to do this; all the girls went, and she sometimes wondered if it was the food diary he was really interested in. If her manager was keeping track, making sure she and the other members were not overdoing it on the full-fat salad dressing and milky lattes.

The diary entries began to dwindle and, not long after her last week-long visit back to Seoul, the meaningless letters on her laptop started. They were usually addressed to Jimin, though she had written several to her father and one to her brother. She wasn’t good with words; she had been told that often enough at school when she would have to read out loud from the book of the week in Literature, or come up with an argument in Business Studies. Her mouth would stumble and she’d turn red, both ashamed and humiliated, until the teacher inevitably took pity on her and told her to sit back down. Writing in private was much easier, especially when she knew no one but her would see.

‘I don’t know how to feel.’

The cursor hovered, blinking at the end of the last line. There was a heavy knock at the door and Ara jumped, hands automatically reaching for the laptop lid, before a familiar female voice called out.

“Ara? Are you coming?”

She quickly gathered herself, clicking the save icon at the top of the screen. The company had arranged a group meal in the restaurant downstairs, though she had forgotten, her mind distracted by more pressing thoughts.

“In a minute…I just need to change my lenses.” She called back, moving her finger against the touchpad as a pop-up appeared. She selected the save button once more, mouth twisting as she read the title in the little window: ‘Untitled #12.’ She wondered if she would ever get around to renaming them properly.

***

“Your hair has so much texture. I wish mine were thicker.”

Ara murmured in reply before catching the young stylist’s reflection in the mirror and realising how rude she must have sounded. Da-eun had come to the company some months before and was undeniably sweet. Too sweet, Ara sometimes thought, for the business she was in. The other makeup artists and hairdressers loved to keep one ear to the wall, in case there was a chance of promotion or, she rather cynically suspected, a way to increase their pay by selling gossip, but Da-eun didn’t seem like that. At least not yet.

After a moment’s hesitation, Ara smiled into the glass at the figure behind her. “I’m glad I have you to do it for me. The roots are a nightmare!”

Da-eun returned the smile and seemed to relax, but a curious expression still played on her features as she ran the straightener gently across the dyed tips of hair. “Are you tired?”

“I didn’t get much sleep.” Ara confirmed, briefly closing her eyes. Da-eun knew not to press her, but she couldn’t help but worry the younger woman might know more than she was letting on. They had shared hotel rooms in the past and, perhaps it was the stylist's instinct, used to paying close attention to detail, but she always seemed to tell when something was amiss. It was frustrating sometimes.

“I looked at the schedule. You’re not going on set until last so you’ll have time to rest before you go out.” Da-eun murmured helpfully. Ara nodded, relieved. It occurred to her, not for the first time, that Da-eun should quit while she could; while she was still young and hopeful and kind.

“I just don’t have the energy right now…” Ara sighed as she felt her hair being released. The younger woman finished working the ends and unplugged the device from the dressing room table.

“Did you sign the contract yet?”

Her voice was inquisitive and a little optimistic. Ara had never asked, but there was always the chance that Da-eun’s contract was somehow tied to her own; that if the group were to disband, she might lose her job. Ara shook her head lightly.

“No.”

Da-eun raised an eyebrow. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“I just haven’t had time to read it properly.” She said, truthfully. “It’s come around sooner than I thought…”

The stylist moved forward, reaching for the set of hairbrushes on the counter, before selecting the biggest. She teased through the ends of hair with her short fingers before brushing lightly along the bleached roots, smoothing the locks.

“There’s been rumours.” The younger woman said, voice suddenly low as though she were worried about being overheard. A thick curtain set apart the dressing room from the photography studio, but it was always possible someone was listening.

Ara blinked, tensing a little. “What?”

Da-eun smiled gently. “That you’re making a solo album.”

“Oh…” The older woman wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this news took her by surprise. “I wasn’t planning on it.” She shrugged.

“That’s a relief.” Da-eun beamed with a small laugh. “I’m looking forward to going home soon. Aren’t you?”

Ara opened her mouth to speak, not sure what she was going to say, but the curtain beside them drew apart suddenly; startling them both.

“Oh! Costume change…” Da-eun exclaimed, setting down the brush and turning to accommodate the older woman who had just entered. Mimi was a year older than Ara and usually less prone to accidents, but the leather strap on her camisole suggested a wardrobe malfunction which needed attending to at once.

“Sorry to interrupt…” The other woman murmured apologetically, gesturing to Da-eun. “Could you fix this for me?”

“Sure.” She nodded, stepping away.

Ara’s phone had vibrated against her thigh twenty minutes before but she hadn’t wanted to risk opening the text, especially with someone standing over her shoulder. As Da-eun seated Mimi in the rotating chair on the opposite side of the room to take a look at her costume, Ara took the moment to slip the device from her pocket and flick through the recent notifications. Unsurprisingly, it had been Jimin who had texted and she read the sentence a couple of times before returning it to her pocket.

‘Two more weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing you. It’s been too long.’

***

Ara sipped from the glass, the cool water clearing her throat and offering a much needed refreshment from the events of the day. Her voice had become raspy from singing, but luckily she didn’t need it to type.

‘Jimin,

I was cleaning my closet before we went on tour and found the dress I was wearing on the night we met.’

She found herself smiling, a little longingly, at the memory, a strange anecdote coming to mind.

‘It still has a Daiquiri stain on the hem and it’s too big for me now. I don’t know why I’m saving it.’

The thought made her sad, somehow.

‘I wonder if you remember that night as clearly as I do. I didn’t want to leave. I knew you were with someone else, but I didn’t care.’

A deep frown played on her otherwise gentle features.

‘Does that make me a bad person?’

It wasn’t until she read the line back, she realised the thought had never occurred to her before. Not once in five years. She wondered why it suddenly seemed to matter. With a sigh, she continued, committing her trail of thoughts to the page.

‘You told me it was over the next time we met, and I believed you, but part of me wondered if you’d go back to her, once you knew how inexperienced I was. I guess I know how you feel sometimes. The whole thing has taken me by surprise as well. I never felt like anyone would want me.’

Her chest ached as she typed the final sentence; overwhelmed by emotion. It was true that the compliments and flirty glances she often received were met with an automatic but fleeting sense of glee. It felt novel, after so long of feeling like she didn’t deserve it. It sometimes still felt that way; back in the hotel room, after the cheers of the crowd had faded. She had brought the subject up with her company counsellor who had laughed it off, explaining that everyone suffered with imposter syndrome from time to time; she wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. On the matter of flirting, she had kept that one to herself. It felt too personal and she was sure it would come across as vain. Occasionally it was unwarranted; the older mens’ eyes moving down her legs when she took to the stage in a short skirt back in Seoul, or the way she jumped in alarm when someone once slipped their hand down the back of her jeans while she stood tightly packed in an elevator in Osaka. But other times she found her heart racing and stomach churning; not thinking of Jimin until she tucked herself in bed at night. A pretty, tall waitress brushing her hand as she handed over the bill in a Thai restaurant, or the hotel doorman who had helped her move her luggage earlier in the week and smiled kindly at her in the lobby. She knew Jimin, of all people, would understand. She had seen the way he played the audience, like he had a secret to share with them all. Early in their relationship it had made her crazy; the way he seemed to flirt with anyone he came into contact with, often without even realising. But now the tables had turned. He would understand; but she wasn’t sure he would accept it.

She glanced a warily at the shadowy corner of the room where an oversized bouquet of red roses sat on the dresser. They had arrived earlier to the hotel room, along with a postcard sized letter from her manager. He had been unable to make the trip to Taiwan but was waiting for her in Tokyo; the contract was ready, whenever she was ready to sign. The flowers seemed like a bribe; the gesture leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She wondered if the other two girls had received any, or if the privilege was all hers.

The sound of her ringtone, a chirpy, summer tune, alerted her to the fact that an hour had already passed and it was getting late. She quickly swiped the screen and raised it to her ear, not wanting to wake up the neighbours.

“Hello?”

There was a pause before Jimin spoke. “How are you?”

“Good.” She squinted at her watch with a frown. “What time is it there?”

“2am.”

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” She asked, a little baffled. He hadn’t called her this late in a while.

“I only just got in. There was a company dinner.” He explained. “What are you up to?”

She hesitated. “Just thinking.”

He laughed, softly mocking her. “Just thinking?”

She shook her head, dismissing it. “Oh, it’s nothing…I was drying my hair.” She lied, fingering the ends of the bone-dry locks in an automatic response. “Da-eun dyed the tips purple for the photoshoot.”

“I liked the pink.” He groaned, a little sulkily.

“They thought purple would fit better with the concept photos.” She mumbled deflatedly. “It’s not really my choice.”

“You could change it when you come home.” He said hopefully. She heard the flirtatious grin in his voice and could picture his smile on the other end. “They can’t do anything about it once your contract has ended.”

“Maybe.”

She sounded distant and he noticed the change at once.

“Are you okay?”

She closed her eyes tightly, temporarily blocking out the glare from the laptop screen. “I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.”

“Did you take a look at the brochures I emailed you?”

“I haven’t had time. I’m sure whatever you pick will be fine.” She knew she sounded a little irritated but was unable to mask it. The weight of the day suddenly seemed to dawn on her and she wanted nothing more than to go to bed. The last thing she wanted to talk about was moving house.

“I’d really like you to help.” He argued lightly. “There’s a three bedroom going for sale on the Han River. Yoongi says it’s a good deal.”

Ara sighed. “I’m sure he’s right.”

A pause.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I wish you’d stop asking.” She pleaded, feeling on the verge of tears. Jimin seemed to hear the tremor in her voice and thought for a long moment before he spoke, tentatively.

“Maybe you should ask the doctor to change your medication again.”

Ara clutched the phone tightly. “It’s fine.” She tried to smile, hoping it would show in her voice. “I’m feeling much better, just tired.”

“Is that a side effect?”

He sounded concerned and she nodded to herself, though she knew full well she hadn’t taken the time to read the little leaflet properly. “Probably. Maybe I just need some sleep.”

“Okay.” He agreed, though she sensed his trepidation. “I’d better go then.”

He sounded disappointed and Ara felt guilty once more. “I’m sorry Jimin.” She apologised softly. “It really was nice that you called. It’s just these time zones…”

“I understand.”

She wondered if he did. Her eyes felt damp beneath her heavy, false eyelashes, making them itch. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

***

She had forgotten her contact lenses and had to rummage through her Birkin to retrieve her reading glasses. They felt strange on her nose and she wondered how she had ever made it through high school wearing them. At least she had been given a moment’s peace to read through the contract. The office overlooked Ueno Station and the rush of traffic below would be too distracting had someone also been watching her.

‘As a permanent member of the label you should not bring the company into disrepute…’

She read carefully, though the paperwork seemed much larger than the last one she had signed. Some of the phrases looked familiar, such as the declaration of her dedication to being a ‘brand ambassador’, but others were definitely new. Her gaze hovered over one line:

‘...should not jeopardize future success…not limited to personal relationships, controversial thought or opinion including strong ties to political associations, ideologies or groups.’

She expected no less, particularly after Mimi was caught on camera reading a Betty Friedan book. The first part was more complicated and she wondered if Jimin’s management had asked something similar of him.

With a sigh, she continued down the page, skimming the text now but picking up on key words which seemed important, ‘Maintain a visible and transparent social media presence….Agree to the screening and management of said accounts with the view of protecting our artists and their wellbeing.’

By the time she reached the end, it did not seem to matter and there was a strange comfort in realising this. The past three years had been carefully planned, organised, operated; her future written for her from the moment she stepped foot on stage for the first time. The moments of quiet between shows, or during her increasingly short stays back in Seoul, only seemed to complicate things further. Her thoughts were a mess whenever she stopped to breathe for a moment, and maybe it was easier to shut them off altogether; to give over all control and decision-making to someone else than to try and deal with them all herself.

The fountain pen was heavier than she expected as she picked it off the table. It had the company brand embossed on the side in gold-leaf which seemed to reflect the fading light outside as the sun set below the concrete structure of the art museum to the West. Slowly, she signed her name on the final page; the ink blotting a little as she moved aside the bound file and repeated the motion on the second copy. The second attempt was neater as she grew used to the feel of the pen in her hand. There was a knack to it; just like many of the things she had grown to learn in her adult life; underwear should be washed on the delicate cycle, t-shirts should be turned inside out before they are ironed, glasses should not be left in the sink too long, should they smash. She had an assistant to do those things now, and her clothes were mostly dry cleaned these days.

She neatened the piles of paper and put the lid back on the pen, so the ink wouldn’t dry. The first contract had been signed in black Biro, which hadn’t come with such demands. Reaching down, she picked up her black handbag and carefully folded her personal copy, slipping it between her lipstick and glasses case before adding the pen. She had probably paid for it anyway; in her own way. The green light on her phone was blinking and she slid it from the pouch in the lining. The text had arrived while she was in the meeting, which is why she hadn’t heard her phone go off. Her thumb paused over the messenger button for a moment, before she tapped the screen lightly; Jimin’s name and picture coming into view in the little window above the text.

‘One more week! :)’

***

Thank you for reading. To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM / Jin / Suga / J-Hope / Jimin / V / Jungkook

& Our full masterlist of fics and original art can be found here

& Our masterlist of preferences/most likely to/quizzes and fun stuff is here

You can support us by buying admins a coffee here (if you wish). :)

26 notes · View notes

dojae-huh · 3 years

Note

Saw anon's comment about Jae's newest ig update https://dojae-huh.tumblr.com/post/656333582126743552/about-jaehyuns-photos-they-are-on-different-days I didn't think much about it at first except Jae's love for night view, but now I'm thinking too thanks to tweets below LOL It looks like a viewing spot near Hangang that other members have been to including Do.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert about Korea nor photo investigation. Just thought these are interesting.

https://twitter.com/jaehyunbom__/status/1413836437691146241?s=19

These are all the pics Jae just posted. Anon suggested the view in Jae's photos looked like Busan, but i think it's somewhere near Hangang (a river in Seoul). There's a tower in the pics and it looks like Seoul tower and Namsan. There's a river too and I assume it's Hangang. Then I found this user on twt and they sound confident it's Hangang.

https://twitter.com/SKVT138/status/1413858114005204999?s=19

But anon is right that photos were taken on different days. Moon phases are telling. city light reflections and sky conditions look different too but these could change in hours or even minutes on the same day.

But a while later some Ishippers started comparing Jae's photos to Do's ig update in april (I checked Kshippers' accs but they only talked about Jae loving night view)

https://twitter.com/whoshocked/status/1413845646340071430?s=19

https://twitter.com/finetodoy/status/1413840117253345285?s=19

https://twitter.com/wkjd_pitcha/status/1413840239391506441?s=19

The last tweet even compared Jae's updates with Do photos when he just started talking about film camera. It's hard to investigate Do's photos because in the iphone taken (?) photo, Do's wide shoulders are blocking the background 🤣 In pics from his film camera, the background is barely seen. Just specks of city lights, and the city lights seem less further away in Jae's photos and Do's first pic too. But imo, it depends on angle and spot and there's still a small possibility that all photos taken near Hangang. I read somewhere there are a lot of parks and viewing points near the river.

Do's shirt in the first and second pics look similar too and he's wearing necklace in both pics. Are the photos from the same day but just taken from different cameras (if he started film photography long before revealing in bbl and ig)? It's hard to comfirm because the photos are too dark, the shirt design so simple, Do already often wears necklace. He could have worn similar or same shirts on different days too. But i still think it could be Hangang because of Hyuck's bubble updates.

https://twitter.com/doyounqzen/status/1240293444959866880?s=19

https://twitter.com/doyounglove___/status/1311271490965307392?s=19

I can't find trans for these bbl messages but I remember Hyuck said they went to Hangang. The view in the first photo is strikingly similar to the view in Jae's pics too.

This tweet compiled Jae and different night views.

https://twitter.com/forvalentineboy/status/1413841286319132681?s=19

I found the last photo in my bbl gallery. I thought of Hangang too, but this might be a stretch on my part because we can't tell from the background. Jae sent it in March 2020 but he probably took it before that due to the pandemic (and he didn't look like that during Kick It promos?) The third pic is definitely Hangang.

https://twitter.com/_dibidibibling/status/1325841485430845440?s=19

It's his archived ig post when he was filming the drama. Can't tell if it's from filming or Jae's private trip though.

Now, it's impossible to tell Jae's going with whom. He could have visited with a manager, family or even alone, but I want to share these photos to tell everyone that not only Do, Hyuck and Woo but also Jae like to go to Hangang at night (don't forget Jae's basketball relay cam with Mark, also filmed near Hangang). I dunno if Jae has been there with Do but with these photos, let's not rule out the possibility that Jae could have been there with other members including Do.

In a truly Do's fashion, whenever he talks about what he does with other members on bbl, only Hyuck and Woo are often mentioned so far. Never Jae. 😅 But if all or most of these photos were taken at Hangang, we now know that Jae goes there more than once and Do also goes there more than once. Maybe other members too. In conclusion, Do and Jae may have been there together with other members or just them since they both seem to like the place.

post

Link Link2 Link3 Link4 Link5

Link6 Link7 Link8 Link9

Jae and Do went to the Han river in the past. The river runs through the city, so there are multiple parks and places to go. Jaehyun recommends it on shows as a place to visit, too.

The first two pictures with a half-moon should be from the same day, same location, just from two different spots of the bank. The third picture is also from the same location (different angle) but from another day. Look at that parallelepiped building on the left.

I've never been to Seoul, but watch my map skills, haha.

The blue pin is Seoul tower. You see there are two hills (the green areas), and both can be seen in Jae's pictures, ergo, the viewpoint is on the bottom right side of the map.

I'm guessing it's between Hannam Bridge and Dongho Bridge. The Dongho bridge is the blue one, it could be seen in Jae's photos. It's not Hannam, the viewpoint is more to the right, there is a park, so I'm checking the area between Dongho bridge and Seoungsu-dong.

This is the view from the full moon picture. Jaehyun took pics from his walk in the Seoul forest park (the green area named Seongsu-dong on the map).

SM has a building nearby (red pin) (20-30 min by car).

Doyoung's pics are from the rooftop of this building. Yeongdong bridge is visible in the pictures.

The point of comparisons is that Jaehyun likes night view and Doyoung posts pictures of himself against a night scape. Every time shipper speculate that it's Jaehyun who take the pics.

9 notes · View notes

breadcaaat · 4 years

Text

part seven

jeongguk x hybrid!reader

words: 2.5k

Warnings: mentions of rape and revenge porn

“I wasn’t born in Seoul. I’ve actually only lived here for a couple of years.”

“Where were you born?”

“Busan.”

She nodded, as if she knew where that was. He bypassed explaining Korean geography and continued.

“Anyway, I came here for college three years ago with Da Eunae - my high school girlfriend. She was studying to become a teacher and I wanted to get into videography… ” He picked at his fingernails. Move on, he thought. It was a bittersweet subject. He had little to no possibility of pursuing that career now. “Anyway, about half-way through my freshman year - I’d just been meeting all sorts of new people, you know, and I realized that I didn’t really love my girlfriend anymore, so I broke up with her. I wanted to explore, and she was too possessive. Like - if I talked to anyone female she was immediately suspicious, but she wouldn’t outright accuse me, if that makes any sense. She’d just give me the cold shoulder, but also be super - super clingy at the same time. I mean - clingy isn’t bad, though! It was just the wrong type and so…” Move on, move on.

“Right, I explored. There was stuff I was curious about - different scenes and people and stuff - and I’d also been questioning my sexuality for a while at that point and decided to just kinda… put myself out there. Had a whole new friend group in two months and they were awesome. That’s actually when I met Hobi-hyung. There was a dance workshop second semester, and he was in his senior year so he introduced me to a lot of people. Everyone likes Hobi.”

“Is this the one you went out for drinks with?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded, and he felt himself relaxing a bit. Freshman year had honestly been great, even with the angst of letting his old girlfriend go. It’d been a relief, with time.

“During the summer after, I did a photography internship with a local journal and spent some time back in Busan - pretty uneventful. Fun, though. And at some point I decided to really,” he cleared his throat, and the tips of his ears dusted pink, “explore, and I started… sleeping around.”

Y/N nodded, chin propped on his shoulder. She seemed unperturbed.

“Boys and girls,” he clarified. If he was expecting a reaction he didn’t get one - besides a little cock to her eyebrow as if asking And?

He couldn’t help but prod. “That’s not weird?”

She shook her head. He seemed hesitant to let it go though, so she clarified. “My lover in the cages likes boys and girls, too. I’ve slept with other women. Thought it was normal. If you wanna have sex with someone then… you wanna have sex with them, and that’s it.” A small pause, and a little furrow appeared between her eyebrows. “Is it weird?”

Jeongguk hadn’t stopped processing the first statement yet. “You had a lover?”

She nodded, looking a little puzzled now. The spotlight was supposed to be on him, not her. “Yeah; an ex-stripper.We shared a cage and were pretty tight…” Then she shook her head, focusing back on the subject at hand, “I’ll tell you about him later, though. I still don’t know what - this was all about.”

He nodded and cleared his throat. Right, yeah. He’d pursue that line of questioning later.

But, honestly… he’s still not sure what happens next in the story. The effect on him, yeah. The result, sure. But the cause?

He still has no clue.

“And then, I dunno.”

“You don’t know?” She seemed thoroughly confused as to the connection between this history and his anguish about it.

He sighed, heavily.

“I don’t know. I started sophomore year, and then suddenly there was this huge following online where people posted… videos and stuff. Of me having, um, sex. I didn’t even know videos had been taken. And most of the videos were with the men I’d slept with. They got posted to this porn website and a couple people from the college got ahold of them and they circulated - and then that was that.”

He was silent for a second. The turbulence of his confusion then affected him even now. When he next spoke, it was quieter.

“The only people that stuck around were Hoseok and Eunae. I think my friends couldn’t look at me without seeing what they saw in the videos, you know? I don’t… blame them. It’s weird.”

She was silent for a minute.

Then she got huffy.

“I do. And fuck your ex, dude.”

Finally, he turned around. “What?”

“I know my hearing is better than yours but you can’t have that shitty a sense of - ”

“No, what do you mean by what you said?”

“I meant to say fuck your ex, she sucks.”

There was a long moment where she looked at him expectantly. Like whatever connection she’d made was obvious.

He gave her a look.

“… You really don’t see it, huh?”

He shook his head.

The deep inhale she took he could then feel against his back, and the two of them swayed with it. It was heavy. She was preparing to say something just as heavy.

The breath came out in a rush. Her head tipped forward and tapped his shoulder. Mutedly, he noticed how soft her hair had become. It cheered him up a little.

“When - when you get turned into - into… a hybrid. Like me, um…”

The stutter was something he hadn’t heard in a while. He watched in surprise as her ears folded back against her head, as she curled in on herself - almost hiding behind him. It was her turn to avoid eye contact now. It made him apprehensive, but he was focused on her more now than he had been all day.

“Go on,” he murmured. She nodded against his shoulder.

“The way it works is you get, um, commissioned. Somehow, before it all, you catch someone’s eye - someone with money - and they get in contact with Sheepdog, and then they commission you. They describe what animal they want you to be, and look like, and act like, and how they want you trained and… you lose everything.”

Her voice was so quiet. He felt like the whole world was contained in just this flat.

“They take your memory, and they keep taking it - I don’t know how; they don’t tell us. But the lab is where you feel like you’re born. I really don’t know how to describe what it’s like being - being born as an adult, but… that’s how it is, and you’re sensitive and vulnerable and everything hurts. You want someone to take care of you and coddle you and protect you and - and touch you, so badly it physically hurts. Right in your chest. It’s like a, a twist. But there’s no one, and every time you reach out for comfort it’s denied. It hurts every time. It never stops hurting.”

As tender as he could manage, his fingers wound into hers where they were still kneading at his hoodie strings. She relaxed a little.

“And then your owner comes. They throw open the door and sweep you away to a place where there’s food and luxury and nice clothes, and they act so nice and they - they touch you. They worm their way under your skin while you’re still like that - all, all innocent and scared - and they seem like saviors. You think that everything will be better and that it’s so good you’ve left that dark, scary place, but ultimately…”

She scrounges up the courage to look him in the eyes then.

And for the first time since they’ve met, it really hits him just how scary her life has been. He understood that it was dangerous, but not scary. Not like the dark is to a child.

“Ultimately, your owner put you there.”

She finishes, and seems to hold her breath. She’s looking for that click behind his eyes. He has to see the connection now. She hopes he does, and that he sees how he’s been wronged. That he spots the parallel.

And really, he doesn’t get it - until he very suddenly he does.

The click she was looking for happens, and he feels sick. The few bites of ramen he had were craving a return to the open air.

It was no secret Eunae wanted him back. And no secret that she was competitive - it was one of the things he thought was attractive about her in the beginning, because he is too, and also one of the qualities that eventually drove him away. After he dumped her, she must’ve felt like she’d lost somehow. And - lemon juice in the wound - to men. She’d always had a problem with that, too. Boys kissing boys and girls kissing girls. She’d always said it was gross. He never bothered to correct her.

So, it was plausible.

It was plausible that she’d wanted him back so bad that she’d engineered a “dark place” - paid off or convinced or whatever’ed some of his partners into filming him when he wasn’t aware, and then got her hands on those videos and posted them. The result: he lost his friends. And she made a now obviously convenient return into his life, open-armed and honey-tongued.

Ultimately, she put you there.

A new flavor of bile.

It’s bitter. Tinged with some emotion he can’t quite place. Something primal and angry and feral. He’s lost so much because of some girl’s - what, pride? Jealousy? He lost basically everything because of an ex?

But take a step back. She may also… not have. He might still be the unlucky victim of some - admittedly - very coordinated bullies.

And when it came down to it, it never mattered who did this to him. The result would still be the same no matter where the blame lies. He still lost everything. He lost his friends, and his college, and his career… his family. They left him, too -

“You’re crying.”

A finger brushes his cheekbone, wicking the water away. He’d been so in his own head for the past few minutes he hadn’t realized.

“There’s more?” she guessed.

He sighed and scrubbed at his eyes with too-scratchy sleeves. “Yeah. Yeah, there - ” his voice cracked, so he cleared his throat and went on, “ - there is.”

“Tell me.” Gentle. Firm.

Another long, too-long pause.

“One of my professors saw my videos.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, but - he didn’t, like…” Another sigh, this one frustrated. “It hadn’t reached my family yet, so he blackmailed me.”

He didn’t elaborate further. Whatever it was seemed more painful than the rest.

She prodded anyway. “Into?”

“Into letting him fuck me.”

She blinked.

“He just… really liked what he saw in those videos, I guess. And someone got a picture! And it got into the news and then the school ousted me and then - !“

“Breathe,” she reminded him. More tears were budding at his lash line, and she wiped them gently away. They spilled and rolled over his cheekbones.

He sucked in a breath, then continued. It was like he’d opened the floodgates. Now he had to get everything out or he felt like he’d die. “And then my family learned about it anyway. My parents were never rich. We were relying on my uncle - he’s got a lot more money - to help me out financially. I was already on thin ice before for my major. And then it came out that I was - I was fucking guys and getting fucked by guys and sleeping with my professors and coaches and whatever the fuck else and that support was yanked out from under my feet like a rug. And then I had no job, so I was completely broke, and then I broke the phone I had and… “

“And?”

“And I’d never memorized my parents’ numbers. And they don’t know how to use the internet well, even when they have access, which they usually don’t. So I haven’t talked to them in…” He used to keep count of the weeks; he used to remember. It hurt to, though. He’d stopped.

“… In a long time. And that’s all. That’s my fucking - sob story, so, uh, take it or leave it I guess.”

She doesn’t speak for another long, long minute.

“Does talking about this at least feel any better?” she whispers.

“I don’t know what to feel.”

So she grips him tight, leaning to the side so they both topple over into the pillows.

He’s not usually the little spoon.

… It feels nice.

“How would you feel?” he asks after a minute. The cuddling is soothing, and he’s feeling braver now.

“Hm?”

“Like, if all this happened to you and you were me, how should you feel?”

“Well, is this a would or should scenario?”

He chews on that for a second, before answering, “Would.”

“Angry.”

“Should?”

“Angry.”

He scoffs. “Don’t you lose the moral high ground, then? Anger is all… evil and stuff.”

“Bullshit. Anger is perfectly moral.”

She doesn’t explain further, but he’s curious now. Perhaps he does feel a little better.

“… How so?”

“Here, roll over.”

“Huh?”

She loses her patience very quickly, gripping him by the waist and rolling him over herself. They’re face to face now. His nose is almost touching hers, and it makes his breath catch in his throat.

(Her face is really pretty.)

“Anger is perfectly righteous, and you wanna know why?”

Suddenly feeling very shy, he just nods. But that’s a bad idea because it makes their noses brush and he can’t help but imagine a different flavor of the sleepy mornings they share. Mornings where instead of blanket tug-of-war and nipped ears there’s just the gentle press and slide of soft lips and -

She must sense he’s not completely there, reaching up to pat at his face. He needs to hear what she has to say. He deserves anger. He blinks.

“You deserve anger.” Good start. “You deserve it because - because you’re worth it. You - you’re worth something, and because of that, you deserve to feel anger over how you’ve been mistreated and stepped on because everything that’s been done to you is wrong. Any moral standard that doesn’t allow you anger doesn’t allow you to defend yourself.”

Her hand’s stayed on his face. She lets her thumb brush the reddened rim of his eye, hoping that her fingers are cool enough to help with the swelling. She doesn’t like seeing him cry.

“And I understand that you gotta fight for the ability to feel angry for yourself but I - I just… that’s why I would and should be angry, if I were you. You deserve that anger.”

The urge to close his eyes and lose himself to the weight of her palm on his cheek and the gentle brushing of her palm is a strong one, but he forces himself to keep them open and look at her.

“I’d get angry,” she repeats. Her voice is a whisper. “And I’m angry for you.”

He doesn’t know if he agrees with her; at least not at first. But he tries to take it in the context of her life. Anger is what she’s learned it to be, not what society has said it is. So to her, anger is a different entity.

To her, anger must be justice. It’s her drive for justice.

And he’s on board with that.

He’s angry.

A/N: of course, now that im seven chapters in, im starting to dislike the chapter style. im thinking of - when this is all finished - doing one last collective post with all the parts in one, so its just a ~40k beast

tag list: @feed-my-geek-soul @not-novoa @astronomyturtle @anoushe01 @seokchella @dinorahrodriguez @mischiefmakerliesmith5 @studiojoonie

tag list glitches: @infiressnct @starryannaaa

97 notes · View notes

lideria · 4 years

Text

Get to Know. | YangYang

Request: hiiiii ! i was wondering if it was possible to ask for a fluffy yangyang shows y/n around his hometown? sorry if that isn’t specific enough :( you have full creators freedom thank u so much ❤️

Author’s Note: So this is what it is, I tried my best, I swear I did. This was a concept I had never written before because usually I don’t.. write very descriptive things.. which is where things like this fall in- but I took on the challenge heheh On another note, this piece was cut in half as I haven’t been all too emotionally stable these past 3 days, so my apologies if this isn’t as good as what you hoped for. (And I know I have this excuse often, not being emotionally stable, but my condition really challenges me every single day and writing is the only thing that helps me forget about it a little, so please bear with me.)

Warnings: I THINK NONE? I guess if you’re German this might be like.. a bit weird. Mostly descriptive. There might be not-too-accurate representations, definitely contact me if you think something needs to be changed. Plus, English is my second language so there might be errors.

Word Count: 2.418 short-ish but long-ish

Genre: Fluff and literally nothing else

Hope you all enjoy, and I hope you all have a great time 💚 Stay safe, healthy, and happy xx

“You know what people say you should do if you wanna get to know your partner better?” YangYang asks you one night as you lounge on the bed together, looking at your phones, hardly speaking— waiting for the sleepy mood to come and hit you both so you could go to sleep. His voice sounds nowhere near tired, unlike you, whose eyes are barely open. “Mm I don’t know.” You mumble, even though you had not heard what the answer was to the question.

“Getting stuck in traffic or traveling together.” Answering the question for you, he turns his face towards yours to be met with your profile. Maybe only a quarter of your profile since your head was covered with the hood of your hoodie. “Neither of us has a car,” He adds brightly.

The words start to make sense only after a questionable silence. When you do, a feeling of surprise washes over you as you turn to face him as well. “What exactly do you mean?”

“Oh I don’t know,” The words leave him in a rush with a chuckle as if he is trying to laugh it off. But he is not, because he keeps speaking. “But I definitely don’t mean that we should rent a car when we could fly if you know what I mean.”

You roll your eyes and shake your head, getting under the blanket and putting your phone aside. “Just go to sleep.”

To your horror, YangYang had been serious about his quick little fact check.

In two weeks’ time, he had barged into your apartment holding two plane tickets with a smile so wide on his face. Not only that, but he had told you to clear out your schedule for the upcoming break— because he would be taking you around anywhere and everywhere he had on his mind (and truthfully, anywhere and everywhere your budgets would allow for you to visit).

The concept came with its multiple ups and downs. Ups, you would be visiting four countries in four weeks without that much strain on your wallets and would have the chance to see places you have always wanted to; downs, most of the flights being layovers of all sorts so the prices would not have a great impact to your finances. And then there was a grey area, which held the fact that two of these countries were ones YangYang had lived in before.

There was nothing wrong with visiting places he had lived in before. This would give you an incredible chance of getting closer to him— perhaps on a level you would not quite be able to reach without doing exactly what you were about to do. It would provide a crystal clear window into his life before you, something more clear than his words probably ever could be. However, the idea still made you feel nervous to some extent. Most likely because of its intimate background, you felt like the magic of it could crumble with one wrong move.

But you do not give into that feeling. Having fun is the least you could do. Not that you have much other choice, anyway. Because YangYang, with lack of a better word, is an actual toddler about this whole ordeal.

The morning of your first flight that leaves to Taiwan, he meets you at the subway station you had agreed on with an excited smile on his face. One that does not falter even though the rain is about to soak him, and even when you pull him under your umbrella as you mutter if he is asking to get sick from the first second.

You share your earphones on the long ride to the airport. Checking in comes and goes in a blink of your eyes, but you barely make your way to the gates in time after spending way too much time in the food court and the duty free shops.

The plane is gigantic and crowded, which makes sense considering YangYang had said he could hardly find seats beside one another while purchasing the tickets. You get the aisle seat and he gets the middle— which would have been perfectly fine if the middle aged man sitting in the window seat did not keep excusing himself to the lavatory every other minute. Thankfully the flight is a relatively short one and not a red-eye because if it had been you are certain both of you would have lost your minds while cuddled up to each other over the armrest.

Taiwan is fun. YangYang takes you around everywhere he could remember spending time in, which does not end up being that many since he had only been a child while he lived here. He takes you to the ‘cliché’ tourist attractions (as he had quoted) around the island such as the temples and museums and the remnants of the Dutch colonization, and to the places that his mother suggests him take you that are more on the natural side, like geysers. You get to see the beautiful beaches and the parks and the people, more often than not walking around with their pets, the beautiful campuses and the nature, people riding around in their bikes and the crowds commuting on foot. The two of you take photographs, some only of sceneries, some you take of him and he takes of you, and some he kindly asks strangers of any age to take of you as a couple.

You do not dare to tell him, but his tourist-guide-like antics of teaching you about the history and trying to figure out exactly where you will go at what time is extremely cute to you because you love it. You love that he gets so serious about where he is from and wants to share every bit of it with you.

As per your traveling habits you pick up several souvenirs and get some of your favorite photographs printed, which end up being from the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas you had taken on a foggy day— something YangYang says the both of you could play with the colors and lighting of before printing. The two of you like to edit pictures, especially together, after realizing (early on in your relationship) that neither of you are that good in photography but are interested in it, at which point you took on a challenge to do better with each other’s support.

YangYang makes you eat the local food, which is one of your favorite parts about the whole time you spend there, and he does not hesitate to make you try things that you probably would not have tried if you were traveling alone. You end up falling in love with the food and the various teas this island has to offer, only maybe not the Chodofu.

A week in Taiwan goes by really fast that by the time you have to leave, you do not realize that you had ever even been there. It all feels like a dream and a part of you feels emotional; the two of you had been so extremely happy in Taiwan that staying there for longer really would not have bothered you, if it was not for your schedules.

“We have to come back,” You tell YangYang as you lean your head on his shoulder at the gate, waiting for your overnight flight’s boarding to start. He chuckles airily at your sleep deprived voice, making your head bounce a little. “You like it here?”

“I love it here.” The answer makes his smile widen. “Great weather and great people. And great surroundings.”

“Eh, I don’t know about great weather. I’d prefer it to be dry but that’s not something we could have in these months.” Shaking your head on his shoulder, you ignore what he says. “You’re just being ungrateful,” You say matter-of-factly, but he knows you are joking. “What more can you ask for when you have this many great things? You had me too.”

He plants a kiss in your hair after a moment’s pause, and mumbles. “You’re right.”

YangYang and you had tried to organize your trip in a way it would make sense, really. The two of you had looked at flight routes to determine where the other two countries you would visit could be, but the flight routes were mostly over Russia— so unless you wanted a tour of southern Russia you would have to hold off. And although the idea of Central Asia and Russia also interested you, the flight tickets would be expensive, when they would be much cheaper from Seoul. So in the end, the route became a zigzag of countries of your shared interests before flying over to Düsseldorf, the last destination of your trip.

The two countries in the midst of your trip had been a daze, most probably they were new experiences for both of you rather than only one of you. Most days you found yourselves to be extremely exhausted from getting lost countless times and in turn walking around so much, and from the language barrier that sometimes troubled you, and just getting to know whole new cultures. Not only getting to know them, but also adapting to them in the short period that you are there.

Sometimes there were instances where one of you were feeling more spent than the other, and in those instances you hyped each other up— by persuasion of food, music, affection, or other things— and in a few instances downright jumping on whoever’s lying on the bed and bear-hugging them until the subject had no choice but to get up.

Yet, two weeks pass by quickly with the density of your packed schedule and before you know it, you land in Düsseldorf airport.

And something in YangYang changes immediately.

As you pass through immigration and buy tickets to go on public transportation he looks more relaxed and in his element, like how he had been in Taiwan, yet somehow different. He actually knew the location of your Airbnb for starters, which gives you an immediate grounding and reminds you that this is the place of the better part of his rememberable childhood and adolescence.

When he takes the keys and speaks German to the house owner like it was the most normal thing he could ever do, it awes you, because yes you had known about his life in Germany but you did not see him speak German all that much. So it is wonderful to you that he can speak so many languages fluently (with a few mix-ups in between).

His behavior changes the feel of the trip as well. The way he is so laid back makes the days in Düsseldorf feel, well, daily. As if you had been living there with him. Because YangYang knows exactly where to take you this time, not counting the tourist attractions or other wonders.

In that city he knows where he should take you for a fun session of thrift shopping, making sure to take you to his favorite places, and his favorite restaurants. He actually runs into people, which is mind blowing. You encourage him to meet up with his friends and forget about just taking you to places at some point, which makes him really happy that you would even think of that, and he does what you say.

YangYang introduces you to his friends, most of whom can speak English since he had gone to an international school before, and the feeling of inclusivity warms your heart. By getting to know his friends here you feel even closer to him after seeing his home country and now, for the lack of a better word, his hometown. You get to see the way he laughs when he is here, you get to see his emotional changes, and how his thought process changes, and how his behavior changes. Although everything changes he is still YangYang— still him who makes witty jokes, who likes laughing all around, who likes jumping his leg up and down to the rhythm of the songs, who is a people pleaser and a mood maker.

And it makes you fall for him even more, if it is even possible. Perhaps what he had said before the trip started, getting to know your partner better because of traveling, was true. And in all honesty you wanted to travel more with him; run through the crowded airports in search of wherever your gate is, buy even more small jars of Nutella from duty free shops so you could taste test them to see the variations in the flavor and decide which country’s is the ultimate winner, sleep on the uncomfortable floor with your heads on your backpacks— anything. As long as the two of you get to be this happy together.

One sunny day in Düsseldorf around a couple days before your departure, after gathering even more souvenirs for your collection and he takes you to his favorite place that served fries (which, in Düsseldorf, there were a lot of those), he stops abruptly on the street after hearing the sound of the music.

He urges you to hurry up with his hand as his eyes widen and he skips in his place a little, and you do, walking to the source of the music and stopping when he stops right behind a crowd. You both can still see the middle, where a group of people maybe your age or maybe a couple years younger, are dancing.

“Why did we stop by here?” You ask. You cannot recognize the song and you are almost sure it is not in any of YangYang’s playlists, so you are genuinely curious.

YangYang laughs with what must be longing. “This is where I used to dance,” He does not look at you, eyes fixed on the group that kept dancing on with some handwritten signs and big speakers behind them, eyeing the white square that surrounded them. The square for street performers. Dancers, singers, anybody— but there was an unwritten pact for the days of the week on what kind of performer would be taking it and who, through endless group chat conversations of local artists.

He takes your hand into his and laces your fingers together without prying his eyes away, with you looking at his ever so bright face, one that you got to see for the first time. “Where everything started for me.”

#nct imagines #nct scenarios #wayv imagines #wayv scenarios #yangyang #liu yangyang #this kinda sucks but i'm trying to be at peace with it #i visited düsseldorf once since i have family there but that was years ago and what i have seen #might not have stayed the same #and for taiwan i literally..#watched travel vlogs #i hope this is okay #aaaaaaaa #but the joana ceddia aaaaaaa #yeah i'm going to sleep

43 notes · View notes

alilbihh · 5 years

Text

spaced out — 02

masterlist previous chapter next chapter

summary: “take me to your leader.“ you couldn’t believe it. this man was otherworldly in all sense of the word. “well I hope you’re hungry, my dude, we’re going to visit the king of burgers.”

Planet A3022 is on the brink of extinction. with little to no females there to repopulate and its king not interested in any one of them, he assigns one of his most trusted men to retrieve a female suited to his tastes willing enough to take his hand in marriage. things go haywire once the man in question crash lands into the considerably non technological Planet EA4728 with you there as witness.

genre: fluff, humor (??), angst, highkey crack, poly!au, alien!au

pairing: alien!taehyung x reader x alien king! ??

a/n: thank you all for the support on this series!! i can’t believe the first part has over a hundred notes :(( ilysm

"You don't have to talk like that, you know."

"Hm?"

"You know, formally to everyone."

"Is that not common manners?" he asks, appalled, his words muffled as he speaks while simultaneously sipping on his milkshake, straw still between his lips.

You never thought you'd ever find the need to defend humanity in its entirety but, well, here you are, fine dining in a fast food restaurant with an alien sitting opposite you, wildly sucking on his first ever strawberry milkshake. Oh, the irony. "It's just easier to speak informally to most! Oh, well. I'll just teach you with time." You drum your fingers on your cheek for a second in thought before continuing, "How do you know our language, anyway?"

When you glance upwards, you find that he's staring longingly at his nearly empty plastic cup, bitterly twirling the straw around its edges. "It's a.. simple language, to be fair."

"Simple- how many languages do you know, then?"

"Only the easiest ones, and mostly the more widely used ones of each planet. I never thought I'd have to use this one in particular. I know maybe about... over one hundred?"

You almost choke on your own spit. "Wha-" you barely know the english language and this man is out here knowing over one hundred of them?! Humanity really has to step up their game. "You can't be serious?"

"I'm always serious." He says without breaking eye contact, resulting in his tongue awkwardly sticking out of his mouth in search for his straw. This man is hopeless.

Jin then appears out of seemingly nowhere, sauntering his way over to you both before slamming another strawberry milkshake onto the table along with his own drink. "For you, my good man."

Your lips are drawn into a thin line, expression flat as you watch an alien king's right-hand man make grabby hands for a strawberry milkshake, his eyes blown wide with wonder and lips parted just the tiniest bit. It's a sight to behold. Jin slides it closer to him.

You take to inspecting the inside of the fast-food restaurant. Everything is surprisingly neat, despite its rather grubby exterior. Even though the place is considerably empty, occupied only with its usual night dwellers, you're all cramped in the far end corner where Jin has to aggressively wave his arms in the air in order to be seen by the barely awake waiter.

With Taehyung opposite you and the older male to your left, you snort as you watch the latter flip through the menu rather solemnly, "Why are you looking at the menu? You're just going to order the lemon meringue pie."

"You don't know that." Jin says with furrowed brows seconds before turning towards the bored looking waiter, whispering, "I'd like the lemon meringue pie, please."

"You're insufferable." You watch with half lidded eyes as the waiter trudges away. Taehyung’s in a chirpy mood despite being awake at three in the morning and crash landing on an alien planet a mere few hours ago, and you suspect it's the milkshake. Yet the fact that he's so easily happy is oddly endearing.

"I can't believe when I met you, it was by an attempt made on my life." You mutter halfheartedly to the alien opposite you, the male in question only bothering with a few blinks in your direction as a response before continuing on his quest to finish his milkshake. You hope he doesn't ask for a third one, it's pretty expensive as it is.

"I'm just surprised he didn't finish the job." Jin says with a snicker and you, through your impressive selective hearing ability, promptly ignore him.

You should have taken Jungkook with to your alien questioning mission, if only because the little space is something you think he'd like, hot chocolates with latte art and corners with red, comfy cushions. But alas, the man has to balance his dance, martial arts, music, and his main passion; photography, all in his every day life- so he's in constant need of his nappy times and regular sleep schedules.

You suddenly wonder what Taehyung would be like, had he been a person from Earth. What his passions would be, what his hobbies would be. You wonder what kind of world he lives in. If it's the kind of world humanity can only dream of. If it's the kind of world humanity itself would dread.

Maybe that's something to think about later.

"How'd you manage to crash land here in the first place?" You ask, staring at the alien in question over the rim of your plastic cup. You just found an alien in the middle of the streets of Seoul in the mere year of 2019. You might as well make the best of it.

Taehyung, although hesitantly, places his strawberry treat onto the table as gently as possible, and you almost laugh at how delicately he's treating the thing, as if it were made of glass. He clears his throat, "For reasons unknown to even me, I was being pursued by an enemy spacecraft. Quite the skilled flyer they were, but their eagerness to kill made them unaware of their surroundings. Beginner's mistake." He tuts, and your jaw almost drops at how easily he speaks of the attempt on his own life.

"And?" Jin says eagerly as he urges him to continue, almost as if listening to a bedtime story, the sipping of his milkshake nearly obnoxiously loud.

"Yes, well," He chuckles, the sound a borderline giggle, if only for a second, "I managed to enter my emergency escape.. pod, as you called it, and made my ship self-destruct, in order to not harm any of your kind."

There's silence for a moment as you all process the information. All this trouble because some dude wanted some alien babies? This all just sounds like a poorly executed sci-fi that you wanted no part of, but you suppose there's no way out of it, not anymore. You had a threat hanging overhead brought on by the very man that needed your help and so, despite how little you can actually do, you'll do whatever it takes.

"So.. what now? Any idea how to get back to your planet?" You say through pursed lips, and there's a moment of silence as you all wait for Taehyung's response.

You lean forward a bit, Jin beside you unconsciously mimicking the action, and the alien lightly shakes the little bits of ice in the bottom of his empty cup with dejection before looking up with a start, as if he just remembered you were all there. "Oh!" He blinks. "No idea."

"HUH?"

Needless to say, you're all doomed.

When you all gather back into your and Jin's shared apartment, Jungkook is sprawled on the couch half-asleep and Hoseok is probably somewhere in Jin's room, with Jin quick to join him as you all arrive, though not without first ruffling your hair and muttering a small, "Sleep well."

Jungkook's really not supposed to be here since there's barely enough space for you, Jin and Hoseok— now with the inclusion of Taehyung for who knows how long—and there's really no other place to sleep. You guess he hadn't really considered that.

Resolutely, you grab a futon shoved somewhere in your closet, and drop it carelessly onto the floor along with a random pillow. "Sleep."

Taehyung stares down at it, blinking solemnly. He makes a little noise of dejection before pointing at the thing, lips pursed, "I apologize, but what am I supposed to do with this?"

You sigh, deeply, scooping up the futon and hastily spreading it over the floor, in the middle of the living room, just behind the couch Jungkook's currently occupying. You could feel your eye bags weighing you down as you then gesture to the now organized futon, "Sleep."

Anyone could tell he had further complaints, but after a moment of hesitation he sighs, shoulders slumping in defeat. You then watch as he, rather awkwardly, bends to the floor to settle on his knees, pausing for a moment or two to glance upwards at you with pursed lips. You nod, gesturing for him to continue, and he gnaws on his lower lip before slowly moving to lay down, disproportionate and all as he settles onto the futon in a fetus position.

For a few moments too long he shifts, as if trying to get into a comfortable position but not knowing how to. At one point he's laying face down on the thing, and after a few torturous moments you sigh a borderline sob before lightly kicking his side, aggressively whispering, "Okay, okay, get off, I get it."

You move him into your room, and he falls asleep the second his head hits your pillow.

Despite most of your subconscious urging you to shut the door hard enough to tear it off its hinges, you're careful to lightly close it behind you, taking significantly large steps as you trudge towards the living room. Before long you're staring down at the futon laid hastily on the floor, the urge to throw it out the window once again surfacing somewhere within you among your other rather chaotic thoughts.

You lie down with a huff, staring up at the ceiling, past the glow in the dark stars Jin had glued onto the ceiling all those years ago and past all the paint that's started to chip off a while ago but you never bothered fixing. Everything is a mess in your mind, all painting compositions and aliens, a combination you never expected but don't really welcome in the slightest.

A blob of brown with a sleepy, albeit cheeky smile pops into your field of vision from the front of the couch, bringing you out of your thoughts with little effort on his part. The blob, unsurprisingly Jungkook, blows hesitant raspberries in your direction, and you answer with one of your own. He snorts, sitting upwards with a groan, resting his chin on the back of the couch and looking down at you with furrowed brows, "What're you doin' up?"

You chuckle lightly at how out of breath he looks to be in, replying with a voice just barely louder than a whisper, despite knowing how the two 'Seoks sleep like the dead. "Just some problems with.. Taehyung. Alien. I don't know anymore."

"Sounds relatable."

"It does, doesn't it?" You snort, looking back at the ceiling. Despite how many times you've threatened to tear down these stars, you know you won't. It's somewhat calming, and maybe that was Jin's goal in gluing them up there. Maybe he knows that, too. "I don't know what to do."

"The usual, then." You throw your pillow at him. "AH— I'm kidding!" He giggles, really giggles, a small little thing, cheeks spread wide. "But seriously, no one does. And maybe that's okay sometimes. To just go with the flow, you know?"

"An alien is sleeping in my bed, Guk."

He rolls off the couch as he responds, "I know that! But, like, still." Suddenly the boy is towering over your form, bending and gesturing for you to move over. You do, albeit dejectedly, but he's happy as he lays down next to you, even with half of his body on the floor and the other half on the futon, so maybe it's okay.

You're both staring at the makeshift stars in thought for a moment before he continues, "Do you want me to help pay rent? I know it'll be harder now, you know, with Taehyung here. Taehyung-hyung? Do you think he's a hyung? How long do you think his lifespan is?"

You try not to let your smile show through your voice. "You don't have to do that, Guk, you can barely pay for yourself."

"You don't know that!" You do. "But.. Tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Your heart melts at his kind consideration, all honey liquid and melted gold. You're so fond. "I will, Guk."

It's quiet after that, the only sounds being the few cars outside and Jungkook's occasional shift in position, but you're both looking up, both equally in thought. There's something soothing about the stillness of the moment. You suddenly notice a streak of paint in the middle of the ceiling—a color you can't really identify in the dark— and you have no idea how it got there or when, but you guess it must be your own doing.

Jungkook suddenly laughs lightly to himself, and you hum to urge him to elaborate. He complies, "Sorry, I just suddenly remembered why Jin-hyung put those up there." He lazily gestures at the stars. "So that you wouldn't feel lonely when you end up falling asleep on the couch. Or in general."

"Yeah." You chuckle, "College was wild, huh?"

"That's around the same time I got a lizard for a week and Hobi-hyung shaved, like, half his hair off. Huh. Doesn't that time feel like a weird, collective fever dream?"

You chortle at that, careful not to raise your voice too much. "You just reminded me of it, god."

You're both laughing and, for the moment, everything feels warm. It always does in this apartment, alien in it or not. A comfortable kind of warm. Cold days sat by the fire kind of warm. Shame on you if Taehyung were to be the one to ruin that. You're taking this damn alien home, you're sure of it. You have to be.

"Uh, are you going to sleep soon, or..?"

When you look over, the man is already asleep, nuzzling into the very edge of your pillow.

"Alright listen up, sporks, we need a game plan." Says an overly confident Jin, waving his spatula around like a makeshift weapon. Maybe it was. You wouldn't be surprised.

"I would love to hear it." Taehyung says as he then chooses that very moment to walk inside the kitchen and, despite his usual calm demeanor, you've then learned he's not at all a morning person. Though he had been awake since early this morning, seemingly restless, marching around the house as if looking for something but with no idea of what it is.

"Why do you look dead inside, my dude?" Hoseok asks with furrowed brows, soggy cereal slipping from his spoon. Taehyung jumps a bit, seemingly startled, but is quick to compose himself.

"I'm used to waking up early to help around the palace. I suppose there's no need for that here, though." He mutters, more to himself than anything, before pointing at an empty seat by the kitchen table. "Am I allowed to sit?"

"Of course, go ahead." Jin exclaims, patting at Taehyung's head when the younger male passes by. You guess it's instinct by now.

The house is still that same comfortable kind of warm as Taehyung's stay continues; not in an intruding kind of way, just kind of there, lingering by the corner where he's easy to miss. It's like he's going over the top not to disturb you, despite worming his way into your life mostly by force. He's as hard to crack as he is to get used to, but that won't stop you from trying.

"Jin-hyung," Says a tired Jungkook, halfheartedly gesturing in the oldest's direction, "I don't wanna think about our game plan for now. Can we have pancakes first?"

You glance in Taehyung's direction, wondering if he'd ever had pancakes. He looks calm, but slightly fidgety, if the way he's messing with his hands under the table says anything. There's a small stain on his shirt. It kinda looks like ketchup. You wonder how that got to the back of his shirt. "Pancakes does sound nice." You mutter.

And so, you postpone your responsibilities in favor of pancakes. And all is well, as all things should be.

taglist: @fivesecondsofsarang

#spaced out #bts poly #poly au #bts x reader #bts imagine #bts taehyung #taehyung x reader #alien au #bts alien au #bts fanfiction #bts ff #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #bts reactions #bts

279 notes · View notes

biaswreckmepls · 5 years

Note

hello! ^-^ can you rec some fics (maybe longer ones, like 10k+ if thats okay but i love anything) that are well written? some of them have amazing storyline and characters but the bad grammar throws me off :/ thank you, your blog is amazing *-*

I need y’all to know, y’all have to know, that i’ll never rec anything I won’t personally read (aka something that’s well written)

As much as I love reading the quick one-shots, lately i’ve really been into reading the longer fics that are just *clenches fist* so good. So as y’all might have seen, I’m still deciding whether I want to go back and start tagging all my posts with word count brackets, but as of now I don’t have a specific tag for longer fics.

In the meantime, why don’t you check this out for longer fics, and then i’ll just add a few new ones, maybe one for each pairing if I can find. I have tons and tons of longers fics waiting in my pocket, and there are always more in my queue, so keep an eye out!

Long Fics (10K+) with a Happy Ending

Cuffed by chahans (Yoonkook, Fake Boyfriend AU, 9 Chapters, M, 44K, Yoongi needs a boyfriend for cuffing season, and Jungkook may be the perfect cuff, crack and angst)

Mono No Aware by eumorious (Jikook, Break Up AU, Model AU, Photography AU, 10 Chapters, E, 100K, It’s been a few years since Jimin and Jungkook have divorced and they haven’t seen each other since, until Jimin is the new model on set and Jungkook the photographer, angst)

bunny ears by goldenhearts (Jinkook, Magic AU, One-shot, T, 11K, Jungkook keeps turning into a bunny and the only other potion master who can help him is the cute neighboring rival Jin, crack and fluff)

all of you, all of me by conclusions (introductions) (Taekook, College AU, One-shot, T, 24K, Jungkook doesn’t fall in love and Tae falls in love too easily, and of course they find each other, angst)

Sweet Like Silicon by GinForInk (Namkook, Band AU, One-shot, E, 15K, Namjoon writes lyrics for a neighborhood band whose lead singer is always sucking a lollipop, smut)

stitch me up (you’re so pretty) by jjks (Junghope, Highschool AU, Embroidery AU, One-shot, T, 10K, Jungkook has an accident and can’t play sports for a while with a cast on his leg, so he decides to join an embroidery club to pass the time, he doesn’t expect the teacher to be a hot young guy, fluff)

i’d take my heart clean apart (if it helps yours beat) by waterandsilver (Yoonmin, Tattoo Artist AU, Homeless AU, One-shot, E, 17K, Yoongi needs a body to practice tattooing on and Jimin is the willing homeless guy who lives in the alley behind the tattoo parlor, angst)

Pretty in Pink by Profound_Felicity (Namjin, College AU, 14 Chapters, E, 67K, Jin is a walking contradiction, a big muscular man who enjoys pastel fashion and runs an LGBT blog, who falls for the exact opposite of him, an underground rapper, angst)

it’s gettin’ hard (this holding back) by raviolijouster (Vmon, Yoga AU, One-shot, M, 10K, Tae is determined to seduce the hot Hot Yoga instructor, and his plan is to wear leggings)

Burns Blue by themarmalade (Minjoon, Country Club AU, Magic AU, Magical Realism AU, Telepathy AU, One-shot, M, 15K, Jimin can read minds around him but tries hard not to, his new co-worker Namjoon definitely thinks about him though, angst)

limerence. by hopespiration (Yoonseok, College AU, Artist AU, 6 Chapters, T, 33K, Yoongi needs a nude model for his art and Hoseok needs the money, they don’t expect to find each other at the end of it all, angst)

One Less Stranger by chlexcer (Yoonjin, Guesthouse AU, One-shot, T, 20K, Yoongi has just come to Seoul from Daegu to look for a job, and he stays at Jin’s guesthouse till then)

ship to wreck by knth (Vmin, Halloween (Party) AU, One-shot, E, 10K, Tae comes dressed as an anime character to a halloween party, and is searching for the guy who’s dressed as his character’s counterpart, smut)

that which runs deep in my heart by airplanewishes (Taegi, College AU, One-shot, T, 16K, Tae and Yoongi are in a secret relationship but both thinks the other wanted to keep it secret, angst)

what rhymes with pug me by sequoiasem (Sugamon, Canonverse, One-shot, T, 62K, Yoongi and Joon share a sweater over the years, the sweater is a metaphor for their growing feelings, fluff)

when the moon rises by niveuos (Namseok, College AU, Roommates AU, One-shot, M, 22K, Joon makes out with his college roommate/best friend/long time crush when they’re both drunk, and then they both think the other regrets it so they avoid talking about it, angst)

In the quiet like this by ppphonology (2seok, Highschool AU, Library AU, Growing Up Together AU, Neighbors AU, One-shot, G, 20K, Jin and Hobi grew up together in the same neighborhood but they never interacted, until highschool when Hobi came in regularly to the library where Jin worked)

still waiting on your sunshine by airplanewishes (Jihope, Break Up AU, Dance AU, 27 Chapters, T, 55K, Jimin and Hobi were in love with each other but they had a big fight and broke up, and it broke both of their hearts, years later they bump into each other and have to face their past and each other)

something was bound to go right sometime today by roommate (Jinmin, Coffee Shop AU, Rivals AU, 3 Chapters, M, 91K, Jin owns an ‘elitist’ coffee shop with his bestie Yoongi, and he realises that the reason he’s been getting fewer customers lately is because there’s a new coffee shop around the corner, Jin goes over ‘incognito’ to spy and investigate, but he doesn’t plan on falling for the cute barista owner Jimin, slooooow burn)

Okay uhhhhhhh I swear I didn’t plan for this (☉_☉)

if anyone bothered to count, there are i think 19 fics on this masterlist *whew* I have no clue what i’m gonna tag this post as

Happy Reading!

150 notes · View notes

johkneesficrec · 4 years

Text

BTS Ao3 Fic Rec

the ☾ ☽ means they are one of my favourites!!

a touch of sin by pettey for blowhard

After his transfer to a quiet seaside town, Jeongguk was prepared to face a year of uneventful CID work, but found himself dealing with a series of strange murders instead.

All Your Glory by eumorious

Jeongguk and Jimin's families have been rivals for decades, immersed into a life of extreme fortune and success. They've been groomed, since birth, to feel nothing but resentment and hatred for each other. Despite knowing that they're not allowed to interact, that they're meant to be competitors and nothing more - they can't help coming back to each other. Through the years, since teenagers, they can't help the intense attraction they feel towards each other.

Cycle Of Success by eumorious

Jeongguk and Jimin thought their life was finally sorted: their family empire collapsed, getting married and starting their own business together.

They quickly realise that marital life isn't as luxurious as they imagined, that money cannot buy all happiness, that family members that once have disappeared are still lingering around and they must further work on their relationship.

☾ Don't Think, Don't Speak, Just Smile for Me - Ragi ☽

“Jimin's not entirely certain that he'll be alive to see his 18th birthday and finally escape from his father's abuse, but Jungkook's music keeps him believing that he might actually make it.”

Imperfectly Perfect by whenIseeUsmile

Jungkook just moved to Seoul and comes to a new school. He's quite naive and believes that there is good in everyone. He loves photography and always carries his camera with him. He thought his life wasn't going to change much, even though he had moved to Seoul.

However, that changed, when he took a picture of a certain orange-haired boy with the brightest eye-smile he had ever seen.

listen to my heartbeat (it's calling you at its own will) by poplolli

Park Jimin has fluffy sweaters, green glasses, chubby cheeks and a smile what could make flowers grow.

Jeon Jeongguk has Reputation (with capital R), a motorcycle, way more black leather jackets than necessary and a Secret (with capital S).

And may or may not, Jeon Jeongguk has a teeny tiny Crush, too. (It's really tiny though, the capital C must be a mistake, okay.)

AKA the high school!AU where Jeongguk secretly likes cute things and Jimin has sweater paws.

☾ longing: a yearning desire by NaHe ☽

The first words a person’s soulmate will say to them appears on their left wrist on the day of their 18th birthday. Unless, of course, their soulmate has passed away.

Jungkook was a 21 year old with a blank wrist.

Pink Lemonades, Tattoos And I Love You's by orphan_account

Jimin had his summer all planned out, until he was forced to go to his grand mother's house in Busan. He thought his summer was going to be boring and long,

until he met Jeon Jungkook.

☾ save me by buttonjimin for zeuo ☽

Jimin, his parents' firstborn, has been raised from birth to be sacrificed in God's name on his eighteenth birthday. A month before his Date, he accidentally summons a demon―an annoying, self-righteous, uncooperative demon who won't take no for an answer. Now Jimin has to choose between his duty to his parents and God and the unexpected escape Jungkook offers him.

Riptide by peppermint_wind

Jeon Jungkook is still just a kid when he sets out for Seoul. He knows about the tall buildings, the maze-like roadways, and dorm life he's signed up for. He expects the difficulties of being a trainee, finds it in the holes of his worn out dance shoes and countless sleepless nights. But what he doesn't expect, could never expect, is meeting Park Jimin.

It's then Jungkook realizes that there's more to learn in Seoul than dance choreographies: about growing up, falling in love, and about himself.

---

A three year story [2013-2016] of coming together, breaking apart, and putting each other back together again. Jeon Jungkook learns about change, growing up, and the hardships of falling in love with a friend.

Piercings by sixtieshairdo

“Did it hurt? When you got them pierced?”

He braves a look into Hoseok’s eyes, still amazed that they’re still talking.

“Yeah. Hurt a lot.”

“Bet you liked that, huh?”

Hoseok’s mocking him, a smirk on that handsome face, and he can feel himself blushing as he nods. He’s awful at lying and he knows that there’s no point lying to Hoseok, anyway.

Hoseok knows how high he got from pain.

“Bet you sported a boner during the piercing too.”

He opens his mouth to protest – because, yes he was aroused but no, he didn’t get a full hard-on, thank you very much – but gasps instead when Hoseok presses the cold metal can of Coke against his nipple, making the metal kiss the erect bud over and over, almost rudely.

“Hyung.”

“How long did it take to heal?”

He blinks owlishly, mind fuzzy from the sensation of the cold metal teasing at him.

“Three months.”

He feels Hoseok’s thigh slip in between his legs and he inches himself closer, so desperate to make physical contact with Hoseok, the cold metal slowly turning his brain into potato mush.

“When did you get them pierced?”

He’s rocking himself on Hoseok’s thigh, needy.

“Six months ago.”

Taboo by sixtieshairdo for teenuviel1227

Jungkook is a little shit.

The most infuriating, cheeky, horny fucker of a stepbrother anyone could have, and yet Hoseok knows he'd want Jungkook no other other way.

He feels his cock stir up interest, almost fully erect from the way Jungkook's toes have now taken to stroking a line up and down the base of his cock.

"Hoseok, now you're back home for the summer, you should spend more time with your brother. Jungkook told me his dance group could do with another instructor."

He nods at his father’s words, already knowing this since Jungkook and him are more in touch than their parents will ever know or understand. He will always find it amusing that they seem convinced that their sons don't get along. He wonders if their parents have misconstrued the intense sexual tension between him and Jungkook to be dislike for each other.

That couldn't be further from the truth, and the way Jungkook's sucking on the tips of his chopsticks as his toes continue to fondle his dick and balls under the table are proof of how much they do get along.

Even if Jungkook is an actual living breathing little shit.

The Less I Know The Better by mucha

“Together with their families, Kim Namjoon and Kim Seokjin… Wow, this is formal… Wait,” Hoseok squints at the paper, before looking back at Yoongi with a quizzical look on his face. “They invited you with a guest? But… You’re single, right?”

“Min Yoongi,” Jimin glares at him over the bar, crossing his arms sternly over his chest. “If you’re seeing someone and you didn’t tell us I will kick your ass, so help me god.”

“I’m not dating anyone,” Yoongi sighs, grabbing the invitation and scanning it quickly. The words “with a guest” are underlined and Yoongi can almost see it: the smugness on his brother’s face as he nods with satisfaction, putting the pencil down.

“So what does it mean?”

Yoongi shifts uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding making eye contact.

"I might’ve… invented a boyfriend," he finally mumbles to the glass in front of him.

warm woolen mittens - agust__d

“Yoongi loves holding hands, Christmas is coming up and Taehyung finds couple’s mittens.”

☾ Where The Heart Is - roachprince ☽

“If home is where the heart is, then we're all just fucked. (Fall Out Boy - 27)

Yoongi tries so hard to come home. Taehyung is already there.

(Or, to be less dramatic: Taehyung needs someone to play his boyfriend, and Yoongi lets himself get talked into one hell of a ride.)”

안녕하세요 New Orleans - vixxsparalleluniverse

Jeon Jeongguk has thyroid cancer, he wants to die. Since thyroid cancer is rare in Seoul, he is moving to New Orleans to get more treatment. There, he meets Kim Taehyung, a young saxophonist who has lung cancer.

ask me what's my best side, i'll stand back and point at you - lavab0y

“Jeongguk is a size queen but he still prefers Taehyung's dick over his 12 inch dildo.”

Closed Lips (and open wounds) by edenderry, Lookingathimhurts

Jungkook uses Taehyung as the prime subject of his essay. The catch: Tae doesn't know he's being used and Jungkook has a hard time remembering his goal.

Dedicate Myself to You by suddenly_yoongi

This is a world where soulmates share the same skin.

Only Taehyung and Jungkook are the first. Ever.

(Alternatively, the time Taehyung decided to try and communicate with the spirit world via his forearm, and ended up falling in love)

Headed to Hell for the Company by rix

A series of one-shots depicting Taehyung's time with his mildly sex-crazed half-demon boyfriend Jungkook.

☾ House of Cards by sugamins (orphan_account) ☽

Jungkook is the heir to a mob empire, the most notorious in the whole of Seoul. Taehyung is a rookie sent in to infiltrate by his select team and bring the empire crumbling down.

"You knew the game and played it, it kills to know that you have been defeated."

☾ Hustlers by tbz ☽

Jungkook hadn't meant to lose nine million.

He certainly hadn't meant to lose his kidney.

And he hadn't meant to meet Kim Taehyung.

☾ I Bloomed For You... by Meanie_Beanie ☽

Jungkook just barely registered the warm soft skin of Taehyung’s palm, before his whole world changed. His skin prickled almost painfully, and it felt like somebody had sent a great wave of electricity crackling through him. The world went black for barely a second as a strange weight settled in his chest, and then the world came rushing back like a flood.

He looked up with wide eyes at Taehyung - no, at his soulmate - and expected to be met with the same surprised eyes as his own, but Taehyung just looked at him with a carefree smile.

“See you soon, Jungkookie,” he grinned teasingly before releasing Jungkook’s hand and turning around to leave. Jungkook stood there for several minutes, just staring at the spot where Taehyung had disappeared, with only one thought in his head.

Why had his soulmate just left him?

I Won't Fall (in love with you) by orphan_account

“You have to promise not to fall in love with me.”

Fall Asleep (Fall For You) by drannie

“They say when you fall in love you can’t fall asleep, but now that I’ve met you I feel like I finally can.”

A University AU where Jungkook and Taehyung become roommates. But Jungkook has insomnia and can't fall asleep with other people and Taehyung can't fall asleep alone.

keep the water warm - sassyneki

“’Get the fuck out of this room, Kim Taehyung.’

The last thing Taehyung expected this summer was to meet his new family, but as with all things, he's willing to give it a shot. He's willing to try. Too bad his new stepbrother doesn't feel the same way.”

New (Newer) Rules by jvante

“Step #1: Don't get involved with the guy your girlfriend cheats with.

Failed step 1.”

Mornings - Anli_Writes

“Jeon Jungkook was not a morning person, but Kim Taehyung could be very convincing when he wanted.”

Mr. Grumpy by dangerliesbeforeyou

Taehyung has a job interview at Jeon & Co... Everything was going fine until he met that rude asshole at the entrance.

☾ pulling shapes just for your eyes by aeterisks ☽

The number one rule when you're a producer on a show like Miss Right, Taehyung thinks, should be do not fall for the bachelor.

It's such a shame Taehyung has never been good at following rules.

see me, feel me by aeterisks, aetoms

Jeongguk never thought he would end up stumbling upon his Twitter crush's nsfw account, much less discover he's a camboy. As if that wasn't enough already, he ends up at Jeongguk's place with something he can't refuse.

see you through the screen by moonsteps

It started when kookie97 followed kimtaetae, a popular internet blogger and superfan of the famous Korean pop idol Jeon Jeongguk.

Or: Taehyung befriends his favorite singer without even knowing it.

☾ Seeking Heaven - fullofsuga ☽

“When Taehyung got the job at Seokjin’s asylum, he didn’t expect himself to be in so much trouble in the end. Sharing a room with a pyromaniac, get assaulted by an insomniac and fall in love with the patient no one knows what’s wrong with wasn’t something he had planned. Oh well, At least he still had his dog.

AU where Taehyung get’s a job as an undercover patient in Seokjin’s asylum of troubled personalities.”

☾ Stop My Heart by wowoashley (orphan_account) ☽

"What does it feel like?"

"What?"

"Knowing you fixed the heart of the man who broke yours?"

☾ Taste of Ink by sugamins (orphan_account) ☽

Jungkook is a drug runner for the largest gang in the whole of Busan: the Sam Yong Pa. One day he bumps into a runner for a rival gang in the next district that has trespassed into their territory: a Geum Sung Pa boy called Jimin. Jimin has a friend, a goon for the rival gang. Taehyung beats people up for a living, and boy, does he look good when he’s doing it.

But their blossoming friendships reignite old gang flames and causes the most brutal gang war the country has ever seen.

Dragons destroy and stars explode.

taste the rainbow - willinglywastingmytime

“in which pinterest is evil, jeongguk is not giving in (yet), and nobody likes purple skittles.

that one fic where taehyung decides to make lube using a pinterest recipe.”

☾ Then there's the landing by Sharleena ☽

The thing about Figure Skating is that it's the most brutal sport disguised as something incredibly beautiful to look at, something elegant and frail. Just like Kim Taehyung.

trust your heart if the seas catch fire by maxx

"Sometimes I wonder whether you'd be better off without me. Whether you really need me at all."

Taehyung has always doubted his necessity to the group, as well as to Jungkook. Usually a knock on the head would suffice to bring him back to his senses. But this time, it seems someone was listening to his request. Now, everything has changed. He's in a world where Jungkook and the rest of the group are still famous, but he isn't.

Unwanted Butterflies - Lookingathimhurts

“Jungkook and Taehyung hate each other. Except, of course, when they're having sex”.

We'll find a way to make it right by fitzgarbage

One of the quiet girls speaks up. “It’s interesting to see the difference between your last photos of him and these ones. The last ones, you looked like you were worshipping him, in a way. And in these, he looks like he’s worshipping you.”

Will you be my Forever? by flywithtaetae (kimtaehyungs)

From the moment Jungkook turned 18, he had been excited to see the numbers appear on his wrist.

762

Just 762 days before he finally meets his soulmate.

524

374

341

And then it stops.

☾ You're So Special by miniimin ☽

Sometimes you find your soulmate in the form of a dirty kid on the playground. Sometimes it takes a little longer to figure it out, but that's okay - in the meantime, you have a best friend.

(Or: Jeongguk falls in love before he knows what the word means. Taehyung spends all his years teaching him.)

Look What You Maid Me Do by Nasobem

"Your dress, Hyung," he says, almost condescending, as if Yoongi is being purposely dumb about it.

Yoongi's heart almost stops even as he can't help but watch Jeongguk lick sauce off his lips.

"My dress," he repeats, blinking and fighting the urge to cross his arms defensively. Jeongguk's lips twitch as he takes another bite, chews carefully and swallows. "The maid costume, for your punishment. Don't tell me you already forgot, Hyung?"

☾ Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World by TheOrgasmicSeke ☽

Jungkook was holding him against the edge of a bridge and asking him to jump into the unknown with him. He was asking Yoongi to trust him; a kid who he didn't even know existed until a few days ago. A kid that was quickly tearing down every wall Yoongi built up around himself for the past ten years and shoving himself inside, curling up like he belonged there all along.

So Yoongi did the only thing he could.

He jumped.

☾ Prison Pet by Honey0613 ☽

Jungkook is almost gang-raped in the showers on his first day of prison, but he's saved by the powerful mafia boss, Min Yoongi, who also happens to be serving time in prison.

Yoongi agrees to protect Jungkook and take care of him, but only if Jungkook becomes his little prison pet.

Black Cat by suddenly_yoongi

"’Jimin, they’re your soulmate. They’ll love you regardless. They’re not going to care about your Min Yoongi obsession. I promise.’

(AU in which the last of you turns eighteen and you switch bodies with your soulmate until you find them again)”

Conflicting Arrangement - PrettyBoyKiller

"Absolutely not," Yoongi deadpanned. "Namjoon-ah. I value you as a friend, and I think I'd even go as far as to say that you're my best friend, but absolutely fucking not."

"You owe me," Namjoon pleaded. "Come on, Yoongi, it's not a big deal."

"Your boyfriend's best friend's best friend needs a fake boyfriend to come out to his family this Chuseok, all the way in fucking Busan." Yoongi repeated drily without pause, making Namjoon wince. He flipped a page of his textbook, picking up his highlighter. "Not a big deal, Namjoon. Amazing."

Bangtan Bitches - Farquad

*Hoseok*: i want you so bad

*Hoseok*: kiss me tonight

*Hoseok*: xoxo your one true love

*Unknown*: Excuse you?

*Unknown*: Who are you?

*Hoseok*: no one, bye!!!

*Hoseok*: wrong number sry!!

The fic in which Hobi is dared to sext a stranger by Tae, Kookie and Chim and ends up falling in love with him.

Caffeine. //yoonseok// by orphan_account

“He thought maybe, it was the coffee that he was addicted to, but he was wrong. It was him. Yoongi was addicted to Hoseok.

Jung Hoseok runs a coffee shop on Main St. Min Yoongi is the cute head artist at the tattoo shop across the street. Hoseok is used to the artist coming in three or more times a day looking worn out, but this time, his face radiates a different kind of exhaustion.”

not one ship is the main focus of the fic or all its an ot7 poly kind of thing uwu

Anthem In The Wind by Yearning_Rumbles

A BTS AU set in the era of the Korean War between 1950 - 1953. A story about 7 boys and their lives in a war-torn Korea.

☾ Calamity by Halcyon_Nights, Supermans_crib ☽

They’re pushed to the limit by the nightmares that haunt them. Yoongi has voices in his head, Hoseok can’t face reality and Jimin despises water. Taehyung tries to shake the demon sitting on his shoulder so he can piece Jungkook back together, and Namjoon can’t seem to saw off his connections to the underworld. Jin is desperately trying to keep them all together. But what if, through all his effort and generosity, something goes amiss? What if, by some small margin, a loved one falls through the cracks?

ot7 thirst by thicccheesybagels

jimstealurjams: the microwave is on fire

sugamin roll: what in fuck

momjin<3: what in fuck indeed

namjams: wHY CAN’T YOU CORRECT Yo oNGS HYU NG HES AN ADULT TOO

sugamin roll: shut up u furry fuck jimin’s microwave is infires prioritize a bit outside of trying to get your mother’s dick

momjin<3: see, suga is a functioning adult joonie <3

namjams: what in fuck

Pastel by Supermans_crib

Jeongguk learns the age-old lesson that you can't run from who you are, or who you like, for that matter.

Welcome to the Family - ATLlove

“Jungkook's new stepbrothers define love a little differently.”

The cutest little, Little! Jungkook (or little jungkook in Target) - Deabakibnida

“Out of all the places for Jungkook to fall into little space it just had to be at a store, in a foreign country. What would his hyungs think if they saw him? He wanted to ignore his childish urge ...but the stuffed animals were inviting him over and It would be rude to ignore them. or New little,jungkook, accidentally falls into little space at target and his hyungs find out. (read to see the cutness that ensues!)”

#bts #bts fanfic #bts fic rec #namjoon #rm #seokjin #jin #yoongi #suga #jhope #hoseok #jimin #taehyung #v #jungkook #bts x reader #taekook #yoonmin #taegi #jikook #junghope #yoonseok #yoonkook

17 notes · View notes

marshmallowprotection · 5 years

Text

Prunus Serrulata 6

RFA Kids Au drabbles coming your way!

“What do you think of this, Lucy?” Hayun pressed a finger to her cheek and leaned forwards towards the camera. “Doesn’t everyone like a good close up every now and again?”

Lucy stared at her friend with an ever unchanging eye, somehow trained to not be affected by the blinding sunlight that seemed to extrude from Hayun. It might have been the aura of professionalism, or it might have been the fact that she was digging her nails into the pads of her hands to focus on something besides how cute she was.

“You’ll definitely make everyone’s heart skip a beat, Hayun,” Lucy replied.

Hayun sat back in her chair and beamed with enthusiasm. Lucy and she were currently in her bedroom slash makeshift studio, and everything was coming together swimmingly for her next video. Lucy had somehow managed to fix her setup within a few minutes when it had taken Hayun twenty minutes to find the right spot to sit.

“Oh, thank you, Lucy, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Probably ask your Dad for help because he also knows what he’s doing when it comes to this?”

Hayun made a face. “Last time I did that, he wanted to be in the video, and while I do love him, a lot of the commenters on those videos are fans of his and make a lot of comments I’d rather not read again.”

Lucy reflected that face back and shuddered at that thought. “Oh, I know what you mean, I’ve seen what people say about my Dad too. I could have lived a lifetime without seeing that stuff.”

Both girls erupted into a fit of shared laughter. As the children of pretty notable figures in Seoul, they had seen their fair share of attention from the public per their Father’s fame. For Hayun, she had to contend with people that loved her Dad’s work on the stage and in film, and for Lucy, she had plenty of people who loved her Dad’s photography, as well as his paintings, chiming in whenever she was in a room with him.

It was one of the things that brought them together, actually.

Lucy had really been the closest with Jun when they were younger because their Father’s often brought them around each other because they were friends, but the moment that she met Hayun, she knew that she had a girl friend that she could speak with at length about anything she wanted.

Jun was great, but he detested talking about fashion and makeup. Lucy couldn’t get that fix when she was with him. When they were together, they could talk about everything else, what they feel about certain things, what they thought of the world, what they wanted to do that weekend. There was a natural kind of bond there with Jun, and she could have been content with just being close to him.

She knew that he only had eyes for Hayun when they were children and that let her move beyond those feelings. Instead, she began to look around for something else. She might have found that, but Jun saw it just as saw it... and that was that.

Hayun was perfection.

When she walked into a room, all eyes were on her instantly. Neither Jun nor Lucy could turn their eyes away when she skipped into the room they were in and smiled so wide. But she was more than a pretty face, she was great on the inside too.

The moment that she really got to know Hayun, she knew that she was feeling something different. Hayun was a blessing in the guise of a pretty person. Hayun was a lovely girl and Jun was lucky that she liked him as much as she did. She had the ability to make your heart race whenever she looked in your direction, the true definition of a heartbreaker by all definitions.

Even Lucy couldn’t deny that she had the smallest crush on Hayun. However, nothing would ever come of that feeling. It was because she knew that Hayun and Jun would wind up together one of these days, and the two of them would make the most perfect couple while she cheered them on from afar at the sidelines.

Such a shame, it was, that she couldn’t be close to both of them in that way.

“Anyways, is this all that you needed for your video?” Lucy asked, shaking the thoughts from her mind.

“Uhuh,” Hayun nodded. “It’s just a vlog, with some fun splashed in between, so there’s not a lot else I have to have.”

Lucy felt relieved that she could have done that for Hayun. As long as she could continue to do what she did, there was nothing that could stop her, not even some faulty wiring. “That’s good, I need to step out for a second, okay? My phone has been going off like crazy, I need to check it, I’ll be right back. It might be my Dad.”

She shut the door behind her and stared down at her phone with a little haughty laugh. It had been Jun, she started to text him back just as fast as she could manage, telling him that she was with his love of a lifetime.

#mod kait #Prunus serrulata #rfa kids au #rfa parents au #mystic messenger #mymse #mistake messenger #lucy kim #hayun ryu oc #jun han oc

6 notes · View notes

d-noona · 6 years

Text

BODYGUARD MISSION

SUMMARY: Y/N had teased him, insulted him, but still she seemed to be stuck with Park Jimin as her official chaperone. He'd been appointed to look after her during a crucial assignment in Korea, and he refused to leave her sight - day and night. Jimin was taking this bodyguard business far too seriously. Just because Y/N was pretty and petite, that didn't mean she isn't a force to be reckoned with. She would not be seduced by Jimin. At least, that was the idea. Until her twenty-four-hour bodyguard decided the safest place for her was his bed.

WORDS: 1719

Park Jimin x Reader

CHAPTER 02 - Coming Soon!

CHAPTER 01 – THE AIRPORT

“Damn!” Y/N thought angrily, and exclaimed, “But I won’t need an interpreter.”

“Do you speak Korean?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do,” she said triumphantly. But then she looked into her boss’s skeptical eyes, reluctantly added, “A little.” “How little?” asked her boss. She gave him one of her sudden smiles, her brown eyes lighting with mischief. “Enough to say no if I’m propositioned.” He laughed, wanting to be serious but unable to resist her smile. “But do you speak enough Korean to recognize a proposition if you hear one?”

“One could be deaf and dumb and still recognize that!” He shook his head at her and said, “I know you’re a capable career woman and all the rest of it, but I’m not going to risk letting you go in Korea without someone keeping an eye on you.” Y/N hated the sound of that; she had reasons, important and secret reasons –of her own for going to Korea that had nothing to do with the assignment she’d been given, and to have someone looking over her shoulder would be inconvenient to say the least. But it was important not to jeopardize the trip so, to keep the boss sweet, she smiled and said, “OK, leave it with me. I’ll find someone out there.”

“No need,” he said with a pleased note. “I already know someone based in Seoul. A family friend, I suppose you could call him. His name is Park Jimin and he works for a bank that’s opening up a branch over there. He speaks the language, plus he can communicate in English, and will give you all the help you need. I’ll have him meet you when you arrive.”

“Wonderful.” Y/N enthused, while inwardly cursing, and she determined to get rid of this extremely unwanted man at the first opportunity. She thought the opportunity would present itself at Seoul Airport. Surely in the bustle of a huge international concourse it would be possible to lose herself in the crowd, slip into a taxi and so free herself of her boss’s pal right at the start. There was bustle, all right. There was complete chaos, and that was even before Y/N got through the concourse. Everybody seemed to be flying in to Korea that August day, and they were all herded into a great crowd that gradually developed into long queues of passengers waiting to have their visas and passports checked, the officials’ achingly slow and letting only one person through at a time.

Y/N stood in the queue for over two long hours, weighed down by her expensive camera equipment that she didn’t dare rest on the ground in case it got kicked by people pressing all around her. A large man stood on her foot, and a fat woman with elbows made of steel tried to push in front of her, thinking Y/N a soft touch because she was so petite, but received a blazing look from angry brown eyes that stopped her in her tracks. The only compensation in all this, Y/N decided, was that Park Jimin would certainly have given up on her and gone home long before she got through. Once past this barrier she had to join another queue to change some money into Korean Won, retrieve her suitcase, and wait in yet another line to go through the baggage check, so that it was over three hours before Y/N eventually emerged, tired, hot and thirsty, into the main concourse.

She didn’t even bother to look for some middle age man with a very fed-up expression holding up a board with her name on it, but just headed for the welcome air and a taxi. There were a lot of taxis, all looking equally old and unreliable, but before Y/N could get a hand free to hail one, a modern silver grey Mercedes, large and sleek, pulled up at the curb beside her. A man got out, quite young, tall and lean and with thick dark hair. Y/N gave him a glance, made a mental note that Korean men were much better looking than she’d expected, the dismissed him as she tried to attract the attention of a taxi driver by standing on tiptoe to look over the roof of the Merc and wave.

“Miss L/N?

Y/N blinked, and slowly turned. The man from the Mercedes, in his immaculate dark suit, was looking at her expectantly. She thought of denying her identity but there was no way this man could be a buddy of her boss, who was not only well into his fifties but had the middle-aged belly to go with it. “Yes,” she acknowledged guardedly. He held out a hand. “I’m Park Jimin. Welcome to Korea.”

Slowly, with inner chagrin, she put her hand in his and had it briskly shaken. He was very businesslike, opening the passenger door for her, putting her case and camera equipment in the boot, ignoring the blare of an impatient taxi horn, getting in and driving away, all within a minute. “How did you know it was me?” she asked, looking at the lean planes of his profile with very mixed feelings. “I was given a description –and then there was all the photography stuff.” Fleetingly Y/N wondered how her boss had described her. Short, long black wavy hair, and sexy probably, knowing him. She had been given no description of the man beside her, and as she had no intention of using him hadn’t asked for one. But maybe it would have been helpful to know in advance that Park Jimin was both good looking and judging by his clothes, the Cartier watch on his wrist and the car, he is fairly affluent. His voice, too, was attractive, being smooth and with the unmistakable accent of a good school.

“I thought you’d given up on me after the hold up at the airport” she remarked. “What hold up?” he asked. Y/N gave a small gasp. “I was queuing in there for over three hours! I thought the officials had gone on a work to rule, or something.” Jimin gave her an amused glance. “No, it’s always like that. I didn’t bother to set out until long after your flight was due. Weren’t you warned?”

“No I wasn’t,” she said feelingly. To her annoyance, he laughed. “That sounds like Bang,” he commented naming her boss. “Is he a close friend of your?” she asked curiously. “No, but he knows my parents quite well. They have shared interest in horse racing.” So that explained the age difference, Y/N realized, guessing that Jimin must be in his mid-twenties, a whole generation younger than her boss. He hadn’t asked her where she wanted to be taken to, so she said “I take it were going somewhere particular?”

“To your hotel” says Jimin. “I haven’t chosen one yet,” she pointed out. “I know, so I’ve booked you into The Shilla Hotel. It’s a luxury five star hotel, modernized, and it’s handy for tours in Seoul.” Y/N frowned at Jimin “But I intended to stay at The Riverside Hotel,” Y/N said frostily, annoyed at his high-handedness. To her further annoyance he gave an amused, almost pitying look. “Believe me, you wouldn’t like it there. It’s where all the communist officials from out of town used to stay. And it’s still very basic.”

“Have you ever thought that perhaps I’d prefer to find out for myself?” she told him stiffly. Another amused glance came her way “Ah, you’re into this feminism thing, are you?” Jimin remarked with casual chauvinism. It was the kind of remark that immediately put her back. Y/N thought of telling him exactly what she thought of his attitude, but the shrugged inwardly and let it go; as she intended to ditch him just as soon as possible there seemed no point in setting him straight. But it made her decide at once that he was the sort of man she had absolutely no time for; one who was still trapped in the time-warp of gender stereotyping.

Lord, he probably even thought that the little woman’s place was still tied to the kitchen sink! Giving him a sideways prejudice glance from under her lashes, Y/N momentary thought that it was a pity he wasn’t her type, because she had to admit that his clear cut features under level eyebrows were more than attractive. And he had the kind of tall, broad-shouldered but slim figure that made clothes look good on him, even elegant. When that adjective came to her mind it caught her by surprise; it wasn’t one she often ascribed to a man but it fitted him exactly. However if there was one kind of man she couldn’t stand it was one who was narrow-minded in his attitude towards women. Y/N had come across it too many times in the past. At first she had fought it, but had come to realize that most of the time she was beating her head against a solid concrete wall. The poor creatures had chauvinism ingrained into them from the cradle and nothing she could say or do would change it. So now she employed a more subtle method, and where necessary used the chauvinism for her own ends.

And looking at Park Jimin, she decided to do the same now. To use him until she was ready to ditch him and go off on her own secret quest. Smiling inwardly, she turned to look out the window at this new country she’s read so much about. The road were full of cars that belted out choking exhaust fumes. Her thoughts were cut off when he suddenly heard Jimin speak. “You must be extremely good at your job to be given such responsible assignment,” Jimin commented. Flattery and condescension all in one sentence. It would almost be a pleasure to take him down a peg or two. Y/N thought tartly, and id all she’d had to think about was her assignment she might have taken the time to do so, just for the hell of it. But right now she had other, far more important things on her mind. The streets widened into broad thoroughfares, the buildings became grander, and Y/N gave a gasp of pleasure as she caught a glimpse of the beautiful place.

#park jimin #park jimin x reader #chimchim #mochi #bts #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook

12 notes · View notes

ygunitedfamily · 6 years

Text

This is your first photoshoot in a while. You guys seem really upbeat even though we started the shoot at a time when you might normally wake up.

Mino: We like photoshoots. We go into it with more excitement than compared to other schedules and it feels especially great when we come out well in the final product.

I thought it was impressive that, even though you’re all in a position of having your pictures being taken all the time, you still take pictures of one another.

Yoon: I think taking pictures have become natural somewhat because that’s just what our job entails. Our job, essentially, is to have our pictures taken. If anything, knowing this, we more actively pose for each other when it’s just us (taking the pictures). We want to get nice shots if we can, and I think by taking pictures and having our pictures taken, it’s like practice that doesn’t feel like practice.

It seems like Mino especially seems to be deep into photography. Which model do you use?

Mino: I use both digital and film cameras. I recently purchased the Leica X and the M7, but it’s still pretty difficult to figure out. I’m learning bit by bit and gradually acquiring a deeper interest for it.

The feature editor for Dazed really wanted me to ask whether Mino had some sort of sponsorship deal for his cameras.

Yoon: He 100% bought them with his own money (laughs).

Mino: That’s true. It cost a lot of money (laughs).

Which moment pre-debut was the most memorable?

Yoon: I think I have to say my school days were the most memorable. Of course, we (the members] have a lot of episodes we share post-debut, but I think about that time a lot.

Mino: When I went to school there was a restriction on hair length. I always had the same look up until middle school, but during break I grew my hair out decided to do a foil perm. When school started again I went to school like that. Of course, I got in trouble and I had to get my hair shaved. Even when I got my hair shaved though, I was able to desperately salvage the back part of my head.

Yoon: For me, I was more obsessed with earrings rather than hair. Since we couldn’t wear earrings in school I wore them during other times, but at one point just grew kind of tired and stopped wearing them. Once I came back from Superstar K with good results, my teachers told me, “You can just wear your earrings, I felt like I got some sort of approval from my teachers and I felt really proud.”

Jinwoo: I don’t have any particular memory of being scolded. But, I would follow the current trends of the time and shortened or lengthened my school uniform accordingly. Back then that was the most important (laughs).

When were you sure that you wanted to be a singer?

Mino: I’m still trying to get that assurance, but I did like rapping since my first year of middle school. I think the thought came to me naturally to post on Internet forms and rap.

Hoon: I was getting ready to go to college when I was 19 but with my grades the schools I could go to were limited. Deciding on a school and a major based on one’s grades seemed like compromising with reality. Rather than starting college I wanted to come up to Seoul and see what I could do.

You came back from Western Australia for “Youth Over Flowers” . Don’t you want to go on another trip?

All: We want to go again. We definitely want to go again. Where do you want to go?

Jinwoo: Switzerland?

Yoon: I think it’d be fun to go to Western Australia again. We didn’t get to do a winery tasting, and we could’ve seen the stars in the night sky but didn’t get a chance to because of the circumstances under which we went. I came back with some regrets over things we couldn’t do. I think it’d be nice to get to do some of those things.

Although it was a trip with just the four of you and no staff, it was still broadcasted as a program, and you all probably wondered how each of you would be reflected in the show. Did you worry about whether or not the show would be entertaining?

Mino: In the filming for ‘New Journey to the West‘ even veteran entertainers like Ho Dong and Soo Geun hyungs worried about this, because with variety shows, entertainment is key. However, the production team behind are skilled enough in their editing and direction to make something out of nothing. Since we had that faith in them we were able to have fun without any worries by thinking that we were really on this trip by ourselves. We sometimes even forgot that we were being filmed and made a few mistakes by talking like we would normally (laughs).

JinWoo, in another variety show,”Wizard of Nowhere” , you’re the youngest and yet in you’re the eldest.

Jinwoo: I’m not the kind of person who defines myself based on whether my role is the youngest or the eldest. Nor do I necessarily think that, as the eldest, I need to be the one leading the members or establishing the rules. I behave the same way regardless of whether I’m the youngest or the oldest.

Hoon: Is that so? Then bring me some water.

All: (laughs)

MinHo, the show you’re in “Kang’s Kitchen”, is getting great feedback from its viewers.

Mino: I’m so grateful. But when we were filming, it wasn’t a comedic variety show but rather a real variety program. We had to submit a business license and operate a restaurant that actually sold food and received money from its customers, so all of us found ourselves incapable of joking around. We all went into it seriously because it was our first time doing anything like this. I think this was the most physically demanding filming I’ve done so far.

SeungHoon, your Instagram has the most daily look shots out of all the other members and you tend to tag fashion brands as well. Today you wore Dior Homme.

Hoon: When I was younger, Dior Homme was the brand that hyungs who dressed well and liked fashion wore, so I think I had some sort of longing for it. I really wanted to wear it but it’s pricey, and it was something that only cool hyungs wore. I still think that Dior Homme is a brand that continues to design very sexy menswear. But now that I get to wear it as a part of my job, it feels a bit strange.

SeungYoon’s show is also drawing a lot of attention. Many may think this is your first time but you’ve shown your acting skills through the sitcom and starred in a web drama. But, your attitude towards your project is probably be different now than it was before. How is it different?

Yoon: I went into thinking that I had to be entertaining, that I wouldn’t inconvenience the other actors, and that I would use this as a learning experience, so the weight of responsibility then and now are different. When I did the sitcom, although it was my first time acting, I heard praises that my acting was “natural,” and that I did “quite well” but I can’t receive those kinds of compliments this time. My role this time is a villain. Rather than “Oh, he’s pretty good for an idol”, I want people to see the character I’m acting as and say, “Wow, he’s a really bad guy.”

Did you ever want to play a villain?

Yoon: I had the lead role in the web drama. It’s a position that requires a lot of responsibility. I had a few projects on my lap after that but I couldn’t even think about them. However, with this project, I did feel greedy. I felt that this was a character that could really help display my capabilities.

Looking back at 2017, what was the most memorable moment?

Jinwoo: One moment? SY: Just one? MN: If I had to pick just one, it would be after April 4th, 4 PM.

Yoon: When ‘Really Really’ hit #1 in the charts. That was the best moment of 2017.

But it wasn’t the first time your song hit #1, so why is this your best moment?

Yoon: It’s because we weren’t anticipating. It was our first comeback as just four members, and we had had that period of absence. We went into this comeback just wanting to give good music to our fans and to have fun doing our work but we had hit #1. We really didn’t expect it.

How do you plan on spending 2018?

Mino: We don’t have any plans as of now, but I think it would be nice if we can meet fans in Korea and abroad through our tour.

Hoon: I personally think it would be great if all of us really worked out so we can take pictures with our clothes off.

Yoon: I definitely agree on that. I really want to try and make a great body. But MinHo, I’m sure you don’t feel the same way (laughs)?

Mino: I have a song called ‘Body.’ I am satisfied with my body (laughs).

Original Interview: Dazed Korea Magazine | Translation: @softboimino

[INTERVIEW/PHOTOS] #WINNER for Dazed Magazine Korea (January 2018 Issue) This is your first photoshoot in a while. You guys seem really upbeat even though we started the shoot at a time when you might normally wake up.

#WINNER

2 notes · View notes

tediousoscars · 4 years

Text

2019

Predict-o-meter: This year: 9/11; Total: 108/134 (83%)

Welcome, welcome one and all to this year’s diatribe concerning all things Oscar.

With one glaring exception (see if you can spot it) this year’s class is solid with some soaring achievements at the top and a lot of really solid work through the middle.

So without further ado, let’s get to it ...

- THE CONTENDERS -

1917. In most war movies the MacGuffin is winning: a skirmish, a battle, a campaign, or, ultimately the war. In “1917” the goal is to call off an attack; to avoid a battle. Most war movies focus on the big picture: strategy, troop movements, etc. “1917” focuses on a single soldier embarking on a single mission for a single day. “1917” is not most war movies. The Germans have executed a strategic retreat and established a new defensive position. A zealous British commander is in hot pursuit, but Command has learned - through the new-fangled technology of aerial photography - that he is charging into a trap. No telegraph lines have yet been laid to the forward position, and radio is not quite a thing yet, so the only way to warn the commander is to send soldiers across no-man’s land, across the previous German line, across the French countryside to deliver the message in person. What follows is a quixotic quest full of constant fear and tension across a landscape made bizarre by the ravages and awful logic of war. It is a saga of commonplace heroism, of a man randomly plucked from obscurity, given an awesome, nigh-impossible task, and rising to the occasion for no other reason than it is his job. The film is expertly paced and while moments of sheer panic are rare, moments of relaxation are nonexistent. Though the time-honored message - war is hell - is definitely there, it is not driven home in the typical, ham-fisted way, and the final scene in which our hero collapses against a tree and gazes out at an idyllic sunlit pasture feels more triumphant than any victory brought about by explosions and bullets.

Jojo Rabbit. I often like to go into these films with no knowledge in order to avoid preconceptions, an approach that was a little jarring in this case, at least at first. In “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi creates a vivid, slightly out-in-leftfield world that will be familiar to fans of Wes Anderson (particularly “Moonrise Kingdom”). However, Anderson’s Boy Scouts have been replaced (as the vaguely authoritarian and hierarchical children’s organization central to the film) by the Nazi’s Hitler Youth. The opening scenes in which an excited 10yo Johannes "Jojo" Betzler bounces around his room in full Nazi regalia chattering away with his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (“C’mon, now ... Heil me!”), as he prepares for Nazi training camp are downright off-putting at a visceral level. For a second I thought I’d stumbled into an unironic production of “Springtime for Hitler.” But soon enough you realize that you are seeing the world through Jojo’s young eyes, and that he is a sensitive, insecure boy who is desperate for acceptance. Jojo uncritically accepts the worst Nazi propaganda about the Jews to the point that when he actually meets a Jewish girl he asks where her horns are (“They don’t grow in until you are 21,” she coyly replies). What follows is a complex tale of human drama told from a persistently childish (in the best sense of that word) perspective. The fact that it doesn’t just fly apart into an incoherent mess is a testament to Waititi’s skill as a director (WHY was he not nominated?) and a story that starts out uncomfortably off-putting ends up being thought-provoking and heartwarming. This film defies all expectation and should not be missed.

Little Women. A fresh take on a much-beloved classic, “Little Women” follows a family of 4 sisters through late childhood and early adulthood as they struggle with questions of marriage and career through the lens of an 18th-century culture that has quite definite opinions on these matters. The sisters are well cast and have good chemistry. Two of them - Saoirse Ronan as Jo and Florence Pugh as Amy - were nominated for their trouble. Throw in Laura Dern as Marmee and Meryl Streep as the irrepressible Aunt March and you’ve got a powerhouse cast that drives the film forward and keeps things lively. The storytelling is deft throughout, but for my money the best part is at the end when Jo suddenly and inexplicably agrees to marry a minor character from early in the film that she didn’t even seem to like. It all feels very out of character and more than a little deus ex machina, until the coda showing Jo haggling with her publisher over the publication of her book. When he insists that the main female character must be married (or dead, either is fine) by the end of the book, she reluctantly agrees but asks for more money in return. “If I’m going to sell my heroine into marriage for money, I might as well get some of it,” she declares, adding a nice meta twist that makes Jo’s sudden nuptials not only understandable but downright delectable.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Director Quentin Tarantino (nominated) returns to a vein he previously mined in 2009’s “Inglorious Basterds”: The alternate-history black comedy. This time out, however, the group upon which he unleashes ahistorical vengeance is not the Nazis, but the Manson Family. Set in 1969 Hollywood in a reality not too far from our own, “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio in a nominated role) as an aging TV cowboy who flies to Italy to make Spaghetti Westerns in an attempt to salvage his career. His constant companion, stunt double, and manservant is Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt, also nominated), a man of immense talent, but no ambition, who is content to carry Rick’s water as long as it doesn’t interfere with his generally zen lifestyle. What follows is a fascinating character study of the two men as they navigate the politics of Hollywood. Rick, in particular, pursues relevance with the panicked desperation that only middle-aged white men can achieve. But the show is consistently stolen by Pitt’s portrayal of Cliff as some combination of ronin samurai and burnt-out hippy. In every situation Cliff knows exactly what to do and how to do it at the same time that his motivation seems to be little more than, “Well, why not?” It’s breathtaking to watch. The Manson Family, for their part, play a minor, oblique role through most of the film, only to fall victim to Tarantino’s signature cartoonish uber-violence in the film’s climax. Never before has someone being set on fire been this laugh-out-loud funny. “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” is like a rollercoaster: don’t over-analyze it, just enjoy the ride. And it is a very enjoyable ride.

Parasite. This is another film I walked into with no foreknowledge and ended up being very pleasantly surprised. “Parasite” is a film from Korea that at its core is about income inequality, but the lens that it uses to examine this phenomenon is unique. “Parasite” follows the Kims, a downtrodden, working-class family of four barely scraping by in the slums of Seoul. Son Ki-Woo is very smart, but can’t afford to attend college like his friend Min-Hyuk, so when Min-Hyuk has a chance to study abroad he asks Ki-Woo to pose as a college student and take over his position tutoring the daughter of the rich Park family. Ki-Woo does so, and through a series of increasingly hilarious hijinks the entire Kim family becomes employed by the Parks in different capacities. The contrast between the capable, sensible, but poor Kims and the clueless but rich Parks is played to maximal comic effect, and you think this is an enjoyable romp and you pretty much know where it’s going. When all of a sudden, in the middle of the second act, the entire film takes a jarring left turn and sends you careening into bizarre, unexplored territory. I won’t spoil it for you, but director Bong Joon Ho richly deserves his nomination for crafting such a compelling story that completely defies expectations.

- THE PRETENDERS -

Ford v Ferrari. This is the true story of how legendary driver and car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) teamed up with the Ford Motor Company to take on Enzo Ferrari and win Le Mans. Central to the effort is the cantankerous Ken Miles (played with verve and gusto by Christian Bale), a British driver and engineer who is obsessed with racing to the exclusion of almost everything else, especially social niceties. When an ambitious, young Lee Iacocca proposes that Ford buy the ailing Ferrari, only to be humiliated by Enzo himself, Henry Ford II (aka “The Deuce”) declares war on Ferrari’s beloved racing team and their dominance at Le Mans. Shelby is recruited as one of a very few Americans to have ever won that race, and he insists on bringing along Miles as one of the few people who share his burning, all-consuming passion for racing. But Ken’s brash, irreverent style conflicts with Ford’s corporate image, and there ensues a protracted battle between Shelby and “the suits.” This is all handled deftly. The interpersonal struggles are well-motivated and feel real, the racing scenes are exciting, and the ultimate, somewhat mixed climax feels very satisfying. Definitely a very good movie, just not a great one.

The Irishman. Pacino. De Niro. Pesci. Keitel. Scorsese. Must be a gangster movie. This time around Scorsese takes on True Crime by studying the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of one-time Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa (played by Al Pacino in a nominated role that is more than a little ironic given Hoffa’s frequent anti-Italian tirades). The titular Irishman is Frank Sheeran (De Niro); a Teamsters driver, turned scam artist, turned Mob enforcer, turned Hoffa confidant and Union Local President. All of the clichéd gangster tropes are here: the steak dinners, the smoke-filled rooms, the bizarre, posturing pseudo-conversations where nothing is actually said, but everybody “gets the message,” the sudden, brutal violence. All of it. And it is all executed expertly, being second nature to this team by this point. But for my money the film really revolves around Sheeran’s daughter, Peggy (played by Lucy Gallina as a child and Anna Paquin as an adult). Even as a child Peggy sees through the bluff and bluster of Mafia “honor” to its brutal core of senseless violence, and she holds her father in distain for it. This particularly rankles Sheeran’s Don and protector Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci, also nominated), whose lifelong efforts to curry favor with Peggy come to naught. And when Peggy takes a shine to Jimmy Hoffa, seeing him as an honorable man helping people live better lives, Russell’s knickers are well and truly twisted. After Hoffa’s disappearance (the film makes no mystery of it, but I won’t spoil it) Peggy and Frank become fully estranged. Towards the end of his life Frank feels compelled to make a furtive attempt at reconciliation, but offers no remorse nor even any understanding of why Peggy stopped talking to him in the first place. The film ends with Sheeran alone and forgotten in a nursing home, being interviewed by some FBI agents still desperately trying to close the Hoffa case. They point out to him that all of his compatriots are dead, running through a roll call of the characters we have been watching for the past two hours. “Who are you protecting?” they ask. Sheeran has no answer, but offers no assistance, for in the end his loyalty was all he ever had.

Joker. Not since 2012’s “Les Misérables” has a movie been as monotonously bleak as “Joker.” Purportedly the origin story of Batman’s nemesis, “Joker” is a Chinese water torture of debasement and degradation. There’s no real theme or plot; just drip drip drip of indignities piled one upon the other. For hours. The titular Joker doesn’t even emerge from the tortured psyche of Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix in a nominated role) until the film’s waning moments, and even then he is literally just a crazy clown with a gun; hardly a suitable foil for the Batman. Phoenix gamely portrays an abused, antisocial misfit, but the skill with which he applies his craft is not put to any greater purpose. There’s no redemption here, or even a moral, just misery piled upon a man who has always been miserable and always will be. Each year there are at least one or two nominations that I cannot understand. With “Joker,” not only do I fail to understand the nomination, I can’t even understand why it was MADE.

Marriage Story. Meet the Barbers, Charlie and Nicole. They are beautiful (looking exactly like Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson - both nominated) and accomplished: he a playwright and director in New York’s theater community, she a star of stage and screen and Charlie’s favorite leading lady. When Nicole is offered a TV pilot shooting in Hollywood she decides to take son Henry with her, but removed from Charlie’s directorial dictates and suffocating ambition she decides to never go back. What follows is a bi-coastal divorce proceeding and custody battle that pits two people against each other who actually like and admire ~90% of the other, but just can’t reconcile the other 10%. The Barbers have different goals and agendas, but no real animus towards each other. However, the only system available to them for moving forward is one designed along ruthless, winner-take-all grounds. This leads to much conflict and soul-searching. Eventually, through introspection and growth, they manage to achieve something approaching a conscious uncoupling without scarring Henry too much in the process.

So which SHOULD win?

There were a lot of very good, enjoyable films in the class, but only 3 that really made you think about film as an art form and its capabilities: “1917,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and “Parasite.” Of these three Jojo Rabbit was both the most thought-provoking and the most straight-up enjoyable. My pick for the best movie of 2019 is: Jojo Rabbit.

But which WILL win?

“1917” appears to be the favorite, with “Parasite” a potential dark horse. I’m going with “1917,” and I can’t quibble too much; it’s a really good film.

And in the other categories ...

Best Actress: Renee Zellweger looks like a lock for her role in “Judy.”

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern should win here, not for being the mother of the Little Women, but for being the glamorous, “take no prisoners” Hollywood divorce lawyer in “Marriage Story.”

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix should follow in Heath Ledger’s footsteps by winning an Oscar portraying the Joker. While I am loathe to see this depressing trainwreck of a film garner any accolades, I must grudgingly admit that Phoenix gives a powerful performance. Still not worth seeing the film, however.

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt should run away with this category. His performance definitely IS worth seeing “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.”

Best Director: Again this is a race between Sam Mendes for “1917” and Bong Joon Ho for “Parasite.” And again “1917” is the clear favorite and “Parasite” is the dark horse. The Academy has taken to splitting Best Picture and Best Director of late, but I’m going to play it safe and choose Mendes.

Best International Feature Film: “Parasite” should earn its richly-deserved Oscar here. As well as ...

Best Original Screenplay: Look for “Parasite” here. It is definitely very original.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit. I would have loved to see Waititi nominated - and even win - for directing, but he will have to settle for winning for his writing. Something tells me he’ll be fine.

Best Cinematography: 1917

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell

That’s it for this year. Until next year, save me an aisle seat

0 notes

imagineproduce101 · 7 years

Text

Picture Perfect Ch. 3

You’re not particularly into BNM, the new rising kpop group, but your best friend has fallen head-over-heels for their adorable maknae, Lee Daehwi. Your days in college are filled with working on your photography portfolio in hopes that a magazine will hire you, while your best friend’s is filled with stalking keeping up with BNM. However, when one day, your best friend decides to attend a fansign with your best camera, your entire world changes.

A multichaptered fic ft. Park Woojin, the trainees of Brand New Music, Yoo Seonho and the pd101 boys. In this story, your best friend’s name is Lee Seonmi; you two have been friends since high school, and you attend university in Seoul and room together.

Chapter Three: New Beginnings?

Your camera gets screwed over by none other than BNM’s manager. God really must hate you

ft. Yoo Seonho as a barista again!

Slowly but surely we’re getting to the Woojin interactions haha

You yanked your phone out of your pocket, quickly checking the time. You had class at 9, and since it was one of your art classes, you really didn’t want to be late, so you had left the house extra early. Seonmi, unlike you, was still sleeping at home, as her classes were all in the afternoon. It was 8:30, and you still had plenty of time.

Soon, all the university students got off at the respective university stop and you followed suit. However, instead of following them directly to campus, you opted to walking over to the café where Seonho worked for a bit, since you had a good amount of time before class.

You carefully readjusted the camera bag over your shoulder, making sure that you didn’t drop it. After class, you wanted to try taking a couple pictures at a nearby park, so you figured it would be smart to bring along your camera. Once you had your camera secured on the front of your body, you continued down the street towards the café. It had rained the night before, so the pavement was still wet and the gutters had rushing water.

You got to the crosswalk and punched the button, pulling out your phone to text Seonho that you’d be coming. Out of nowhere, a black van turned the corner, making you look up. The driver was familiar—all too familiar. However, you didn’t have time to contemplate where you’d seen the driver before, because the sharp movements of the van’s turn splashed a huge amount of water from the street onto you.

You stared after the van in shock before realizing what the water had hit head-first—your camera. With a shriek, you raced towards the café and fumbled with the front door.

“Seonho, move!” you panted, dashing to a table. With shaking hands, you pulled out your camera, desperately trying to turn it on. No matter how many times you pressed the power button, the stupid display never flickered on.

“Noona, what happened?” Seonho asked as you slid down into a chair. He handed you a much-needed mug of coffee and one of the spare company sweatshirts that his boss kept in the back. You took it gratefully, peeling off your drenched cardigan and nestling into the sweatshirt. You took a deep sip of coffee before responding, thinking carefully about the events that had transpired. Suddenly, it hit you.

“It was the asshole manager!” You exclaimed, pounding your fist on the coffee table. Seonho gave you a confused look, so you explained how the van had splashed water all over you before continuing. “The one driving the van, it was the manager who was rude to Seonmi at the fansign.”

“Really?” Seonho frowned, “I thought he got fired? At least, that’s what Daehwi told me.”

You froze, and Seonho stared at you with huge eyes, slapping a hand over his mouth.

“Shit, did I say that?”

“Yoo Seonho, what the hell do you mean, Daehwi told me?”

Seonho groaned, burying his head in his hands, “I didn’t want to tell you guys because I was scared that Seonmi- noona would go crazy on me,” he explained, “but Daehwi also goes to SOPA, so we’re pretty good friends.”

“And you talked about what happened to him?” You demanded, leaning forward, “so he knows all about it?”

“Yeah,” Seonho nodded, pulling his phone out, “you can even read the receipts, Daehwi said that they all feel really bad about it.” You scrolled through his conversation, verifying that what Seonho said was true. One text in particular, however, caught your attention

>>oh, btw who was seonmi’s friend?

U mean (Y/N)?

>>I guess?????

>>the one who did all the yelling haha

Yeah, that was (Y/N)

Her ig is (y/u/n)

“You gave Lee Daehwi my Instagram account?” You shrieked, glaring at Seonho.

“Keep reading,” Seonho teased in a lilting voice. You sighed in exasperation at his cheekiness, but continued to scroll.

Why?

>>Woojinnie isn’t saying anything now

>>But he obviously thought she was cute ㅋㅋㅋ

Frowning, you thought back to your minimal interactions with the boys. Park Woojin… he had been the one staring at you. He was handsome, but then again, weren’t all kpop idols supposed to be handsome?

“Yah, don’t you have class right now?” Seonho checked the time, tapping his wristwatch. You glanced down at the time at your own phone, and squawked. You quickly got to your feet and crammed your things into your backpack.

You raced out the door, calling to Seonho, “be a dear and put my camera in rice to dry it out, would you?”

Class ended up going by fairly quickly. You ended up having to go back home before you could go back to the café and pick up your things, because it was the second day of Seonmi’s period and she desperately needed pads and her favorite ramyun. Being the best friend that you were, you were obligated to pick everything up from the store and deliver it to her.

Just as you were setting the ramyun pot down next to Seonmi on the couch, you felt your phone start to buzz in your back pocket.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Seonho. Obviously. Caller ID.”

“What do you want, rat?”

“Hey, I take offense to that!” Seonho did sound slightly offended. “Anyways, I was telling you that you should probably come to the café, like, asap.”

“Why, are you closing early?”

“No, just…. Just come. Now.”

Sighing, you hit ‘end call’ and shared a look with Seonmi.

“I’ll be back soon,” you assured her, slipping on a coat and some tennis shoes, “call me if you need anything else!”

“Be safe,” Seonmi called meekly from the sofa. You locked the door and hurried to the bus stop. What if someone had stolen your camera? It for sure wasn’t working; Seonho had texted you to let you know that even with the rice, the camera wasn’t turning on. The whole bus ride was spent worrying about what might have happened.

Lost in thought, you walked quickly to the café, heart pounding as you grew more and more nervous. The lights in the café were out, and you pounded on the door to get Seonho to let you in.

“God, you’re like a maniac,” Seonho complained after unlocking the door. It was after hours, so no one was left in the café.

“So what was it that I need to come here for?” you asked, glaring at him.

“Just,” Seonho groaned, and then muttered something about shooting the messenger, “here.”

He gestured to one of the tables.

“A certain someone heard about what happened to your camera and felt bad.”

You felt like you had stopped breathing. On the table sat the nicest DSLR camera that money could buy, equipped with all the add-ons: the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the 24-105mm F4L IS II USM lens. In total, the camera cost almost $5000.

Silently you reached out to touch the box, not even wanting to pick it up for fear of breaking it.

“Who would do something like this for me?” you whispered, eyes never leaving the brand new box.

“Check the note,” Seonho grinned at your disbelief, having already gotten over the shock at such an expensive gift.

You reached down to pluck the sticky note from the box, reading it with shaky hands.

Sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused you; I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive us

~pwj (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Chapter 4

i’m going to be not working on stuff very much today, as I’m taking an online college course that’s been a bit difficult for me (i’m in high school rip) and I’m also studying for the act (like the usa college placement exams, or one of them), so i won’t have much time. also, i have a lot of fic requests, so the next chapter will take until i finish those. anyways, please anticipate!

#produce 101 #produce 101 season 2 #produce 101 imagine #produce 101 fanfiction #produce 101 oneshot #produce 101 season 2 imagine #produce 101 season 2 oneshot #park woojin #park woojin oneshot #park woojin imagine #park woojin fanfiction #wanna one #wanna one imagine #wanna one fanfiction #wanna one oneshot #wanna one scenario

135 notes · View notes

0606-hyuck · 7 years

Text

Locked Out // Byun Baekhyun {part one}

Requested: Nope, I just really needed to write something Baek-related lol

Pairing: Byun Baekhyun X Reader

Genre: College!AU, angst I guess?

Word Count: 7.2k (holy shit this is so long if you read it all I’ll marry you I promise)

Description: Hi, I’m Y/N, and I’m the Queen of Fucking Everything Up. Here I am, locked outside on a balcony with a dude I shared and awkward hook-up with once and I’d been avoiding ever since, while his ex-girlfriend cries her eyes out and I freeze my ass off in the September air. *Freeze frame* *record scratch* You’re probably wondering how I got myself into this situation, so here’s a timeline of how, in a few short months, I managed to royally fuck everything up.

A/N: Wow I actually have no idea what I was doing when I was writing this, but I kind of like it hahaha. Also, this part is written in first person which usually I hate writing in, but I thought it suited the style of the story more :) By the way I love Irene so much, she’s such a babe. Enjoy!

Part two: Here!

2nd February, 10:22am

Ah, February 2nd. I remember it as if it was only yesterday. It was rather warm for Winter, so my friends and I had bought lunch and decided to eat it down by the river. It was rare for all five of us to have a day free of college classes, so we wanted to make the most of it.

“I’m just going over here,” I mumbled, more to myself than anyone, grabbing my phone and heading towards the river’s edge. I’d spotted a single pink flower floating with the current peacefully, and being a photography major, I couldn’t miss the chance to capture this moment digitally.

“Don’t fall in!” A voice cried from behind me; I felt their large hands push against my back but they grabbed my elbows just before I toppled into the cold water below.

“Sehun!” I bellowed, trying to look as angry as possible when I turned around to face my immature friend. However, I couldn’t stop myself from grinning when I saw the bewildered look cross his face: it soon disappeared when he realised I wasn’t actually mad at him. “That was a close one, Y/N. You’ve got to be more careful,” Sehun joked.

“You’re an idiot,” I quipped back. “I don’t know how I put up with you.”

“You do it out of love,” Sehun replied. You see, Sehun and I had been friends for as long as either of us could remember. Born just ten days apart (he was older and always gave me shit for it), we’d become instant best friends. We stuck with each other throughout middle school and high school, and now we were roommates in college (don’t ask me why I agreed to room with Sehun, he never washes the dishes. Ever.)

“You two, stop flirting and come join us for a selfie,” Baekhyun called out.

“We’re not flirting,” Sehun and I groaned in unision, earning chuckles from Baekhyun and the two other boys, Chanyeol and Suho. “Yeah, my mum wants a picture of my friends to prove I don’t hang out with pot-heads and alcoholics,” Chanyeol added, getting his phone into optimum selfie-position.

“I’m pretty sure Y/N is a drug dealer in between her studies,” Suho laughed as Sehun and I joined them, gaining a playful glare from me.

It’s funny to think that I originally wanted nothing to do with Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Suho. Sehun had befriended the three in one of his music lectures, and when I first met them I believed they were nothing more than rowdy, immature womanisers. With a lot of convincing from Sehun (boy would not shut up about it), I managed to give the boys a chance and am now proud (albeit embarrassed at times) to call them my close friends. In fact, I’m pretty sure Baekhyun and I have a thing now. Don’t quote me, but he’s developed a habit of being really touchy-feely with me recently, but we’re not dating. I didn’t have many girl friends at all - I didn’t need them. It’s hard enough to focus on college, my part-time job, and socialising as it is, I don’t need the added factor of girl drama.

As we all gathered around Chanyeol, I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket, followed shortly by a loud ‘ding’. After we managed to take a couple of nice pictures together without much incident (ignoring the fact Baekhyun screamed “SUHO YOU’RE STANDING ON MY FOOT!” and Sehun hit my stomach because I was “covering his beautiful face” with my “man shoulders”), I pulled out my own phone and read the text.

“Sehun, looks like we have interest in our spare room!” I exclaimed, showing the text to the blond.

“’Hi, Y/N, my name is Irene Bae and I saw you were looking for a roommate for your apartment? I’m interested! I’m at the café near the university right now and I’d be happy to chat with you’,” Sehun read out loud before adding, “she’s there now?”

“I guess,” I replied, quickly texting Irene back.

“Are you guys leaving now?” Suho questioned, the obvious disappointment on his face matching that of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s too.

“I guess so. Come on, Y/N, if we hurry we can catch the train and get there a bit earlier,” Sehun said, grabbing my hand and tugging me away from our friends.

“We’ll catch up with you later, I promise!” I shouted back to the three. And as I turned back around, I swear I caught Baekhyun wink at me.

2nd February, 10:37am

I quickly brushed a hand through my windswept hair as Sehun and I entered the quiet, cosy café. I scanned the shop, smiling when I made eye contact with a couple of people from my lectures. “Where do you think she is?” Sehun muttered, urging me forward towards the register attendant.

“Not sure. I might go have a look around and see if I can find her,” I replied, breaking away from Sehun to sweep the café with my eyes. Sehun nodded and waited to order our usual drinks while I shimmied past crowded tables towards the back of the building where I knew it was less populated. And there, sitting at an empty booth facing away from me, sipping a cup of coffee, was a girl. I knew it was her instantly - I would have definitely noticed a girl with bright bubblegum pink hair like hers before. She had headphones in and was nodding her head ever so slightly, completely absorbed in her own world.

I gulped loudly and built up the courage to go up and talk to her. She noticed me and pulled out her headphones quickly, flashing me a dazzling smile.

“You must be Y/N? I’m Irene. Take a seat.” The girl gestured to the seat opposite her and I sidled in, trying to act as at ease as Irene was. She gave me another wicked smile and asked whether I wanted to order anything; I explained Sehun was already doing that.

I suddenly felt very underdressed in my heavy sweater compared to Irene, you know, as if she was Cinderella and I was one of the ugly step sisters. Every time Irene moved, the glint from the fluorescent lights reflected off her dark blue contacts. It was really distracting.

“You’re very pretty, Y/N,” Irene commented. As she spoke, I realised I’d barely said a word to her, choosing to stare instead - but it seemed Irene had been doing the same thing.

“Thanks. I like your hair. It’s very…interesting,” I replied, causing Irene to laugh. And as I sat there listening to the melodic, high pitched sound, I felt all my worries disappear. Irene explained how she’d actually been dared to dye her hair, and I realised Irene seemed lovely and I would have no problems having her as a roommate.

“Oh hey, you must be Irene,” Sehun said, squeezing in beside me and passing my hot chocolate over. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

“You too!” Irene replied. “Seoul really is a beautiful city.”

“You’re not from around here?” I questioned, sipping at the scalding drink in front of me.

“No, I’m from Daegu actually,” said Irene. As Sehun and I listened to her tell hilarious stories from her childhood, I barely noticed time passing. In fact, it was as if time had stopped completely - we’d been let into Irene’s own little world and nothing but us three mattered. She really was a captivating person. Sehun and I asked Irene all the basic questioned you’d ask any potential housemate, and we told her we’d contact her soon - though it was clear we’d both made our minds up already.

“She’s so lovely!” I gushed the minute we left the café. “She’s the best candidate we’ve seen, Se.”

“I agree,” Sehun said before playfully pushing my shoulder. “If she moves in, maybe you’ll finally have a friend of your own - a girl nonetheless!”

9th March:

“I’m pretty sure this is the last one,” I exclaimed, placing one of Irene’s heavier boxes on the floor in her new room. Irene poked her head over the side of her bed and flashed her signature smile at me. “You’re the best, Y/N. Seriously, your help is much appreciated,” she replied.

“No problem.” I stood there for a moment, watching my new roommate pull out handfuls of books from one of her boxes and slam them down on her desk. I turned to the door and said over my shoulder, “I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Wait, Y/N. Come and keep me company. Unpacking boxes can get super boring by myself,” Irene whined, looking up at me with large, innocent eyes. “And once I’m done here, maybe we could paint each others nails?” After seeing the sceptical look on my face she added, “you know, girly things.”

“Girly things…” I repeated slowly.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to! I just thought it would be nice to get to spend some time together, just us two, since you Sehun have been so nice in showing me around Seoul. But we don’t have to if you don’t want too.”

I was starting to realise already that Irene had a way to get people to do what she wanted them to do, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. However, I did think it would be nice to get to know Irene more.

“No, it sounds nice! It’s just, I’ve never really had friends who were girls before. I don’t even have any sisters,” I admitted, joining my roommate on the floor.

“That’s a shame, Y/N,” Irene replied, grabbing a bottle of baby pink nail polish. “Because girls are really fun. If you ever have boy troubles or friend drama or just want to talk, I’m here.” The smile Irene gave me was so genuine, and I knew I’d just made a very crucial friend.

I could feel Irene’s endless smile directed at me as I careful painted her fingernails. I was talking about nothing really - my family, my university major, life in Seoul. And Irene listened to every word I said. It was weird. I’d barely known Irene a month but it felt as if we had been friends since time began. There was no awkwardness between us, oddly enough, and I suddenly realised what I’d been missing by only having guy friends.

“Irene, looks like you forgot one box,” Sehun stated, poking his head into Irene’s room and grinned when he saw us lounging on the floor.

“Excuse you, I was just in the middle of educating Irene which boys to stay away from and which would be more than happy to ‘help her study’, if you know what I mean,” I winked back, eliciting a groan from Sehun.

“You’re impossible, Y/N. I’ll go get that box for you,” he called, backing away from the room. Once he was out of earshot, Irene turned to me and said, “you two are a cute couple.”

At first I thought I’d misheard her, so I asked Irene to repeat what she said. She did, and when I was sure she thought Sehun and I were dating, I couldn’t help the laughter bubbling out. As I rolled around on the carpet, clutching my stomach, Irene simply gave me a confused smile. “Did I say something?” You’re not having a seizure, are you?”

Her comment only made me laugh harder, and it took me a good minute to regain my composure. “We’re not…Sehun and I aren’t dating,” I managed to say through giggles.

“You’re not? Ah, that’s so embarrassing!” Irene cried, burying her face into the soft pillow beside her to stifle her own laughter.

“Wheeew, I can’t breathe,” I gasped just as Sehun returned with Irene’s box. Seeing his face, and the utter idea of Sehun and I dating set me off into another fit.

“Y/N’s broken, she won’t stop laughing!” Irene shrieked, hitting me repeatedly with the pillow and soon collapsing beside me. My ribs ached, cheeks stung, and I was gasping like a fish, but it was an amazing feeling. I’d never laughed so hard in my life - I didn’t want this moment to end.

18th April:

Irene ran a hand over her velvet skirt, smoothing it down for the hundredth time in the past minute. “Seriously, Ren, you’re going to ruin the material on your skirt if you keep rubbing it,” I stated, grabbing Irene’s hand and pulling it away from her clothes.

“I know, I know,” she sighed, giving me a half-hearted smile. “I’m just nervous.” I turned from my place on the bench to face her. We were waiting at the local bowling alley and Irene had been worried about this moment for the whole day. Sehun had suggested that we introduce Irene to Suho, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun, considering they basically lived at our apartment anyway.

“Nervous? Why?” I chuckled.

“You just talk about your friends all the time; they seem so cool.”

“Trust me,” I snorted loudly. “They are definitely not cool.”

And as if they’d heard me insult them, the three boys, along with Sehun, sauntered into the bowling alley. “Who’s the one on the left, Y/N?” Irene whispered furiously to me, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face.

“Uh, that’s Baekhyun. Why?” I replied, waving at my friends.

“Because he’s beautiful,” Irene gushed, clasping a hand over her mouth. The boys approached us and introduced themselves to Irene, and I suddenly felt rather queasy at the idea of her possibly having a crush on my friend, but I managed to ignore it.

“Okay, let’s get this game started then!” Chanyeol exclaimed, eliciting cheers from the rest of us. Suho went first, and to our utmost surprise he got a strike on his very first go. Baekhyun joked about leaving now since Suho had clearly won already, and then it was Sehun’ s turn. He released the bowling ball with such force, but still managed to get a gutterball. Twice.

We all booed at him as he sat down, an embarrassed smile covering his face. I knocked down a cool seven pins (I’d never been that great at ten-pin bowling anyway). Baekhyun got the same as me, and Chanyeol managed to knock down nine. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves - until Irene stood up to take her turn.

The first ball she bowled zoomed straight into the gutter so she turned around to face the boys. “I’m not very good at this, would someone be kind enough to help me?” She toyed her bottom lip with her teeth and batted her eyelids, shutting the boys up instantly, their joking insults towards each other style of bowling fading into nothing.

I narrowed my eyes at Irene suspiciously, trying to work out exactly what she was up to. Irene and I had been to this exact bowling alley a few weeks ago, and I remember I was groaning 95% of the time because Irene kept getting strikes. If she was so good at this, why was she pretending she wasn’t?

The boys shared a look quickly, silently deciding who would be the lucky one (A/N: wow that unintentional pun) to help Irene before Baekhyun stood up, wiping his palms on his jeans. I wasn’t all that surprised Baekhyun had been appointed the task by the boys’ silent jury - he’d sworn off dating after a bad breakup awhile ago, and I guess his friends just wanted him to get back out there again.

Irene giggled as Baekhyun stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and swung her arm backwards to bowl. Team Baekrene got a strike. Of course they did. Baekhyun gave me a small smile as he walked back to his seat, while Irene leaned into me as she sat back down, whispering something about how strong Baekhyun apparently was.

And it continued like this - Baekhyun would pull Irene close to him, helping her bowl even though she did not need his help at all, and Baekhyun would glance in my direction after he had, confusing and frustrating me at the same time.

“They make such a good couple,” Sehun commented to me, watching our friends basically feeling each other up adoringly.

“Yeah, they sure do,” I grumbled sarcastically. Sehun gave me a look of surprise before chuckling. “No way. No damn way. Y/N is jealous? Of Irene?”

“I’m not jealous!” I hissed back, but it was clear to both Sehun and I that I was blatantly lying. The truth was, I could feel my insides bubbling with envy every time Baekhyun flashed his bright smile at Irene, and I felt myself gagging when she giggled like an immature schoolgirl in response. Maybe I felt this way because Baekhyun was undoubtedly an incredibly beautiful human, no one could argue against that. Maybe it was because Irene had literally been in Seoul for two months and was getting more male attention than I had in my whole 22 years of living in Seoul. Or maybe it was because I’ d never had a proper boyfriend before despite my best efforts, and Baekhyun was the only boy who’d ever really showed me any attention (he had a way of making me feel so special even though we weren’t dating). Maybe it was because Baekhyun’s flirting was the closest thing I’d had to a boyfriend, and yet all Irene had to do was bat her eyelids and Baekhyun was drooling all over her. Who knows.

I tried my best to focus on the game at hand, but trust me, it was very hard with Baekhyun and Irene so obviously flirting right beside me. That was Baekhyun and I’s thing (although we were never that conspicuous about it). Despite this, everyone else seemed to be having a good time - Suho was crowned Ten Pin Bowling King, while Irene and Baekhyun not-so-discernibly swapped numbers. Everyone left with smiles on their faces - which is all I cared about. No matter the reason behind those smiles.

13th May, 3:17PM:

“Y/N, have you been on Irene’s Facebook recently?” Sehun called as I entered our apartment; he was curled up under a blanket on the couch and was stuffing his face with buttery popcorn.

“You’re an animal,” I laughed, dropping my bag and jumping next to him on the couch. The Hangover was playing quietly on the television, although Sehun wasn’t paying it any attention. “Why, should I have been checking her Facebook?”

Sehun shifted and thrust his phone in my face, watching me expectantly. I had to steady his swaying hand to see that he had Irene’s Facebook open to one of her more recent statuses, posted yesterday evening.

‘He asked me out, I said yes! #feelingblessed #luckiestgirlalive #cutestcoupleever,’ the status read. Attached below it was a photo of the new couple; Baekhyun’s lips were on Irene’s cheek, her eyes were scrunched up, and she had an adorable smile on her face. It was true, they were the cutest couple ever.

I felt a feeling stir inside me, an emotion that I couldn’t even begin to describe at the time but that, in hindsight, should have been a big warning sign for me to keep my distance. But I couldn’t see that at the time - all I could see was my two best friends being all lovey-dovey cute together. It was gross.

“Holy, look how many likes it’s got!” Sehun exclaimed, his eyes bulging out at the nearly 700 figure. “I’m not surprised,” I replied lowly. “Irene’s become so popular recently.” Sehun simply chuckled. “It’s not all bad: we’ve also become a lot popular too.”

It was true. Irene may have gained lots of friends, but I doubted she would ever want to replace Sehun and I as her best friends. She would often invite us out to all these different events with her new friends (most of whom were girls, which was awesome for me because I gained a lot more female friends). As well as meeting tons of new people (including two charismatic boys named Bambam and Taeyong who often studied with me at the library), my popularity had risen to extraordinary levels. I suddenly found myself being invited to all sorts of parties I’d never been able to even dream of attending before, and I had my own group of friends now that didn’t consist totally of Sehun’s friends. He was right; Irene’s sudden popularity wasn’t all bad.

Sehun and I had just settled down enough to focus on the movie playing when the front door clicked open and laughter poured into our apartment.

“-reaction was absolutely hilarious!” An unfamiliar voice roared, so I peered over Sehun’s shoulder and saw the voice belonged to one of Irene’s many friends. She was very pretty, and I recognised her from around university. I could tell her and Irene were close. I think her name was Willow? Or maybe it was Wanda? I forget some times.

“I know right! It was to die for. Thanks for the ride home, Wendy!” Irene said, hugging her friend before shutting the front door.

Ah, Wendy.

“Hey guys!” Irene greeted, although she barely looked our way before sauntering down the hallway to her room. I glanced at Sehun who shrugged, turning his attention back to the TV.

13th May, 4:56PM:

“Anyone home?” I questioned, banging my knuckles on Irene’s door loudly, causing the ajar door to swing open with a creak. Our movie had finished and we had expected Irene would have come out to tell us about her exciting news by now - but she hadn’t. So Sehun and I decided to investigate ourselves.

“Come in~” Irene sang out in response. She was spread out on her bed but repositioned herself so she was now sitting crosslegged. She was tapping away furiously at her phone, undoubtedly texting one of her close friends, and she was unable to stop a wide smile from covering her face.

“So…when were you going to tell us you and Baekhyun were dating?” Sehun asked excitedly, waving his phone in her face much like he had done with me. Her smile suddenly faded upon hearing Sehun’s question, which caught me off guard.

“Were you even going to tell us at all?” I gestured to the date the status had been posted; over 24 hours ago.

“Well, I mean yeah, eventually, but…” Irene started, but soon trailed off. She stared at us both before giving me a sympathetic smile. “But not straight away.”

“Not straight away?” Sehun repeated, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Well, I probably would have told you, Sehun. But I might not have told Y/N straight away,” Irene stated bluntly. I stared at her in shock, and I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. What did she mean by that? Weren’t we supposed to be best friends?

Irene must have noticed the upset look on my face because she quickly added, “only because I know how close you are to Baekhyun, and I didn’t want you to feel like I was stealing him away from you or anything.” Irene glanced down at her bedsheet sheepishly, and I could tell she was being honest but it still didn’t lessen the pain and embarrassment I felt.

And my deep blush must have gave me away because Sehun patted my hand and rushed on, “well, I know both Y/N and I are extremely happy for you two.” Irene smiled brightly and uttered her thanks, so Sehun continued. “By the way, don’t forget we’re going to the baseball game on Saturday night!”

I wasn’t a major sports fanatic, but Sehun had managed to score a few free tickets and thought it would be fun for the three of us to go together. “Oh, um, I can’t sorry,” Irene mumbled. Suddenly, her phone was very interesting to her again.

“You…can’t?” Sehun shot me a brief look that seemed to say ‘is this girl serious’, before turning his attention to our uncomfortable roommate. “Yeah, sorry. I think Nayeon is having a party that night. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” Irene was doing an awful lot of apologising and had suddenly become the queen of avoiding eye contact.

“Oh, that’s okay then,” Sehun claimed, but I could tell he was hurt, if only slightly. Anyone could - his voice was barely above a whisper. “I think I have something to do now,” he added, retreating from the room and heading back to the lounge.

“Look, Y/N, I’m really sorry that I can’t come to the game with you guys anymore, but you need to understand we spend so much time together anyway!” Irene said, looking up and finally meeting my harsh gaze. She was apologising, but there was no hint of remorse in her eyes. She knew how much this game meant to Sehun, and she didn’t even care.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied sarcastically. “That’s what best friends do, generally.”

15th June:

I have no idea why I agreed to this. Absolutely no clue. You see, Irene invited me out for brunch with her at this cute little restaurant in the middle of Seoul; but conveniently forgot to tell me that it was actually a double date and she’d organised one of her friends to be my date.

So here I was, on a double date with Irene, Baekhyun, and some guy named Lee Jooheon. Jooheon seemed nice enough (and he was pretty attractive too), but I was so furious Irene had tricked me into going on this stupid double date that I couldn’t focus on anything he was saying.

“So yeah, as I was saying, Y/N hasn’t really had a boyfriend before, so you’d be her first!” Irene gushed, causing a hot blush to form on my face. I’d only been here for ten minutes and already I wished I could melt into the seat and never show my face anywhere ever again. However, I couldn’t do that.

“I don’t think he really needs to know that, Irene,” I hissed.

“Nonsense!” Irene laughed loudly, the sort of obnoxious sound a group of middle aged women would make when one of them tells a really terrible joke. I grumbled under my breath and noticed Baekhyun was watching me. He had a small smirk on his face and winked when I looked up. We sat across from each other in our little booth and this was definitely not the first time I’d caught him staring at me.

In fact, he managed to maintain eye contact even when Irene pressed herself up against him and placed a lazy kiss on his cheek. Every time Irene said something embarrassing about me, Baekhyun would nudge my foot with his own under the table and give me a small smile. At least someone else realised that what Irene was doing was humiliating.

“If you’ll excuse me, I just have to use the bathroom quickly,” Jooheon said, giving me a small smirk before escaping to the toilets. “Ah, I’ll go pay for the bill,” Baekhyun added, following Jooheon’s actions by giving us a small grin before departing. Irene gave him a big smile in response, but it quickly disappeared once he was out of earshot.

Leaning closer to me across the table, Irene growled, “do you think I’m stupid, Y/N?” She was so close to me that I could feel her breath hot on my cheek, and I pulled back quickly. “W-what? Why do you say that?”

“Do you think I don’t see the way you look at Baekhyun? The way you’ve been oogling at him this whole time? I’ve tried to set you up with a lovely guy, but you can’t keep your eyes off my boyfriend. I knew you were a threat, Y/N. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll back off.”

I could feel hot tears pricking at my eyes and I blinked rapidly, started at how cruel my supposed “best friend” was being. I desperately wanted to defend myself, but the lump in my throat made that near impossible. I could only hold Irene’s glare as her glossy lips curled up into a smirk.

“Glad we’re on the same page,” she whispered, just as both boys returned.

“Sweet, everything is paid for,” Baekhyun smiled. He glanced between Irene and I and rushed to add, “is everything alright?”

“Yeah, Baekhyunnie. Nothing’s wrong.”

26th July:

Ah yes. Possibly the absolute worst day of my life. Well, more like the day my perfect life crumbled and shit hit the fan.

Jooheon and I had swapped numbers after our nightmare of a double date, and we’d stayed in contact even though I explained I wasn’t interested in dating him (he was so sweet about it too, bless!). The other day, Jooheon had invited Irene and I to a party his friend Wonho was hosting. But since Irene hadn’t really talked to me since she accused me of trying to steal her boyfriend, I didn’t tell her about our invitation (I figured she would find out about the party eventually away), and took Sehun with me instead.

Everything seemed to be going fine; Irene turned up with Baekhyun as I had predicted would happen. It was only as the night progressed that I started to experience a harrowing, constant feeling in my chest. It was hard to describe what it was or pinpoint why I was suddenly feeling this way, but I instantly knew something hugely terrible was going to happen. Ironically, I think I felt this way because of how untroubled everyone else was.

Alcohol was definitely, 100% flowing at this party. Every room I entered held a least one large group of drunk friends, laughing and yelling louder than I would have considered acceptable in my own apartment. I guess this Wonho guy was a lot more lenient than I was. Or he just didn’t give a shit.

Now, I’d never been much of a drinker (the agonizing hangovers then next morning were more than enough to stop me drinking too much, usually) but tonight was different. Maybe I drunk to try to sooth the pain in my chest, or to lessen the effect the howling screams of drunkards had on my newly formed headache.

“I’m just going to go…somewhere,” I slurred, hitting Sehun hard on his back.

“Make good choices!” Sehun grinned as he turned to face me.

Oh, the irony!

I gulped back another cup of alcohol (I’m not too sure what it actually was, it tasted like vodka mixed with something else but I couldn’t be too sure what. By this time I didn’t really care what was in it anyway - I was far too wasted to be wary about such a small thing) and stumbled into the closest room: a second lounge.

Music was blasting from the stereo in the corner, and there was a group of rowdy younger boys surrounding a pool table. I started heading in their direction for god knows why, but someone intercepted me first.

“Y/N, just the girl I wanted to see!” Baekhyun cheered, giving me an adorable lopsided smile.

“You wanted to see me?” I replied, giving Baekhyun a sceptical look. “Where’s Irene?”

He suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the lounge and down the hall. The unexpected skin-to-skin contact sent a rogue shiver down my spine and I tried to pull my hand away instinctively - Baekhyun’s vice-like grip prevented us from breaking contact.

“She’s passed out on a couch in some place or another. Girl cannot handle her alcohol,” Baekhyun chucked, throwing open the door of a bedroom and scowling when he found it was occupied already.

“Out,” he instructed, grip still firm on my hand, and the couple sucking each other’s faces off scurried out of the room as fast as their drunken bodies could manage. I couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping my lips when Baekhyun closed the door and slammed my body against it.

“What the hell?” I managed to puff, but my words faded into nothing when I noticed how close Baekhyun’s face was to mine. He was probably only a foot taller, but he seemed to tower over me as I shrunk back into the door. I was totally wasted, but I could still make out the different tones of brown in his irises that I’d never noticed before.

“I need you, Y/N,” Baekhyun confessed, his voice low and raspy. His breath was hot on my cheek, and I could smell the reeking stench of alcohol on it. Baekhyun was drunk too, but nowhere near as tipsy as myself.

“But you have Irene,” I mumbled, and I was sure he wouldn’t even be able to hear me. To be honest, I was surprised at how I managed to resist jumping his bones right there and then.

“I have Irene, but I want you.”

I managed to take one last peek at Baekhyun’s eyes before his lips crashed onto mine: his usually soft, warm eyes had completely darkened and he looked like a hungry predator eying up its prey.

After a minute of desperate kisses, Bakehyun suggested we go somewhere more private, so that’s what we did. He suggested that, since he wasn’t really allowed to be seen making out with a girl other than his girlfriend, I pretend I was too sick to stay at the party and he would say he suddenly remembered an assignment he had due tomorrow. And that’s how we managed our great escape.

I learned two things that night; the first was that lust is a crazy, bubbling cauldron of desire and need, and once you get a taste of it, it courses through your veins and takes control of every inch of your body - from your legs to your fingertips to your tongue and even your mind. It’s wanting what you can’t have, what you shouldn’t have, what you know is absolutely and utterly wrong to take, but being completely unable to stop yourself from taking it regardless.

The second thing I learned that night was that Irene was right: I was a real threat to her relationship.

31st July:

Okay, I lied. When I said July 26th was the worst day in my whole existence, I was lying.

Today was the day everything went downhill. I guess you could say I was standing on the top of a really tall building, creeping closer and closer to the edge: July 26th was what caused me to fall off the very tall building, the 31st is what I experienced just before I hit the ground.

July 31st started out like any other day. It was the middle of summer, and I remember thinking it would be nice if my apartment had a pool. I’d been very good at keeping Baekhyun and I’s one night stand a secret, and I’d made Bakehyun promise he would never tell a soul, especially Irene, for obvious reasons.

In fact, I’d even seen the two together in the wake of our hookup: they looked as happy as could be and as much as it pained me to see them being all cute together, it was so much better than having Irene find out what had happened.

That day I had both my courses (a photography course and an English language course) which meant I had to walk almost literally from one side of campus to the other. Usually I didn’t have a problem with this (it’s a hassle, that’s all) but today seemed different.

I noticed that whenever I glanced in boys’ directions they would stare back with a glint of hunger in their eyes, and when I made eye contact with a group of girls they all glared daggers at me. Synchronised scowling. If I hadn’t been feeling so self conscious, I probably would have laughed.

It was only when I walked past the girls that I realised why they felt so compelled to stare: “See, that’s the girl who slept with Irene’s boyfriend,” one of the girls stated, pointing straight at me. I recognised her as one of Irene’s friends but I didn’t know her name. “She’s not even that pretty,” another girl added as I rushed past them.

At first I thought I was hallucinating. There was no way anyone knew about Baekhyun and I, right?

I was wrong. I managed to make it to my English class without anymore trouble, albeit the usual stares. I was just settling into my normal seat when two boys in front of me turned around. I recognised them as Vernon and Seungkwan - I was on good terms with the both of them as I often let them copy my answers.

“So, Y/N, is it true that you had sex with Baekhyun?” Seungkwan blurted out.

“You can’t just ask that, Seungkwan!” Vernon chuckled, but still looked at me expectantly.

“Oh, I am terribly sorry. Y/N, oh kind, wise, answer-sharing Y/N, is it true that you may have had sexual relations with the handsome Byun Baekhyun?” Seungkwan said in a posh voice. By now, a lot of the class was looking at us. My heart dropped.

“It’s not true,” I uttered, just loud enough for the two boys to hear.

“It’s what?” Vernon questioned, leaning closer.

“I-I need to go.” I packed my bag quickly and left the class as fast as I possibly could - there was no way I was staying in there to play a whole hour of Twenty Questions.

As I was heading home, I felt a mix of emotions. It was hard to pinpoint just one. I felt confused because I had no idea how everyone had found out, but at the same time I felt absolutely devastated because I knew exactly who had told them (it certainly wasn’t me, I hadn’t even told Sehun), and then I felt a wave of sadness that Baekhyun, someone who up until recently I considered a good friend, could share something so intimate.

When I got home, all I wanted to do was crawl up into my bed and sleep the remainder of the day away, but that’s not what happened. The door to our apartment was wide open and boxes sat outside it innocently - I could instantly tell that something was wrong.

“Y/N, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on,” Sehun stated when I walked into the living room. “I had literally just got home when all this started. She screamed at me for conspiring with and defending you?” He gestured to Irene’s room where the loud clatter of miscellaneous items landing on each other were coming from.

I stood near the doorway, the threat of having something thrown at me stopped me venturing further. Irene was angrily grabbing items off her desk, wall, and from her wardrobe, shoving them into cardboard boxes.

As if sensing my presence, Irene stopped her movements and snapped her head up, glaring right into my soul. She stood up and headed towards me with fire in her eyes, and I genuinely feared for my life. Stopping close to me, Irene stated, “You’re a bitch,” before slamming the door in my face.

“Y/N, what the hell was that about?” Sehun questioned when I remerged from the hallway. “ Are you okay?” The worried expression on Sehun’s features told me that he really did care about whether I was okay or not, but shame stopped me from confessing the sin I had committed. I really wanted to, but I just couldn’t.

“Yeah, Se. Nothing’s wrong.”

2nd August:

Remember when I said this past week was like I’d been pushed off a really tall building? Well, I finally hit the ground.

I spent most of the day at this cute little reserve near my apartment where I knew it was unlikely I would run into anyone I recognised. It seems that all I do now: run. Run away from my responsibilities. Run from my problems.

I was supposed to be meeting Suho and Chanyeol right now for lunch, but I couldn’t bear to face them. No doubt they would be bombarding my phone, which I’d left at home, but I was certain their texts would get lost among the numerous other notifications I had.

You see, a few days ago, people would tell me face to face what they thought about Baekhyun and I - which wasn’t the nicest feeling but I could handle it - but now they’d turned to social media to humiliate me, to call me degrading names where all my friends and family could see. So that’s why I was skipping lunch with Chanyeol and Suho, and ditching my classes for the day - I needed time away from it all, to think about how everything had gone oh so terribly wrong. I had no doubt my phone was buzzing away with hate - I seemed to be more popular now than I was before all this happened.

It was late afternoon when I finally decided to head back home. I was feeling just slightly more positive now that I’d thought about my situation and managed to come up with a mental game plan for my next moves.

That was, until I spotted a small van driving way from our apartment. Painted on the side in bright red letters were the words ‘Seoul Movers’. I bounded to the apartment, taking the stairs two at a time, and found a sombre looking Sehun starting at the blank television screen.

“Sehun?” I asked quietly, sliding up to the couch and staring at my friend.

“Irene’s gone. She moved out,” he monotonely replied. I knew this was going to happen; Irene packing boxes a few days ago and the moving truck were a dead give away, but I’d held on with false hope that Irene and I would be able to talk this situation out. Instead, Irene wouldn’t even make eye contact with me, let alone talk to me.

The last of the peaceful feeling I’d managed to hold onto from earlier today drained from my body completely and the reality of my situation fully hit me. Because of my stupid, stupid mistake, I’d managed to ruin a good relationship, my reputation, and I’d lost my best friend.

And as for Baekhyun, I didn’t even know where to start. I was so incredibly mad at him but it was still nowhere near as close to matching the anger I felt towards myself.

“Hey hey hey,” Sehun cooed, noticing the silent tears that were creeping down my cheeks. He stood up and wrapped me in his warm embrace. “It’s okay, silly.”

“No, it’s not. I’ve fucked everything up. I’m such a failure,” I wailed, burying my face into Sehun’s fluffy sweater. He didn’t say anything else, instead he hugged me tighter which I believe reassured me more than anything that he could have said would have.

We stood there for what felt like an eternity, and in that moment I realised I’d never felt more thankful for a single person that I did just then.

yay we can get married now ily all

429 notes · View notes