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#no straight person would clock it that quick
andavs · 3 days
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It seems like there's some common misconceptions about Eddie's time in the army, which is understandable because the show is very vague about it. And I think there’s still a bit of this outdated idea of the pregnant wife waving her handkerchief from the porch as her husband goes off to the front lines, and then he comes back years later to their six year old child he’s never met.
Which is very much not the case.
So some quick definitions: Enlistment is not the same as deployment.
Enlistment: The eight year contract during which a person is employed as a servicemember of the armed forces. The clock starts after basic training. The minimum is two years active duty, followed by six as a reservist. Four years active would be followed by four years as a reservist, six active would mean two in the reserves.
Deployment (tour): a time period where personnel are sent from the base where they’re stationed to a theater of operations (not always warzones). Most deployments in the US Army are about a year or less, with time at home between to decompress and reintegrate into everyday life.
Not everyone who enlists gets deployed or even leaves the US. Even fewer see combat. This depends entirely on what’s needed and also on units; individual soldiers don’t get deployed, their units do.
Now, Eddie.
The show tends to make it sound like Eddie was in Afghanistan for like five years straight, but he was not. There's a minimum period of time between deployments during which he would’ve been working regular hours at the base where he was stationed, presumably in El Paso. It’s possible he was stationed outside of Texas while Shannon stayed behind with his parents, but he’s never mentioned living anywhere else.
Eddie was enlisted active duty from at least 2011 (possibly 2010) until sometime in 2015 when he was injured and discharged. During that time period, he did "multiple" tours—the exact number is never said, but presumably more than two.
Eddie enlisted when they found out Shannon was pregnant. He went off to basic training (10 weeks) and then additional medic training (16 weeks) after that, and then he was deployed to Afghanistan for his first tour very shortly after. He was home on leave when Chris was born; Shannon said he was going back the following week.
After his first tour ended, he would’ve returned to his home base. If he was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso (again, he’s never mentioned living elsewhere), he would’ve been working fairly regular hours on base and going home to Shannon and Chris every night. 
The reenlistment argument is hard to pin down, timeline-wise. Eddie said he reenlisted at the end of a tour, and the argument we see says it was in 2015. That would mean Eddie signed up for four years of active duty and probably did two or three shorter tours in that time, but Chris doesn’t look like a three or four year old, and they have a different and much older kid playing him later that same year..
If it was supposed to be around 2013 and he only signed up for two years active duty, that would mean he probably did a couple shorter tours.
Reenlisting wouldn’t guarantee he’d be deployed again, but the uncertainty and not knowing how long he’d be home would put a ton of strain and stress on his family, especially with Chris having recently been diagnosed with CP. Long term planning is especially difficult.
He got deployed again in 2015, which is when the helicopter went down. I tend to think this was his third deployment, but it could’ve been his fourth. His welcome home party is three months after the crash, and Shannon seems to leave very shortly after.
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ahhhh! i was the anon who requested the most recent hotch!daughter fic! tysm for writing that. the most adorable thing ever <3!!!
is it ok to have a sort of follow up on that fic? maybe reader comes back and forces hotch and all the bau members to play princess tea party with her during their lunch break haha?
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Aaron Hotchner X Young Daughter Reader Pt 2
Request : ahhhh! i was the anon who requested the most recent hotch!daughter fic! tysm for writing that. the most adorable thing ever <3!!!
is it ok to have a sort of follow up on that fic? maybe reader comes back and forces hotch and all the bau members to play princess tea party with her during their lunch break haha?
Start of recap...
Following his arm Hotch breathed a sigh off relief as he saw where Y/N had got to, smiling he watched his daughter laugh and play with the young doctors hair.
He was glad she was okay and made a new friend. Quickly taking a few pictures he sends them to Haily who messaged back just a quick. "Some one made a new friend" chuckling he responded. "I think they both made a new friend"
Putting his phone away he went back to his office, happy to leave his daughter in his agents capable hands.
End of recap...
Third person pov...
A couple months after Hotch and Haily get a divorce. Haley has the kids most of the time and Hotch gets visitation rights, little Y/N loves spending time with her Daddy.
It was a typical day at the FBI academy for Aaron Hotchner, the team's stoic leader.
As they were reviewing their case files and strategizing for their next case, Hotchner's phone rang. He picked it up and on the other end was his ex-wife, Haley.
Hotchner's heart skipped a beat as he heard the sound of his two-year-old daughter, laughing in the background.
The spending if her voice grew louder, she had come closer to the phone.
"Hi daddy!" She squeals as she sees his contact. Hotch let's a smile fall on his lips. "Hi baby, you want to spend the day with me and the team?" He asks the young girl.
Hotch immediately pulls the phone far away from his ears as his Daughter screams in joy shouting into the phone. "Yes yes yes!" Hotch laughs at how excited the little girl sounds.
After getting the phone back, Haley explained that their original babysitter had called in sick and she had an important meeting she couldn't miss, Jack had school so She asked if Aaron could take care of Y/N for the day.
Despite his busy schedule, Hotchner couldn't say no to spending time with his daughter. He quickly made arrangements for Y/N to come to the BAU office and inform the team that they would have a special guest for the day.
As the clock struck 12, Agent Hotchner was in his office, going through files when suddenly he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in" he called out, not looking up from his work.
To his surprise, it wasn't one of his team members, but his 2 year old Daughter
Y/N standing in front of him with a huge smile on her face.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed, running towards him.
"Hey, Princess have a safe trip" Hotch asked, lifting her up in his arms. The energetic girl smiled and hugged his neck. "Yep I did, can we play daddy?" she asks the man, giggling.
Hotch chuckled, "i'm sorry sweetie, but Daddy has to work right now. Maybe later, okay?" The H/C girl pouted, but before Hotch could say anything else.
she suddenly let out a loud giggle and ran out of his office. Hotch shrugged, thinking it was just a phase and went back to his work.
But 5 minutes later, he heard more giggling and the sound of his door opening again.
This time, it was the whole BAU team following Y/N who was dressed in a pink princess dress with a tiara on her head.
She was holding the young Dr's hand who was smiling, Y/N still loved Spencer the most apart from her Daddy of course
"Hotch, we have a problem" Rossi said, a serious look on his face but trying to hold back his laughter.
Hotch raised an eyebrow, "What's going on?" Everyone one of them after trying to keep a straight face.
"Morgan found this little princess wandering around the bullpen, claiming that she was here to play with you" JJ explained, trying not to laugh
Before he could say anything, Y/N ran towards him and tugged on his shirt. "Daddy, I wanna play tea party with you and your friends!"
Hotch looked at his team, trying to hide his amusement. But seeing their pleading faces, he knew there was no way he could deny his daughter's request.
"Okay, just for a little while" Hotch said, putting the little girl down and joining the others in the break room.
Y/N clapped her hands in excitement as she dragged Spencer out of her Daddies office and to the found table room.
She then passed out plastic tea cups and saucers to everyone. "You're the queen, Daddy!" She said, placing a tiara on Hotch's head.
The team couldn't help but laugh as they pretended to sip imaginary tea and have conversations with the little princess.
They even played make-believe with her, pretending to be princes and princesses in a magical kingdom.
Hotch was the Queen, Rossi was the King, Y/N of course was a Princess, Spencer the court magician, Penelope the fairy God Mother, Derek a Knight, JJ and Emily were princesses with Y/N.
For the next hour, the BAU team forgot about their stressful job and just enjoyed the innocent fun with their bosses daughter.
Hotch couldn't remember the last time he laughed this much, and seeing his team bonding with his daughter made his heart warm.
As the lunch break came to an end and they had to get back to work, Y/N hugged each team member tightly, thanking them for playing with her.
"Thanks for saving my princess, Hotch" Derek said, high-fiving him as they all left the break room.
Hotch smiled, feeling grateful for his team and their willingness to be a part of his daughter's little tea party adventure.
From that day on, whenever little Y/N would visit him at work, the team would always set aside some time to play with her.
Hotch couldn't be happier, knowing that his daughter was being raised in a loving and supportive environment.
The end!
I hope you liked this oneshot, so sorry for the wait. Finally got around to writing this. Sorry for any grammar and Spelling mistakes.
Request are open!
Word count: 1100
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apomaro-mellow · 8 months
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Steve gets the wrong number and starts texting an interesting guy. Steddie, modern au, no upside down
Steve had been feeling pretty good. He’d gone out, had a nice conversation with a girl at the bar and gotten her number. He didn’t feel sparks but she was nice and cute. They didn’t talk about anything too deep but when Steve had asked for her number she put it in and then left with her friends.
He tried not to be too desperate. But he wanted to let her know he was serious and that he would (eventually) be good boyfriend material. So a little before midnight, he shot a text to her to make sure she was alright.
[11:47] Hey this is Steve just making sure you got home okay 🙂
He had debated on the emoji but figured it was harmless and innocent in the end. He put his phone down and got ready for bed, expecting her to text back after a couple of minutes. Unless she didn’t get home safely. Steve tried not to think about that.
After changing his clothes and brushing his teeth he checked his phone. He lit up when he saw that Misty had replied.
(11:52) Sure did Steve-o (11:53) Thanks for your concern 🫡
Misty texted a little different from the way she talked. A bit more…well he wasn’t sure how to describe it. Misty seemed like a really straight-laced woman. She was in the process of getting her education degree.
Steve shot back another message, saying that he had a good time tonight and he really hoped to see her again. There it was. A clear intention. If she responded positively, he’d ask her out right then. But the reply didn’t come as quick as he wanted. When it got around 12:30, Steve finally called it a night. Misty had probably gone to sleep as well.
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[11:47] Hey this is Steve just making sure you got home okay 🙂
Eddie stared at the text he just received. He racked his brain for whoever Steve must be and what he had done all day today, wondering if he met someone but their name just slipped his mind.
But nope. He had spent this lovely Saturday at home, lounging around in his apartment on his day off. He hadn’t gone out. And he hadn’t met anyone named Steve. The message came when he was in the middle of making his near-midnight dinner of mac and cheese. Whoever this guy was, he was clearly checking in on someone.
Eddie looked at his surroundings. Decent place, a bit cramped but big enough for just him and for anyone who needed to crash on his couch. He had popped out earlier to get some cigs and he had in fact made it back safely.
(11:52) Sure did Steve-o (11:53) Thanks for your concern 🫡
And who said he didn’t have impulse control? He thought about it for at least two minutes before sending the message.
[11:55] I had a nice time tonight. Hope to see you again.
Eddie looked at the new text, his chewing slowing to a stop. This Steve guy had met someone, spent some time with them, and was now trying to set up another date. There were a few ways to go about this. For just a moment he considered what a rational person would do, just a moment though.
A rational person might’ve said right away ‘wrong number’ or ‘wires crossed’. But Eddie’s brain didn’t function on rationality. So even though Steve clearly meant to text someone else, Eddie thought of the best way to reply. It did take him a bit to send it, the macaroni was calling to him. But by 1, Eddie had sent something back.
(1:07) You saw me?  (1:09) From my apartment?  (1:10) Creepy
He went to bed, thinking he’d wake up to a very confused man and when morning came he wasn’t disappointed.
[8:13] What are you talking about? It’s Steve? From the bar?
Eddie checked his clock. It was ten in the morning. Who got up at eight on a Sunday? Eddie’s first thought was a church-goer. Those folks were early risers. But they didn’t frequent bars too much.
(10:29) Sorry man (10:30) I think you got the wrong number (10:30) I didn’t go to a bar last night.
Once he sent it, Eddie belatedly hoped the words weren’t too blunt. It couldn’t feel nice, getting a number error. But after a moment of thinking, he started coming around to the idea that maybe Steve wasn’t such a catch. People didn’t give wrong numbers after a good time. Maybe he actually was a creep.
[10:36] Oh. Well, I’m sorry to bother you.
Eddie rolled from his back onto his stomach. Curse his soft heart. He didn’t know anything about this man and somehow he felt sorry for him. But he wasn’t about to go gushing to a stranger. Who knows what kind of interactions Steve had with this mystery number? So instead, he went the typical Eddie route and tried to lighten the mood.
(10:38) Probably dodged a bullet (10:38) They could’ve been a serial killer (10:39) Or worse someone who jogs in the morning
He put that little dig there just to feel out Steve. If he wasn’t at church, maybe he was the kind to go and workout in the morning. In the middle of making his coffee, Eddie realized he was trying to learn about the dude and thought he might be courting danger. Then he heard a ‘ping!’ and any ideas of caution were thrown to the wind.
Leaning against the counter, the only sound was the percolating as he read what Steve had said.
[10:46] Okay confession. I did actually go for a jog this morning. Is that weird?
Eddie started to visualize this man and another alarm went off in his mind that he promptly shooed away.
(10:47) No not weird at all (10:47) It’s perfectly natural for an insane person (10:48) Didn’t you go drinking last night? (10:48) And then you went for a jog this morning? (10:49) You might just be more scary than a murderer (10:50) Scratch that (10:50) This seems like text book serial killer behavior (10:51) Bet this is how you scope out your targets
The coffee finished brewing and Eddie starting pouring it and it was only then he realized the wall he’d sent Steve accusing him of being a killer. It looked like texts from a crazy person. He looked crazy. His friends had complained more than once about him sending these streams of texts instead of keeping it all in one response. Steve was going to see that and leave him on read, or just block his number.
[10:57] Damn guess I better come up with a new tactic.
Eddie didn’t realize how hard he was smiling until he tried to drink and spilled hot coffee on himself. Alarms were ringing in his head again but he might as well be deaf.
Part 2
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thatrandomsarahchick · 4 months
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DC x DP short
I'm picturing Danny moving to Gotham once he's an adult. He came out to his parents, and it went fine. More than fine. They listened to how he was struggling at school because he kept having to chase down the ghosts they let out by leaving the portal open. Jack was super proud of his son for being a ghost hunter even as a ghost, but Maddie understood his concern and set up some new protocols for the portal.
It now automatically closes after two minutes unless a specific command is put in by Danny to keep it open while he is in the Zone, and the shielding around it actually works to stop ghosts coming trig without hurting them now.
The shine of the mortal world has worn off for most of his regulars now, and those that come through have figured out compromises so they can still fulfil their obsessions without hurting others. The meta-protection act officially disbands the GIW, and Red Huntress is given a very thorough speaking to about personal bias and vendettas. She's not allowed back in the field until she comes to the realisation that ghosts are people too, and that she been the bad guy by hunting them the way she did. Phantom is officially recognised as a Hero, but he turns down working for any teams or joining the Big Leagues. He agrees to act as a back up though, in case of any world ending event.
By the time senior year rolls around, Danny has gotten his grades up enough that he can go to a pretty decent university if he wants to. He chooses Gotham University for his engineering degree because they're a feeder school for Wayne Enterprises, who in turn are a feeder company for working for the Justice League as a civilian engineer. Tucker also chooses GU for their tech program, while Sam elects not to go to university straight away.
Tucker and Danny move into an apartment right on the borders of Crime Alley and The Narrows. Tucker manages an impressive 4 months as a local hacker before Oracle notices him, but Danny only manages 3 weeks before he's spotted by a Bat.
He's lying down a foot above his building's roof, looking at the stars. It's a very rare cloudless night, and the power is out in his area. Poison Ivy had launched an attack earlier in the day that had taken cut the power lines, with her mutant plants feeding on the smog and pollution to get stronger.
Duke was up late, finishing the day shift by a quick loop of The Narrows, when he noticed a slightly glowing teenager(?) floating on one of the roofs. He takes note that the man isn't causing any harm and is just peacefully stargazing, before calling it in to Jason. He was technically supposed to be off the clock an hour ago, and besides, the building was on the Crime Alley side of this street. It's Jason's problem now.
Jason, on the other hand, is exhausted and just wants to have a quiet patrol before collapsing in bed. He hadn't been hit by Ivy's plants, but had taken a couple of tumbles while dodging them. He heads over to the address Duke gave him, to find the guy still floating there staring at the sky. He gets it, he does, he would float above the grime that coats Gotham rooftops if he could, but it's dangerous for a meta to be so unawares of his surroundings like this while obviously displaying his powers.
Danny, meanwhile, had clocked both of the vigilantes coming near him, but was really hoping that they would leave him alone. It had been a very long day for him. He'd finally managed to get to campus for his class, only to find that the place was covered in overgrown plants. He'd had to freeze a few to get into the building, and had then spent most of the afternoon in the library due to his class being cancelled. Unfortunately for him, his nearly finished assignment that he'd spent the day working on was eaten by one of the giant flowers on his way home. He'd been 'saved' by the stabby Robin, which had caused him to then also lose his laptop as they crashed to the rooftop a few streets over.
Thankfully, he had an amazing best friend in Tucker, who was doing his best to recover as much data as possible. On the downside, though, Tucker was mad at him for now having saved a backup of his files since they left Amity. He'd fled to the roof to escape his wrath, plans of bribes in the form of food running through his mind, when he'd caught sight of the Stars. Holy shit. It was so clear tonight!
He didn't even realise he'd begun to glow and float, too caught up in naming all of the stars and constellations he could see. His Obsession was feeling very satisfied tonight. Usually he had to invisibly fly above the cloud cover to see such a sight. Sure, the light pollution was still bad, but his mind was able to fill in the blanks across the sky.
The moment Jason landed on his roof, Danny heaved a great sigh. Damnit. The fun police were here. He wrenched his eyes from the sky, only to notice that - oh, shit - he was floating again. He fell to the roof with a light thump.
"Heeeyyy stranger, come here often?" Danny asked, as he rolled over to his side, propping his head up on his hand.
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lunartulips · 3 months
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𝐴𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑇𝑂𝑅 𝐴𝑆 𝐴 𝐵𝑂𝑌𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑁𝐷 { 𝐻𝐸𝐴𝐷𝐶𝐴𝑁𝑂𝑁𝑆 }
Very loving lover. To say the least. Probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him since he’s been in hell
Alastor would greet you in the morning with a big smile
“Good morning! It’s absolutely deadly in hell isn’t it?” Or if you walk in and see him eating then he’ll offer you a plate. Even if it’s a dead deer.
“You look well-rested, care for some deer?”
Since he’s the radio demon and feared by many he’ll make sure that you’re protected at all cost. Even bribing Husker to watch over you when he can’t, with booze of course
“Do take care of them I’ll be stepping out for a moment”
“Yeah yeah, got it now go”
Compliments I feel are a must. He’ll say compliments during the day or randomly. Smiling and looking straight at you when he does.
“My, don’t you look breathtaking today-!”
Flirting, probably would or won’t. When he does he’ll be a gentleman when he speaks. Holding your hand and adding a gentle kiss when he’s done, very like him. In a low tone voice to feel flirtatious
“My my, what a darling demon we have here~”
“Acting shy now? How adorable”
Alastor would be very protective and wouldn’t hesitate to tear a few limps off to protect you. Since he’s so gruesome with handling ‘enemies’ he’ll probably distract you from seeing such things with your own eyes. Or hold you close to his chest as he unleashed his wrath on another
“Hm? Oh don’t worry at all-! I’m simply ℒℰᎯᏉℐℕᎶ Ꭿ ℳℰЅЅᎯᎶℰ….”
“Don’t worry, how about some dinner hm? I’ll let you wait inside-!”
Very cute nicknames for you. Like darling, dearest, and honey. Alastor will call out to you using those names to find you, even in front of everyone, had no shame or embarrassment about it
Even outside of the hotel when he takes walks
“Ah-! There you are darling-!”
Oh boy….when this demon is jealous it’s every sinner for themselves. With you he’ll do his best to hold back so he wouldn’t scare or hurt you. Of course everyone else from the hotel will be staring and just watch. Charlie would probably try to calm him down before more heads roll. But Angel Dust would probably edge him on.
“Uh, Alastor? Please calm yourself please?”
“No! Keep going! So them who Y/N’s lover!”
There’ll be lots of blood and destruction when he’s jealous but of course he’ll won’t immediately go to violence when he’s jealous. Alastor can also stay close to you and place a protective hand either on your shoulder or around your waist. And would just give them eyes of death to the demon or person who dares talk to you in front of him
Dates would be very causal. Either meat dinners or hanging out with him listening to the radio
Love Language would be Quality time <3
Walks around the city in the wrath ring or joining him in his recoding studio when he’s on the air. When you work in the Hazbin Hotel he’ll pop in to checkup on you. And, when needed, he’ll help you in any way he can. He’ll make sure that you to have lots of time together both during work hours and when you clock out.
“You look like your struggling with this, allow me my dear-!”
Holding hands will be included with this relationship, along with him smiling a lot both at you and in general. Like the gentlemen he is he’ll make sure that your smiling with him.
“You’re never fully dressed without a smile~”
Alastor would be a very interesting demon to date with. Protective and old fashioned. Always smiling and would hum songs to you when you’re stress
Not only that. He’ll make sure you will avoid the three V’s/Vees. Especially Vox. If that does happen or you accidentally cross paths make sure you have a pair of sunglasses and stay behind a strong building before things get very ugly well quick unless you want to see such horrific scenes
But if that doesn’t happen then all things should be float
𝐴𝐿𝐴𝑆𝑇𝑂𝑅 𝐴𝑆 𝐴 𝐵𝑂𝑌𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑁𝐷 { 𝐻𝐸𝐴𝐷𝐶𝐴𝑁𝑂𝑁𝑆 }
written by Lunartulips ☾ & ✿
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hannieehaee · 4 months
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them accidentally ditching you on your bday - pu
hhu, vu, pu
part 2
content: angsty, gender neutral, established relationship, etc.
wc: 2766
a/n: tysm to the few ppl who requested this i hope u like it! pls lmk if u want a pt. 2! i decided to go on a diff direction for minghao's for further angst hehe sorry </3
masterlist
jun -
jun's absence was always a source of sadness for you. it was hard to not miss such a special person in your life, especially when his absence was so frequent due to his career.
dating an idol was difficult, but jun always made it worth it. he kept you to himself, always prioritizing you as much as he could. no day would go by in which he didnt contact you one way or another, even if it was just a quick 'i love you.'
these past two weeks had been hectic for him. going back and forth between china and korea, and even japan all at once had him in planes almost constantly. if he wasnt at a concert, he was at a fansign, and if he wasnt at a fansign, he was at some fashion event. there was no rest for a single member of seventeen during times like these. but despite that, life had smiled at jun's exhausted state for once. he had three consecutive days off; with one of them falling on your birthday.
you had insisted that using up his very rare free time on you was unnecessary. that you'd be happy to just have him home as he slept for the entirety of the three days, but he had insisted to spend the day with him. had even convinced you to cancel all other plans you may have originally had for your special day in favor of spending it with him. he had been unable to promise you anything grandiose, cringing at himself when he told you it'd just be a nice day in between the two of you. nothing made you happier than the thought, assuring him it was more than enough.
the day prior to your birthday, he had decided to go stay with his parents. he hadnt seen them in a while, and they were currently staying in jun's home in korea, so it was perfect. he was still a bit exhausted from the previous twelve days in which had received no more than four hours of sleep at a time, but he headed straight to them the moment he landed nonetheless. it was a nice evening he had with them, catching up and being fed home cooked meals by his mom. he went to sleep a bit late, but not until after facetiming you to let you know how excited he was to to spend your birthday with you. it was 1am by then, so technically it had been your birthday already. he let you go at some point, letting you know he'd be in your home by 11am sharp with a gift in hand.
the next day came sooner than expected, with jun groggily waking up, drool on his pillow showing the very deep slumber he had fallen under. he had not slept so well in months, not having allowed himself a healthy eight hours of sleep in a very long time. it was weird, though, he felt way too well rested, more than you'd expect from a regular night of sleep. upon checking the clock he realized why. it was now 2pm .. had he slept a total of twelve hours?! how exhausted had he been? it was now three hours after the time he was supposed to be meeting you. he ran to his phone to check if you'd called, only to find it dead. he had forgotten to charge it before heading to sleep. his exhaustion had truly gotten the best of him last night.
he gave it ten minutes go charge before turning it on, immediately wincing at your ten missed calls and your dejected messages wondering why he was gone, even worrying if anything had happened until finally tracking his location and realizing he had been home the whole time. you did not have his parents' number, so it had been impossible for you to contact him. by the end of the messages you'd informed him that you'd just go for a quick lunch with your friends, letting him know that it was okay if he just stayed home with his parents if he so wished. you'd only hoped he couldve kept you in mind before changing plans.
his day off could not have gotten any worse.
soonyoung -
admittedly, soonyoung could be a bit ... air-headed at times. its not that he didnt think, but more like he acted on impulse rather than logic. this would sometimes lead him to issues in various areas of his life. including your romantic relationship.
you'd been dating soonyoung for a while, already growing used to his silly antics by now. he was a silly boy, who could blame him! you found him endearing more than anything, always making you laugh and find joy in the little things. your relationship had been nothing but fun so far. not only was he entertaining to be around, but he was also a loving boyfriend and practically obsessed with you. he was affectionate to a fault, always doting on you. at some point he became a bit of an annoyance to his members, constantly showing you off to them in your absence. just like with anything else in life, when it came to you, he didnt think much. he just went based on feelings, and his feelings for you were quite strong.
this was why you were confused as to why your boyfriend was absent at this moment. the same boy who could not go five minutes away from you (whenever his job didnt get in the way, of course) without whining, had seemingly forgotten your plans for the day.
soonyoung was supposed to return from japan this morning after two weeks of absence from your shared home. you had told him it was fine if he wanted to rest instead of doing something for your birthday, which coincidentally landed today. a day in with him was more than enough, you'd assured him, but he insisted that all he needed upon his return was a quick nap with you and then he'd be ready to head out for a night out with you. except he never showed up. you waited and waited, receiving no explanation from him. you even called him multiple times, but he mustve kept his phone on airplane mode, as he never responded. you knew how easily distracted he could be, but to straight up forget to come home was too much, even for his standards.
it wasnt until five hours after his supposed arrival that you found out what had happened to him. you received a call from a very exhausted minghao, letting you know that his driver would be dropping off soonyoung at your home shortly. he and the boys had gone for a spontaneous drink after the flight, with chan having lost some sort of bet and having to buy them all drinks as punishment upon arrival. there was no mention of your birthday during the call, making you think that it had even slipped soonyoung's mind to let his members know he had previous plans.
the annoyance you were feeling was the least of your problems at the moment. you'd probably have to deal with a drunk soonyoung as soon as he and minghao arrived, having to put your feelings aside as you took care of him in order to ensure a painless hangover the next morning, yet another day in which he had to work. not only had he forgotten you, but he had prevented you from making any plans to favor spending time with him, time which would now be spent babying him until sleep took over him.
minghao -
the day had started well. you had woken up to a beautiful message from your loving boyfriend, with a few selfies attached as he told you how much he loved you and how badly he wanted to be home with you right now to celebrate your birthday. you felt truly loved upon exiting your room to find a few different bouquets of flowers, all labeled as 'from: xu minghao', your sweet boyfriend who would always give you small showcases of his affection such as this one.
he had left before you were able to wake up, having scheduled as early as 4am. he had a fashion show to attend today, along with many other previous engagements in regards to his idol life. but you were fine with it! he had promised you time and time again that he'd be home on time by 7 or 8-ish in order to have a romantic dinner with you. this had been the birthday celebration you had been looking forward to the most. you had a quick breakfast with a few friends, along with a small brunch with some family, which meant the final and most important part of your day would come last. you were extremely excited. it was a birthday dinner with the love of your life, a luxury you did not often get due to minghao's overly packed schedule.
at 6, you began to get ready, opting for a cute outfit that would have the usually composed salivating over you. at 7, you had all dinner arrangements ready. minghao had asked mingyu to drop off some dishes earlier in the day, claiming he had wanted to cook for you himself but the fashion show would leave him with no time, instead deciding to ask his best friend to do him a solid since he had been off earlier than minghao today. everything was ready by 7:30, so now all you had to do was wait.
you waited until 8, which soon became 9, only to become 10:30 and then 11 in what almost felt like minutes. you knew your boyfriend did not carry his personal phone with him during public schedules, so you didn't bother calling him, instead choosing to confirm his location with his manager, who let you know he had been driven to an after-party at around 8:30, thirty minutes after your established meeting time.
by 11:30 you had already put on your pajamas, dejectedly picking up all the dishes and saving them for another day. you weren't just disappointed, but you were sad too. he had promised you this for days, only to pick an optional schedule over you. this was very unlike him, but you still did not want to give him a pass for his carelessness.
he came back by 12, apologizing as soon as he spotted you waiting for him on the couch, only to be interrupted by you.
"minghao ... what the fuck? you say you'll be here by 8 and just ditch me for a stupid after party? is there any explanation for this or were you just trying to be a dick?", you knew you went too hard too fast, not even letting him finish his apology, but you were mad.
the venom in your voice seemed to irritate him almost immediately, causing a scary side of minghao to come out. he was never mean, per say, but he could be a bit too cold and direct sometimes. he seemed to forget his mistake immediately, instead pining the fault on you.
"y/n, im an idol. this is my job. you know its my dream to get into the fashion field. i need networking to do that. as my partner you have to understand that. its not like i didnt warn you itd be today."
"and i do understand! but all night? you could've told me. you couldve gone back on your word and i wouldve understood, but you-"
"listen. im not gonna have a conversation if you keep yelling. calm down, and when you decide to act like an adult, ill be willing to discuss this with you," it was so easy for him to dismiss you, which shocked you. he was usually so attentive.
"are you .. are you serious? are you drunk?"
"believe it or not, we're not all waiting for this day to put all our own shit aside and celebrate. i cant believe you're not being supportive. you havent even asked me how it went, i-"
"you know what? you're right. im sorry. i hope it went great, minghao. i'm gonna go to sleep now, if you dont mind. goodnight," there was truly no use in arguing. you knew him to be incredibly stubborn, and he was starting to hurt your feelings. so you marched to sleep, deciding to take the guest room instead, slamming the door shut as you finally let yourself cry at your boyfriend's lack of care.
chan -
chan was an exemplary boyfriend. he was, for lack of a better term, down tremendously bad for you. one simple look from you and he was reporting for duty, ready to do whatever you wanted. this behavior manifested in every aspect of your relationship, making him be labeled as a bit of a simp by all your mutual friends. chan did not mind this, however, being insanely into you and willing to go through all lengths to make sure you knew how loved you were by him.
your relationship was very much like a friendship, allowing the two of you to joke around and hang out as friends would, but also having all the special benefits of a committed relationship. you'd show up for each other more than anyone else, making your bond stronger than any other in your respective lives.
you had expected this to be the same case for your birthday. you hadn't mentioned it much, knowing chan was coincidentally busy during that week. you blamed him in no way for his busy schedule, always supporting his passions and even egging him on whenever he wanted to take on even more challenges (although also scolding him whenever he burnt himself out too much). but you were still somehow expected he would at least mention it.
you were surprised to wake up that day - having fallen asleep before chan's arrival home - to no type of reaction from chan. he was already awake, almost ready to leave for yet another busy day of schedules, with no single word mentioning your birthday. you knew he was insanely busy, but not even a quick 'happy birthday'? in the back of your mind you had hoped maybe he would at least bring you flowers or something upon his return the previous night, but he had clearly headed to sleep upon arrival. for someone who was usually a romantic, his lack of reaction surprised you.
deciding not to make a big deal out of it, you didn't say anything, simply bidding him goodbye with a quick kiss and an 'i love you' to match. you had the day off, but no real plans made, so you decided to just mope around the house, maybe schedule a date with one of your friends for the evening. you had kept your schedule open in the off chance than maybe chan wouldve planned a quick little something. you knew you could've just communicated this to your boyfriend, but you had wanted the romantics sue you!
surprisingly, you received a call a few minutes after chan's departure; one from one of your closest mutual friends, one boo seungkwan. it was very likely that he had remembered today's date, very much unlike your boyfriend.
"hi, kwannie," you replied upon answering.
"baby! happy birthday!!! love you!"
you sighed, "thank you, boo. love you too."
"aigoo, something wrong? sad channie can't stay in today?", you could hear and see his pout through the phone.
"no, kwannie. it's nothing. don't worry about it," even if you were slightly annoyed, you didnt want to throw your boyfriend under the bus.
"no! tell me!! you can't be sad on your birthday, cmon!"
"well .. chan kinda, uh, forgot."
"what? did he say anything?"
"nope. just left without saying anything."
"aish, that idiot. don't worry, i'll take care of this, i'll-"
"no, kwan! it's fine. i dont wanna make a big deal out of it. you guys are busy with your comeback. it's okay, i'll get over it."
"but, baby-"
"kwan, really. i'm fine, i swear. have a good day for me, okay? love you."
he humphed, but accepted your response, "fine. you better have fun today too, though, okay? love you."
and that was the end of it. you would now probably spend the next few hours a bit dejected, not looking forward to the inevitable moment in which your boyfriend realized his mistake, knowing you couldn't really be mad at him due to his busy lifestyle, but feeling hurt nonetheless.
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mikobeautifulheart · 2 months
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How JJK men react when they (or you) "accidently" fall on you (or them).
Including: Yuta, Yuji and Megumi
Tw: none unless you don't like falling over.
I KNOW THE TITTLE IS PAINFUL AND THE FIC IS NOT TOTALY EDITED. IM SORRY.
♡Yuta♡
All the second year students were at the traning field when you noticed that you forgot your phone.
Normally that wouldn't bother you, but today Yuta was supposed to come back from his training trip in Africa. There was nothing official with you guys but everyone around you could feel how much you both fell for each other. Just like the day he first arrived, you introduced yourself (probably the only person who did) to him. It was just like two wires fused and after that you guys became close. But it ened when Yuta left and you felt loke it was back to old times again with Maki, Panda and Toge.
"MAKIII" you yelled across the field as Maki was in the middle of her warm up lap.
"I NEED TO GO GET MY PHONE, ILL BE BACK SOON" You yelled getting a thumb up approval from her.
So you ran off the field and onto the path past the shed of cursed tools and straight to the main building in Jujustu high. You swung open the door and sprinted down the hallways.
Yuta was supposed to text you when he got back and nearly at the dormatrys because they changed the locks while he was gone and getting him his own key would take a while with his seemingly 'sudden' return. Luckily you had 2 keys made because you wanted a spare just in case it came handy.
You swung open the classroom door when you realised you forgot where you left your bag, which held your phone and pair of keys. You searched up the whole room panicking but to no avail. You looked at the clock on the wall. 4:00 pm. Yuta was supposed to be back at 4:10 and you figured the only other place your bag would be was on the bench bu the traning field...
Letting out a loud sigh of frustration you didn't want to waste any more time so you took a short cut to the oval. Right through the buildings window. You stood at the edge and pushed off landing harshly on the ground making you stumble a bit before sprinting again.
You made it to the field at 4:03, a new record, but still with your frantic searching you couldn't find your bag.
"I have to be quick before Yuta gets here or he'll be locked out the dorms!" You said franticly knowing your 3 classmates were watching you and wondering what you were doing.
You felt a tap on your sholder
"Tuna mayo Shakke."
(*We moved class rooms today remember?)
Your eyes went white realising you looked in the wrong room.
"I KNEW IT WAS IN OUR CLASS ROOM" You yelled before running again.
This time you went to the right room and saw your bag on your desk. You snatched it and looked at the time on your phone 4:11.
You said you would met Yuta at the schools enterance but there was no way you would make it there in time...unless you ran. Again.
You spun on you heals and with the last and most of your energy you ran head first into some body making them lose thier balance because the last thing they expected was getting rammed head first in a deserted hallway.
THUD
You fell onto your back in shock not realising the person hand was holding the back of your head making sure it never hit the ground.
"Are you alright!?" He asked looking down at you
It was Yuta.
"Yeah sorry about-YUTA?!" Your face flushed as his body caged your on the floor
"Sorry I didn't see you running then and just got in your way."
"NO, NO IT WAS MY FAULT" you were losing your sanity, he was so close and so...diffrent. His hair hung over his eyes and his body frame was way bigger from the last time you saw him.
He suddenly turned his head away from your gaze but you could see the red tint in his ears.
"Nice catch" you heard some one say
Both you and yuta looked down the hallway to see Maki standing there with a cursed weapon.
Immediately Yuta got up embarassed and offered you a hand up.
"Uh welcome back." You tried to act normally but that moment would live in your mind forever.
☆Yuji☆
You were in the library studying for Gojos "surprise quiz" that was taking place tomorrow. How were you going to get through all the subject set in the quiz with only one day's notice? Well you concluded that Gojo was not a very qualified teacher.
On the list of study books you'd need to read to take notes from there was one that was up impossibly high up on a shelf. But it was okay because there was a ladder at the end of the shelf you would just have to bring over.
You pulled the ladder over and made sure it was stable by shaking it a few times slightly, knowing there wouldn't be anyone to hold the ladder for you because Megumi, Nobora and Yuji were all currently out on a mission that you were no put on. It was a but disappointing but it was the perfect opportunity to study.
You got up on the ladder, when it came to the last step you got a bit nervous because the ladder began to shake a bit. But you took a deep breath and managed to make it up there without falling. You grabbed the book quickly got down the ladder. You put it on top of the other books you were using. You walked back to your table with all your study notes and materials.
It was a successful hour because you felt like you were finally ready. So you packed up your things and began to put the books back. Until it came to the high shelf. You tested the ladders durability again and finally took the first step. When tou were half way up, book tucked beneath your arm, you heard the library doors open and two people arguing. You already knew it was Nobora and Yuji. And if Nobora and Yuji were there then Megumi must be tagging along to. You kept climbing but a little faster so you could greet your friends back from their mission, however when you got to the top step you heard Nobora.
"JUST TELL HER YOU DAMNED IDIOT OR YOU'LL LOSE YOUR CHANCE!"
You looked down the ladder and saw the three (as predicted) walking toward the ladder when Nobora kicked Yujis back sending him forward right into the ladder you were on. With his instincts he grabbed a side of the ladder which only made him land on his back.
You let out a panicked gasp as you felt yourself lose your footing and fall off the ladder.
Nobora and Megumi watched in shock as the suddenly saw you fall off the ladder and crash...right into Yuji. Thank goodness for Yujis reflex skills because he managed to catch you. Catch being you landing the back of your head into his chest.
"YOU IDIOT" Nobora yelled
"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED MY PRECIOUS Y/N"
"ME KILL HER? YOUR THE WITCH THAT PUSHED ME!" He yelled in retaliation you slowly sat up in-between his legs.
"Are you okay?" Yuji sat up to crossing his legs almost trapping you between him.
"Yeah I'll be alright" you mumbled but before you could rub the back of your pounding head you felt yujis hand on it.
"I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time, really I didn't mean to hurt you"
"I know, it's okay Yuji I know you wouldn't purposely hurt me."
A blush spreads across his face and your body warms against his.
You look around trying to avert his gaze before realising that you didn't have the book any more.
"Huh? where did my book go..." your eyes wander to Megumi who's rubbing the top of his head with one hand and holding your book with the other.
"Here" He mumbled in pain.
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS ♡♡
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AUTHOURS NOTE: yeah I'm not entirely happy with the Yuta part but maybe I'll re write it if you guys want. Also if you want a part 2 with other characters let me know because I was going to add Megumi but didn't.
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lino-nyangi · 1 year
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joo i need to share my brainrot pls. we all know min has a praise kink like it’s painfully obvious with how he fishes for compliments and everything. but can we consider— praising your dom so much that minho.exe stops working and he just turns into putty and does whatever you ask him too like to the point where he’s just completely under your spell (he usually is but this time he can’t hide it). and maybe even teasing him like “are you submitting to me just because i called you my pretty boy?” and minho snaps and reminds you that he’s in charge and no amount of sweet words will change how you’re his sub. okay i’m sorry. -gimmeurtmi 💕
this is a safe place for all kinds of softdom minho brainrot.
𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘆 | 𝖫𝖬𝖧
wc: 4k.
warnings: nsfw MDNI, bucket loads of praise, mentions of reader having a small chest (like once for a joke & it's irrelevant to the plot), body worship, swearing, marking, brief oral (m rec), themes of control and dom/sub dynamics, softdom!minho, lots of pet names (mainly minho being called a pretty boy), brief grinding, unprotected sex, dirty talk (with a tiny bit of degradation?), creampie, slight overstimulation.
bonus note: if you're interested in more minho praise/body worship i would highly recommend "taste" by @tasteleeknow-new , just. chef's kiss. okay now i'll shut up.
[please do not interact with my content if you are a minor, ageless, default or empty blog.]
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the clock strikes 8pm by the time minho comes back home from his workout session, gives you a kiss and walks straight into the shower to rinse off the sweat. once he's out you come into the room to call him for dinner. he's in his boxers now, towel on his damp hair while he looks for some comfy lounge clothes to wear.
"dinner's ready, baby" you stand at the doorway.
"oh. thanks, love." he gives you a quick glance before looking back at his closet, "i'll be there in a second." he says, expecting you to wait for him at the kitchen table.
but you stay.
you can't help but ogle at your boyfriend's body. you don't understand, you see him at least half naked everyday. but it just never gets old, never fails to make you feel a certain type of way. it's almost as if he keeps getting more and more beautiful by the second.
"sooo," you kick your feet, leaning on the wall with your hands behind your back, "how was your workout?" you awkwardly ask to hide the fact that you're staying longer to stare.
"i swear hyung wants me dead." minho sighs, thinking of how strict his personal trainer is as he towels his hair. "but at least it's paying off. i think my frame is shaping up nicely." he says, flexing his shoulders in front of the mirror before turning around to check his back. you don't fail to notice the subtle glance he gives you while he does that. you smile and walk closer to him, knowing it's his way of asking for compliments. he deserves them, you think. so you obviously indulge him.
"it is. you look gorgeous baby." your eyes scan him through the mirror, trailing from his broad shoulders up to his face, where you see him looking at you.
you know he wants you to stare, but the sudden eye contact makes you flustered for a second, immediately averting his eyes as you now wrap your arms loosely around his waist. but you have to do it, you think. he needs to hear it. so you look up at him again to tell him.
"you've been working hard on your body lately, i'm so proud of you." you say, landing a kiss on his lips, which he smiles through, satisfied with your praise and kissing you back.
but you're not done.
your hand trails up his torso to his chest, resting against his pec. you look down to see how your hands fits perfectly around the faint curve of the muscle.
"i heard this is hard to build."
minho chuckles, suddenly amused, "and where did you hear that exactly?"
okay. this was not part of the plan. how does he always manage to fluster you. "i-i did my research, okay!" you say in defense making him laugh.
"are you that invested in my workout journey, baby? you're so cute." minho teases before kissing your lips again.
you look down, "anyways, th-they look fantastic."
he reaches a hand on top of yours to incite you to squeeze, and you can't help but let out a small gasp as your eyes widen at how his chest moves against your hand, feeling your cheeks heat up.
"it's really big" you blurt, eyes still glued on his body.
"that's what-"
"no." you glare up at him for even daring to spoil the mood. "but it's really hot."
minho cheekily smiles, "i'm coming for your bra size babe."
you give him a deadpanned look, "haha. very funny." making him snicker before hugging you close.
"just kidding, love. you know how much i love your small tits." he kisses you, again. not seeming to have enough.
but you can't seem to stop looking down, tracing your fingers delicately over his skin like he is the finest sculpture to grace your eyes. because he is.
"your abs too. think i heard you say you're too lazy to make them, but here you are?"
"they're a pain in the ass to maintain, and i have to watch what i'm eating." minho explains, checking them in the mirror. the way he keeps brushing off his efforts nonchalantly frustrates you.
your eyes follow his to admire his abdomen's reflection, fingers still lingering on the area, "it really paid off. they look great."
a few seconds of silent intense staring are interrupted by minho's chuckles, "aren't you staring a bit too much, love? you seem obsessed." he quips, a cocky grin on his face at how you can't seem to have enough of him. he loves it.
"w-what's wrong with that?! can't i check out what's mine?" you retort, clearly flustered and so mumbling the last part.
minho doesn't miss that, it only makes his smile wider, "ah, yours? yeah that seems fair."
"and i am obsessed. you look phenomenal." you add and he goes silent of a second before looking at you, hands on either sides of your waist.
"are you trying to do something?"
"huh?" you blink. he looks suspicious. like he's trying to get something out of you.
"with all this praise all of a sudden." he elaborates.
"don't i always praise you?"
"you do," minho smiles softly, "but with all these bucketfuls, i just want to know if you want something."
how dare he-
"i don't! just-" you exclaim before he cuts you off, hands cradling your face.
"did you burn the food, baby?"
"no i didn't!" you whine making both of you laugh, him in amusement and you in disbelief. "why would you think i would praise my way out of that? i just..." you trail, before sheepishly finishing, "want to worship your body, i-if you let me?"
"is that so? you must be another type of hungry then."
hungry? oh. right. dinner. you came in to call him for dinner. he just got done exercising, he must be starving.
"wait, dinner."
"what about it?"
"well, if you want we can have it then go back-"
"no no, i'm good darling." minho reassures you, head clearly not occupied with that kind of fuel either. "i'm just impressed by how fast you forgot about it when you saw me." he smirks.
"i-" is all that leaves you as you feel your cheeks burn.
"does my body turn you on that much, hm?" he gets closer to whisper in your ear, "do i make you horny baby?"
you fight the urge to submit completely as you feel you knees grow weak from his voice. but you promised yourself to do this. so you answer, "very. want me to show you how much?"
"i would never say no." minho grins before kissing you, hungrily this time. so passionate and needy that you find it hard to push him until the backs of his knees eventually hit the side of the bed, falling on the soft mattress and bringing you down with him.
after you straddle him, you're quick to pull away and reach above him to grab a pillow for his head. once that's done, you begin to untie the apron that you just noticed you're still wearing. the pretty linen cross back apron that made you feel like like a housewife from the victorian era. but minho stops you.
"keep it on, please. i've always thought you looked sexy in it." minho asks, feeling the need to finally let you on his secret obsession with the item.
"whatever my pretty boy wants." you peck his lips and he smiles, or smirks, up at you for letting him have his way.
"wait, i have a better idea" you say, getting off the bed and he pouts at you when you reach for the fabric again.
"i'm keeping it, promise" reassuring him, you begin to slip the straps off your shoulders, swiftly pulling on your shirt to remove it, your bra following soon after. slipping the straps back on, you step out of your bottoms before straddling him again. now only wearing the apron and a flimsy pair of panties.
the whole time minho's eyes never leave you. lustful gaze taking in your figure. how the apron hugs you right. how it sits just above your knees. how he can see the outlines of your perked up nipples through the fabric. the apron that was once so domestic now seeming a lot more erotic to him.
his hands find your hips, "fuck, you're perfect" he whispers.
you waste no time to start kissing him again, hands cupping his face before they trail down to his nape by the roots of his hair where you slowly start massaging circles. and you see his eyelids fluttering shut at the action, almost purring as he hums.
getting minho to surrender under you wasn't easy, and you were aware of that. so you had to play your cards right, and getting his tense muscles to relax after a particularly tiring day was your ace. you knew the action would turn him into putty in your hands and so you made sure to play that card from the first round.
your lips continue to leave feathery kisses along his jawline down to his neck, where you begin to suck on the skin, earning a deep sigh from your boyfriend, followed by another hum. your kisses trail up to his ear before whispering "my pretty boy", kissing the shell of his ear.
and another hum, almost as if he's answering to the pet name, tired eyelids still closed as he starts to slowly let his walls down. you can feel his hands that were firmly grabbing your hips now slowly sliding down to rest loosely on your thighs.
"shit, how are you so good at this," he mutters, leaning into your touch and you can't help the proud tiny smile that makes its way to your face.
your massaging hands work their way down to the base of his neck where it meets his shoulders, and you see minho's lips part a bit wider at the action, subconsciously throwing his head back deeper against the pillows.
"there, you must be so tired baby, you work so hard. i've always wanted to take care of you like this."
his eyes open slightly to look at you through beautiful thick lashes, before squeezing shut again when you rub a particularly nasty knot on his shoulder, a deep moan leaving his lips.
you feel his dick growing hard under you and take that as your sign to do more. so you sink back down, this time towards his collarbones; beautiful and well defined. you suck on one of them until you see a faint bloom of fresh magenta forming on the spot, taking it as a cue to move forward, or in this case, lower. lower towards his pecs. where you make sure to pepper his whole chest in small pecks, cooing at him.
"so pretty," you nibble on the skin, "all for me."
by this point minho is a mess, freshly washed hair already sticking to his forehead, a sheer layer of sweat adorning his burning skin, throaty moans and hums filling the room. but when you muster up the courage to take one of his nipples in your mouth, he loses it. you can hear him sucking in a breath and when you look up, his lower lip is between his teeth, face contorting, almost like he's holding back a reaction.
"baby-" he says in a strained voice. you can tell he's trying to not like it. you can almost hear his thoughts going 'getting your nipples sucked? that's some sub shit, i can't have that.' and you know minho doesn't like not being in control, doesn't like being vulnerable. but that's exactly what you want him to be right now. so you reassure him.
"relax pretty boy, nothing wrong with me loving your nipples. you don't have to feel ashamed, there's only us in here."
you see him try to relax back again, small whispers of "fuck" falling from his lips between deep breaths as you keep going.
"you like it?" you say against his skin.
"fuck- yes baby,"
"let me hear you then. no one has to know, min."
he's hesitant at first, but the more you play with the sensitive bud with your tongue the louder his moans get, hands now digging on your hips as you feel him starting to grind his hard-on on you.
but you stop him immediately, taking his hands in yours and intertwining your fingers before pulling them up by his head as you hover over his lips.
"no no, not yet baby. wanna take my time with you. please?" you give him one of your pleading looks that you know he can't resist. a few extra bats of your lashes and a slight pout and he's all yours again.
"please make it quick, baby. want you so bad." he whispers in defeat.
and minho is trying. he's trying so hard to be patient and not grind on you. he doesn't know why though. he's usually the one in control. so why is listening to every word you say like you've got him under a spell?
minho watches as you kiss down his abs, closer and closer to where he needs you the most, before you sit up to step off the bed, kneeling on the floor between his legs.
you run your hands along his thighs and you see them flex against the touch, earning a hiss when you gently dig your nails on the skin.
minho's head spins when he sees your lips part as you take in the sight of his thighs before looking up at him.
"these might be my favorites." you quietly say in the most innocent voice you could muster, and you see the desperation in minho's eyes, so impatient and needy.
"baby, please." his voice comes out in a faint whisper.
"almost there, pretty. you're doing so well." you praise and he almost purrs.
you let yourself get lost in kissing, sucking and nibbling up his thighs, hands gently parting his legs for more access and get lets you do it. because how can he not. he's so sensitive there, you've been praising him to the moon and back, and you said you'll be giving him what he's been longing for in a bit. minho can't help but be wrapped around your finger, desperate for a touch, a taste, anything from you.
"so pretty, yet so strong. so firm" you drawl, "love it when you let me sit on them, or even better, ride them. till i cum." you mumble, lips trailing up and up his inner thigh.
"baby-"
"i know, min. i can see." you say, eyeing his bulge, the tight fabric of his underwear already adorned with a dark spot and you can't resist stroking him, very lightly brushing your fingers up and down, feeling your own panties getting soaked over how hard he already is. how needy. how he throws his head back and very subtly bucks his hips against your touch in hopes you don't notice and tell him not to. how desperate. just from this. all for you.
the thought makes you greedy, wanting to see just how much you can get from him, and so you find yourself tightening your hold on his clothed cock. and if minho wasn't gone enough, he is now.
"fuck- honey-" he groans loudly, hands instinctively reaching down to tangle in your hair, removing the elastic that was loosely keeping your hair back while you cooked.
this must be the least verbal minho's been in bed. he's usually the one with the extended vocabulary, teasing and talking dirty (but mostly sweet) to you. but now he's nothing but a mess of moans, heavy breaths and groans. it's so hot. so sexy. but also gets your adrenaline running. like you're doing something you shouldn't do. something rebellious even.
still, you reach up to the hem of his boxers to give him his well deserved relief, "can i--"
"yes, fuck, darling please."
and with that, you finally let his dick free from its confines, watching it spring up to then fall on his stomach. hard, heavy and leaking.
you take it in your hands, stroking him as your tongue subconsciously hangs out of your mouth at the sight.
"nevermind, think this is my favorite. such a pretty cock you have, baby." you muster up the courage to say, impressed and proud of yourself for not being shy of letting him know what goes on your mind every time you see him.
you bring his tip closer to your mouth, giving it a quick kitten lick and glancing up at him to see his reaction. you know how much minho loves keeping eye contact when you have his dick anywhere near your lips.
"shit. want to use that pretty little mouth." he murmurs to himself at the sight. but you have to brush away the last bits of control he wants to have.
"relax baby, you don't have to do anything. i'm taking care of you tonight."
sucking on the tip briefly, you then mutter against the skin; "always so hard and leaking for me, i must be so lucky," and you feel him twitch in your hand before taking him, or well, what you can fit of him, in your mouth, hand slowly pumping his shaft.
minho's eyes almost roll back watching you barely taking half of his cock. he's always been obsessed with your small mouth and your cute determination to still suck him off.
he bucks his hips up in response and you let him this time, only because he's moaning so beautifully loud, fingers carding through your hair as he tries his best not to push your head down on him too much. why not? minho doesn't know. he doesn't know why he's letting you get away with all of this. he doesn't know why he's okay with things going at your painfully slow pace.
when you pull away and straddle his lap, pushing your panties to the side to sink on him though, he's a whole different kind of desperate.
"fuuuuck," he drags his voice in a deep groan, "ride me, honey."
"patience, pretty" you coo and minho lets a sound close to a whine, "least let me see you?"
"okay, hold it up then." you gesture at the apron and he obliges, taking a fistful of the fabric in his hand and pushing it against your upper body.
you begin to move on him, slowly, driving minho crazy with the breathy moans falling from your lips as struggle to keep looking at him, that being one of your biggest challenges.
the friction and your warm gummy walls only makes him want you more. "take it off, want to see all of you, please" he moans.
instead of giving him what he wants, you just pout, "thought you wanted to fuck me in this apron?" reminding him of what he said earlier tonight about keeping it on.
"i-" minho begins before his foggy mind remembers that he did in fact say that.
he does, he wants to fuck you in it, but also without it. the frustration makes him huff in defeat, bringing his hands to rub his face.
"i don't fucking know anymore, baby, please just do something."
you watch him in awe. you left the lee minho speechless? that must be a win. you giggle.
"what's wrong, min? did calling you my pretty boy so many times get to your head? is my pretty boy submitting his everything to me now?"
minho blinks, "huh?"
you chuckle at his puzzled expression, "i said, are you-"
switch.
in a swift motion, he grabs your forearm before pulling hard, using that to push himself off the bed, now sitting up with your chest flush against his.
"fuck did you just say?" he asks in a terrifyingly low deep tone, so different from the soft hums he was letting out just now, jaw clenched and you whimper at his intense gaze.
minho's hand goes up to cup your jaw arguably hard, "teasing is borderline allowed. praising is great. touching and kissing me is very much appreciated. making me beg? i'll that one slide today." he gets close so that his lips can ghost over yours, "but thinking you can dominate me? oh honey..." he chuckles darkly and you gulp.
this is not how this was supposed to end. you got a bit too greedy along the journey that you forgot your place. and now you have to face the consequences.
minho flips you over so that you're caged under him now. "i think it's been a minute since i reminded you where you sit and where i do." he tells you.
"strip. now. i'll fuck you in that apron another time. the kitchen or over the couch would be more fitting."
he pulls away enough for you to oblige to his order, wordlessly fiddling with the straps and wiggling out of the apron, your panties following right after.
"my little baby, not so shy anymore, are you? i let you have a little fun and you forget your place?"
"m-min i didn't mean to-"
"save it." he spits in an unsettlingly sweet tone. it's gentle, but oh so condescending.
you feel him line himself up with your pussy, "i'll fuck you back to where you belong. you can speak to my cock if you want." he mutters before pushing inside you. hard. all at once. and you yelp at the stretch.
he's quick to set a cruelly fast pace, throwing your legs over his shoulders to hover close to your face.
"fuck- min, too fast--" you try to tell him.
"yeah? you like it when your pretty boy fucks you like this?" minho grins down at your disheveled state, triumphantly back in reign. and you wonder if he ever lost that title in the first place. the way he proudly refers to himself by the pet name that you gave him makes your head spin.
"say it. call me pretty while i ruin your little cunt." he cockily orders.
"m-my pret- fuck, p-pretty boy, m-min," you stutter, hot tears beginning to stream down your temples.
"that's right, darling, your pretty boy owns this fucking pussy, doesn't he?"
"yes yes yes, fuck he does"
"yeah? your pretty boy fucks you just right?"
"y-yes! fuck- always."
"i know, you love this pretty dick. you'd do anything to have it. that's why you'll always be the one to submit, angel, am i making myself clear?"
"yes, please- minho-" you cry, feeling the tight knot in your pelvis threatening to break loose.
"please what? use your words and tell me darling."
when he's fucking you this good? he doesn't realize how hard words are to form right now.
"c-close!"
"and what do you want me to do about it?" he raises an eyebrow,
"let me cum, please?"
"well you can just do it, can't you, love? since you think you're in control."
fuck, he's not letting you off the hook that easy, not until you say it.
"no, can't, please min, need you to tell me. you're in control." you finally manage to tell him, hoping that was enough because you don't think you can last any longer.
"good. so good, kitten. you listen so well. if only you remembered just as much." minho coos, "but i'll spare you this time, because you weren't shy to show just how much you love me. cum, darling"
you let yourself go when he gives you permission, your walls clenching around him so much that you barely get to talk.
"th-thank you-- thank you min,"
he continues to fuck into you, even faster as he chases his own high and you scream, body convulsing under his at the overstimulation.
minho buries his face in your neck as his orgasm approaches, moaning chants of "mine, mine, mine." every time he thrusts until he paints your walls white, rocking his hips against yours a couple more times as he fills you up with his load, marking you as his. his sub.
-
"all good, baby?" minho cradles you in his arms once you both finish, peppering your hair in kisses.
"yeah, thank you, min." you whisper back, eyelids growing heavy.
"think i need another shower," he smiles tiredly, "with you this time. then we can go have dinner."
"what dinner?"
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jsluvtzu · 5 months
Text
weekend gigs
kim dahyun x fem!reader
summary: the new girl makes your shift worthwhile
cw: none, men dni
wc: 1.7k
a/n: my favorite pic of dahyun ever 😞 seeing clips of her playing piano inspired me to write this. she’s so gf i love her
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it was a particularly busy sunday evening. the bustling environment in the restaurant simmered down as the faint sound of a piano filled the room.
you were busy waiting on tables in the main dining area as well, constantly on the move to attend to every customer.
“i heard we got a new saturday player.. they finally let poor john rest,” your coworker said.
john was an older gentleman — he was a lounge pianist at the restaurant for about 9 years.
he genuinely loved spending his weekends there, but he was growing weaker at his age, unable to hit the right keys or play the right notes anymore.
you swiftly picked up a tray full of dishes that the cook handed you, “aw, really? i’ll actually kinda miss john.. he was a sweetheart,” you said, slightly disheartened, but glad that he was getting the rest that he deserved.
you wondered who the new player could be, but the three tables waiting for your attention cut your curiosity short.
as you made your way to a seated couple in the lounge area, you subtly glanced over to the stage to catch a glimpse of the newbie.
a.. woman?, you thought.
you couldn’t see much of this unexpected woman in the quick glance that you took — her dark, long, wavy hair draped over her shoulder.
it was a refreshing change to see a new person on the stage for once — nothing against sweet old john, but it was just time for a new set of songs.
quickly taking their order, you excused yourself and made your way back to the kitchen, purposely taking the route that would get you as close to the stage as possible.
the melody that she played grew louder as you approached her, the skill practically bouncing off her fingertips.
you held the notepad tightly in your hand as you passed by the grand piano, tracking the woman with your head locked onto observing her features.
woah, was all you could think of as you finally saw her face — her glowing skin, a faint smile on her lips, and her captivating eyes.
the woman felt you staring at her and took her eyes off of her note sheet to meet yours.
she smiled wide at you, making you nearly collide with another waiter, your head never once turning away from her.
“oh shit- sorry!” you apologized, reluctantly peeling your eyes away to plead with your coworker not to kill you.
a few hours passed and your shift finally ended.
you punched in your code to clock out of the system in the back, deeply sighing out as you stretched your back and waited for the computer to load.
the restaurant was fairly empty at that point, the late hours creeping up on the corporate workers that came in to relax before a long week of work.
you grabbed your backpack and headed out to leave, still hearing the entrancing sounds coming from the ambient lounge.
stopping in your tracks, you decided against leaving right away and traipsed your way over to the entrance of the lounge hall.
she was still up there playing away, her smile never fading.
you made your way over to an empty couch towards the middle and set your things down, taking a seat and immediately feeling yourself relax.
the way she swayed along slightly with the music and gracefully moved her hands on the keys made your tired lips curl into a slight smile. you could see the passion and love she had for music in the way she tenderly played every note with precision.
every once in a while, the woman would look over her shoulder at you and smile, almost like she was checking on you.
time passed by in the blink of an eye — what felt like five minutes quickly turned into thirty.
you were the only one left in the lounge now, the once busy night turning into a quiet and peaceful one.
the woman ended her last song with a drawn out riff, sitting up straight and stretching her wrists from fatigue.
you followed her action and took your chin out of the hand you had rested on your knee, sitting up slowly.
you were contemplating if you should sneak out before she thinks you’re weird for watching her that long, or if you should just stay and talk to this pretty, pretty lady.
ultimately, you decided on the former, grabbing your bag and quietly shuffling your way to the exit.
“wait! i- i just-” the woman blurted, shooting up from the bench and frantically stepping down the small stairs on the front of the stage.
you froze and snapped your head in her direction, anticipating a creeped out response.
her high heels thumped against the velvet carpet, “i just wanted to say thank you for.. staying.”
she was face to face with you now — fidgeting with the ends of her black dress and beaming at you with nothing except gratitude in her eyes.
you gripped the strap of your backpack hanging on your right shoulder as she came closer to you, praying you didn’t stink of any food or worse.
“y-yeah, it was nothing really. i enjoyed watching you or- not watching you i just really enjoyed your performance.. skills… yeah,” you stuttered, tripping over your own jumbled words under her gaze.
she let out a small laugh at your shyness, squinting and smiling with her pretty eyes, “well, i’m glad you enjoyed it,” she held out her hand, “i’m dahyun. it’s actually my first night here!”
you took her hand and introduced yourself with a firm handshake, “nice to meet you dahyun, i’m y/n,” you said with a returned smile, “how often do you plan on playing here?”
“i actually took up all the weekend spots. i think it’s more fun to play when people come with a work stress-free mind anyways,” she said, dropping her hand from your grasp and reaching it up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
how convenient — it just so happens that you worked the night shifts every weekend.
“yeah? the boss must really like you then. it’s not common for him to have an artist play consecutively like that.”
you wondered just how talented dahyun was for your boss to take her on so often.
dahyun nodded, “i guess so.. i just played a song for him one day and he signed me on for all weekends!” she said with another bright smile.
“how can you even play so well? seriously, i’m amazed at how talented you are on that piano.”
she hesitated to answer, giggling and turning her head down, “well.. how about i show you?”
you waited for her to look back up at you, “i would love that.”
dahyun excitedly turned and headed back up on the stage, sliding her way to the left side of the bench.
you soon followed behind her, dropping your backpack at the edge of the piano and scooting in next to her on the right.
at this distance, you could smell the floral perfume she used and felt the coldness of her skin when her arm grazed yours.
“so you see this key right here?” she pointed in front of you, “just press down on it like this,” she pressed the key rhythmically every couple beats, making sure you followed her tempo.
you hummed in agreement and practiced on your own, looking over at her for approval.
surprisingly, she was already looking at you — her eyes filled with adoration.
“exactly like that, you got it!” she said, positioning her hands to play a slow melody.
the impromptu duet between you two echoed against the walls of the empty lounge, mixed laughter and giggles erupting from both of you.
you helped dahyun by pressing your assigned key at the right time, watching as her fingers danced along the white tiles.
her presence was warm — calming almost. you felt comfortable being around her even though you’d just barely met her a couple hours ago.
after another half an hour of you two messing around together, you eventually closed up the place and offered to walk dahyun home.
“do you live near here?” you said, walking alongside dahyun on the sidewalk.
“yeah, about two blocks down. i hope it’s not too far for you.. i hate that you have to go all this way just to walk me home,” she said worriedly.
“it’s not a problem at all. gotta make sure the talent gets home safe, right?”
dahyun laughed at your corny joke, her hand covering her mouth.
you wished she knew how beautiful her smile was and how amazing she looked up on that stage.
“right, right,” she giggled, stuffing her hands in the pockets of your jacket that you insisted on her wearing.
when you arrived at dahyun’s place, it was hard to put a stop to the flowing conversation you had.
she was easy and fun to talk to, a trait that wasn’t common in the people that you usually met.
“well, this is my place. thank you again for walking with me.”
you didn’t know it at the time, but dahyun didn’t want the night to end any more than you did.
“of course, dahyun. it was really nice to meet you.”
dahyun looked down at the jacket she had on, realizing that it wasn’t hers, “oh! your jacket! here, take it please, i’m so sorry,” she said, rushing to slide it off of her shoulders and hand it back to you.
you refused to take it back and assured her that she could keep it, “no, no, it’s fine really. keep it. you can just give it back to me next saturday!”
silently high-fiving yourself, you succeeded in creating an excuse for her to talk to you the next time you met.
“are you sure?”
you nodded with a big smile on your face, “i’m sure.”
dahyun thanked you again and brought you in for a goodbye hug, clinging onto you as you awkwardly wrapped your arms around her.
saying your goodbyes, dahyun put her number in your phone and emphasized the importance of you getting home safely.
your mind was filled with thoughts of her the whole way home — hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time you’d have the opportunity to be with her like that.
little did you know,
it was only the beginning.
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boydepartment · 8 months
Text
I'm sorry, I'm late- Hwang Hyunjin (oneshot version)
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Description: Y/n is a student teacher in a small town in France. Hwang Hyunjin is an idol who decided to run away after trouble started to arise again. He finds himself in the class where she helps, quickly they peaked each other’s interests. Both of them ran from something and it landed them in this small town in the middle of practically nowhere. One thing they both know is that the past always catches up and it is only a matter of time, so they better make the most of it.
Warnings: cursing, maybe a touch of dark subjects. There is French in this story, I am currently studying the language and I am not an expert. If you happen to speak the language and notice a mistake, please tell me! I am happy to learn and correct myself!      
a/n- this is a really old story i wrote a few months ago, and i still think about it, so i decided to compile all the chapters into one whole story. i always reread this story too IDK i cleaned it up a little too
wc- 25k ? MASTERLIST
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Chapter 1: His eyes
You sat up slowly, feeling the sun through your thin curtains. Your body felt refreshed, oddly enough. Looking over at the clock on your wall you hopped up.
You were late to class! You ran to the wardrobe to get a quick outfit. Throwing on some old clothes the ever so kind old lady, Gram, across the street gave you when you first moved here as a housewarming present. She also made you her special pasta, the thought made your mouth water, but you didn’t have time to relish that thought. You rushed to your bathroom washing up to look presentable enough to be running around a classroom helping the teacher. You grabbed your flats which were by the door and threw your book bag over your shoulder. Feet out you started running down the worn old street.
                “Morning Y/n!” One of your neighbors yelled from across the way. You mustered a morning as you kept running. You could not be late! That would look unprofessional! You started to see the town in the distance and took a second to breathe. What time was it now? You dug through your bag and found the watch you bought from the general store. 7:45am.
Alright! Finally slipping your flats on you took note to remind yourself to take a bath when you got home, especially since you ran barefoot all that way. You started to run again down the hill not noticing the person at the bottom. You ran straight into him, your bag swinging around you.
                “DÉSOLÉ! JE SUIS EN RETARD! (Sorry, I am late)” You yelled and kept running. Normally you learned not to apologize much here, but you really rammed into him.
However, it was worth it! You got to the small classroom in the tiny-tiny school in time.
                “Bonjour, Y/n. (good morning, Y/n)” Your higher up greeted you. You greeted him back with a nod and sat down in your desk which was sat by his. You were learning how to teach art here. Since the teacher was getting old and Mr. W noticed that you weren’t one of the young people to just leave the small French town after his semester class, he decided to take you under his wing. He would tell you how to thoroughly teach an art class, as well as help you with your French. For the most part a lot of people in town would cut you some slack, they pretty much picked up that you were young and at least trying to speak to them as much as you possibly could.
The classroom started to fill with young adults, it was the usual class, until someone who wasn’t ordinary showed up. It was the guy you rammed into at the end of the hill. The more you looked at him the more he stood out to you. His hair was chopped horribly, and his clothes had what you assumed to be the logos removed. You have read an abundance of true crime books in your youth so to say this man didn’t raise all the red flags would be a lie. He didn’t look like he would harm anyone though, that is what truly through you off about him. He looked like a scared ally dog.
Eventually you got tasked to clean up the brushes from last class, you quickly got up and went to the broken-down sink at the back of the room. You let them soak and you listened to the head teacher guide the class through the lesson. Soon that will be you leading the class, you couldn’t wait. Mr. W really knew how to captivate the learning starving artists, soon everyone was working as the record player near his desk started to play famous classical pieces. Your eyes drifted to the young man in the corner, once again catching your interests. You watched as he deliberately and carefully let the small delicate brush hit the thick paper. The sun hit him beautifully and you started to notice little details about him. Then he made eye contact with you, and you quickly went back to soaking and cleaning the brushes, you even went as far as cleaning various old materials used earlier on in the week.
As much as you tried to get your mind off him, you couldn’t. Huffing you grabbed a stool and sat next to him. He looked at you with a terrified look, he looked as if you caught him sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar before dinner.
                “You’re new here, I ran into you…” You mumbled and kept looking at him, he looked down quickly at his work.
                “I- yeah. It’s okay…” The young man went back to his painting.
                “Do you speak French?” You watched his line work again; his eyes watched the brush intently.
                “Very little, I have visited Paris many times, but I don’t stay long.”
You let out a small huff of a laugh, “Paris is quite far from here.” This caught his attention and he looked at you.
                “Good.” He said softly then turned back. You two have been talking in a soft tone due to people around you trying to focus.
You decided to keep talking, “did you just move here? I haven’t seen you around.”
                “Yes, a couple weeks ago. I was at the Inn until I moved into the neighborhood above the hill.” He dipped his brush in the paint again and kept the steady hold.
                “You live in the same neighborhood as me.” You said, “you’re also mainly a landscape artist.”
The man looked stunned, and he dropped the brush, “how can you tell?”
                “The way your lines are deliberate, you’re calculating in your head instead of feeling out the page and medium emotionally.” You said and made eye contact with him; he was a total mystery to you. After living in this town a couple of years, you learned about almost everyone. The town only sometimes got any new visitors until this guy just showed up.
                “You can pick up on that?” The man spoke softly, he seemed to walk on eggshells around you. Did you hurt his feelings? There was nothing wrong with deliberate and calculated lines.
                “Yes, mainly because I wish I could do that in my art.”
He picked up the brush again and dabbed it on the paper, “what mediums and styles do you work in?”
                “Portrait and abstract. For portrait I work in charcoal and watercolor, for abstract I work in all different types of stuff I can get my hands on.” You spoke softly. When a ghost of a smile graced his features, you almost felt your heart stop and you didn’t know why.
                “I hate working in charcoal and abstract.” His eyes followed his brush strokes again.
                “Which house do you live in?” You asked him.
He smiled again, “you ask a lot of questions.”
                “We haven’t had someone new actually move in since I moved in.” You quickly answered back.
The man acknowledged your statement, “the one with the dead rosebush in the front.”
                “It’s not dead forever!” You said rather defensively, mainly because you live right next to this house which you thought was vacant still, “it just needs some help.”
                “Ah so you know the house I live in?” He picked up a thicker brush.
                “Yes, you’re my neighbor. It is a small neighborhood in a small town. Also why is-“ you were going to ask him about his hair when Mr. W called you by his desk. You excused yourself and walked over. He ended up tasking you to clean up the chalkboard, something about his arm hurting him. If you translated that correctly.
As you cleaned up the old-fashioned school board you felt eyes on you, you knew they were the mysterious stranger’s.
Well, your mysterious neighbor.
After the class was dismissed, you helped clean up for the day and Mr. W excused you. When you grabbed your bag and walked out of the classroom you saw the mysterious stranger again. He saw you and you noticed he got nervous again.
                This guy was very odd.
You approached him, “you can go home now.”
                “You wanted to ask me something though.” He said and you two walked out of the school building. You looked up at him trying to remember what on Earth you were going to ask him earlier. You pouted a bit trying to remember.
                “If you don’t remember then I live next door.” The man said, he went to turn to the direction of the neighborhood, and you stopped him again.
                “Wait, what’s your name?” You had grabbed onto his sleeve. His lean figure whipped around.
                “Hwang Hyunjin.” Part of his expression told you he was nervous to say this, but still answered you.
                “Can I give you a nickname to help me remember?” There was no way you wanted to forget his name let alone accidentally pronounce it wrong. Between speaking English and now heavily studying French, sometimes your pronunciations could get a little wonky.
You saw him smile warmly at you, “Sometimes people would call me Jinnie.”
                Jinnie… How cute.
You nodded and repeated it then introduced yourself, “I am Y/n. Y/n L/n.” You put your paint-stained hand out for him to shake. He gladly took your hand and shook it. His hand was quite larger than yours and the next thing you knew he turned away and waved. You stood there dumbfounded, this man, Jinnie, was odd. But he was interesting and young like you. Part of you felt like you had to help him, no one really helped you when you moved to town. You didn’t want this man to go through that too. You made up your mind, you would show up at his door tomorrow and walk to school with him.
Your feet made their way to the heart of the small town, you greeted the locals, they were now kind to you and warm. You belonged here now to them. It was a foreign feeling, being a part of a community that was kind to you. Walking into the bookstore where you help part time you were greeted by your coworker.
                “Ah… Vous n'avez qu'à balayer le plancher. (I need you to sweep the floor)” She didn’t always give you tasks like this, most of the time it was restocking shelves or working the counter. However, you didn’t mind sweeping the floor. You nodded and went to the back room to retrieve the broom and dustpan. Everything was older and you thrived in this environment. You could be doing nothing at all, or cleaning, and you are happy. You loved it here. Maybe you romanticized a little too much though. The thought made you smile to yourself. After your sweeping your boss had you tidy up some shelves.
                “Um, Y/n!” She peeked her head in from one of the shelves, “A demain(see you tomorrow)??”
                “Oui. (yes)” You said simply, you planned on popping in tomorrow after school anyways, if she wanted you to help out too, you would gladly do so. You saw her smile at you then nod, walking off to other tasks. Once you were done you said your goodbyes and started to walk back home. Your little neighborhood wasn’t far from the town. Part of you felt excitement bubble up in you, remembering your new neighbor.
When you walked up the hill it was already nighttime, you honestly think you should start carrying a walking stick especially because it was a pretty empty field surrounding the small jumble of brick homes. The trees didn’t start until the back of the neighborhood. You never went that way though. Whenever you walked into the beaten path you found yourself once again becoming happy, seeing someone new here really greatened your appreciation for this town. You wondered if Jinnie had the same appreciation as you.
You unlocked your small house which you would be lying if you said it wasn’t some little cottage. You decorated it the past two years like that on purpose. Kicking off your flats you remembered how dirty your feet were. Letting out a small laugh, you walked towards the bathroom and drew yourself a bath. As you waited for the water to fill, you made yourself some tea. It was dark out now and you felt it would be a great way to end your night. As you washed your hands in the sink, you had a perfect view of your neighbor’s living room. You didn’t want to be creepy, so you closed the curtains, but not before taking note of how peaceful he looked reading a book that clearly enthralled him. Your heart pounded and next thing you heard was the kettle whistling. Quickly shaken out of your thoughts you waited to pour yourself a cup and head back to the bathroom.
Slipping into your nightgown which was yet another gift from your birthday last year from the kind lady across the way. She wanted to always repay you for bringing her your homemade pumpkin bread once every other week. She was your first friend here. You went under your covers and made sure your alarm clock was on this time. You had to get up a little early anyways, you wanted to walk with Jinnie to school.
                                                          ~+~
Shockingly, your alarm did wake you up. Excitedly you hurried to get ready, your feet pitter pattered to the wardrobe. You grabbed a dress and another sweater; you were always one for layering even if summer was quickly coming. That means you would have another year of student-teaching experience under your belt. It also meant you would spend more time at the bookstore soon, which made excitement bubble in your stomach. You walked to the bathroom and once again got washed up for the day. Teeth, hair, the homemade lip balm you made yourself, all done!
You slipped your socks and boots on, today felt like a boots day. The breakfast menu was some fruit and toast, you really had to pick up more food soon at the market. Maybe you would go in a couple days on Sunday, the town always had merchants come in and it was outdoor. You nodded to yourself and finished eating. Grabbing your bag you headed to the neighbor’s home, the one with the sad rosebush.
To say you were a little nervous would be a lie, you weren’t used to being the one to almost chase after someone, but Jinnie intrigued you. You knocked a couple times and he answered, seemingly already dressed.
                “Good morning, Y/n.” His voice was soft. Jinnie’s eyes looked tired.
                “Good morning Jinnie, do you want to walk with me to the school?” You really hoped he would say yes, he could be the only friend you have that was actually your age. Jinnie smiled down at you.
                “I would love to actually, let me grab my things.” He went to shut the door but then opened it, “you can come in.”
You took up his offer and decided to look around the house, it had been vacant since you had moved in. But it surely didn’t look like it got worn over time. You saw how he had already had stuff hung up, his art which looked recent, there was no sign of dust stains.
                “I have been painting a lot since I moved here.” He said now next to you, you nodded slowly.
                “I see most of them are of the town.” You noted, you recognized the general store and the fountain in the middle of town.
Jinnie hummed, “I used to paint flowers a lot, sometimes people or still lifes. But after moving here I have been inspired by the architecture.”
You finally got a look at his clothes, “you are wearing normal clothes today. No torn off logos.”
His brows furrowed, “you take note of everything don’t you? Our neighbor across the street gave me these. Said I was her old husband’s size.”
                “She did the same for me too.” You smiled at the memory, “if you want to thank her, I bake her bread once every other week. You can join me.”
His eyes, which were once tired, lit up, “I love bread.”
                “We will have to make extra then.”
After you talked about the pumpkin bread recipe you two started your walk to the school, the sun now just rising over the town.
                “It is hard to not romanticize this town.” He suddenly spoke, “although the people here sometimes act like they hate me.”
You let out a small huff of a laugh, “they do that to newcomers, if you want, I can help teach you some basic phrases. It will help them warm up to you more.”
                “You would do that?” Jinnie asked you, the cool spring breeze brushing through his hair.
                “Yes, in exchange that you help me with landscape art.” You said and put your hand out again, to shake on it.
                “Deal.” This time he actually grinned and shook your hand. You saw his toothy grin for the first time that morning. This man was dangerously charming.
You really couldn’t help the small glances you two would exchange during class, the small smiles, everything. He was an instant click for you. However, you didn’t let him distract you from your work, Mr. W would kill you if he found out you were getting distracted by some random boy. You started to study the art history books Mr. W assigned for you to take notes on, he always said if you wanted to teach a subject you had to know the history behind it. Your favorite artists were all landscape-based artists, mainly because you couldn’t do it. Your art was either the small details of people’s faces, or complete disordered abstract. Your mind once again wandered to Jinnie who was now cleaning his brushes, his art study on the town that was hung up by the door of his home was almost perfect in a way. You wondered how Jinnie himself just did that.
After the class, you picked up your history books and thanked Mr. W. Since it was Friday you wouldn’t see him until Monday, unless he called your landline asking you to come in. When you walked out you saw Jinnie waiting there for you once more.
                “Mr. W really knows how to capture the attention of students.” Jinnie spoke and held the door open for you. You walked out and waited for him this time.
                “I am very thankful to be able to learn from him, he wants me to take his teaching position when he is ready to retire.” Your bag swung a bit when you flipped around to face him.
                “You are very welcoming; I am sure you will be a good teacher.” Jinnie said, you two walked down the dirt path, almost to where the crossroad was.
                “Thank you,” you smiled at him, “I have to go to work… Which is in town…” You weren’t very good at goodbyes or see you laters.
                “I can bring you dinner tonight if you want, I mean you are helping me out with getting settled here. It’s the least I can do.” You two now stood at the crossroads.
                “I get home sort of late… Tomorrow though would be better, since I work in the morning and will be done by the afternoon.” You offered, you were curious to how good his cooking is, and you would never pass up on a free meal.
                “Alright, Saturday evening, I will cook and bring over the plates.” He nodded to himself. Before you were about to say goodbye he already flipped around and waved to walk home.
Jinnie was certainly a person you wanted to figure out, you even found the urge to try and paint him in your sketchbook. That urge hasn’t happened to you since high school.
While doing your chores in the little bookstore you saw some tourists, it seemed like your little town was gaining traction and that made you nervous. You liked how it was a small place to live, under the radar. This sort of put a damper on your mood, it had you overthinking.
It kept you over thinking into the next day as well, especially because that Saturday morning more tourists came by, and it scared you. You didn’t want people here, you realized while sweeping you had no right to say that. You were once a foreigner here too. Sighing, you kept mopping the same spot over and over.
                “I think it’s clean.” Someone spoke softly behind you, you turned around to see your other shop owner’s daughter, she was your second friend in town. She got you a job here with her mom in exchange of you tutoring her in English.
                “I-I’m sorry. There is just a lot on my mind…” You mumbled; she turned her head in confusion.
                “The recent abundance of tourists or that handsome man every girl in town is raving about?” She had a wicked grin on her face, “there are whispers about him living in the same neighborhood as you.”
You set the mop to the side, “it’s just the tourists, you know that makes me nervous and there seems to be more of them.”
She nodded, “you can head home early if you want, I need to make some extra money some of the girls in town want to make the handsome man cookies this weekend and I need to buy powdered sugar tomorrow at the market for the finishing touch.”
You thanked her and started to pack up, before you left you turned around, “oh by the way, his name is Jinnie.” You winked at her and walked out. The shop owner’s daughter felt like your sibling, although she wasn’t around often due to her schooling in the next town over. The time you spent with her you cherished. You took a deep breath then smiled to yourself, you had something to look forward to tonight and that was dinner with ‘the handsome man.’ You thought it was so cute that the girls were gossiping about him.
To thank Jinnie you stopped by the general store and picked up some flowers, that weren’t dead like the ones in his front yard.
                “Y/n!” You flipped around and saw your other neighbor, the kind old lady, Gram. You grinned at her; you had already paid for the flowers, so you went over to her.
                “How are you, Gram?” It was nice to see her out and about.
                “Well, I made friends with your next-door neighbor, Hyunjin.” She said and put stuff in her basket. You decided to walk with her and help her with her shopping.
                “Did you?” You asked and got something from the shelf she pointed to. Gram let out a small hum.
                “Yes, and I found out stuff about him for you.” She spoke slyly.
You laughed a tiny bit, “oh really?”
Gram let out a huff and nodded, “yes, he is a few months older than you. He traveled a lot, and he used to sing.”
                “That’s new information to me.” You mumbled to yourself.
                “I can’t hear you when you mumble.” Gram said back.
You apologized quickly and repeated yourself again.
                “There is a lot of things I feel you two could learn from each other.”
Your brows furrowed and pondered what she could mean by that. It was quite an odd thing to say but then again, she was odd herself. You helped your neighbor with the rest of her groceries and walked her back home.
                “Oh, tomorrow, Gram, I am going to the morning market, I will make pumpkin bread for you tomorrow as well, all fresh ingredients.” You said as you helped unpack her groceries in her kitchen. It was filled with old photos of her family; she also had a little collection of porcelain bunnies.
                “I am so excited for that dear.” Gram spoke from her chair in the living room. You finished up and walked in her very floral living space.
                “Is there anything else you need?” You asked.
                “Tell Hyunjin to bring me back my recipe when he’s done with it.” Gram then waved you off.
He borrowed a recipe?
You walked across the street to your humble abode and started to get ready for dinner with Jinnie. You set the red roses down on the table then started to your bathroom. You took a quick sponge bath and tried your best to look presentable. You had thrown out all your makeup a few months after you moved here, and you didn’t want to check the chest at the foot of your bed which was locked up with your old stuff for a reason. Out of sight out of mind. You dug in your wardrobe and saw a nice floral dress and slipped it on. Tying the back you smiled, Gram had a very good fashion sense in her youth. You rummaged through the little box of sewing supplies she gave you and found ribbons, you tied your hair with them. If he was making dinner you had to look presentable. Skipping to the kitchen you dug around your cabinets; you had wine somewhere around here. It was a housewarming present from the man who sold you this home. It had to still be okay… right? You never opened it. As you were rummaging there was a knock on the door, startled you hit your head on the top of the cabinet.
                “Ow…” You mumbled and wobbled up to the door. When you opened you saw Jinnie standing there with a basket in his hands, he must’ve gotten dressed up as well. He looked astronomical even with his choppy messed up hair.
                “Can I come in?” He spoke, a smile gracing his features.
You stepped out of the way and let him in, “do you like red wine? I am pretty sure I have a bottle here. Somewhere.” You mumbled and he followed you into the kitchen.
                “I could use a glass.” He set the basket down by the flowers. You had already resumed crouching by the cabinet, next thing you knew he was next to you helping you search.
                “Oh, the flowers on the table are for you. Figured you’d want something alive.” Chuckling at your own joke you moved the olive oil.
                “There it is.” Jinnie said while laughing slightly with you. He grabbed the bottle and set it on the counter, then put his hand out to help you up. You gladly took it and his soft hands held yours, then quickly let go when you were situated. Much to your dismay.
                “I do love the roses; they are my favorite actually.”
The corners of your mouth curved, “we will have to nurse the bush in your yard then.”
                “That we will.” He walked to the table, and you grabbed your glasses and the wine. Meeting him at the table you saw that he made pasta.
                “Gram said you really liked her pasta, so I tried my best.” Jinnie said and set the table.
                “I love her pasta; she made it for me when I first moved here.” You were quite surprised that he did this. You set the glasses down and poured the wine.
                “So, she said.” Jinnie motioned for you to take a seat and you did, he quickly followed. You saw he was waiting for you to take a bite. When you did you swore you could cry. It tasted so good, it wasn’t quite like Gram’s however, it was still so amazing to your taste buds.
                “You really- wow.” You wiped your mouth with a napkin, “this is really good.”
Jinnie grinned and took a sip of his wine, “I am so relieved, I was a little worried.”
                “You shouldn’t be, this is amazing Jinnie thank you.” You took another bite then washed it down with a small sip of wine.
Jinnie started to eat his food and he looked surprised, “you weren’t just lying to make me feel better, wow.”
Him being surprised by his own cooking made you laugh, hard. He looked up at you and started to laugh.
                “I thought you were just lying to be nice. Honestly.” Jinnie spoke between giggles. You kept giggling.
                “Tomorrow I am going to make that pumpkin bread for Gram, I just have to go to the market in the morning.” You said and took another bite of this amazing recipe.
                “May I join you? I heard the guy at the general store talk about the Sunday markets.” Jinnie asked. You nodded.
                “Of course, you can come with me, I’d love that.”
The way he was so charming and thoughtful really had you entranced. Jinnie was still a mystery to you and maybe that is what made you attracted to him. Or maybe the fact he has been the only guy around your age staying in this town longer than a semester. You didn’t know, but you weren’t complaining.
Chapter 2: His laugh
                “Good morning Jinnie!” You grinned as you swung open your door, the morning breeze already rushing at you.
                “Good morning, Y/n. I haven’t seen you in forever.” He joked as you locked up your home, you smiled remembering the previous night. Your dinner with him. Before he had left, you helped him clean his plates and you two pretty much finished half of the wine.
You two walked down the path to town, you really liked getting to walk with him. He started to open up and talk to you little by little. You think he realized he was in the same position as you, you were the only person near his age.
                “Gram said you told her you can sing, I forgot to ask you about that last night.” You said and he almost dropped his basket.
                “Gram told you?” He chuckled, you two were now at the top of the hill.
                “She did, I would like to hear you sing.” You said and looked at him, the sunrise warming both your bodies.
                “Maybe, I prefer dancing though.” Jinnie said and turned to you.
                “Dancing, singing, what else can you do?” You asked, Gram was right, he was something.
Jinnie smiled to himself, as if remembering something, “well, I can speak Korean too, some Japanese, uhhh…”
Your jaw was on the path, “and now you want to pick up French? That is very impressive.”
                “Korean was my first language,” Jinnie spoke softly, the tired features washed on his face again.
                “Can you show me your dancing one time?” You asked, wanting to change the subject. Jinnie once again smiled.
                “I would love to.”
You two arrived at the Sunday morning market not much later then that conversation. The heart of the town was bustling, you recognized the tourists again. You looked down and then up at Jinnie when he tugged the sleeve of your sweater.
                “What do we need to pick up?”
Some of the ingredients you already had at home, “we just need eggs, pumpkin puree, and cinnamon butter.” You said to him as he leaned down so he could hear you. He nodded and led you to the dairy stand. When the guy asked him what he wanted in French he started panicking and looked to you. You cleared your throat.
                “Je voudrais cinq œufs, sil vous plait. (I would like five eggs please)” You said to the man, he nodded and handed you the five eggs carefully. You softly set them in Jinnie’s basket and paid for them.
                “Merci! (Thank you)” You said to the merchant and continued on your way.
                “Thank you.” Jinnie said down to you. You smiled up at him.
                “This will be your first lesson, okay?” You grabbed him and pulled him to a bench. He sat down and you sat next to him.
                “Okay I am ready.” Jinnie said, his hands still gripping the basket.
                “When you ask for something, you say, ‘Je voudrais’ that directly translates to, ‘I would like.’” You explain to him, he repeated it back to you and you helped with pronunciation.
                “Then right after you say what you’d like, you then end it with ‘sil vous plait’ which means ‘please.’” Once again, he repeated it back to you, you smiled.
                “If you want you can even say, ‘merci,’ which is, ‘thank you.’” You further explained, “if you’re REALLY thankful, you can say, ‘merci beaucoup.’” He nodded and took note of your mini lesson.
Standing up you put your hand out instinctively, he grabbed it, and you led him to the next stand, this one had fruits. This is good practice. Plus, you wanted an orange to snack on. You led Jinnie up to the stand and he looked a little nervous. You told him how to ask for two oranges. When the guy asked him what he wants, he gulped and then spoke.
                “Je voudrais…” He looked down at you, you looked up at him and squeezed his hand, “deux oranges, sil vous… plait.”
You grinned at him, you handed the man the required money and you two got your oranges.
                “Jinnie that was amazing I am so proud of you.” You shook his arm that didn’t have the basket in it, in celebration.
                “My pronunciation was… okay?” He looked down at you, you nodded.
                “You did really well. The guy didn’t even look annoyed at you!” You giggled then continued to drag him around with you to get the other ingredients.
When you two were about to leave someone called his name, he whipped around and saw a group of five girls run up to him. You recognized one of them, it was your boss’s daughter.
                “We wanted to make these for you!” One of the girls said, another girl handed him a bundle of what you assumed were the cookies. He smiled awkwardly at them.
                “Ah… Merci… beaucoup!” He looked at you and you gave him a thumbs up. The group of girls started to giggle before practically running away. You heard whispers of, bel homme, and il est tres gentil. It made you laugh a bit and you two started your walk home.
                “What were they saying as they were walking away?” Jinnie asked you as you opened your front gate for him. You started to laugh as you dug in your pockets for your keys.
                “They were saying you were beautiful and very kind.” You saw his shocked expression and then you turned to open your door to your home.
Walking in, he set the basket down on the counter, and his gift on the table.
                “Well, that was very…” He looked at you.
                “Gentille.” You finished for him. Jinnie nodded and giggled then repeated what you said.
                “Gentille of them.”
You started to unload the groceries, leaving the ingredients for the pumpkin bread out. You saw at the bottom of his basket he had Gram’s recipe at the bottom. You smiled to yourself.
                “What can I help with?” Jinnie asked breaking you out of your thoughts.
                “Could you get the bowls and stuff please?” You asked him, he nodded and started on his first task. He retrieved them in no time and soon you two were baking.
                “JINNIE, CAN YOU GRAB THIS?” You wobbled your way from the back pantry where all the flours and sugars were, he quickly rushed over and grabbed the flour too, helping guide you to the kitchen.
                “Okay we did it!” Jinnie said and wiped his face. You started to laugh, and he looked at you with a confused look.
                “You have pumpkin puree on your face.” You reached up and wiped it off his forehead, still giggling at him.
Jinnie looked away from you, a smile on his face.
                “Can you preheat the oven?” You asked as you started to mix all your ingredients. He hopped to it instantly.
Once the bread was in the oven you two found yourselves looking over the bookshelf in your room, “you have a lot of good reads.”
                “Thank you.” You sat down on your bed and watched him, “I needed books to keep myself occupied when I first moved here.”
                “You don’t have a phone or a laptop?” He asked and turned around, holding a book of Monet’s work and history.
                “I do, they are just locked away, if someone in town wants to contact me, they can just use the landline.” You said simply.
Jinnie looked up from the book and right at you, “in that chest by your bed?”
You nodded, you didn’t look up from the book you were reading, “mhm.”
                “Can I ask why they are locked away?” You felt the bed shift, he sat by your sprawled out body.
                “Can I ask how you found yourself here?” You sat up now looking at him with curious eyes.
Jinnie thought for a moment, “I ran away.” He looked away from you as if he was ashamed of himself. Your features quickly softened.
                “It’s… It’s okay…” You spoke, just above a whisper.
Jinnie looked at you, “I was a coward. I am a-“
                “I ran away too.” You said quickly, his eyes widened, “there was a lot going on for me back home, um it became too much so I packed everything and left.”
                “Y/n, I understand that more than you know.” He said and grabbed your hand.
You looked up at him, “maybe one day me and you will go more into detail about why we ran.” You stood up still holding onto his hand, “but as for right now, we have pumpkin bread to deliver.”
                                                                                                ~+~
                “You know when I was a little girl, I used to have the most beautiful blond hair.” Gram said as she sliced the bread for you and Jinnie. She insisted you two have one piece even though it was your gift to her.
                “Your hair is still beautiful, Gram.” Jinnie said to her.
Gram let out a quiet laugh, “Hyunjin you are too kind…” She plated the bread and poured some iced tea for you both, and for her. Then she sat down.
                “Have you ever had Y/n’s pumpkin bread?” Gram asked Jinnie. He shook his head, “you’ll love it, I remember when she first made it for me.” Gram winked at you, and you smiled bashfully. Then you three dove in. Jinnie instantly complimented your baking. Gram told you this was your best batch yet.
                “I had help this time so maybe that’s why.” You smiled at Jinnie.
Gram laughed, “you better help her more if this is how good the bread is going to be!” She joked. You and Jinnie helped clean the cups and plates and she led you two to her living room.
                “I want to show you guys photos in my youth.” She sat you guys on the couch and then plopped herself in the middle of you two. Gram started to talk about how after some events, her and her husband decided to move into this little town to get away. Neither of them knew a lick of French but they learned together. You could tell Jinnie was absolutely enthralled with her romantic tale. His eyes lit up and he would ask her questions, she gladly answered. It made your heart warm; he was so effortlessly charming.
At some point she wanted to take her late afternoon nap, so she kicked you two out, Jinnie walked you to your door.
                “Walk with me to school tomorrow?” He asked with hopefully eyes.
                “I wouldn’t miss it Jinnie.” You spoke and stood at your doorway, the warm air in contrast to the breeze outside.
                “I will pick you up this time.” He said, you nodded and before you could say goodbye, just as usual he flipped around and waved. You shut the door behind you. Giggling you rushed to the bathroom, it was time to take a bath and settle down for the day. You still had to study your art history too. Oh, Jinnie just made you so giddy!
                                                                                                ~+~
 The next morning you knew you overslept because you heard knocking on your bedroom window. You groaned and rubbed your eyes, when you saw his silhouette through your curtains you hopped up and ran through your house, your slippers making you slide. Quickly, you opened the door and waved him in. Jinnie’s warm smile woke you up more.
                “Uh here if you didn’t have breakfast um make something, the pantry is yours!” You ran back to your room to get ready for the day. You threw on some old pants and a t-shirt. Your hair was a mess and part of you was a little embarrassed that Jinnie saw you like this. You threw on a straw hat and jacket, almost falling over you put on your boots.
                “JINNIE IS MY BAG OUT THERE!?” You yelled from your room. You heard him quickly walk around.
                “YES, I GOT IT!” He spoke back. You smiled and walked out, now ready to leave and walk to school with him. When you met him by the door, he handed you your bag.
                “Thank you!” You smiled and next thing you knew you two were walking to the school.
                “Oh, I woke up a little early this morning, so I made sandwiches for us, if you want to eat them with me after class.” Jinnie said and showed you the wrapped sandwiches in his bag, “I also took the two oranges from your fruit bowl.”
                “I will look forward to it, I shouldn’t have work today so I would love to have lunch. Especially your cooking.” Your heart felt warm around him again.
Jinnie let out a soft hum of acknowledgement, “I want to thank you by the way.”
You looked to him as you two just walked made it at the top of the hill, “why’s that?”
                “Welcoming me here, you could have just let me figure it out on my own, but you haven’t.” He spoke softly, “you are letting me depend on you.”
                “Well, you still have to help me with my landscape art.” You nudged him, Jinnie giggled.
                “I have that planned actually; I am trying to find a nice landscape for us.”
This sort of confused you, “you don’t want to paint the town?”
                “I will always paint the town, however, let’s say you get frustrated, at least you’ll have a nice view to calm you down.” He explained, “my first day here when I was still at the inn, I painted the general store, or at least tried to, and I couldn’t get it right. Then someone walked by, and it was the most beautiful view I have ever seen.”
You felt a pang of something, your stomach did flips, who captured his eye?
                “Did you ever get to see your view again?” You asked, Jinnie looked down at his feet, smiling to himself.
                “Almost every day actually.”
That’s odd, “do you know their name?”
                “Yes.” Jinnie giggled once more.
                “Do I know them?” Yes, you were nosy, you couldn’t help it.
Jinnie let out another laugh, except this time he threw his head back then looked at you, “yes you know them.”
You started to ponder as you two walked up to the school, “wait what’s their name?”
                “Y/n.” Jinnie opened the door for you, and you walked in, then spun around.
                “Yes?” You asked and took off your hat, Jinnie smiled at you and tried to fix your messy hair.
                “That’s their name.” He said simply and started to walk to the classroom. He left you dumbfounded in the middle of the hall. Once back to reality you started to run after him.
                “HEY!”
During class Jinnie would make an effort to not pay any attention to you, especially after how flustered he made you right beforehand. It made a little spark inside you; you thought it was funny. The way you’d catch him staring and then he’d dramatically look away. It made you laugh to yourself while you studied your history books. Mr. W started to teach the class about August Friedrich Schenk. You tuned in a bit always being interested by the way there was always an overwhelming dread in the art August Friedrich produced. You struggled painting animals so maybe that’s also why the artist also intrigued you. After the lecture Mr. W assigned you to run some errands to the other teachers, things like reports, attendance, stuff like that. You quickly did as you were told and found yourself greeted by your soon to be coworkers. One of them didn’t have a class for another hour so you found yourself making small talk.
                “Is Mr. W still being nice?” She asked and started to write her lesson plan on the board. She was the poetry teacher, Ms. Felicity.
                “Yes, thankfully, it is really different from being an art student in his class.” You took a sip of tea that she offered you in a paper classroom cup, “he has always been nicer to me though. I am thankful for that. He really has taken me under his wing the past two years.”
                “I’m glad, especially since you’ll be working here soon.” Ms. Felicity turned around and smiled at you.
                “Do you live in the next town over?” You asked, suddenly curious. She nodded.
                “It is quite the commute but it’s worth it.”
You nodded; you remembered the town over was very nice.
                “You know. I wanted to be the art teacher, but here I am doing poetry.” She spoke softly.
You two continued to talk until it was time for you to head back to Mr. W. You found yourself happy that maybe you made a new friend. You seemed to be lucky in that department lately. Walking back into the classroom you saw that Mr. W was close to finishing his lesson. You sat at your little desk and waited for the class to be dismissed.
                “Alright, you have your assignments for the next week, remember due March 13th. I will see you guys tomorrow.” The international students started to leave, Mr. W gave you more things to study for the upcoming week
                “I am very proud of your progress lately, Y/n.” Mr. W said, you gleamed at the praise.
                “Thank you so much, Mr. W!” You quickly picked up your notebooks and bag, packing up. Your teacher made small talk with you about the next assignments for the art students and then sent you off.
Once again you met Jinnie outside of the classroom, “hungry?” He asked. You smiled at him and placed your hat back on your head.
                “Starved!”
                                                                                                ~+~
                “The school has poetry too?” Jinnie asked as you two sat in the grass still in short distance to the school. You were laying on your jacket and you suddenly sat up.
                “Yes, did you not look at the classes?” You laughed and took another bite of the wonderful sandwich Jinnie made for you two.
                “Well… While signing up I was in a bit of a rush.” He said and sipped his reusable water bottle.
You finished off your sandwich and laid back down, “makes sense how you just appeared out of nowhere.”
Jinnie laughed, “I really did huh?”
                “Yes, shockingly. You just poofed.” You flipped on your stomach and looked up at him.
                “Is that why you ask me so many questions?” Jinnie teased.
You nodded, “that is exactly why I ask you an abundance of questions. You pique my curiosity.”
                “At least you don’t just see me for my looks.” He said quietly. Your brows furrowed and you could sense the sadness in his tone. It was a total 180. You wondered where it came from, especially where the statement itself came from. Yes, he was handsome, however did the people who he ran away from just see him as that?
                “No, I see you for your cooking.” You wanted to lighten the mood, anything to get that smile back on his face.
Jinnie rolled his eyes and smiled down at you, “okay Y/n. I see how it is.”
                “Alright! We both have homework to do!” You stood up and put your hand out. He took it and you helped him up, cleaning up your mini picnic you two went on your merry way.
                “We definitely should plant pumpkins in July.” You said and skipped along with him.
                “So, they’ll be ready for Halloween, right?” Jinnie asked, you hummed.
                “Exactly! The town actually does a whole thing for Halloween. It is really cute, too many tourists though.” You said, noticing once more he was lost in thought.
                “Hyunjin…?” You tested the waters of saying his actual name, this caught his attention instantly.
                “Am I in trouble?” Poor guy looked and sounded terrified, you laughed slightly.
                “Nono I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Jinnie nodded to himself, and he thanked you softly, “it’s just some weird stuff coming back to me again, I’ll be okay.” He reassured you.
                “I understand what you mean, that happened to me on my first birthday here. I hung out with Gram the entire day.” You recalled the memory, “it was weird not being around anyone I knew.”
                “My birthday is in two weeks.” He said suddenly.
Your eyes widened, “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SOONER!” You practically jumped on him; soft giggles escaped his lips.
                “We’ve been busy it didn’t come up.”
You huffed as you two made it up the hill, “what day?”
Jinnie thought for a moment, his way of keeping you in suspense, “hmmm I don’t remember.”
                “HYUNJIN!”
He looked offended that you used his actual name, “now I’m not going to tell you.”
                “Jinni- “
                “March 20th.”
You laughed at his suddenness, “okay good! We can plan something!” Jinnie looked at you, he looked a little unreadable.
                “You don’t have to…” He mumbled bashfully, you two walked into your neighborhood.
                “Well, I want to, I don’t want you to have the same sad birthday as me when I first moved here.” You were determined, “what kind of cake do you want?”
                “May I request your pumpkin bread?” He asked hopefully. You grinned at him.
                “Yes, you may!”
                                                                                                ~+~
The past week you and Jinnie would continue this routine of walking together to school and if you didn’t have work, you or he would make lunch. At one point he brought you lunch at work; it made you feel special. You found yourself cherishing his attention. He was way different from everyone else you have ever met. Hyunjin’s personality was as bright as the reflection of the sun on the water, and you were basking in it. There was never much to do in this town, you didn’t mind. But now that Jinnie was here, you had lots to look forward to, your schedule didn’t seem as mundane.
Saturday night you two were having dinner at your home once more, this time he brought you flowers, and you were cooking. You had music playing from the old music player in your living room.
                “What did Mr. W pull you aside for yesterday? I forgot to ask.” You said as you stirred the seasonings for the oven baked potatoes.
                “You forgetting to ask something? Impossible.” Jinnie joked. You turned around and gave him the stink eye, he giggled.
                “He wanted to look at my sketchbook, he said on Monday he wants me to bring in some of my work that’s on a canvas.”
You flipped around, “no way.” Jinnie gave you a look as if he didn’t know why you were surprised, “he’s scouting you!”
                “Psh no.” He waved his hand then took a sip of the wine he brought for you both.
                “Psh yes.” You said back and started to pour the seasoning on the potatoes. Once they were in the oven you sat down next to him at the table.
                “Mr. W takes one student from the class and scouts them, then if he chooses you then you get a trip to Paris for a chance to display your work at a gallery.” You explained, “I got picked my first year here when I was a student, look.” You stood up and grabbed the picture frame that was on your side table in the living room. You stomped back over and showed him the photo.
                “See look.” You shoved the picture frame in his hands, “I was really young and he really took me in. I owe him a lot.”
Jinnie smiled at your photo, you were holding what he presumed to be your artwork, you didn’t look much different, “your hair was shorter.”
                “That’s what you’re taking from this? Jinnie!” You grabbed the frame from him again, but he didn’t want to let go.
                “Wait I wanna look at you more.” Jinnie giggled, you sighed and let go of the frame. After a few minutes of him asking questions about your younger self he handed it back.
                “You really think he’s scouting me?” Jinnie asked and poured more wine for himself and you.
                “Absolutely! Whenever I walk by your station I may or may not peek at what you’re working on.”
Mr. W had to be scouting him, this is what your mentor does when he notices talent. Jinnie had that talent.
                “You look at my work while I’m working!?” He dramatically waved his hands around and it made you giggle.
                “I did when we first met, didn’t I?”
Jinnie thought for a moment then nodded, “okay you did but I let you.”
                “And why did you exactly?”
                “I told you; I think you’re pretty, beautiful, gorgeous even, the most beautiful view here. Why wouldn’t I give you the opportunity to be charmed by my work.” The wine must’ve started kicking in because he was getting bold.
You face heated up and you felt yourself scoffing, “you still have to teach me your methods. I am still holding you to that.”
                “I hope you do.” Jinnie said and leaned back smiling. He talked more about his walks he would take when you were working, saying he finally did find the perfect spot to take you painting. You eventually pulled out the bake potatoes and set up your plates, you also fried vegetables. Plating the food, you set it down in front of him.
                “This smells wonderful.” He smiled up at you. You smiled back warmly and sat in front of him, “can you teach me something?”
You picked up on him always wanting to learn something from you, “coffee grounds are bad for your drain… uhhhh…” You thought for a moment, “I don’t think Vincent Van Gogh killed himself.”
                “Oh? Elaborate.” Jinnie loved listening to you, and you loved listening to him. Eventually you two finished eating and you found yourself digging under your bed for old artwork. He wanted to see your portrait work.
                “Most of them I sold to tourists at the market when I first moved here. These are the leftovers.” You handed him the canvases and he looked at your art in awe. It ranged from big to small pieces, all capturing these people’s details. Their very soul on your canvas.
                “These are beautiful…” He breathed; he traced the canvas with his finger extremely delicately. You looked down.
                “You should’ve seen the ones that were sold, I didn’t want to let them go but I had to make money, and this was before my bookstore job.” You spoke sadly, he looked up at you.
                “We will make more pieces like these together.” Jinnie then looked down and more at your other artwork. The thought made your soul happy; you went to dig more under your bed and found old sketchbooks, one labeled abstract and you handed it to him.
                “These were from highschool, if they are a bit dark, I apologize, I don’t really like looking back at these much.” You handed it to him and ever so softly he took it and started flipping through the pages. You found yourself scooting next to him and looking at the worn pages with him. Your eyes went to his face, he looked concentrated as he read the words hidden in your work.
                “You made these in highschool?” He whispered, you nodded.
                “It wasn’t the best time in my life… Some decisions I made led me here though, so I guess part of me should be thankful.” You whispered back. The music from the living room still playing a bittersweet tune.
                “I can relate, although my last year was when I sold myself.” He flipped the page; you were studying him while he studied your work.
You looked back at the sketchbook in front of him, one day you knew you would find out about him. Maybe that night was tonight, “can you tell me?”
Jinnie looked back at you softly setting the book down, he was so gentle with your work, “yeah… I can tell you. But you can’t tell anyone else otherwise I have to leave.”
                “I promise.” You looked him in his eyes, you could drown in them. He stood up and led you to sit down next to him on your bed. You shifted so one leg was dangling off and the other was folded on the bed. He sat forward, hands together. He looked stressed.
                “Jinnie you don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready.” Your hand found his way to his shoulder, and he looked at you.
                “No, it… it’s okay, I want to tell you.”
You nodded and got ready to have your listening ears on.
                “I used to live in Seoul, like Korea. I was very popular,” he looked away, “I was an idol, that’s why I can sing and dance. People really loved me, as much as I liked it, popularity comes with controversy. Almost every week something was wrong or something horrible was being said to me.” Jinnie took a deep breath and you grabbed his hand, he squeezed it and continued, “as much as I loved being in the spotlight and seeing the adoring eyes of people, I couldn’t take the constant pressure, getting in trouble for rumors someone else started, things I didn’t even do, I was tired, I was always scared of someone always watching me, so I ran the second I could. It is irresponsible of me, and I am sure the past month people have been freaking out, but maybe not, I don’t know, I wasn’t allowed to be active anyways when I left.”
Your hand squeezed his again, “I don’t think you’re a coward Jinnie, I just think you were burnt out and lost. That is okay and it doesn’t make you any less of who you are.”
He nodded, “thank you.”
                “Anything for you.” You spoke wholeheartedly.
                “Can you tell me why you ran?” He asked, you took a deep breath and nodded, Jinnie turned his whole body towards you, now he held both your hands in his large ones. He always wore the same rings.
                “In high school, I didn’t have a lot of friends, so when I finally did make them, I was naïve. I really landed myself in the wrong crowd. I was young and stupid to think these people actually did care for me. One of them I thought I fell in love with,” you felt your eyes start to water, “I was wrong, it wasn’t love, my frontal lobe hadn’t even developed so how was I supposed to know that what was happening to me wasn’t love.”
A tear fell from your eye, and he caught it with his hand. You continued, “at some point it started getting really bad, I got really scared for my safety and my family’s safety so I ran. I never looked back.”
Jinnie held tightly onto your hands, “thank you for telling me.” His voice was calming, and you found yourself crashing into him, hugging him desperately. He cradled you in his arms and let you cry.
                “It’s okay… Y/n let it out… I know…” His hand found its way to your head, and he played with your hair.
                “I miss being home, but I know it’s safer for everyone that I left.” You said in between sobs. Hyunjin just held onto you tighter.                 “I know… I know exactly what that feels like.” Hyunjin kept wiping away your tears as they fell, at some point he let a few of his own tears fall.
Chapter 3: His Kindness & His Birthday
When you woke up the next morning you had a killer headache, when you stood up your head felt like someone took a bat and constantly smacked you.
                “God…” You mumbled and walked toward your bathroom, you cleaned yourself up and started to recall what happened last night. When you walked out of your room you smelled food; good food, was Jinnie still here? You walked down your hallway quickly and saw him standing by the stove, he was cooking. Your curious eyes silently watched him as he stirred what you presumed to be scrambled eggs. He must’ve brought cooking ingredients over from his home. You watched as he swayed back and forth to the music he had playing on; he really could dance. It made you smile to yourself; he really could feel the music. It was impressive.
You didn’t want to embarrass him, so you walked back to your room and called his name.
                “Jinnie!” You re-walked down the hallway.
                “Cooking breakfast!” He called back, you walked into the kitchen, he turned around and grinned at you. The sun was peeking through the curtains, and he was illuminated beautifully, “good morning. Are you feeling okay?”
                “I have a bit of a headache.” You said and looked at what he was cooking, you were right, scrambled eggs.
                “Here, I’ll get you some water. Watch the eggs please.” He spun around and started getting you your glass. You hummed and watched the eggs; it was scarily domestic. Part of you didn’t mind, Jinnie is kind and you have never related to anyone as much as him.
Jinnie handed you a cold glass of water and took over the food again, “drink up, if needed we can run to a less secluded town for headache meds.”
                “I think I might still have some in the cabinet in the bathroom…” You pondered and sipped the water. He started to plate the eggs and put jam on the toast.
                “Where did you get all this food?” You asked, as you sat down on the table. He quickly put the food down and sat with you.
                “I had some back at my house and then I picked up the jam this morning from the general store.” He said simply.
You nearly choked on your food, “you walked to town this morning?”
Jinnie nodded, “mhm, after our crying session last night we must’ve both passed out. You were still asleep when I woke up, so I wanted to make you breakfast.”
                “That’s very kind of you.” You took a bite of your food and once again your tastebuds were delighted.
                “I figured it would be nice after yesterday.” He spoke softly. Yeah, yesterday… You were hit with waves of memories. He ended up telling you why he ran, and you told him why you ran too. He was an idol… Like a celebrity?
                “Do you have any questions? You have a cute funny look on your face.” Jinnie looked up at you.
                “So you were-“ You didn’t even know how to ask.
Jinnie wiped his mouth of any crumbs, “an idol, performer, celebrity, whatever you want to call it.”
You nodded, “are you ever going to go back?” Part of you didn’t want him to. Your eyes just watched him as he shrugged and looked away from you.
                “Not for a while…” He mumbled, then made eye contact with you, “so you’ll be bothered by me for a long time.” Jinnie smiled at you which you gladly returned to him.
                “I look forward to it.”
                                                                                ~+~
The next week on his birthday you showed up at his home in the early morning, you were surprised that he was already up. Sometimes you noticed you had to grab the key under his mat and get him out of bed.
                “Good morning, Y/n!” He said in a sing song voice, you noticed his basket was packed full of things.
                “Good morning, Jinnie!” You grabbed the pumpkin bread from behind your back, “happy birthday!”
You saw his eyes light up and he grabbed the bread, smelling it. After, he set it down and pulled you in a hug, “thank you!”
When he pulled away, he put his hands on your shoulders, “you’re free today right?”
                “Yes, I called off for your birthday.” You smiled brightly up at him.
Jinnie clasped his hands together, “perfect!” He quickly rushed to his basket and put the bread in, “we are going for a walk!”
                “Right now?” You questioned.
                “Yes!” He grabbed his basket and your hand, “we need to pick up your art supplies!”
After the pitstop at your home, you two went on your way.
                “It’s your birthday I should be surprising you!” You walked and swayed your bag back and forth. He giggled and copied your actions.
                “Well, this is how I want to spend my birthday.” Jinnie said, he led the way, walking in front of you. He would steal glances at you as you two walked.
                “Where are we heading?” You were so curious as to where your mysterious neighbor, companion, friend, was leading you.
                “You never fail to be so curious.” His voice was warm.
                “Welllllllll!” You continuously swung your bag back and forth.
Jinnie turned around to look at you and turned his head, there was something in his eyes you couldn’t pinpoint, “do you trust me?” He asked.
You nodded your head, “yes I do.”
                “Perfect.” He grabbed your hand and continued to lead you. You really tried not to get nervous, then your hand would become sweaty.
He started to lead you to the back side of the neighborhood, you decided to keep asking him questions.
                “Is thiiiis… A nice place we’re going to?”
                “Of course, it’s nice, I’m actually surprised that you haven’t been here.” He spoke.
You looked at him, “I don’t usually go this way. Can you still dance for me.”
Jinnie giggled, “yes Y/n.”
                “Sing?”
                “Yes, Y/n only for you.”
You started to swing your hands back and forth, you two were walking next to each other now.
                “Okay we are getting close so close your eyes.” Jinnie said excitedly.
Your eyes closed and you couldn’t help but smile, you let him guide you deeper into the trees. Your feet almost betrayed you a couple of times, with the rock and loose dirt, but he caught you and just held onto you tighter. You felt his warm hands on your arms then they covered your eyes.
                “No peeking.” He said, you let a giggle out.
                “I’m not peeking!”
                “Suuuure.” He teased.
In the next minute he took his hands off your face, “okay wait here.” You heard him giggling and shifting around.
                “I have to get cushions down n stuff.” He explained, “keep your eyes closed!”
                “I am! I am! I promise.” You covered your own eyes. You heard him shuffle around more until finally.
                “Okay open!”
When you opened your eyes you were met with a beautiful scenic lake, and Jinnie was standing there with a ‘well?’ stance.
                “I found this place a little while ago while getting lost to the town, total opposite direction. But it was worth it.” He jogged up to you, “plus it’s perfect to paint.”
You never really had someone be this thoughtful in years, let alone someone who wants to take care of you just because. It was hard to not get a little emotional.
                “Wow…” You breathed.
                “Perfect right?!” He grabbed your hand and sat you down on the cushion. He pulled out the canvases and paints.
                “Just try to paint it, I want to see you do it. Not how I do it.” He said and sat down next to you. You nodded, still in awe about this whole thing. You took out your brushes and started to paint, this time you felt eyes on you. You weren’t watching him paint; he was observing you now.
                “You’re making me nervous.” You spoke just above a whisper.
                “You do this to me all the time.” Jinnie leaned closer to you, you could feel his breath on you.
                “Does it make you nervous?” Your eyes kept going back and forth from the view to your canvas. You kept your stomach erupt in butterflies when he leaned even closer to you.
                “Yeah, it does.” Jinnie said, “you’re doing great by the way, I don’t see why you need my help with this.” He continued to watch you paint in silence, you were about halfway done.
                “Did you even need my help?” Jinnie teased.
You whipped your head over to him and bumped your face with his, he started giggling almost manically.
                “What?” You questioned him, waving the paintbrush, you ended up splattering paint on him. Now both of you were laughing.
                “You know what!” He grabbed a brush and started whipping paint at you too. You two started to battle with paintbrushes. The different color droplets started to spray everywhere.
                “Ah! Jinnie!” You grabbed a glob of blue acrylic paint and whipped it at him, he retaliated by grabbing yellow paint. At some point you two were chasing after each other.
                “Get back here!” Jinnie said, you turned around and saw he was right behind you. You yelped and started to run backwards right into the lake. Jinnie started laughing at you now that you were soaked. But when he skidded at the edge of the lake, he slipped on the mud. His body landed right next to yours with a splash. His head peaked out of the water, his hair everywhere. The water droplets mixing with the paint that stained his face. You didn’t know how he could look more beautiful.
                “Look who’s laughing now.” You teased him. His large hand splashed water at you. You gasped and splashed water back at him. You both eventually stood up still splashing water at each other. You started to try and wade away from him, still laughing. You made it out of the water and kept running.
                “Y/nnnnn!” He whined, you turned around and taunted him. You closed your eyes and stuck your tongue out. Before you knew it, he was dragging you back into the lake. You were yelping and laughing.
                “Jiiiinniee!”
                                                SPLASH
When you opened your eyes, you saw he was right on top of you, “whoops I fell in too.”
                “You schmo!” You laughed, closing your eyes again, and tilted your head back, letting the lake soak your hair.
                “Schmo?!” He grabbed your shoulders and lightly shook you, your giggles escaping you. When you opened your eyes again your hair was partially blocking your view. But once again you were met with his eyes staring back at you with that far off look he had earlier. Jinnie smiled at you like you were a warm cup of coffee on the coldest day of the year. His hand, still dripping with the lake water brushed your hair out of your eyes.
                “Tu es belle (beautiful girl).” Jinnie whispered under his breath.
                “Where did you learn that?” You whispered back, his hand cupped your cheek.
                “Picked up stuff from Gram.” His eyes never left yours, “she wanted me to know how to compliment you, to woo you per say… I intend to do so. Is it working?”
                “Oui.” You grinned at him and tilted your head back again, partially because you didn’t want him to see your flustered face. Your face burned when you felt his soft lips touch your cheek; your breath hitched, and you looked up at him.
                “Was that too much?” He asked his voice wavering slightly, one of his hands still held onto your waist and to the side of your face.
                “It wasn’t enough.” You put your hands on his cheeks and kissed him. He jumped a bit before quickly melting into your touch.
                                                                                                ~+~
                “I think that this piece is better than any of my landscapes.”
You looked at the painting you created which was now hung on his wall, “you helped create it.”
                “The paint splatters really do add to the landscape, don’t they?” Jinnie placed his hands on your waist, “definitely my favorite birthday present, this year.”
                “I’m glad this birthday was good for you.” You grinned up at him and tackled him into a hug. He started laughing.
                “You made it better.” He kissed your forehead.
                “Walk with me to school tomorrow?” You questioned.
                “Mmmm I’d have to check my schedule… I think I only have a rose bush to nurture with a gorgeous girl in the afternoon… Yeah, I can fit you in for a walk in the morning.”
                                                                                                ~+~
The next few weeks were peaceful, you and Jinnie’s routine became a part of your lives. He started to sleep over often, and you would sleep over at his home frequently as well. Your favorite thing to do with him was cook, sometimes he would sway with you while the pasta boiled. He would softly spin you while the bread needed to rise. Jinnie was a dream come true in your world. Your heart never felt so safe with anyone before. Life was simple and you two cherished that. The way he would look at you with love and adoration in his eyes is something you will always cherish.
Now you were painting in the living room of his home, he was picking up groceries so you two could bake together for Gram. You bit the end of the wood on your paintbrush, a sick habit you have developed over time. One Jinnie would giggle at.
                “My intended I’m home!” He called from the door, you quickly hopped up and followed his voice. There he was in all his glory, with his basket overflowing with groceries. You grinned and practically jumped in his arms. Jinnie yelped and then returned your giggles.
                “Miss me?”
                “Always.” You pulled away and led him to his kitchen. You helped him put away groceries and started to set up for the now weekly bread. Gram was very happy about this.
                “Oh, I also picked something up from the back of the market.” Jinnie sprung up and walked back outside, the way he sauntered always made you smile. He made you smile, especially when he came back from outside with this giant box.
                “This guy at the back of the market was selling things, and I noticed on your bookshelf you have a lot of old golden spine books at the top of your shelf.” He spoke excitedly, you honestly forgot about those old children’s books at the top, your main priority now was the old art books. Jinnie set the box on the counter, “the guy I think said that he had no idea if it still works, but! Even if it doesn’t maybe you could take the cases and make a collage.”
You opened up the big box and saw a ton of old VHS tapes, with a player to watch them. You saw old films from the 90s that ranged from The Titanic to old Disney Princess movies. Your eyes lit up, before you left home you had an obsession with movies of any kind. Your obsession slowed down when you moved here.
                “Jinnie what about a TV?” You looked up, questioning him.
He gave you a toothy grin, “when I first bought this house he mentioned a REALLY old TV in the attic. If it doesn’t work, we can just take a trip to the next town over.”
Once again, your eyes lit up, “Jinnie!” You hugged him again and he smiled into your neck.
                “I figured it would be nice to watch movies other than art documentaries in class, not that I don’t love them.” He mumbled, still holding onto you as if you would disappear any minute, “I also picked something else up.” He pulled away from you and pulled something out of his pocket, it was a small gold necklace, with a rose adorned on the front.
                “Jinnie…!” Your breath hitched.
He spun you around and placed the necklace on you, “he was also selling antique jewelry, he discounted it for me. It reminds me of the rosebush that’s now blooming outside of my house. All because of you.”
You turned around and hugged him tightly. Hwang Hyunjin was everything you wanted in a partner...
                “You’re so thoughtful.” You pulled away from him, looking at him with stars, “we can set up the movie night tonight and thank you so much for the necklace! Now! Gram has some bread to be made!”
Jinnie nodded with the same dreamy look and you two started baking up a storm. Gram was very happy seeing you two spend so much time together. You noticed how overtime Jinnie really did pay so close attention to her stories. He loved them, especially the love stories. Part of him didn’t seem real to you. When you two parted ways from Gram she gave you and Jinnie a hug and you two walked back across the street.
                “You seem to pay more attention to me than Gram now.” He teased, opening his door. You huffed as he let you in first.
                “I can’t help it, you’re cute when you’re enthralled in something.” You spun around.
Jinnie chuckled, “I’ll set everything up, do you want to maaaaybe plate some fruit and bread for us pleaaaase.”
                “Didn’t you just have my pumpkin bread at Grams?” Your eyes teased him. Jinnie whined and you quickly gave in. You skipped into the kitchen and started to make a snack, it was getting late and you assumed you were sleeping here so you sidetracked into his room. Looking around you found your set of pajamas that you kept at his home. Then you skipped back into the kitchen and finished plating your guy’s food. From the room you heard him curse slightly, you walked in and set the plates on the coffee table. Squatting by him you softly rubbed his back.
                “Want tea too?”
Jinnie nodded, his brows furrowed. You could tell he was determined to make this movie night work. It was something you really loved about him; he would try. You were never used to men like this growing up. You happily started the kettle and made tea.
                “MY DEAREST INTENDED!” He started running into the kitchen, “I did it! I did it!”
                                                                                                ~+~
                “Are you sure you want to go through the chest?” He asked as you knelt at the foot of your bed, you took a deep breath and nodded.
                “I think it’s time, plus I might’ve stole a couple photo albums, you’ll get to see baby me.”
Jinnie grinned at this and you unlocked the big trunk, it was like how you left it two years ago, almost three. You had an old sweater, joggers, your backpack, laptop, phone, everything.
                “Woah.” Jinnie said and started digging through the trunk of stuff. He was really looking for the small photo albums. You took out your phone and laptop, tossing them aside.
                “I totally forgot I packed this.” You giggled as you picked up a copy of The Shining.
                “Are you a Stephen King fan?” He mumbled, still looking for the photos of your past. You hummed.
                “I was, then I read IT and got weirded out.”
You heard Jinnie laugh, then he pulled out something from your backpack, “a Taylor Swift CD?”
                “I WAS LIKE 19!” You retorted; he started giggling more.
                “I prefer Lana Del Rey, but I can enjoy Taylor Swift.” He teased you, then he finally found what he was looking for. The small old photo albums.
Your body curled up next to him as you pointed out various family members, he listened intently. You thought going through this old trunk was going to be horrible, but with Jinnie, it wasn’t. He asked questions about your family and you happily answered them laughing or with stories that were stored in your memories. You even got reminded of some stuff. If something sparked a story in Jinnie he would tell it to you as well.
                “You’d love my mom.” Jinnie said and giggled at your baby photos.
                “I think my mom would love you, my dad is hard to win over though.”
Jinnie chuckled then looked at you with a serious look, “do you think we will ever see them again? Or even get to meet them?”
                “God, I hope so…” Your voice was quiet. You wanted so badly to introduce Hyunjin to your parents. You know they would love him and be so happy for you. He is everything your parents wanted for you. Respectful, smart, charming, they have always wanted that for you. Now that you have it, you want them so badly to see you this happy. They would be proud of you.
                “I think we will get to meet each other’s families.” Jinnie spoke suddenly. You looked at him.
                “You think?” Now you were fully pulled out of your thoughts.
Jinnie nodded, his hair falling in front of his eyes, which you pushed softly away.
                “I know we will get to. You are my intended after all.”
                                                                                                ~+~
You ended up being right about Mr. W scouting Jinnie for the next exhibit in Paris.
                “Jinnie you have to except it.” You paced back and forth, your feet pittering and pattering on the old wood.
                “Y/n I don’t know. Don’t you think that’ll bring too much attention to me?” You two were currently talking about whether or not he should take it. At this point the semester was nearly over, and that means the Paris trip would be soon. You knelt by him on the couch.
                “You could always do a fake name… Maybe cover your face…” You looked up at him, “Jinnie this is really big for your art.”
He looked conflicted, “if that doesn’t work then what am I going to do? Go back and leave you here? I can’t do that…”
                “You’re worried about having to leave me?” You leaned your head on his knee, he caressed your cheek. His fingers drifted to the necklace he gave you weeks ago. You seemed to only take it off while you bathed. Not that he paid attention to that or anything.
                “Of course, I am, I know I wouldn’t have a choice if I was found out.”
                “Hyunjin…” You stood up and sat next to him, his hair had grown out more and he had the same scared dog look to him again. Just like he did when you first met him.
                “Y/n, I don’t know what I would do, I know I sound crazy and I know it hasn’t been that long, I know I wear my heart on my sleeve and I know I romanticize every little thing, I can’t just- I-“
You put your hand in his, “it’s okay Jinnie. We aren’t at that yet, and that might not even happen.”
He nodded and took a deep breath, “I’ll explain my situation to Mr. W. Tell him my conditions and then we will go from there.”
                Your lips curved into a smile, and you kissed his cheek, “I’m so proud of you, Hyunjin, even if you decide not to go.”
Jinnie looked at you and he looked more relaxed, he squeezed your hand, “I love you so much.”
You had to force your brain to not make your tears flow, “I love you more.”
                “I’ll talk to him tomorrow after class,” he stood up, “I want you to come with me if I go to Paris.”
Jinnie pulled you with him, your body crashed into his and he held you.
                “You do?” Your eyes loved the sight of him.
                “I do.” He lifted both of your hands on his shoulders and put his on your waist, “I know you have work but-“
                “I want to go with you, I want to support you. I’d go anywhere with you.”
Jinnie smiled warmly at you, “I’ll have to hold you to that.”
                “You still have to sing to me.” Your eyes playfully narrowed at him, he huffed and swayed you two.
                “I sing to you all the time, it’s not my fault you’re always already asleep.” He gave you a funny look back. You pretended to be offended.
                “No fair! Sing me to sleep tonight!” You said, he giggled and spun you. You ended up crashing into him.
                “Say please my intended.”
You looked up at him, “please sing me to sleep tonight.”
Jinnie kissed you softly, you kissed him back and whined a bit when he pulled away, “as you wish.”
                                                                                ~+~
The next morning on the walk to school Jinnie really took in his surroundings like it would be the last time to. It really scared you. He wouldn’t get out of bed until you two absolutely had to. He wouldn’t let go of you while you cooked breakfast, and he wanted you to stay in the kitchen when he prepped your guys’ lunch.
                “Jinnie are you okay?” You noticed how he really was looking at the sunrise on the hill. He looked at you and sighed.
                “I’m just preparing for the worst.”
You were worried about him, “Jinnie, I know what I said but if you really don’t want to do this-“
                “My love, I’ve always wanted to have my art in an exhibit, and- and you’re right. I need to at least try. Maybe he won’t even care that I want to go by another name. That’s pretty normal for artists.”
                “That is true…” You nodded and mumbled, “but what if he looks up your legal name?”
                “I don’t think he will.” Jinnie said, “at least I really hope not.”
When you two finally made it to school you noticed how he didn’t let go of your hand. Usually he would, you both decided to only tell Gram about your relationship.
                “It’ll be okay Hyunjin…” You said to him, he nodded and walked into class first, finally letting go. You quickly followed after him. The whole time you could tell he wasn’t paying attention, his leg would bounce, and his brush would shake before it hit the canvas. It really hurt your heart to see him like this. You didn’t know what to do about this. He wanted this but his past life was still holding him hostage. No matter what though, you were determined to be there for him.
Chapter 4: Broken Trust
After class you waited for Jinnie to stop talking to Mr. W, you picked at your fingernails trying to calm yourself down. Seeing how nervous he was made you feel like throwing up. Taking a deep breath, you leaned your head back against the wall.
                “It’ll be okay…” You mumbled to yourself. Your eyes closed and you tried to calm yourself down. Part of you knew Jinnie had to go back at some point, even you had to go back at some point. You just hope that maybe it would be you two together going back and facing what you both left. You should really call your parents soon… Your eyes shot open, and you stood up when the door opened. Jinnie smiled at Mr. W and wished him a good day. Then he turned to you.
                “He is totally okay with it.” Jinnie beamed at you and hugged you tightly, “I really want you to come with me.”
Your giggles started when you felt his hair tickle your face, “I will be there.”
                                                                                                ~+~
                “I want to call my parents.” You said to him a couple days later. He looked up from his plate with wide eyes.
                “Are you sure?” Jinnie asked, his mouth full, eyes still wide.
You swallowed hard and nodded, “I’m sure. I think they need to know that I’m okay, all I left them was a note saying I’d be back soon. I feel guilty about it.”
Jinnie nodded, “do you want me to be next to you when you call?”
                “Please. I know it’s sort of a lot to ask but- “
He grabbed your hand from across the table, “nothing is too much for you to ask of me.”
Your nerves calmed and you nodded, “thank you Jinnie.”
                “You’re most welcome, my intended.”
After dinner you two sat on the floor, your landline phone and your actual cell phone next to each other. The plan was, if the landline didn’t get an answer, then it was a last resort to turn on your old cell phone and call.
                “Are you nervous?” Jinnie asked as he sat cross-legged in front of you. Your shoulders shrugged.
                “What if they get mad at me? What if they hate me for leaving?”
Hyunjin took a deep breath, “did they know what was going on?”
You nodded softly, “my dad even went to the court room, he stayed outside but he knew what was going on.”
                “I don’t think they will be mad.” Hyunjin lightly pushed the phone towards you. You took a deep breath and started to dial. Your hands shook and Hyunjin held your free hand.
                Brrrr brrrr brr- click
                “Hello?” It was your dad’s voice, you felt that feeling in your throat. You were choked up. You froze. Hyunjin mustve sensed this because he tried to get you back to reality asap.
                “Dad?” You said quickly, thankful Hyunjin snapped you out of it.
                “If this is some joke, I don’t think this is very fucking funny.” Your father’s voice was stern, just as you remembered it.
                “No-No it’s me. Y/n L/n, it’s me, your kid, the one who used to eat the dead flies off the bay window.” You spoke quickly, you saw Jinnie give you a funny look. He was trying to not laugh or make fun of you in this moment.
                “Y/N!” Your dad sounded relieved to hear your voice, “I-I’m so glad you’re okay… We didn’t know when you were going to come back, and you never answered any calls.”
                “I know… I’m really sorry, I was stupid and thought everything was going to be safer if I left.” You spoke softly.
Your dad let out a sigh, “Kiddo, your heart was in the right place… Home is safe now, we moved, and the door is always open for you.”
Your eyes started to water, “you guys moved?”
                “Yeah, a couple months after you left, we figured you left because of the situation, some people were saying that he finally- I don’t even want to get into it.” There was a pain in his voice.
                “I’m so sorry. I feel like it was my fault, I still feel like if I didn’t- “
Your dad interrupted you, “Y/n. Nothing was your fault.”
The tears fell and you covered your mouth, choking on a sob, you heard your dad tell you to breathe. Something that when you were a teenager, he had to tell you quite often. You were almost an exact copy of him, he knew how bad it could get. You missed this familiarity.
                “I’m sorry.” You repeated.
                “It’s okay, I promise. I will give you our new address, visit whenever you want. Please call whenever you want. I know you probably don’t want to disclose where you are and that’s okay. I’m just so happy you aren’t dead.”
Your father gave you the new address and you wrote it down. After catching up a bit, the call ended. Jinnie stayed by your side the entire time, he read his book and held your hand. When the call was finished, he softly set the book down.
                “How do you feel?”
You tackled him in a hug on the couch, “I’m so happy Hyunjin!”
                                                                                                ~+~
                “Okay Y/n is everything packed?” Jinnie asked, you nodded. After you called your dad, Jinnie figured going on a nice weekend trip would help with the heaviness of the past couple weeks. He didn’t tell you where you guys were going, but you trusted him with everything.
                “Can you pleaaase tell me?” You asked as you two walked to the town for the millionth time. He started to pack your bags in the rental car.
                “No, it’s a surprise.” He evilly giggled. You whined.
                “Can you give me a hint?” You leaned against the car.
Jinnie looked at you with his hand on his hip, “no.”
                “Have I been there before?”
He rolled his eyes and pecked your lips, “I really hope not.” He closed the trunk and you two started your drive.
                “I haven’t been in a car in forever.” You mumbled looking around the interior. Jinnie laughed a little and kept his eyes on the road.
                “Don’t get carsick, it’s sort of a long ride.”
You hummed and nodded, “Jinnie?”
                “Yes, my intended?”
                “Are you excited for the Paris exhibit?”
Your eyes watched as his toothy grin formed, “yes Y/n I’m ecstatic.”
                “Good!” You smiled, matching his grin.
As the car ride carried on, you started to doze off. Jinnie said it was okay if you fell asleep, so you let yourself doze off. When you woke, you were still driving, so you fell asleep again.
                “I have to get gas; do you have to use the restroom or anything?” He shook you softly awake. You stirred and looked at him sleepily. His smile at you warmed. He looked at you as if you were a warm blanket after a long day outside during the coldest of winters.
                “Mmm I’m hungry…” You mumbled and took off your seatbelt.
                “Okay let me gas up and I will go in with you.”
You nodded and waited for him, after he fed the car, he parked in the lot and opened your door for you. Your hand found his and you two walked to the little convenience store. When your eyes landed on all the snacks and things they practically sparkled. You hadn’t seen stuff like this for years.
                “Jinnie! Look!” You pulled him to the sunglasses. You grabbed a pair and put one on, “do these look nice?”
                “Hmmmm, try these ones.” He said and switched them out. You giggled as he put them on your face, after adjusting them and looking into the mirror you nodded. They were circular and red, very old fashioned.
                “I like these!”
Jinnie helped you to get some snacks and he paid for them, much to your dismay. Before you knew it, you two were on the road again.
                “We are almost there I promise, I know we have been driving for a few hours…” Jinnie mumbled and glanced at you. You sat there munching on some snacks in your new sunglasses.
                “Okay Jinnie.” You smiled and took another bite.
He wasn’t wrong, you two were almost there, at some point when the mountain road cleared your eyes met the blue ocean.
                “Oh my god!” You practically jumped out of your seat.
                “Nice way to kick off the summer?” He asked.
You turned to him, your hair a mess, sunglasses slanted, clothes disheveled, “YES!”
Jinnie smiled and started toward the small home he rented for the weekend. It was a walk from the beach and right when he stopped the car you started running toward the water. You craved the warm sand on your toes and the cold water on your skin. Your feet didn’t stop until you jumped into the water, clothes and all. You saw Jinnie laughing and jogging after you. He always looked like a dream, someone so perfect could only be in your imagination. Yet… Here he was. He wasn’t imaginary, he was just perfect in your eyes.
                “This is amazing!” You laughed and waved your new shades back and forth. Jinnie stood by the water letting it hit his feet. You noticed how he was taking it all in as well.
                “I know we have to take a trip to Paris next week, but I thought that this would be a nice way to relax before things get busy again.”
You jumped out of the water and hugged him, getting him, all soaked from the ocean.
                “Ah!” He jumped and tried to get out of your grip.
                “Jiiiiinnnnie!” You whined and looked up at him, his eyes softened, and he kissed you. Perfect, you caught him off guard and you threw both of your bodies into the water. Just like back at home in the lake, where he kissed you the first time. His laughter rang through your ears, you didn’t think you would ever get tired of hearing his laughter. Jinnie’s crazy, loud, stupid laughter. It could make symphonies jealous.
                                                                                                ~+~
You two laid in bed with the balcony doors open. The moon shone in, illuminated the room in a pale blue. Almost like the room’s saturation was turned down. The ocean waves could be heard, sometimes the breeze would move the curtains. You laid there playing with his hair, you took in every mole and every imperfection. To you though, the imperfections is what made him human. It’s what made him your intended, just as you were his.
                “I need to get it cut before the exhibit.” He mumbled into your arm.
                “My boss at the bookstore used to trim mine.” You whispered. Hyunjin nodded.
He slowly opened his eyes; he was so beautiful inside and out. Yeah, sometimes he was a little odd, memories flashed in your head. Sometimes he would chase the birds on the way home from class, other times you noticed he just wanted to watch movies to cry. Hyunjin was one of a kind in your eyes, he was caring and compassionate. No other person compared to his kindness. No other person compared to his uniqueness in general.
                “Do you know why I call you my intended?” He asked and his hand found its way to your cheek. Your mouth curved slightly.
                “Why is that?”
                “I intend to stay with you. No matter what.” He softly kissed your cheek.
Your breath hitched, “you think I’m worth that?”
                “You’re worth more than anything, that’s why I spoil you so. You deserve it, you deserve everything. I want to be the one to give you that happy ending.” Hyunjin pulled away from you, eyes locking, “you have made this the best few months I have had in a while. You gave me hope that my childish fantasies of love were true. I am so glad I found that my hopes are within you.”
                “I want a happy ending with you.” You breathed, he smiled at you.
                “What kind of ending?”
You leaned on your back now, “I dunno, maybe one where we are all old and sometimes gross,” you heard him laugh before you continued, “maybe have a nicer home somewhere else, one where we own it together.” You turned to him, “maybe even get a dog or cat. No birds though, you’d chase it away.”
You felt his lips on yours, “it sounds perfect.”
                “What about…?” You looked at him.
                “Hmm?” Hyunjin asked, shuffling under the blankets.
                “What about your family?”
Hyunjin’s face fell a bit before going back to a lovestruck look, “I will have to go home at some point, but I will always come back to you. I promise.” He kissed your hand.
                “I love you, Hyunjin.”
                “I love you most, my intended.”
                                                                                ~+~
On the car ride home, you felt yourself getting really carsick, like REALLY carsick. The previous day you two ate at some seafood place and it was not agreeing with your stomach. In the morning you threw up the fish and Jinnie had to watch over you. He made jokes with made you laugh. It wasn’t all bad. You learned that even if he got grossed out, he would still be there.
You two stopped at the gas station once more and this time he bought a matching pair of sunglasses, just to make you smile. Everything felt too good to be true. When you two got home, it felt right to be home with him. Everything felt so perfect with him. He led you to your room and straight to your bathroom. You had to bathe after that long car ride. Jinnie helped you wash up and it was the most vulnerable you have ever been around another human. It opened your world to what you were missing. After what happened you tended to close your world heavily. You didn’t want to love when you didn’t know what love even was. Now you do.
                “My intended, I am going to grab some clean clothes from my house. Lay down here, do you need anything while I am away?” He set you down by the bed, your wet hair soaking the pillow.
��               “I’m okay.” You smiled up at him, he looked down at you, eyes full of adoration. Jinnie nodded and headed out of the door. You started to fade in and out of consciousness. The drive and the food poisoning were really hitting you. You were tired, exhausted even.
At some point, you faded awake and you felt Hyunjin lay next to you, he held you tighter than usual. Your neck felt wet, but you just assumed that he showered or something. Your body just turned more into him, you let him hold you. His breathing was staggered and you would have asked if he was okay, if your own body wasn’t on shut down.
                “I love you so much, please know that.”
~*~
The next morning you woke up feeling so much better. The sickness was out of your system, you could hear the birds in the morning. The light shown in your curtains, it felt perfect. You got up thinking Jinnie was making breakfast, skipping in the kitchen you noticed that there was a plate of food. But no Jinnie. Your brows furrowed and you looked at the scene in front of you. The plate of seasoned potatoes and eggs, his sketchbook, and a note.             
                           Y/n, I don’t even know how to start this, I guess I should just explain when I got back to my house to pick up my clothes one of my old friends was there, he started bawling and hugging me when he finally saw me again he started saying how they looked for me everywhere, even though they weren’t technically allowed to, he said that Mr. W ratted me out to JYP. That is the company I am signed to. He ratted me out Y/n, and they came to pick me up. Apparently, I am allowed to work again. They paid Mr. W handsomely to give them My location, and he did.
Your eyes started to well up, you knew he was too good to be true. You took a deep breath and continued to read.
                               I didn’t want to leave; I told my friend I didn’t. But when I was about to walk out toward your house, the rest of my friends were there too. Some of the strongest people I know were crying when they saw me. People who usually don’t hug me, hugged me. I wanted to wake you up. Take you with me, I wanted you to always be in my world. But I was vetoed quickly. I am so sorry that I have to leave like this. When things settle down I promise I will come back for you. I always will. I am leaving you with my sketchbook. I promise Y/n, I promise you my Intended. I will be back. I am so very much in love with you.
-Your Intended forever, Jinnie.
Originally, you felt sad. Now a wave of anger washed over you. You put on your shoes and ran out, it was Monday, you were supposed to leave for France with Jinnie today. That wasn’t going to happen because of someone whom you looked up to. And for what? Money.
Your feet led you to the school, anger was an understatement. You slammed open the school door and stormed into the classroom. Mr. W stood there, looking at you with a shocked expression. He clearly wasn’t expecting you so early.
                “What is wrong with you!?” You yelled.
                “His friends were looking for him Y/n.” Your mentor said simply, “I did the right thing.”
                “You did the right thing for MONEY!” Your voice still raised, “I am going to the exhibit fucking alone, I am taking his work WITH me.” You started grabbing all of Hyunjin’s canvases.
                “Hyunjin was going to go back eventually when he HEALED, you sold him out because of your own selfish wants and needs.” You spoke with a lace of venom in your tone.
Mr. W scoffed, “again Y/n he was going to go back eventually, they needed to know where he was, I just delivered. And how on Earth are you going to do this without me? I taught you everything you know. You are supposed to take my position here.” You did not like when men talked to you like this.
                “I went to the exhibit last year, and I think if I explained how you sold out the artist picked this year, they will fucking understand why you aren’t there to join me. Find another apprentice, I am leaving.”
And that you did, you meant what you said. The driver that was going to take you to Paris showed up, Mr. W didn’t meet you at your home like he was supposed to. He was a rat, a selfish waste of space. The driver helped you with Hyunjin’s work and your own work. You might as well try and turn this situation positive. The whole drive there was awkward.
The whole exhibit felt wrong.
It felt like something was missing.
He was missing.
                                                                                                ~*~
Only one good thing came out of it, people liked yours and his work, many people asked to sell his work to them. You declined but sold all your own work. You sold all your possessions through the bookstore manager back at that small French town. You erased your existence there. You settled down in a small abode in the city. In the heart of Paris, you resided. Mr. W got a bad reputation at that school, the poetry teacher told you. She hunted you down after you left. She would give you updates on what was happening. Until eventually she would stop calling. That was the last connection cut from that little French town.
Slowly, your own art got more recognition. A year had passed, and you got popular in the art scene. You could afford more, as much praise as you were getting, you still felt so very empty. Most nights you found yourself looking up above the mantle, your favorite piece. It was priceless to you, your favorite landscape.
You sat on the couch mentally preparing for your next meeting, it was going to discuss the next exhibit location. Taking a deep breath, you leaned back. You finally made a name for yourself but at what cost. It wasn’t even your fault. The world you learned was littered with selfish people. The more meetings, the more people, the more people, the more your optimistic mindset declined. There was never a day that went by where you didn’t miss Hyunjin immensely. You researched him behind the scenes, you kept an eye on him. When he posted on their Instagram that he purchased one of your works, you bawled for days.
Taking another breath you stood up, he knew where to find you, yet he hasn’t. That isn’t on you. Grabbing your things you headed down to the lobby of your apartment. You sat in a boring meeting until someone rushed in, it wasn’t so mindless anymore.
                “I am so sorry, someone literally stole my bike and I had to rush here.” The man was very tall, hair a mess now. His clothing was impeccable. He had a warm drink in his hand, his glasses almost falling off his nose. He quickly walked to his seat, which was next to you.
When the meeting went on you started to get curious of the man next to you. He was attractive, no lie. Your stubborn heart wasn’t going to pine after him though. When the meeting ended and the location of your exhibit was chosen you quickly walked out.
                “Wait!”
You flipped around and saw the man goofily run up to you, “yes…?”
                “I wanted to introduce myself, I absolutely love your work and it took a lot of digging to even get into that meeting.” He fixed his glasses.
                “Oh.” You said simply. The grown man nodded and stuck his hand out.
                “I am Kim Namjoon.”
You smiled and shook his hand, “Y/n.”
You two started to walk together, “so that’s your real name?” He sparked conversation with your closed off demeaner so easily.
                “Yes, you didn’t think my name was actually ‘intended’ did you?” You asked, adjusting your coat. It was cold in the spring, although summer was coming quickly. You could just tell.
Namjoon let out a laugh, another unique laugh. You felt yourself smile softly to yourself.
                “Well, I wasn’t sure. Sometimes people have distinctive names.” He spoke with a tone that was so interesting to you. This Namjoon was an interesting individual.
                “I think your name is nice, I’ve never heard it before.” You spoke. Your bag swung a bit, you looked up at him. Namjoon’s brows furrowed.
                “You haven’t?” He asked.
                “I mean, it could be familiar, but I don’t know. Should I know it?” Your voice was teasing. The banter made Namjoon smile.
                “Well, I was just. I was just in a music industry so it threw me off slightly.” He said quieting his voice.
                “Oh?” You asked.
                “Yeah, I was in a k-pop group. Sometimes I still make music, but the group is only sometimes now. I don’t mind, the space from all of that lets me enjoy other forms of art.”
Your heart got reminded of what it was stolen of.
                “That’s good that you are growing every day.” You said, your tone was cold. A total 180, Namjoon didn’t seem to notice though. As he walked you to your apartment he asked about your work, about you, he made sure you were comfortable.
You ended up letting him in your apartment.
                “So, you were in a k-pop group?” You were curious, “was the company bad in any way?”
Namjoon’s brows furrowed, confused by your question. Also confused by your sudden interest in that part of his life.
                “Well, when I first started yeah it was rough. But then we just started controlling our own little section of the company. So, I am now in charge of what I do.” He spoke, sipping the tea you made for him.
                “Ah…” You sat down at the table with him, you looked out the window at the city. This window of the house barely showed the Eiffel Tower.
                “You are different then how I expected you to be.” Namjoon spoke. You perked up.
                “What is that supposed to mean?”
He let out a laugh, “its not a bad thing, with how dark your work is, part of me expected a very tortured very damaged person. However, looking at you now, I can still see you have a little spark in your eyes.”
Your eyes softened, you really thought that spark was gone from your soul. But if a complete stranger saw it, maybe the spark wasn’t died out completely.
                “You can?” Your voice softened, you didn’t want to cave so easily. However, you felt your walls starting to crumble. When you moved to Paris and started to get popular you were telling men and women left and right to fuck off if they wanted to court you. It was even worse if they TRIED to court you. But Namjoon, he seemed sincere. Your heart dropped when you saw your piece above the mantle. You caved in on yourself. Namjoon picked up on this.
                “Was that too much? I’m sorry.” He quickly apologized, you rapidly shook your head no.
                “it’s just been a while since I have sat down with someone like this.” You took a sip of your own tea, “it isn’t bad. Its just something different for me.”
Namjoon nodded, “I am in Paris for about a week, I was actually planning on going to your exhibit because either way I wanted to meet you, but I am ranting, anyways, if you would like to do this more, like sit down and talk.”
You looked up at him and smiled, “I would like that.”
                He was a little awkward, but maybe he was charming you slightly.
                                                                                                ~*~
You two ended up exchanging numbers after he had tea with you that one day, a couple days passed and you two decided to go to a local restaurant down the road. He was going to meet you at your apartment, and you would buzz him up. You put on your makeup and got dressed, back in the small town your clothing was lighter colors. Now you noticed it was all black and navy blue. Dark maroons sometimes littered your wardrobe as well. As you got changed you didn’t see the text reading that Namjoon couldn’t make it today. When your door buzzed you let whoever was here, up. When there was a knock at the door you rushed over, your long black dress flowing as much as it could with your long cardigan over it. You slipped your heels on and opened the door.
                “Jinnie- “
Chapter 5: I’m Sorry, I’m Late
“Jinnie-“your voice got caught in your throat. There he was, in front of you. His hair was different, but the curves of his face and his moles were exactly where you remembered him. You tried to draw him many times over the past year; you could never perfect him.
                “I’m sorry, I’m late.” He spoke, his voice was just as you remembered it. God…
In a shock to yourself your face contorted, “late for what Hyunjin.” Your cold voice stunned you.
                “I had a feeling you would be upset with me.” His voice was calm, he looked somewhat different, his hair was blond and long. It was a total 180 from the short choppy dark hair of Jinnie.
                “Can I come in?” he asked softly. You took a deep breath and stepped aside. He walked in, his clothes were different too. More chic, he looked expensive.
You walked over to your phone to see that Namjoon asked to reschedule, what rotten timing.
                “You still have our piece we made together, over the mantel.” He noted. Your heart wanted to be so mad at him. You were livid, he had left for a year, no words, no letters, nothing. Hyunjin just watched you from afar as you did him. It’s not like you had any way to contact him. He could’ve easily contacted you, but he didn’t.
                “Why are you here?” You asked trying to sound stern, it wasn’t real though. When it came to him your heart was on your sleeve. Your cold tortured artist façade now crumbled completely; it always did when your heart missed him.
                “I’m here for your exhibit.” He turned around and looked at you, now leaning on the arm of the couch, “your home is nice.”
                “My exhibit isn’t until a few days.” Your voice once again slightly quivering. You felt your posture stiffen.
                “I know that.” Hyunjin walked toward you, your eyes weren’t on him, but you could hear his shoes. His now expensive, shiny, pointy, stupidly classy shoes.
You finally gained enough courage to look at him, his brown eyes looking straight into you. The rolls were reversed now, your heart was the scared dog.
                “I said I was late because I heard from the grape vine about Namjoon visiting for your exhibit.”
Your eyes widened, how? It was one day…
                “My friend is friends with Namjoon’s friend. He apparently talks nonstop about you and your work. When Chris, my friend, told me, I came here as soon as possible.” He went to grab your hand and you pushed it away.
                “So, you only came here when you found out someone who has an interest in me was now getting to see me?” Obviously, this hurt you. It felt selfish and that wasn’t the Jinnie you knew.
                “Y/n you know I don’t mean it like that…” Hyunjin’s voice was pained. It broke you a little more knowing it was because of your own words. You walked past him, and you heard his footsteps following you. Whipping around you poked his chest.
                “You didn’t even reach out to me! You bought one of my works second hand! You knew exactly where to find me!” Your voice raised, “I waited for you!”
                “I know you did, and I am so sorry, I got caught up in so many schedules. And it was a lot. My parents missed me, and I missed my friends and the next thing I knew- “
                “And then you have the absolute AUDACITY to come to my home when I just started getting over you!” You backed him to the edge of the couch again.
Hyunjin looked at you with wide eyes, then they trailed down to your neck, “are you sure about that?” His voice was just above a whisper. Your brows furrowed and your hand came up to touch what his eyes were glued to.
                It was the necklace he gave you, in your defense you never take it off. It just became apart of you, just like he did.
                “Don’t think I didn’t notice my works wrapped up under the couch either.” He wasn’t walking on eggshells anymore, he was stomping. Your eye twitched.
                “What do you even want to get out of this Hyunjin!?” You didn’t look at him.
You felt his warm hand softly grab yours, he was back on eggshells again, his grip was as if you were blown glass.
                “I want you just as I always have.”
That was it, there was absolutely no getting over him. Any progress you made in the past year was gone. You looked away from him.
                “Please… Look at me…” He was trying not to cry, “say anything please.”
                “Not even a text? Or a letter?” Your voice broke, the floodgates had opened wetting your face.
Hyunjin wiped your tears as quickly as they leaked out of his favorite pair of eyes, “I tried, I didn’t know what to say. I will admit I am being impulsive and stupid. I shouldn’t have dropped everything the second I heard Namjoon was going to be at your meeting.”
Your brows furrowed again, and you looked up at him, “you dropped everything?”
                “Yes, in a heartbeat, the second Chris told me I booked a plane ticket without telling anyone. I was scared and I couldn’t- I couldn’t let you- “
The anger was back, and you pushed his hands off his face, “you couldn’t let me get over you!?” You turned your back to him and hugged yourself.
                “I couldn’t let someone else have you! Y/n, I messed up so badly. I know I did, I hurt you and left you with a stupid note and I didn’t even think about how much it would hurt you in the morning. I was overwhelmed. I should have visited you right when I knew you were here.” Hyunjin was desperately trying to get you to hear him out. Your heart was in a war between loving him and hating him.
Hating him was fueled by how much you were in love with him.
                “You have until my exhibit, to fix this. To prove to me that you won’t just leave again with a stupid note.” You turned around and his eyes filled with hope. The same hope before yours and his relationship was tainted.
You ended up having to let Hyunjin stay in your guest room, he didn’t book any kind of hotel or anything. He truly just bought a ticket to France, to you. The rest of that day was spent with him walking around your home and taking what you presumed to be mental notes.
Your outing with Namjoon was going to get rescheduled at your exhibit. At this point, your childish heart wanted the entire Earth to stop so you wouldn’t have to be with anyone but Hyunjin. But the adult brain in you told you that Hyunjin needed to prove that he wouldn’t just leave again.
~*~
The next morning you woke up and flipped over, totally forgetting yesterday’s events. When you heard music playing from your living room you got scared. You sprung up and rushed in, no one was in the living room. It was BRIGHT too, usually you have the curtains closed.
When you entered the kitchen, there he was. You weren’t dreaming.
                “Oh, did I wake you?” He turned around, his beautiful face more visible to you now. You mentally thanked the headband he had on.
                “No, I just-“ you didn’t know what to say.
                “I opened your curtains in the living room and in here, you have beautiful views of the city.” Hyunjin smiled at you and set a plate down at your small table, meant for two.
                “You made breakfast?” You asked, eyeing the plate. Your eyes then went up to him, he looked tired, he was still in his pajamas. Hyunjin nodded.
                “I am really jetlagged, so it was hard sleeping. I woke up really early and so I made breakfast.” Even through his drowsiness he smiled for you. You mumbled a thank you and sat down. You saw that he made a really good-looking fruit bowl with oatmeal.
                “I have hard boiled eggs in the fridge too. All picked up this morning. I didn’t want to use your food without permission.” He said and set down spoons and forks for you both.
                “You could have… It’s okay…” Your voice was quiet.
                “Do you have any plans today?” Hyunjin asked you. You took a bite of the fruit in the fruit bowl. He even picked the best fruit for you. You shook your head no.
                “Would you want to take a walk with me today? I was thinking about getting ice cream or a genuine French Crepe.” He took a sip of his tea.
                “Aren’t you worried about being recognized with me? Don’t you have fans?” You took a sip of your tea now.
                “Well, don’t you have fans now?” He slyly smiled at you, “I’ve heard some rumors about you.”
You gave him a look, “what do you mean?”
Hyunjin did one of his eye smiles and giggles, “you know at first, I was a little jealous when I heard that everyone in the art scene wanted to court you.” He sipped his tea and wiggled his eyebrows. You couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped you.
                “Not everyone.” You looked away, “they stopped after a bit.”
Hyunjin set his glass down which got your attention again, “ah of course they did, you gained the reputation of being unobtainable.”
                “Is that what they call me now?” You asked, now taking a spoonful of oatmeal.
                “Maybe, I wouldn’t call you that though.”
                “Confident, are we?” You asked him.
The man in front of you looked at you, a small huff of a laugh coming out of his nose, “maybe.”
~*~
He held the umbrella for you both as you walked down the busy street with him. A scene your heart never thought would come true.
                “Your clothes are darker colors now.” He noted, “they look nice on you.”
You nodded, “thank you, your hair doesn’t look choppy anymore.”
Hyunjin threw his head back and laughed, he almost hit you with the umbrella, “I got scolded and forced to get a haircut, they don’t let me touch it now.”
                “Your work?” You questioned. Hyunjin let out a hum of a yes. You frowned, “doesn’t it bother you…? Being put in a box like that?”
                “Oh, every day, but it’s worth it when I am on stage, dancing, singing, I missed it truly. I got my spark back.” He spoke with stars in his eyes.
                “Well, that’s good then. I am glad your trip helped you appreciate what you have.” You said and pushed your dark sunglasses up again.
                “My return though made me miss dearly what I gained on that trip.” Hyunjin said in a hushed voice, near your ear.
You looked at him, as much as you wanted to fight it, your heart belonged to him. It wasn’t time yet though; your mind was still scared.
                “The café is up there.” Hyunjin broke eye contact with you then led you to the café.
He ended up ordering for you in French, he spoke with confidence. It was a change from the markets in that oh so small town. You both sat outside after he paid.
                “I studied French on my free time when I got back.” Hyunjin spoke and took a bite of his sweet treat.
                “I was wondering how you spoke so confidently.” You sipped your hot coffee; you also picked a strawberry off your plate.
                “It made me think of you.” He spoke and gave you that stupid eye smile. It was almost torture.
You looked away biting back a smile, he was too charming for his own good. The little things he did were too much. It made your heart win the war over your brain.
                “Was the bed warm? In my guest room?” You questioned.
Hyunjin nodded, still smiling at you. He seemed thrilled to just be around you, “mhm!”
                “That’s… That’s actually a relief, I don’t usually have overnight guests.” Your lips curved into a smile. You looked up at him and his head was turned in question.
                “What?” You asked.
                “You don’t have guests?”
You shook your head no, “I don’t have people over like at all. One time my mom visited but that was a few months ago.”
                “You don’t get lonely?”
Your mind filled with memories of you sipping wine by yourself, letting a couple tears slip while the fire was the only thing that warmed your body. Quickly you snapped out of it.
                “No.” Your answer was short, “I did that before didn’t I?” Correction, you did that before you met Hyunjin. Then he opened your world only to leave you on the dark side of the moon.
                “Well, I just thought because your art style changed dramatically. The colors you used were always dark, dark reds, blues, blacks, greys. No more yellow or lavender.” He said simply.
                “Do you study my work?”
Hyunjin smiled again at you, with a knowing look, then he shrugged, “finish your coffee its going to get cold.”
                                                                                                ~*~
The next day he made you breakfast again, this time it was muffins and fruit. He even cut the fruit into little shapes; you know that he specially hand cut each shape due to the fact you didn’t own any kind of food cutters.
                “Good morning!” Hyunjin said cheerfully.
                “Did you rest well?” You asked sitting down, Hyunjin nodded.
                “I slept a lot better than last night; I usually get over jet lag pretty quickly so.” He set your food down and sat down next to you, “I also made peppermint tea this morning.”
                “Thank you…” You felt your face warm and the small butterflies erupted from your chest to your heart.
                “So today, are you busy with anything?” Hyunjin asked, you took a bite of your muffin. It was pumpkin.
                “Did you make these?” You looked at him, it tasted exactly like your pumpkin bread. Hyunjin nodded with a grin.
                “We made it so much that when I had free time, I wrote down the recipe. I used to make it in my dorm whenever I missed you. Let’s just say I gave my friend who actually bakes a run for his money.” He giggled and took a bite of his muffin.
                “That’s… Really sweet of you…” You spoke quietly, you saw Hyunjin smile warmly to himself. Part of you knew he truly does love you as much as you still love him. Your mind was starting to forgive him. Your mind then went to his original question.
                “I only have a small meeting today for the food being served at my exhibit.” You ate some fruit.
                “May I come with you?” Hyunjin asked. Your mind fought it and thought it over. Your heart once again won.
                “I think your insight will help.” Your words came off warm. You saw Hyunjin’s eyes widen a bit at your kind tone, then he smiled.
~*~
Once more he held your umbrella as you two walked, today it was actually raining so you actually needed the covering.
                “I don’t think it will rain the day of your exhibit.” Hyunjin’s feet slapped against the stone streets of Paris.
                “You looked up the weather?” Your eyes looked up at him. Part of him was offended and you can tell.
                “Can you please stop being so surprised that I do the bare minimum?” He looked down at you, he didn’t want to start an argument. As he was a man who preferred to communicate and say his emotions. He could never hold in how he was feeling, and you remembered that. One time you two had a small argument in the small town, he just said how he was feeling.
                “I’m sorry I am just trying to- I don’t even know. You’re right I need to have more faith in you.” You didn’t look at him anymore, “It’s really wrong of me to assume that you are going to do the worse.” You swallowed, you didn’t want to cry. But he was right. Hyunjin sighed and pulled you to the side of the sidewalk, under an awning. The rain was starting to get loud.
                “Y/n you have every right to be cautious of me. I understand what I did and I shouldn’t have just-“
                “Hyunjin…” You looked up at him, “you are right, I need to be more open minded, you were never wrong to me in that small town and you didn’t have a choice to leave. You said so in your note.” You dug through your purse and grabbed your wallet.
                “What’re you…?”
You kept digging until you pulled out his note, the one he left you at your small cottage, “you said yourself you wanted to take me with you, but you were shot down.”
                “You keep it with you…?”
Your eyes looked away from him and to the note that was in your hands, “yes I keep it with me…”
Hyunjin’s hand touched yours and he took a deep breath, “I’m still so sorry.”
                “It’s okay… Again, I know you didn’t have a choice, and I know you were so busy with your life and I started to become busy too and our lives just got so complicated… I need to stop being so cold to you…” Your voice was shaky, and you took a deep breath.”
                “Hey… It’s okay…” Hyunjin’s hand slowly and cautiously went to your cheek. You looked up at him, he smiled at you, “hi.”
Your heart loved the view in front of you and so did your mind, “hi.”
                “Let’s get to the meeting, okay? We don’t want to be late.”
That’s what you two did, you made it in one piece even in the rain. The meeting consisted of different cheese and wine tastings. Hyunjin would giggle at you everytime your face scrunched from the strong wine flavor and you would laugh at him when the cheese he ate tasted bad.
                “You said this one tasted good!” Hyunjin pouted while you were giggling evilly.
                “I thought it tasted great… Maybe your taste buds are broken.” You said smugly.
Hyunjin’s jaw dropped and he looked stunned, “MY taste buds!? You like bad cheese apparently!” He said loudly. You had to quiet him down while laughing. You two got a little tipsy while trying all the wine, you were nowhere near drunk, but you could feel a little buzz. You and Hyunjin were just constantly laughing at everything. In your heart you felt that this was perfect, you could live every day with him if you could. Before you two headed out you both made sure to drink water and have a couple slices of bread. Much to Hyunjin’s excitement.
When you two decided on the little snacks and drinks for your exhibit you two started your walk home, together. The buzz was starting to wear off which was good. Being publicly intoxicated could ruin both your public image, as if being alone together wasn’t enough to stir controversy. That fear wasn’t on either of your minds though, at least not at the moment. You and Hyunjin were both drunk on each other’s company.
                “I cannot believe you made me try that gross cheese!” Hyunjin said as you two walked on the sidewalk. The rain started to clear up, so he didn’t bother opening the umbrella.
                “You tried to get me drunk!” You joked back, Hyunjin dramatically gasped.
                “I would never! You drank the same amount as me!” He placed his hand over his heart. You let out a laugh and through your head back. You missed this so much, you missed him so much. You and Hyunjin exchanged glances at each other as you two walked and talked.
                “You know I wonder how our neighbor is…” You thought to yourself.
                “Gram?” Hyunjin asked and cocked his head to the side.
You nodded and messed with the rings on your fingers, “I still feel guilty for just leaving and selling everything.”
                “I am sure she would understand, maybe we could invite her to your exhibit!” Hyunjin suggested, your eyes lit up.
                “That is such a good idea!” You grinned up at him, Hyunjin gave you a funny but endearing look.
                “I think we should…-“ His voice trailed off and he looked in front of him. Your eyes followed him but before he could figure it out, he pulled you into the alley and started rushing.
                “What is this about?” You felt yourself giggle a little and you let him lead you. You were still in love with him, you couldn’t help it.
                “I think someone recognized one or both of us.” He turned three corners in the small alley and stopped to look around.
                “So, you dragged us into a sketchy ally?” You felt yourself laugh at him, he looked down at you confused and then looked around.
                “I guess I did… I panicked, okay?” You could tell he was a little embarrassed, once again you let a giggle slip out.
                “I just don’t want to have to leave again.” Hyunjin spoke softly, his voice was quiet. Your eyes softened when you looked at him.
                “You think they’d follow you again?” Your curiosity peaked. Hyunjin gave you a look and nodded.
                “Oh yeah, they will follow me to the ends of the Earth. I mean my brothers would, they aren’t actually blood brothers but they are the closest I have to them.” He was rambling, it made you forget you two were in some random alleyway.
                “Will I ever get to meet them?” You looked up at him and leaned against the wall. Hyunjin looked down at you.
                “You want to meet them?”
You nodded, “well of course I would. They’re important to you, are they not?”
                “Yeah… Yeah they are.” Hyunjin’s eyes kept staring into yours. His mind was running a mile a minute. You felt the rain start again, it was only a sprinkle and it felt nice. You looked up still leaning on the wall taking in the nice weather. You could hear Hyunjin breathe through his nose, and you looked up at him again. His brows were furrowed, and he looked frustrated.
                “Are you okay?” You asked, now you were genuinely concerned.
                “Please…” He mumbled, now it was your turn to look confused. The rain started to become heavy again, soaking both of you.
You heard Hyunjin mumble something and then look away.
                “I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you because of the rain.” You spoke.
                “Please let me kiss you again.”
In the middle of the sketchy alleyway, you let him kiss you. The war between your mind and heart was over, they made a truce to love Hyunjin.
And only Hyunjin.
~*~
The next morning you woke up to Hyunjin next to you, he was still sound asleep. Hyunjin looked so peaceful, it was just like when you woke up next to him in that little cottage of yours. Except now you two are older. His face was illuminated by the sun bouncing off your white walls. He was beautiful. You think if you ever spent a year without him again you would be heartbroken forever.
You carefully slipped out of bed, making sure that you wouldn’t wake him. You got up and did your morning routine and called your manager, you had an idea.
                “Hello Miss L/n.” Your manager said cheerfully, “what do I owe the pleasure?” Her voice was always so powerful.
                “Do you remember the first exhibit when my work started to become popular?” You asked as you went through the fridge to make pancakes for you and Hyunjin.
                “Ah yes, the one that was meant for Mr. W’s student Sam. But then Sam couldn’t make it?” Your manager always remembered; it was probably because you paid her to do so but still.
                “Yes, that one, I want to put those pieces out again this next exhibit. I have Hyu- Sam, here with me. I would like him to see his work in an exhibit.” You spoke and started to stir the pancake mix.
                “How kind of you Miss L/n.” You heard her type from the other end, “I will add that to your exhibit and the pamphlet. This afternoon I will send someone over to pick up yours and Mr. Sam’s.”
                “Thank you.”
Your manager started typing again and hummed to herself, “alright, they will be there in the afternoon.”
                “Thank you, Mrs. Jean.”
You said your goodbyes and continued to make breakfast, blueberry pancakes and coffee. Smiling to yourself you started to flip the pancakes. You jumped when you felt arms slowly snake around you.
                “Good morning.” Hyunjin mumbled and buried his head in your shoulder.
                “Morning Jinnie.”
Hyunjin giggled and buried his head more in your shoulder, “I missed that.”
You hummed and he didn’t let go of you while you cooked. You moved to the right, Hyunjin moved to the right. You took a step back, Hyunjin took a step back.
                “Breakfast smells great.” Hyunjin was still very sleepy, you could tell.
                “I am glad, I figured I would make up for you making breakfast the past couple days.” You laughed out of your nose.
                “You don’t have to make anything up for me.” He finally let go of you when the food was done and set.
                “Oh, I have someone coming over today to pick up some artwork for the exhibit. Do you mind running errands?” You asked and sipped your hot coffee. You put creamer in it, Hyunjin didn’t put creamer in his. You took note of that.
He pouted, “why can’t I be here?”
You gave him a look, “Can you please just trust me. Pleaaaase.” You pouted back. Hyunjin groaned and took a bite of his pancake, after he drowned it in syrup, of course.
                “Jinni-“
                “Yes. I can run errands, anything for you.”
Your smile widened and you giggled at how much of a lovesick dork he was. It was hypocritical of you to laugh though, you were the same lovesick dork for him. You always were.
~*~
The day of your exhibit rolled around and you woke Hyunjin up.
                “Get up we have to get ready!” You grinned.
                “My ticket isn’t until 6pm.” Hyunjin rolled over again, his beautiful form facing you. You shook him again.
                “Don’t you want to walk into my exhibit holding hands with me?”
You have never in your life seen someone get ready THAT quickly.
                “Blue or black suit?” Hyunjin asked.
You looked up at him. He had light makeup on and his hair was pulled back in a ponytail, he looked divine already. He could show up in his pajamas and he would look so good.
                “Blue, navy blue.” You said and looked back at your vanity, you were deciding how to do your hair and makeup.
                “Is that because you’re wearing navy blue.” He teased. Your face grew hot.
                “Noooo…” You mumbled, he let out a loud obnoxious laugh that you were in love with.
You finished getting ready and you waited for him by the door, adjusting your hat and sunglasses. As much as wearing sunglasses indoors made you kind of look like an asshole, you became known to do so. You started wearing them at your first exhibit, it was so people couldn’t see you crying over Hyunjin and how you wanted him to be there so badly. You took a deep breath, maybe it was time to ditch the sunglasses.
                “You look beautiful.” Hyunjin said from behind you and looked at you in the mirror, “can we take a photo?”
You nodded and looked up at him, he whipped out his phone and took a mirror selfie with you. He took a few photos, one of him kissing the side of your head, one of him holding you, another one of him actually kissing you. He would have memories and photos of you with him.
                “We are going to be late Jinnie.” You laughed. He nodded and you two headed out to the driver.
~*~
When you two arrived early you talked to your manager and introduced her to Hyunjin. She was very excited to meet this other artist. Just like you, she fell in love with his art too. Mrs. Jean was also clearly scouting for another client. It made you smile with pride. You were always so proud of Hyunjin. They ended up talking about art, thank god your manager kept the surprise. She was clearly trying to sell him on becoming a client, part of you hoped so. That meant he would have to come to Paris more. Which means he could see you more.
Time passed and people started showing up to your shared exhibit. When you walked around and people chatted with you, you saw Hyunjin was chatting with a group of men that you recognized as people from his group. He didn’t look tense around them, and it didn’t seem like he was in too much trouble for running away again.
You sipped on your champagne and grabbed a couple of cheese slices from the table.
                “Good evening.” You looked to your side and saw Namjoon. Uh ohhh. You smiled warmly, trying not to panic. You ended up setting your little cheese plate to the side.
                “Oh! Hi Namjoon!” You were really trying not to panic. I mean you guys didn’t even go out, you had tea with him once.
                “Your exhibit is really beautiful! I am excited to go through the rest of it.” He smiled at you.
                “Thank you, Namjoon that means a lot.” You smiled, he smiled back and before you knew it you felt a hand on your waist.
                “Oh my god I know you.” Hyunjin said and put his hand out, Namjoon shook it.
                “You’re an idol too, right?” Namjoon spoke, “part of that group Stray Kids?”
Hyunjin nodded and shook his hand back, “yes, I am Hyunjin.”
                “Ahhhh yes you are talked about a lot, I have heard your name float around before.” Hyunjin shrugged with a sly smile. You could help but roll your eyes at Hyunjin being childish.
Hyunjin and Namjoon talked a little about work before Namjoon excused himself to look at the rest of the exhibit.
                “I have something to show you.” You grabbed Hyunjin’s hand with your free hand. You set your champagne down. Hyunjin smiled at you and nodded. You led him to the part of your exhibit that was dedicated to him. You saw as his eyes widened and he looked at you then back at his artwork. They were still in pristine condition.
                “You didn’t get to see your work in an exhibit, I wanted to make that up to you.” You said quietly. Hyunjin looked at you like you were the world to him. He was at a loss for words.
                “Do you like it?” You asked, scared you overstepped.
                “Y/n… I love it…” He mumbled, still in shock, “I love you so much. I-“
You watched, heart beating out of your chest as he got down on one knee. Your mouth was agape. He pulled out a small box, the ring shining under the exhibit lights.
                “I was planning to do this after the exhibit but my heart is telling me there is no other perfect time for this. I love you, y/n. I will make up for the time lost for the rest of my life with you. I thought about you every day and I will continue to only think of you every day. I want you to be my future, you already are my everything. My intended. Will you please marry me.”
Maybe you should have worn your sunglasses because you were crying over Jinnie again, but not because of sadness.
                “Yes Jinnie!”
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mirkwoodmunson · 8 months
Text
insomnia
eddie munson/f!reader
sfw
If it weren’t for Eddie sleeping peacefully by your side, you’d be crying in frustration right about now. The aching pull of sleep behind your eyes was a constant reminder that if you could just relax, you’d be out cold. But whether it be your heart or your mind, your body betrays you; so, despite your exhaustion, you lie awake in Eddie’s bed at four o’ clock in the morning.
Your legs are tingling with restlessness and it starts to reach your arms, you dare yourself to stay still, wallowing in discomfort to save Eddie the ordeal of waking up just to help you fall sleep. As many times as he’d tried humming to you, rubbing your back, tried talking you to sleep, the stress of wanting to give him that satisfaction of lulling you into slumber kept you awake despite his best efforts. More-so on your part you’d decided it best not to indulge in that frustration just to have him awake with you. He needed rest, too, and you’d either fall asleep, or you wouldn’t. Mornings when he could tell you hadn’t rested were a blessing within your curse, anyway — he’d coo and sweet-talk you, rub your back apologetically and bring you a cup of coffee in bed, tending to your enervation.
When the dark night begins to give way to the earliest of the sun’s light, it’s a bit too much to bear, and you rub your eyes with a soft sigh of irritation before carefully climbing out of his bed. You grab one of his discarded sweatshirts off the floor and pull it over your head, arms wrapped tight around yourself as you leave his bedroom, gently closing the door behind you.
Wayne is still working the night shift, leaving the rest of the empty trailer to your devices. For a little while you watch some TV, curled up on the couch with your arms around your knees — early morning reruns of Batman, infomercials pleading you to buy K-Tel albums and Ginsu Knives.
You could pass for a zombie right now.
TV does nothing but worsen the ache in your eyes, still restless, so you switch it off in favor of staring out the window. You might as well be the last person alive on planet Earth. The trailer park is silent, still, hardly even a breeze shuffling the flora. You brush away an intrusive thought that encourages you to go outside and scream as loud as you can. Satisfying as it might be, it likely won’t help you sleep. You’re not even sure sleep is what you’re after anymore, what good would it do you now? Either way at this point, you’d still be exhausted in the morning.
Hell, it practically is morning.
You take to pacing to wear out your restlessness, down the hall to Eddie’s closed door and back to the living room - repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. You close your eyes on the sixth rotation, you’re a ghost haunting the Munson household at this point, you know every angle of this trailer like the back of your hand.
What you don’t expect is to collide with something, someone — which you do, walking straight into a pillar of warmth and soft chuckles. The run-in elicits from your lungs a shriek, silenced midway by Eddie clamping a hand over your mouth, your eyes snapping open to find him grinning down at you as he laughs softly.
“Christ, you scream like a banshee.”
You smack his hand away half-heartedly and heave a sigh, “you scared me!”
“I’m not the one practicing my zombie shamble in the dark — I nearly grabbed the bat! Have you been bitten?”
He playfully tugs at your arms, pulling up the sleeves of his sweatshirt you wear, swiping calloused fingers against you, checking over your skin in a mock assessment. Everywhere he checks, he plants a warm little kiss, making you blush and squirm away from him.
A nightlight plugged into an outlet in the kitchen casts him in a warm glow, and you can see how sleepy he is, likely waking up for a quick piss only to find you meandering the short and narrow hallway like you were sleepwalking. His hair hangs in a tangled ruffle, wearing a ratty and bleach-stained band tee where only a few letters of the name are visible — if not worn — the rest faded away from years of washing and wearing and washing again; sleeves ripped off to promote his shoulders and biceps. The shorn hem ends just at his navel, showing off a bit of his soft belly and the trail of hair leading down into boxers that hang low on his hips.
After all this time he still makes you soft, and you for him.
In the silence of your admiration he ceases his playful ministrations to look at you, brown eyes cast to black in the near-dark — you could fall into them forever for all you cared. But he rests a curled finger against the underside of your chin to capture your full attention, or at least as much of it as he can have in your sorry and depleted state.
“Can’t sleep, huh?”
“No, actually, I just really like pacing back and forth at five a.m.”
He snorts and lightly shoves your shoulder, before pulling you back and into his arms, his splayed hand rubbing your back as he rests his face in the crook of your neck and breathes you in.
“M’sorry.”
“Not your fault,” you mumble, giving in to his comfort with a soft sigh as your eyes fall closed, winding your arms around his middle and tucking yourself against him.
“Can I do anything?”
“No, baby, it’s okay. I don’t wanna keep you up — I think sleep is a lost cause for me at this point.”
“Nuh-uh,” he shakes his head, lifting it from your neck to pout at you. “Lemme help. Let me try, even just an hour or two would do you good. Just let me try. Please? I really don’t mind.”
How can you refuse this giant puppy? You groan softly in resignation and firmly plant your face square in his chest, rubbing into his shirt as he laughs softly and continues to stroke your back.
“Fine,” your voice comes muffled. “Misery loves company.”
Eddie laughs again and kisses into your hair before ruffling it, “misery is fucking cute when she’s tired. Go on, go lie down, I’ll be right there — I gotta take a piss.”
“Eeewwww,” you bemoan teasingly.
Eddie snorts and retorts with a lighthearted swat to your ass to which you squeak, sending you on your way.
As he heads into the bathroom, you trudge back into his bedroom, collapsing into the bed with a weary groan, burying yourself in the messed sheets, waiting for his return. He joins you again a few minutes later, sliding into the bed beside you and greedily pulling you into his arms, squeezing you in a warm hug before you relax together in your entanglement.
Eddie pulls all the moves he can think of as he lies on his back with you pulled up against him, your head resting on his chest so you can feel the steady rise-and-fall movement of his breathing, the thud of his heart just below your ear. The fingers of one hand comb into your hair, gently grazing the nape of your scalp in a tender massage, while his other hand once again lies flat on your back, rubbing wide and slow circles into you.
You don’t know why you initially deny his comfort when you’re struggling to relax, as when you receive it, you feel muscles ease up that you didn’t even realize were tense in the first place. You let go of a deep sigh, melting into him as you close your eyes, and this time it’s not a struggle to keep them shut. Maybe you’ve finally worn yourself out.
“Relaxed?” Eddie murmurs.
“Mhm…”
“Comfy?”
“…mhm…”
“Love me?”
You giggle softly and nuzzle yourself into him as you nod, “love you.”
Eddie nestles his face into your hair, hiding his smile there, shifting you into him further as he exhales a slow and soft breath. You’re cocooned in his warmth, his comfort, arms pulled up between you as you clutch yourself to him with loose fists twisted into his shirt, anchoring yourself to his refuge. Eddie is your safe place, his arms a home, eager to welcome you into the sanctuary of his grasp.
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citrinesparkles · 9 months
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cold hands
jason todd x gender neutral reader. 789 words. notes: i started this in december i swear it was seasonally appropriate at the time warnings: n/a
he scooped your hands into his own, cupping them together and bringing them to his face smoothly.
he caught your eye with a small smirk. you knew him well enough to know he wasn't really smug- he was looking for your reaction, a silent is this okay wrapped up in his confident expression. the large, colorful lights strung across the shop front you had stopped in front of were reflected in his eyes, but he was focused entirely on you.
you slipped your thumb out of his hold and ran it over his own.
jason took it for the invitation it was and exhaled heavily over your frigid fingers, looking down to them.
you, though? you kept your gaze right where it was.
he was beautiful, you thought. a strong jaw and handful of faded scars were contrasted by the softness of his eyes, his red (garnet, you remembered him saying with a little self-aware grin, not red- that was a work color, and you weren't work) knit hat bringing out the green in them. he was bathed in an orangey-pink from the décor behind you, and you almost wanted to pull a hand back to take a picture.
almost.
"i'm buying you some damn gloves," he muttered without heat, laughter buried in his tone as he gently massaged your fingers.
"and put my personal hand warmer out of a job?"
"he's creative. he'll find another one."
you let out a small huff of laughter, the sound turning to fog between the two of you. you pulled your hands out of his grasp- earning a raised eyebrow- and pushed forward to take hold of the front of his jacket, gently pulling him into kissing range.
as always, he adapted almost instantly. "see?" he asked quietly, his palms finding your hips. "a new job opened up pretty quick."
"shut up," you mumbled fondly, pressing your lips to his.
the warmth in your chest absolutely erupted, the sweet, familiar feeling of his lips- of his presence- making your heart and mind go the same sugar-sweet shade of pink.
"i love you," you pulled back to whisper firmly, grip tightening on his jacket just to give some of the oomph in your veins somewhere to go.
you felt his chuckle under your fists and against your lips, like the bassline of your favorite song with the dial all the way up, rattling through the floor and into your ribs and threatening to turn you giddy. "i think that means i'm doing alright at my new job."
"you're doing wonderfully at your new job."
not much would be worth opening your eyes from such a spell, but you found that his smile made the list: crooked and fond and beautiful and somehow it was aimed at you.
"think i can clock in for another shift?" he asked lowly, playfully, sending another wave of butterflies through your system. they left quickly, replaced by a feeling of belonging, of home, of peace.
"yes," you answered simply, trying (and failing, judging by his little laugh) to keep your eagerness under control. "you should."
so he kissed you again, holding you close. sheltering you from the chill of gotham in the dead of winter. reflecting warm lights onto you and chasing shadows away. turning every beautiful, poetic thought you'd ever had about him into something literal and visible and tangible and not having a single clue.
--
so he kissed you again, basking in the affection in your eyes and letting it warm him straight to his bones. begging his mind to save the image of you bathed in orange and pink and magic, looking at him like he was even close to that kind of beautiful, tugging him towards you like there was nowhere else on the planet you'd rather he be.
and he tried to hold you as softly as you deserved, bringing a hand up to cup your jaw and tilt your head slightly and cherishing the way you immediately, confidently leaned into his touch like you trusted him to keep you upright.
it felt like someone cracked a glowstick where his heart should be.
no- that was too vivid, too harsh. this was like a candle, warm and steady and breathing and alive. this was something to look to in the dim and the dreary, something by which he could read; something to warm his hands over, something to turn to when the storms rolled through and the power failed and left him in the dark.
you were something to turn to in the dark.
he decided, then and there, pressed against your coat and your lips and your warmth, that you were getting the nicest gloves he could get his hands on.
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juniefruit · 3 months
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[ gym rat bf changbin ]
Happy almost friday!
Word count: 711
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Changbin loves working out. It’s a way to destress, and take his mind off of the hustle and bustle of his daily life. 
He definitely knows everything about every brand of preworkout / protein powder. You want to start working out? He knows one perfect for beginners. He’ll get you one in each flavor they offer and will need your feedback on each one. Then he buys tons of your favorite. 
He eagerly volunteers to be your personal trainer now that you’re a couple. Sharing his passion with someone so close and special to him is very meaningful to him. Playful bickering during shared workouts is common, and yet the reply he falls back on is always ‘well you’re getting a personal trainer for free, that’s a good deal!’. He doesn’t have to hide any part of his personality from you, and the same goes for you. Changbin values honesty rather than sugar coating or lying. He sees those as a stab at his integrity, because why would you think he can’t handle the truth?
He’s so happy to have someone who sees him as more than just a ‘gym rat’ or all muscle, no brain. He has days where he doesn’t feel as confident, but you’re always there to lift his spirit! Afterwards he’ll put on a playful cocky persona, posing like a greek god in front of the TV and stuff. 
Binnie is very good about cleaning up his equipment and gym clothes, as well as himself. One of his favorite pieces of quality time is when he comes straight home from the gym, showers, and launches himself onto the bed for cuddle time. The way his arms and upper body wrap around you and shield you from the outside world is so comforting. 
He definitely goes on little rants about how his day went, what muscles he exercised at the gym, etc. He’s just so into it!! Especially if you’re both just lounging on the couch or bed, he can’t stop the rambling. He just feels so comfortable in your presence, he just says what first comes to mind. You give him your full attention, fully investing in his work drama or gym stories. 
He’s self aware about how much time he spends at the gym, and he would never prioritize it over you. He knews when to clock out for the day, so he can maximise your time together. 
Binnie just feels the instinct to protect you!! Even if you do your own workouts or training, he thinks it’s his job as a boyfriend to always watch over you. He’d be damned if something happened to you when he knew he could have intervened or said something. So yeah he’s an overthinker. 
Yes, he lets you tie pink ribbons around his arms. However, only in private!! The first time, you had to plead with him saying, ‘it’ll be so cute!!’. He’s huffing and whining, but eventually he gets over it. Changbin doesn’t have the wires in his brain to say no to you. How could he deny his sweet girl anything? You’re spoiled!! 
Binnie loves pda, he will gladly wrap his arm around you or hold your hand while walking. If something in a store display happens to catch your eye, he’s so quick to ask, “Do you like that? I’ll get it for you”. No questions asked. 
Say it’s been a long day, it’s gloomy outside like it’s going to rain. And then it does. Of course you don’t have an umbrella or coat as you’re sprinting to your front door. Nothing about your surroundings is cheerful. Changbin decided that he would come home early as a surprise. The shock on his face as you burst through the door, drenched. He drops everything and runs toward you, saying you’ll catch a cold. He guides you to the bathroom, grabs you some fluffy towels as you shower the coldness away and he continues his work in the kitchen. You don’t even have to say anything, just fully trusting Changbin. After dinner, you made the executive decision to watch a comedy. Changbin’s laugh echoes through the living room, which instantly fills you with delight. You head to bed, thinking about how you even landed yourself such an incredible boyfriend.
read about other members here~ masterlist
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starstruckmoony · 1 year
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new year's day.
masterlist
pairing - james potter x reader
summary - the aftermath of a party at your flat with james.
trope/tags - lots and lots of fluff
word count - 1.6k
warnings - none
after parties such as the ones organised to celebrate the new year, no one expects to get woken up at seven in the morning by abba blaring from the gramophone. but weirdly enough, those things do happen. and more often than not, james potter is the one behind them.
the onset of loud music pulled you out of your rather pleasant dream that you had no intentions of ending so soon, and you slipped off the couch and onto the floor with a resounding thump. displeased groans came from the rest of your friends who were scattered around the living room - in armchairs, on the floor, at the window sill, you name it.
"merlin, what the–" sirius peeked his head from the behind the couch, and then disappeared again. then came a grunt from who you assumed was remus. those two must have fallen asleep on the floor.
"jamie, it's too early for this." lily sat up in the armchair, rubbing her tired eyes and covering her mouth as she yawned.
"has anyone seen my shoes?" mary peeked her head from behind the bathroom door. she had woken up a bit earlier than the rest of you. james shrugged, you shook your head no.
"your shoes? where's my sock?" peter replied in distress while he searched around for his lost sock.
"is that glitter?" you stared at the shiny mess on the floor in scepticism, and james hummed in response. you weren't bothered enough to ask who brought it, you knew.
it was an interesting sight to see... to an extent. everyone looked a mess, some more than others. and your flat was in a state that was no better than your friends. glitter and polaroids on the floor, empty cups and ale bottles, cigarette ash on the table, sirius' shirt thrown across a chair, and oh, mary's shoes under the couch.
it was one of those classic the party was great (but everything hurts and i think i'm gonna throw up on your carpet so i should better get going) situations. so, one by one, your friends left. you didn't mind, of course, you would have probably done the same if you were to attend one of their parties, but the nice thought of having somebody stay to help you clean up was occupying your mind. it seemed a bit too good to become true, which is why you were shocked to find that james was, somehow, still there.
"thought i could help you clean this mess up." he shrugged with a sly smile, and you simply could not hide your own. that was only one of the many reasons why you fell for james, and his strange thoughtfullness and heartwarming care for others, despite his cocky personality that often made people want to catapult him straight into the black lake. one would think lily would have stayed, but you assumed james had something to do with that. and especially after that cheek kiss he gave you after the clock struck midnight. it wasn't a proper new year's kiss by any means, but it was there, and it was significant enough to make you dwell on it.
"magic or no magic?" you shook your head no. no magic.
"right then, where do we start?" he began pacing around, his eyebrows becoming increasingly furrowed as more and more bottles and glitter unveiled from different parts of your living room.
"uh..." you trailed off. you did not want to start, that was the problem. but someone had to do it, and you were unfortunate enough to have it be you, "let's collect the bottles first." you said thoughtfully, and made a quick run to the kitchen in search of a plastic bag. you dug a few up from the drawers, and then handed james one when you returned.
with him helping you, getting it done was much was much easier and quicker, and you swiftly moved onto wiping the tables and picking up the polaroids scattered all over the floor. you snorted as you took a better look at one of them, the memories from last night flooding your mind. it was a rather interesting picture of a sleepy james on your couch, with you and sirius on either side of him, making ridiculous faces while most likely not sober.
then it was time to mop up the glitter, which was much more nightmare inducing than you had anticipated. it just would not go away, no matter how many times you brushed your broom over it. james noticed your struggles, and got rid of it with a simple flick of his wand. you shot him with a faux angry glare, just to have him shrug with a cocky smile.
you spent about two hours clearing out the living room, and were left with two full trash bags in the end. lowering down the amount of your usual alcohol supply suddenly started seeming like an option.
the only thing you had left was doing the hilariously large pile of dishes in your sink, and you'd be lying if you said you didn't think of just casting a spell and letting the dirty plates clean themselves.
"bloody hell, how much cake did we have last night?" james questioned, not really expecting to get an answer, slightly flabbergasted at the amount of dishes you and your friends managed to dirty.
"i stopped counting when i lost my second plate after going for a third slice." you scratched the back of your neck awkwardly. james wordlessly rolled up his sleeves and turned the tap on, watching as you did the same with yours.
a comfortable silence filled the kitchen, the only source of noise being the water running. you thought about flicking some of the bubbles into his face multiple times, but always stopped yourself in fear of ruining the calming atmosphere you managed to create. but it was simply irrestible. somewhere near the end, when most of the dishes were already washed, you decided to act on your distracting thoughts, and splashed water into his face.
"oi!" james' countless hours of quidditch training sometimes came in handy with things other than the said sport. the man was able to think faster than most people you knew, so he immediately flicked some of the soap bubbles from his hand towards you. you mirrored his actions, and then he did it again. it didn't take long for it to turn into a playful fight between the two of you. in mere seconds, bubbles were flying around in the air, your sweaters became soaked, but you were too lost in your little game to let it stop you.
you dodged getting water thrown in your face rather successfully, and bolted out of the kitchen when james reached for you. laughter rang through the entire flat as he chased you around, jumping over armchairs and almost tripping over your tiny sofa. but he caught up with you eventually. his arms locked around your waist, and he swiftly turned you so that you were facing each other.
you laughed in surprise, feeling your face beginning to flush as you realised that he had no intent of taking his hands off of you anytime soon. if that's how he wanted to play, then fine, you could do it too. you locked your arms behind his neck, biting back a giggle when a light shade of pink covered his cheeks.
james was never too secretive about his feelings for you, his ridiculously large ego and amount confidence simply would not let him do that, but you hadn't ever given it much thought. until now. his eyes trailed over to your lips, and you followed the way to his with your own. he then looked back up at you, as if he was asking for permission to kiss you with that shy glance.
you considered teasing him a little at first, but then gave into your desires, kissing him before he was able to process what was happening. you often imagined what it would be like to kiss james potter, never, ever thinking that it would actually happen. and it was doing things to you.
he responded to it without hesitation, slightly tightening his grip you. he kissed you with so much care, like it was his way of showing you that he has been wanting to do it for quite a while now. and it was pretty easy to tell, judging by the way you could feel him smile against your lips. you pulled him closer, if it was even possible at that point, causing a little grunt to erupt from him. the noise drew giggles from both of you, but you had no plans of pulling away from him just yet.
it was when you were forced to pull apart for air that you stopped, laughing as if these were your first times kissing somebody.
"you could've easily done that hours ago." you teased, rolling your eyes playfully.
"oh merlin, i know," he shook his head, but didn't seem too disappointed with himself. you squinted your eyes at him curiously, "but i think i like it better this way." he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, smiling foolishy at you.
and yeah, it kind of was better that way. he may not have had the courage to actually kiss you when the clock struck midnight, but he remained determined to do it, one way or another. and then, well, he did, and sharing those little moments with him in the past hours of the morning most definitely seemed better than any new year's kiss anyone could have ever given you.
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un-love · 8 months
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drunk voicemails with svt (part 2)
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a/n: after 11 months, it's completed lol. i'm sorry for taking so long, i'm terrible at this writing thing
find part 1 here
♡॒ dokyeom
i keep thinking about that night. all the things you said, the things i said. the hurt in your eyes. i wish i had reached a hand out to wipe your tears. i wish i could go back and tell myself to stop avoiding my feelings under the pretence of giving you space. but i can't. the only thing left to do now is wonder. and drink. in that order. to wonder if there's a chance that you didn't mean it. if it breaks your heart as much as it breaks mine. if your days are as miserable as mine, or if you've moved on. does it make me a terrible person to hope you feel incomplete without me? your side of the bed is still unslept on, your clothes still living in my closet. you're still here, so why won't you talk to me? i'm starting to lose track of the voice mails i've left you, i'm sorry
♡॒ mingyu
oh hey. this went straight to voicemail...i know we just parted ways but i miss you. we're still at the bar and if i don't say this now, i never will. i spent half the night looking at you, i know you knew. you looked beautiful. i should be feeling embarrassed or something but the liquor has washed away the shame. i can't leave this unsaid anymore. okay? it hurts to go through the same motions everyday. i don't want to spend my days wishing cheol invites you to dinner every evening. i don't want to steal quick glances at you just because i'm afraid you'll disappear if i look away. don't wanna see you in anyone's arms but mine. want to walk you home without being worried about what you think of me. but you already know this, don't you? you've always been able to look right through me. you probably think i've said too much, but i swear, nothing i say will ever come close enough to how i feel about you. i almost want to take it back, but i won't. not tonight.
♡॒ minghao
i think of you when i'm sitting down to eat, when my friends buy mint chocolate ice cream or when i see the shirt you gifted me discarded in the back of my closet. the sunset was three different shades of pink last saturday and i almost sent you a picture. can you come back to me? the winter chill has permanently made a home in my bones and i'm lost without your touch. the threads of sanity i'm hanging on by are worn out now. my best friend is giving me a look that says he wants to leap across the bar and snatch my phone, but i don't care. i want to make it right. call me please.
♡॒ seungkwan
you were right. i'm not okay...i'm doing terribly. *laughs* nothing is okay. it hurts everywhere. it hurts when i close my eyes, it hurts when i take a breath and it hurts when i think about how i've pushed away everyone who wanted to help me. i keep having this dream where you refuse to let go of my hand. i'm cold. everything around me is crumbling and i think it's my fault. i can't say that i don't deserve this, but i need you now. will you come to me? will you come and hold my hand?
♡॒ vernon
i have been meaning to ask you this. i- yeah. you remember that dress you have? the long black one with sequins all over it? you look so beautiful in that. AND when you put up your hair and i can see your pretty face? stunning. why is it so hard for me to say these things to your face, dammit? it's all true. i wanted to tell you this before we— well the reason i'm calling is because i wanted to ask you to be my date to the wedding. and no, no that's not the only reason why i'm telling you how beautiful you are. it's one of the reasons. the other one is that i'm drunk! you're gorgeous, angelic even. and you still will be tomorrow, when i'm sober. so you know, back to the fact that i need a date. i mean i need You to be my date. i would love that. so ... call me back, yeah? is it odd that i already imagined how you would look on my arm in that dress? probably. i'm hanging up now-
♡॒ chan
i'm looking at the clock ticking and the numbers are blurry but the only thing on my mind is that your flight is in six hours. and then in another twelve hours you'll be in my arms. you and me. it's always been you, you know? the thought of us not having to be apart ever again is making me crazy, i'm sorry. i'm not jinxing it, right? god. the first thing we're doing is going down to my favourite ice cream place!!! i'll drive you back home and to work everyday. and when you put your hand against mine, it'll be soft. it won't be cold, hard glass anymore. can you fucking believe that? it's going to be incredible. come to me soon.
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verymuchbabey · 2 years
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flower meanings and love
pro hero! shoto x reader
genre: fluff!! :D
synopsis: your husband shoto notices a flower shop during patrol and decides to get some <3
a/n : i love writing domestic stuff it's so fun :>
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It was while he walking on patrol that he noticed a flower shop that was hidden away in the corner of a street. His steps slowed down as he took a look through the window that showed a number of different flowers.
He stared at awe at the plants, something about the flowers made him instantly think about you. Maybe it was the pleasant smell that escaped out from the front door of the shop or maybe it was the vibrant colors that the flowers showed.
So he makes a mental note to visit the small shop before he goes home to you.
✿✿✿✿
Shoto huffed out a sigh clocking off from work and starting his walk back home. He was exhausted to say the least, it was tough work being a pro hero but it was all worth it in his opinion when he would go home to your hugs and words of appraisement saying how proud you were of him.
Although the walk from work to home was quick he still dreaded it because of how sore his body usually was by the end of the day. But today he had a mission to visit that flower place he saw earlier and he definitely planned to get a bouquet for you.
It was only a slight detour from his regular path so he didn't mind as much especially if it were to get his lovely wife a gift. He adjusted the strap of his duffel bag that hung on his shoulder which carried his hero stuff including his hero outfit and walked into the shop.
The aroma was the same as he remembered it from just a few hours ago. He looked around for any employees and spotted one at a checkout counter reading a magazine.
He walked up to them and cleared his throat to get their attention. The person looked up due to the sound and gave a shocked expression at the hero in front of them.
"Pro hero Shoto!!" She shouted out before smacking a hand over her mouth as the words seemed to slip out without thought.
He gave a neutral type of expression at her, he always gets recognized in public so it wasn't a surprise that she realized who he was immediately.
"Yes, I wanted to get flowers for my wife. Do you have any recommendations?" He got straight to the point not wanting to waste a lot of time to not worry you about where he was.
The woman regained her composure then stuttered out a response for him. "U-um sure thing let me get my husband out to help you pick something for her." She gave a quick smile before rushing through a nearby door that probably led to a backroom with supplies.
Shoto stood there for moment admiring the flowers and other plants that sat on the counter. He figured this might take a bit of time so he took out his phone to shoot you a quick text that he'll be a little late.
A man that looked to be around the same age as the women from before was shoved out of the door with a loud whisper from the wife that clearly said "Don't forget to get a picture with him!" before the door shut.
The man raised his eyebrows at the sight of Shoto, just as shocked as his wife was before. "So...my wife says that you need help picking flowers. Correct?"
Shoto nodded his head explaining how he thought of you as he passed by the shop. The man hummed leading him to a type of flower that he thought would be perfect for Shoto.
"Forgot-me-nots!" The man said picking up the flowers so Shoto can inspect them more closely. From the name Shoto was a bit skeptical but he couldn't deny that they were definitely beautiful flowers.
The man noticed this and chuckled at his reaction. "Forget-me-nots, it's assumed from Greek mythology that the name came from Zeus forgetting to name this flower." The man walked back to the counter getting the bouquet ready for Shoto not realizing that he had entirely captured the attention of the pro hero about this flower.
"The most common meaning of this flower is true love and respect. I remember seeing somewhere that if you give these flowers to someone it represents a promise that you will always remember them and will keep them in your thoughts." With some quick final touches he shows Shoto the final product of the bouquet asking if he'd like to purchase them.
Shoto was never one for understanding flower meanings, all he knew was that roses meant love. But hearing the man describe this flower's meaning in detail he knew it would be perfect for you. Plus he knew you would love to hear the story behind these blue flowers.
So he bought the bouquet giving a big tip to the man for helping him. And Shoto made sure to take a quick picture with the man before leaving.
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As he opened the door he was greeted by your voice coming from the kitchen saying you were preparing dinner still and calling him over to taste something.
He smiled at the sound of you humming as he came closer to the kitchen. As he walked in with your back facing him he said "Honey, I have something for you." You turned around and gasped at the flowers he held in his hand towards you.
You put down the utensils you were using and turned down the stove. Wiping your hands off on your apron before you took the flowers from him.
"Oh they're beautiful Sho!!" You put them into an empty vase that you had lying around and filled it with a bit of water. He watched as you carefully handled the flowers as if one wrong touch would hurt them.
His heart swelled as he heard the ring on your finger make a noise as it clashed with glass of the vase a couple of times. If anyone could see him now they would know that he was so so in love with you. He practically had hearts for eyes whenever he gazed at you.
You turned to him giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "What's the occasion? I didn't even get you anything." You teased as he wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his head into the crook of your neck and laying his body weight on you like a weighted blanket finally feeling at home after a long day. "I just thought of you that's all."
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taglist form -> <3
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