#ceo and board of directors decided that

[ryukisgod]

The government doesn’t decide how much grocery stores charge, the people who run grocery stores decide that. The only way a government could decide how much food costs is if they open their own chain of grocery stores

[cherrysinner]

── BLACK WIDOW 🕷️🕸️

pairing: housewife!reader x ceo!rafe

synopsis: rafe gets a call from reader screaming about a spider, only to realize it really is that serious.

warnings: fluff, spiders - wc: 1k

author's note: i thought it'd be an interesting premise if it was an actually venomous spider!! i also decided to write this about husband!rafe, hope that's alright! thank you for requesting!

housewife masterlist 🕸️ rafe masterlist

rafe was sitting in his chair, listening to yet another old man nitpick his way of doing business and giving his two cents where it really wasn't wanted, a small part of the man just wishing there was a sniper on top of some roof, getting ready to finish the job so he wouldn't have to listen to this crap.

he felt a soft vibration in the pocket of his trousers, digging out his phone and looking at the screen, your name lighting it up with an incoming call, the entire board of directors turning their attention to him, and he was conflicted about what to do; sure, this meeting was the last thing he wanted to be at, but he couldn't just ignore it. rafe sighed, pressing the red button and muttering a quiet apology, the meeting continuing like nothing happened.

but only a few seconds later, he felt his pocket start vibrating again, and he knew something was off; you never called him again after he declined your call, especially while he's at work.

"excuse me, i have to take this." rafe muttered, standing up and ignoring the judgemental looks the men were throwing his way, as he made his way out of the glass-walled meeting room, smoothing a hand over his short hair as he presses the green button with urgency, bringing his phone to his ear, "baby? what's wrong?"

the last thing he expected was to hear you scream.

"baby?" he asked, already starting to make his way to the elevator, knowing that whatever it was, he'd deal with it immediately, "baby, talk to me, what's happening? are you in danger?!"

"rafe!" you exclaimed on the other line, sounding breathless, "you gotta come home, you gotta come home right now."

"what is it? what's happening?" every single alarm bell was ringing inside rafe's head and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears; what if someone hurt you? what if you were getting robbed? what if you were in danger?

"there's a- eeeeek!" you exclaim, "there's a spider!"

rafe's hand drops from the elevator button, a dumbfounded look on his face as he held the phone to his ear; he couldn't believe he'd just rushed out of a meeting only for you to be calling him because of... a spider? he let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"baby, you're a big girl. i'm sure you can handle one damn spider. you know, i can't just ditch an important meeting because you're too sweet to kill a damn spider, it's-"

"no, rafe!" you groaned into the phone, "it's not just a damn spider, i'm pretty sure it's a venomous spider!"

"what? how do you know?"

"you know, it's that one redhead from the avengers! it has- it has a black body and a red hourglass on it's stomach, and i searched it up, and it's a venomous spider!"

"fuck..." rafe sighed, getting into the elevator and pressing the button for the bottom floor, "alright, baby, i'm coming but it's gonna take me a bit, i'll get someone to come take care of it right now."

luckily, rafe knew that a guy who lived a few houses away from you was a pretty prominent zoologist, having gotten stuck listening to him talk about snakes for almost an hour at a party his wife had held, and for once, he was thankful for weird-ass neighbors.

after thirty minutes of driving through red lights and ignoring stop signs, rafe slams the driver side's door closed, immediately spotting you sitting on the steps in front of your shared home, your head in your hands, gazing down at the ground. he made a beeline towards you, kneeling down in front of you.

"baby?" he asked, his hand on your shoulder, coaxing you to look at him. even though you'd grown up on the cut where they were practically everywhere, you'd never been too fond of bugs, and whenever they invaded your home, it was rafe who got the job of getting rid of them. he gently placed his hand under your chin, lifting your face up so you were looking up at him, your pretty lips turned down into a pout that would've looked annoying on anyone else, but on you, it was strangely endearing. anything you did was like that. "everything alright?"

you nodded, letting out a small sigh, "yeah, christa's husband came to help me with it and took it away."

"alright, so why do you look so sour?" rafe practically cooed, "c'mon. let's go inside." you let out a small sniffle, reluctantly letting rafe pull you up and lead you inside. honestly, you really didn't know why it seemed like such a big deal to you in that moment; the spider was gone now, and it wasn't like it got anywhere near you. yet, somehow it felt like the end of the world.

soon, you two were tangled on the couch, your head in the crook of his warm neck, rafe's hand carding through your hair. "everything alright?" he asked, pressing a soft kiss on the top of your head. "the spider's gone now, sweets."

"yeah..." you fiddled with your hands, deep in thought as you listened to rafe's steady heartbeat underneath you. "i don't know why i got so... fussy over it. i just haven't been sleeping properly, so i guess i'm more emotional."

"oh, i've noticed your little mood swings." rafe guffawed, "i still remember last week when your package hadn't arrived so you gave me the silent treatment like i was the damn mail man."

"to be fair, you managed to get it to me the very next day."

"anything for my grumpy cat." he pressed a kiss on the tip of your nose, "but i wasn't the one who made it late in the first place."

suddenly, the sentence he'd just spoken started ringing in your head, one word especially seeming to stick with you like glue.

late.

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[eyekoninurarea]

OMG I AM VERY INTERESTED IN CEO READER AND CAMGIRL LARA

I KNOW DJNFJDJCIDO ME TOO LISTEN LISTEN

nsfw below the cut

you hear about it all the time; buried scandals of ceo's with multiple different partners. but you never understood the appeal, you had too much work and too less time. and you didn't wanna risk losing everything you've worked for just because you've been in a dry spell for almost 3 years.

and then you overheard your employees talking about this camgirl they watch. it made your stomach churn at how shameless they're being

but then you decided to open the site. just once you said. just once. maybe just to take the tension off your shoulders after those stupid men on your board of directors spewed nonsense.

it was the best and worst decision of your life. at first it was just generic pornstars that made you sigh. sure their bodies were angelic, but none of them stirred your hidden desire. until you saw her.

she was beyond angelic. beyond divine even. she was ethereal. you found yourself rubbing your eyes in disbelief. she was absolutely gorgeous. her face wasn't shown, it never was, it was always skillfully hidden. but that doesn't mean that her allure and charm was any less. the site offered teasers for each camgirl, a taste test, an appetizer before you pay for the full meal. and hers? hers was just a picture of her neck, arched and glittering with delicate chains; chains that shone brightly in contrast to that beautiful skin of hers.

my god. you've never input your personal credit card information so fast before. you've only had a taste yet you find yourself clicking on the highest tier, a casual thousand you just dropped. as soon as the banking information went through, you found yourself redirected to a forum; a forum with only you, and her. she was currently offline, yet by instinct, and common sense, you know that you're the only one who currently purchased her highest tier.

you clicked around, you found recordings of her old lives, her old performances. you found yourself entranced, fully clothed, yet soaking wet. your fingers twitched in temptation as you scrolled through her profile.

it would've been so easy to just touch yourself, to make your fingers dip down your waistband, to relieve yourself of the pressure that's building.

yet you found yourself mesmerized, her movements were hypnotizing, her voice was low and sultry with that natural rasp that seems to slip out every now and then, her moans were light and breathy against your ears. you found yourself unable to focus on anything but her, not even yourself.

you have this glaring feeling that you're not supposed to touch yourself without her permission.

[thelastsequence]

Taking on the school bully

Sub M!Reader x G!P ITZY Yeji

Part 1 | Part 2

“Hyung-soo, you’ll be paired with Yeji for this project okay? I know Math is your strong suit so please help her out as much as you can. I’m counting on you.” Ms Eunseo said with an approving smile on her face. I smiled back and nodded, but I was groaning in my mind.

Yeji?! You’ve got to be kidding me… How am I supposed to get anything done with the laziest student in the whole cohort? That’s if she’s not expelled by then…

As I stepped out of Ms Eunseo’s office and headed to my locker, I sighed as I thought of all the work that I would have to do. Hwang Yeji was infamous in our school for being a bully, frequently getting into trouble and causing a ruckus during lessons. Arguing with teachers, flouting school rules, forcing other students to do her work, you name it, she’s done it. The only reason why she’s still around is because her rich CEO father has been bailing her out by always donating to the school. Nonetheless, there were rumours that the board of directors and principal were fed up with her behaviour, and her next antic might be the last straw. Well, who wouldn’t be pissed…

“Hey. You. Loser.” A cold menacing voice pierced my thoughts. My eyes widened as I turned to face the source. It could only be one person…

Hwang Yeji.

“So you’re my partner for the Maths project? Better do a good job, if not you’ll get a beating from me. Got it?” I nodded nervously as Yeji glared at me. “Good. Don’t cause any trouble for me. Now get out of my way.” She shoved me aside painfully and walked away, while I could only stand there wincing. I cursed my luck (or lack thereof) at that moment. God, why did I have to be paired with her of all people?

The next day

“Class, I’ve decided that I’ll be picking one student from each pairing to present the project. For Pair 1, Karina. Pair 2, Yuna. Pair 3…” As Ms Eunseo read out the names for each pair, I glanced over to Yeji’s table where she sat using her phone.

“Pair 8, Yeji.” My ears pricked up when I heard that. Oh crap, I thought to myself. Getting paired with her was bad enough, but now Ms Eunseo was making her present. Yeji scowled when she heard this and she immediately stood up to voice her displeasure. “Hey, Miss, come on! You seriously expect me to present? You’re joking right?”

“Hwang Yeji! This is final. Sit down now or I’m giving you an F this instant!” Ms Eunseo barked at her. Knowing she was already on thin ice, Yeji scowled and sat back down with a huff. Suddenly, she turned towards my direction and glared at me. Wait for me after class, she mouthed. All I could do was nod in fear. What did she want with me?

Thirty minutes later, the bell rang and Yeji immediately walked over, while the other students began packing their bags. Without saying a word, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of my chair. Her surprisingly strong grip meant that I could only follow behind. She stopped at the lockers outside of our class and turned to face me.

“Kang Hyung-soo.”

“Y-yes, Yeji?”

“So that bitch Son Eunseo is making me present the project, it looks like I can’t completely slack off.” She grumbled. I slowly nodded, not knowing where she was going with this. “Y-yeah… well-”

She cut me off before I could continue any further.

“Shut up. I’m going to need your help, because I can’t afford pissing her off again. You hear me? If you help me prepare well for this project, there’s a chance I might not beat you up after all.” I gulped when I heard that. I did not want to be on the receiving end of one of Yeji’s beatdowns.

“Y-yeah, sure, I’ll help you as much as I can…”

“Good. Go and grab your bag, you’re coming to my place now. Let’s just get it over and done with.” My eyes widened and I couldn’t believe my ears. Me? Her place? What was going on? “Are you deaf? Hurry up!” She yelled and kicked my shin. I winced as I scrambled back into the classroom to get my things. I shoved everything into my bag and stumbled out of class again.

“Follow me. And don’t get any wrong ideas.” I walked silently behind her through the hallways as the other students stared and whispered. They probably assumed I was her latest victim, about to receive my punishment for angering the school bully. Instead of heading behind the back of the school building, we were at the foyer.

Soon enough, a black Mercedes pulled up and a man dressed in all-black stepped out and opened the door. “Hello, Ms Yeji.” The man spoke. I’m guessing he was… her driver? I was surprised at how such an unruly girl could have such a nice lifestyle. “Hey Felix. We’re headed home.” The man nodded as he turned to smile at me. “You must be Ms Yeji’s friend. Nice to meet you.” I smiled sheepishly as Yeji glared at me again from inside the car. I quickly went in and sat down.

It was a quiet drive back to Yeji’s house, which turned out to be a lavish-looking bungalow. We pulled up to her driveway, where Felix got out of the car and opened the door for us again. Yeji got out and signalled for me to follow her. I marvelled at the expensive-looking designer furniture in her house, the decorations, the paintings, everything… It was all completely new to me and I was trying to take it all in.

“Hurry up, loser!” Yeji yelled from the staircase. I mumbled sorry to her and quickly followed her up the staircase. We walked past two doors, stopping at the third which I guessed was her room. She opened the door and grabbed my wrist again, before pulling me in.

“Where do we start?” For a moment, I didn’t know what she was talking about. The new experience of visiting a bungalow almost made me forget what we were here for. “Oh y-yes, the project…”

We both sat on her bed as I started explaining the scope of the project to Yeji. Unsurprisingly she seemed disinterested, which did not help my case.

“Get to the point.”

“S-sorry… So what you’ll need to do is talk about some trigonometrical concepts that we’ve learnt in class and their real-life applications…”

“That sounds boring as fuck. Urgh…”

“Yeah…” I didn’t know what to say as I didn’t want to anger her. All I could do was try and explain it to her. After awhile, we began making the presentation deck for our project, even if it was mostly me doing the work while Yeji scrolled on Tiktok.

“Yeji, do you want to do this part? Since… you know, you’ll be presenting it…”

“Urgh… what now? Can’t you write it and explain it to me later?”

“Well yeah… but I’ve pretty much written 80% of the slides already…”

“Fuck… Fine, later I guess, I’m watching this video.” I sighed as I grew increasingly exasperated with her behaviour. While she was giggling at her Tiktok video, I was racking my brain thinking of what to add to our presentation. Finally, I couldn’t handle it anymore.

I stood up and faced her. One part of me was already regretting it, but I figured I might as well just go ahead with it.

“Yeji! Hey!”

She turned and glared at me. I felt my knees go a little weak but I managed to keep standing.

“Can you just do your work for once, please? I really don’t want to fail this. You think I wanted you as my groupmate? I’d rather work alone! All I’m asking is for you to do something and put in a little effort… It’s not that hard is it? I’d do anything, okay? Come on… Do your part, okay?” I sighed as I finished ranting, Yeji staring menacingly at me the entire time.

“Anything?”

“H-huh?” I stared confused at her as she stood up.

“You’d do anything so that I’d work on the project?”

My mind drew a blank as I didn’t how to respond.

“Y-yeah, it’s a group project, we’re-”

She cut me off by shoving me to the the floor where I landed on my butt. “Ow… what was that for?” I muttered. When I looked up, Yeji had taken a step closer to me and placed a hand on my head.

“Well, if you’re good enough for me today, I guess I can do a little something for the project.” Without warning, Yeji unzipped her skirt, her bulge in my face.

Her bulge?!

“Yeji- You- Your-”

“Ya, I have a dick, so what? It’s probably bigger than yours anyway. Get to work, loser.”

I gulped as Yeji’s panty-clad cock stared me in the face. A musky smell emanated from it and fill my nostrils.

“Please, Yeji, I-”

“Shut up! You’ll be taking this dick whether you like it or not. It’s up to you whether you want it the easy way or the hard way.”

I closed my eyes, cursing myself for getting into this situation. How did this even happen? I was half-hoping it was just a nightmare, but when I opened my eyes again, Yeji’s pink panties were still in my face.

Sighing, I slowly pulled down her panties, narrowly avoiding getting hit by her cock. It was about 6 inches long, thick and veiny. Her tip glistened with a bead of transparent pre-cum. What she said was true, it was definitely bigger than mine. I stared at it wordlessly for a second, not knowing how to proceed. All I had seen was porn videos, so I guess I would have to act on that.

Taking a breath, I slowly gave her tip a lick. It tasted salty as I swirled my tongue around her cockhead. I glanced up, Yeji’s hand still on my head. She was looking down on me with a look of pure lust, her eyes transfixed on my lewd act. I continued licking at her cock as if it was a lollipop, slowly taking my time with it.

Yeji let out a moan as her grip on my hair tightened. She took a step backwards and sat onto the bed, dragging me on the floor. I decided to get onto my knees and make it a little more comfortable for myself.

I spat onto her cock and started stroking it with my right hand, while slowly massaging her balls with my left. I looked at her timidly, wanting a sign of approval. As if reading my mind, she let out another louder moan, seemingly in response.

“Yes… stroke my cock like a good boy…”

“Y-yes, Yeji…” I muttered softly. I sped up my pace and tightened my grip around her shaft, lubricating it with more spit. I started to feel a little intoxicated by the musky smell of her cock and balls and felt myself getting horny. My own dick was getting hard and I wanted to stroke it.

“R-Yeji, can I… touch myself?” I asked shyly.

“No! You have to please me first.” She gave my cheek a slap with her cock, leaving a wet trail of my saliva mixed with her precum. I sighed and continued stroking her, occasionally giving her tip some licks.

“I want you to suck it, Hyung-soo… Be a good boy and take my cock…” Yeji moaned sultrily. My cock stiffened when she called me a good boy, and I felt a sudden desire to please her.

“Y-yes, Yeji…” I opened my mouth and starting sucking on her tip slowly. The taste of her cock was not too strong or overwhelming but it actually tasted pretty pleasant. I started using my tongue while sucking, hopefully making it more pleasurable for her. I tried going a little deeper down her shaft, but I ended up choking and gagging on it.

Cough cough

“Oho, did you gag on it? Is my cock too big for you?” Yeji asked lewdly. I shook my head and went for another try. This time, I managed to take half of her length into my mouth before coming up for air.

“Come on, Hyung-soo, I know you can take all of it… I know you can deepthroat my cock…” Yeji moaned loudly again. It seemed like I had no choice but to force myself to go all the way.

Taking a deep breath, I opened wide and shoved my face onto her dick. Almost instantly I felt like gagging, but I controlled it and managed to only choke a little. I continued going deeper until my nose touched her crotch. My eyes widened as I realised I had managed to take Yeji’s entire length into my mouth.

Suddenly, I felt her hands wrap around either side of my head, holding me in place and forcing me to stay in this position. The urge to gag came again and this time, I couldn’t handle it. I choked loudly and more spit flowed out of my mouth. Yeji quickly withdrew her cock from my mouth, strings of spit clinging onto my chin, before shoving it back in again. She repeatedly this rapidly, skullfucking me while looking down at me lustfully.

My mouth and throat felt like they were on fire, but I felt my dick get harder and harder as well. Even if Yeji was abusing my throat, it somehow felt… good. I looked up at her with tears forming at the corner of my eyes, gagging obscenely.

“Good boy, good boy… I didn’t know you were so good at sucking cock, Hyung-soo.” Yeji finally pulled her cock out of my mouth, giving me a chance to catch my breath.

“Th-thanks Yeji… I just… I just want you to do something for our project.”

“Come on, Hyung-soo. Do you think I’m stupid? You’re not thinking about the project at all, you just want to suck my cock.” I turned red as I realised she was correct. It felt so good with Yeji’s cock between my lips that I didn’t care about the project anymore.

I blushed as Yeji ruffled my hair. “Do you want it on your face or in your mouth? For your first time, I’m nice enough to let you choose.”

I was a little confused. “Eh? W-what do you mean?”

“My cum, silly. Do you want me to give you a facial or do you want to swallow my cum, Hyung-soo.”

My face grew redder upon hearing Yeji say that. I didn’t know which to choose, so I went for what I thought would be the lesser of two evils.

“My mouth…” I figured it would be less messy, and I wouldn’t have to clean up as much.

Yeji bent down and whispered lustily, “Wow, I didn’t know you were so hungry for my cum, Hyung-soo. You’re such a pervert.”

She slapped her cock on my face a few times, saliva and precum covering my cheeks with a light sheen now. I opened my mouth to take her cock again. Her shaft roughly penetrated my throat as she began quickly thrusting into my mouth. I moaned a little at her roughness, while bobbing my head quickly, trying to take as much of her length as possible.

“Fuck, that’s so fucking good…” Yeji moaned again and sped up. I looked up at her again, wanting to gaze into her piercing eyes.

“Hyung-soo, I’m gonna… gonna cum soon…” I wanted to say yes but all that came out was a mmmph, my mouth full of cock. Yeji continued fucking my face rapidly while my hands massaged her balls. Her moans were getting louder and louder, punctuated with obscenities. I could also see her perky nipples straining against her shirt, forming a faint outline. I wondered how Yeji’s breasts looked like…

Suddenly, Yeji gripped the back of my head as she shoved her cock deep into my throat. My eyes watered as I felt her dick hit the back of my throat, making me gag yet again.

“I’m cumming… Ah…” Yeji moaned as I felt a thick spurt of warm cum shoot down my throat. Yeji pulled her cock back a little and continued to cum onto my tongue. I looked up at her, my mouth full of her salty seed.

“Good boy, Hyung-soo, swallow my cum…” I nodded and gulped it all down. After swallowing, I choked and coughed a little, unused to this newfound taste. Yeji bent down again and dove in for a kiss, her tongue exploring my mouth and tasting herself on my lips. I let out a muffled moan as she gently fondled my clothed nipples. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away and motioned for me to sit on the bed with her.

“Hyung-soo, you did such a good job. Was that really your first time sucking cock?”

I nodded, blushing. “Th-thanks, Yeji… I’m glad you felt good…”

“So, I guess I’ll do something for the project then. And, if you want, we can do this again…”

I was taken aback at Yeji’s words. I couldn’t believe that she would want me to visit her and give her a blowjob again. My mind was racing; why would I want to suck the school bully’s cock again? Then again, I felt like I had suddenly grown addicted to her dick, its scent and taste still fresh in my memory.

“A-anytime, Yeji…”

“Anytime? Really? You better not regret that, then.”

Shoot. What had I gotten myself into?

----

Hey everyone! Ren here, if you're reading this I hope you enjoyed my first ever fic! Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you thought of it. My asks are always open. Cheers!

[m-ayo-o]

2: who do you think you are, to give orders as you please?

m.list pt. 1 puppy visits u at work gn reader x sub toji cw: public toy use, anal play wc: 3k

Your phone has been vibrating in your pocket all morning. It’s him. You know it’s him.

zzt zzt - another text.

zzt zzt - one more.

You should really turn the damn thing off.

zzzzzt zzzzzt zzzzzt - he’s ringing you - zzzzt, zzz–

“Hey, sweet thing. I’m a little busy right now.”

You decide to answer the phone in front of the board of directors you summoned for a meeting. You are the CEO, after all, you can do whatever you want.

“Need to see you. Today.”

“How demanding,” you comment, lowering your voice a little.

There’s a momentary silence on the other end of the phone while your directors start murmuring and tittering; probably discussing something mundane like which secretary they’re fucking.

“Please. Let me see you.”

A little devilish smirk crosses your face, with plans ever so evil and cunning starting to simmer.

“Ok. Come visit me at work, in say–” you hold the phone with your shoulder and tug up the sleeve of your jacket, bringing your watch into view, “an hour and a half.”

You hope this dreary meeting will be concluded before then. 

“Oh and Toji,” you stop him before hanging up, “don’t wear anything special. Just your usual shitty clothes.”

You shove your phone away and get on with the tedious meeting, your thoughts straying from the uninspired, bland conversation your directors are providing.

Your thoughts stray, imagining what you did to your play thing last time; how you strapped him up, how you made him beg... you can't wait to see him again.

But the meeting drags on and on– you recline back in the leather chair, tapping at your watch and starting to yawn, when you realise it’s nearly time.

You lift your heavy eyes from the swathes of paperwork you’re sifting through, finding a familiar large figure on the other side of the office through the glass panes of the meeting room.

He’s here. 

You catch a glimpse of your secretary trying to usher him away, but he persists. You see his lips moving, starting to point to where he can see you in the meeting room.

She can’t exactly escort him out of the building. And he’s clearly on his best behaviour, being too polite to call security– you audibly snort at the image.

As if they could handle him.

You notice the way her eyes flit about when he gets closer to her. He bends down and brushes her shoulder, easily getting her all flustered and awkward. 

She guides him to the tall glass panel of the door, knocking almost inaudibly before entering to whisper in your ear that someone is here to visit, and that she can ask him to leave if you’d prefer.

“Leave? Oh no, he’s right on time. Send him in.”

So she leaves, and he enters.

In those shabby, loose pants, his trademark slutty t-shirt that exposes his entire upper body, and the strong odour he carries in with him.

To you, the sight of him is exciting, his smell almost… arousing. 

But for your colleagues, the experience is quite overwhelming. They’re not used to seeing such men in their day to day lives. You notice them staring a little before you decide to break the silence.

“This is Toji.”

No further explanation.

You stand and approach the man, smoothing out the creases of your immaculate suit, and place a hand on his arm.

“Let’s take a break. Coffee in ten?”

You receive nods and positive murmurs as they gawk, watching you two step out of the meeting room. 

Needless to say, their topic of debate is going to revolve around your likely relationship, how huge he is… and what on earth you’re doing inviting a man like him to a place like this.

You lead Toji, who is looking uncharacteristically self-conscious, to your private office. 

You don’t exactly blame him, with your employees starting to stare and whisper. And they’re all dressed to the nines– you pay them well enough to afford luxurious work attire, so you demand that to be the standard in your office. And the dress code is stringent, down to the finer details such as accessories, hair and makeup. You once fired a woman for turning up wearing foundation a shade off her natural skin tone. You didn’t think it was too harsh– in this industry it’s good to keep people on their toes.

However, it’s all getting a bit much for Toji, making him feel cheap, dirty, and terribly out of place.

You can tell by his awkward glances and the way he appears to be swallowing down his pride with each nervous gulp.

When you’re behind the closed door of your office he seems to relax a little; the tension fades from his shoulders and his expression slackens again.

Not yet, Toji.

You press him against the thick wood of your office door, your hand splayed over the muscular expanse of his stomach.

“What was so important, that you had to visit me at work, pup?”

He feels an incredible rush through his chest, from hearing the pet name alone. He really is pathetic.

“Just– needed to see you.”

You watch him clench and unclench his jaw, looking away from your eyes.

“Come to whore yourself out again?”

There’s a chip in the steel of his exterior that he’s trying to hold up. But to you, that steel may as well be ice.

You could shatter him. You could melt him. With a touch.

And where your hand is pressing on his abs is starting to heat up nicely.

“I– I–”

The way you quirk your eyebrow up at him brings his gaze back down to your face.

“I need you.”

There it is.

“Hm,” a little smile plays on your lips. 

Yes, and I need you too. 

But you’ll never admit it; the way his need fuels your desire is almost embarrassing. 

But you’ve never had anyone like him… under your control. So you’re not exactly going to let go if all it takes is an unnoticeable percentage of your earnings to keep him in check. 

“Come,” you pinch at the black material of his shirt, tugging him closer to your broad, wooden desk.

“Here,” you place him facing the desk, “down.”

He bends, looking somewhat reluctant, until your hand snakes up the muscles of his back to provide a little encouragement.

“That’s it.” He plants his massive hands on the wood, lowering his body slowly, until you’ve got his ass pushing out and his chest resting on the expensive wood.

“Now,” you trace a hand up his spine, settling in his black strands, “we’re going for coffee with my useless directors in– five minutes.”

Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun. 

“I’m afraid that means I’ll have to rush this next part ever so slightly.”

You keep one hand in his hair, ensuring his face remains pressed against the wood, reaching the other into your desk drawer.

You retrieve two items, place them on the side, and start moving your hand down his back again, reaching the waistband of those baggy pants.

You tug them off with his boxers, making him flinch a little as his bare ass is exposed. 

“Stay still.”

The next sensation he gets is cool, wet and…

“Ghh– ah! Here? Really?”

He feels your lubed up fingers sliding over the tight ring of his ass. You push and press and work the muscle till he lets you in with a moan. You slide in and out, teasing out those little gasps that you love, then add another finger.

“Hmm,” you hum with pleasure, watching him settle into the rhythm, just before you pull out and wipe yourself clean– using his shirt, “I think you’re ready now.”

You select the next item, wetting it with lube and inserting it into his perfectly prepped hole. 

“Ahhh, ahh–” it’s bigger than your fingers. But he can take it.

You push it in nice and deep, then pull away.

“Time for coffee.”

“Y-you’re just gonna– leave that inside?”

“Yes? Is that an issue?” You quip, patting your hands dry of the harsh, alcohol filled hand sanitiser.

He struggles with the realisation for a second, then pushes his heavy body off your desk and tugs his pants up. 

⋆

Coffee is going well. Your subordinates are trying to dodge around the dark haired, proverbial elephant in the room, but their eyes still linger over him. He shifts and fidgets in the too small chair, feeling uncomfortable from their staring once again. 

Or maybe it’s the toy you shoved up his ass? You couldn’t care less. Either way, this is incredibly amusing.

You watch him try to answer their occasional questions, not returning much in the way of conversation himself.

“So, you work in the city, uh…” your CTO trails off.

“Toji. Yeah, I work here.”

He’s working right now. 

“And what exactly… do you do?”

He pauses, his green eyes darting up and down the woman’s face.

“For work?” She presses.

“I’m, uh–”

I’m a filthy whore. 

I kill people for money. 

I’ll do anything for money. 

“I’m a– ah! a, a driver.” 

The woman gives him an odd look, before rejoining the conversation with her colleagues.

You’re just quietly observing, tapping on your phone and leaning back with your legs crossed, watching the situation unfold.

Toji gets up, excusing himself. He doesn’t know what to do.

“Where are– mm, the bathrooms?” He asks you quietly.

You give him a smirk and point in their direction before returning to your phone.

He gets into the private cubicle, pulls down his pants and spreads his cheeks– trying to feel what you put inside him.

zzzzzzzzzzz 

He can hear the quiet buzzing noise in the stillness of the bathroom.

ZZZZZZZZZZ

The intensity suddenly increases.

Ding

His phone lights up in his pocket– but that’s the least of his worries.

His fingers press into the tight ring of his ass– he can feel it now, buzzing through his core and igniting that erogenous zone deep in his tummy.

“Ugh, uuuh–” 

He struggles and prods around back there, incidentally adding to his pleasure, before he huffs in defeat. His fingers are just too thick and clumsy, he can’t even get the thing out.

He stands in the cubicle, feeling the pleasure start to spread to his cock.

“Fuck,” he lets out an erotic sigh, looking down at the swell in his pants. 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

The buzzing is relentless. He leans his body up against the panel of the cubicle in a desperate attempt to cool himself down.

He pulls his phone from his pocket.

don’t you dare take that out. come back and finish your coffee, pup.

He groans and readjusts his pants. Surely he can handle this, right? 

⋆

Wrong.

Not ten minutes into his return, with the hubbub of the break room dampening the sound of the vibrator, your puppy is turning into a massive horny mess.

You bet his shorts are getting sticky by now.

His big hands rest crossed over his lap, his thighs pressed together in an attempt to hide his huge bulge.

“nhh–” he lets little sighs slip his lips. They’re barely audible. But to you, those sounds are music to your ears.

He’s slowly getting louder as you dial up the intensity. He’s biting his lip, his eyelids starting to flutter closed from the pleasure, and you watch that pink tint cover his cheekbones.

You notice his hips start to twitch as he swallows and gulps, fidgeting around helplessly. He looks like he’s going to break out in a sweat, and all you can do is sit and admire the scene.

You flick and toy with the intensity of the remote controlled vibrator with your phone. It’s quite clever, really, allowing you to give him undulating pulses of pleasure, making his hips wiggle with that dumb expression on his face, all without touching him. 

He tries to hide it, nodding stiffly when anyone speaks to him.

But you keep playing, switching to sharp jolts now, making him jump and squirm in the chair. Then you bring it down, slow and steady, building him up again.

His hips start to twitch and he looks directly at you, his eyes flying wide with the shock of his impending orgasm. He shakes his head, desperately urging you to stop before he cums himself in front of your employees.

But where would be the fun in that?

You kick it up a notch and watch his eyes roll back. He barely stifles a groan, his hand flying up to slap over his mouth, startling your colleagues.

“Nhg- mhh-” he breathes heavily and presses his eyes closed for a moment. But he should know by now, you’re relentless. So you watch him stare at you in disbelief as the toy just keeps pulsing.

You torture him for a while, then round up your coffee break, dismissing your colleagues and leading him back to your office.

“Come on, pup. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

⋆

In the privacy of your office, you push him up against the door and start tugging down his pants and boxers. He tries to hide his face from the sheer embarrassment of shooting his load without being touched… from anal stimulation alone. Before you, he never knew he could do that. 

But he can and he will. 

Every time, without fail.

And the sight of the sticky, wet mess in his pants is starting to effect you. 

He’s getting the better of you. 

Day by day, it’s getting worse… your infatuation with his body is going to be the death of you. Or bankrupt you, at best. 

You’ve tugged his sweats down over his muscly thighs and you’re starting to kneel on the floor below him. 

His cock is still pretty swollen– you know he’s a shower, but with this girth, you can tell he’s still semi-hard. 

“Sure came a lot, didn’t you?” 

His beefy hands clench and tremor on the cold wood– you left the vibrator on a low setting while you inspect his cock. 

He nods carefully. He doesn’t want to encourage you anymore. He dreads the overstimulation but for that, he will get a bonus. 

The white liquid coats his shaft– it had nowhere else to go. So it lies slick over his skin, dripping back down to his balls. And his boxers could barely contain it.

You pull at the fabric until you’re getting him to step completely out of his clothes. You hold up his boxers in your hand and admire the mess. 

“So wet. Almost came through your sweats, didn’t you?”

He winces a little– it was close. When he felt the cum spurting out his tip he just closed his eyes and hoped that no one else could see it. He felt it pouring all over his boxers. It was so wet and dirty that if he sat there for a moment longer it would’ve seeped through the sweatpants as well. 

“That would’ve been embarrassing.”

You shake your head and gaze at the drippy mess of his cock. 

“Aren’t you so glad I brought you back here?”

You look up at him now, pressing him to answer. 

He nods rigidly. 

He can do better. 

With his boxers in your hand, you bring the material up to his cock and wrap it around the sticky member. You don’t want to get your hands dirty. 

“You know what grateful puppies say to their owners, don’t you?”

You start wiping his cock up and down, holding him tight through the black material. 

He’s pressed so close to the wooden door, trying to edge back, trying to reject the pleasure, but his cock is filling up again and you’ve got him under your thumb one more time. 

And he knows you’re going to regale him with how humiliating it must’ve been to ejaculate in public. You’re going to jerk him off through his underwear, using his own cum as lube.

And he’s going to thank you for it. 

“What do you say?” 

Your hand is gliding up his thick cock that’s about to burst again, maintaining eye contact with him the whole time, asking him how much he enjoyed being pleasured in front of your employees. 

“Th-thank you–” he chokes it out and your eyes light up. 

His whole body is yours. His mouth is yours. You can make him say whatever you want. 

“D-do it again– again, I– want them to watch–” 

But your puppy is getting ahead of himself. 

You wipe his cock clean and remove your hand. 

His hands jolt away from the door, desperately needing to wrap around himself to get out another milky load. 

“Wait.”

He whines and his hands dig into his thighs. 

You watch his cock bounce with his pulse. You want him to cum like this. 

You use your phone to slide the vibrator setting up until an intense buzzing can be heard in your office. It’s vibrating against the wood, sounding through his tight muscles. 

His thighs start to shake and he groans, his eyebrows knitting together with that beautiful pleasured look, his hands clenching around nothing. 

“Ngh– I– I– ‘m mm– ughh–” 

He can barely get any words out. 

You stand up now, tracing a hand over his abs as they tense, his hips rutting wildly into the air. 

“Good boy, you can cum now~”

“Th-thank you—thanggyouu—” 

And you peer down his body and watch his cock erupt one more time. 

It’s like a fucking fountain. You really do wonder about his stamina sometimes. But you don’t question it, just keeping your eyes fixed on the drooling cum, slick and hot, the buck of his hips slowing until the liquid comes out in little dribbles, once again, making a huge mess of himself. 

And the wooden floor of your office. 

“Bend over.”

He’s barely had a second to recover. 

“On your knees.”

You deliver a harsh slap to his ass. 

“Make a mess of my office, you clean it up.”

Once he’s done and finally clean, he fidgets about and mentions taking the vibrator out. 

“Keep it.”

You wonder how far the connection will last from your phone. 

And you send him on his way with another hefty payment along with promises to fulfil his fantasy. 

He tried to backtrack, but you heard him. 

He wants them to watch.

toji | chapters m.list

[midala-of-the-valley]

Oooh dear. Da hast du was losgetreren!

How about 82 for Meredith Babygirl Vickers?

✨️Midalas unhinged Prometheus prompts✨️

You should be with me

Meredith Vickers x Reader Words: 2,5k Crossposted on Ao3 A/N: Thank you for your prompt request, I had a lot of fun writing for Meredith and widening my pool of characters! I hope you'll like it!

Meredith Vickers strode through the halls of the USCSS Prometheus - back impossibly straight, hands clasped behind her, radiating the pride of a CEO from one of the most powerful corporations on Earth. Which, of course, she was.

At first, you didn’t think much of it, how she always seemed to materialize in places you hadn’t expected her to be. That was until you noticed the way her gaze always seemed to find you. And linger.

It started the morning you were all woken from cryosleep - stumbling into the mess hall, still groggy and sore, gulping down those awful protein shakes, trying to fill a stomach that had been empty for over two years.

And then there she stood. In the doorway. Wearing that immaculate grey suit, blonde hair bound into a sleek bun at the nape of her neck. Steely eyes staring at you. Only you.

Her brows were furrowed, her jaw tight - yet, you couldn’t quite decipher what emotion simmered beneath that expression. 

And it kept happening.

Walking to the gym hall and taking a seat in one of the rows arranged for the mission briefing, you began to realize this wasn’t a one-time thing.

“For those of you I hired personally - it’s nice to see you again. For the rest of you…”

Her cold eyes found yours as the words left her mouth, and you held her gaze, refusing to back down from whatever game this was.

“I’m Meredith Vickers. And it’s my job to make sure you do yours.”

The looks she threw you from her place beside the projection of Sir Peter Weyland - cold and composed, like some Snow Queen carved from glass - weren’t even the worst. It was when she moved that it really got to you.

She stepped away from her spot, gave Shaw and Holloway their stage, and began to pace. Slow, measured steps behind your row of chairs, the sound of her heels echoing faintly on the floor.

Like a predator circling prey.

And all the while, you felt her gaze burning between your shoulder blades, causing goosebumps to flare on your skin.

Concentrating on the presentation that was currently being held was nearly impossible... something about Engineers? 

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊

She found out that you had been hired as a Toxicologist. But not by her. No, your invitation came directly from Peter Weyland himself. In fact, she hadn’t even known you were on board until the morning you woke from cryosleep.

It annoyed her.

Of course her father had done something without telling her. Of course he’d passed over her, like it wasn’t important for the director of the voyage to know who was on her ship.

Who are you? Why are you here? Why didn’t he tell her about you? Why were you kept secret?

What did he know and keep for himself? And probably for that forsaken tin can called David.

For what purpose would the crew need a toxicologist?She understood the need for the geologist. Even the biologist - dumb as they might be. But you? What was her father expecting to find here, besides those savages who scribbled on cave walls?

She had considered inviting you into her quarters, just as she had done with Shaw and Holloway. A tactic, nothing more. A way to reassert her position after that humiliating moment when the old man declared in that hologram:

“As far as I'm concerned, they're in charge.” Two strangers. Not his daughter. Not his CEO.

She’d planned an interrogation. Something quiet. Controlled. But in the end, she decided against it.

Still, her gaze never left you.

That’s why she saw it, heard it. How you seemed to be the only scientist on this mission with a functioning brain, actually earning your doctoral degree.

When the others took off their helmets, you warned them. You kept yours on. Yes, the air was breathable, but you made it clear: that didn’t account for unknown bacteria or microscopic pathogens the system couldn’t trace.

She noticed the way your hand twitched, like you wanted to grab your hair in frustration when the biologist crouched and touched the new lifeform without hesitation. When he plunged his hand straight into the black, viscous liquid you hadn’t even begun to analyze. No tests. No protocols. Just reckless, infantile curiosity.

You were the first to run back to the ATVs when she announced she would seal the outer doors in fifteen minutes because of the upcoming storm, the first to arrive at the hangar. She couldn’t quite hide the pleased little smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

The captain nudged her shoulder and she glanced at him, brow arching sharply - but he just winked at her. “Someone got a crush?”

Meredith froze. Gaped at him. Then turned on her heel without a word. She didn’t have something as childish as a crush, and certainly not on you. She didn’t even know you.

(Not that she would ever admit this might be the very reason why one was starting to form.)

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊ By now, you were all too familiar with the sound of those clicking footsteps, so you didn’t even bother turning around.

“So. Are they all dead?”

Ah. You were right. It’s her.

“What, who?” Dr. Shaw asked beside you, as if it wasn’t obvious that Vickers meant the aliens. Truth be told, you ignored their little verbal sparring match - too focused on that thing. No one else seemed remotely concerned about how dangerous this situation could be. Unknown planet, unknown atmosphere - and you were the only one wearing a damn mask. As if an EMT and a trained archaeologist shouldn’t know better.

David got a pass - he was an android. He didn’t even need those gloves that already looked far too thin.

And when you asked why they weren’t being careful, they just shrugged. The air was clean, they said. As if that was enough.

Then you saw the scan. And your stomach dropped. Oh no. “That’s not an exoskeleton,” the redhead exclaimed, voice rising. “I think it’s a helmet!”

You jumped back immediately, putting as much distance as possible between yourself and the head on the table.

There were enough documented cases of archaeologists - over 200 years ago - who died after unearthing mummies without proper protection. Back then, people blamed it on a Pharaoh’s curse. You weren’t about to be the idiot who died from an alien curse.

The whole treatment of this situation was outright horrifying.

You moved towards the equipment cabinet, your mind racing, your pulse ticking in your throat. As you turned, your eyes locked with Vickers - again. Her gaze was already on you. Again.

The others wouldn’t listen. But maybe she would. She wasn’t a scientist. She couldn’t be expected to know better and you wouldn’t let her walk into a knife. Maybe it was the way she kept watching you, maybe that's why it felt worth a try.

From the cabinet you pulled a fresh FFP3 mask and a face shield, secured your own, then stepped up to her. For the first time, you truly acknowledged and interacted with her.

“There’s a very high probability these remains are dangerous,” you said, offering her the equipment. “I strongly advise you to wear protection to avoid exposure to anything harmful. Grab a lab coat, just to be safe – but keep your distance either way.”

Her brow twitched, almost imperceptible, but she inclined her head and unclasped her hands from behind her back. She took the gear. And, to your surprise, she actually put it on without a question.

Hallelujah. (Even David was surprised that she actually followed something resembling an order that didn’t come from their father.)

Everything after that was chaos. Pure hazard.

Something inside the 2000-year-old decapitated head moved? Let’s ram a stem line into its locus coeruleus - because that seemed like a good idea!

Once again, no one stopped to think about containment. About freezing it. About bringing it back to Earth with proper equipment and actual professionals.

Of course you were excited – this was massive. A breakthrough, for fuck’s sake! But it was being handled so, so wrong. Maybe you should ask Vickers to stop this and– Did its eyes just open?

Black, dead eyes stared straight back at you. Specks of white scattered across them like stars in the galaxy surrounding you. It was so beautiful – and terrifying.

Your survival instincts had apparently left you as well, because you couldn’t tear your gaze away from that ashen grey face. Convulsing. Bloating. Black blood leaking from its temples.

“David, contain it!” Dr. Shaw yelled. You stood frozen. You hadn’t moved – not until someone yanked you back by the arms, just as the platform the head rested on was moved into a clear box.

“Contain it? Turn it off. Now!” The voice of the person who’d pulled you back snapped through the room. Their grip didn’t ease, even as the contamination chamber sealed shut.

The head inside burst. Green fluid and dead skin splattered against the thick glass, obscenely sliding down. The sound made you flinch – wet, heavy, sickening. It snapped you out of your daze. You turned and saw that the person holding onto you was none other than Vickers herself. Opening your mouth behind your mask to thank her, your words caught in your throat as you heard the doctor’s next words.

“Ford, (Y/N), take a sample. Let’s have a look.”

You laughed. Sharp. Disbelieving.

“I’m not opening that box or going near it on this ship. Forget it.” You turned to the door, shaking your head. “How the fuck have you not died at one of your previous excavations? That’s a mystery to me. I don’t care if I get paid less or fired, but I won’t be responsible for this thing wiping out the crew.”

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊

Mad. That’s what she should have been. You were here to follow instructions – and you didn’t. You openly defied them. But why did that actually feel… good?

You shared her vision.

Meredith hadn’t wanted this voyage. She didn’t see the point. The old man had thrown them into bankruptcy to chase after a fantasy – this useless mission, which seemed to only house danger.

So they’d found a pyramid full of corpses. A decapitated head that exploded. Okay. Great. Now could the ship please turn around?

Of course not.

Weyland had to find his ‘creators’, so they could save his life and turn him into a god. He was over a hundred now. It was time to let go. Time to let her reign instead.

But no – he clung to power. He would rather burn everything down, throw every last coin of his empire into the fire just to chase the ghost of immortality.

She couldn’t go against his orders. David would carry them out – like the good son he was. Always obedient. Always perfect. Always better. His perfect creation. Screws and metal – apparently more important than his own flesh and blood.

She sneered.

She shouldn’t, but she respected your standpoint. Perhaps you were the only one on this ship she could actually understand. And perhaps – you were the only one who could understand her in return.

That’s why she now stood in front of your door and rang.

You opened the door for her, one brow raised at her unexpected appearance. A sigh followed, heavy with recognition, your eyes flicking across her face.

“If you’re here to scold me, don’t bother. I won’t continue working on that biohazard.”

The corner of Meredith’s lips twitched upward before she could stop it. A smile? Almost. She nodded slightly, gesturing past you with her chin.

“May I join you?”

You hesitated, glowering for a moment – which she noted was rather cute. Wait. What had she just thought?

“Sure, boss.”

Ah, so you did know she was your superior after all.

Stepping inside, Meredith let her gaze sweep across the room and your memento’s before claiming one of the armchairs without hesitation. She crossed her legs, leaned back with practiced elegance as if she owned the place.

Which, technically, she did.

₊˚｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊

Fuck, she looked hot sitting there with her chin slightly raised. She wore a black bodysuit you hadn’t seen her in before, her usually tightly pulled-back hair hanging in a loose ponytail, a few strands framing her face.

Without even realizing it, you shook your head, trying not to think of her like that, and took a deep breath to brace yourself. There had to be a reason she was here.

But before you could open your mouth to ask the dreaded question, she raised a hand, halting you.

“I’ll let you in on something.” She gestured to the armchair across from her - an invitation. You hesitated for a heartbeat, then sat down, awkwardly shifting from side to side to get comfortable.

“Calm down, Doctor. I’m not here to reprimand you. In fact-” Her lips twitched into something between a smirk and a grin. “I agree with you.”

That was... unexpected. The shock must’ve been plain on your face, because the Snow Queen herself smiled, and not cruelly, either.

“I’m going even further,” she said, tilting her head. “Seeing you with them made me realize you should be with me.”

What was happening? Meredith Vickers - the woman who stared you down like an apex predator ever since you met - was praising you. And�� what exactly was she proposing?

“Mrs. Vickers, I-”

“Please,” she interrupted smoothly. “As long as we’re alone… Meredith suffices.”

You swallowed, still not quite believing what you’d just heard - was she flirting with you?

“You want me… to transfer or something?”

Meredith looked at you like you were one of the chemicals under your microscope. Interesting, worth to be observed closer.

“No. I want you close.”

She paused. A flicker of vulnerability crossed her face, the ice melting - if only for a second.

“I want you to keep an eye on me. Like you did in the laboratory.”

She rose, stepping towards you. Slowly. Deliberately. When she stopped in front of you, her arms hung loosely by her sides. Open, not closed off.

“You’re smart. Focused on survival while the others stumble from one lightheaded decision to the next. I’m impressed.” A small pause. “Even if the bar is quite low.”

You almost pouted, but there was no malice behind her words. Her eyes glinted, lips curving into one of those rare, subtle smiles as she lifted a brow in amusement.

Then, she leaned down, planting her hands on either side of your chair. Her breath was warm against the shell of your ear.

“So if you want to be with me…” A casual flick of her hand toward the corridor. “My room. Ten minutes.”

And with that, she straightened, turned on her heel and strutted out of your quarters - black suit hugging every motion, hair swaying gently at her back.

You sat frozen, slumped in your chair, face burning, eyes locked on the door she just went through.

And then your brain caught up with the moment. You shot to your feet and dashed into the shower - there was no way you were going to say no.

[beesays]

A gift for @darling-archeron for the @acotargiftexchange

My darling Kate! I was so excited to brainstorm this little idea for you! As soon as you said fake dating it was all over for me! I do hope you enjoy the shenanigans our idiots get into as their story unfolds.

I humbly offer you the first of four chapters. The rest may come a little bit slowly with the holidays nearing but I am excited to continue updating as often as I can!

Read on A03- Chapter 1

Rating: E (eventual smut)

Summary: When Rhysand Sterling finds himself at the scrutiny of his father and the board of directors, he realizes that he needs someone to prove to them that he can settle down in order to keep his role as CEO of the company. Little does Feyre Archeron know that her former boss has decided that she's just the one for the job.

A huge thank you to @popjunkie42 for doing an initial beta read. I am posting this without a final beta so any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

[violetasteracademic]

Velaris Memorial Hospital

A Grey's Anatomy x TTPD inspired Three Brothers and Three Sisters Three Part Fanfiction

Hey. Life is horrible and scary. I want to share a teaser for a project I have been pouring my heart and soul into that I hope some of you might find some joy and reprieve in.

These stories are tightly woven together and designed to be read in order. Fesyand, Nessian, and Elriel's journey's will be posted individually and chronologically, and occur on an overlapping but staggered timeline. However, there are incredibly heavy themes and topics that may not be suitable for all readers. I will do my best to ensure each individual story can be enjoyed on its own if there are topics you would rather avoid. Please read the content warning for all three stories and take care of yourself first. This collection is coming soon if I can pull myself out of this black hole, but here is a synopsis of each story ahead!

Part One:

Feyre Archeron is an art therapist for the children's cancer wing at Velaris Memorial Hospital. After leaving her abusive fiancé and moving back in with her sisters, her plans to heal and move on with peace and privacy go up in flames when women begin to come forward with sexual harassment allegations against her ex, Tamlin Thornwood.

If she doesn't come forward with her own story of abuse and testify against the man who harmed her and so many other women, he stands a chance at winning his countersuit for defamation and wrongful termination. Terrified of what her patient's families will think of her if they find out the truth, struggling to forgive herself, and suprised to be falling for the absolute wrong man, Feyre has to dig deeper than she ever has before to find her strength.

Rhysand Noctis is the owner and CEO of Eventide Enterprises. After losing his mother to cancer, he has felt adrift. No amount of money and acclaim has been able to give him the sense of home and belonging he has lost.

When an old family rival, Tamlin Thornwood, is tangled up in a scandal and lawsuits, Rhysand learns that Velaris Memorial Hospital is in trouble. The only non-profit hospital in Velaris and the place that cared for his mother has lost all of their donors and board members. Rhys decides to purchase the hospital and dedicate his time to restoring its reputation and making it a safe place for women and the community of Velaris to work and receive affordable care.

A chance encounter sends Feyre and Rhys colliding towards each other before they realize how inextricably their personal and professional lives are already intertwined.

CW: Domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, child death, trauma, mental health, explicit sexual content.

*Additional note: I don't typically like to use the term "anti" in this fandom, but it is best to be exceptionally clear that this is an abundantly anti-Tamlin piece. If seeing this character portrayed as a serial abuser makes you feel upset or uncomfortable in any way, please protect yourself (and me) by skipping this one.

Part Two:

Nesta Archeron doesn't need anyone to take care of her. After losing both her parents at age eighteen and becoming legal guardian to her two younger sisters, she gave up her dreams of going to law school and worked her way up from from an assistant with nothing more than a high school diploma and unmatched grit to become the head of public relations at Velaris Memorial Hospital.

When her younger sisters ex-fiancé scandalizes the hospital and leaves them without funding or a board of directors, she has to work closely with the new ownership, Eventide Enterprises, to save the hospital and prevent it from becoming for-profit like SkyView, their rival hospital in the financial district. She has full confidence in herself and her plan. However, Eris Vanserra, the head of PR and legacy staff at SkyView, is out for blood after Nesta won over the youngest Vanserra to Velaris Memorial and got an op ed published on the negative outcomes associated with for-profit care. That, and she now has to answer to Cassian- a man she has already sworn to hate before learning who he was, and is making her job- and life- an absolute pain in the ass.

Cassian is the lead financial strategist and project manager after Eventide Enterprises purchased Velaris Memorial Hospital. After having to drop out of college before sophomore year to deal with the death of his mother, he struggles to overcome the chip on his shoulder being in an industry where name, money, and education is everything. Restoring the reputation and the financial security of Velaris Memorial Hospital is not only personal, but professionally the largest responsibility he has had in his career thus far. Everything is on the line.

Complicating matters is his reliance on Nesta Archeron, the steely and fiery PR director working side by side with him to ensure the Starfall Ball is a massive success and wins back the hospitals donors. There is no denying that the difficulty maintaining their professional lines is fueled by both hate and attraction. But as they continue to work closely together, the layers peel back and they learn that they have more in common than they thought. Family secrets, generational trauma, and their deepest shames are somehow safe in each other's hands. However, lines are crossed that might be impossible to come back from.

CW: Extortion, blackmail, discussions of suicide, trauma, mental health, explicit sexual content.

Part Three:

Elain Archeron has always strived for perfection. After competing in pageants her entire childhood and teen years, she shocked everyone by using her scholarship to relentlessly pursue a career in the medical field as a labor and delivery nurse instead of fulfilling her mothers dream to go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

She spent her early twenties working instead of dating, but her plan to get married and start a family is back on track now that has the "perfect" fiancé, Graysen Nolan.

However- the grueling hours, cracks in her relationship, and anxiety over what her life will look like when she becomes a Nolan begins to sink in. It's not easy for Elain to change her plans or take a leap, but when a tragic accident sends her life into a tailspin, she is forced to pick apart the shattered pieces of her soul and learn what unrealized dreams are truly hers and what belongs to the ghosts of her past.

Azriel Singer is an award winning photojournalist who has spent his life travelling the world. He has lived for the thrill of never knowing what comes next, being on the front lines of danger and history in the making. He is used to going to sleep in one city and waking up with a contract on the other side of the world, not knowing if he'll be headed into a war zone or march for justice.

When his brother Rhysand hires him for a six month corporate contract as the photographer on retainer for Velaris Memorial Hospital as they rebuild their image, his path crosses with Elain Archeron. In so many ways, she is his opposite. She has always wanted to travel, but has never left Velaris. She has always wanted to start a family, a thought that has only ever given Azriel night sweats. And she is engaged.

Azriel and Elain wind up forming a deep friendship, creating bets with each other to help push them outside of their respective comfort zones. The more they get to know each other more deeply than anyone has before, the more they question who they are. No amount of planning and on-paper perfection could have prepared them for a connection that pushes them both beyond the narratives they've written for themselves before meeting someone who can challenge them in all the most terrifying and most fulfilling ways.

CW: Fertility issues, child abuse, infant death, parent death, medical trauma associated with car accidents, birth, and premature birth, explicit sexual content.

This is my first time writing modern AU and contemporary romance. Thank you so much to @nikachansstuff and @rosanna-writer for offering to beta!

I truly hope I do it justice. I also want to reiterate that these are dark and very emotionally heavy stories. The characters will be dealing with issues that are deeply personal to me. They will sometimes be hard to understand and harder to love.

While I am not a mental health professional, I am a huge mental health advocate and that will come through in a blend of my own personal experiences and research, but mental health is extremely personal and not one size fits all. Nothing should be taken as mental health advice. Please reach out for professional help if you need, and don't give up.

This is by far the most terrifying but meaningful work I have done, and I am scared shitless and deeply excited to share it with you. This will not be for everyone, but I hope it will find where it is meant to go.

[fuckyesfeysand]

Creator #23- @beesays

Welcome back to Feysand Creator Highlights!! We want to take a moment to recognize the amazing individuals in our fandom who kindly use up so much of their freetime and creative energy to share their work with us!

Today's creator highlight is the beloved @beesays! Bee keeps us in in the best modern AUs. Their immersive writing pulls you right into the story - whether to a balcony in Paris, a Walmart parking lot or a high school art studio.

Their Feysand stories have some of our favorite tropes, from slow burn to teacher AUs to fake dating. Bee has a a special talent for calling on canon in clever and lovely ways and making us fall in love with our favorite couple all over again.

Find everything on their Masterlist and their AO3. We've highlighted some of their works below!

Hot for Teacher -

When art teacher Feyre Archeron calls out Superintendent Dr. Rhysand Sterling at a board meeting, she does not expect any of her problems to be solved, and she certainly doesn't expect him to show up at Velaris High with a personal mission to fix all of them.

Call It What You Want

When Rhysand Sterling finds himself at the scrutiny of his father and the board of directors, he finds that he needs someone to prove to them that he can settle down in order to keep his role as CEO of the company. Little does Feyre Archeron know that her former boss has decided that she's just the one for the job.

Want to nominate someone? Fill out the form HERE

[alphajocklover]

EB Jewelry

I’ve mentioned before, just once in one of my earlier stories, about a mysterious jewelry store which sells items that change people. The ring that turned a younger man into a soon to be married muscle daddy came from said store. But I never went into details, I never even mentioned anything about the store, not even its name. But today I want to correct that. Today I want to introduce you all to EB Jewelry.

Also known as the Eye of the Beholder jewelry company, it started out as a small local business somewhere in the American Midwest, and began to spread like weeds. It isn’t the largest chain out there, but it is strangely far spread. You can find at least one in every state, and some in other countries. Despite their size and their unconventional and generally confusing business strategy, EB Jewelry has been surprisingly successful, making millions in profit and delighting their investors. But none of that really matters to you does it? You don’t care about how well the company is doing or how they operate. You just care about the transformations.

There are a lot of rumors about how the transformations work. Some people say that the original founder discovered a type of magical gems that are now used in the jewelry. Some people say that the entire company is a front for a group of scientists testing out new transformation technology. I even once heard a theory that the mysterious board of directors are a group of ancient gods enacting their will on the world. Whatever it is, the transformations usually follow a certain pattern. People who need a change are almost subconsciously drawn to EB Jewelry. Eventually they enter a store, and their eyes land on a certain piece of jewelry that they feel is calling to them. They go into a trance, and before they even realize what’s happening they buy it. Then they start to change.

It doesn’t always work like that however. Take their new CEO. The founder of the company and their original CEO died years ago, and the most recent CEO had to leave suddenly due to some… unforeseen circumstances. The company needed a new CEO, stat. And instead of trying to find one this time… they decided to make one. Colin here used to be a 24 year old internet troll who weighed over 250 pounds (most of it fat) and was living in his mothers basement. His Uncle, a high ranking investor in EB Jewelry, made a few calls to the board and ended up buying his pathetic nephew a new watch.

The new Colin was the perfect fit for a CEO. Charming, attractive, young, but also clever, with incredible business acumen and sense of style. He might be younger than a traditional CEO, but he is a better businessman and leader than the last CEO ever was. He’s truly been thriving, and I hear he’s even engaged to marry the company CFO later this year. I can’t wait to see the wedding rings.

[bill-augatesm]

Hoo boye, you’re one of those. But sure, I’ll entertain. This is also good for an Apple thread cause I’ve been wanting to make a little quote timeline for a while now, incoming…

First off, Sculley did NOT fire Steve Jobs, steve was demoted “Gassée would take over control of Job’s beloved Macintosh(…)He told Jobs that he could stay on with the title of board Chairman and be a product visionary with no operational duties.” -PAGE 190 STEVE JOBS/WALTER ISAACSON

And he later resigned cause it was a dead-end role :”Once again, national magazines like Newsweek would put him on the cover. Steve would resign. And Apple would sue him.” -becoming Steve Jobs. While, cruel, the situation could’ve been resolved better, but you need to know how irrational Steve was, it was costing the Team, it was costing the company, and it was costing himself, it took a second demotion after he was trying to sabotage Sculley before he even get there: “After a few weeks, Steve decided that he wouldn’t accept the demotion. Instead, he tried to get Sculley fired.(…)a nonexecutive role as chairman, with no one reporting to him. It was Steve’s second demotion” -Becoming Steve Jobs

I said Steve was spewing money on the Mac, I was not saying that was THE reason. But, it was part of it, Steve was hard to control, he had a mindset of “doing whatever the hell he wants” — “The board of directors, (…) was beginning to see that neither its CEO nor the head of its most important product division had a clear plan forward. As the pressure grew on Steve and Sculley, the two spent less time together, less time finishing each other’s sentences and singing each other’s praises. And that spelled trouble for Steve.” — Becoming Steve Jobs. He didn’t have a plan, he was in the “reality distortion field” so to say, and Sculley couldn’t enable it any longer. Now on with Steve’s irrationality with Money:

”You can't have it both ways. Without the money, there is no advertising and no event."

"We've got to have an event," Steve insisted.

"Then, it's going to cost S2,495."

Or how about “When word got out that we had spent nearly 1.6 million on a single sixty-second commercial, irate share-holders began firing off letters. They asked what right I had to take the company's money and plow it into something that no one at Apple had any experience with.” - Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple.

Also no, no one here genuinely thinks John Sculley or Bill Gates or, whatever the fuck, Al Gore made out with Steven P. Jobs, live a little. You’re being more parasocial than you should — also the “woman” you mentioned is Tina Turner, if you claim to be that huge of a fan and really stooping there, I’ll bite.

Listen, I understand the Culture shock, with Internet anonymity and shipping and slash culture, it’s hard to toe the line, on where someone is being delusional and fucking around. But I assure you, I respect Steve Jobs on a humanity level, I respect his characteristic and I value studying about him and Bill Gates, I’m inspired by their techs and innovation, their personalities that clashes and Collides. In fact, I know someone/are friends with someone who has met and work with Steve/ had lunch with him, Steve’s an incredible, deeply flawed man. But seriousness aside, just enjoy the Aspen shipping <3

— ODYSSEY PEPSI TO APPLE

[superscrub323]

I got bored and decided to rapid fire as many Gods as I could if they were in the modern world

Zeus: Billionaire CEO that controls Power and Electricity (somehow an improvement over his myth counterpart...but not by much.)

Poseidon: Runs a Oceanic Shipping and Fishing Company.

Hera: Ex-wife of Zeus that now runs a company that plans weddings.

Hades: Runs a Funeral Home and Several Gold Mines.

Demeter: Runs a Farming Company. Mostly focuses on sustainability.

Persephone: Groundskeeper of the Funeral Homes of Hades.

Hestia: Local bed and breakfast that gets large donations from her brothers and sisters to stay afloat that goes to various charities as she wants to run her business her way.

Leto: Childcare

Nike, Bia, Kratos, and Zelus: Athletes (Athena has a crush on Nike)

Hebe and Heracles: A Gym that helps people stay in the prime of their youth and old age.

Asclepius: World Famous Surgeon and Owner of a Hospital

Eileithyia: Runs a hospital wing dedicated to midwifery and childbirth.

Ares: General in the Marines, prefers to be out in the field.

Athena: Jonny Kim but a woman.

Apollo: Musician that spends way too much on lawyers managing his various…controversies.

Artemis: Someone who teaches outdoor survival skills and self-defense courses to young women.

Aphrodite: Modeling, Beauty Products, and Sex Work but somehow manages a passionate and healthy relationship with Ares after the divorce with Hephaestus.

Hephaestus: Inventor, mostly focuses on weapons and robotics but dibbles and dabbles with sex toys when he tried and failed to make the marriage with Aphrodite work…but Algaia appreciates them.

Algaia and the Graces: Charity Work and Artist.

Hermes: Runs a Shipping Company and several Online Chatting servers.

Dionysus: Sommelier and Night Club Owner.

Eros II and the Erotes (and Psyche): Runs several Online Dating sights.

Phobos and Deimos: Ex-soldiers turned horror movie directors after discovering that people would be willing to pay to get scared.

Harmonia: Social Justice Advocate.

Ariadne: Runs Escape Rooms in the basement of Dionysus's clubs

Eris: Hacker who works for the highest bidder who also trolls on Hermes's messaging boards for shits and giggles.

Enyo: Black Ops and Mercenary Work.

Thanatos: Hospice Care and Assistant to Hades.

Hypnos: Sleep counselor

Hedone: Tantric Yoga and Vacation Planner.

[gunpowder-gemini]

"but people cancel and if we don't have a full flight our CEO can't afford his 6th gold plated toilet on his 12th yacht, which means will have to start shooting employees 🥺👉👈"

What if I blow you up with my mind. What if you died maybe.

I fucking HATE that airlines are allowed to overbook flights. That should straight up be fucking illegal like. Like we all paid a fuckton of money, probably in the hundreds, to get to our destination at a specific time and now they're like "oopsie whoopsie we did an uh-oh, 10 of you have to agree to wait for a plane 6 hrs later in exchange for some travel vouchers you can only use with us that expire in a month and a shitty airport dinner hope you understand uwu we're so sowwy 🥺👉👈" and its like no. fuck you actually. some people have connections to make. others have work shit to do. some of us just want to get to the place we're going NOT at the ass-fuck hours of the night and get dinner with family we're visiting. Fuck off. Find a plane. I know they can't because they schedule everything to the minute to squeeze ever single cent out of people but they can shove their vouchers up their ass.

[thehaniverse]

HYBE vs Min Hee Jin - The Full Timeline

[Last updates: June 1st 2024]

Hi guys, Han here, and LORD, this has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I hope this is helpful to all those who are trying to follow this mess in its entirety.

Important notes:

I've included the pre-audit timeline to help you understand the history and context of everything that's happened

I will be updating periodically with new information

I will try to keep entries to the point, and highlight the main points given by each side without adding too much of my own opinion - so make your own conclusions!

Credits to TMIKpop on Twitter for most of the translated news articles as I'm far too lazy, busy (and dyslexic) to read all those Korean articles myself.

I tried to include sources as much as possible in the more recent news, but honestly, I'm going to be a little lazy with this as I don't have enough free time to go back and find sources for things that happened way in the past or are already well-known up to this point. Feel free to send me sources in my ask box though!

Green text indicates the latest updates for those following!

Also for reference, here are the key involved characters (and name abbreviations that will be used throughout this post.)

Bang PD (Bang Shihyuk, HYBE Chairman & BigHit CEO)

PJW (Park Jiwon, HYBE CEO, ex-CEO of NEXON Games)

MHJ (Min Hee Jin, ADOR CEO, ex-SM employee)

VP L (Lee Sangwoo, VP of ADOR, ex-financial division at HYBE)

VP S (Shin ??, VP of ADOR)

NJs (NewJeans), LS (Le Sserafim), IL (ILLIT), GFRIEND & BTS

BHM (BigHit Music), SouMu (Source Music), BELIFT & ADOR

Items with * are accusations by either ADOR or HYBE, but that haven't been 100% verified as true or false. Things that have been verified won't have any *.

Similarly, (RUMORS) that seem to have some basis in reality based on existing evidence but have not been explicitly stated by either side are also included. Also disclaimer: I am not pro-HYBE nor pro-MHJ, I have my personal opinion but I've tried to keep this as impartial and unbiased as possible. I've just presented the news that has been released, if it tills one way, that's just how it is.

Without further ado(r LOL), let's begin!

2019~2021

MHJ joins BigHit Ent as Chief Branding Officer for all labels - this is in preparation for Bighit Ent becoming HYBE.

*Between then and 2021, MHJ suggests making a girl group to Bang PD, and they agree to make the group under SouMu rather than BHM. However, MHJ is never officially employed at SouMu.

*Bang PD promises that MHJ's group will be HYBE's first girl group.

All NJs members join SouMu (Minji joined in 2017 / Hani 2019 / Haerin & Danielle 2020 / Hyein 2021)

*NJs' debut is pushed back initially because of COVID, then again due to contract issues, resulting in LS being ready to debut first and PJW telling MHJ that NJs will no longer be the first gg from HYBE. MHJ claims the reason for NJs' debut delay is because they didn't like her creative vision though.

2021

Q1 (Exact Timing Unknown)

Bang PD starts developing LS with SouMu as he wants to create a group featuring known members, Chaewon and Sakura from Iz*one.

*NJs' debut is pushed back initially because of COVID, then again due to contract issues, resulting in LS being ready to debut first

PJW tells MHJ that NJs will no longer be the first gg from HYBE.

*MHJ is upset that another gg is being developed under Source and claims that it's because Bang PD didn't like the direction she was taking NJs and abandoned her to work on LS instead.

MHJ later agrees to the new debut schedule, with LS debuting just 2 months before NJs, and decides that is enough time for her to promote NJs.

Feb/Mar

HYBE is officially established as a company with Bang PD as CEO.

May

PJW is announced as the new CEO of HYBE.

Bang PD continues as CEO of only BGM but only the chairman of HYBE. This means he has no say in the daily operations of HYBE, but can make big decisions that go to the Board of Directors (BOD). Note: Each label under HYBE has its own individual CEO.

GFRIEND is officially disbanded without any notice from SouMu.

*MHJ is accused (by HYBE staff) of taking almost all of the SouMu staff to ADOR resulting in SouMu not having enough staff to manage GFRIEND and LS. SouMu also had a lot of debt from the training of NJs that they would no longer see a return on as the profits would go to ADOR so they needed to take dramatic measures. (RUMOR) SouMu had already sunk a lot of money into LS (and NJs) and expected LS to be more popular as they were debuting under HYBE, so they decided to terminate GFRIEND at the end of their contracts without warning.

November

ADOR is officially established so that MHJ can have full control over her group's image and development, rather than answering to SouMu CEO and Bang PD.

HYBE gives 16.1B won investment for the establishment of ADOR

Bang PD gives MHJ 2B won to buy 2.8B won worth of ADOR stocks (amounting to 20%, 2% of which she later shared out to her two VPS.) He also gave her 2.9B of HYBE stocks as part of her official recruitment package as CEO of ADOR at only 23% of the actual share value (aka she got a 77% discount). However, MHJ sold 1,000 shares in mid-Nov and another 1000 shares on 8 Dec 2022, earning 760M, and walked away with an additional 120M in cash just 15 days after her investment. // Source: Silsa Journal

2022

May

LS debuts from SouMu

*HYBE claims they shortened their promotional period in order to give MHJ enough time to promote NJs ahead of their debut, but MHJ shows Kakao messages of PJW specifying that NJs should not be promoted ahead of LS' debut so they can benefit from the speculation of them being MHJ's group.

LS' debut is overshadowed by the Garam scandal.

(RUMOR) While Garam was later found to be innocent and misrepresented in the media (ie she was protecting a friend from a bully, not actively bullying someone), many believe MHJ was the one who leaked the information to the press to jeopardize LS' debut. This comes from the statements from HYBE that they have evidence of her collecting and leaking artists' private information.

July

NJs debuts with ZERO pre-debut promotion, instead dropping an incredible amount of content for the debut promotions. Note: While MHJ claims HYBE tried to stop her promoting at all before their debut, she has not provided any evidence. It is the responsibility of each individual label to plan and execute their artist's promotions.

End of Year

Thanks to NJs' successful debut, ADOR has paid off a majority of their debt to HYBE, and now only owes 4B won.

2023

Dec // Source: Donga Ilbo

Bang PD lends MHJ money to buy cheap stock options (intentionally discounted by HYBE for her to buy) and MHJ uses the loan to buy a 20% stake in ADOR. This means she gets paid her shares on top of her 1M USD annual salary as CEO. Note: I couldn't confirm this, but it's believed she is the only CEO of any HYBE label that has stocks in her company. BHM is private so there are no stocks and it is owned completely by Bang PD, while the other labels' stocks are owned 100% by HYBE.

MHJ buys the shares on the following conditions: + If she decides to quit, HYBE is obliged to buy the stocks back and pay MHJ 13 times [ADOR's profit from the last 2 years x her % of shares] + She can quit from Nov 2024 and has a non-compete clause for 2 years where she must maintain a 4.5% stake in ADOR. Note: This means as a stakeholder she can not establish her own company or work for a company that will directly compete with ADOR for those 2 years, as she can not do work that can potentially devalue her shares. This is standard in many industries.

MHJ later shares 2% of her shares to executives of ADOR: VP S and VP L. Note: It is unclear if she sold them or gifted them.

Q4 (Exact Timing Unknown)

VP L leaves their position in HYBE's financial team and starts to work at ADOR under MHJ.

*HYBE accuses VP L of downloading a bunch of HYBE's private financial data that he should no longer have access to, and giving it to MHJ to later use to try and blackmail HYBE into selling their ADOR stocks with the investors she is colluding with. This would mean the majority of ADOR stocks would be controlled by people who support MHJ's decisions.

2024

Feb // Source: Donga Ilbo

MHJ tries to negotiate the terms of her contract with HYBE. She requests the following: + The 13x valuation of her shares be increased to 30x. Taking their value from approximately 100B won to 270B won. (This would be 5.5x the amount of profit she actually made with ADOR in 2023.) + The complete removal of the non-compete clause, allowing her to cash out all of her stocks and start/work for a competitor company immediately after leaving the company.

Additionally, she asks for the ability to make decisions regarding outside investors by herself as the CEO without HYBE's input.

HYBE rejects all of her requests because they would be complete financial losses and risks to HYBE. Negotiations stop as neither side will budge.

It is also around this time that HYBE gets the tips that MHJ is planning a management takeover with outside investors.

Mar

HYBE received a tip that MHJ is planning to try and make ADOR independent by gathering investors who support MHJ to buy up the majority of ADOR shares.

[23rd~29th] MHJ and VP L share messages about selling ADOR after 'emptying it like a shell', how to make ADOR independent, and how they should blackmail HYBE and ruin HYBE's reputation. *HYBE believes the 'empty shell' comment means terminating NJs' contracts with the majority shareholder power from the investors MHJ was meeting. Note: MHJ has confirmed the existence of these messages but insists they were just jokes between disgruntled employees. HYBE retorts that these plans are too specific and detailed, and they found additional evidence to prove they were more than just empty words.

[25th] ILLIT debuts with 'Magnetic'

April

[3rd] MHJ submits an internal complaint to HYBE and BELIFT that IL's concept is copyright infringement of NJs and that HYBE has the obligation to protect them. She requests they respond by April 23rd or 24th (not clear.)

MHJ also complains to the parents of NJs that HYBE is trying to sideline NJs with IL.

[22nd] HYBE and BELIFT submit a 6-page response to MHJ. Note: She later claims that she didn't receive any response, but HYBE provides proof that she received it, so she changed that they replied last minute so she couldn't prepare for the audit, but the response doesn't mention the audit because they are separate issues. However, MHJ believes the audit is all because of the IL situation.

HYBE carries out and publically announces the ADOR audit. This results in an 8% drop in HYBE stocks. (Whistleblower will be revealed later!) *They claim to find evidence of her plans, the illegally obtained company and artist information, and more.

[23rd] MHJ holds a 2.5 hour press conference in retaliation. *She doubles down that she believes this is all because of the complaint she filed and that HYBE (and particularly Bang PD) has hated her and NJs from the beginning. Conference Transcript Here:

[24th] This was also the deadline for which all company devices needed to be returned for the audit but MHJ refused to return her work laptop (and still hasn't as far as I know.) *MHJ claims the timing of the audit was intentional to jeopardize NJs' comeback, however, HYBE provided copied devices to all the employees. She has since not given any justification for not returning her laptop and NJs comeback is continuing as scheduled.

[26th] While HYBE initially stated they wouldn't respond on the day of the conference, they later released a full statement addressing the key points of MHJ's argument. HYBE's full response in English:

NJs's fans (Bunnies) sent trucks to HYBE requesting that MHJ stop using NJs and their parents to protect herself and that NJs stay within HYBE.

NJ's parents refuse to accept calls from HYBE but express their support through newspaper interviews.

Both NJs and BTS RM announce their comebacks set for May 24th. (HYBE's stocks recover thanks to this.) MHJ paints this as HYBE trying to crush NJs with their biggest group because NJs surpassed BTS - HYBE retorts that BHM picked the date first and advised her to change the date, but she insisted on having NJs' comeback on the same day.

[30th] HYBE calls an extraordinary general meeting with the BODs, but the ADOR executives and MHJ do not attend, meaning they have to file a legal suit requiring the MHJ, VP S and VP L to attend the ADOR BODs extraordinary general meeting on May 31st instead.

Other things of note that happened between the 22nd to 30th:

News reports broke that a petition for re-investigation regarding a 2017 allegation against BTS for Sagaeji was passed to the KFTC & Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism. Days later the organizations responded by clearing the charges and asking that all musicians be as honest and forthcoming as BTS. It was later discovered at the hearing that MHJ was behind this situation, and ordered her VPs to create a buzz around the issue to distract attention from her. // Sources: Link / Yonhap News

Similarly, following the accusation from HYBE that MHJ was talking to her 'shaman friend', a rumor broke that BTS were members of a cult that the chairman of their university (Cyber Global University) is rumored to be part of. The Chairman denied being part of a cult, and HYBE/BHM released statements denying the allegations too.

(RUMOR) "K-ARMYs" sent trucks and funeral wreaths to HYBE dissing the company and pleading allegiance only to BTS until May 7th. The following day, these were replaced by trucks from "Bunnies" showing support for MHJ - contradicting the prior trucks sent criticising her. The suspicious timing, the unusually fast fundraising, the contradictory message, the hiring of bodyguards to protect the wreaths, and other strange coincidences cast doubt on if any of these trucks are actually from fans. Many believe MHJ is funding these herself to paint the image that fans are on her side, or at least hate HYBE, justifying her own discontent with HYBE.

May // Source: Biz Chosun

[7th] MHJ files an injunction to Seoul District Court to block HYBE from using their 80% share of ADOR to vote her out (fire her.)

[10th] ADOR BOD agreed to HYBE's request to hold the extraordinary general meeting to discuss the dismissal of MHj (and the two VPs.)

*The same day, prior to the BOD announcement, MHJ's side said a styling team leader was subject to improper coercion during the audit. // Source: Lee Daily HYBE later retaliated explaining how the audit was conducted and that when the staff wanted to stop, they respected her wishes. Furthermore, HYBE said they found evidence of embezzlement and improper payment receipts for ADOR staff. // Source: Newsen ADOR denied that the payment methods were normal and legal, but definitely they are not. // Source: Newsis However, the staff did come forward to say she felt pressured and blackmailed with the embezzlement claims if she didn't comply with the audit. // Source: Ilgan Sports

[12th] An email from "NJs Parents" to HYBE is released to a newspaper, the contents of the email describing how Bang PD did not greet the girls in the elevator, and how they are their parents were upset by it. HYBE retorted that this was not true, and that the email was fabricated by VP L and MHJ and they had proof of this. // Source: YTN A parent of NJs later gave an interview with Ilgan Sports revealing the email was in fact written by MHJ, based on conversations she had with the parents. She also claimed PJW had said the girls would take a break for 1.5 years in order to find a Grammy worthy producer for NJs and that the parents were worried about their careers. // Source: Ilgan Sports HYBE denies any such statement and that they plan to continue NJs schedules as planned. //Source: Seoul Newspaper

[13th] YTN reports HYBE has selected a new CEO for ADOR to replace MHJ once she's voted out, and that they will reveal all of the results of the audit at the court hearing.

Controversy about NJs new song 'Bubble Gum' being plagiarised from a 1982 song called 'Easier Said Than Done' by British Rock Band ShakaTak. // Source: Biz Chosun

[14th] HYBE filed a complaint with the FSS due to insider trading carried out thanks to a tip from MHJ's side about the upcoming public scandal. Note: It's complicated and is about additional people not mentioned until now, so I will link the thread explaining it. It is relevant however, as it backs HYBE's claim that MHJ had planned to ruin their company image as part of her management takeover plan even before the audit. LINK

[17th] The hearing for MHJ's injunction takes place. Each side has 30 minutes to present their arguments and evidence. The below tweets summarize the main points.

HYBE's Side:

ADOR's Side:

Although MHJ requested her Kakao messages not to be shared publically (despite her already showing some), a reporter did recreate the messages. (He copied them word for word but recreated the image so it doesn't break the rules.) The messages show her hatred for women in general, particularly a female employee who was reported assaulted by one of the VPs. Messages Translation: LINK Message Source: LINK LINK

[17th] NJs members and their parents all submitted petitions to oppose the dismissal of MHJ and request that MHJ and NJs continue to stay under HYBE - these petitions were submitted before the hearing where MHJ's disparaging comments against NJs were revealed. // Source: Hankook Ilbo

A petition signed by 10,000 NJs' fans, and various petitions from ADOR staff members was also submitted to the court in favor of MHJ.

Various staff from HYBE (Pdogg (BTS producer), CEO Han Seongsoo (Pledis founder and producer of Seventeen), CEO So Seongjin (Source Music), Son Seongduk (BigHit performance director), Kim Seonghyun (BTS and Le Sserafim’s creative director), and Slow Rabbit (TXT producer)) filed petitions in favor of HYBE showing strong loyalty from various labels and artists. //Source: News 1

[17th] HYBE's Q1 results were released and showcased how NJs/ADOR is not as valuable an asset as MHJ is painting them out to be. This goes against MHJ's argument that HYBE is trying to crush her because NJs are getting 'too big'. LINK

[17th] The whistleblower who tipped HYBE off to make them do the audit is revealed. Long story short it was one of the associates of the investors MHJ had been trying to get to buy shares of ADOR who reached out to HYBE. MHJ has claimed during her conference she never met any investors and that HYBE should prove who they are. Now that they've been named, she's still deflecting because it was VP L who met with the investors rather than MHJ herself. // Source: LINK / Biz Chosun

[17th - yeah, a lot happened this day] MHJ accuses HYBE of trying to make her commit 'Albun Pushing', as well as complaining about the distribution deal with UMG - HYBE retaliates denying the allegations and provides evidence of MHJ doing the exact thing she accused them of, and also explains how the UMG benefits all artists and has already benefit NJs. // Source: LINK Note: This is NOT Sajaegi, but it is still a tactic to inflate sales. The difference is Sajaegi is the company buying the albums themselves, whereas this album pushing is forcing distributors to preorder more stock and then hold events (like fansigns) to help them sell out after.

[22nd] BELIFT also filed an official defamation suit against MHJ. // Source: Hangkook Finance // Note: In Korea, you can sued for defamation even if what you said is proven true if it is deemed not beneficial to the general public and detrimental to the person/entity who was defamed. If found guilty, this would be grounds for MHJ's injunction to be canceled.

[24th] This day is the deadline by which both sides can submit additional evidence before the courts make their decision on whether to pass MHJ's injunction (stopping HYBE from voting her out) or not. // Source: YNA

[24th~19th] Various text messages, supposedly from HYBE's legal argument are leaked to the public. They contain damning messages that show that MHJ was planning (in detail) the takeover of ADOR/NJs prior to the debut of ILLIT. As the messages are 'leaked' it is hard to prove their validity, but MHJ later states (on the 30th] that the messages were taken out of context (not that they were lies/edited.) // Source: KBS

KakaoTalk Message Translations are available here: PannKpop

[25th] PJW met with 3/5 NJs' mothers and guaranteed that they would be able to carry out their Tokyo Dome performance plans regardless of MHJ's status after the injunction - despite MHJ refusing to share the files/information related to the concert plans. // Source: Ilgan Sports

[30th] The court rules in favor of Min Hee Jin. They admit that while she did plan a management takeover and take action that could be harmful/disadvantageous to HYBE, she did not do anything that would be detrimental to ADOR which is her prime responsibility, and that the loss of MHJ to ADOR could be harmful. // Source: Hankook Ilbo

This injunction temporarily stops HYBE from firing MHJ unless they can prove she is bad for ADOR or that she has committed some sort of criminal offense against HYBE. // Source: Kyunghyang Newspaper

HYBE says they will respect the court's decision and act accordingly (likely file an appeal.) MHJ announces she will do a press conference the following day. She also claims that the dismissal of her two VPs will be against the court's decision, but technically they aren't covered by the injunction. // Source: Seoul Newspaper

[31st] The ADOR extraordinary general meeting takes place.

HYBE fires the two VPs who worked under MHJ and replace them with with three Hybe officers. Kim Joo-young, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Lee Jae-sang, Chief Strategy Office (CSO), and Lee Kyung-joon, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) were appointed at the EGM. //Note: The CHRO is a woman, which is interesting due to MHJ's disparaging comments about working with women according to the messages allegedly leaked by HYBE. // Source: Yeonhap News

This new BoD line-up for ADOR means MHJ is outnumbered 3:1 in any decision and is seen as a way for HYBE to keep her in check.

Note: I haven't included notes from MHJ's conference yet as I haven't watched it for myself yet! I also don't know what parts will be relevant to the main timeline later, so I will update again a bit later.

This is all the information so far, I've skipped some of the common knowledge things like the details of the IL plagiarism or cult accusations because I think they just muddle the whole timeline and are very inconsequential.

I will continue to update this page as things continue to happen. And I want to show out TMIKPOP from Twitter one more time as I wouldn't have been able to put this together without their tweets.

[momentsbeforemass]

The “ests”

We live in a society that exalts the “ests.”

The biggest, the fastest, the tallest, the richest. Whatever the benchmark is, we want nothing but the best.

It’s a fixation that causes a lot of problems for us.

Not because there’s anything wrong with being able to spot the best. Knowing the difference between a ripe apple (the best) and one that’s gone bad is kind of important.

The problem comes when our fixation with “ests” crosses categories. When we decide that apples are better than oranges.

Comparing apples to oranges is so obviously faulty that it’s a cliché. In at least 20 different languages.

Yet, you and I do it all the time. Not with apples and oranges. But we do it to ourselves and to others – when it comes to roles and worth.

We value the CEO over the janitor, the doctor over the nurse. You and I decide which person is best, based on the importance we attach to what they do. Confusing their role for their worth as a person.

It sounds awful when you say it that way. But it’s so engrained in us that we do it anyway. Usually without thinking.

When we do it to others, it’s corrosive. We see people as things – and we make them into idols to worship or into non-persons we can abuse or ignore.

When we do it to ourselves, it’s corrosive as well. It puts us on a never-ending treadmill of not good enough. Because no matter who we are or what we’re doing, there’s always more. There’s always better. There’s always an “est” that’s just out of reach.

No matter who you and I do it to, it’s a toxic way to live.

And it couldn’t be farther from the truth, from how God sees things.

Think about it for a minute, you and I know from experience that a person’s role and person’s worth have no connection at all.

One of the wealthiest persons I have ever known (CEO, director on several corporate boards, etc.) is also one of the worst human beings I have ever met.

One of the kindest persons I have ever known lived in a cinder block house with a dirt floor (in Alexander County, Illinois).

In today’s first reading, St. Paul spells it out. There’s a list of roles that reads like the organizational chart for a church: “first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, …” making it easy to fall into our habit of comparing the wrong things.

But the context that he gives for that list? That draws us right back to the truth, back to the way that God sees things.

“As the body is one though it has many parts, an all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also in Christ.”

Translation – God’s love isn’t just for the “ests.”

Whether you’re looking at someone else or yourself, never confuse role with worth. God doesn’t.

Today’s Readings

[xuchiya]

"CHAPTER FOUR: Acts of Service" || kim hongjoong || [a mini-series]

| genre: non!idol hongjoong. ceo! reader. angst. fluff. slice of life | mentions: different language. Korean (Hangul). Tagalog. unfair treatment. love language list

The next day, you contacted one of the directors at the School of International Languages. After a night of reflection, you decided to take action—not just for Hongjoong, but for the entire company, who might face similar challenges. You didn’t want to appear biased; you wanted to be fair to everyone. So, you developed a year-long language program.

The feedback was overwhelming. Your board members congratulated you on the success, but you humbly waved them off, saying, “As your CEO and friend, it's my duty to help you all become the best versions of yourselves. I deeply apologize for not noticing what was so obvious, for being blind until it practically hit me in the face.” Some of them chuckled, others clapped softly from their seats as they watched you on the podium, including your secretary. Hongjoong had decided to take the class and even requested weekend sessions.

Clearing your throat, you continued, “We all move at different paces in life. If someone is ahead of you, cheer for them, because there are also people behind us who look up to us. You’re already in your own race—don’t fear being left behind, but rather, be grateful for what you have and who you have with you. Thank you, and have a great day, everyone.” The room erupted into cheers and confetti as everyone stood up, applauding your closing words. You had introduced the program, and it was clear that everyone was relieved the issue had been addressed and resolved. Smiling, you stepped down from the podium, assisted by Yunho, who tapped your hand, signaling that you’d done a great job.

You mouthed a "thank you" before shaking hands with the directors who would be collaborating with your company, alongside Jackson. You grinned when you spotted Seonghwa, who patted your head and said, “You did amazing, as always.”

As you were being escorted back to your office, you planned to have a conversation with Seonghwa, but one of your staff members, hurrying down the hall, tripped, sending their breakfast flying toward you. Hot coffee splashed onto your chest, causing a slight burn, and you hissed as you pulled your blouse away from your skin.

“Ma’am! I’m so sorry! I was in a hurry—I’m so, so sorry,” they stammered. Just as you were about to respond, a coat was draped over you, and Yunho quickly escorted you back to your office while Seonghwa spoke on your behalf. You glanced down at the coat, then at Yunho, noting that it didn’t match his pants. Seonghwa rarely wore suits, which left you puzzled—until you turned to your right and saw Hongjoong standing there, wearing only his white dress shirt and blue tie.

Your heart fluttered, and a blush crept onto your cheeks. You hurried into your office and made a beeline for the bathroom. Luckily, you always kept extra clothes on hand, especially with Christmas approaching. As you changed, your eyes caught sight of the Christmas lights being strung across the building and the large tree being erected in the reception area. You sighed, realizing you had almost forgotten about the special day planned for your staff.

When you returned to your desk, you were surprised to find a soothing cream and a sticky note that read, "Hope it helps :>." You chuckled, placing the note in your drawer before applying the cream to your chest. Just as you finished buttoning up your new blouse, the door burst open, startling you.

“You have to let me read you right now!” Seonghwa exclaimed, pulling out his tarot cards and spreading them across your desk with practiced ease. You frowned, raising an eyebrow as you finished buttoning your blouse. “What makes you think that?” you asked.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “I forgot—you can’t see auras…” Your mouth dropped open in mock offense. “Seonghwa—” He slapped down the first card. “The Fool.” You stared at it before looking up at him. “This is nonsense, Hwa.”

He simply raised an eyebrow and placed another card beside the first. “The Two of Cups… Hwa, seriously, you’re not reading this right.”

Without a word, he drew the final card. “The Knight of Cups…” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. Seonghwa signed too, but then said, “You’re radiating red, pink, and orange—a mix of love, hope, and warmth. You’re opening up to others.”

Shaking your head, you walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. “Love isn’t in my vocabulary, Seonghwa.”

He scoffed, slipping his cards back into his pocket as he joined you by the window. “Love isn’t in your vocabulary? Just look at what you’re doing for your staff, your company, Yunho, and Hongjoong. You’re embodying love in everything you do.”

“That’s different. This is about professionalism,” you replied, your tone firm. But Seonghwa only let out a mocking chuckle, standing straighter with both hands now in his pockets. “Different? The way you look at Hongjoong is anything but professional.”

Your arms crossed, your brows knitting together in confusion. “Spit it out, Seonghwa.”

He sighed, turning to face you. “You’re in complete denial. You like Hongjoong.” The word "like" still felt foreign to you, despite understanding its implications. It fascinated you how complex that simple word could be—like was something that danced around the edges of love, a concept you had firmly rejected. They said it was complicated. They said it is like seeing your favorite food finally back in stock after ages.

Thrilling, yet somehow devastating.

“It’s normal to appreciate your staff for their dedication,” you countered, but even to your own ears, the words sounded like an excuse. Seonghwa sighs in defeat, your stubbornness gets the better of you. You also let out a soft sigh, “I’m sorry Hwa. I know you’re only trying to help me be more open but I don’t know…”

He wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in a hug, “I don’t blame you, dear sister.”

It had been a particularly grueling week at the company. As the CEO, your days were suddenly filled with back-to-back meetings, countless decisions, and managing a team that relied on your every move. Hongjoong had been a steady presence throughout ever since his first lesson to the program and successfully, he is slowly gaining back his momentum. And, despite the language barrier that often made communication challenging, he still efficiently handled his duties.

That is until one evening, you stayed late in the office, determined to finish a critical project. The office was quiet, the usual bustle of the day replaced by the hum of the building's air conditioning. You were so absorbed in your work that you didn’t notice the time passing until a soft knock on your door brought you back to the present.

“Yes?” You were expecting Yunho with his usual bag of snacks but you were met with your secretary instead, surprise, “Oh Hongjoong, I thought you went home already?”

“Oh, I can’t go,” Hongjoong spoke,  his voice gentle. He entered your office, holding a tray with a steaming cup of tea and a neatly arranged plate of your favorite snacks. He placed it carefully on the corner of your desk, bowing slightly before stepping back. Your heart leaped against the cages of your ribs as you stared fondly at the snack he provided, you offered him a tired smile, appreciating the gesture even though no words were exchanged.

But Hongjoong wasn’t done. The main reason he never went home is because of how your desk was filled with stack after stack of reports and project presentations. He noticed the stack of documents you still had to go through, a task that would easily take you another few hours. Without hesitation, he picked up the pile, his expression determined. “Let me help,” he said, his tone calm and reassuring.

You waved him off, taking a sip of the tea, “No no … It’s quite late, I’ll contact Yunho to take you home.”

“I insist and I also want to say … thank you.” You watch him, play with the hem of his coat, “I give you my deepest gratitude for helping me explore more of what I can do.” His head dipped in a deep bow.

He sat down across from you, spreading the documents between the two of you. Hongjoong worked diligently, his focus unwavering as he sorted through the papers, organized them, and even highlighted key points that might have taken you much longer to find on your own.

As the night wore on, you found yourself glancing at him more often. Hongjoong’s dedication was evident, and you couldn’t help but feel a warmth in your chest that had nothing to do with the tea he’d brought you. He was doing this not because it was his job, but because he cared—because this was his way of saying thank you, of expressing something deeper that words alone couldn’t convey.

A flutter of nervous energy stirred in your stomach as you caught yourself thinking about Hongjoong. Shaking off the thought, you redirect your focus to the work in front of you, determined to stay on task.

 However, it seemed you weren’t the only one distracted. 

Hongjoong, seated across the room, couldn’t help but glance your way, stealing brief moments to admire you. The way your hair slowly slipped free from its gel hold after a long day, how your naturally thick and curled eyelashes fluttered like a fan with each blink, and the subtle pink hue that colored your cheeks—it all made his heart race, stealing his breath away.

A wave of butterflies filled his stomach as he became aware of his thoughts, his eyes quickly darting elsewhere when he noticed you might look up from your work.

Finally, as the clock approached midnight, the last document was reviewed, and you both leaned back in your chairs, exhausted yet satisfied. Hongjoong met your gaze, offering a small, contented smile. In that moment, you both understood that sometimes, actions bridged the gap between languages more effectively than words ever could.

The next morning came too quickly. You rushed through your routine, the usual calm replaced by a sense of urgency after waking up a little later than planned. Being late was one of your biggest pet peeves, something you could hardly tolerate in yourself.

Meanwhile, across town, Hongjoong was already prepared for the day. He adjusted his tie, slipped on a wristwatch, and added a light spritz of cologne before heading downstairs. In the kitchen, he greeted his mother with a kiss on her temple and hugged his father before grabbing the lunch his mother had packed for him.

Just as he was about to leave, his mother called out, “Wait!” She handed him another paper bag, tapping the back of his hand with a smile. “Extra lunch for my hardworking son.”

Hongjoong chuckled, “Mom, I appreciate it, but you already packed too much in my first lunch.”

His mother scoffed playfully, pouting as she said, “I just don’t want you to get hungry. You can share it with your coworkers.”

With a grateful smile, Hongjoong hugged his mother and thanked her for the extra food before heading out, waving goodbye.

At the company, you arrived fifteen minutes late, your mood clearly sour. Yunho, sensing your irritation, kept quiet as he guided you through the reception area and up to your office. You nodded politely at the staff who greeted you with a good morning. By the time you reached your office, you were surprised to find Seonghwa already there, lounging on your couch.

You placed your bag down as Yunho closed the door and stood guard. Hongjoong emerged from the small kitchenette with a tray, serving Seonghwa some tea.

“Thank you, sweetheart, and good morning, sis,” Seonghwa greeted, a teasing smile on his lips. Hongjoong’s ears turned red at the nickname, and he quickly bowed his head before moving to your side.

“Good morning, ma’am,” he said softly.

Your annoyance melted away at the sight of him, a warm smile spreading across your face. “Good morning, Hongjoong.”

Turning to Seonghwa, you asked, “What brings you here, Hwa?” Seonghwa rolled his eyes, placing the tea cup down, “Feel the love sis, thank you.”

You playfully rolled your eyes, walking towards your desk. Hongjoong hands you your schedule for today and notices that there’s barely anything aside from paperworks and small interviews here and there.

“I cleared your schedule because we need to go to the site later.” Your head snapped towards Seonghwa as he finished his tea. You sigh, completely forgot about the newly constructed building being constructed for the new extended business and will open in 2025.

 As he discusses with you about the engineer that he spoke on the phone the other day about the progress of the under construction building at Namhae. With the anticipation of a long drive ahead, you had an important meeting to attend, followed by a site inspection for the new company building that would soon rise under your and Seonghwa’s names. It was a five-hour drive to the location, and despite the journey, you knew you had to look presentable. 

By the time Yunho had parked at the site, fatigue was already setting in. Hongjoong came out first before Yunho opened the door and you were soon greeted by a few engineers and architects. 

“Good morning Ms. Kang. Good morning Mr. Park.” You have to put up your hand to cover your eyes from the sun. Hongjoong took notice and used his folder to cover your eyes before Yunho pulled out an umbrella and hovered over your head. Yunho nodded and Hongjoong nodded back.

“Shall we get started with the tour?” Seonghwa spoke before the team led you all inside. The engineers were eager to show you around, explaining the layout and structure of the building that would soon take shape.

It has been more than an hour already and you could feel the sharp pain at the back of your heels where the shoes had begun to rub your skin raw. As you walked around the site, listening to the engineers’ explanations, you discreetly removed your feet from your shoes whenever they paused, trying to ease the pressure on your feet. But the relief was temporary, and you had to slip them back on before anyone noticed. Except, someone did notice.

Hongjoong had been walking a few steps behind you, his sharp eyes catching every wince, every slight limp. He saw the way you’d subtly reach down to adjust your shoes, only to pull your hand back quickly, hoping no one would see. He knew something was wrong.

“I’m going to get something from the car,” Hongjoong stood behind you and spoke quietly, excusing himself as he turned to head back to the car. Yunho noticed the sudden departure but said nothing, simply giving Hongjoong a knowing nod.

Once out of sight, Hongjoong quickly grabbed his wallet from the car and hailed a cab, directing the driver to the nearest mall. Arriving at the mall, he hurriedly walked through the aisles, scanning the stores until he found what he was looking for. A shop specializing in comfortable footwear.

He entered, his eyes immediately landing on a pair of running shoes that looked both supportive and stylish enough. He also picked up a pair of soft socks and a small pack of band-aids. Satisfied with his purchases, he paid quickly and rushed back to the site, the cab weaving through traffic as fast as it could.

By the time he returned, the tour was still in progress. You were doing your best to focus on the explanations, but the pain had become almost unbearable. As you wiped a small tear from the corner of your eye, trying to mask it as a reaction to the wind, you suddenly saw Hongjoong appear out of nowhere.

Despite his calm demeanor, you noticed the sweat trickling down his neck, and the small patch of dampness around the collar of his button-up shirt. He had clearly rushed to get back to you. Before the group moved on to the next part of the site, Hongjoong stepped forward and quietly asked you to come aside. Confused but trusting him, you followed.

“You’ll be needing this,” he said softly, pulling out a box from behind his back. To your surprise, he opened it to reveal a pair of comfortable running shoes. He also handed you a pair of soft socks and a band-aid, his eyes full of concern.

Your heart fluttered at the gesture. The fact that he’d gone out of his way, without a word, to ease your discomfort, spoke volumes. You smiled at him, your eyes shining with gratitude, as you carefully removed your heels and slipped on the socks and shoes. The relief was immediate, the pain in your feet finally subsiding.“Thank you, Hongjoong,” you whispered. The sentiment was clear enough. With a quiet nod, Hongjoong stepped back, allowing you to rejoin the group, now much more comfortable and able to focus on the task at hand. As you continued the tour, your heart felt lighter and Hongjoong hid his smile behind the folder he was holding.

Seonghwa looking over his shoulder as he watches the whole thing unfolds made his heart warm.

The site tour finally came to an end. As you made your way back to the car, you could feel the exhaustion settling in. Despite having eaten a small lunch during the tour, your stomach gave a quiet rumble, reminding you that the morning’s rushed breakfast wasn’t enough to keep you going all day.

Hongjoong, who had been walking a step behind you, noticed the faint sound. He gave a soft, almost imperceptible smile before reaching into his bag.

“Ma’am,” he called out softly, causing you to pause and turn around. He pulled out a neatly wrapped paper bag, holding it out to you. “Here… I have extra lunch.”

You looked at the bag, then back at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Extra lunch?”

He nodded, his eyes gentle and kind. “My mom made it… just in case I got hungry, but I think you might need it more.”

Your heart warmed at the thoughtfulness of the gesture. Taking the bag from him, you peeked inside to find a beautifully packed lunch—carefully arranged, with attention to detail that only a loving mother could provide. Your stomach rumbled louder this time, making Hongjoong chuckle softly.

“Oh dear, Hongjoong ... You don't have to. It's your lunch,” you said, your voice filled with doubt pushing the lunch to him. Hongjoong chuckles, grabbing the chopsticks inside.

He dipped the shrimp to the soy sauce and put a hand under the chopsticks. Your eyes widen and so did his. His actions were sudden and force of habit.

One that his older brother does to him when he doubts his food. When you were shaken out of your trace, you took a bit of the food and grab the chopsticks.

As you sat in the car, enjoying the homemade meal, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of contentment. It wasn’t just the food that warmed you—it was the realization that Hongjoong cared enough to notice the small things, to take care of you in ways that went beyond the duties of a secretary.

And the fact the small tension of your actions made you both look away with blushes scattered on both of your cheeks.