capricornwriter5

[capricornwriter5]

Always On Time - Chapter 18

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 5.8k

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Chapter 18

"We’re almost there," Julie said as she looked at the map on her cellphone. "According to this, we’re 20 minutes away".

"Jeez, Jules, couldn’t you find a more distant place to go on a Monday morning?" Jooheon teased her. "We’ve been driving almost two hours and..."

"Don’t start complaining," Julie cut him. "I offered to drive an hour ago and you refused because, quote on quote, 'my Precious is not used to being handled by strangers'"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, fine, fine, it’s my fault..." Jooheon accepted.

In those last two hours of travel, the rapper had felt back in school. The situation was not entirely natural, as Jooheon knew that Julie was forcing some conversation topics, but at times like that her true self came out and Jooheon was happy that, at least at times, the girl would relax and stop thinking about everything that was going on.

"Jules, by the way... what are you doing here?" asked the rapper. "It’s about two hours from Seoul without heavy traffic".

"It’s my plan B," she replied. "We need a hall of mirrors to replace the club set and yesterday I found the invitation of some friends for the inauguration of their new gallery-museum. They won a contest a while ago, earning the favor of several wealthy families, married, and now manage the private collections of their investors. Recently, they built the gallery that we are going to visit and today is the pre-opening".

"Pre-opening?"

"It is a private party that they organize with their main investor and first exhibitor of the gallery" she explained. "It’s basically a party where investors flaunt their money behind closed doors before it’s open to the public".

"And they invited you?"

"Not to this party, to the general opening next week, but I asked for a favor and... here we are," she explained. "In the photos, I saw that they have a hall of movable mirrors that form a maze of reflections. I thought we could use it to record and give exposure to their project to other audiences... Turn here to the right and... there it is, a bit ahead".

Jooheon entered a private street and as he approached he could see a dark brown building with a single large window going from side to side of what would be the second floor. It was a fancy place... although Jooheon thought whoever designed it was a little desperate to show off his money.

"Jooheon-ah," Julie called him before she got out of the car, "don’t take this the wrong way, but let me do the talking, okay?"

Jooheon just laughed and nodded.

"I wasn’t going to open my mouth, Jules. Don’t worry".

*****

Almost three hours later... Jooheon had done most of the talking.

It turns out that Jules' friend was a Monbebe and Jooheon was her bias, so when the rapper got out of the car, the girl almost fainted from the excitement. Jooheon was only relieved that her husband would laugh and not be jealous.

Julie, for her part, could not say anything at first because her friend kept asking her why she didn’t tell her Lee Jooheon was coming along. After that, she could not talk much either, because her friends were more interested in the idol than in her. In the end, she sighed and decided to use that to her advantage. The result? They managed to secure the last filming set.

"God, my head," Julie said after saying goodbye to the couple and getting in the car with Jooheon.

"I liked them," Jooheon said closing the door.

"Ha, your ego liked them, doesn’t it?".

"Auch, Jules" the rapper said. "Don’t tell me that you became the jealous type in these years" he bothered her.

"Shut the fuck up and stop talking shit".

"HAHAHAHAHAHHA you started... Well, now what?"

"Now, let’s go to Seoul to..."

"Wait, what about lunch?"

"Lunch... we can eat something on the way, right?" she said.

"The last time you ate anything was 6 hours ago, Julianne," Jooheon said. Julie looked at him again in amazement as Jooheon hardly ever called her by her full name. "We’re going to have a real meal. I asked your friend for good restaurants and she recommended the hotel nearby. After that, we go to Seoul".

Julie was going to protest, but her stomach tricked her at the time, so she decided to shut up and lay her head on the seat while Jooheon drove.

******

"IS THAT I.M.?" Julie asked in surprise. She was having lunch with Jooheon at the hotel’s restaurant and they started talking about all the things that the rapper had done, and what they had forced him to do, during those years. Naturally, they ended up talking about his members and Jooheon was showing her a video of I.M. dancing on their first reality... one of those videos that the maknae had begged him to delete from his cell phone, which Jooheon clearly did not do.

"The same one".

"The same I.M. who’s with Liv?... the Liv I know?"

"Well... yes" Jooheon laughed. "In his defense, Changkyungnie has matured a lot in recent years. He’s still an idiot and he’s still capable of making ridiculous things like this, but meeting Liv made him grow up".

"I see... well, I guess some people change".

"All people change, Jules" Jooheon corrected. "Although some, like I.M., need a strong slap to do so".

"Poor thing... but if that got him where he is, good for him, I guess?"

"Yes, I think so," Jooheon conceded. "Changkyungnie and Liv went through a lot, although if you asked me, a conversation would have saved them a lot of trouble, but the important thing is that they are already well. They even act like a married couple".

"You say it like it was something bad".

"Nah, it’s not bad," Jooheon said. "It’s just... strange? I mean, although there’s not much age difference, I.M. is still my little brother. Sometimes I find it hard to believe he’s grown so much".

"Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who feels bad because their younger brothers have a partner before them," Julie teased him.

Jooheon knew it was a joke but decided to test the waters and give a serious answer.

"No, not at all, I’m very happy for them," he said. "But having a couple like them around all the time makes you think, you know? And... want things".

Julie didn't say much to that.

"Don’t mind me," Jooheon said, cutting off the moment. "I guess I’m so full that I already talk nonsense".

"You always talk nonsense," Julianne responded.

"Well... more than usual" he relented. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, we should be getting back," Julie said, raising her hand to get the check.

*****

"Closed?" Julie asked the traffic officer in front of them. "What do you mean the road is closed? It was perfectly fine when we came in the morning".

"There was an accident about half an hour ago," the officer replied. "There was a landslide, and some cars were buried under the dirt and there were some collisions between the cars that stopped suddenly. No fatalities, but no one can pass until we finish treating the wounded, clear the road and secure other parts of the route. We do not want something similar to happen".

"And how long do you think it will take, officer?" Jooheon asked.

"Well... at this rate, the road will probably be completely ready tomorrow morning, considering the cleaning and general inspection work that needs to be done".

"This is not happening," Julie sighed. "Do you know if there is another route to Seoul?"

"Not by land," the officer said. "There is another option which is to take the ferry, but due to the closure of the route there must be more demand than normal and I know that the owner does not like to make trips after sunset".

"No problem," said Julie, "we’ll try to get there, could you tell us which way to go?"

*****

Twenty minutes later, Julie was ready to throw a tantrum in the middle of the harbor. They had arrived as quickly as possible, but, as the officer had told them, there were many people trying to reach the city, and the ferry was overloaded. They had organized two more trips and were giving tokens to those who arrived so that they knew on which trip they would go... Unfortunately, Julie and Jooheon arrived very late and the last seats of the last trip had been filled long ago.

Julianne swallowed her anger and frustration and headed to the car with Jooheon behind. The least she could do was to maintain her dignity.

Upon reaching the car, she opened the passenger door and threw herself into the seat. Jooheon closed the door and walked slowly toward the driver’s seat. When he got in the car too, Julie was talking to herself:

"This is a joke... that’s it, it’s a joke... no, it’s a test, the company is testing my patience... Which is the stupidest idea I’ve ever had in my life, why the fuck would an entertainment company do that?... No, no, no, this is... this is a meme... that’s it, it’s a meme, because there’s no other way that this last week was really my life... argggg... now what do I do?"

"Well, for starters," Jooheon interrupted, "I already called Wonho-hyung and explained the situation. Areum-ah and Ivy are covering for you and told me to calm down. We have no equipment to work with, so all we can do is wait until tomorrow for the road to be clear again".

"I’m going to be late in everything... tomorrow we had the final presentation and I have to edit it... And I also had the last round of package reviews, so if we were too late, they might not be ready for the comeback and that would be a problem... AND THE PRINTS. Today they had to get to the office and I had to send them to..."

"Julianne" Jooheon said, cutting off the girl’s line of thought once more. "Calm down, will you? A vein will explode if you continue like this".

"How can I calm down if..."

"Don’t you trust your team?" Jooheon threw. "Look, I know you feel bad about not being able to do everything you had to do, but Areum-ah and Ivy know what you know, I’m sure they’ll take care of everything... We can’t do anything, but at least you can spend this time without falling into a stress coma".

Julie kept quiet. Jooheon was right, but her mind was spinning and she didn’t want to accept that the rapper was right.

"Well, since we agree" continued the rapper, "how about an ice cream?"

Jooheon and Julie spent the next few hours getting to know the small, yet exclusive, coastal town. At first, Julianne was not very happy, but Jooheon convinced her and they had a pleasant afternoon. Jooheon called the hotel where they had lunch and booked two rooms. Julie objected as it was a very expensive place for the budget she had, but had to give in when Jooheon told her that he had already paid for the rooms.

After walking along the beach, both went on to buy the essentials to spend the night: pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant... After that, they went to dinner and returned to the hotel around 8 p.m. When they entered, they saw many people dressed in gala outfits in the lobby and apparently there was some kind of party. Music was coming out of one of the rooms and there was almost no staff in sight, which probably meant they were in the lounge attending to the guests.

"What is the occasion?" Jooheon said in awe of the hustle and bustle.

"I think it’s the pre-opening after-party," Julie said, recognizing some faces. "I knew they were going to do it in a hotel, but I didn’t know it would be in this one".

"Well, apparently they did well with the event," he said. "Here, wait for me here, I’ll go get the keys to the rooms," said the rapper giving his bag to Julie and heading to the reception.

Julianne stepped aside and was admiring one of the paintings hanging in a section of the lobby that the girl assumed was a waiting room. It had armchairs, tea tables, magazines, a coffee machine...

"Julie?" said a voice at her back.

On hearing her name, Julianne froze in place. She felt a chill running down her back and tears threatening to build up in her eyes. She never expected to find Kang-Dae there, wasn’t he supposed to be out of the country? Besides, he never really liked these social gatherings, so what was he doing there?

Slowly, Julie turned and looked straight at him.

"Kang-Dae-ssi" she greeted. "I... I did not expect to see you here".

"Neither did I," he said.

After that initial greeting, neither of them knew what to say. They both had their last conversation in mind and Julie was still upset about his almost intervention, not to mention she was still recovering from her breakup a few months ago.

"Well, I think..." started Julie before another female voice cut her off.

"Oppa! There you are," said a girl dressed in yellow who came to Kang-Dae’s side and intertwined her arm with his. "I was looking for you inside, did something happen?"

Julie felt nauseous and the tears she had swallowed were threatening to fill her eyes again. She didn’t know the girl’s name, but she knew she was the daughter and heiress of one of the largest textile conglomerates in the country. No wonder they were together at the party...

"Who is she, oppa?" the girl said with a defiant look at Julie. That look told her that she knew exactly who Julianne was, but she wanted to hear her "oppa" answer. Julie did not give her the pleasure.

"I was Kang-Dae-ssi’s college classmate," she said briefly. "A pleasure".

"Julie, are you here alone?" Kang-Dae began, ignoring his companion’s question. "Did something happen in...?"

"Jules!"

The three of them turned to see the owner of that voice and Julie thanked Jooheon for the excellent timing.

"There you are," the rapper added as he walked up to Julie’s side and put his hand around her waist. "Oh, Kang-Dae-ssi? What a surprise"

"Jooheon-ssi" replied the businessman without taking his eyes off Jooheon’s hand.

"Do you have the key?" asked Julie approaching Jooheon and seeing the rapper in the eyes. The girl wasted no time and decided to continue the game Jooheon started. It was a completely childish move, but how good it felt.

"Yes, here it is... it was tough, but I managed to get one of the suites," continued the rapper without losing sight of Kang-Dae’s face. "Give me the bags, they must be heavy".

"Did you come together?" Kang-Dae asked.

"Oppa!" her companion said with laughter. The girl seemed much more relaxed now. "Don’t be like that, don’t ask those things... Sorry, he can be very direct sometimes".

"Don’t worry," Julie replied. "It was nice to see you, Kang-Dae-ssi, but we’re a little tired, so..."

"Oh, sure, go ahead," replied the other girl before Kang-Dae could say anything. "Oppa, come on, they’re waiting for us inside..."

The four said goodbye with nods and Julie and Jooheon headed to the elevator holding hands. Jooheon could feel Julie shaking, so he brought her closer to him, put his hand on her back, and directed her all the way. Once inside the elevator, Jooheon kept his hand on her back and left it there until they reached the room.

Only upon entering and seeing the suite they were in, Julie reacted:

"You told me you had booked normal rooms," she told the rapper.

"I did... but at the reception, they told me they made a mistake and gave me this one"

"It’s ridiculous, we have to go to..."

"Calm down, Jules," Jooheon said, taking her by the shoulders and looking at her face. "I promise it’s nothing, okay? And look, you see that door? There’s my room. It’s a double suite, so we’ll sleep in different beds... in case you were worried..."

"I’m not 5, Jooheon," Julie replied.

"Mphf, no, I guess not," Jooheon said with a dry laugh.

The rapper lowered his arms when he saw that Julie was calmer, but both stood there, not knowing very well what to do.

"Jules..."

"Thank you" she cut him. "Thank you for what you did down there".

"Tha-... Uff, I thought you were going to be mad at me," Jooheon said relieved. "It was nothing, Jules... And I know you probably don’t want to tell me, but... are you okay?"

Julie laughed low and turned to sit on the bed. Jooheon followed her and sat next to her.

"Do you remember what you told me the day of Minhyuk-ssi’s inauguration?" Julie asked.

"If it’s going to make you angry with me now... no, I don’t remember".

"Don’t be an idiot" Julie said. "What you said to me... hurt, Jooheon-ah. I really did... but I think what hurt me most was that you were right".

Jooheon never expected Julie to tell him that, so he was caught off guard.

"You know? I had a plan... it was a very nice plan and all I had to do was keep walking in a straight line," Julianne began. "At first everything was wonderful. I know it doesn’t seem like it and you probably won’t believe it, but I was genuinely happy with the plan I had... the problem was that the plan changed and I refused to see it. I just... I was afraid of what would happen if I went another way and..."

Julie’s voice broke and she could no longer speak. Jooheon wanted to hug her, but Julie straightened her back and the rapper understood that she needed her space.

The girl got up and went to the suit’s window. The hotel gardens were visible from there and with the lights on it looked like it was a scene taken from a book.

"There’s nothing wrong with changing plans, Jules," Jooheon assured her. "Especially when the path you were following was hurting you".

"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if... if..."

"If we hadn’t met again," Jooheon finished for her.

Julie did not respond. Both remained silent for a while until she spoke again.

"I feel on the edge of a cliff, Jooheon-ah" Julie admitted. "I’m afraid to jump, but I’m also afraid to go back..."

"I know what that feels like" said the rapper getting up to get closer to Julie. "Lose control or go back to the safe zone..."

"What would you do?" Julie asked him, turning around to look him in the eyes. "What did you do to feel better, Jooheon-ah?"

The plea in Julie’s eyes was more than what Jooheon could bear. The rapper felt this need to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay, but he knew that it could pressure Julie in the wrong way, so he held back. But he felt his hands burning.

"I... well... you know me, Jules. I decided to jump and lose some control".

"And... did it work?"

"Mmmmm... something like that?" said the rapper. "But that doesn’t mean you have to make hasty decisions. I know you prefer to think things over and..."

"All my life I’ve thought things through" she cut him off. "I feel comfortable with that, but when I decided to take a leap and quit my job, for example, I felt... alive".

Both were silent again. Jooheon didn’t know where this conversation was going and Julie was dizzy from so many things going through her head.

No, no more, she thought. I don’t want to think anymore...

"Jooheon-ah..."

"Yes?"

"That day at the gallery... you told me things could be different," she said. "You told me you could show me how I could feel every day".

In saying that, Julie was a little... scared?... for saying what she was thinking, but she knew she had to say it.

"Show me" she finished.

"Jules..." Jooheon said after swallowing the knot in his throat. That was the last thing he expected from Julie. He knew it was probably the vulnerability talking and the last thing he wanted was to take advantage of that. But he had a hard time ignoring Julie’s gaze at the moment.

"Please, Jooheon-ah," she said approaching. "I just... want to take a leap".

"Jules... in other circumstances, believe me that I... but, today you’re not thinking straight with everything that happened and..."

"I want to stop thinking," she insisted.

Jooheon said nothing and just looked at her face. He was having an internal battle because he felt his heart was going to explode, but at the same time, he was afraid to hurt her.

After a few minutes, Julie stepped back and looked down.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I shouldn’t have put you in such an uncomfortable situation".

Julie did not look up and Jooheon approached her:

"Jules, look me in the eye," he said and she did. "Jules, the last thing I want you to do is wake up regretting what might happen today. I don’t want to hurt you like this".

"Jooheon-ah... I’m sure," she replied. "But I know it could be awkward and..."

Julie stopped talking when she felt Jooheon’s hand on her lower back. The other hand was caressing her cheek and Julie could feel the heat left by the caresses of the rapper.

"Jules... take a deep breath first, okay?" he said. "Okay, now… tell me, are you really sure? What do you want?"

"I... I’m sure," she said sincerely as she looked down. "But, it’s been a while... and I don't…".

Jooheon understood perfectly, but he still needed to know if there was something the girl felt uncomfortable with.

"Jules..." he said as he looked down at Julianne’s lips. "I want to kiss you. Can I?"

Jooheon ran his thumb through Julie’s lower lip to separate it slightly from her upper lip and approached slowly. Julie hadn’t given him an answer, but she hadn’t walked away either.

Jooheon stopped just before their lips touched and it was Julie who erased the distance between the two.

Julie hoped it was an intense kiss, but Jooheon had other plans. To him, time didn’t matter, nothing mattered in those moments and he wanted Julie to feel the same.

Jooheon kissed her slowly and it was the softest kiss Julie had ever had. The rapper knew what he was doing, because soon after he could feel Julie relax and that’s when he knew that the girl was enjoying the moment. At least he knew he was.

After a while, they broke the kiss, but neither wanted things to stop there.

"Jules" Jooheon said. "Tell me if you’re uncomfortable with anything and I’ll stop, okay?"

"Mmm-kay" she said before kissing Jooheon again.

Now Julie’s hands were also on Jooheon. They ran down his back, his abdomen, his neck...

Jooheon began to walk backward pulling Julie with him until he bumped into the bed and sat on it. Without breaking the kiss, he had Jules open her legs to sit on top of him and put the girl’s knees in the bed. In this position, Jooheon ran his hands across Julianne’s legs and felt the girl’s tremors as she felt the caress. That motivated him to continue.

Jooheon broke the kiss to see Julie sitting on his lap and convince himself that he wasn’t dreaming. He put her hair behind her ears and went down to kiss her collarbone. When he reached the collar of her shirt, he began to unbutton the buttons one by one at a speed that was giving Julie anxiety.

"Are you going to last all night taking off my shirt?" she asked when she could no longer take it.

"Calm down, Jules" he reassured her. "I’m just taking my time to think about what I should do to you first".

Julie had no answer for that. Jooheon’s eyes told her that the rapper was not lying, which only increased the girl’s heart rate and she could already feel how wet she was.

She could not stand still, so she bowed and kissed Jooheon at the corner of his lips, cheek, cheekbone, jaw, clavicle... while also unbuttoning his shirt.

Jooheon only laughed at Julie’s impatience.

"Jules... let me take care of you" he asked. "I promise you won’t regret it".

Julie got the hint and stopped trying to rush things. Jooheon then resumed his task and, now with her shirt open, left a kissing path all over Julie’s chest. Soon, the shirt was on the floor and Jooheon unbuttoned the bra.

Upon hearing the click, Julie leapt, so Jooheon stopped, looked into her eyes, and kissed her again on the lips until he felt her relax in his lap again. As he kissed her, he removed her bra and began to stimulate one of Julie’s nipples.

The girl couldn’t help the moan that came out of her mouth and upon hearing it, Jooheon felt his cock instantly harden. So much so that the pressure on his pants became almost unbearable. This made Julie moan again, as in the position she was in she could perfectly feel what her moans were causing in Jooheon.

They both needed to change positions, so Jooheon turned around so that now Julie was lying on the bed on her back and he was on top of her. He took off the shirt Julie had unbuttoned and began to caress the waist of Julianne’s pants.

Minutes later, the girl’s pants were on the floor and Jooheon could feel the moisture in Julianne’s underwear.

"This is for me, Jules?" he whispered in her ear as he made a little pressure above the fabric in just the right spot.

Julie couldn’t help but arch her back and moan a little.

"That’s my girl," he said, before continuing to kiss her.

Julie was lost in a cloud of pleasure. She hadn’t felt like this for a long time and every touch of Jooheon seemed to hit the most vulnerable spot, only to feel her head explode from all the sensations she was having.

Before Julie could get used to Jooheon’s new strokes, the rapper pushed aside the underwear, without taking it off yet, and ran two fingers along the opening. Again, Julie moaned with pleasure and Jooheon took it as a signal to push the two fingers into Julie’s center and begin slow but steady movements.

Julie moaned again as she felt the intrusion and grabbed one of Jooheon’s arms. The rapper was watching Julianne’s every move, and seeing her writhing with pleasure from his caresses only excited him more and more. The lump between his legs hurt, but he refused to take care of it until Julie came at least once.

"Jooheon-ah" she said. "Jooheon-ah... more"

"More?" he asked. "You just have to ask, Jules".

The rapper removed the two fingers, but before the girl could protest, Jooheon made the last piece of cloth on her disappear and now it was not his fingers, but his tongue that Julie felt inside her.

Like his hand, the rapper’s tongue was not rushed. Julie felt the pressure and heat in her abdomen and legs slowly grow, and so did Jooheon.

When he was sure that Julie was sensitive enough, he put his thumb over her clit and started moving it in circular motions that were driving Julianne crazy. The pressure she felt was just enough for her mind to be clouded by pleasure and Julie felt every movement and caress of Jooheon that made her closer and closer to her climax.

Jooheon knew the girl was on the verge when he felt her muscles tighten. At that point, he began to make faster and more aggressive movements. Julie’s moans increased in volume until she felt all the pressure released in tremors and spasms.

Jooheon continued working until Julie’s orgasm ended. After that, he caressed Julianne’s inner legs and began to trace a path of soft kisses along her body until reaching her lips. The orgasm had been intense, and both were breathing loudly.

"Are you all right, Jules?" Jooheon asked as he lay next to Julie.

She nodded and turned to kiss him again.

Jooheon didn’t plan on taking things too far, especially since he wasn’t ready and wasn’t going to be irresponsible... but Julie had another idea.

Without breaking the kiss, Julie began to run her hands across Jooheon’s chest and arms until she reached the waist of the underpants peeking above the waist of his pants. The girl was fully aware of the state of the rapper, so she began to lower the zipper of the jeans, but the rapper stopped her.

"Jules... wait" he said with a gasp. "Wait... if you keep this up I don’t think..."

"Jooheon-ah... are you going to make me beg again?" Julie cut him with a whisper.

Jooheon swallowed the knot in his throat. He could feel the pressure between his legs increase, but the little control he had stopped the girl’s movements once more.

"Jules... wait" he asked again. "Not that I don’t want to, I just don’t come prepared".

"Open the last drawer of the nightstand," she said.

Jooheon did what Julie said without understanding, but seeing what was inside he was surprised...

"What the hell?" said the rapper when he saw the variety of condoms, pills, lubricant, and some other sex toys that were there. "How...?"

Julie did not respond. She had Jooheon lie down on the pillows and extended her arm herself to get one of the condoms out of the drawer. She started kissing Jooheon again and put the little package in the hand of the rapper. After a few minutes, she separated a little from him and looked him in the eye.

She didn’t want to force him to do something he felt uncomfortable with, she had pushed him enough and wanted him to make the final decision now.

The rapper held her gaze and asked her one last time if she was sure. Julie nodded and Jooheon wasted no time. With faster movements than the last time, the rapper made Julie lie on her back while opening the package.

Julie helped him get rid of his remaining clothes, and Jooheon was relieved when he was finally free of the pressure from his pants. They both started kissing again, but now the kiss had nothing soft or sweet about it... it was intense, it was full of the expectation they both felt.

Before putting on the condom, Jooheon made sure Julie was ready not to hurt her. He kissed her on the lips, the collarbone, the neck, the chest and slowly went down to the abdomen. He then ran his fingers through the opening and smiled as he felt Julianne’s center completely wet again.

"Jooheon-ah" Julie moaned suddenly.

Jooheon stopped and looked her in the eye.

"Jooheon-ah... I’m going crazy," she admitted. "I need you... fast".

"Whatever you order, Jules," said the rapper as he positioned himself right at her entrance and began to enter slowly.

With small movements, the rapper was breaking through little by little and every inch sent shocks of pleasure through the body of both. Jooheon was in the clouds, for a moment he thought he would end up just by being inside Julie, but he managed to maintain control and not make a fool of himself.

Little by little, Jooheon’s careful movements increased in speed and Julie followed him until both reached a pace that was pushing them further and further to the edge. They were both moaning and panting, but that didn’t stop Jooheon from repositioning Julianne’s legs so she could go deeper.

The change of position made Julie feel spasms of pleasure all over her back and as a result, the moans that came out of her mouth were stronger and stronger. These sounds were driving Jooheon crazy to the point where his movements threatened to become erratic.

"Jules... Jules" Jooheon whispered in gasps.

"Jooheon-ah... I think that..."

Julie couldn’t finish because she felt Jooheon’s fingers right where she needed them. Julianne’s back arched with the new sensations and she felt the pressure on her abdomen and the heat between her legs rise again. Jooheon could also feel the girl’s muscles contracting and sending him to the edge as well.

Soon after, Julie felt her orgasm coming down her abdomen, legs and arms, and by making sure she reached her climax, Jooheon also let himself go. Julie felt him tighten up on her and they both got carried away by the pleasure-filled muscle spasms. Gradually the spasms were decreasing and both were in a state of stupor and pleasure.

Jooheon kissed Julie again as he pulled back carefully. The rapper laid down next to her and put an arm under Julianne’s head. She sighed and laid her head on Jooheon’s chest. For a few minutes, all they did was catch their breath and cuddle.

"Jules" Jooheon said after a while breaking the silence. "How do you feel? Are you okay?"

"Mmmm, I’m fine," she replied quietly.

When Jooheon saw her again, he noticed that her eyes were closing from exhaustion. He didn’t blame her, he felt he was seconds away from falling asleep, but refused to do so until he made sure Julie was okay.

"Are you cold? Does anything hurt?" he continued with questions.

"Hmm? No, I’m fine... although I have to go to the bathroom," she replied as she stood up.

Suddenly, Julie became aware of her naked body, but before she could do anything about it Jooheon put a blanket on her shoulders and helped her to her feet. He also gave her pajamas and a tired smile that Julie returned.

When the girl came back from the bathroom, Jooheon had put on the pajamas he had bought and replaced the sheets with a clean set he found in the bedroom closet. He was just finishing rearranging the duvet when he felt Julie hugging him from behind. Not expecting the gesture, Jooheon stood still as he stroked Julianne’s hands.

"If I ask you to stay, will you be here tomorrow when I wake up?" Julie asked.

Jooheon wasn’t expecting the question either, but he didn’t hesitate to answer:

"If that’s what you want, Jules, I’ll be here".

Julie just nodded and as he felt the nod, Jooheon turned to face Julie.

"Tired?" he asked.

"A little," she said.

Jooheon just laughed and helped her get under the sheets. Then he climbed on the other side of the bed and put his arm under Julianne’s head.

The rapper felt how the girl’s breathing was getting slower and deeper.

"Sweet dreams, Jules," Jooheon said as he kissed the top of her head and was carried away by exhaustion.

« Previous  Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Always on time - Chapter 17

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 4.3k

« Previous  Next »

Chapter 17

It was 10 in the morning on Sunday and Jooheon only wanted to sleep until noon. But a few knocks on his door prevented him from staying in bed.

Jooheon ignored them for a while thinking they were his neighbors inviting him to some weekend activity at the apartment complex. After a few minutes, the blows ended, but almost immediately his cell phone started vibrating. Jooheon squinted and saw it was Areum.

"Wrong number," Jooheon said, answering the call.

"Shut up and open the door," Areum said. "I need to talk to you".

"You’re the one who wants to leave me without a door?"

"Just open up, will you?"

"It’s Sunday and..."

"Did something happen with Julie yesterday?"

"Ah?" Jooheon said now more awake. "Did something happen with Julie? Wait, I’ll open..."

"Finally... God, you could have put some pants on".

"Ah... Arghh, just come in, will you?"

Jooheon went to put on pants while Areum sat in the living room. The girl passed the view around the apartment and realized that it was exactly what you would expect from a bachelor flat: minimalist, monochromatic and slightly messy.

"Well, better?" Jooheon said entering the room. "Now... do you want something to drink? I have no coffee, but water or..."

"I’m fine," Areum said. "I actually have to go finish some planning with Julie during lunch, so I need you to tell me what happened yesterday".

"Well... nothing. I mean, nothing bad," Jooheon replied. "I don’t understand why you’re here, did something happen?"

"Are you sure nothing happened?"

"I’m telling you it didn’t," Jooheon said, losing patience. "I mean… I guess she already told you about the club..."

"That they found a plan B for the fair and that a conversation with Mr. Jung is pending..."

"No. I mean… about Kang Dae-ssi".

Areum stared at Jooheon for a few seconds. Julie hadn’t told her about Kang-Dae.

"Don’t tell me you met him at the club".

"Not exactly, but seeing that Jules didn’t tell you, I don’t know if I should..."

"Spit it out, Jooheon-ah," Areum insisted, so Jooheon told her what they discovered yesterday of Mr. Jung’s double intent and Kang Dae’s almost intervention in the process.

"Shit... That guy really strives to be an idiot" Areum exploded after Jooheon’s story. "Five years of relationship and never understood that Julie hates nepotism. God, you have to be stubborn to think he’s doing her a favor... Well, then what happened?"

"Well, after that we drove back here," Jooheon continued. "Jules had a very intense conversation with Kang-Dae over the phone, so I think someone is tailing her. And probably Mr. Jung called him right away".

"Right… and what about the fair? Did something else happen there? Why did you guys were there all day?"

"Well, I tried to convince Jules to ride some attractions”.

“And she did?”

“No, only I rode," Jooheon replied.

"But... you hate heights," Areum said impressed. "Did you overcome your fear?"

"Nah... I thought that Jules would cheer up at some point, or at least pity me, but her mind was elsewhere" continued the rapper. "But because I insisted on it, we found the park".

"Well... and then?"

"Then... we returned to Seoul," Jooheon said. "Jules was very tired and began to apologize for making me miss my Saturday and that I would have a better time with other people and other types of nonsense. So in the end I just showed her something I had..."

"What was it?" Areum asked.

"Is it important?" Jooheon asked. He didn’t really want to go into detail about what he had told Jules in the car. It had been a very personal moment.

"I guess not" sighed Areum. "Well, thank you for telling me all this, Jooheon-ah. I have to go, but..."

"Jules is not well, right?" the rapper interrupted. "What that idiot did hit her really hard, right?"

"Something like that... yes" Areum said. "But just give her time".

"Is there anything I can do?" Jooheon asked.

"No, Jooheon-ah, better not and..."

"I could do something, like... I don’t know, buy you guys lunch or help them out at meetings or..."

"No" said Areum. "I don’t think it’s a good idea, not now".

"She’s also my friend, Areum-ah," Jooheon told her bluntly. "She was before you. I worry about her too".

"Yes, and you’ve cared a lot about her for the last eight years, of course".

"Excuse me?" at this point both were standing and the tension was in the air.

"Nothing, Jooheon-ah," Areum sighed. "I’m sorry, it wasn’t fair and it’s not my place. I just understand that you care about her, but I’m sorry to tell you that I don’t think you’re what Julie needs right now. All her emotions are in full bloom and I don’t want her to get hurt again".

"To be honest, Areum-ah, you can’t tell me what to do," Jooheon replied defiantly. "I know Jules and yes, we may have lost touch, but now that I’ve found her again I don’t intend to stand by and watch her go down".

"You never did," Areum said in a whisper, remembering how Jooheon was always the first to be by Julianne’s side when the girl was in trouble. "Jooheon-ah... do you think your current relationship with Julie is the same as before?"

"Don’t start with rhetorical questions, I have enough with..."

"When you saw her at the alumni meeting did she receive you as you expected?" Areum knew she was getting to close to a soft spot, but needed the rapper to understand that he should keep his distance. "Tell me, was it all smiles, jokes, and hugs you found?"

"What are you getting at?" Jooheon said annoyingly.

"Answer me" I said.

"You know well that was not the case" the rapper conceded. "She was... uncomfortable. Which is logical! We had not seen each other for many years and well... well..."

"Well, I have to burst your bubble, Jooheon-ah," Areum continued. "She didn’t want you there. She didn’t want you at the reunion or working with her in the gallery. At least not for the first few weeks. She was mad at you and, I admit, when she told me what was going on I saw it as stupid teenage grudges, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that when she saw you again she remembered how you hurt her".

"What are you talking about?" Jooheon said nervously. "When did I hurt her? I..."

"Then Julie came to her senses and their relationship improved, didn’t it?" Areum continued. "At last, everything was fine, and then you crossed the line... Which, again, I agree may not have been a big deal, but... you overstepped".

"And what is your point?" Jooheon asked.

"My point is, if you want to stay in Julie’s life, give her time and space," Areum said. "She has to overcome a difficult breakup and is in the middle of personal and professional reinvention, so give her time, okay?"

"I still don’t understand, Areum-ah... What did I do that was so bad that she didn’t even want to see my face a few months ago, and now I can’t even ask how she is?"

Areum thought for a few seconds what to answer. It wasn’t her story to tell, but she didn’t want to leave the boy in doubt.

"You left her alone, Jooheon-ah" she replied at last. "You left her alone without realizing how hopeful she was".

*******

Hours later, Jooheon was lying on his bed looking up at the ceiling. He kept going over everything Areum had told him and still didn’t understand.

"Let’s see, think, Jooheon" he said loudly. "Mmmm... no, I never left her alone, at least not when we were studying together. And, well, I don’t think he meant after debut... I mean, it was obvious I wasn’t gonna be able to be there forever, but that’s what Areum-ah was for, right? And it was not like I could ask for a day off to go home... I mean, I did, but I barely had time and Jules was in college and... Exactly, I’m innocent... right? And if I’m innocent, I don’t have to do what Areum-ah tells me, and if I don’t have to do what she tells me..."

"How much did you smoke, Jooheon-ah?" Minhyuk asked at the door of Jooheon’s room.

"AHHHHH, AH, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH, WHAT THE FUCK HYUNG!?!" Jooheon shouted when he heard Minhyuk’s voice.

At some point in his monologue, Jooheon had gotten out of bed and started walking around the room. He was so focused on his thoughts that he did not hear Minhyuk enter the apartment or say hello.

"I greeted... I even rang the bell, but as you did not open me, I entered alone," the singer replied as an explanation.

"You almost killed me," Jooheon sighed, regaining his composure.

"Sorry to interrupt your talk with the stars," Minhyuk said with a laugh. "I hope I have not interrupted an important conversation with your ancestors... You asked them for the next winning lottery number?"

"Ha ha ha ha... very funny. I did not expect your visit, hyung".

"I was around and decided to stop by... How are things going with Wonho-hyung?"

Jooheon gave him an update on Wonho’s comeback preparations and Minhyuk began to take out all the food and drinks he had brought.

"Mmmm, I see... and what about Julie-ssi? What’s new with her?"

Jooheon took a deep breath not knowing how or what to answer that question, but before he could say anything, Minhyuk stepped forward:

"Ahhh, it’s still complicated, I see"

"Ah, ah?"

"Don’t make that face, Jooheon-ah... I have eyes, you know?" Minhyuk said as she ate something. "It’s simple, you like her and she has a boyfriend... a tragic story".

"Don’t start, hyung," the rapper claimed. "I CARE about Jules, she was my best friend for years, and yes, I don’t like that boyfriend, but it’s not a tragic story".

"Or in other words, you’ve been in love with her for years and now you’re jealous of the Kang-whaterver-he’s-called... You break my heart, Jooheon-ah" Minhyuk bothered him.

"What’s wrong with you?" Jooheon insisted. "You know what? I won’t argue with you".

"The first step is always denial and..."

Jooheon threw a pillow at Minhyuk’s head and the singer burst out laughing.

At that moment, Jooheon’s cell phone began to ring and seeing who was calling, the rapper hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end he answered.

"Hello? Jules?"

"But look at thizzz, iz it not the ssstar rrrrapro of hiccup Entertaimmmm" said a voice across the line.

"Ju-Jules? Is that you?" Jooheon asked concerned.

"Buaah, pozzz obviuuus... whu elze werrr yu expektig, eh?" Julianne continued clearly drunk. "Ahhh, Areum izzz not with me and, hiccup..."

"Why are you so obsessed with Areum?" Jooheon asked exasperated. "Forget it, where are you? Are you alone?"

"Mmmmph... alone?... aaaaloone?... pfffzz, yeeeap, hiccup, I amm alooonnn... alone, lonelii, loneliuuuu"

"Where are you?"

"Hiccup... it’s your fault, Jooheon-ah," Julie said out of the blue.

"My fault? My fault?"

"Well... the Thingy, that ding... it’s your fault..."

"Jules, I need you to..."

"Are you happy?" she interrupted half a sentence. "Are you?... Because, I don’t know, Jooheon-ah, hiccup. I think I forgoht whuu I emm..."

"Jules, tell me where you are".

"What is it, Jooheon-ah?" Minhyuk asked in whispers as the conversation kept going and the girl seemed not to be on her right mind.

"Jules is drunk somewhere and..."

"I am Not Drrrunkkk!" Julianne shouted. “I am fainnn, fine, fiiiine, I am bibidi, babidi, boooo hahahahah theressss bubbleees. Bubbles in my fingerrrzz, you hav to see thizz Jooheon-ah…”

Jules' voice grew lower and lower until Jooheon heard only a hollow sound, like something fell.

"Jules? Jules?!" the rapper shouted.

"Hello? Are you a friend of this lady?"

Julianne apparently fell asleep at the bar and the bartender picked up the phone that Julie dropped (the dry noise) and gave Jooheon the address of where they were. It was not far from his apartment, so Jooheon told him that he would arrive in about 20 minutes and to please not give Julie any more liquor if she woke up at that time.

"Hyung, I…"

"Go save your Juliet, just remember that Romeo was an idiot and believed in by false news... if you want to know something, ask, Jooheon-ah".

*******

Twenty minutes later, Jooheon was parking in front of the bar. Upon entering, he saw that the place was almost empty, which was logical on a Sunday at almost 11 p.m. He went straight to the bar and saw that Julie was fast asleep. He picked up her things, paid the bill and carried her to his car.

He drove to Julianne’s apartment and when he parked the girl woke up a little.

"Jooheon-ah?" she asked half asleep. "What...?"

"We are in your house Jules" he replied. "Calm down, let me help you up".

Jooheon got her out of the car and confirmed that Julie was still drunk, so he took her upstairs. Everything was in order until they reached the door and Jooheon tried to get Julianne to give him the password for her digital lock.

"Jules, hey, Jules, what’s your door code?"

"Mmmm? My wuuut? Hahahaha, no, no... it’s a secret, shhhhh" Julie said as she laughed drunk.

"Jules, please," Jooheon begged, "we need to get in and..."

"No, no, noooooo... I can do it myself," Julie said, breaking out of Jooheon’s grip. "Luk, I can do it myzelf... Ah? Why doezn’t it work?"

The door lock emitted error sounds every time Julie tried to enter the key that she said was the right one.

"I don’t underztand... YUU" she continued pointing to Jooheon, "you changed my password, right?"

"Jules, please focus," Jooheon said. "Just... just type your password, okay? Just two seconds of concentration and you can go to sleep".

"But it doezn’t woooork, and I, I, I don’t understand why," she said. "It was you, wasn’t it? Like the time at the school gym... How did you know I still use the same passcode?"

"Are you still using the same code?"

"AHA!" shouted Julie. "I knew it was YU."

"Jules" started Jooheon in a low tone trying to get Julie away from the door, "come, calm down, everything is alright".

Jooheon did not believe that Julianne would still use the same passcode since high school, after all, he had given it to her. Anyway, Jooheon tried: 5-8-5-3-7, and the door opened.

Julie was almost asleep again, so the rapper had no choice but to go with her to the apartment and take her to her room.

"Mmmm, Jooheon-ah?" asked Julie half asleep as Jooheon lay her on the bed and took off her shoes. "What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be with Areum-ah?"

"My God," Jooheon sighed. "Why do you insist so much on Areum-ah? What got into your head, Julianne?"

Jooheon was losing patience.

"Well... You two are dating and no girl likes her boyfriend hanging out so late," Julie replied while she was sleeping.

"Excuse me?" jumped Jooheon as he ran by Julie’s bed. "Where did you get those ideas?"

"They’re not ideas... everyone knows," Julianne continued as she fell asleep. The girl was already reaching a state of deep sleep, so Jooheon had to get very close to hear the last thing she said: "I guess I’ll end up alone again, Jooheon-ah".

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know all the details and Julie was too drunk, and now too asleep, to explain.

Jooheon saw the time on his cell and realized that it was almost midnight Julie would have to wake up in about five hours and both would return to the same routine as always...

No, not this time, Jooheon thought as he was leaving Julie’s room. She’s going to be angry, but I need to talk to her.

Jooheon fell asleep on the couch in the living room not before looking for Julie’s cell phone and putting it next to him. He also sent a message to Wonho and Areum to take care of whatever was necessary tomorrow morning.

The rapper knew that it was not the ideal situation, but it was the only plan he had.

_____________________

The following Monday, Julie woke up with the worst headache she had felt in years. Her throat was dry, and her head was spinning. The morning sun was hitting her in the eyes, so she turned around and went under the covers. The memories of the night before were coming back gradually, especially Areum telling her it was a bad idea to drink on a Sunday night because...

Hold on, Julie thought. Sunday night? And it’s morning already?!

Julianne sat suddenly on the bed and the movement made her feel even dizzier. It was Monday morning and because of the sun level, it had to be at least 8 a.m., which meant she had about 20 minutes to get to the office.

Despite feeling like she had been hit by a train, Julie got out of bed and left her room to go to the bathroom to wash her face but stopped after taking a few steps when she heard noises in the kitchen and smelled food.

She leaned against the wall and reached the kitchen only to find Jooheon with his hair pulled up in a mini bun and wearing her apron.

"Good morning, Jules" greeted the rapper as if the situation was completely normal. "Do you feel better? Here is water and some aspirin. Breakfast is almost ready and..."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she cut it off. "How did you get in?"

"Well, you may not remember, but..."

"Forget it, I don’t have time" she cut him again. Jooheon was getting tired her not letting him talk. "I have to go, and you too, we have meetings in a half hour"

"I cancelled the meetings," Jooheon said without much explanation. "Now come to have breakfast and try not to vomit anything, will you?"

"You did what?" Julie asked without understanding. "Are you crazy? We can’t... you can’t…"

"Areum and Wonho will take care of everything," he explained. "I told them you were in bad shape, which is true and was true even more last night, and they’re both gonna cover for us. I didn’t tell them you were completely drunk, so calm down."

"I wasn’t drunk," Julianne defended herself.

"Ah, no?" Jooheon said sarcastically. "Why don’t you go see your face first, Jules? Then we can decide if you were drunk or not. Now go wash your hands before it gets cold".

Julie had too much of a headache to argue or even fully understand what Jooheon was doing in her apartment, so she just did what Jooheon told her and went to wash her hands. Looking in the mirror, she realized her face was a mess and she almost died of shame. She decided then not to bring up what happened last night. Julie had very vague memories and really didn’t want to know how ridiculous she’d been the night before.

She returned to the kitchen and took the aspirin that Jooheon had offered earlier. Both began to eat quietly and gradually Julie began to feel better. She expected the silence to stay even longer, she didn’t want explanations anymore because she knew that to ask for them, she would also have to give them. Of course, Jooheon had other plans.

"Better?" asked the rapper when they both finished eating. "Here, I made coffee".

Julie accepted the cup without saying much more and began to drink quietly.

"Are you better now?" the rapper insisted. "Yesterday you scared me, Jules".

"I’m better now," she said looking into his eyes. "Thank you for breakfast and sorry for whatever I did or said yesterday, it won’t happen again".

Jooheon looked at her for a few seconds and shook his head.

"No, Jules, not this time," he said. "I know you don’t want to, but we need to talk".

"Look, Jooheon-ssi, I really don’t want..."

"Where did you get the idea that Areum and I were dating?" the rapper asked directly. He’d been thinking all night about how to bring it up, and he’d realized that with Jules he was always out on a limb. Jooheon was a direct person, if he wanted to know something, he asked, but with Julie, he seemed to always be walking on eggshells. No more.

"I don’t know what..."

"You told me yesterday and spent the last two days acting very strange and with very idiotic comments about it," Jooheon told her. "I’m not that stupid, you know? And that’s okay, you don’t have to tell me where you got that idea but listen to me: Areum and I are not together, we are not dating and I have no interest in that happening. She’s my friend, but nothing more".

Julie was silent for a few seconds watching Jooheon. She knew that the rapper was telling the truth, and now she saw that, in effect, the idea was quite ridiculous; both got along well, but Jooheon was not Areum’s type and she would never try anything with him after what Julie had told her in recent months.

Well, I’m stupid, I accept it, Julie thought before talking.

"Well, yeah, it was a stupid idea, but you have to know that the whole building thinks you’re dating," Julie said. "I don’t know what stupid thing you did, but now you’re the company’s latest gossip".

"I know," said Jooheon. "I called Areum a few hours ago and she yelled at me so loud, she almost left me without an eardrum. She is already taking care of everything, so calm down".

"Well..." said Julie. "Then..."

"So, since we made that clear," Jooheon continued without giving Julie time to evade him once more, "can you explain how you ended up drinking alone in a bar at midnight on a Sunday?"

"It was just a bad decision, it’s nothing important, Jooheon-ssi".

"A few hours ago I was 'Jooheon-ah', but I guess as you are sober now you forgot that we are friends" said the rapper with a lot of resentment. "Or maybe we’re not... Tell me, Jules, do I still treat you like a friend, do I keep trying, or do I forget everything and treat you like one more person with a batch of staff?"

Julie didn’t respond. She thought the answer would come easy, but she didn’t want to make decisions she could regret later.

"Tell me, because I don’t know what you want from me anymore," Jooheon continued. "I know things aren’t going to be like they were years ago, for starters, neither of us is the same as we were years ago, but at least I’m trying. But I’m getting tired, Jules, because when I feel like I’ve taken two steps forward, something happens and I’m back to square one... And yes, I’m an idiot, I don’t think before I talk and I get involved in things I shouldn’t, but do you really not realize that I do it because I care? Do you think if I didn’t worry about you I’d mind your business?"

"Look, I don’t know if we should have this conversation now, Jooheon-... ah," Julie said, getting up from the table and turning to go to the bathroom. "I have to..."

"Wait," said Jooheon holding Julie’s hand. "Wait... Look, Jules, I know you’re not... that maybe it’s not the best time and the last thing I want is to be one more burden. I’m telling you, I’m not going to... I don’t want to make your life harder, I just want to help you... I want you to feel better, but... but I can’t do it if you don’t let me".

Jooheon no longer held Julie’s hand so tightly, so if she wanted to, she could easily let go. But Julianne wasn’t sure about what she wanted anymore.

"If you tell me to walk away, I will, I swear," Jooheon continued, releasing Julianne’s hand. "But if not, or even if you are not sure, I’ll stay here, I will not go anywhere. I will not leave you alone, Jules, today, at last, I can promise you that I will not leave you alone... unless you ask me to".

Julie was two seconds away from crying. Her head was still spinning and she felt she was getting sick in her stomach. The conversation took a dramatic turn that neither of them expected, but for which Julie was especially unprepared.

The girl took a deep breath as she stared at the floor and tried to hold back the tears. When she felt ready, she looked up and saw Jooheon in the face:

"It’s 9 a.m., right?" Julie asked.

"Right"

"Well... since you canceled my meetings, I have more time today," she continued. "I need to shower and change first, and so do you. Do you think you can be back here in about... an hour?"

"Ehhh, yes, I think so, but... I don’t understand," Jooheon said confused.

"I need you to take me somewhere... We still have to find an alternative for the club," she explained. "The trip is one hour away and one hour back. I scheduled a meeting with the owners at 1 p.m., if we leave here by 10 a.m., we could get there before noon. Unless you have other responsibilities for today..."

"Emmm, no, but..."

"I can’t give you a definitive answer today, Jooheon-ah," Julie said. "I don’t... I don’t know what I need right now, but... but I need time and... and I..."

Julie couldn’t continue, she didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll take that” Jooheon said suddenly. “For now, I’ll just take that, Jules. And it’s okay, just… Just don’t push me away that harshly until you’ve made up your mind, okay?”

“Yeah… fair enough”.

“Okay, so… see you in an hour?”

“Yeah… see you in an hour… Jooheon-ah”

« Previous  Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Always on time - Chapter 16c

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 3.1k

« Previous  Next »

Chapter 16c

"Miss Seo, we weren’t expecting you today, especially with company," said the club owner.

Julie and Jooheon had arrived at the club almost four hours ago. They had stopped for coffee on the way, so they arrived after 4 in the afternoon and asked the manager to let the Doh brothers know they wanted to see them. The owners took all the time they wanted until the staff finally moved them to a private room where the eldest of the brothers was.

"My niece is a fan of yours, Mr. Lee, would you mind giving me your autograph before you leave?"

"Sure, as soon as we resolve the misunderstanding, it will be a pleasure," Jooheon replied.

"I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding," Mr. Doh replied. "We gave our rental terms to Miss Seo and her team, that’s all".

"That is why we are here, Mr. Doh" Julie began, "to understand a little the arguments that support your new terms".

"Very simple: if I close my club, I lose money; if I lose money, I can’t pay the bills at the end of the month" began the owner. "I’m a man who always puts his business before anything, so you’ll understand that I need fair compensation if I’m going to take a risk".

"The initial amount was more than fair compensation," Julie continued. "We did our homework, Mr. Doh, and we know how the numbers move in your area of business".

"We also did our homework, Miss Seo," the club owner countered with a tone of voice that pleased neither Julie nor Jooheon. "I don’t have much interest in negotiating the terms I sent you, and before you think about finding another location, let me be a good colleague and let you know that you will not find another place to rent space at a lower price. Rumors fly, miss, and rumors of high society too".

"Excuse me?"

"I imagine your companion is trustworthy," said Mr. Doh, seeing Jooheon.

Julie was losing patience. Areum had spent all morning researching the place and when Julie called her to ask if she had found anything, her friend said no. Outside of some drunken fights, the place was quite popular among young people. They had recently remodeled one of the halls and had tried to promote the new section as an exclusive room, perfect for high-level executive meetings. However, although they were trying to change their image, people still saw it as a youngsters bar.

"Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of him" she declared.

"Well, in that case, and since it’s just the three of us, I’ll tell you what might make me rethink the terms I proposed to you," Doh began. "I guess the problem is the production budget, right? Although you always have a couple of thousand won in reserve for emergencies... Anyway, what I’m asking for is very simple and I imagine your fiancé won’t have a hard time doing you a favor, Miss Seo".

Engaged? Jooheon thought. Jules... has a fiancé? No, no, no, it can’t be that piece of a biped, can it? What the hell?

What the fuck is he talking about? Julie thought at the same time. This guy is an idiot.

"I’m sorry to tell you that I do not understand what you want from me, Mr. Doh" replied Julianne. "Although I think there has been a confusion..."

"No confusion and don’t worry, Miss Seo," the club owner cut her off. "I fully understand that in high society these things are handled with greater discretion, so my lips are sealed. I told you, we also did our homework. But don’t worry, the favor is very simple. We know that Mr. Lee Kang Dae’s company, your fiancé, has a monthly meeting with the biggest investors; that meeting is held at an exclusive club near here. All we ask is that you kindly convince Mr. Lee to do his next meeting at our club. With that, we can return to the initial terms of the contract".

 Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"I cannot help you with your request, Mr. Doh," Julie replied, breaking the silence.

"Really?" said Mr. Doh surprised, though his tone was utterly sarcastic. "I understand that the first reaction is to refuse, but I am sure that Mr. Lee will be glad to know I found a simpler and cheaper solution after our talk".

"Excuse me?" Julianne asked. "What talk?"

"Ahhh, I guess you haven’t had time to chat," continued Mr. Doh. "You see, I sent you the new proposal yesterday morning, and what a surprise it was to receive a call hours later from a person claiming to be a general manager of your company asking to sign the original contract. He told me that if I did, I would receive two checks, one from Highlight Ent, and one from the Deputy Director with the difference. You will understand that everything seemed very strange to me, so I put my people to work and you can imagine how surprised I was to learn that behind it all was Sound Wave Entertainment, a small company recently acquired by your fiancé. Anyway, since I don’t like to do things halfway, I took the liberty of returning the call, and a very nice girl communicated me with Mr. Lee. He agreed to the terms, but I thought I could show that my intention is to build a more lasting business relationship and..."

"Like I said," Julianne cut him standing up, "I can’t help you. I’m sorry to tell you that your people do not have the correct information and I very much doubt that Kang-Dae-ssi was the person you spoke to. You see, he and I are neither engaged nor have any kind of close relationship; my private life is mine and I don’t have to explain it to anyone, but since your people are incompetent, I guess I’ll have to clarify the matter: Mr. Lee and I were in a formal relationship for five years, but that relationship ended recently. We haven’t had any type of contact since, and besides, Mr. Lee isn’t in the country, so no girl with a local number would have been able to connect you to his private line. Thank you for your time, but since we can’t reach an agreement, we’d better finish the meeting here. Excuse me".

Julie quickly left the room and Jooheon was right behind her. Mr. Doh tried to stop them from leaving, but Julianne was so upset that she was barely able to evade the people dancing around her.

Jooheon’s mind was blank. He knew he must not be happy, but joy invaded him when he heard that Jules had broken up with Kang-Dae, and was afraid that a smile would come off at the worst time. Calm down, Jooheon-ah, thought the rapper. Calm down, now the important thing is to see that Jules is okay.

They both got to the car and Julie’s phone started vibrating just as she opened the passenger door. It was Kang-Dae.

Julie didn’t want to answer. She was so angry that she felt like she was going to cry at any moment. However, she needed to vent her anger and this call confirmed that what she had heard was true. There are no coincidences in life.

"You know, oppa, a few years ago you were smarter," Julianne replied in an acid-filled voice. "You would have never made things so obvious".

Jooheon stood still with his hand on the driver’s door. He stared at Julie, but she had turned her back and Jooheon could see how tense she was. He was also tense, didn’t know what to do or what to say, and couldn’t believe that idiot called her either.

"And why should I listen to you?" Julie kept screaming. Jooheon couldn’t hear what Kang-Dae was saying on the phone, so he could only guess the parts of the conversation. "No, I don’t care at all. I don’t care if you thought you had a good reason to, in the first place, have someone follow me... Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think I don’t know how you work? You and all the monkeys in suits around you are always the same...  I can say whatever I want! And I have every right to be angry!... Are you aware of how ridiculous you sound? What you did is almost industrial espionage... don’t you dare tell me I exaggerate... there’s no other way you knew what I was doing. Areum would never have talked to you, and just so you know, I know all the times you called her and... I don’t care about that! To be very clear, Lee Kang-Dae, you have no right to spy on my public or private life, my job is mine and in the years we were together I never asked you to pull your strings, what made you think I would appreciate you meddling in my affairs now? I don’t want to hear excuses or reasons, don’t intervene, don’t help me, don’t call me, nothing. If it’s a success or if it’s a failure I want it to be mine, not someone else’s, and keep your worries to yourself. We’re not together anymore, so my personal image shouldn’t affect yours. At the end of the day, that was what mattered most to you, right? So leave me alone. We’re done and I have nothing more to say to you".

Julie hung up the phone and Jooheon stayed where he was waiting for her to calm down. He could hear Julie’s deep breaths and knew the girl was holding back tears, as her voice broke a little before hanging up.

Before the rapper could do or say anything, Julie turned around and entered the car. Jooheon also entered and saw Julianne put on her belt, rest her head on the back of the seat and close her eyes.

She didn’t say anything and Jooheon didn’t ask. He just started the engine and started driving.

After driving quietly for about 20 minutes, Julie opened her eyes and turned on the radio. She set up a random station and they both kept going with the background music.

"I’m sorry you had to hear that," Julie said after a while.

"You shouldn’t apologize for anything in this situation, Jules," Jooheon said. "If anyone has the right to explode, it’s you."

"Still not my best moment," she continued.

"On the contrary," Jooheon said. "I mean, the situation sucks, but what did you say on the phone? UUFFFF, that was great!"

Julie just laughed dryly, and Jooheon continued:

"I’m serious. I mean, that was a knock-out, Jules, he never saw it coming and he had no way to defend himself. Besides, you have to teach me to talk that fast, in all my years in this industry, I have NEVER heard anyone spit out syllables so fast and so accurately, AND WITHOUT BREATHING!"

Julie laughed again, but this time it was a genuine laugh. She felt empty, had no energy to do anything and just wanted to be alone, but they still had an hour to go.

At that moment, she received a message from Areum telling her that they already knew how to rent the park they had seen. When reading the message, she realized the time, it was almost 9 pm, the night was beautiful and it was Saturday: it was the perfect day to go on a date.

Julie was convinced something was going on between Areum and Jooheon. While it is true that the rumors she had heard in the bathroom were a little exaggerated, everything seemed to click too well and she was convinced that she had found all the clues and subtle signs that both had tried to hide. While the idea did not make her entirely happy, neither would she lose her friend to a guy.

"I’m sorry you had to spend your Saturday night like this," Julie told Jooheon.

"Nah, Jules, I told you, you don’t have to apologize for anything," he replied. "Besides, I think it was a productive day, despite everything".

"Yes, well... although I’m sure one night with Areum-ah would have been more fun," Julianne continued. In her head, she was being subtle, although clearly that was not her strong suit.

"Auch, Jules, it hurts," Jooheon said, not understanding Julie’s message. "I know she’s your best friend, but I’m not bad, you know?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"Also!" the rapper continued. "I was your friend long before Areum-ah. Did you forget when I defended you in kindergarten from the kids who laughed at you for the way you drank your juice?"

"Defend me?" said Julie. "If I remember correctly, I ended up defending YOU because someone thought he could win against 4 older children"

"That’s not important here. My point is that we were friends long before Areum-ah moved to the neighborhood..."

"Okay, well, I give up... we’re not in kindergarten, you know?"

"You were the one who said that hanging out with Areum-ah would be more fun than hanging out with me," Jooheon grumbled at the wheel.

"I meant you," Julie said softly. She was taking a risk, and saying the words didn’t make her very happy either, but she wasn’t going to stop there. "I bet you would have had a better time with Areum-ah."

The comment took Jooheon completely by surprise. He looked back at Julie and the girl’s look confused him even more. She was waiting for him to say something, but the rapper did not know what, so he just remained silent for a few minutes.

"Jules, if you open the hand compartment in front of you, you will find a wallet," Jooheon said. "Can you open it?"

Julie did what the rapper asked. When she opened the wallet, she saw that it was full of old, yellow, and wrinkled papers.

"Yah, Jooheon-ah, you should improve your cleaning habits," mocked Julie. "You have pure garbage here"

"None of that is garbage" defended Jooheon. "Don’t wrinkle or throw anything away".

"It is impossible to wrinkle these papers more than they already are".

"It’s not my fault" he continued. "Years ago Kihyun-hyung had an obsessive lapse and started throwing out a lot of things we had in the dorm. You can’t imagine what I had to do to get those papers back, and I’ve been hiding them here ever since".

"Well, what do you want them for?"

"There is a triangle-shaped folded paper. It is grey and the paper is thick".

"This?"

"That" said Jooheon excited. "Unfold it".

Julie did what he asked without knowing why and when she opened the paper she found a very familiar drawing. She had sent it to Jooheon by fan mail after the first Monsta X concert. She remembered watching videos of the guys' presentations on the internet and, although at the time her grudge against the rapper had not gone down, as a friend she felt incredibly proud, so she decided to draw a portrait of Jooheon and send it to him.

Julie had completely forgotten about that drawing. It was probably one of the last ones she did before her father died, and she felt incredibly embarrassed after sending him.

"I did get it, Jules" Jooheon said after a few minutes. "You sent it to me after our first concert... as you promised you would".

At that time, Julie remembered the promise she had made to the Jooheon while they were still in school:

"Come on, Juleeees" Jooheon begged. "Make me a portrait, will you? This is my best profile".

"Jooheon-ah, I don’t have time" she replied. "I have homework to do and final exams are coming up and..."

"Come ooooooon, tell me you willllllll"

"No".

"But you’ve drawn all your friends and your family," Jooheon complained. "It’s my turn, I’m the only one without a portrait".

"Jooheon-ah, I can do it later and..."

"We may not be able to see each other later," Jooheon insisted. "The reality show is about to begin and if I am among the selected, I will debut, I will become famous and we will not be able to see each other for a while...  Who knows for how long?! And you won’t be able to see my face up close to see how handsome I am".

"Look, how about this?" Julie proposed. "You let me study quietly and after exams..."

"After the exams, the reality show will be over and..."

"AFTER THE EXAMS... if you remain a common mortal, you will have your portrait," promised Julie. "And if you’re an idol by then, I’ll go to a performance of your group and draw you on stage... deal?"

"Deal".

Julie had also forgotten that promise, but maybe that explained why she needed to make that drawing at the time.

"Actually, after our debut, I was waiting for your drawing" Jooheon began. "I mean, we didn’t have much freedom to communicate with other people, but I always thought that one day I would open my eyes and there it would be".

Jooheon waited a few minutes for Julie to say something, but as the girl was silent, he continued.

"You can imagine my surprise a year later when Minhyuk-hyung opened an anonymous letter that had that drawing inside," Jooheon continued. "They bothered me for days for being a narcissist... especially because I didn’t even let them touch the paper".

"How? I didn’t..." Julie began quietly.

"I just have to see it to know it’s yours," he replied. "Don’t even try to deny it, Jules. We may have changed a lot over the years, but you’re still you, and I’m still me... The important things haven’t changed between us, as much as you want to deny it".

A couple of tears came down Julie’s cheeks and she cleaned them up fast.

"Why show me this?" she asked. "You could’ve just told me you had it".

"Receiving that was one of the happiest times I’ve ever had," Jooheon said without directly answering Julianne’s question. "I don’t know if you knew, but you sent it to me at a very difficult time for us, and knowing that you were watching and supporting us made me want to do better... Whenever I needed encouragement, you gave it to me, Jules. And I wouldn’t have preferred anyone else to, just you... because a lot of my best memories are with you, Jules, not with anyone else. And right now, I wouldn’t choose to be with anyone else".

Julie didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know what to feel, as she was very confused by what had happened in the last few days and by what was happening at that moment, so she preferred to re-fold the drawing and put everything where it was before.

She just laid her head back and closed her eyes.

« Previous  Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Always on time - Chapter 16b

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 2.3k

« Previous Next »

Chapter 16b

"It’s ridiculous," Julie told Ivy on the phone.

"I agree that it is a disproportionate amount, but the owners of the club say they will not accept less than that to rent the club".

"What about the fair? Do we have news from them?"

"I’m trying to pressure them a bit, but they know we want to record on-site and they’re taking advantage of that," Ivy replied. "If they find out what’s going on with the club, they’ll probably ask for more money too".

"I will not pay more" Julie said. "The offer was already generous, asking more than that is simple greed... No".

"Well, do you have a plan?"

It was Saturday morning and no, Julie didn’t have any plan B, she just knew she wasn’t going to give up.

"Give me a few hours to figure out what to do, although we probably have to find somewhere else to film," she replied.

"I’ll get a team to do a research of other locations, but we are running against time, Julie."

"I know," Julianne said with a sigh. "But this is all very strange... Something is not right. I’m going to tell Areum-ah to look into it because I’m sure something else is going on. For the moment, I will go to the fair to see if they can give us an answer today".

"Okay, Julie, we’ll talk later."

When she hung up the phone, Julianne started thinking about how to solve the whole thing. She had just gotten up and it was only 6:30 in the morning. The fair opened at 10 a.m. but it was an hour and a half drive, so she would have to leave her house at 8 a.m. to arrive before they opened and be able to talk to the owners.

At least I can bathe and have breakfast, Julie thought as she went into the bathroom.

An hour later, Julie was bathed, dressed, had finished breakfast, and was taking the last sips of her coffee when someone rang her apartment bell. Surprised, she opened the door and ran into...

"Jooheon-ssi?" she asked.

"Good morning, Jules," he replied. "Ready?"

"Ready... for what?"

"Areum-ah didn’t tell you?" he asked, surprised. "She told me she would call you..."

"Wait a minute..." Julie said as she went to get her phone. "Mmmm, come in... if you want".

Jooheon entered the apartment and Julianne went to get her cell phone. She had left it on her bed, so she hadn’t heard it vibrate when Areum called her three times. She also had multiple messages from her friend and the last one was an audio:

YAH! Julieeee, answer the phone, will you? Ivy already told me what’s going on and I’m going to investigate the matter with the club, but I don’t think you should go to the fair alone. Neither I nor Ivy can accompany you, so I called Jooheon to take you... and don’t come at me angry or resentful. I gave him your apartment address, so he should be here any minute. Don’t fight!.... And next time, answer your phone!

Well, Julie’s thousand questions were already answered.

Since she had already finished breakfast, she grabbed her bag and cell phone and went into the living room.

"Did you talk to Areum-ah?" Jooheon asked.

"Yes, she already explained... Come on, we have to get there before they open".

******

"Mr. Jung, how are you? This is Seo Julianne from Highlight Entertainment," Julie began on the phone. "I wanted to know if you have a few minutes free today to talk about the rental space for filming a music video. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the previously proposed terms, we can go over them again. We are now a little short of time and your confirmation is the only one we are missing. I know you are a very busy person, but I would appreciate it if you would give us a few minutes of your time today to talk about it. Please call me as soon as you hear this message. Have a nice day".

Julie cut the call and sat on a park bench in front of the fairground attractions.

It was 10 in the morning and people were lining up to enter. Both had arrived about 30 minutes ago and the staff had told them that Mr. Jung and his son had not yet arrived, but that in any case the weekends were extremely busy days, so the chances of talking to them were minimal.

"You know he’s not going to call you back, right?" Jooheon said sitting next to her. "He’s going to call you a day before the filming asking for some... 10 thousand won more to rent the place".

"And you know that because..."

"Because I’ve seen it a thousand times," Jooheon replied. "It’s probably not the first production team that asks for the place, so they know that there are always a few thousand won extra in the budget and that producers have the authority to use it with discretion".

"I see" was all Julie said.

They remained silent for a while until Jooheon stood up.

"Come on," he said.

"Yes, I guess we have to go back to Seoul and..."

"No... Let’s go to the fair," Jooheon said. "I haven’t gotten the chance to ride any type of attraction in years, come on."

"Are you crazy? We can’t go".

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters, we have to see how we solve this" Julie began. "And secondly... someone there can recognize you and the last thing I need is a thousand girls screaming in my ear".

"Well, let’s see, for starters, it’s easy: we found another place. Do you have any other place in mind?"

"Well... no, I’d have to..."

"Well, then we can’t do anything with point one," Jooheon cut. "And with the second problem, here I have an advanced technology device that will help me camouflage myself... I present you: the masks".

Julie couldn’t help but laugh drily.

"Come on, I promise you they won’t recognize us. And even if they do, they’ll think it can’t be me because what are the chances?" Jooheon insisted. "Besides, we’ve come this far, the least we can do is take advantage of the trip, don’t you think?"

******

Three hours later, Julie couldn’t feel her feet anymore.

She had spent all morning following Jooheon from one attraction to another. She didn’t understand how he still had energy and had to beg him to stop to rest and eat something. So there she was, sitting at an outdoor table, as far away as possible from large groups of people, waiting for Jooheon to bring their lunch.

Tomorrow my back will kill me, Julie thought as she lay on the table.

"Lunch is served, Jules," Jooheon said upon arrival.

He was holding two hot dogs and two packs of instant ramen. He also took two boxes of juice out of his pocket.

"Wow, slow down, Jules," Jooheon said. "If you eat so fast, you’ll get sick".

"Don’t start, I’m hungry" she replied grabbing the juice box. "It wasn’t me who dragged you all over the park".

Jooheon just laughed and watched as Julie flipped the juice box and tried to open it underneath. Since they were in school, Julie had a unique way of drinking the juice: she always tried to put the straw through one of the corners in the bottom because she said that was how you could drink the pulp and not only the sugar.

Jooheon also remembered that the girl always made a mess, so he took the juice box from her hands before half of its contents were spilled on her clothes.

"You know, this is the last thing I thought to do for you after seven... eight years of not seeing each other," the rapper said as he opened the box at the bottom. "Here".

Julie did not answer as her mouth was full of food, so they both continued eating in silence until they finished.

"Ready?" Jooheon asked when he saw Julie finishing her meal.

"Yes, let’s go back to Seoul and..."

"Hold on, Jules" Jooheon cut it off. "There’s a place we have to visit first".

Julie sighed and tried to contain her anger.

"You’re fucking kidding, aren’t you?" Julie said softly. "Didn’t you get on all the rides at the fair? What else do you need?"

"I need you to trust me and follow me," the rapper said standing up.

Julie had no choice but to follow him. After all, he had the car keys, and a taxi from there to Seoul was very expensive; also, Julie didn’t know what bus to take to get out of there and her cell phone was running out of battery and...

"Stop thinking so much, will you?" Jooheon shouted at a distance. “I can see your brain cells working on how to dump me here. It’ll only be 20 minutes, I promise".

"20 minutes" Julie repeated between her teeth and followed the rapper.

Jooheon left the fair and started walking to the opposite side of the parking lot. Around there were many green areas that people used to walk around, have picnics, go on dates... So there were a lot of people, but Jooheon took them down a less crowded road.

The cobblestones on the floor indicated that they were not lost and that it was an official road, but as they advanced there were fewer and fewer people.

"Yah, Jooheon-ah, do you at least have any idea where you are going?" Jules asked exasperated.

"Of course" he replied. "Besides, I still have 10 minutes of grace. Come on, I think we are close".

Julie followed him in silence with her eyes fixed on the floor. By not looking forward, she did not notice when Jooheon stopped and hit her head on the rapper’s back.

"YAH! Jooheon-ah..."

"We’re here, what do you think?" he said.

Julie looked up and... didn’t know what to say.

They were in a part of the park that was empty, probably because of how hidden the road was and the fact that there were tall trees all around. However, the place looked like something taken from a fantasy book: there was a large kiosk in the center adorned with lights and colorful fabrics. Some fabrics reached the top of the trees, giving the feeling of being under a huge tent. In addition, all around there were statues of fantastic characters such as a guminho, a dragon, a white tiger, a black turtle, and a dokkaebi, all with a brick base with lights that were probably illuminated at dusk. That was not all, the grass was cut in a way that, seen from the kiosk, presented spiral designs. 

"Where are we?" Julie asked.

"Well... I’m not sure of the name," Jooheon admitted. "I saw the colors of the fabrics when I was on top of one of the roller coasters. As I was in the first seat, I could take a look around before we went down and it seemed strange. I got on the ride again to confirm that I had not dreamed it and you see, here we are".

"That’s why you got on three times in a row, to see the place".

"Weeeell, yeah," the rapper admitted. "It occurred to me that we could use this place as a plan B. After all, the part of the fair you wanted to use was the part where the circus tent is with the lights on the poles, right? This could work out. Just ask permission from the local office, the procedure can be a bit complex, but anything is better than paying more to those..."

"THANK YOU!" Julie shouted hugging Jooheon and taking the rapper off guard. "Yes, we can use it, and being public, the cost is not so high... All we have to do is figure out what papers to file, but I think Areum-ah knows someone who can help us with that. I’m gonna call her and..."

"Wow, calm down Jules" Jooheon stopped her. "It’s Saturday and it’s almost 3 in the afternoon. Areum-ah is sure exhausted after the week you guys had, why don’t you tell her on Monday?"

The comment was completely harmless, but Julianne felt a bad taste in her mouth. Anyone with eyes would have noticed that she was jealous, but Julie simply threw away the feeling and pulled herself together.

"Well, at least we have this place" she agreed. "Thank you for your help, now we can go to back to Seoul and I can investigate more about it".

Julie started walking and Jooheon followed her quietly. The girl was behaving very strangely and Jooheon was not a very patient person to deal with unexpected mood swings. Anyway...

"Jules, while we’re here, how about going to the club?"

"I do not know..."

"It’s on our way and as it’s Saturday, the owners will be there to oversee sales. You could try talking to them one last time and decide if we need a new set".

"Maybe, yes..." Julianne agreed. "But, you shouldn’t go".

"And why not?" Jooheon asked in surprise. "I’m sure I know more about clubs than you do".

"That’s not why, Jooheon-ssi," she replied.

And back to the formalities, Jooheon thought.

"As you said, it’s almost 3 in the afternoon and, if I understood correctly, you can’t work on Saturdays afternoons," Julianne explained.

SHIT, thought Jooheon.

"Who told you that?" he asked.

"Ivy"

Arggg, shit

"Ahhh, sure," Jooheon said. "Don’t worry, Jules. She probably told you that so my schedules wouldn’t clash with other projects, but today I’m free. I’m all yours".

Julie wasn’t entirely convinced. Jooheon was speaking an octave higher than normal and that happened when he was nervous and when he was lying.

"Look, I promise you won’t have any trouble, okay?" continued Jooheon. "We’re just two friends going out on a Saturday afternoon".

Julie didn’t quite believe him, but she wanted to get over with it as soon as possible, so she just agreed.

« Previous Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Always on time - Chapter 16a

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 2.3k

« Previous Next »

Chapter 16a

Julie was drowning in work... but the excitement kept her alert and walking. She was tired, but it was not a weariness in which someone feels like dying, but of which something you were proud of the things you were achieving. She knew the production was going well, there were a couple of things that needed close attention so they wouldn’t get sidetracked, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well, Jooheon went for the impressions we needed," Areum said as she entered the room they both used as an office. "Tomorrow we can review them and send corrections if necessary".

"Did you send Jooheon?"

"Yes, why?" Areum asked. "He is quite responsible when he wants to"

When it comes to music... Julianne thought.

"It’s just that we need them as soon as possible. The place is far away and he could get lost and not get there before they close," Julianne said.

"I don’t think he’s that stupid to get lost with a GPS," Areum replied. "Don’t worry. If he doesn’t make it, I’ll be there first thing tomorrow. In addition, as Wonho-ssi told us, Jooheon wants to work on other aspects of production. He’s quite creative, so I thought we could give him some responsibility on the stationery design part, what do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess it could work," said Julie refocusing on her work. "Maybe Ivy can help us give him something to do there".

"Don’t worry, I can handle it," Areum offered.

"You? But you already have a lot on your plate, Areum-ah..."

"Don’t worry, I have to supervise the assembly and packaging of the albums anyway, so it would help me to know exactly how they are going to look inside and out," her friend assured. "Besides, Ivy’s busy with another project at headquarters, and you, my friend, can’t even walk around the office with all the paperwork you have... If anyone has a lot on their plate, it’s you".

"Well, Areum, if you say so... but let me know if you need help."

Both friends continued working. They had been making sure that all the locations where the video would be filmed were ready and reserved. There were a couple of places they hadn’t signed the agreement with yet because the owners didn’t want to secure the place so long in advance and that had Julianne nervous. In total, they were going to have 5 different sets: 2 were outdoor locations, a traveling fair, and a beach; one was in a hotel; another was in a club and only 1 of them was going to be a recording set of Highlight Ent. At the moment, only the set, the hotel, and the beach were fixed, they had to confirm the club and the fair. What was difficult about those places was that they had to close for a period at night; that would have an impact on their profits and the owners said that what the company was offering them for rent did not cover what they earned in one night.

It was a lie and Julianne knew it, she had done her market research before making the offer, but the owners just wanted to earn more. Typical. But Julie was working on ways to convince them...

Areum’s cell phone scared them both when it started vibrating.

"Tell me, Jooheon-ah," Areum replied. "Are you lost?"

Julie lifted her head from her work and noticed that Areum was smiling. Her friend noticed Julie’s face and reassured her that it was a joke, but Julianne was not calm.

"What? Are you here already?" Areum said in shock. "Really? Amazing! We’re going down".

"Is he here already?" Julianne asked impressed.

"Yes, he says he can’t stay long because he can’t work overtime, but he came to leave us the printing tests. Come on".

Both friends rushed down to the parking lot where Jooheon was waiting for them.

"Jooheon-ah!" shouted Areum when she saw him. "You’re amazing, you don’t know how much you’ve helped us with this. I owe you dinner".

"Ohhh, careful, Areum-ah, I don’t forget that kind of promise," Jooheon replied with a smile. "I hope it helps you, Jules," the rapper said as Areum pulled some small boxes from the back of the car. "I brought it as fast as I could".

"Thank you very much, Jooheon-ssi" replied Julie. "It really helps us. We can review it today instead of tomorrow and thus gain some time".

"Today?" Jooheon asked. "Are you going to keep working? But don’t you think you should rest? You are here before anyone else and..."

"Thank you for caring, Jooheon-ah, but it’s nothing that a coffee and some ramen won’t fix" Areum assured. "Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow".

"Ah? Ah, yes, sure, girls... see you tomorrow".

Jooheon said goodbye to both friends and went to his apartment before his manager realized he was still in the building.

"See, I told you not to worry," Areum said as soon as they got into the elevator. "Jooheon-ah is responsible, especially when the project is of one of his friends".

"Hmpf, I had a deja-vu to school... you always giving him the benefit of the doubt," Julie said with a sigh.

"Julie, what Jooheon-ah said is true... it’s late, don’t you want to go home?" Areum said upon arriving at the office.

"Well... I do... but I haven’t finished what I had to do today. If you want you can go, Areum-ah, I don’t mind".

"I’ll just go change my clothes and put on more comfortable shoes, my feet are killing me," Areum replied. "I’ll be back in an hour, okay?"

"Go, Areum-ah, I’ll finish here and see you later".

Areum went to her apartment to change clothes and eat something fast while Julie finished the presentations for tomorrow. She had to give the executive producers an update and there were still certain details she had to fix.

Minutes later, someone called her on her cell. The number wasn’t in her contacts, but Julianne answered anyway. It was a food delivery guy, bringing two plates from the Chinese restaurant near the building. When Julie told him that she had not ordered anything, the delivery man told her that Mr. Lee Jooheon had ordered the food.

Julie then went down and accepted the delivery. Then she went back upstairs with the plates to sit down to eat. Jooheon had sent them wonton soup, an order of jiaozi, and an order of spicy tofu.

It’s too much food, Julie thought. Of all the dishes, she could only eat from the jiaozi: she couldn’t stand spicy food and wonton’s soup gave her gastritis when she was stressed, so she preferred to avoid it.

She stored the food in the floor’s kitchen and sent a message to Areum telling her that Jooheon had sent them dinner.

Areum-ah [7:40 p.m.]

Really? And what did he send us?

Juliee [7:41 p.m.]

Two wonton soups, an order of jiaozi and an order of spicy tofu you like.

Areum-ah [7:41 p.m.]

YEIII! I haven’t eaten wonton’s soup in a long time... I’m gonna hurry it up so it doesn’t get cold.

At least the food won’t go bad, Julie thought as she put her phone aside and kept working.

____________________________

The next day everything seemed to go well for Julianne.

She was in the bathroom, which always needed to after a stressful presentation, but everything with the executives had been a success, she had been able to review the printing tests that Jooheon had brought them the day before and they were almost ready, she was up to date with her calls, she had chosen comfortable shoes...

"I’m telling you they’re dating," one of the youngest girls on the staff said to another. Julie heard them gossiping in the bathroom, but neither of the two girls knew Julianne was there, as the compartment door was locked. "They were sneaking around, but I guess they got tired of faking".

"But don’t you think that shouting that you love each other in broad daylight in a public place is a bit exaggerated?" the other girl said. "This is not a drama, they could be fired if..."

"Lee Jooheon is one of the main producers of the album and Kang Areum is the best friend of the creative director. No one will tell them anything".

What the hell? Julie stood still in the bathroom. She didn’t want to make any sound and the two girls realize they weren’t alone.

"Anyway, it is still..."

"Of bad taste? Of course. Nobody wants to hear declarations of love at two o'clock in the afternoon... Besides, it’s not very professional".

"And is it true that he said it? Wasn’t she the one who shouted?"

"I told you, they were both talking and laughing in the company cafeteria and when they said goodbye he said... no, he shouted that he loved her very much. She replied with a smile and they say that in the evening, as she stayed working late, he came to visit her and brought her dinner..."

"Wow... how amazing... and the others will know?"

The voices became less and less audible as the two girls came out of the bathroom and continued with their gossip outside.

Julie, meanwhile, stepped out of the bathroom compartment and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Areum-ah... and Jooheon? she thought. That’s ridiculous... No, that’s groundless gossip. For starters, they’re like water and oil. And never... never... I mean, but... let’s see, they don’t even hang out, do they? And yesterday’s food was for both of us... although it is true that Jooheon sent the dishes that Areum-ah likes... No, no, but he did not come to visit her, he came to leave us the printing tests... tests that SHE asked him to go pick up and that HE accepted even though he knew it involved driving late and... and Areum-ah has never been angry with him, not even when I told him about... and yesterday she was supporting him... And they seemed to get along very well, Jooheon even ignored me at the beginning when we went down to collect the boxes... And, come to think of it, Areum-ah offered to supervise Jooheon, was it to spend more time with him? Without anyone suspecting?... And she also spends a lot of time coming and going from the recording studio... and... and...

And Julie came into her office without realizing it. She didn’t know when she’d left the bathroom or how she’d gotten to her chair. The only thing in her head was that stupid gossip she wanted to believe had no foundation.

I mean, she kept going on in her head, Areum would have told me, right?... of course she would have told me... although maybe not if she was afraid of hurting me... but it doesn’t hurt me... it doesn’t hurt me, it just... it surprises me. But no, she would have told me, I’m sure of that... right?... and... if not?... I mean, no, we’ve been friends for years, YEARS. If she could tell me I was being ridiculous, she can tell me that she’s dating Lee Jooheon... it’s not like I’d tell anyone... it’s not like our friendship would end...

Julie had a headache and started massaging her temples. Just then, someone knocked on her door:

"Knock, knock, Jules" greeted a very smiling Jooheon. "Are you feeling all right?" he asked concerned to see his friend’s weary face.

"Jooheon-ssi, how can I help you?"

"Did you get your food right yesterday?" Jooheon asked. "I asked them to deliver it as soon as it was ready... I remember at school you always ate wonton and tofu".

"Actually" Julie corrected, "I always ate gyozas, the one who ate tofu was Areum-ah".

"Ah... true" Jooheon recalled somewhat embarrassed. "I’m sorry, I must have been confused... I hope you still enjoyed the meal".

"Jooheon-ssi, I’m a little busy, do you need anything?"

"Ehhh, no, I was just coming to say hello... although... there is something... but it may not be the best time," Jooheon said.

Did he come to tell me about him and Areum? Julie thought. Is it real?

"Tell me, Jooheon-ssi"

 "Why do you treat me so formally, Jules?" Jooheon shot without thinking twice. "I mean, we’re at work, but you feel very distant... Is there anything that makes you uncomfortable?"

Julie did not respond, so Jooheon continued:

"Look, I know I was an idiot weeks ago, but, to be honest, I hate this feeling of not knowing how to talk to you... I want... I’d like to have my friend back... just like the last few weeks in the gallery".

Friends? That’s what he came to say? thought Julie.

"Jules?"

"Well, Jooheon-ssi, you’re actually right, it’s not the best time," replied Julie, not knowing what else to say. "I don’t know what to say and..."

"You don’t have to say anything," Jooheon interrupted. "I didn’t come for you to say anything, I just... wanted to say hello and, well... I don’t know, the truth is... How about we go get some coffee later?"

"Jooheon-ah, there you are" Areum interrupted. "I was looking for you... I hope I’m not interrupting anything".

"You don’t Areum-ah," Julie said. "Go ahead".

"Okay, Jooheon-ah, there’s a meeting now at 3 p.m. about the packaging design. I was supposed to go, but Wonho-ssi needs me and Ivy to go over his promotion schedule so... could you go in my place?" Areum said. "You just have to take notes of what they say and then pass them on to me. I will tell everyone that you will go in my place, what do you say?"

"Well..." thought Jooheon seeing Julie. "Well, I think so. Yes, tell me what to do".

"GREAT!" Areum jumped out of joy. "Come with me a moment to review the information... we’ll be back Julie".

Julianne saw them leave the office and her head was about to go back into a whirlpool of ideas. To avoid it, she decided to concentrate on her work and ignore the world... at least for now.

« Previous Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Always on time - Chapter 15

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 5k

« Previous Next »

Chapter 15

Hey, Jules, how you’ve been? I just wanted to...

*delete, delete, delete*

Hi, Jules. Wonho-hyung told me you’re in Taiwan for...

*delete, delete, delete*

I guess now it’s my turn to show you what I’ve been doing for the last seven years. You’ll see...

*delete, delete, delete*

Jules, I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day and...

*delete, delete, delete*

"Why the fuck is so hard to write a fucking message?!" Jooheon shouted in his apartment room. After the meeting with Wonho and the others, Monsta X members invited him to have dinner to celebrate his return. Jooheon accepted but was not in the mood to spend the night with his friends, so he went to the apartment that he rented just for himself to rest... and think of a plan.

Jooheon had been trying to start a conversation with Julie for about two hours. He didn’t know how to send the first message or what to say in it. Should he start by apologizing for crossing the line? Or should he say hello as if nothing had happened and then bring it up? Or should he act as if nothing had happened? After all, was it really that bad? No, right?

Jooheon didn’t know anything anymore. A part of him told him that the fight he had had with Julianne was not a big deal, that at school they had also fought and soon spoke again. But another part of him was not so convinced, as the truth was that he still felt like he was walking on eggshells with Julie. Although in the last few weeks they had spoken as if the years had not passed between them, Jooheon still felt a distance and some discomfort from Jules. He did not want his comments to spoil the progress he had made.

Anyway, he thought, I didn’t tell her any lies. That guy’s an idiot and I just told her to open her eyes.

…

…

…

…

However, Jooheon continued in his head, it is true that it was not my place, and I could have told her things differently...

…

…

…

…

"FUCK," Jooheon said, this time out loud. "Jules can be dramatic, but she’d be exaggerating if.... ARGHHHH"

At that moment, Jooheon’s cell phone started ringing. When the rapper saw who was calling him, he thought he was asleep...

"Hello?" he replied.

"Jooheon-ssi? I hope I didn’t wake you up," Julianne answered on the other side of the line.

"Ah? N-no, not at all Jules" he said. "I’m just surprised about your call".

"Ah, yes, well, I don’t know if Wonho-ssi told you, but I’ll be working as creative director for his next comeback".

"Y-yes, I knew that," Jooheon continued. "But he also told me that you were flying to Taiwan today, so I wasn’t expecting a call from you. Aren’t you tired of the flight?"

"I need to organize a lot of things while I’m here and I don’t really have much time now, so it will be a short call," said Julianne ignoring Jooheon’s question. "Wonho-ssi told me that the two of you will produce the title track together and that it will be based on a piece you had previously worked on. Areum-ah and I will work on the concept and design of the entire comeback and advertising strategy around that song. All I need is for you to keep us up to date on whatever progress you have. We won’t be able to wait until the song is ready to start developing the rest of the project, so we’re going to have to work in parallel. Are you okay with that?"

"Ehhhh, of course, although I don’t know how..."

"Areum-ah will have regular meetings with you and Wonho-ssi and she will guide you in whatever we need," Julianne cut him. "My call was just to inform you about the approach we will be having for now. Everything else will be explained to you by Areum-ah at the time. Do you have questions for now?"

"Jules, are we all right?" Jooheon asked abruptly.

Julianne was silent for a few seconds. She wasn’t really surprised, as Jooheon had a tendency to talk everything straight out and without... filters. However, she didn’t know if she wanted to bring it up.

Anyway, she had no choice.

"Hello? Jules?"

"I’m still here," she replied. "We’ll work together again, Jooheon-ssi. So yes, we’re fine. However, my personal life is mine and I hope that is clear".

"That’s clear, Jules. I wanted to talk to you earlier, but I didn’t want you to avoid me like a couple of months ago," Jooheon said. "I don’t know how to read your mind like I used to, but I don’t want to screw up and stop talking to you".

Julie was silent again. Part of her felt bad about how she treated him, but it wasn’t time to think about it. All that is behind them: school, university, Jooheon, Kang-Dae...

"If that’s your way of apologizing, apology accepted, Jooheon-ssi," Julie said. "Well, if you don’t have any more questions about what I just told you, I have to go".

"Okay, Jules, rest and we’ll talk later," Jooheon said.

"Good night".

The call ended and Jooheon lay on his bed. He had a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He was happy because Jules didn’t seem to care much about what he had said, or at least he hadn’t been too angry. But that wasn’t Jules, not completely.

Jooheon remembered what Wonho had told him about Jules' resignation from her gallery work and that plus her sudden departure to Taiwan and this strange call in the middle of the night after a flight... Jules only did that when something big happened.

Like when she decided to quit kickboxing and her dream of being a conceptual artist. Jules had no idea, but Jooheon knew that Jules put all that aside after her father’s death. The rapper learned of the news of his passing and wanted to attend the funeral; however, he could not go to present his condolences publicly because the agenda of Monsta X prevented him. When Mr. Seo died, they were still a rookie group and could not risk a scandal... But Jooheon asked his manager to do a little research and found out that Jules had stopped going to the gym where she was training and had switched specialties in college.

He knew it, but he had really forgotten it until then. Jooheon remembered conversations with Jules in which she told him that her dream was to have his works exposed to the public, but he also remembered her father’s insistence on finding a less risky dream. Mr. Seo had opposed his daughter’s hobbies, both kickboxing and art, and that spawned many fights between the two until he simply gave up. The rapper supposed that when he died, Jules decided to change direction to make him happy...

Now she was changing direction in a hurry again, and Jooheon just wanted to know why and if Jules was okay.

____________________________

Weeks later...

The alarm started ringing and Julie turned it off. Waking up with a headache and swollen eyes had become a habit. The night before she decided she wasn’t going to cry... but she failed. She knew the breakup with Kang-Dae was the best thing for both of them, at least for now, but that didn’t make it any less painful.

Everything around her reminded her of him because, after so many years together, Julie realized that she had adopted habits and routines around Kang-Dae. She would get up at the same time as him and send him a good morning message, then she would choose her outfit making sure she always had something on that he would have given her: a scarf, a handkerchief, some earrings, a bracelet, a headband, some shoes... whatever.

While things had changed a lot in the last year, Kang-Dae was a good boyfriend for a long time and Julie realized that a third of the things she had packed without much thought had been given to her by him.

Areum was also used to the routine and was willing to support her friend in whatever she needed to overcome this breakup. They had been in Taiwan for six weeks and the work kept them busy during the day, plus Julie’s work ethic made it difficult for her to have a mid-meeting crisis.

The problem was when they arrived at the apartment they had rented for their stay. As they walked through the door, Julie collapsed. She did not burst into tears immediately, but Areum noticed how her mood changed and she became meditative.

She tried to deal with the situation the best she could: ice cream, movies, manicure sessions, alcohol... or just listening. It was tiring for both of them, but Areum was ready to support her friend.

"Knock, knock," Areum said as she opened the door to Julianne’s room. "I have meetings early today, so you’ll have to make do without me. Breakfast is on the table along with aspirins and a cold compress for the eyes. Yesterday I got a new concealer for you to try and.... Ah! There is a new tea that helps to relax, we can try it later".

"Mpppf" said Julie against the pillow.

"Yeah, I know, you couldn’t live without me, but I have to run, see you later".

Julie didn’t want to get out of bed. It was Saturday, but both friends still had to work to get everything ready before returning to Korea.

The concept of the comeback was not yet decided, but they already had about three ideas with which they could work. Although the ones who really had to decide were Wonho and Jooheon, in the last 3 weeks they had changed the base melody 4 times and that made Areum and Julie analyze the entire creative and marketing strategy to see if everything followed the same line.

Of course, they did all that work so that in the end the two producers decided to return to the first option...

Anyway, because of that Areum oversaw those meetings and other logistical aspects while Julie focused on the design and creative aspects of the project. Areum took on the most administrative tasks, so it was up to her to be the mid-point between the different participants, as well as to guide the decision-making based on expectations and the sales plan. On the other hand, Julie worked with the producers, directors, designers, etc. to explain the conceptual ideas and try to reach an agreement on what was possible and what was not. They were the two sides of the same coin and so far they were going well... as long as they didn’t change the song overnight.

That day, Julie had to put together business presentations. What she wanted was to visualize the three ideas they had to make the information easier to digest and understand. In three days, they had a meeting with the directors of the three companies: Highlight Entertainment, Starship Entertainment, and Areum’s company to evaluate the process. If their ideas were accepted, they could keep going with the planning.

Besides that, Julie had nothing to do in the day, so she got up, showered, had breakfast and started working to get out of her pending tasks as soon as possible. She opened her personal computer and almost started crying again.

I guess I should change the wallpaper, thought Julie closing the laptop and taking a breath.

There had been several times when she had thought about whether dhr had made the right decision. There were nights she cried because she thought she should have been a little more patient, that Kang-Dae had been patient with her when she needed it most, and...

"I need fresh air," Julie said and went to put her shoes on to go out.

Near the building where they rented the apartment, there was a park that was always full of people: families, groups of friends, couples, single people... Julie liked to watch people go by without thinking about anything else and that helped her clear up.

In the park, there were also tables and benches to sit on, and Julie saw that her favorite place was unoccupied, so she went there. It was a stone table with stone benches around it, but it was right at a place where Julie could see the whole park and part of the street in front of her.

She sat quietly for a few minutes until a sound of laughter caught her attention. He saw two girls and a boy laughing as they ran after each other throwing water. After a while, one of the girls asked for a break and the other two approached her only to throw what was left of the water on her. The three laughed and ended up throwing themselves into the grass to watch the clouds pass.

Immediately, Julie thought of her, Areum, and Jooheon when they were in school. The three spent most evenings together studying or listening to Jooheon’s improvised raps. Now that she thought about it, if Jooheon was such a good producer, it was partly due to the two of them, because the number of times they had to listen to the rapper’s bad compositions are enough to take them both to heaven.

Thinking about those days, Julie smiled, but at the same time felt sad. She and Areum had remained friends all those years, but Jooheon simply disappeared from the face of the earth. It is true that Julie didn’t want to see him after their last night together, but now she realized that all her resentment was due to teenage feelings that, although not less valid, over the years lose importance. If Jooheon had shown up earlier, even by chance, maybe Julie wouldn’t have had so much trouble accepting him back into her life again.

Although of course, she thought, just when everything is going well again, there he goes and opens his mouth to say things about which he does not know, and to make everything worse, still does not know how to apologize. Was it so hard to write a message? Or to call? Oh, but nooooooo, I have to be the one to call him first and...

"Argh," Julie said aloud thinking she was alone.

"You’re too young and too pretty to be thinking so much," said one lady who had seen Julie’s expression change from a nostalgic smile to a frown of frustration.

"Ah? Ah, hello, how are you?" Julie said. It was not the first time both had seen each other, as the two women used to go to that park. "I didn’t see you coming".

"Of course not, your mind was elsewhere... a very frustrating place, it seems," the lady replied sitting. "I’m all ears in case you want to talk. Besides, at this age I forget everything, I won’t go around telling your secrets, but I could tell you some of mine. This grandmother has lived long enough to have an ace up her sleeve in almost every situation".

"Hahahaha, I don’t doubt it,” said Julie. "It’s really nothing important, it’s just the memory of a friend".

"Ahhh, a friend. Close, I assume?"

"Yes... something like that. At least it was".

"In the past tense?"

"We didn’t see each other for a long time" said Julie. "He disappeared for work reasons and until recently we met again".

"I see... and what did he do to make you growl in a park on a Saturday afternoon?"

"Mmmmm... be an idiot?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, kid, what man is not an idiot?" replied Grandma. "They all are, but the right one can make your days more enjoyable... even while being an idiot. What matters in men is their gentleness and empathy. That’s a rarity! Stupid men are everywhere, especially when they like a girl".

"Yeah, I guess," Julie said.

"Well, us women can also be idiots sometimes... we’re smarter than men most of the time, but when we like someone who’s an idiot... we end up growling in a park..."

"Hahaha, we’re just friends".

"Of course," the lady said with a smile. She immediately turned her head back and greeted some people who seemed to be waiting for her on the sidewalk. "Those are my daughter and my grandchildren, I guess I should go, but kid, one more thing: remember that time goes faster than it seems and, at my age, regrets come from the lies we tell ourselves out of fear of being vulnerable. Young people today want to be strong, but they forget that the strongest is the one who is willing to be vulnerable".

Julie just smiled and the lady began to walk away to go with her family.

The grandma’s words echoed in Julianne’s head for a few minutes. It was a deep message, but considering she misunderstood the situation, it didn’t apply to her... totally not.

Julie was about to go into a swirl of thoughts when her phone rang. It was Areum, she was back in the apartment and wanted to go to lunch.

Saved by the bell, Julie thought, for if she was aware of anything, it was that Areum called her just in time, before her mind thought of situations she did not want, nor could, deal with at the time.

________________________________

About a month later...

Areum and Julie had arrived two days earlier in Seoul to finish the final meeting and expose the entire conceptual and advertising line of Wonho’s comeback.

At first, Ivy had told them they had about ten weeks to prepare everything and start production, and all three worked to meet the proposed timeline, Ivy from Seoul and Areum and Julie from Taiwan. Both friends had stayed longer than expected, but everything was going great, so neither side had any complaints. In addition, Julie had been able to train Rei from a distance so that she could take up her position in the gallery. Rei still had to organize an exhibition by herself to end her training, but Julianne and Director Kim agreed that it could be done once Julianne was back in Korea to oversee Rei’s work and make the transition as easy as possible.

It was Wednesday morning. Jules arrived early at the main building of Highlight Entertaiment. The day before she had met the team that was going to work in the production of the comeback and those people that she would have in charge. They all had the information of the creative line they were going to follow, so they were waiting for the approval of the companies to start with their tasks.

"Julie-ssi, good morning" she was greeted by Ivy who arrived at the same time as her at the main entrance.

"Hello, Ivy-ssi, how are you?" Julie greeted back.

"All good, you?" she replied.

"I’m well, thank you".

"Ah, before I forget... you left this yesterday in the meeting room," Ivy said, pulling a small yellow bag from her purse. "I hope you don’t mind, but I had to see what was inside to know who it was from".

"Oh, no problem. Thanks for picking it up," Julie said.

"And in case you need it, I saw that you have some anxiety pills and some to help you sleep," Ivy said. "We don’t know each other well enough, and I know I shouldn’t get involved, but if you want to try something different or if the pills stop working, I know some natural remedies that work wonders".

"Ah... sure... thank you," said Julie a little surprised. She’d forgotten she had those pills stashed there, and hadn’t needed them for weeks. "See you later".

Despite how normal it was to have some pills to help her sleep, Julie felt a little embarrassed to remember why she had initially bought them: she needed them to sleep after her breakup. She hadn’t cried before sleep for weeks and there were days she didn’t even think about Kang-Dae at all.

The truth was that Julie was starting to feel freer, more like herself. Some nights in Taiwan she and Areum went out dancing and Julie remembered how much fun they could have together. One week they even met Liv, who was visiting the country due to a recording of the MV of the group she was working with.

Julie had also started training again. While she could not go to the box, she could start with basic fitness routines so that her mind would remember what apparently her body still did not forget. All that made her feel like she could breathe again... and she wanted more.

But that day she was Seo Julianne, creative director for Highlight Ent.

"Good morning" greeted Wonho as he entered the office where Julie was. "Julie-ssi, how are you doing with the presentation? Do you have an update for me?"

"We advanced quite a lot yesterday, and I think everything will be ready today in the afternoon... although perhaps it is best to make the formal presentation first thing tomorrow so that all department heads can be in the meeting".

"Great!" said Wonho. "Tomorrow is perfect, so Jooheon-ah can be present, and we can both explain the title track idea".

Julie froze for a moment when she heard Jooheon’s name. Blank mind, Julie, it’s just Jooheon, there’s no reason to...

"Great, then I’ll tell Areum to finish with some unfinished business and in the evening we can finish putting together the presentation for tomorrow," Julie said.

"Okay, great," Wonho said as he stood up to leave. "If you need anything, you can tell Ivy. Today my schedule is full, so I don’t think we can see each other until tomorrow, but she keeps me in the loop... I think I’ll have to take her out to lunch after this to thank her for the work she’s doing".

"That makes two of us," Julie said with a smile. "Don’t worry, everything is under control".

*******

"You told me I could write anything... that it didn’t necessarily have to make sense as long as I wrote a whole sheet on both sides," Jooheon said as an explanation before giving Doctor Choi what he had written.

"That’s right," she replied. "It can be anything, Jooheon-ssi, as long as you take the time to write it".

The problem with that is that Jooheon had been writing the paper in his car 20 minutes before the session. He tried to make time for it, but he always forgot because he was thinking about other things.

"You know," the psychologist said as she kept Jooheon’s essay on her desk, "I’m impressed with how quickly things happen in your industry. In a matter of months, you have everything ready for a new release... it seems very little time to move so many pieces".

"Ah, yes, that’s the way things are many times," Jooheon said. "In the early years we didn’t know much and suddenly we had a month to prepare for an album and all the promotions. But you get used to it quickly".

"Really?" the slightly incredulous doctor asked. "How quickly did you get used to it? I’m not going to lie to you, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by how quickly everything was planned, and I only know what you tell me".

"Well... I don’t know. I just know that at one point everything seemed very normal".

"I see... Well, tell me, how do you produce an album?"

Jooheon was a little amused by Dr. Choi’s curiosity. It was normal for people outside the industry to be interested in how an album is made. For the rapper, it was an everyday thing, but many did not imagine how a melody becomes a music video or how the songs or the concept are chosen, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

It really was like any other job but had secrecy around it that made his work a little more interesting than others. Not counting the lights, the makeup, the outfits, and everything that happened behind the scenes before a presentation.

"Ah, so Wonho-ssi is not the only friend you’re going to work with?" Dr. Choi asked. She had asked Jooheon if he knew anyone from the production team and Jooheon, without thinking about it, said Areum’s name... and Julie’s.

"Ah... no, he’s not the only one" replied the rapper. "Jules, Areum, and I go way back, we went to school together".

"Ahhh, I see. And how do you feel about meeting them again after so many years?" she asked. "I imagine it must be interesting for them to see you now after becoming an idol and all that implies".

"It’s... well... it’s what it is, isn’t it?" Jooheon said. "It really... was a surprise".

"Of course, I can imagine..." Dr. Choi said without further pressure. She knew there was something else there, but if Jooheon didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t force him. "Well, Jooheon-ssi, we ran out of time this week. I’ll let you go for today and see you next week at the same time".

"Sure, doc, sure".

___________________________________

The next day...

Jooheon is uncomfortable and nervous.

It was 9:00 a.m. He just arrived with Wonho at the company for a staff meeting with Julie that started in fifteen minutes and Jooheon did not seem to be able to stand still. Wonho had noticed; both met in the recording studio at 7 in the morning to review what they had done before and put together a couple of ideas before the meeting, but the rapper seemed unable to focus. Wonho didn’t tell him anything because he assumed he was excited and somewhat nervous about producing again after months of hiatus... but the singer was losing patience. He needed Jooheon completely focused and he was probably going to have to talk to him to see if everything was okay, but that would be after the meeting.

Both were waiting for the elevator to go to the floor where the meeting rooms were when a voice behind them greeted them:

"Wonho-ssi" said Julie.

"Oh, Julie-ssi, good morning," Wonho replied.

Jooheon froze. He didn’t know whether to greet her again or wait for her to greet him... God, you’re not 12, Jooheon-ah, what’s wrong with you?

"Good morning to both of you. I hope you had a good rest because Areum and I need you to focus on today’s meeting".

"Everything will be fine, I know," Wonho said.

Jooheon still didn’t talk.

The elevator doors opened and all three entered.

"Oh, by the way, Jooheon-ssi," Julie suddenly said, "Remember the list of printers you made for the exhibit months ago? I need you to pass it to me, I can’t find the copy you gave me".

"Ah?... Ah... y-yes, sure. When will you...?"

"ASAP" cut it off Julie. "Before 2 pm today would be great".

"Julie-ssi" Wonho said, "Do you think Jooheon can help you with the details you asked for? My schedule changed and I don’t know if I’ll have time to meet with you and Areum in the coming weeks."

"Sure, Wonho-ssi, extra hands are always welcome".

Subtle, hyung, Jooheon thought. He knew his schedule was a lie, but it was his way of including Jooheon in other aspects of production without revealing the reasons.

Finally, they arrived at the floor where the meeting was going to take place and the three left the elevator. Areum was waiting for them in the meeting room. The guests had not yet arrived, so Julie, Areum, and Ivy were able to finish preparing the material with peace of mind.

"Ready?" Ivy asked as the room began to fill.

"Yes," the two friends replied.

__________________________________

A week later...

The production of the album was going smoothly. After everyone accepted Areum and Julie’s proposal, the different teams began to work on their tasks. Everything was in order and all the departments had managed to follow the agenda proposed by Julie: the stylists had managed to get many pieces for the outfits and what was missing of the MV outfits and stages outfits was already being designed; the photo shoot of the album jacket was scheduled for within three weeks and the staff was working on the set design for the studio; the music video would be recorded in two weeks and the locations were secured; the sales, editing and social media team were creating content... Anyway, there had been no missteps, which meant Julie should be on the lookout. When everything goes well, something always happens that can ruin projects. She knew well.

And Jooheon knew how Julie thought, so he tried to keep an eye on his chores, too.

In the last few days, he had seen her almost every day: in the recording studio, in the cafeteria, working late... They both talked normally, so Jooheon’s anxiety went down every day. But there was something that didn’t quite fit the rapper. He didn’t know what it was, but he could see it in Julianne’s face. Although he had to admit that the girl had become better at hiding her emotions, at school she was like an open book.

Or maybe I don’t know her as well as I think, Jooheon thought as he took a sip of coffee and finished listening to a sample they wanted to use on another song on the album. In the end, Jooheon was going to participate in the production of all 7 songs on the EP, not just the title track, so he still had work to do.

"Yah, Jooheon-ah, are you asleep?" Areum shouted in his ear. The girl had been trying to get the rapper’s attention for about 10 minutes, but he was gone in his thoughts and didn’t even hear her say hello.

"Ah?!" he shouted. "Jeez, Areum-ah, you scared me"

"Well, Sleeping Beauty, I’m sorry to say it’s daytime and you have to work. You’re free this afternoon, aren’t you?"

"Tell me what you need".

"I need you to go pick up some paper and print samples with some design options. Julie was going to go, but something came up and she’s not gonna be able to, Ivy and I are maxed out and Wonho-ssi is recording content for his YouTube channel, so... We only have you".

"Is Jules all right?" Jooheon asked.

"Emmm, did you catch anything else I said besides that?" Areum asked.

"Sorry, it’s just that..."

"She’s fine, Jooheon-ah" Areum replied. "She only has a thousand meetings with the other teams, and none want to give her a break".

"Oh, well, sure, I understand..." Jooheon continued. "Well, just give me the address".

Areum passed him the data and said goodbye to continue with her tasks, but before that decided to have some sympathy with the rapper.

"Jooheon-ah" called him from afar and he looked up. "Julie... she’s fine overall. It’s not her best time, but you know how it is, she doesn’t break easily".

"Did something happen?" Jooheon asked.

"Promise me something, will you?" Areum said, ignoring Jooheon’s question. "Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re an idiot, just like in school. And you did stupid things that you’re not even aware of, yet you’re a good person and I know you love Julie very much. Don’t ask questions and don’t worry too much, just... be the friend you were years ago, will you?"

"Areum-ah..."

"Seriously, Jooheon-ah, no questions" she cut it. "I promise you there is nothing to worry about, but Julie could use a friend".

Jooheon nodded silently and Areum ended the conversation, so he turned around and began to leave. Just then, the rapper shouted:

"I love you too, Areum-ah. My childhood would not have been the same without your spiritual guidance".

"Well, someone had to get your head out of your ass," Areum yelled back. "Now get lost, it’s far and you have to get there before they close".

Both friends said goodbye with a smile and left each on their own.

She was reassured that Julie would have someone else to lean on.

He was full of questions, for he knew there was something they were not telling him.

Okay, now how do I get you to tell me what’s wrong with you, Jules?

« Previous Next »

[capricornwriter5]

Hi, there! Since you already know, I also love anime, and I wanted to share a friend's blog so you can take a look at her amazing drawings.

-Capricorn 💗

I'm in love with her. She's so pretty and strong and adorable 🥹

[capricornwriter5]

OUR SEESAW - Chapter 17

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female OC

Genre: idol au, Suga X female OC, smut, fluff, angst, college romance, friends to lovers, exes to lovers, happy ending. ⚠️Warning: mentions of mental health affections, drugs, explicit sex

Words: 3k

➳ Prev. Chapter

Chapter 17 - Yet to Come

During the first seven days, Emmy and Yoongi received a lot of medical support, as those would be the most critical days. Although the girl suffered from nausea, headaches, sweating, and shivering caused by the drugs, she turned out to be extraordinarily strong against the craving to consume. Every time she felt that she wanted to quit because of how ill she felt, she thought about the type of life she wanted to achieve and moved on.

The few times Yoongi saw her seriously doubting, he would take her to the piano and help her think only about the music.

He also helped her with two other symptoms that, without Yoongi, would have cost her a lot: poor appetite and insomnia. Yet, when Yoongi's help truly became vital was after the detox. It was thanks to him that depression didn't sink its claws into Emmy, and it was also thanks to Yoongi that anxiety lost its grip. The boy never left her alone, never allowing there to be a moment during the day when Emmy could break down. They both knew that it would be a long process and that in the future there would be more difficult days than others, but at least those first few days, Yoongi carried that weight like no other person would have done.

Perhaps because of the same dedication and kindness that Yoongi put into it, Emmy made an effort to stay as calm as possible and not make Yoongi have to live a nightmare next to her. Of course, there were times when Emmy cried and even argued with him, but things never got out of hand.

In addition to having been consuming different drugs for so long, the girl's body did not take the detoxification so well and she needed almost the entire month of medication. Therefore, she fell far behind in her classes and the truth was that she had no motivation to resume her courses.

Yoongi, on the other hand, hadn't enrolled in that many classes; besides, they were very simple for him being the musical genius that he was, so he had no problem. Additionally to the situation with Emmy, Yoongi also had his mother's, and he needed to keep an eye on it. Added to that, his bosses on his radio weren't the most understanding people, not even taking into account that Yoongi was using his vacation, he wasn't asking them for any favors. This did not matter to them, and they ended up firing him. Fortunately, his job at the restaurant was not in danger, and he was able to continue composing music for some groups.

He tried to hide what had happened on the radio from Emmy so as not to worry her more, but the truth was that he was terrible at lying or hiding things, so Emmy found out the same day. Contrary to what she would have done at any other time in her life, Emmy didn't say anything to him, instead she quickly thought about how to help him.

They were preparing breakfast together when Emmy took advantage of her boyfriend being distracted, she told him that they would have visitors at night.

“Did you invite Hobi and Woosung?”

"No, I want you to meet someone." With that answer, Yoongi turned around waiting for more details. "It's a surprise, but you'll like it, I promise."

“Freckles, are you sure you want to have guests? You could barely sleep yesterday because of the dizziness."

"Baby, calm down." She responded by laughing and leaning in to kiss his forehead. "I feel okay, and I really want you to meet this man."

“Hmm… should I be worried? I've never seen you so excited for another man.” Yoongi's claim, accompanied by his crossed arms and his whiny tone made Emmy laugh.

"The only man you should worry about is Jin, he texts me ALL day to ask about you."

"Aren't you going to tell me who he is? Does he cook better than me? Is he more handsome than me?" The girl chose to ignore him and continue making breakfast, but when Yoongi activated his jealous mode, there was no way to make him stop. "Emmy!"

"I'm sorry, baby, I can't hear you."

"Are you seriously going to turn on the music while I'm talking?" He asked more than offended to see that the girl was already turning on the speakers. “Can you at least tell me if he's funnier than me? Okay, don't tell me anything, I'm going to go buy some carrots for breakfast."

“Are you going out wearing your pajamas? You're not even wearing a shirt and look at your hair!"

Looking at the shirt he was going to wear, Emmy couldn't help but hide a mischievous laugh. She wasn't going to tell him anything, but her boyfriend noticed her wicked smile and insisted that she tell him what was so funny.

“Do you remember that a few days ago I tried to do laundry? Well... that t-shirt was on my first failed attempt. I mixed it with my colored shirts and well… look at its back.”

"You gotta be kidding me... Freckles!" He exclaimed looking in the mirror and noticing a huge pink spot on the back of the t-shirt. “We studied for a whole week how to wash clothes, I even left you post-its next to the washing machine on how to do it. You don't listen to me because you think it's funny, right?"

"I don't listen to you because I prefer to see you, you're very cute."

"I'm leaving," He said, looking exactly like a bitter cat. "And I'm not just going to buy carrots, I'm going to bring more Post-its."

Of course, it was all a lie, Yoongi hated leaving her alone and if he had to do the shopping, they usually went together. They looked extremely adorable not only because they were always holding hands, but also because Yoongi didn't take his eyes off her, making sure she felt well and that she didn't need anything. He hadn't even made it to the door before he had already turned grumbling back to continue with breakfast.

He couldn't even imagine how his life would change with that night's visit.

*******

Finally, night came, at 7 o'clock someone knocked on the door and it was Emmy who opened it. Yoongi nearly fell off the couch when he saw who came in. He was an old man with a friendly smile that made him seem younger than he was. He was a well-known producer, his tremendous talent led him to work for renowned artists and even win several awards for his work. Yoongi knew that his girlfriend knew famous people, but not even in his wildest dream would he have expected to see him there.

That night, Emmy could not stop staring at his musician. He looked so excited talking to the producer that he looked like a little kid.

“I was a bit surprised that Emmy invited me to come today, not because of the invitation, but because she was especially insistent that if I came, I'd meet an exceptional musician.” Commented the producer.

"Oh! Well, I…”

"Come on Yoongs, don't be shy, you are very good," Emmy said making him laugh shyly.

“If you don't mind sharing your music with a stranger, you could send me some of what you've created. I recently ran out of an assistant and I need one. Also, if you are recommended by Emmy, I'm sure you'll do your job well.”

"Are you serious?" Yoongi asked.

"You couldn't have asked him at a better time, Yoongi just quit, I think he has some free time." Emmy winked at her boyfriend, letting him speechless, he had no idea she already knew about that.

"I'd love to! But right now… ”Yoongi immediately looked at her, not even with a proposal like that he would leave her alone; yet, his girlfriend did not let him speak; instead, she got closer and gave a peck on his cheek.

"It's a great opportunity. Don't doubt it."

Seeing the hesitation on Yoongi's face, the producer continued talking.

“I was living in Japan, in fact, I came to visit these days. I still need to go back and finish getting some things ready before I move back to Korea. Take some time to think about this, and if you decide to accept, we can start as soon as I'm here. In the meantime, you can send me a few things to know a little more about your style.” Yoongi couldn't believe that was happening and feeling the greatest of illusions, he accepted the offer.

With dinner almost over, Yoongi noticed how his girlfriend massaged her temple a couple of times and put aside the glasses she wore when she was at home. After that time living together, plus the one they had already known each other, Yoongi knew many of her gestures and that was a typical one of hers when the headache attacked her, especially during the last month.

Fortunately, the producer left and as soon as the couple was alone, Yoongi and Emmy were able to rest in the living room. After so much time together, they both already had their favorite place in those huge armchairs, and they used them so much that they already had their figures marked. Yoongi would always lean back on the arm of the chair with Emmy nestled snugly on his chest.

"How do you feel, dear?"

“It's just a tiny headache, it doesn't matter. What's very important is that you'll have a new job and in something that you are passionate about! You'll be one step closer to your dream.” Yoongi smiled for only a few moments because delicately, he made Emmy lie down in such a way that he could see her eyes.

"Again you did something for me that I've no way to thank you, freckles."

“Yoongs, you have nothing to thank me for. Besides, I didn't do much, I just introduced you to a friend.”

“I promise you that I won't miss this opportunity and I'll make you proud of me.”

"I already am." The answer came accompanied by a kiss on Yoongi's lips. But to the musician's surprise, he felt how his girlfriend pull a lock of his hair hard enough so that it did not go unnoticed. “That was for hiding from me that you'd been fired.”

"I can take it, I think I deserve it." Said Yoongi trying to assume a serious and honorable behavior, but he only managed to make her girlfriend laugh

“You have to promise me that when you are a famous producer, you'll always leave me a place where I can sit and watch you work for hours.”

“A place where I can also take breaks and nap with you? Sounds like an excellent idea. But what about you? What will happen to me when you become the best pianist of all?"

“Yoongs, you know that…”

“Don't tell me you're going to forget about me.”

Yoongi was about to make all the drama, but Emmy shut him up with a promise. “I promise you two things. The first is that you'll always have a seat in all my presentations, and the second is that I'll always leave a space next to me so that you can sit down and play with me whenever you want.”

“So no collaborations with other artists, I mean… no one else can sit in my place.” Yoongi said making Emmy laugh even more.

“There'll be collaborations! Now, someone taking your place... never. But since you're so jealous today, I think I'll put a condition on that space next to me. If you use it, you must kiss me."

"In front of the audience?" He asked widening his eyes. "I always knew you were a flasher…” He said crossing his arms and shaking his head negatively. "Okay, I accept it. But if you want to use that place that I will also save for you, from time to time you have to get up and hug me."

"Oh my god! Nobody would believe how spoiled you are! I love you!" Yoongi could barely breathe among so many kisses and hugs. "Of course I will, Yoongs, and I'll hug you even tighter if there's a girl near you."

The next day everything went normally. Yoongi and Emmy had shared hours together until the girl decided to play the piano while her boyfriend practiced on the guitar. At times they were both distracted because as much as they loved music and their instruments, when they realized who they had next to them they couldn't help but smile lovely at each other. Most of the time Emmy would go up to the musician and steal a kiss, eliciting adorable shy giggles from Yoongi.

However, with dinner almost ready, Yoongi put her guitar aside, and approaching quietly, he hugged his girlfriend from behind. Leaning forward a bit, Yoongi intertwined his fingers with Emmy's over the piano keys, and before the girl could say anything, he spoke in his raspy voice.

"Come with me, let's take a bath."

Without wasting a second, Emmy got up and went upstairs with Yoongi. She hadn't realized when he had filled the tub, much less did she know when he lit the candles, or when he brought up tangerines for both of them.

As soon as they entered the tub, Yoongi received his girlfriend in his arms, who snuggled up at the same time that she closed her eyes and felt Yoongi's hands spreading the foam over her thighs, abdomen, arms, and legs.

For a few moments, the musician did nothing more than caress the body of his girl.

Emmy had not been on her best days, either because of the medications or because of the anxiety of being in a period of total abstinence, her body sometimes suffered it. Yoongi knew better than anyone when she wasn't feeling well, when she was struggling to hold her own, and when she felt a little better.

For that same reason, during that month they had not had sex, and the girl's physical activity had considerably dropped. However, she was beginning to feel better and Yoongi was already seeing some changes.

“Yoongs, I miss making love to you. I'm sorry, I know it's very boring having to take care of me all day."

“Taking care of you is everything but boring. Actually, I love taking care of you, I want to do it forever." He responded wholeheartedly. “Besides, I'm not going anywhere, and I won't let you either. We have all the time to have sex. For now, let's focus on you being okay."

"Well... I felt pretty good today." She responded by turning a little to look at him and raising her eyebrows.

"That's great, my love."

"So…?"

"Don't look at me like that, you're not going to convince me."

"But Yoongs! Don't you miss me?"

"Freckles, are you serious?" He asked her with an indignant tone, and even more so when he saw that Emmy nodded in agreement. "Precious, I've been drooling over you since I met you, if you didn't see me as a total pervert, I could tell you everything I thought every night after our lessons."

"Well... If you insist that nothing happens today, you could tell me."

After a deep sigh that in the end sounded more like a moan, Yoongi closed his eyes for a moment and remembered those first piano lessons with Emmy at his house. As soon as he opened her eyes, Emmy noticed a leer and sinful smile.

"Yoongi, tell me! What did you think after our classes?"

“You have a curious way of looking at the sheet music. Even though they are close to you, you always lean forward and fold your arms together while reading. Such a spectacular sight.” He said biting his lip and getting dangerously close to his girlfriend until they both brushed against each other's lips. “I thought about how fucking your tits and coming all over them would feel. I thought about it many times, luckily I already know how it feels."

"How wrong I was when I thought you were a professional teacher who only thought of teaching me!"

"Oh! Very wrong, Emmy." He whispered, biting his lower lip, “I did think about teaching you, but about how to ride my cock all night. Yet, it turned out that you knew exactly how to do it, even better than I expected. Also, in the end, you certainly knew how to trap my cock inside your mouth. Because yes... I thought so too, every time you bit or licked your lips in front of me I thought so. And I knew you were doing it intentionally, you also wanted me to make you scream my name." Seducing her better than anyone, Yoongi caressed his girl's thigh and grinned as he felt her skin crawl under his touch.

“Do you know what else I thought every time you left my house?” He asked this time spreading kisses around Emmy's neck until he finally caught the girl's earlobe with his teeth. “How wet you had to come home every time you were alone with me. You touched yourself thinking of me, right?" He asked without moving away from her ear, and when he sensed her nodding, he smiled even more. “Hmm, how many nights without being able to sleep thinking about the sound of your fingers going in and out of your body thinking about me. But, precious, I assure you that was not what I thought about the most. Not even all the times I made a mess in my bed thinking about fucking you from behind and looking at your ass while I did it, or how much I wanted to see you on your knees can be compared to how hard I got thinking about eating you until I saw you shaking from so many orgasms. There was nothing I craved more than to use my tongue on you, to be able to taste you."

Yoongi chuckled as he took his girlfriend's chin to look at him and was able to see what he had done to her. Emmy couldn't even speak.

"What's up, dear? You asked me to tell you and believe me, I was a gentleman." He said without losing his smile before kissing her cheek.

“Yoongi…”

"You always get what you want, right?" Again, the boy closed his eyes and moaned deeply. However, this time he took the girl's hand and placed it on his crotch, letting her feel how hard he had got just from having that conversation.

"Yoongi, you can't just tell me all this and pretend nothing happens."

"Not until the doctor says you're okay, precious."

"But I'm fine!"

"You're aroused, that doesn't mean you're fully recovered." He said laughing.

"You're such a teaser, I hate you!"

"I love you freckles." He responded by stealing a kiss on her lips.

“Yoongi, I felt your boner! Are you telling me that you can just ignore it?"

"Oh no... there's no way I'm going to ignore it, believe me." He winked at her and leaned back in the tub, bringing his girlfriend with him.

"You said you'd do anything for me."

"I will" he replied without any doubt.

“I want to hear and see you when you touch yourself. Do it here, by my side."

Opening his eyes again, Yoongi raised his eyebrow and showed her one of those smirks that would kill anyone, especially since he sensually licked his lips.

“As you wish, my love, just come closer, I want to feel you.”

The guttural sounds that came out of the musician's mouth every time he stroked his cock in his hands were so addictive that she felt that her head and her whole body were going to explode from the need to hear more. Yoongi was being more vocal and expressive than usual that night. The handsome musician not only moaned in her ear, but he grinned at her every time he looked at her, he wanted to make it very clear that only she could provoke him that much. After a while, unable to resist anymore, Yoongi brought her closer, placing his hand behind his girlfriend's neck, and as soon as he began to kiss her, he looked for Emmy's hand under the water so that she could feel when he came, caused by the kiss.

Shaken, dying from the heat, but more than satisfied, the musician opened his eyes again and smiled at his girl, who was still in shock at how sensual it had been to have Yoongi touching himself next to her.

"I'm going to make it up to you. As soon as the doctor tells you you're fully recovered, ohh… freckles..." He said licking her neck. "I'll do to you everything I didn't dare to say today."

➳ Next Chapter: soon

[capricornwriter5]

OUR SEESAW - Chapter 16

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female OC

Genre: idol au, Suga X female OC, smut, fluff, angst, college romance, friends to lovers, exes to lovers, happy ending. ⚠️Warning: mentions of mental health affections, drugs, explicit sex

Words: 3k

➳ Prev. Chapter

Chapter 16 - Bulletproof

The first part of her narration had to do with her family life, Emmy did not leave any detail out. At times she had to stop to take a breath and be able to continue, and that's how Yoongi found out what Emmy was carrying inside of her. He listened in silence to the story of how Emm's family had seen his mother-in-law suddenly fade away, how a depression that was never well treated ended up consuming her. And even more painful than that was hearing what came next.

It took Emmy a long time, but she opened up as she had never done with anyone, not even the many psychologists she had seen. The girl completely bared her past and her soul that morning and it was impossible to hold her tears, luckily, Yoongi's hand grabbing hers motivated her to continue, and when she felt that she couldn't take it anymore, the musician let her rest her head on his shoulder for as long as she needed to continue. Thus, Yoongi learned what her childhood and adolescence were like, both plunged into both terrible loneliness and psychological abuse by Seri. He already understood the terrible trauma that Emmy felt towards her sister and her father, the guilt that had accompanied her for as long as she could remember. He heard how Seri tried her best to push any company of Emmy, the only ones that were constant were Woosung, Hobi, and Mr. Siu.

Her father was always an absent figure, he tried to reach out to her a few times, but nothing worked. Her mother, for her part, had tried even more than her father. Emmy had very clear memories of when she was a child and her mother came to visit her in her room. She now understood that this happened when the antidepressants allowed it; yet, postpartum depression would trigger again every time she was with her youngest daughter, so in the long run, the doctor forbade her to keep trying. That is why the girl had taken such strong blows since she was a child, she used to get excited thinking that finally her relationship with her parents would change, but that never happened.

“My adolescence coincided with the time when mum was worse, her pills ended up cutting her off from our family. In those years everything got out of control, and even though Hobi and Woo were with me, it wasn't enough. I… I found another way to deal with everything, something that was temporary, but that cost me dearly. Yoongs, I thought I could control it, but I can't." She said with her gaze fixed on the ground and when the musician tried to take her hand, Emmy moved it while she shook her head negatively, there was no human force that convinced her to look Yoongi in the eyes. “Baby, I can't do this alone, I can't fight this alone, not anymore. I've tried to do it because I want to be okay and be able to enjoy what I have with you. I mean... this has been the best thing that has happened to me, but I can't. I can't stop doing drugs. I thought about leaving. Today, when I woke up, I thought that the best thing was to get away from you and not put you through this, I was convinced to do it because I'm afraid. I'm so scared, Yoongi. And I'm not even afraid just of drugs, I'm afraid of loving you this way, I couldn't bear to lose you like I've lost many people before… not you. I may ignore many things about relationships, but I think I love you, Yoongs. It hurts so bad to think about losing you that I swear there have been times when I can't take it, but I can't fool you anymore. This is what I am.” Finally, the girl was able to look at Yoongi's dark and teary eyes. “I love you, Yoongs, I KNOW I love you. If this is the only time I can tell you this, you have to know how good my heart feels when I have you around. I've adored you every moment since I heard you play for the first time, I've loved with all my soul what we have. Thank you for appearing in my life and changing it in this way. Thank you for looking at me like I always dreamed of being looked at. I wanted to be the person you deserve by your side, but…”

"Emm" he called with a deep and faltering voice. "Stop, please." It was his time to talk.

Yoongi didn't rush things; instead, when he asked Emmy to stop, the musician bit his lower lip and took a deep breath. It was not easy at all, it was not a casual topic and of course, it was devastating to hear every word from Emmy, but fortunately, Yoongi's nature let him express himself properly.

"You are already the person I deserve and want by my side." He said with total and utter certainty, never taking his gaze from hers for a second. “Emm, I'd repeat a thousand times more the day I saw you for the first time. I was limited to living in a monotonous way, and then... I saw you, you smiled and I had no choice but to madly fall in love with you. I changed your life? Baby, you made me know that there are parts of me that only exist when I'm with you, and those parts have made me understand that not everything is wrong with me. Before you… Emmy, before you I was tormented by all kinds of monsters every night, and the only way to keep going was through music. But without even intending to do it, you silenced each one of my demons. Please don't go, freckles. Walking away from the only person I want to try everything with would kill me. Every time I look at you I think the same thing 'Please, let this be forever'. I love you, Emm, you're the first person I tell it to, and the only one I'll tell it to."

Yoongi said that last thing, wiping away the tears that fell down his cheeks, but also showing her a tender and honest smile. "I know it's a lot to ask you to believe me and just ignore all your fears, but I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart, sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. I still remember when you held my hand for the first time, I never imagined that it could feel so good, in the same way, I couldn't bear the pain of knowing that you'd never do it again. I beg you, try to trust in us. I know that you love what we have, and that you'd be capable of anything to protect our relationship, but it's not just you who think so, Emm. I'd also give anything to be by your side, to see you happy. Were you really worried about how I'd see you after you told me all this? My love, don't you see how strong and brave you are? Even with your heart broken by everything you've been through, you've loved me selflessly from the beginning. Even with your face full of tears, you're the strongest person I know. What happened with your mom was NOT your fault, you deserve all the love in the world and I'm sure your mom knew that, that's why she kept trying to get close to you despite how she felt. How your father and sister acted and felt has absolutely nothing to do with you. Now... regarding the other issue... baby, you can try to sedate the pain you feel, but that doesn't work, that doesn't stop the bleeding. I understand you, I know how tiring it is to feel low and to feel that you're not capable of dreaming of a better future. But you can, freckles, and you're not alone anymore, you won't be alone anymore."

“Yoongi, do you actually want to continue in a relationship where your girlfriend…?”

“Where my girlfriend is a wonderful person? Of course I want to."

“Yoongs… you know what I want to tell you.”

“Baby, all wounds can be healed when treated properly. It's okay to cry, to feel sad about everything you've been through, but you also need to understand that you're strong enough to get out of it. It won't be easy, it'll be a long and steep road, but you're not going to walk it alone. And if you feel that your world is falling apart, come to mine, I'll always be there for you."

"Aren't you scared?"

"No" He answered completely sure. “I'm worried about you because I want to see you well and happy, but this doesn't scare me. I know we're going to get through it." He assured her with a tender smile. “We'll seek all the help you need and I'll be by your side at all times.”

“I love you, Yoongs.”

“I love you too, Freckles.” He said taking his girlfriend in his arms and hugging her as strong as she needed. "This doesn't define you, baby."

Emmy told him about the Bivouac and how this club was the favorite place of the upper class, not only because of the easy access to drugs but because of the freedom they had in that place to do what they pleased. The girl told him that even those serious politicians who seemed to have perfect families occasionally went there to have their affairs. However, what happened in the Bivouac stayed there and was never talked about. Now Yoongi fully understood why Hobi hated that his friends went there. It wasn't that he was bothered by what Woosung and Emmy were doing with their romantic life, but rather that he seriously cared about everything they had access to. Despite everything Emmy told her boyfriend, she never got a surprised or judgmental look from him. Yoongi's stoic nature allowed Emm to feel completely comfortable with him.

Emmy was very serious about wanting to quit her addiction, but Yoongi was also serious when he told her that he would support her, and that same day he did something that was not common for him, he asked for the day off from all his jobs.

“Yongs, are you sure? You may have problems.”

"Don't worry. We have some things to do and I promised you that I'd be with you.” He responded with a kind smile.

That morning they both found out which doctors were the best to help Emmy. Thanks to the name and influence of the girl, it was not difficult for them to book an appointment for that same day. Talking about her addiction again was not so difficult for Emmy, Yoongi's company during that first appointment was crucial to achieving it. The serenity of the musician and the security that he conveyed to his girlfriend made her feel that she was only going through a difficult time, but that she could overcome it. In addition, it helped a lot that the doctor was a very kind woman with whom Emmy felt comfortable from the beginning.

“The first thing will be detoxification. I try to get the person through the detox on an outpatient basis; that is, that you experience the symptoms at home, in your comfort zone, with timely medical assistance when necessary. But if your circumstances prevent it, you must enter a detoxification unit or center so that withdrawal symptoms don't induce you to relapse. I know you have the financial means to go through this at home; however, I'm concerned that you live alone. You could hire a nurse to accompany you, or you can stay at the hospital. Normally, the process varies between two weeks or a month.”

With a sad sigh, Emmy nodded. She knew she had no choice, but she was terrified of going through it alone in a place she didn't even know. However, her boyfriend was the one who spoke first.

"Freckles, don't even think about it, I'll stay with you."

"Yoongi, that would be great, but we're talking about Emmy constantly needing someone by her side, we don't know how her body and even her mood will react during those days."

"Yoongs, you can't miss your jobs."

“Yes I can do it, and I'll do it.”

"But…"

“Emmy, I'm NOT leaving you alone.”

"I propose this," the doctor commented, "I must go to attend to some administrative matters, discuss this and when I return, tell me your decision."

The couple agreed and as soon as they were alone, Yoongi took Emmy's hands in his and spoke. "Baby, if it is okay with you, I can move in with you those days, at least while the detoxification process lasts."

“Yoongs, would you do that?”

"Of course." He affirmed with a sweet smile.

Although Emmy found it incredible and extremely adorable that Yoongi was willing to go through something like that, she couldn't help but feel something else. However, this time she was not silent and was honest with her boyfriend.

"Yoongs, I'm a little embarrassed that you see me like this... besides, I don't want to put you through something so complicated."

Yoongi couldn't help but laugh in that tender way in which his eyes closed completely. Afterward, he got up from his chair and knelt in front of the girl.

“Freckles, I don't think you can drive me crazier than you already do. Also… I think it's a little late for you to start feeling embarrassed with me, you should have felt like that when you mistook a tomato for a chili on our second date.” Yoongi's comment earned a beautiful smile on the girl's face. “So, if we're past that boring part of the relationship where you're ashamed of silly things, we can be ourselves. Besides… you jumped out of a window to seduce me… I think I've seen enough of your true colors.”

"Oh shut up, I wasn't seducing you!" She tried to defend herself between laughs. Before she could even lose her smile, Yoongi continued speaking.

"You're going to put me through something terribly complicated and painful if you walk away from me, Emmy. Let me come with you, I promise I'll be a good roommate. Think of it like this, I could cook for you and once in a while I might even leave the bathroom door open when I'm taking a shower.”

Oddly enough, Yoongi managed to convince his girlfriend of something between laughs. Normally it was the opposite, Emmy was the one who managed to get everything out of Yoongi between laughs, but now that she was the one who needed it, the musician had taken over splendidly.

“According to the doctor, we can't start today because you must come well prepared. What do you think if today we take care of leaving everything ready? You have to talk to your professors and I need to ask for vacations. Besides... Hobi and Woosung are going to worry if you disappear without telling them something."

“I had already thought about it; after all, they are like my family. Also Mr. Siu. I don't quite know what to tell them."

"Tell them what you feel you can share, they'll understand if you still can't fully open up."

Emmy accepted her boyfriend's suggestion and once the doctor returned and they defined the most important details of the process, Yoongi went to talk to his bosses while Emmy met with Hobi and Woosung. They had both been home when her friend told them it was something urgent. They agreed to meet at Hobi's apartment, since it was the closest to the university and Emmy still had to talk to her professors.

"Guys, I asked you to meet because there's something important that I want to tell you." Emmy's downcast gaze and her concerned expression made Woosung and Hobi anxious and wish she would tell them soon what was going on. "I won't be here for a few days, I still don't know if it'll be just two weeks or the whole month."

"Where are you going?" Hobi asked.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not having a good time guys, I need medical help and…”

"Are you sick? What do you have?" The dancer asked extremely shocked.

For his part, Woosung did not need details to understand what it was about; after all, he had told her that she should tone down the intensity of her consumption.

"Are you going to be alone?" It was the only thing the singer asked.

"No. Yoongi offered to be at my side as necessary."

That shocked Woosung, he did not imagine that someone would voluntarily want to accompany someone during a process as complicated as rehabilitating. Besides, Emmy had told him about Yoongi's economic situation, so being away from his work for so long seemed absurd.

"What's going on? Can someone explain it to me? What do you have, Emm? How can we help you?" Hobi asked on the verge of a crisis.

"I need to stop using, Hobi."

Before Hoseok could ask anything else due to the enormous concern he felt for his friend, Woosung placed his hand on the dancer's shoulder, indicating that this was not the time to go into details.

“You know you're counting on us too, right? Both Hobi and I are here for you."

“I know, guys. I just hope this works. I don't want to go on like this, but I'm afraid."

Seeing Emmy's teary eyes, Hobi and Woosung tried to give her encouragement and reassure her that everything would be alright and that they were sure she would come out of it.

Meanwhile, the musician talked with Jin. He clearly couldn't explain everything, but he did make him aware that it was a serious situation and that he had made the decision to move in with Emmy for a while. Yoongi tried to assure his friend that that didn't exempt him from paying his part of the rent, but Jin became enraged and practically demanded that he accept his help for the first time and not worry about the rent for as long as necessary.

➳ Next Chapter

[capricornwriter5]

hi agaiiiiinn girls, thankyou so much for responding my ask so nicely 💙 i am the one who asked if u alright with ur reader’s idea. hihihi

im actually really bad to give an idea especially for fanfic story 🥹 but i was listening to some songs and it kinda make me wanna read something that similar to those..

here my bad prompts that maybe help:

triangle love kinda type of story? idkk how to call it :(

“a girl who is working with entertainer(s) and she was in a relationship with one member, but due to a project he began to spend a lot of time with other member and he kinda fell for her. the girl was kinda interested with him as well since her boyfriend was too busy and never spend time with her and she doubting his love. there was competition between two guys and but in the end she end up with her boyfriend.” ??????? 😭😭☝🏻

it is so bad isn’t? 😭

i really gonna trust u with any plot or anything if u guys will take my request. i was thinking u can make it as series or similar type like the healthy and toxic relationship of monsta x changkyun . ehee.. oh and im also a monbebe so maybe monsta x member as the character would be totally appreciated🫶🏻🥹

oh and theres some songs list i listening to:

monsta x - got my number

monsta x - shes the one

miguel - coffee in the morning

bazzi - honest

monsta x - secret

nct 127 - baby dont like it

taylor swift - wildest dream

ohhhh anddd anddd AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, u guys dont have to write anything if u dont want or cant to since there are many school stuffs, right? 💙💙

thankyouuu so muchhh 🤍🤍🤍

Hello again! 🥰

We loved your idea and we're definitely planning to work on that as soon as work and college give us a break. 🥹

Nice suggestion for the songs! A little musical inspiration is always welcome. 💜

-Capricorn

[capricornwriter5]

The king is back and this time we got to see him smoking 🔥

[capricornwriter5]

Hello. I love your writing. Could I have a hard-core Jin angst and smut with eventual happy ending.

Hello there! First of all, thank you for reading our stories ☺️ we are really happy you liked them! As for your request, Capricorn and I are a little swamped with work and college, that is why we haven't been able to post as much as we would like. We haven't talked about taking request from you guys, but we are open to hear what you would like to read from us ✨✨ We can't tell you when we would be able to have a story like this, but we will keep it mind, FOR SURE, and one day we'll surprise you 🤭😉

Thanks again and we hope you keep enjoying the reading! 💕

- Dandelion

[capricornwriter5]

heyyy girls, i hope u doing well <3 first of all, i really love all of your writings and i have read them all 1000000/10!!! really talented!! <3 thankyou for your works 💙

and also i mean to ask if you currently open request/idea from your followers? thanks! have a good day like you deserve 💛

Hello there! ❣️

Thanks for reading all our works and for sharing such sweet words! 🥹

Since Dandelion and I write about different characters, we'd love to know your request/idea to see which one of us can work on that. Right now we're struggling with college and work, but writing makes us suuuper happy, so we'll try to make some time to continue with our current stories and any request people have. 😊

We'll wait for your response ❣️

-Capricorn

[capricornwriter5]

OUR SEESAW - Chapter 15

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female OC

Genre: idol au, Suga X female OC, smut, fluff, angst, college romance, friends to lovers, exes to lovers, happy ending. ⚠️Warning: mentions of mental health affections, drugs, explicit sex

Words: 6k

➳ Prev. Chapter

Chapter 15 - Burning Up

Woosung and Hobi's birthday came, and the singer had offered his house for a pre-celebration with his closest circle. It wasn't supposed to be a huge party, just drinking some cocktails and eating some snacks. 

Woosung had barely finished bathing and was walking around the house shirtless with his hair still soaked when Emmy knocked on his door.

“Hi! You came ear...” Unable to finish his sentence, Woosung gawked at his friend, his drool practically spilling out. She looked breathtaking in a tiny black dress. "Damn, Emm!"

The girl didn't reply, as she was very busy picking up a box of champagne bottles. "Directly from France to you, happy birthday!" She congratulated smiling from ear to ear and handing them to him.

“Wow… looks like someone's feeling better." 

"Has anyone else arrived yet?"

"No, it's still too early, they'll be here in an hour, maybe an hour and a half."

"So... do we have time?"

Woosung was placing the champagne on a table, but upon hearing his friend's words, he turned around with a leering look. "I haven't heard those words in a long time. I thought you didn't want..."

"That I didn't want? Woo, you've known me for YEARS, how do you say something like that? But tell me, what can you offer today?"

"Whatever you want, as always..." He answered in an alluring manner.

"Are you sure we have enough time?"

The eyes, the smile, the way she held Woosung's hands to make him hurry, everything, absolutely all of Emmy's body language showed the excitement she felt.

“That's not a problem, time has never been. And if you're worried about that, it's nothing a phone call can't fix.”

As if that apartment were her home, Emmy walked to Woosung's room with him, and that's when the singer understood what his friend meant. Emm wasn't looking to sleep with him like in the old days, she wanted the drug that Woosung kept.

The singer laughed at himself and was about to try to convince her to have fun together, but seeing what Emmy was pulling out, his eyes widened exaggeratedly.

“Are you planning to mix those two?”

"It's not the first time, why are you surprised?"

"I thought you didn't want something so wild for today."

"Hey! It's your birthday and Hobi's, my two best friends! How can I not celebrate it as it deserves?" 

"Sure..." Silently, he watched as Emm used two different types of drugs, and although it was not common for him, he got a little anxious about it. "Emm, you haven't been okay and that's a bit strong, don't you think you should tone it down a bit?"

"This is nothing."

For a few minutes, Woosung did nothing but pay attention to her, dismayed that she would lose control too quickly; however, the minutes passed, and Emmy looked fine.

"What's up with you? When did you start to be the serious and responsible friend?”

"At least she's not yelling at me for not helping Yoongi..." he thought while taking a little of what Emmy had consumed.

Thus, a while passed in which both talked and laughed remembering their last birthdays.

"I had forgotten how wild turned out to be last year's party."

“Do you actually remember anything from that day, Woo? You were so wasted.”

"What I still don't quite understand is how we got to the beach so fast. I mean… we were in the heart of the city and suddenly the sea was in front of me.”

"You say that like you haven't done the same thing countless times." Woosung laughed, and after smoking from the joint he held in his fingers, he remained silent. "What's going on?"

“Nothing, I was just remembering that night. You looked gorgeous, like today… ” Woosung was about to caress Emmy's leg, but the girl didn't allow him, and standing up, she cleared her throat. “Come on, Emm, what's up with you lately, huh? It had never been so long since we last fucked. How much longer will I need to wait?"

Thinking it was a joke, the girl couldn't help but laugh; yet, Woosung looked at her from head to toe, making his intentions more than clear.

"You're joking, right?"

“When have I ever joked about this? I've always taken sex very seriously, mainly if it's with you because it's amazing.” He simply explained.

"Woosung, I have a boyfriend."

"So what? I have had them too, but that has never been an impediment. We're the perfect match, no strings attached, no…”

“I told you that my relationship with Yoongi is serious.”

“I know, I'm not telling you to break up with him. Besides, you told me that nothing would change between us. And look at us now, talking like two average friends when we could be fucking as we’ve done for years.”

“I'm not single anymore, and there's no way I'm gonna risk my relationship."

Emmy called it quits, but for the musician it was not over. It was the first time Emmy had rejected him and she didn't seem to want to change her mind.

"Emm, what the fuck? Are you serious? It's been MONTHS since we were last together. What's different that you're dating Yoongi now? It's just sex."

Ironically, that came out from the only person in that room for whom those words made no sense. He had wanted to convince himself that it was just sex, but it never really was. Knowing that he wasn't going to have anything serious with Emmy, he had settled for sleeping with her. At least for a few nights, he could feel that they were more than friends. If he had managed to be “chill” with the whole Yoongi situation, it was only because he could swear that he and Emmy would continue to have their casual sexual encounters.

“Woo, I truly care about Yoongi.”

"Are you telling me that you went to Capri and didn't sleep with anyone?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. Yoongi means too much to me to play with him. I had never thought that I could have something like that with someone, but I have it with him."

“So, you and I don't…?”

"No, Woo. But you have so many beautiful girls waiting for you!”

Emmy winked at him, having no idea what her best friend really felt. Woosung had always been so open with all his relationships and so casual in referring to his sexual encounters, that Emmy could never imagine that he might feel something else. Added to the musician's true feelings, Woosung's pride was hurt that night. It was the first time he heard a no coming from someone’s lips, even worse, from his best friend’s lips, the person with whom he had started his sexual life, with whom he had lived endless experiences and with whom, deep down, he always thought he would have a future.

At that time Woosung couldn't understand two basic things. The first, how much Emmy loved Yoongi, and the second, how dysfunctional he and Emmy would be together. There was no way in which a serious relationship between the two of them could work, they had many issues to resolve. His blindness and pride were about to lead him to make a whole scene of jealousy saying how absurd monogamy seemed to him; however, Woosung was speechless when he saw his friend consuming again.

"Emmy, what…?"

"I think they're knocking on the door. While you open, I'll clean this and go to the bathroom." 

************

Since Yoongi had to work late that night, he could only make it to the celebration quite late into the night. He would not miss it just because he had promised Emmy that he would accompany her and because he had given his word to Hobi that he would go; yet something about that party gave him a bad feeling. Jin and Namjoon's messages only confirmed what he believed. They both told him to hurry up because he was missing the best party of his life. And no wonder, Hobi was the life of the party, and as such, he planned quite a lively celebration. Moreover, Woosung had the money and friends to make it an unforgettable night.

Once at the party, Yoongi didn't even have time to suffer from his social anxiety, for the first thing he ran into was his girlfriend, who left him in total shock. Firstly, the girl looked gorgeous, and secondly, Yoongi had never seen her play the popular girl role better than she did that night. She spoke with everyone, laughed with everyone, toasted with many people, and did everything with such naturalness that anyone would buy it. In fact, she seemed to have no trace of the quiet, serious, vulnerable, and even melancholy girl who would come out in front of the piano or when she was alone with Yoongi.

The musician couldn't understand how that was the same person who hadn't eaten in days and who looked overly exhausted. How the hell did she manage to compose herself like that overnight? 

A big hug was not enough to greet the musician, who inevitably blushed due to the kiss that Emmy stole from him. The girl grabbed his hand and took him with her to where Jin, Namjoon, Nara, and Hobi were. Sitting next to each other, Yoongi smiled tenderly at Emmy and leaned closer to speak in her ear.

“You look gorgeous, freckles. Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm great!" She responded with a beautiful smile.

Hobi's joy that Yoongi had gone to his birthday led him to distract the musician more than once. Countless times the dancer would take Yoongi along with Namjoon and Jin. They all wanted him to enjoy that night like they did, so they didn't stop buying shots; also, taking advantage that the bar they were in had so many floors with different music, they took the musician on tours that ended with Jin and Namjoon talking to girls, Hobi dancing with strangers, and Yoongi laughing with new drinks in his hand. Due to this, Yoongi couldn't see the number of times Emmy “went to the bathroom” and come back with more energy. Yet, Woosung noticed it and tried to warn Emmy, but he failed caused of how euphoric she was. 

Getting to escape from his friends, Yoongi came back to look for his girlfriend and found her with a new group of people. One glance was enough for Yoongi to get an idea of them. Dressed in garments from the most exclusive and luxurious brands, this entire group exuded wealth; undoubtedly, they had been born with silver spoons in their mouths. However, that didn't catch Yoongi's attention, after all, he had gotten used to that by Emmy's side. What captured his attention was the air of debauchery that surrounded them.

Their leering eyes and evil smirks made it clear that they had lived and experienced more than anyone else at that party. Still, none of them looked like a young rookie who would lose control that simple.

Paying closer attention, Yoongi noticed that one of the girls who was talking to his girlfriend, and actually going with her to the bathroom, was the same one he had seen a while ago on another of the floors of the place. The girl tried to approach him to invite him to have a drink; however, Yoongi turned her down. She kept insisting, and even though Yoongi was patient, she annoyed him to the point that he had to tell her to leave him alone, which caused him to earn some rather nasty comments.

He decided to sit down and wait for Emmy to come back.

"Yoongs, there you are! The boys have hogged you all night." She joked sitting next to him. "How did you escape?"

"Namjoon insisted on Hobi drinking more shots and Jin was talking to Nara."

"Do you think they'll get back together?"

"I hope so, he doesn't stop talking about her. But who am I to judge? He says I'm always talking about you, and I think he's right." Emmy giggled as Yoongi interlaced his fingers with hers. 

Next to her diamond watch was a hand-braided man's bracelet Emmy had stolen from Yoongi since one of their first piano lessons. She never took it off and Yoongi couldn't help but find that cute. Yet, he could not comment on it, because thanks to the lights he was able to see Emmy's hand better and noticed how pale it was. He instantly raised his gaze to his girl's face and not even with the blush she was using she couldn't hide her paleness. Besides, he sensed how cold her hand was. What had happened? She wasn't like that before he went with the guys for the last time.

"Freckles you're freezing, do you want my jacket?"

"Freezing? That's weird, I don't feel any cold."

"Is that Emmy's boyfriend?" Jiyu, the girl who tried to hit on Yoongi, asked Woosung. She was the granddaughter of the directors of the most important broadcasting network in Korea.

“Hmhm…” The musician replied without wanting to go into much detail.

“Well, he's very handsome, but… who is he? His clothes are pretty basic, luckily he is hot." She commented laughing.

"Why do you want to know, Jiyu? Leave them alone, Emm's happy." The singer responded.

"I wanted to ask the same thing." Said another of the girls, who didn't hesitate to check Yoongi from head to toe. "I mean, I can see why she's dating him, but her boyfriend?" The young woman, heiress to an entire fashion empire, agreed with her friend's comment.

"Who are his parents?" This time was a man the one talking. He came from an important family whose political influence would intimidate anyone.

"I don't know," Woosung replied. “What a lame topic.”

"Lame?" The second girl asked ruining yet another attempt by Woosung to divert the conversation. “We're talking about Emm with a boyfriend, that's anything but boring. Come on, tell us a little more, you are closer to her."

"There's nothing to tell, just that she's happy with him."

"Are you telling me that SHE is gonna settle for a nobody?" The boy asked letting out a wry laugh.

"Hey! Don't be a jerk."

“Woosung, we say this for her own good! You're her friend, you should warn her what will happen if she goes out with someone like that. Emmy's beautiful and popular, but that doesn't exempt her from having to take care of her image. Can you imagine what everyone will say? While Seri's dating who will easily be the next prime minister, Emm's dating someone no one knows who he is." Jiyu wasn't that nasty, but she couldn't bear the idea that Yoongi had rejected her.

“Let her date whoever she wants. Why are we talking about something so serious TODAY? It's enough!" Woosung said, brushing the comments away with his hands and making them laugh. "Look, here comes Nara!" Woosung had never been more grateful to see his friend there.

Meanwhile, Emmy was introducing Yoongi to Woosung's band members. At first, she thought that her boyfriend would treat them with the same seriousness and coldness that he used the first time he met Woosung. Yet, it was rather the opposite, and soon the four of them were comfortably talking, they even made several jokes, for they would never imagine that that boy who looked so serious could be so nice. 

After a while, the original group regathered, it was about midnight, and they wanted to toast all together. However, Emmy was not even able to bring the glass to her lips, her pulse trembled uncontrollably from so much drug, so she ended up throwing the champagne at her and Yoongi, who tried to help her.

"Yoongi, I'm sorry!" Emmy's voice had risen unnecessarily as she tried to clean her boyfriend's shirt, but she cleaned everything except where Yoongi's shirt was OBVIOUSLY wet.

"It's okay, baby. It will dry up."

"I'm so sorry!" Emmy stood on her toes to hug him; however, she only got Yoongi to accidentally throw his glass while trying to push it away from her. "Oh, not again! Why am I this clumsy today?”

Namjoon, Jin, Hobi, and Nara thought that their friend had drunk too much, and they joked about it. On the other hand, something really strange happened. Yoongi and Woosung exchanged worried glances. They both knew that Emmy was not okay.

“Emm…” Yoongi whispered taking her hands before she bent down to pick up what was left of the cup. “My love, it's okay, you're not going to pick anything up, it's dangerous. Let's sit down for a while, okay?"

"Just let me go to the bathroom for a moment."

Before Nara could offer to accompany her, Emmy took her bag where she kept what was left of her drug. On the way to the bathroom, several people greeted her, but she did not pay attention to anyone, in her mind there was only being alone in the bathroom to be able to consume a little more.

However, shortly before reaching the bathroom, someone took her wrist, it was Woosung, who got close enough for her to hear him well. "Stop it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, you've been consuming for hours."

“Oh! Come on, Woosung! Drop it, this role doesn't fit you." 

“Emmy, don't be an idiot! Precisely because I’m the one telling you this you should listen and stop.”

"Why don't you get off my back?"

"Because you're stoned as fuck!"

From where he was sitting, Yoongi could see Woosung and Emmy talking. At first, he wanted to ignore the situation and not be bothered by his jealousy; but he couldn't and kept watching. After all, it seemed strange to him to see Woosung's face so serious.

"Move, Woosung."

"Honey, you're shaking, look at your hands."

"That's nothing." 

"Emmy, go sit down, you're gonna make a fool of yourself if you continue… Emm!" He tried to call, but the girl had left him talking to himself.

Woosung's warning should have been taken seriously, but Emmy was too stubborn and drugged to accept it. However, the pressure she felt on her chest after consuming that last time in the bathroom made her stop for a moment. She looked at the mirror and started to feel repulsed at herself. Yet, the drugs didn't let her think clearly, she couldn't even see well, her senses were so sharpened that the lights that surrounded the mirror began to make her dizzy.

“Shit…” she whispered, holding on to the sink and taking a deep breath.

She already knew what was happening to her, she had consumed too much, and her body was demanding her to stop. She tried to regulate her breathing, even wetting her face a little to react. She was scared, but it wasn't the first time it had happened to her, she knew she could handle it. What she didn't count on was someone else walking into the bathroom right during her breakdown.

Emmy's gasp wasn't enough expression for the shock it had on her to see a girl identical to her sister. According to Emm, the girl was the same height, the same platinum hair, and the same cold gaze. Emmy was convinced that she was her sister and that she had found her drugged in a bathroom. In other circumstances, Emm would have been able to see the HUGE difference between that girl and Seri. They looked a bit alike, but not enough to send her into that state of panic.

"Emm, are you alright?" The girl knew who Emmy was, as she was one of Woosung's many friends. She tried to get closer, but Emmy jerked away from her and ran out of the bathroom.

This time not only Woosung was near the bathroom, Yoongi was also there. The interaction between his girlfriend and the singer had made him uneasy; besides, Woosung gave him a look in which he was clearly asking the musician for help. 

Emmy came out of the bathroom so hysterical that she was practically running. She walked fast enough that Woosung couldn't stop her, and he was the one closest to her. She violently collided with a waiter who was carrying a huge box full of beer bottles on his shoulder. As expected, both Emmy and the waiter fell over. But that was not all, the box landed right on Jiyu's table, where she was talking with the rest of her group. Everything that happened next was chaotic, as the girl got her dress soaked in beer and she was madly making a whole scandal. The rest of the people were also enraged with the waiter, since the beers not only wet Jiyu's dress, but also their cellphones, wallets, and other belongings. 

Woosung quickly walked over to the table to calm down his friends while Yoongi picked up his girlfriend off the floor. Yet, the screams of Jiyu were out of control. The waiter could not do more than lower his head and accept all her humiliations, something that deeply annoyed Emmy and led her to let go of Yoongi's arms.

"Jiyu, stop yelling at him, it wasn't his fault."

"Emmy, stay out! You have no idea what this idiot just did! This dress is haute couture!”

“I already told you it wasn't his fault! I'll pay you back, but stop yelling at him. Can't you be less rude?"

"I don't need your charity, save it for your boyfriend." Jiyu replied.

Yoongi could swear that he had never seen a look like Emmy's at that moment, it was even worse than the one she had when she found out what had happened to Yoongi's songs.

Woosung's jaw dropped upon hearing that comment. He didn't like Yoongi, but he would never dare to say something like that; nonetheless, what impressed him even more was the musician's reaction. The first thing Yoongi did was to stand in front of Emmy and try to calm her down, if he let her, he knew that she was capable of making an even worse scene. Even with his pride hurt, Yoongi didn't think of him for a second.

"What did you say?!" Emmy asked Jiyu trying to move Yoongi.

"Freckles, listen to me! Calm down."

“I said save your charity work for people who need it. Who do you think you're dealing with, Emmy? How dare you offer money TO ME?”

"Don't you dare, Jiyu!" Emmy warned completely losing her temper and after fleeing from Yoongi, she slapped Jiyu with such rage that her hand was printed on Jiyu's cheek.

"Emmy!" Yoongi said a little louder as he grabbed her by the wrist. 

Things began to escalate quickly, soon Jiyu's friends had also gotten into the discussion, as well as Nara, who arrived in seconds to defend her friend.

Yoongi didn't want to hurt Emmy, so he tried to get her away from everything by gently pushing her, but Emmy got to slip away every time. On the other hand, Woosung walked away from Jiyu's friends, whom he was also trying to calm down, and totally unlike Yoongi, he pushed Emmy enough to make her stop.

"HEY!" Yoongi said, also changing his manner, but Woosung didn't let him say anything, for he spoke first.

“Get her out of here, if this becomes public, she'll be fucked up. Jiyu's family controls all the damn media, this is gonna be in the papers tomorrow if you don't get her out fast.” Woosung's concern was valid, but he had been late, for it was a fact that that drama would be out the next morning.

On any other day, and possibly on any other occasion, Yoongi wouldn't have listened to Woosung, and Woosung would definitely never have advised him, but that night was not the case. That night they both had the same purpose, so, as a tacit agreement, they worked together.

********

Finally at Yoongi's apartment...

“Why did you take me out like that?! Yoongi, unlock the door!”

“Emmy, you can try all night, I don't have a problem with it, but you're not gonna get it open. You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let you walk out of here and beat someone up AGAIN."

“Didn't you hear how they talked about you? Let me out, Yoongi!"

Yoongi was going to let his girlfriend continue fighting with the door, until a sob made him approach again. This time, the musician wrapped his arms around her and tried to make her forget what had happened.

"I'll never forget it, Yoongs, I won't forgive anyone who hurts you." As soon as she turned around, Yoongi smiled at her tenderly and wiped her tears with the back of his hand.

“Baby, it's okay, I don't care what they say. I'm not going to waste my time with people who need to offend others to feel superior. Do you think it's the first time? It won't be the last either, and you can't react like that. It's dangerous."

"Yes, I will, I'll fight any idiot who badmouths you."

"Freckles, please."

"Yoongi shut up, you're not going to change my mind."

“There are things that aren't worth it, like arguing with people like that. Are you actually going to make a scene every time we go out together and run into jerks? Baby, you must think about what will happen when your family…”

"You WON'T be in front of them ever."

The blunt way in which she responded made it abundantly clear to Yoongi where Emmy stood on the matter. Although the musician was very patient and willing to wait for their relationship to evolve at its pace, receiving that response was somewhat uncomfortable and even painful. He was normally very self-assured, but he couldn't help but think that maybe Emmy didn't want him mixed up with her family because of his socioeconomic status.

“Fine, it's good to know.”

"Wait... what are you thinking?" Yoongi not only kept silent, but he also walked away from his girlfriend and walked to his room. "Yoongs?"

"I'm gonna take a bath."

Sitting on the bed, Emmy waited until the musician got out of the shower. Yoongi's coldness when speaking to her was enough for the girl to beg him to listen to her and let her explain what she had meant.

“I just want to protect you from them, that's all. I don't want you to expose yourself to Seri's hostile comments or Dad's stares."

Yoongi remained silent, waiting for Emmy to elaborate a little more for a change, but the girl was still under the influence of drugs and the only image that her brain kept reproducing was that of the girl just like Seri in the bathroom. Maybe if she consumed a little more… maybe just a little more would help her see things more clearly and be able to converse with Yoongi. But deep down, she knew that consuming a little more would mean she was one step away from overdosing. Had it been a mistake to return to Korea? Should she have stayed on Capri and spared Yoongi all that confusion and distress? How was she going to defend him from her family when she hadn't even been able to defend herself?

And there it was… again the migraine, but this time stronger.

"What do you have?" Yoongi asked as he noticed how she winced while digging her nails into her bedcover. "Emm?"

"My head"

“Wait, I have some pills that…”

"No, no, no pills." Emmy was afraid that mixing one more substance would cause her to lose what little control she had left. "I'll go home and rest."

"No!" Yoongi stopped her even before she was on her feet. "You're not leaving like this, look at you!"

Her heart was beating dangerously fast, she had not noticed it before due to the rush of adrenaline resulting from her meeting with "Seri" and the discussion at the bar. But now that she was in a calmer place and she was more aware of her body, she noticed that her heart rate had increased.

 "My love, what do you have, what do you feel?" Yoongi asked seriously worried and remembering Woosung's concerned look when the girl entered the bathroom for the last time. "Talk to me."

The pain in her head was joined by some difficulty in breathing. That couldn't be happening, not in front of Yoongi, she couldn't put him through something like that, she had to calm down no matter what.

“Emmy” Yoongi called a little louder and trying to figure out what she needed him to do. That's how he glimpsed that she was trying to pull down her zipper dress, something he helped her with. "Better?" he asked after helping her into one of his t-shirts and laying her down.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yoongi was carefully taking care of her; however, it was also impossible for her to fall asleep, because no matter how bad she felt, she wanted to clarify something first.

“Letting you have contact with my family is… it'd be safer to enter into a crocodile pit. I'd love things to be different, nothing would make me happier than taking you home, and introducing you to my parents as my boyfriend, but it's not possible, I'm not gonna do something like that to you."

Since the last discussion, Emmy had been gathering enough courage to tell Yoongi everything from her family problems to her addictions. Maybe that's why she had succumbed to drugs with such intensity in recent days. She was more than aware of how risky it would be to say all that to Yoongi, but despite wanting to do it, fear kept silencing her and it was not a good time to fight it.

She couldn't force herself like that, talking about these topics was equivalent to a very intense effort and impressions that her body definitely couldn't bear that night. In fact, she wasn't even able to continue talking to her boyfriend when she had already fallen asleep.

The next morning, Emmy woke up first, it was barely dawn when her anxiety made her get out of bed. She still did not feel fully recovered, but the crisis had passed.

She stealthily left Yoongi's room and found that Jin's door was open, apparently, the actor hadn't come to sleep. The living room continued as she and Yoongi had left it the night before, and sitting down on a couch, Emmy thought about what she would do next.

No matter how much she thought about it, she kept coming to the same two conclusions. Her first option would be to face her reality, share her secrets with Yoongi, and pray that the musician didn't hate her. The second option was to stop fighting and return to Capri. There, everything would be easier, she would be away from her family, away from the people she could hurt with her actions. Maybe it was the right time to leave before she hurt Yoongi more.

But was she capable of doing something like that?

“Did the headache come back?” a voice asked. Emmy hadn't realized that no matter how stealthy she tried to be, Yoongi woke up and after a few seconds, he went after her. "We need to do something about it, freckles." He took a blanket from the other couch and placed it over Emmy's shoulders. Next, he approached her and kissed her forehead.

She had no more doubts, no matter how painful and difficult it was, she had already made her decision. "Yoongs, we need to talk." Staring her eyes at the musician's, Emmy wanted to record that image forever, if that was going to be the last time they talked, the last time Yoongi saw her with that love, she never wanted to forget it.

Until that moment, Yoongi hadn't felt a few seconds as devilishly long as those in which he looked anxiously at his girl, waiting for her to start talking. But if he was having a hard time waiting, she felt that her world was falling apart. But she had made her decision, she had to stick to it.

➳ Next Chapter: soon 🐱

[capricornwriter5]

Obsessed with these last shots of Suga 🖤

[capricornwriter5]

OUR SEESAW - Chapter 14

Pairing: Min Yoongi x female OC

Genre: idol au, Suga X female OC, smut, fluff, angst, college romance, friends to lovers, exes to lovers, happy ending. ⚠️Warning: mentions of mental health affections, drugs, explicit sex

Words: 4k

➳ Prev. Chapter

Chapter 14 - Blue & Gray

The next morning, the couple had coffee together and left the house at the same time. Yoongi had to work, and Emmy needed to talk to her professors to justify the absences for those days. Though she couldn't care less about her academic life, shaming her family name by failing courses was not an option. Moreover, she was planning to meet Hoseok and take care of an even more important business.

After successful meetings with all her professors, Emmy hung out with the dancer, who nearly fell off his chair when he saw his friend enter the university dining room. They had met up after Hobi's dance rehearsal. To Emmy's surprise, Nara was also there. The girls hadn't seen each other for some time because she had gone to visit her family in Japan.

"Hobi... what the hell happened to her?" Nara whispered as Emmy was getting closer.

"Nara!" Emmy's greeting stopped the two dancers from talking further.

Even though Emm hugged her as fondly as always, Nara seemed to remain in shock. Hoseok was exactly the same as her, for although he was afraid of how Emmy could return from Italy, he did not picture her in those lamentable conditions. Yet, he ignored that her state was not only the consequence of Capri, but also of her conversation with Yoongi last night. 

“Emm, honey, is everything alright? Have you had any sleep? Your eyes look irritated." Nara was not able to completely hide her concern.

“I haven't slept properly these last days, but I'm feeling a little better now.”

Meanwhile, Hobi was trying to keep the conversation in a safe zone for as long as possible. However, sooner or later he would ask her about her family reunion. "And... what about Yoongi? You just came back, have you seen him yet?" 

The memory of the conversation with her boyfriend prevented the typical smile she always showed when thinking about Yoongi from appearing. “Yeah, he visited me last night and even made me something to eat."

“Did you guys argue? Normally, when you talk about him you turn into a heart, but not today…” Nara remarked.

"No! Yoongi's not the type to argue.”

"So…?"

“I wish I could have spent more time with him, that's all. I need to wait until tomorrow to see him again because of work."

"I have an idea! Since you are free tonight, how does a girls' night sound to you?”

Emmy cheered up as soon as she heard that, and before Nara had to go to class, the girls arranged to see each other at night.

Once Hobi and Emmy were alone, the dancer suggested to go for a walk, the student cafeteria had gotten too crowded and the voices of all the people at the same time were getting annoying. The university was so big that they quickly choose where to sit and talk quietly.

"Finally some silence. Now tell me, how did you manage to survive Seri?”

“I did the usual thing, trying to stay out of her way, but no such luck this time. I was an idiot and spoke when I didn't have to. The others were talking about a pretty big case and Seri had already said what to do, I don't know why the hell I had to open my big mouth and give my opinion. I could've just said that she was right…”

"There's nothing wrong with you talking, you're as much a partner as she is."

"Hobi, please. You know how minimally relevant my voice is to those people, especially during meetings... In short, she became enraged and well…”

"Did she bully you again?" Emmy shrugged her shoulders without wanting to go into too many details, her sister's words had been especially sour that day to want to remember them. "At least it's over now, change that face." Hobi said trying to cheer her up. “Yoongi told me that you visited some friends. Did you go to Capri?"

"Yes, I stopped by to say hello." She responded avoiding the dancer's gaze.

“Did you stop by to say hi for a whole week?”

"Hobi, please, not today."

Strangely, a deathly silence surrounded Emmy and Hobi, two people who never shut up when they were together. It was so weird for both of them, that Hobi cleared his throat and tried to make a joke about his new haircut, but seeing that his friend didn't even smile, he knew something else was up.

"Are you okay? Emm, it's been a long time since I saw you this discouraged, and as painful as it’s to see your sister, you don't usually react this way, you... please don't take this the wrong way, but you've never looked like this before."

“It's not because of Seri, it's Yoongi. I hurt him yesterday, Hobi. I try, I swear I try to talk to him about things that aren't easy for me, but words just don't come out. It's so fucking frustrating. What will happen when Yoongi finds out that my father and sister hate me? I mean… what kind of person does her own family hate?”

“You aren't to blame for what happened at your house and Yoongi will tell you the same. Talk to him, maybe if you hear it from him, you'll understand, Emm."

"I'm not the one to blame? Hobi..."

“Emmy, your mother suffered a very severe depression that…”

“That I caused. As much as it hurts to admit it, Seri has reasons to despise me. My birth changed everything at home, mom suffered postpartum depression from which she could never recover and now the only way for her not to hurt herself is for her to be sedated all day. Can you imagine how much it must have hurt my sister and my father to see that change? I still don't understand how my grandfather didn't hate me too."

“Because he understood that it was NOT your fault. Emmy, your father and your grandfather sought help and they still couldn't help your mom. If Seri didn't want to understand that isn't your fault either. Maybe if you talked to Yoongi about this, he'd…”

"Hobi, stop, please."

*****

Emm's appearance also struck Woosung. In the afternoon, the girl left class and then went to the studio where Woosung and his band practiced. Despite hearing the last of the rehearsal, she managed to go slightly unnoticed by the boys, but not by the singer. 

Once alone, Woosung dropped his first comment. “You know that I always tell you that you're stunning, but today… Emmy, today you look terrible. Girl, are you sick?"

"I swear to you if I get one more comment about how I look, I'm gonna lose my shit." Her bad temper was rising not only because of the comments, but also because of an annoying headache. "I haven't slept well, but that's not the point, I want to talk to you about something important."

"Something important? Then, let's talk tomorrow, beautiful, you just came from Capri, get some rest. Nobody can resist that without a decent rest." 

“Woosung, focus.” She asked sounding more serious than usual. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Okay... I'm all yours." He replied with a smirk and seductively leaning back in an armchair.

Emmy ignored the playful and flirtatious nature of her best friend and although Woosung was quite surly the moment he understood that it was about Yoongi, he listened. That was how the girl told him about the songs, about Yoongi's old friends, and his current situation.

As soon as Emmy started with the story, Woosung knew who she was talking about, yet his pride and jealousy towards Yoongi kept him quiet. 

“Woo, this is important. We're talking about his lifelong work. You're not a bad person, I know that if it's in your hands to help someone, you do it. You don't like him, but he's telling the truth, I'm sure of it."

"You're right, he's not lying." Woosung blurted out, he couldn't stand the fact that he was admitting that Yoongi was right. “Those musicians you're talking about, his friends… I knew them from some time ago and they weren't good. I even remember when they sent some songs to the label that I had signed with. They were all rejected. After that, they worked with other people, your boyfriend included, and they weren't doing that bad. I found it strange when they sent music to my agency again, not only because the songs only went under the names of the two of them, but because they were really, really good. That music and those lyrics were not their style. If you pay attention to those old songs and the new ones they had released, you won't find any similarities. Those guys have no idea how to compose good music, but they have talented people working by their side. I know it because I've collaborated with them.

“Yoongi’s not convinced to sue them, but…”

“He’s not stupid, Emm, he's right to think that way, he has everything to lose. We're talking about some big fish, they're a gold mine to the agency."

"They're still using Yoongi's music! That's not fair!"

"Baby, they may be thieves, but clever ones. They are surrounded by important people, if you compare that with Yoongi, who hasn't even wanted to accept help from the professors, you'll understand that he has the odds to lose. You study law, you know what will happen if he doesn't have enough help."

"Woosung, you can change that."

“Me giving a testimony? ME in court helping that jerk? No, that's not gonna happen."

“Don't you have any trace of honor as a musician? What about your dignity as an artist?"

"Don't cross the line." The singer warned raising his eyebrows. "How the hell am I supposed to change that? In case you don't remember, my agency is SHIT, I've also been scammed several times, and I haven't been able to do anything. I'm on lousy terms with the directors, if I open my mouth, it's all over for me and my band."

“What about the first songs they sent to the label, the songs where it was just the two of them? The difference between those and the ones that were stolen from Yoongi could be key. There must be a way! I know they're important but such as you!"

"Of course, but those guys are generating a lot of income, Emm, the double of my band."

The girl got up and walked around the room thinking about what to do. Ever since Yoongi had told her about it, she had been trying to come up with something, but it wasn't easy at all.

“Shit…” Emm murmured as she felt how the headache was becoming a migraine.

At that point, she wasn't even sure what was triggering it anymore, the poor diet, the few hours of sleep, the abstinence of the last two days, or not having been able to figure out how to help Yoongi. “There must be a way. I'm sure your testimony would change many things!”

“Emmy, chill! What's wrong with you? You're hands are shaking!"

 "What's wrong with ME!? This is important and you could do something if you didn't have this fucking selfish attitude."

Woosung was about to suggest seeking advice from one of her family's lawyers on how to proceed; however, her friend did not let him speak and did something that was not common for her. She stormed off without saying goodbye.

"What the hell is wrong with her..."

************

Three days passed in which the migraine did not give Emmy a break, it did not let her eat well, rest, concentrate on her classes or, even worse, think about how to help her boyfriend.

Although they had got to meet in college, something that hadn't happened in a while, Yoongi didn't see her as excited as he expected. Evidently, his girl was depressed and tired, which led her to walk distractedly. Possibly that would have continued if it hadn't been for a poster at the entrance to the university auditorium that made her stop.

"Yoongs, look," she said, pointing to the poster of the invitation to what, without a doubt, was the most important piano concert of the year, the spring recital organized by the university.

It was a tradition that the best pianists participated in it. The university even received applications from musicians from all over the world, knowing that it was the perfect time for talent scouts to sign them. It was the dream of any pianist, but it was not that simple to enter, the participants not only had to pass the auditions, but they also must be recommended by someone renowned, it could be a professor or another influential musician. On highly exceptional occasions, the pianists were invited by the organization itself, which had been the case with Yoongi the previous year; yet, he was aiming higher, not just to be a pianist, so he ended up turning down the offer.

“My grandfather and I went to all the spring concerts together. The last one we could attend was my favorite, I still have the tickets. Would you like to go?"

The boy looked at the date and somewhat discouraged had to decline the invitation. The recital would be on a Friday and those used to be the most difficult days since the bar received many clients. "There's still time for you to sign up for the auditions."

"Yoongi, please!" Emm chortled. “In a parallel world where I pass them, who'd recommend me? I can't sign up without first having the support of someone from the organizing committee or another renowned pianist. Also, can you imagine what would happen if my father found out that I participated in something like that?

"We could find a solution for that if that's what you want to do." He commented winking at her.

Yoongi knew that his girlfriend dreamed about it, that it was a unique opportunity, and that it would be the ideal first step that she needed, but Emmy was afraid of what she might go through.

To Emmy's surprise, Yoongi grabbed her face not caring if the people nearby saw them. The musician was very sweet when they were alone, but even so, he was not especially affectionate. Normally, she was the one hugging him, kissing him, holding his hand, tickling him… everything that had to do with physical affection used to come from Emmy. Therefore, seeing him with such an expression of endearment in a public place was not common.

“Princess, you can do it. If you participated, you'd leave everyone open-mouthed; besides, the professors will get to know you, and…”

“Why do I want them to know me? Yoongs, I'm not gonna dedicate myself to that."

“You can do it, you have all the talent, and it makes you happy. Why not give it a try?"

Dedicate to music? Spend her days in front of the piano? She had never allowed herself to dream of something that perfect. Emmy could lead a riotous life, yes, but only when she wasn't playing her role of the perfect high-society girl. Unlike what anyone would think, Emm was much less bold than her boyfriend, so just thinking about the reaction of her father and her sister, her dream ended before it began.

"Think about it, freckles." Yoongi suggested as he tenderly caressed her cheek.

Yoongi's display of affection did not go unnoticed at all by the students passing by. If it hadn't been for the fact that they had already turned to see Emmy there, they had done so when they saw the musician. Both were quite well known at the university, for completely different reasons, of course, but there was no doubt that they were people who did not go unnoticed, much less now that they were dating.

"Yoongs..." Emmy whispered noticing the curious looks.

Yoongi followed Emm's gaze, and noticing what was happening, he laughed in such a way that he left several people drooling over him due to the combination between the smirk, the raised left eyebrow, and the way he took his girlfriend by the hip.

“Oh no… what shall we do now?" Yoongi asked dangerously close to his girlfriend's lips and with such a raspy voice that Emmy could do anything else but listen to him. "Everyone will be talking about you dating the bitter and unfriendly musician…”

Yoongi sighed in relief as he heard an honest laugh coming from Emm's lips, finally seeing her recover her good humor.

"Baby! Who told you that? You are not a bitter musician!”

Emmy got that serious and mysterious boy to giggle at the way she covered his face with sweet kisses. He had already gotten used to those explosive expressions of love from Emm, which, despite being so foreign to his normal behavior, he loved, he couldn't deny it, and if he did, it was just to tease her.

Later that night at Yoongi's apartment, the couple had dinner with Jin.

"Can I eat the last piece of meat?"

“That's weird, I cooked enough meat for all of us." Yoongi commented looking that, indeed, there was still a piece of meat left, as well as several vegetables. There was no way that it was Jin who left them, and just looking at his girlfriend's plate, he understood. "Emm, aren't you going to eat?"

Yoongi's question took Emmy out of her world, the girl had been reading the script of a play in which Jin was participating.

"No, Yoongs, I'm not hungry."

“Even if you're not hungry, you never say no to something Yoongi cooked. Are you okay?" Jin asked really alarmed, for him it was unthinkable that someone would reject food from his friend, it was delicious.

"I love what Yoongi cooks, but I'm not hungry, come on, eat it yourself, and then tell me how your play ends."

“There's no way I'll tell you that. I have tickets for you two, you must come to see me. Front row tomorrow. You can't say no." Jin warned pointing at his friend with the chopsticks. "The tickets are for a function in an hour when you don't work, so you have no excuse."

"Do I really have to go?" Yoongi asked sighing, he knew it wasn't just going to see Jin, later he would ask him to go eat with his friends and lately Yoongi's social battery was really low.

"Yes, you have to go. It's important to Jin." Emmy replied. I'll take many pictures of you and then I'll upload them so everyone will come to see the attractive new actor.”

“Why can't you be like your girlfriend, huh? Look how she cheers me! Hey, Emm, can you introduce me to some of your friends later?”

"Weren't you dating Nara?"

“Dating isn't a word you can use around Jin. He saw her a couple of times, nothing more."

"It wasn't my decision, it was hers." The actor tried to clear it up with a mouth full of food and then begged Emmy to introduce him to at least one of her model friends.

Dinner continued and despite they talked for a long time with Jin, Emm didn't take a single bite of what Yoongi had served her.

Even more strange was the fact that when they finished with the class, Emmy was looking for her things to leave. She was always looking for a way to spend more time with her boyfriend, she made up the most absurd excuses to be by his side; yet, that night when the musician was about to tell her to go to his room, Emm took her coat.

"Are you cold, baby?" Yoongi asked approaching her and hugging her, the idea that she wanted to leave did not cross his mind. Somewhat nervous, Emmy tried to explain that she had quite a big task pending and that she had to hand in it the next day. Uneasy about leaving her alone, Yoongi insisted that she stay a little longer, hopefully, he would get her to spend the night there.

As expected, Emmy couldn't deny anything the musician asked of her and soon they were in Yoongi's bed having sex. The boy wasted no time in hugging her. For a while, Emmy did nothing but close her eyes, hug him back, and enjoy the feel of Yoongi's hands running down her back to her neck, then caressing the long strands of her hair. 

“You skipped a meal again…” commented the musician. "You're making me think you don't like the way I cook that much."

“Yoongi, don't say that again! I love everything you do. I have no appetite, possibly because of the migraine.”

"Has it not eased? Baby, you have three days like this. Haven't you felt anything else?" Anything else? That fell short! The anxiety brought on by her withdrawal was slowly killing her. "Wait for me here, I'll go to the drugstore to get you something." 

“Yoongs, it's okay, don't worry. It's nothing serious, it's happened to me before. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow."

"But…"

"Tomorrow I'll be better, I promise."

Although later Yoongi made sure to leave her in the safety of her house, he was quite uneasy. The musician could bet she would not eat or properly sleep again. Nevertheless, to his surprise, the next night when they met for Jin's play, he saw Emm with a lot of energy, as if she had rested, even as if she had eaten well. He heard her laugh with Hobi, who, along with Namjoon, had gone to see Jin. During dinner, the girl ate normally and was excitedly planning the dancer's birthday. The celebration sounded like a big thing, especially because Hobi's and Woosung's birthdays were very close, so they would have a single party.

Despite so much energy, enthusiasm, and excitement, Yoongi felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what the hell it was. As if that wasn't enough, he did not feel comfortable in the place where they had dinner. There were too many people, the music was very loud and that, plus the noise made by all those who came to greet his girlfriend, made him quite awkward. There were days when Yoongi could force himself to keep up with Emmy's pace and at least flash a smile to the people who came up to say hello to the girl, but that day Emmy's popularity was proving to be more than incompatible with Yoongi's social anxiety.

Even under the drugs' effects Emmy couldn't ignore a trace of discomfort in her boyfriend, but she already knew him well enough to know how to approach the situation. Thus, taking advantage of the fact that Hobi was distracting some friends by introducing them to Jin and Namjoon, the girl took her boyfriend's hand and asked him to accompany her outside.

Once outside the restaurant and without being surrounded by so many people, Emmy hugged him and kissed his cheek, which helped Yoongi relax a bit.

“Okay…we're done seeing Jin and hanging out with Hobi while he plans his party. Ready to go home?"

“Emm, you don't have to because of me. I don't want you to feel like you have to change your lifestyle for me." Yoongi smiled sweetly at her and tucked behind her ear a lock of hair that had come loose from the bow she had made. “You look beautiful, and I'm glad you're having such a good time, you've been a little down since you came from Italy. Stay a little longer, it's still early."

Emmy looked down, again her guilt was punishing her. She wasn't used to that, she wasn't used to hurting someone with her actions at all, much less when it was something as normal for her as doing drugs.

Just as she was about to respond, a car stopped on the other side of the street, and they both saw Woosung getting out of it with several friends. The group greeted Emmy and entered after Woosung told them that he would catch up with them shortly.

The two musicians looked at each other coldly and Emmy sighed, resigned that there was no way for them to be in the same place without making it terribly uncomfortable. But to her surprise...

"Hello, Woosung." Yoongi greeted offering his hand. The singer received it, but his greeting was only a slight nod. "You're just in time, Hobi's planning the birthday party." Yoongi was forcing himself so they could have a civil enough conversation.

"Oh! Then I better come in or we'll end up celebrating in a dance class.”

"Freckles, why don't you go back with Woosung?" The singer would have bet his life that he had misheard, and that Yoongi hadn't told Emmy to go with him; however, he had said it. Yoongi wasn't lying, and if he had told his girlfriend that he was going to try to be more polite with Woosung to avoid problems, it was because he would comply even if it cost him a lot.

Leaning closer, Emmy hugged him again and whispered something in his ear that made Yoongi's cheeks turn into an adorable blush.

"Well..." he said nervously scratching his neck, still somewhat shy from the comment and the peck Emmy just stole him. "I'm leaving... enjoy."

The quick shy but sweet smile that Yoongi gave Emmy, followed by the effort he made to say goodbye to Woosung, left the girl gawking at him as she watched him leave.

"Okay, let's go inside." Woosung proposed trying to take her friend's hand, but he didn't even touch it when Emmy shook her head.

"See you later, Woo."

The singer's jaw dropped as he watched his best friend run up to Yoongi and grab his hand. That shy, adorable, quiet, and introverted boy had completely stolen her heart. Yoongi loved her so much that he was able to ignore his jealousy and resentment toward Woosung. For her part, she didn't have to think twice, there was no place that she would rather be than anywhere Yoongi was.

"Emm?" He asked, surprised to see her next to her. “Precious, what…?”

"Do you want to go home with me?"

“But, the party, your friends…”

“Yoongs, did you know there's something I've dreamed of all my life, but I thought I'd never have? Not until recently..." She asked totally lost in his cat-like shaped eyes. "I've always dreamed of having a have a place to go, of knowing how it feels to have someone waiting for me. And with you, I have that. I know I don't tell you this enough, but YOU are what I've always dreamed of, baby.”

Yoongi was taken by surprise by Emmy's words. Once again, the girl gave him no warning before causing his heart to pound uncontrollably. His girlfriend was turning out to be increasingly unpredictable; no matter how much time passed, her kisses, her smiles, and her comments always caught Yoongi off guard. And one of the reasons why he felt so in love with her was precisely because of that magic that came from her.

That night, contrary to what usually happened to him, Yoongi found the right words to respond as he wanted.

"Emm..." He said, delicately cupping her face. “I've never allowed myself to dream much. In fact, I used to wake up before I could even dream long enough to remember, but dreams last longer since I met you. And if I can continue seeing you in them, I don't want them to ever end."

Later that night, the couple lay comfortably in Emmy's huge bed, both naked and breathless. Yoongi hadn't even tried to fight off sleep and had closed his eyes as soon as he'd rested his head on his girlfriend's chest. In those moments when there was nothing but Emmy's hands playing with his hair Yoongi couldn't draw a clear line between reality and dream, being like that with her was the best thing that could happen to him.

However, his girl didn't let him rest and woke him up when she giggled, according to her softly, but being so close to her, Yoongi listened.

"Hmm... what's so funny?" He asked still not opening her eyes.

"You're always talking about how much you like my freckles, but I bet you haven't realized you have the most adorable mole ever."

“A mole? Me?”

“Right here…” she replied, brushing the tip of the musician's nose with her index finger. An adorable blush graced Yoongi's cheeks at Emmy's compliment, causing her to hug him even tighter.

Definitely, the time she spent with Yoongi had no comparison, and that night the girl managed to rest comfortably in his arms.

In the following days, Yoongi didn't hear her complain about the migraine and he saw her with much more energy. It seemed that she was getting on her feet, although such an abrupt change only led to turning on all the musician's alarms. That couldn't be normal… however, the only option left to him was to wait for Emmy to feel comfortable to talk.

To be continued... 🐱

[capricornwriter5]

Happy birthday to the hottest and sweetest shy cat EVER. 💜💜