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lana
potential haechan solo alert come back to us queen of sunflowers đđ
- ccsa anon đ«¶
WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!! IVE BEEN SURVIVING OFF 82 PRESSIN FOR SO LONG LETS GOOOOOOOO đđđ
does this mean youâll finally convert back to being a haechan stan and leave jeno behindđ§ââïž
also wait does this mean i actually need to work on this haechan fic collecting dust in my drafts đâ
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lana omg i just graduated high school!!!!!! im officially out but soso stressed abt uni bc i've been accepted to so many places but never have a gpod enough scholarship or just afford it in general đđ im so confused and frustrated bc i have the passion just not the money and it ENRAGES me đđđđđ
do you have any tips for me to maybe get a good scholarship somewhere? literally anywhere in the world lol
btw im soso soery for the sudden sad/trauma dump this has been on my mind for months now GRAAHHH ANW LOVE U HON BYE I MISS YOUUU đđđ
- ccsa anon đ«Ąđ«Ąđ«Ąđ«Ą
AHHHHHHHHH HOLY SHIT CONGRATULATIONS, MY LOVE!!!!! đđ„łđđ„č IâM SO SO SO SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!
i canât believe itâs been so long omg i feel like a proud mother đ© thatâs so amazing that you got accepted to so many unis and i expect nothing less đ

but iâm sorry that you arenât able to go bc of financial difficulties :(((( iâm afraid i wonât be much help bc i live in a state that will pay for you to attend uni if you go to a local one so that helped me a lot. you should definitely check and see if you have something similar being offered wherever youâre based as well (if you are interested in attending a local college).
i would also check whichever uni youâre interested in and see if they offer foundation scholarships!! one of my professors was on the board for foundation scholarships at my uni and she said barely any people ever apply for them!
either way youâre gonna succeed no matter where you go so donât feel too stressed! i miss you a lot too, and thank you for the update đ„° i always check my inbox for you đ«¶
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AITA for setting my cheating ex's car on fire? (and then falling for his cousin)
pairing: firefighter!haechan x reader
genre: fluff
word count: 8.6k
synopsis: revenge is best served coldâor on fire. literally.
authorâs note: luvpuffcore is finally back!! ilysm cat and moon and thank you for another amazing year of friendship <333 i truly am the #1 most successful fan of all time đ€© also special shoutout to cat for letting me use some of her creepy dms and moon for sharing her league knowledge yall are god's strongest soldiers fr !! happy new year, my loves âšđđ
warning(s): mentions/threats of violence, sexual jokes, y/n commits arson but in a girly pop way (pls don't try this at home), character assassination of mark
playlist: get him back! by olivia rodrigo â is it new years yet? sabrina carpenter â drinks or coffee by rosĂ© â risk by gracie abrams â mastermind by taylor swift
additional: check out a nonsense christmas: reddit edition collab!
r/AmITheAsshole
u/justgirlythings-arson119 âą 3d
AITA for setting my cheating exâs car on fire? (and then falling for his cousin)
I (24F) caught my boyfriend cheating on me with a discord kitten he met on League of Legends two days before our anniversary. I proceeded to have the biggest crash out ever known to man, bought a gallon of gasoline, went to his house in the middle of the night, and lit his car on fire. I had completely forgotten his cousin was a firefighter in the area, and he showed up at the scene, which hindered my masterful plan a little bit. Luckily, my ex didnât press any charges though because no way in hell heâs going to admit he has a discord kitten in a court of law. Anyways, the next day, my ex groveled and begged me to go to his familyâs Christmas party with him so that he could save face in front of his mommy. Long story shortâletâs just say it didnât go well. His cousin ended up driving me home, and I think maybe Iâve fallen for him?Â
℣ 9.8k ℄ 1,439 Comments
mcballs-im-lovin-it0323 âą 2d YTA for not crashing out even harder bc i woulda slept with his entire bloodline if he played in my face like that đââïž
℠Reply ℣ 2.8k ℄
picklepounder1010 âą 1d wouldâve had him calling me mama, papa, auntie, uncle, grandma, grandpa etc fr đ© ℠℣ 943 â„„
god-of-donuts0423 âą 1d YTA for dating a lol player
℠Reply ℣ 1.1k ℄
goonknight1027 ⹠5h no way this post is about that twink lol streamer ℠℣ 629 ℄
part one | oh, i wanna key his carâŠor light it ablaze?
onyourmark 12/1/2024 3:03 PM heyyy u play lol too đ
onyourmark 12/1/2024 3:05 PM im a yasuo main đ
onyourmark 12/1/2024 3:10 PMwhat kinda asian are u
onyourmark 12/1/2024 3:10 PMwhatchu look like
onyourmark 12/1/2024 3:10 PMsorry was that too much đđđ
Your best friend, Rosie, has to put your phone down and take a few deep breaths. âI think Iâm going to throw up.â
âKeep going. You havenât even seen the worst of it,â you respond through a mouthful of strawberry ice cream, completely deadpan.Â
onyourmark 12/7/2024 6:21 AM ahh đđ
onyourmark 12/7/2024 6:22 PM *kisses you*
onyourmark 12/12/2024 5:39 PM can i tell U something weird :3 đ
onyourmark 12/12/2024 5:40 PM[Audio Message]
onyourmark 12/12/2024 5:39 PMi wrote this rap about my feelings for y baby girl
onyourmark 12/12/2024 5:39 PMbecause uve been such a good gril for me
onyourmark 12/12/2024 5:57 PM holy fck holy dcking fck that body of urs is absurd
Rosie covers her mouth with her hand, closing her eyes in a grimace. âNo way he copied Adam Levine unironically.âÂ
âKeep going.â
onyourmark Yesterday at 1:20 AMwhen can i see u
onyourmark Yesterday at 1:20 AM ill be free after christmas
onyourmark Yesterday at 1:20 AM after annyign fam stuff đđđ
Every message Rosie reads feels like another sucker punch in your gut and your ego, but you just dig your spoon into the tub of ice cream with even more force and let her keep going. Every time you blink, you feel dried up mascara flaking off your eyelashes and getting stuck in the dried tears and snot on your cheeks.Â
ââAnnoying fam stuff?â Is he talking about your anniversary?â Rosie demands.
Yes, your anniversary with your now ex-boyfriend, Mark Lee, is on Christmas. You used to think it was romantic. What a goddamn idiot you were.Â
âAt least he called me family,â you reply wryly, a hysterical laugh rattling in your chest like a wet cough.Â
Rosie shakes her head and hands your phone back to you. âI canât read any more of this. Iâm going to be sick. I thought Discord mods and Discord kittens were just memes. I canât believe people like him actually exist.âÂ
You just shrug.
âWhere the hell is he now?â She crosses her arms.Â
âProbably at his parentsâ house. Theyâre on a ski trip, and they wonât be back until tomorrow,â you sigh, getting a headache thinking about how you were going to explain this to Markâs parents.Â
âGood. Change the locks on your door before he tries to come crawling back. Heâs done mooching off you,â Rosie huffs.Â
âYou were right,â you state matter-of-factly, âThat he was just a jobless bum loser whoâs a mommaâs boy.âÂ
She looks guilty, leaning over and giving you a hug. âIâm sorry, Y/N.âÂ
You think about the time you first met Mark, when the two of you were just starry-eyed freshmen in college together. He was so awkward and shy that it took almost an entire semester for him to finally look you in the eye. He followed you around like a sad puppy and would get flustered at any prolonged amount of attention you gave him. After about three years of him being hopelessly in love with you and unable to work up the courage to ask you out, you finally decided to give him a chance in your final year of college. It was a white Christmas, and you remember his trembling hands holding your face, freezing cold fingertips brushing your cheeks, and how red his nose was when he leaned in to kiss you. He looked at you as if you were a goddess that was put on this Earth purely for him to worship.Â
Maybe thatâs why you moved in together with him when the two of you graduated, even when he was unemployed and you supported him financially. Maybe thatâs why you smiled and nodded when he told you he wanted to try being a Twitch streamer. Maybe thatâs why you gifted him his first microphone for his setup, or baked him a cake when he finally got his first viewer (even though it was actually a secret account that you made in order to boost his confidence). Maybe thatâs why you never complained when he started skipping out on dates (sometimes even your birthday) in favor of growing his audience, or when he bought you extravagant gifts like jewelry or designer clothes without any clue of your preference or size. Maybe thatâs why you chose to ignore the churning feeling in the pit of your stomach when you noticed his eyes starting to drift towards anything but you.
Maybe you were always the one who worshipped him.Â
Itâs almost comical how easily almost a decade of your life has gone down the drainâand all it took was a couple of laughing emojis. In the end, the one who loves more is always the one who loses the most.Â
You gave up your best years to Mark Lee, and yet you seemed to have run out of tears to cry for this man.Â
Instead, all you have left now is pure, unbridled rage boiling inside of you. Itâs the kind of anger that needs to simmer firstâthe kind that manifests first as a calm indifference before it finally bubbles over into a complete meltdown. But youâll be damned before you set fire to your mental health and personal belongings that you worked tooth and nail for over a man who ruined your life.Â
So, youâve decided to set fire to something else.Â
âRosie,â you say softly, your voice chillingly serene. âIâm going to set his car on fire.âÂ
Rosie laughs. âWant me to be your getaway driver?âÂ
âNo, I wouldnât want to implicate you,â you respond smoothly. âBesides, I want him to know that Iâm the one who did it.âÂ
She looks at you for a moment, trying to decide if youâre joking or not. âAre you sure youâre okay?âÂ
âYes. I donât have the energy to care about him anymore,â you answerâonly a half lie. âYou should go now. I know you have a late shift tonight.âÂ
Rosie gives you another tight squeeze. âCall me if you need anything, okay? Iâm off this weekend, so we should go get drunk off our asses.âÂ
After she leaves, you slowly get up and make your way to the bathroom. You wash your face in the sink, scrubbing on the gunk off, and apply a fresh layer of makeup. If youâre going to do this, youâre going to make sure you look hot as hell (pun intended). Once youâre done, you make your way to the nearest gas station and purchase a gallon of gasoline before promptly driving to Markâs parentâs house.Â
By the time you get there, itâs already close to midnight, and not even the darkness can shroud Markâs new Tesla Cybertruck. You remember when he bought it because you had to pay for half of his rent for the month because he was saving up for itâthe smug grin on his face, as he announced it to his Twitch chat. Youâre embarrassed at how happy you were for him, and you didnât even have the heart to tell him how hideous you found it. The truckâs mirrored exterior reflects the moon in the starless night sky, and the full moon almost looks like a shiny, pretty bullseye calling out for you to destroy it.Â
Without hesitation, you get out of your car and immediately start dumping gasoline all over and around the car. The scent of gasoline normally makes you nauseous, but the scent of revenge smells even sweeter. Before you take out your lighter, you pick up a large piece of broken concrete from his driveway. With all of the strength you can muster, you hurl the concrete into the driver side window of the truck and watch your reflection shatter along with the glass.Â
The car alarm starts blaring, and you wait for the light in Markâs room to blink on. You see his silhouette as he opens his blinds and peers out, just to lock eyes with you. He gawks at you like heâs just seen a ghost, and it doesnât take long for him to make his way down to you. As he stumbles down the driveway, you take out your lighter and flick it on, letting it slowly slip from your fingertips. Your heart swells with a hysterical sense of glee as his eyes widen, the orange flames reflecting in his teary eyes. His Cybertruck is set ablaze with a Hollywood-esque level of perfection, and the fire gives your face a golden glow as if you were the starring actress.Â
âY/N! Are you fucking crazy?â Mark hollers over the crackle of the flames, voice breaking.Â
âOh, you bet I fucking am,â you laugh.Â
âIâm gonna sue youâyou bitch! Have you thrown in jail!â he screams, fishing his phone out of his pocket and punching in 911 on the keypad. âIâm calling the cops right now!âÂ
âDo it, you spineless piece of shit! Iâm going to make sure everyone in this damn neighborhood and on the internet knows what a lying, cheating, soul-sucking little leech you are!â you yell back at him. âIâm going to ruin your fucking career first and then happily walk my ass down to the police station.â
That makes Mark stop in his tracks, his thumb hovering over the dial button. He canât control the fear on his face. âNo one is gonna believe you.âÂ
âAw, you sure no one will believe me when I show everyone the screenshots of your DMs with uwukittenbb69?â you taunt.Â
âIâll say theyâre fake!â he nearly screeches.Â
âLetâs fucking go then! My word against yours. Weâll see who they believe,â you challenge.Â
Mark falters and takes a small step forward. âW-WaitâŠâÂ
Unfortunately for him, heâs interrupted by the squealing sirens of a firetruck pulling up to the street. You and Mark exchange glances, and you silently dare him to report you, before both of you turn towards the firefighters exiting the truck.Â
âMarkâŠand Y/N?âÂ
Your eyes widen at the sound of the approaching firefighterâs voice. You watch in horror as the firefighter removes his helmet, and you get a clearer look at his face. Tufts of wavy caramel-colored hair sticking out, a youthful and angelic face that doesnât suit his occupation, and heart-shaped lips turned downwards in concernâitâs Markâs cousin, Donghyuck. Youâve met him a decent amount of times at family gatherings, and he sometimes drops by you and Markâs apartment to deliver homemade food from his mom. Donghyuck has always been kind to you, and you didnât want him to see you like this.
Donghyuckâs confusion is short-lived before his attention falls back to the fire and how close you are to it. He quickly grabs your arm and pulls you away from the burning truck.Â
âBe careful. Are you hurt?â he asks carefully, eyes scanning your face with precision. âAnd why arenât you wearing a jacket? Itâs freezing out here.âÂ
You open your mouth to try and fumble out an answer, but you flinch at the sound of Donghyuckâs colleagues blasting Markâs car with water from the firetruckâs power hose. All thatâs left of the Cybertruck is a deformed and blackened pile of scrap metal with a plume of smoke rising from it. You canât help the sense of satisfaction you feel.Â
âDonât breathe in the smoke. Itâs not good for you,â Donghyuck urges, gently sticking an arm in front of you and gesturing for you to step back even further. âCome with me. Thereâs blankets in the back of the truck.â
âIâm fine,â you finally manage to say, shaking your head. âIâm not cold.âÂ
Itâs true; the fire you set has been more than enough to make your insides feel all warm and fuzzy. He doesnât look like he believes you but doesnât try to push any further.Â
âOkay, so what the hell happened here? We got a call from the neighbors saying there was a blazing ball on fire in Markâs driveway and that the two of you were in a screaming match.âÂ
âAsk Mark,â is all you say.Â
Donghyuck raises an eyebrow.Â
âIt was an accident.â
As if on cue, Mark suddenly materializes next to you and Donghyuckâa restless expression on his face. He probably thought you were telling Donghyuck what he did to you and rushed over.Â
âWhat?â Donghyuckâs eyes nearly pop out of his head. âYouâre saying that was an accident?â
âYeah. I was justâŠmessing around. Donât worry about it. It was an accident,â Mark says through gritted teeth, sounding completely defeated.Â
The corners of your mouth twitch when you chime in, âA senseless accident.âÂ
Donghyuck is completely speechless as he glances between the two of you. However, you look past him and watch the fireworks exploding in the dark sky. Pulling out your phone, you see that itâs midnight, meaning itâs officially the 25th of December. Glancing over at Mark, you see him trembling in the cold with a sniffly red nose and bloodshot eyes. Heâs staring straight at the ground, fists clenched.Â
You smile.Â
part two | wanna push him in the fireplace and watch him burn!
When you finally get home that night, you draw yourself a steaming hot bubble bath and even use the fancy bath bomb that Rosie bought you. After you get dressed, you make a charcuterie board and pour yourself a glass of wine as well before falling asleep to a Hallmark movie playing on your television. Itâs probably the best sleep youâve gotten over the past month.Â
You wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, a certain five-foot-nine burden lifted from your shoulders, and text all of your friends and family your holiday greetings. Rosie invited you out to her family gathering because she didnât want you to be alone on Christmas, but you declined. You decided to stay home and get some cleaning done. Of course, by cleaning, you mean boxing up all of Markâs stuff and donating it to Goodwill. You initially wanted to burn everything, but youâve committed enough arson already.Â
Just as youâre getting ready to make a hearty breakfast in preparation for the mass Mark exodus, you hear the door to your apartment being opened, and your blood runs cold when you realize you havenât changed the lock. Then your cold blood begins to boil at the audacity that Mark still must have in his pathetic little body to even dream of stepping foot in your home.Â
Gripping your frying pan tightly, you march out of the kitchen to greet him. Mark at least has the sense to shrivel back when he sees you approach him. To your delight, he looks absolutely terrible. Itâs obvious he didnât get any sleep nor did he feel the need to change out of his pajamas.Â
âI know youâre mad,â he says quickly, holding his hands out as if ready to block a punch.
âIf you actually knew that, you wouldnât have stepped foot in my apartment,â you say nonchalantly. âYou have ten seconds to give my key back to me and get the hell out before you have to call the cops again.â
âChill, chill,â he mutters, âIâm just here for my stuffââ
âDonât tell me to chill. Iâve always hated it when you tell me that. It makes you sound like a patronizing douchebag, which you are, of course,â you snap. âYouâre insane if you think Iâm going to let you just waltz in here and casually get your stuff. Most of which I paid for, by the way.â
âY/N, come on,â he sighs. âat least let me get my PC setup.â
That makes you burst out laughing. âHoly shit. You really have the gall to ask me for your PC setup? Are you on actual crack? Get the fuck out!â
âOkay, okay, okay. Iâm sorry, okay? Just one more thingââ
âDonât make me swear to Jesus on his birthdayââÂ
âMy mom wants you to come to the Christmas party this afternoon,â he blurts out, squeezing his eyes shut. âIâŠhavenât told her yet. I wanted us to tell her, um, together, after the party.â
He doesnât need to say it for you to understand what heâs implying. He wants to make it seem like the breakup was mutual to save his reputation and because he knows his mom will lose her mind. Heâs pretended to be her perfect little boy his entire life, a mommaâs boy to the very core, so he canât ever let her know what a bottomfeeder he is.Â
âIs this some sort of social experiment to see how far you can push my limits before I finally snap? Again?â you ask incredulously.Â
âPlease, Y/N. Iâll do anything. I wonât ask for my stuff anymore. I wonât tell anyone about the car thing. I promise you that you wonât ever see me again if you do me this favor,â Mark sputters.
You hate that you still hesitate, despite how much youâre disgusted by him. It makes you feel like you havenât completely axed the part of you that was in love with him, and that sickens you. However, Mrs. Lee has always been like a second mother to you, and it doesnât feel right to just cut her off without a proper goodbye just because her son is a cretin. You suppose this could be good closure for such an ill-fated relationship.Â
âYou swear on your life that youâll leave me alone forever after this?â you ask, crossing your arms.
Mark nods profusely.
âFine. Iâm only staying for an hour, and I donât care if the party isnât over yet. Weâre going to tell her within that period or else,â you state.Â
âThank you. Thank you so much, Y/N.â Mark opens his arms to hug you, and it takes every fiber in your being not to whack him across the head with your frying pan.Â
âDo not touch me,â you warn, âNow get out.âÂ
To his credit, he promptly hightails it out of your apartment (perhaps he finally noticed the murderous glint in your eye). You almost immediately regret agreeing, but you tell yourself that today is the last day that youâll ever have to deal with the likes of Mark Lee again. Putting a hold on cleaning, you get ready for the party instead, donning a cute holiday fit that you had prepared especially for today since it was supposed to be your anniversary. Now, it makes for a great revenge dress.Â
Mark had texted you to let you know to bring a gift since there would be a white elephant gift exchange, and half of you wants to call him and scream at him for not letting you know sooner and the other half is screaming at yourself for forgetting to block him. Not having enough time to go out and buy a gift, you decide to wrap up the scarf that you knitted for Mark. You stayed up all night after you got off work to make it for him, and it looks a bit wonky, but you thought he would appreciate it. You feel bad for whoever receives it, but there has to be a few duds in the mix or itâs not a true white elephant experience. Maybe they can use the scarf to wipe up their dogâs piss or something.
When you drive back to Markâs parentsâ house, itâs an ironic clash of atmospheres. The place is decked out with Christmas decorations, an amalgamation of rainbow lights, inflatable snowmen, and wreaths on every door and window. Yet, you can also see remnants of the dark burn marks in their driveway. Mark must have managed to call a tow to take his Cybertruck away just in the nick of time. You do wonder how he managed to explain the burn marks, though.Â
Taking in a deep breath, you hype yourself up in your car visor mirror before stepping out and walking to the front door. Before you can even knock, Mrs. Lee opens the door and envelops you in a bear hug. She smells like sugar cookies, and it occurs to you how much youâll miss her.Â
âOh, sweetie! Iâm so glad youâre here,â she coos, cupping your face. She then ushers you into the living room, linking her arm through yours. âI was so worried because I thought the two of you got into a fight while we were on our trip.â
You just smile uncomfortably. âO-Oh.âÂ
âA motherâs intuition is always right, you know,â she says, winking, âPlus, I knew something was off when Mark told us heâd be staying at our place for a couple nights. Poor boy was a mess, you know. He somehow managed to total his car in the driveway! Can you believe it? He really needs you around to whip him into shape!âÂ
You hope she canât see you holding in a laugh. As youâre walking, you scan the room for Mark, but heâs nowhere to be seen. It doesnât surprise you one bit that youâre being treated as fodder so he can hide in his room.Â
âAnyways, say hi to everyone!â She leads you directly into a circle of Markâs aunt and uncles. You give them all an awkward hello and try to slink away while they all converse, but one of Markâs aunts turns towards you.Â
âSo, how long have you and Mark been together, honey?â she asks.Â
âUm, about four yearsââ
âOh, but theyâve known each other for much longer than that. Seven years! Mark had the biggest crush on her, you know,â Mrs. Lee interjects.Â
âMy goodness, does that mean weâll be hearing wedding bells soon?â Markâs aunt teases. The rest of the circle oohs and ahhs, and you want to strangle yourself with a garland.Â
âI mean, what is he waiting for anyway? Heâs making loads of money on the Internet now, isnât he?â she continues.Â
âExactly. I want grandchildren, you know,â Mrs. Lee huffs.Â
Unable to bite back your words anymore, you clear your throat loudly. âI have something I need toââÂ
âOh, Y/N! Iâve been looking for you,â another voice chimes in.Â
All of you turn around, and a gasp nearly escapes you when you see Donghyuck standing in front of you. Heâs in a white cable knit sweater, and his wavy hair looks so fluffy that you almost want to reach out and touch it. His cheeks are a bit flushed, probably because heâs in such thick clothing (or Mrs. Leeâs famous spiked eggnog). Without his uniform on, he looks much softer, dreamier.Â
âYouâŠhave?â you ask, bewildered.Â
âYup! Come on, I gotta ask you something,â he answers cheerfully, gesturing for you to follow him.Â
Youâre a bit wary of what heâs scheming, but youâd rather risk it than have to deal with any more marriage talk, so you gladly let him whisk you away from the crowd. Donghyuck leads you to a less crowded part of the room, swiping a piece of chocolate cake when he walks past the dessert table, and tucks himself into a corner thatâs concealed by a giant Christmas tree.Â
âHere we go. I introduce to you my super covert corner that I stand in when I want to avoid nosy relatives,â he says in a sing-song voice before offering you the cake in his hand. âWould you like some German chocolate cake made by yours truly? Itâs pretty damn average, if I do say so myself.âÂ
You pause, only just now realizing that Donghyuck helped you out. You suppose you have nothing to lose, so you accept the cake. âOh. Thank you. So, you didnât have anything you wanted to ask me?âÂ
âWell, actually, I do,â he hums, giving you a sheepish grin. âYou set Markâs car on fire last night, didnât you?â
Part of you already expected this question coming, so you manage to keep your expression neutral. âAre you accusing me?âÂ
âWhy, I wouldnât dare. Besides, I donât need to. I know you did,â he says casually, shrugging.
Even though you should feel panicked, you donât. In fact, Donghyuck almost seems to find it amusing.Â
âDo you have proof?â
âMark told me,â he states sweetly.
You sigh loudly, immediately giving up the ruse. âI knew that damn lowlife would yap.âÂ
âSo, what did he do?âÂ
âOf course, he told you what I did but didnât tell you what he did,â you snort.Â
âWhat, he cheat or something?âÂ
âWorse.âÂ
You pull out your phone and show Donghyuck Markâs Discord DMs and watch his expression morph into disgust as you indulge in the cake he gave you. The dessert is perfectly average as he said, but thereâs something charming about it. In that way, the cake is quite similar to its maker.Â
âAs a government employee and resident fighter of fires, nothing justifies arson,â he states after a brief moment to collect his thoughts, âbut this comes pretty damn close.âÂ
You give him a smug I-told-you-so look.
âBut seriously, what you did was really dangerous, Y/N. You could have injured yourself badly. That jackass is not worth getting third-degree burns over. There are better ways to get revenge, you know,â he lectures.
âLike what?â You raise an eyebrow.
âI donât know, like TP or egg his car or something. Slash his tires?âÂ
âGod, are you from a 90s movie or something? Thatâs lame as hell,â you snort, taking another bite of cake.
âDig your key into the side of his pretty little souped up four-wheel drive? Carve your name into his leather seats? Take a Louisville slugger to both headlights? Slash a hole in all four tires?â He wriggles his eyebrows.Â
âAre you quoting Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood?â you ask incredulously.
âMaybe next time heâll think before he cheatsâŠâ Donghyuck sings, purposefully off-key.Â
You canât fight that smile that spreads across your face, and it eventually turns into a full-on belly laugh when he continues to sing. Itâs the first genuine laugh, the first moment of brief happiness and relief, that youâve felt in a long time. You thought you had it when you set Markâs car on fire, but something still coiled in the pit of your stomach like simmering, black smoke. In this tiny little corner that smells of pine needles and chocolate cake, you feel free like a clear sky after a long winter storm.
âFor the record,â Donghyuck says, voice gently dipping, âyouâve always been too good for him, and everyone knows itâincluding him. Heâll regret what he did to you for the rest of his life. Thatâs your revenge.âÂ
Your breath staccatos in your chest at his words. You tell yourself that he has always been a smooth talker, but he looks at you with such honesty and warmth that you want to believe him.Â
âHave you always been this sweet?â You meant for the words to come out in a teasing manner, but your voice is tinged with breathlessness.Â
Donghyuck grins, and his lips remind you of the heart-shaped lollipops that you see in the store during Valentineâs Day. âThe sweetest.âÂ
A part of you wonders what would happen if you craned your neck and kissed him right here and now. Not because youâre romantically interested in him, of course. Rather, it would be a spectacular way to get revenge on Mark. Most girls go for the brother or the best friendâmaybe even the dad if one is particularly ambitiousâbut the cousin is an untapped (pun NOT intended) medium for revenge.Â
You wonder if Donghyuck tastes like cookies or wine-filled chocolates or spiked eggnog or even fruitcake. You really hate fruitcake, but you suppose you wouldnât mind for the sake of revenge.Â
But you would never do that to him. Heâs much too kind of a person to be involved in you and Markâs mess. The fact that youâre able to confide in him and he actually takes your side is something that you truly appreciate. As much as you want to torment Mark, itâs best to just end it here.Â
âYou can use me too, you know,â Donghyuck adds.
âHuh?â You blink.
âFor your revenge,â he clarifies. âUse me. To make him jealous, to bully him, whatever you want.âÂ
For a moment, you almost believe he somehow read your mind.Â
âJust wanted to let you know,â he says, shrugging, âsince you probably think it would be too mean. Plus, I think you would need my help anyways.â
That makes you feel greatly offended. âWhat is that supposed to mean? You say that like I didnât set a car on fire.âÂ
âYouâre too naive in your thinking. Revenge doesnât always have to be loud and in your face like that. Itâs a lot more fun when you break them down psychologically in more subtle ways,â he explains.
âSo, youâas a government employeeâcanât approve of me committing arson because I got cheated on, but youâas a government employeeâcan casually and openly discuss waging psychological warfare on another civilian. On said person who cheated on me, who also happens to be your cousin because you seemed to have forgotten that, â you point out sardonically.Â
Donghyuck just smiles before slightly leaning in, eyes flickering down to your lips. You open your mouth to retort but your words instantly die in your throat, softly gasping when his hand brushes your chin as he reaches over and swipes a bit of chocolate frosting from your bottom lip with his thumb.Â
âSure I can,â he answers smoothly, âbecause, unlike a certain someone, I wonât get caught.âÂ
âI didnâtââ
âAnd by the way, Mark didnât tell me you set his car on fire.âÂ
You gawk at him as he walks past you with a content grin on his face. âNow come on, I hear my aunt calling for us.âÂ
Maybe you need to take back your earlier statement of Donghyuck being too kind. He might actually have more screws loose than you.
.
.
.
You almost completely forget about Mark until he finally comes downstairs for the white elephant exchange. Youâre in such a daze from your earlier interaction with Donghyuck that you barely recoil when Mark takes a seat beside you on the couch, especially since Donghyuck is sitting in the rocking chair directly across from you.Â
The gift exchange begins once everyone has drawn a number, and you honestly just dissociate for the first half of it. Keeping your gaze trained on the piece of paper that has 26 scribbled on it, you donât look up until you feel Mark get up beside you and pick a gift from the pile. Youâre praying to both Jesus and Santa that he doesnât pick yours, but you suppose you've been deemed a sinner and also put on the Naughty List (maybe for setting your cheating exâs care on fire?) because Mark somehow manages to find yours in the pile of presents.Â
When he opens it, you can tell by the way he quickly glances at you that he knows itâs yours. After all, he saw you practicing your knitting throughout the week. He happily wraps it around his neck and beams proudly. âI love it.â
The way he carefully looks back at you makes you want to smack him into the new year. You know heâs trying to get on your good side, and you make it clear with your scowl that it isnât working.Â
Youâre actually grateful that itâs your turn next so that youâre able to get up and walk away from him. Wanting to get this entire situation over with, you haphazardly grab one from the top of the pile. Your heart sinks when you take out the stuffing paper from the bag and realize that itâs Markâs gift. You contemplate putting the paper back in and not opening it at all, but you cave under the pressure of all the expectant pairs of eyes on you.Â
In typical Mark fashion, his gift is a signed T-shirt of his own merch. Itâs an obnoxious yellow color with his Twitch username and a giant screen printed image of his face plastered across it. Heâs written his signature right over his forehead, so it makes him look like he has random chicken scratch on his face.Â
âOh, it must be destiny!â Mrs. Lee exclaims, clapping her hands together.Â
You force a smile before returning to your seat, doing everything in your power to ignore Markâs stupid giddy expression. Shoving the shirt back into the bag, you casually kick it away from you.Â
A couple more people take their turns, and youâre counting down the seconds to when this is finally over so you can go home. Eventually, itâs Donghyuckâs turn, and he saunters towards you and holds his hand out.Â
âGimme.â
You blink at him.
âYour gift. Iâm stealing it,â he explains, wiggling his fingers.Â
âYou wantâŠthis?â you ask, completely baffled.Â
âWell, duh. Itâs going to sell for a lot of money, you know.â He winks.Â
You canât help but laugh when you realize heâs helping you out again. âThis has to be unethical. Arenât you a government employee?âÂ
âGovernment employees need to make money too,â he replies, sighing.Â
âWell, if you really want it, I guess I have no choice,â you huff, faking exasperation before handing him the bag.Â
Youâre smiling when he takes it and walks back to his chair, and you hear Mark grumble something under his breath. Turning to him, you raise an eyebrow, snippily asking, âWhat?â
âI said,â he repeats so loudly that it reverberates throughout the room, âwhen did the two of you get so friendly?âÂ
A silence falls over everyone, and the two of you are now center stage.Â
âAre you really going to do this now?â you hiss.Â
âI noticed that the two of you were getting awfully cozy behind the Christmas tree earlier,â Mark retorts, shrugging.Â
Donghyuck gets up to intervene, but he doesnât have time to even react before you grab a pillow from the couch and chuck it in Markâs face.Â
âYouâve got some nerve. Was this your plan all along? To make me look like the bad guy in front of your family?â you demand, feeling your face grow hotter and hotter from rage. âYou and uwukittenbb69 were getting awfully cozy too, donât you think? Iâd say snug as a bug in a goddamn rug even.âÂ
Mark stands up in a flash, his eyes frantically glancing at his mom before pointing his finger at you. âBaby, I told you she was just a friend.âÂ
You nearly choke on air when you hear him call you that. Making a beeline towards the pile of presents, you begin to toss them at Mark with each question you add. âYou absolute lunatic. Do friends beg each other for pictures of their tits? Do friends write raps confessing their love for one another? Do friends blow off their anniversary with their girlfriend so that they can meet up for a quick booty call? And yes, Iâm saying quick because you and I both know itâll be a speedy endeavor.â
âWhat on Earth is going on?â Mrs. Lee cries out as Mark tries his best to swat away the presents being hurled at him.Â
âYouâre a psycho bitch,â Mark yells. âItâs not like I actually slept with her. We were just messing around online. You got jealous over nothing. And you set my car on fire!âÂ
âYou wanna see psycho?â you snap, throwing the present in your hands down onto the floor and marching towards him with your bare fists before you suddenly stop and take in your surroundings. You see the horror and shock on everyoneâs faces, the way theyâre looking at you, and then perhaps most clear of allâMarkâs expression. Heâs angry just like you, but thereâs a glimmer of victory in his eyes. As if heâs bested you in some manner.Â
And he has. Youâre the villain now.
Taking in a deep breath, you will yourself to walk over to Mark in a calm manner, looking him directly in the eye.Â
âYouâre nothing except a liar and a cheater, Mark Lee. That will never change that no matter how much you try to spin it in front of your family. You built your success off my back, and I hope that haunts you for the rest of your life. May you receive everything that youâve done to me tenfold. Thatâs all I want to sayââ You pause. âOh, and Iâve always thought your Cybertruck was fucking ugly.âÂ
You reach over and snatch the scarf from his neck before turning and walking out of the door, feeling like you finally managed to cut off the ball and chain around your ankle. Just as youâre about to reach your car, you hear someone calling after you.Â
âIâll drive you home,â Donghyuck says once he catches up to you.Â
âIâm not so distraught that Iâll become a hazard on the road,â you say wryly
âWell, when it comes to being around a car, youâve certainly proved that youâre not exactly at your most dangerous when youâre behind the wheel,â he jokes.Â
âYou may have a point,â you acknowledge, giving him a small smile.
âLet me drive you home, Y/N. Iâm worried about you,â he insists again, much quieter this time.Â
âHow are you going to get back then?â You raise an eyebrow.Â
âIâll call an Uber or something.âÂ
âThat would be such a waste of money,â you snort.
âNot if itâs for you,â he says almost instantly. His normally brown eyes almost look auburn when under the golden glow of the sunset.Â
Thereâs such determination, such assurance, such warmth in his gaze that you let yourself be surrounded with, no longer having the energy to resist him, and it feels like falling onto a soft cloud after a long, winding journey. For once, you just want someone to take care of you, even if itâs just for a moment.Â
âFine. Do as you please,â you relent, tossing him your car keys before walking around to the passenger side and climbing in.Â
Donghyuck looks relieved, beaming when he situates himself in the driverâs seat. You try not to be impressed with the way he easily backs out of the driveway with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the headrest behind you, maneuvering the wheel with a deftness youâve never seen before. Then again, he does drive a massive fire truck on the daily, so your Toyota probably isnât much of a challenge for him.Â
He drives with his eyes staring straight down the roadâalmost too focusedâbecause you know heâs trying not to look at you. Probably because youâre making it abundantly clear that you donât want him to look at you, leaning your head against the window and away from him. It doesnât mean that you donât see his wandering eyes, almost as if it were second nature, drift back to you in the reflection of the window.
âPathetic, right?â you finally say, feeling suffocated by the heavy silence.
âWhatâs pathetic?âÂ
âMe.âÂ
âWhy would you be pathetic?â Donghyuck grips the steering wheel tightly, knuckles turning white as the leather creaks under the force of his hold.
âMark was right. I talked a big game in front of him, but in the end, I was just the psycho ex-girlfriend. I told myself that I would never let him hold my emotions hostage anymore. That I would erase any care I had for him left in me. Because indifference means that Iâm truly free. But I couldnât do it. I really hate him, to my very core, and that means he still has power over me. I hate that most of all. I want him to feel the same pain I did, and I want to exact revenge on him, but at the same time, I want to move on with my life. Iâm like a dog chasing my own tail; itâs pathetic.âÂ
You wanted to sound more lighthearted about this, turn it into a joke, but Donghyuck seems to draw out a vulnerability within you that makes you want to tell him everything youâve been trying to desperately ignore.Â
âY/N, youâre dealing with the end of a long-term relationship. Itâs only natural that you have confusing and conflicting feelings about everything. Youâre not pathetic; youâre human. Mark stole your girlhood and your youth, and itâs going to take time for you to heal from that. Itâs impossible to immediately get back on your feet after what he did to you. None of this is your fault, so donât ever berate yourself,â Donghyuckâs voice trembles as he speaks. âI promise you that one day, youâre going to wake up and youâll realize that you donât remember what Mark's favorite food is. His favorite movie. His favorite color. Then youâll realize that you can barely even remember what his face looks like when heâs sad, happy, angry. Eventually, youâll forget about him entirely, and all the pain he caused you will just be seconds of your life that evaporates from your mind completely.â
When he speaks to you like thereâs nothing heâs more sure of in this world, it makes you want to believe him. You want to be his promise.Â
âThank you, Donghyuck,â you whisper, placing your hand on top of his for just a moment before pulling away. Your touch is feather light, but you hope he didnât notice the way your fingertips lingered a second longer.Â
The two of you fall quiet again, but this time, the silence is much more comfortable now. Youâre almost disappointed when he pulls into your apartment complex, unsure of how to say goodbye to him.Â
âWould you like some hot cocoa or something?â you blurt out when he parks. âI think I have some in my apartment.â
You donât realize how suggestive your offer sounds until itâs too late. Donghyuck hesitates for a moment, and you can tell heâs debating on if he should tease you about it or not. To your surprise, he doesnât.
âNah, itâs okay. Itâs getting dark soon, so I should head back.â He pulls out his phone and starts ordering an Uber.Â
âWant me to wait with you then?â Youâre not sure why you keep insisting on staying with him, but this day has been so batshit insane that you almost feel like a passenger in your own body.Â
âProbably not a good idea,â he chuckles.
Now, you feel both confused and slightly offended again.
âAnd why is that? I know Iâve been a bit of a menace today, but stillâŠâ you trail off awkwardly.Â
Donghyuck pauses for a moment as he stares at you; his face is closer to yours than itâs ever been because youâre sitting right next to him. You can tell heâs thinking very carefully about his next words. It occurs to you that, for a guy as seemingly flippant as him, he is actually quite thoughtful.
âYou know, Iâve been compared to Mark my entire life,â he begins, musing.Â
âSoooâŠyou didnât want me to wait with you because youâre gearing up for a trauma dump?â You raise an eyebrow.Â
Donghyuck holds his hand up in front of you, shushing you. âShh, let me have my big moment.âÂ
âSorry. Please proceed.âÂ
âAhem. As I was saying, I was but a poor, innocent wee boy living in the shadow of the golden child in our family. Mark was always the more athletic, the funnier, the more charming one. His grades were ass, but he always managed to get out of trouble because he was the favorite. When I got my job as a firefighter and he was unemployed, my family barely congratulated me or even acknowledged it at all because they were afraid they would upset Mark. You see, Iâve actually lived quite a tragic life,â Donghyuck sniffles, wiping away a fake tear.Â
âWhat a shame that they canât see how wonderful you are,â you chime in, a smile in your voice.Â
Your honesty in response to his joke visibly catches him off guard, and he blinks a couple of times before your words finally register.Â
âRight?â he huffs dramatically, but he canât seem to meet your eyes completely as a light flush dustes his face and ears. âBut fret not, I didnât particularly mind. It was nice not having to live up to any expectations. Besides, I was happy for Mark when he finally got successful as a streamer. We were raised like brothers, and I always admired him. I was proud of him.âÂ
âHa, little did you knowââ
âAll this to say that, growing up, Iâve never been once jealous of Mark,â Donghyuck states proudly.Â
Then he slowly looks over at you with longing eyes, almost as if his body turning itself towards you is a natural reflex. His expression is so soft and affectionate that it nearly takes your breath away.Â
âThat is, until he met you.âÂ
So, this is what Donghyuck looks like when heâs in love. You wonder if it would ever be possible for you to wake up one day and not remember it.Â
But you arenât sure if you return his feelings in the same way. Just like you couldnât bring yourself to use him for your revenge, you canât bring yourself to ask him to wait for you while you figure out the mess of your current emotional state. The one who loves more always loses, and you donât want to lose Donghyuck.Â
âI just wanted to tell you that,â he continues, âIâm not expecting a response. Itâs for the better you donât respond right now anyways. If you want to pretend like this conversation was all a bad dream conjured up by sleep paralysis and never want to talk about it again, Iâm okay with that too.âÂ
You smile.Â
âButâŠif youâre able to, just look my way sometimes. Iâll do everything in my power to keep your attention, even if I have to get on a unicycle with a clown nose and juggle. And, if one day, you find yourself looking for me on your own, let me know. Then, Iâll ask for an answer,â Donghyuck promises. Â
True to your word, you donât give him an answer. Instead, you take the scarf thatâs been laying across your lapâthe scarf with a few holes thanks to missing yarn and sections where you accidentally knitted the pattern in the wrong direction. Now itâs a bit stretched out due to you snatching it off Mark.Â
But this scarf, as average (maybe even less) as it may be, is charming in its own way.Â
Leaning forward, you wrap the scarf around Donghyuckâs neck. He watches you in complete awe, in a trance, as if he were in a dream and any movement would wake him up.Â
âI should head inside now,â you say quietly, trying not to giggle at his stupefied expression.
He only nods dazedly, and youâre certain that would have been his reaction regardless of what you said. It takes a few more beats for your words to actually click before he clears his throat loudly. âRight. Yes. You should.âÂ
He hands you your keys back before stepping out of the car and opening your door for you. âIâll wait down here until you get inside, and then Iâll go meet my Uber.âÂ
âThanks for driving me,â you say, realizing you never thanked him.Â
âYouâre welcome. Good night, Y/N.â Donghyuck puts his hands in his pockets and tucks his chin into the scarf as he watches you go.
As your hand hovers over the doorknob, you know you should just open the door and walk inside so you donât keep him waiting in the cold. You really shouldnât look back because it would mean that you wanted to. Not because he asked you to.Â
But you do. You look backâ
only to meet his eyes, the two of you exchanging knowing smiles.
extra | is it me? am i the drama? i donât think iâm the dramaâŠ
r/AmITheAsshole
u/justgirlythings-arson119 âą 9h
(UPDATE) AITA for setting my cheating exâs car on fire? (and then falling for his cousin)
So, it turns out my cheating ex got catfished. His supposed Discord kitten was actually some random guy and his friend who were dicking around. They ended up leaking the DMs so theyâre all public now for those who would like to read them (by now, Iâm sure you all know who my cheating ex is). I would highly advise against listening to the rap confession though. Godspeed if you choose to. I am also selling his expensive PC setup on Facebook Marketplace if anyoneâs interested. Happy New Year!
P.S. I ended up inviting the cousin over for hot cocoa. Heâs very sweet.Â
℣ 11.3k ℄ 2,293 Comments
pissrevolver1122 âą 8h rip bozo got catfished by me n bro for some robuxÂ
℠Reply ℣ 3.8k ℄
pooprevolver0205 âą 8h canât believe bro actually jacked off to a pic of knees LMAO ℠℣ 1.9k â„„
piss-k1nk0219 âą 2h yall are about to have the awkwardest family get togethers ever lmao
℠Reply ℣ 910 ℄
bigsnowballs0813 âą 4h $5 and an iced coffee for the pc take it or leave it
℠Reply ℣ 748 ℄
femboyluvr0701 âą 1h are u gonna set the cousin's car on fire too
℠Reply ℣ 639 ℄
justgirlythings-arson119 âą 1h probably not heâs very good at putting out fires :( ℠℣ 482 â„„
#nct imagines#nct scenarios#haechan fluff#nct dream imagines#nct dream fluff#haechan#nct#choerrypuffs#luvpuffcore collab#nct 127 fluff#nct 127 imagines
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Revenge is best served coldâor on fire. Literally.
USER u/justgirlythings-arson119 ( @choerrypuffs ) POSTING ON december 31, 2024 SONG is it new years yet? by sabrina carpenter
(1) DRAFT SAVED.


A broken arm is temporary. Labubus (and winning your affection) are forever.
USER u/ifyouseekamy-yn3435 ( @luvdsc ) POSTING ON december 31, 2024 SONG buy me presents by sabrina carpenter
(1) DRAFT SAVED.

âI would let the owner stuff my stocking in exchange for the monte blanc recipe.â
â⊠You promise?â
USER u/YeastMode6969 ( @wincore ) POSTING ON december 31, 2024 SONG santa doesnât know you like i do by sabrina carpenter
(1) DRAFT SAVED.
đđđ đđđđđđ đđđđđđđđ © đđđđđđđđđđ
đ
đ, đđđđđđ, & đđđđđđđ đđđđ.
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hi hi hi ! đ so happy to see you update a lil bit hihi, how are you ? seing your notif made me jump on the occasion of sending you an ask !! is it okay if i ask you something ? pls tell me if iâm crossing the line⊠but do you still have the inspiration to write the series demigods: electric boogaloo ?
hi my love!!! iâm doing well tysm for asking đ„° đ i got a big girl job now so unfortunately itâs been hard to sit down and write anything đ© i feel like iâm making it a trend to only drop one fic a year LMAO but i really do still love writing on here (even though i donât really keep up with nct anymore).
i definitely do still have inspiration for demigods: electric boogaloo but due to some certain member(s) who i planned on including in the series being actual vermin, my plans have been a bit derailed :/ thatâs why itâs been delayed for so long + just being busy with life. iâm trying my best to restructure the plot but whatever i come up with feels so random and like itâs pretty obvious i had to whip up something last minute đ it just feels discombobulated bc iâll have to bring in people who havenât been introduced in the original series and i hate it when things donât connect.
anyways sorry for such a long answer lol. a lot of people have been asking me about demigods, so i wanted to give an update. i am truly grateful that people still care and would love to hear feedback or suggestions!!! đ
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shitting my pants
LANA STRIKES AGAIIINNN OMG I CANT WAAAIT TO READ THIS UR LITERALLY THE BEST EVERRR WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH đđđđđđ
albeit my ult now being jeno i still have a spot in my heart just for hyuck so i am !!! so excited <33
- ccsa anon đđ
ccsa anon!!!!!!! đâšđđ·đ„° IVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH MY LOVE đ„čđ„čđ„č i always check my inbox for you even when i was inactive and seeing your messages always makes me so happy!! iâm sorry i havenât been able to reply much but iâm glad to see you doing well!!
WHAT?????? YOUR ULT IS JENO NOW???? OH THE BETRAYAL AND THE HURT đ©đ„Č WHY HAS GOD TAKEN ANOTHER SOLDIER FROM USSSSSS đ§đ»ââïžđ§đ»ââïžđ§đ»ââïž wait you gotta update bc WHY đđđ praying for your recovery soon đđ
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red velvet hearts.

pairing: bad boy!donghyuck x baker!reader
genre: fluff, slight angst
word count: 7.7k
synopsis: you patch up a boy with a bloody nose and bruised knuckles, only to find out that he has quite the sweet tooth.
authorâs note: why do i keep injuring hyuck in all my fics lmao??? anyways i tried to write his character a bit differently than i usually do to challenge myself so please let me know how you guys like it! also remember, ladies: this is fiction. you cannot fix him <3
warning(s): brief description of injuries, mentions of violence, maximum amounts of cringe and melodrama
playlist: all my ghosts by lizzy mcalpine â heart eyes by coin â close to you by gracie abrams â sidelines by phoebe bridgers â the alchemy by taylor swift
RECIPE 1. TIRAMISU
âThis is not what I meant when I said you need your back blown out.âÂ
âNot funny. I almost died,â you grumble as you wrap the back brace around your torso. You hate the immediate relief you feel from the support it provides, no longer able to tell yourself that itâs really not as bad as it seemsâwhich only makes you angrier.Â
âThrowing your back out while lifting a giant bag of flour and nearly getting crushed to death by said flour is genuinely the funniest fucking thing Iâve ever heard,â Yeri, your best friend (derogatory), snorts as she shakes her head. âI wish you had cameras in the storage room because I want to see that shit so bad.â
âThank you for the brace. You can get the hell out now.â You roll your eyes.Â
âSo, what are you going to do now? Arenât you swamped with orders?â Yeri asks, ignoring you completely.Â
You have no clue what youâre going to do now. It isnât just orders you have to worry about fulfilling; itâs also the freshly baked pastries that you have to sell every morning. After a year of blood, sweat, and tears, the bakery that you built from the ground up is finally starting to gain some stable business. So, of course, you chose now of all times to try to lift a bag of flour over your shoulder like you were Dwayne The Rock Johnson.Â
âI think Iâll have to hire some temporary help,â you answer begrudgingly.Â
âYou could sound less like someone is holding you at gunpoint,â Yeri snorts, âCome on. It had to happen sooner or later anyway.âÂ
âI was handling things just fine on my own.â
âWere you, though?â Yeri raises an eyebrow, gesturing to your current state.Â
You fear you walked right into that one. âShut up and help me make some posters.âÂ
The two of you eventually manage to whip up some haphazard âHelp Wantedâ posters, the letters written in glitter pen and Yeriâs clumsy bubble text. You tried your best to fill in the empty gaps on the construction paper by placing Pompompurin stickers that you normally give to customersâ kids all over it. The posters look like a nine-year-old girlâs school project gone wrong, but you hope itâs charming enough to catch some attention.Â
By the time you and Yeri finish hanging up all the posters, the sun is already starting to set, and all you want to do is go home and put a heating pad on your back. After saying bye to Yeri, you start making your way back to the bakery to lock up. Once you arrive, you notice a figure dressed in black slumped over in front of the door. You can see their shoulders rise up and down as they take in labored breaths, leaning against the glass door for support.Â
Every rational fiber in your being screams at you to not approach the stranger alone, but itâs not like you can just leave this person at the front of your place of business. Cautiously taking a step forward, you squat down to eye level with the stranger, wincing slightly from back pain. Through the sweaty and matted mess of his brown fringe, you can see that the stranger is a young man around your age. However, his face is absolutely battered: bloody (and almost certainly broken) nose, split lip, black eye swollen shut, and a jagged cut on his cheek. If he notices your presence, he doesnât show it, keeping his head hung down.
Gingerly placing a hand on his arm, you give him a small shake. âExcuse me? Are you okay? Do you need me to call an ambulance?âÂ
His brows furrow, and he opens an eye (the only one heâs probably able to open) with a wince before lifting a finger and putting it against his lips. You notice that his knuckles are completely scraped raw.Â
âNot so loud. Iâm okay,â he answers.Â
âYou donât lookââÂ
As if on cue, his stomach rumbles with a guttural growl that slowly drawls into a sputtering gurgle before dying out all togetherâleaving a long silence to hang between the two of you.
After another beat, he gives you a sheepish smile. âYou got anything to eat?âÂ
You stare at him for a moment; his face is flushed, pink all the way down to his neck.Â
And like a stupid horror movie character who opens the door to a room that clearly screams danger, you nod.Â
.
.
.
Fortunately, heâDonghyuck, as he introduced himselfâends up not being a crazy ax murderer.Â
Unfortunately, you find yourself awkwardly sitting in your closed bakery with a virtual stranger, fiddling with a first aid kit while watching him absolutely devour a piece of leftover tiramisu that you had in your fridge. If the situation wasnât so insane, you might actually think it was pretty funny. For someone who looks the way he does, this current picture of Donghyuck absolutely doesnât suit himâbruised chipmunk cheeks stuffed with ladyfingers and cocoa powder stuck on his split lip.Â
When heâs finished, Donghyuck looks over at you with a mesmerized expression on his face, as if you just fed him ambrosia. Thereâs a softness to his face that you didnât think could exist underneath all that grime and dried blood.Â
âThat wasâŠdelicious,â he breathes.Â
âThanks,â you snort, pushing a glass of water towards him. Unsurprisingly, he chugs it in the blink of an eye. âI still think you should get those injuries checked out, though.âÂ
âNah, Iâll rub a little spit in them and itâll be fine,â he shrugs.Â
âDonât be gross,â you sigh, scooting your chair closer to him as you set the first aid kit on the table. âNow, come here.âÂ
Donghyuck reluctantly dips his head, and you carefully cup his jaw for support, disinfecting and applying ointment on the cuts and scrapes on his face. You also clean up the dried blood near his nostrils and on his bottom lip, and he doesnât flinch even when you accidentally brush tender areas like his broken nose or the gash on his mouth. Instead, he stays perfectly still, leaned back in the chair with his forearms resting on his thighs and fingers nonchalantly laced together.Â
He keeps his gaze trained on something past your shoulder, and you also try your best to focus, but itâs hard to keep yourself from staringâespecially when his demeanor has changed so much. Heâs so calm and quiet in such a cold, ruthless manner, as if heâs physically steeling himself from painâlike heâs done this a million times before. Occasionally, you feel his eyes swipe across your face when he thinks youâre not paying attention, and it occurs to you how close the two of you are. Suddenly, youâre acutely aware of the heat of his skin against your palm and fingertips, and you rip your hand away from his jaw.Â
Clearing your throat, you move onto his hands, dabbing his raw knuckles with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol before placing large band-aids on them. Despite your best efforts, itâs hard not to notice how slim his long fingers are or how surprisingly clean his nail beds are for someone whoâs covered in blood. You keep your head completely bent, fighting the urge of looking up and possibly meeting his eyes.Â
âThere, all done,â you announce a little too loudly.Â
âThank you,â he says softly, âfor the cake and for this. For helping me.âÂ
âDonât worry about it. I didnât do much,â you blurt, still avoiding eye contact as you clean up the table. However, you notice in your peripheral that his gaze follows your movements, almost hesitantly, before he asks:Â
âSo, youâre hiring?âÂ
You click the first-aid kit shut, blinking a few times before turning back to him. He looks at you with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an answer.
âIâyeah. How did you know that?â you ask, puzzled by such a random question.Â
Donghyuck points at a poster that you didnât even know you left here, sitting on the table right behind you. You realize that he was probably looking at it while you were patching him up.Â
âThat poster that says âhelp wanted.â With the Pompompurin stickers. Iâm actually in between jobs right now, so if you would have meââ
âYou know Pompompurin?â you interrupt him. Itâs not that important and should not stand out to you as much as it does. Yet, you canât help but grin at the fact that someone like him knows about a tubby Golden Retriever character with a name that sounds like a mashup of the English languageâs most adorable onomatopeias.Â
Donghyuck trails off, stiffening as if you just found out his deepest, darkest secret. He opens his mouth slightly, trying to speak but unable to formulate a responseâan excuse, rather. Instead, he just lets out an airy cough, putting a hand over his mouth and turning away from you in an attempt to obscure his face. Despite his best efforts, he canât hide his glowing red ears and the way his earlier coldness melts away.
âIâyeah,â he responds, words slightly muffled by his hand.Â
You struggle to maintain your composure as you gnaw on your bottom lip to keep from laughing. Fighting a smile in your voice, you finally say:Â
âThe pay wonât be that much, but youâll get a bunch of free desserts at the end of the day. Are you okay with that?âÂ
It takes him a moment to process that youâre offering him the job, and you watch his eyes light up and a warm smile overtake his face. Thereâs still a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks, clashing with the purple bruising and swelling of his injuries.Â
âIâd love nothing more.â
Suddenly, it occurs to you that Donghyuck somewhat reminds you of a tiramisu.Â
He may look a bit rugged and grimey, bitter like coffee, but in actuality, underneath it all, heâs soft and fluffy (but not too sweet) like a mascarpone filling.Â
RECIPE 2. BLUEBERRY PIE
âAre you out of your mind?â
You cringe away from your phone, hurriedly turning the volume down. âDamn, you donât have to scream like that.âÂ
âYou should be the one screaming,â Yeri hollers. âI better not come over one day and find your body stuffed in the freezer or something.â
âI thought you wanted me to hire someone!âÂ
âNot some random dude off the side of the street who was covered in injuries and doesnât even have any baking experience,â Yeri hisses.Â
âI donât need him to bake. I just have him working the front counter and doing all the heavy lifting when I get my ingredient shipments,â you protest. âDid you think I would really just hand over all my orders to some random dude and go party it up in CancĂșn or something?âÂ
Yeri is silent for several seconds before asking, âHeâs hot, isnât he?â
âWhat?â
âSo you did know what I meant when I said you needed your back blown out.â You can hear the smugness in her voice.Â
âYeri,â you say tiredly, âplease be serious.â
âI am serious. Youâre the one being unserious,â she retorts. âYesterday, you acted like you would rather sacrifice your firstborn child before hiring a part-timer, and now look at you. Dickmatized.âÂ
âOkay, Iâm hanging up now.â
âSo, when do I get to meet himââ
You quickly hit the button to end the call and shove your phone into your pocket, letting out an exasperated sigh. You definitely wonât be hearing the end of that for a while. Your face feels warm for some reason, and you decide that you need a coffee break. After you finish making it, you pour yourself and Donghyuck a cup.Â
You peek your head out from the curtain that separates the kitchen and the front counter to see if Donghyuck is busy. Heâs politely chatting with an elderly woman, and your eyes nearly pop out of your head when he takes out the entire tray of egg tarts in the glass display and wraps it up for her. The woman happily hands him a wad of bills and waves him goodbye. After putting the cash in the register, Donghyuck turns around and catches you in the middle of gawking.Â
âOh, Y/N. I was actually just about to head back there. Weâre out of egg tarts for the display,â he says nonchalantly.Â
âUh, yeah, I can see that,â you whisper loudly, âWas that Mrs. Kim? Why the hell did she order a dozen egg tarts? That woman can barely finish a single cookie.âÂ
Donghyuck blinks, clearly confused, whispering back, âShe asked for my recommendation, so I said egg tarts since no one had bought any yet, and she said she would take all of them.âÂ
You pause, things finally clicking. Grinning knowingly, you say, âYou know, having you work the front is doing wonders for sales.âÂ
âI donât understand.â He furrows his brows.Â
You laugh, handing him his cup of coffee. âIâm talking about your face card, Donghyuck. Youâre too handsome, so youâre flustering the customers.âÂ
âAre we not whispering anymore?â he asks awkwardly. âBesides, thatâs not true. Look at the state of my face right now.âÂ
His injuries have faded significantly, but the bruising and cuts are still there. You want to tell him that superficial wounds canât mask the warmth in his caramel-brown eyes, the fullness of his cheeks and the sharp jawline, and the air of mystery that enshrouds him and draws people in.Â
But you donât.Â
âWell, for someone whoâs only been working here for two weeks, youâre doing superb. Injuries or not.âÂ
And itâs true. Youâve always preferred to work alone because youâre the only one who understands how you want things done. You naturally assumed it would be a hassle and a waste of time to try to explain to someone else when you could just do it yourself, but Donghyuck never seems to need an explanation. In fact, he knows before even you.Â
He gets to the bakery three hours before you, cleans and preps all the equipment you need for the day, unloads the ingredient shipments, and is already manning the front counter by the time you arrive like it was no big deal at all. He also seems to have a sixth sense of knowing when youâre about to do something you shouldnât be, even though you downplayed your back injury. Heâs somehow always thereâmoving all the stuff you keep on the top shelf to somewhere within your reach even though you insisted that the rickety wooden step stool you use is perfectly safe, cleaning up a glass beaker that you accidentally shattered, taking out the trash during his breaks, checking in on you when you skip lunch. He even turned down his first paycheck, saying itâs repayment for patching him up and feeding him.Â
Donghyuck is so perfect that sometimes you wonder if youâre being set up, like maybe heâs secretly embezzling money from the cash registerâwhich would be a more viable theory if he didnât drive an Audi to work everyday.Â
âThanks for the compliment. And the coffee,â Donghyuck says, snapping you out of your thoughts. He gingerly takes a sip and makes a strangled noise, a mixture being choking and retching, before slapping a hand over his mouth.Â
âAre you okay? Was it too hot?â you ask worriedly.Â
âNo, itâs justâŠreally bitter,â he mumbles, words muffled in his hand.Â
âOh,â you blink, âSorry. I drink black coffee, so I forgot to ask if you wanted creamer and sugar. Come on, thereâs some in the back.âÂ
The two of you head to the kitchen, and you watch him dump an exorbitant amount of creamer and sugar in his coffee, the dark roast swirling into something more akin to milk tea.
âYou know, there might be some chocolate milk in the fridge if youâd rather that,â you tease.Â
His head shoots up, those doe eyes lighting up. âReally?âÂ
âNo,â you trail off awkwardly, âSorry, I'm just messing with you.âÂ
Itâs a bit adorable that you can visibly see him being disappointed in there not being chocolate milk before growing embarrassed, looking down at his cup. He turns away from you, but you can see the flush on the back of his neck.Â
âYou really have a sweet tooth, huh?â you laugh.Â
âPretty lame, right?âÂ
âWhy would that be lame? Youâre talking to someone who owns a bakery, in case you forgot.âÂ
Donghyuck smiles at you, and itâs sugary sweet like buttercream frosting. He looks at you like you just said the most wonderful thing in the world; in fact, he always makes you feel like that, no matter what you say or do. âI guess youâre right.âÂ
âWhatâs your favorite dessert?â you blurt, needing a distraction urgently.Â
He pauses briefly. âI donât think I have one.â
That actually surprises you. âYou donât? Even though you love sweets so much?âÂ
He laughs, the sound harsh and rough, and it almost makes you flinch. âIâve never really had an opportunity to have many until now.âÂ
Thereâs clearly weight behind his words, but you know youâre not in a position to ask any further. A selfish part of you wants to be important enough to him that you are in a position to know more, but youâre all too aware about him very purposefully keeping you at armâs length.Â
âWell, you have plenty of time to find out,â you quickly continue, pretending not to notice. âActually, Iâm going to a blueberry farm tomorrow because Iâm thinking about adding blueberry pie to the menu. When I get back, Iâll bake one for you, and you can be the first to taste test it!âÂ
âYouâre going by yourself?â Donghyuck raises an eyebrow.Â
âOf course. Who else would I go with?âÂ
âMe. Iâll go with you,â he replies immediately.Â
âBut itâs, like, a forty-five-minute bus ride to the farm. Plus, coming with me to get ingredients isnât part of your job description anyway,â you explain.Â
âI canât come with you on my own free time?â he asks, tilting his head. âBesides, Iâm worried about you overexerting yourself with that back injury. A bumpy bus ride definitely isnât going to help, so Iâll drive us there.âÂ
âYouâre going to drive that fancy ass car to a farm? You do realize itâs going to be dirt roads, right?â You cross your arms.Â
âI think Iâll live. Besides, what makes you think this is the only fancy ass car I own?â He gives you an amused smile.Â
âYouâre joking, right?â You stare at him.Â
He hesitates for a moment. âYes.âÂ
âThat doesnât soundââ
âWhat time are we leaving tomorrow morning?âÂ
â...Seven.â
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Unsurprisingly, Donghyuck picks you up right on time, not a minute too early or late. As the universe would have it, it rained the night priorâmeaning all the dirt roads are now rivers of mud. You wince every time you heard a splat of mud hit Donghyuckâs pristine white car, but he seems to pay no mind to it. The two of you arrive at the farm within twenty minutes (he found a shortcut), and because you came so early, you get the entire farm to yourselves. The staff arms both of you with a large wicker basket each before setting you loose onto the massive property.Â
âOkay, make sure to pick the fat ones. The small ones are super tart, so avoid those,â you instruct Donghyuck. âWeâre going to fill these baskets to the brim and get our moneyâs worth.âÂ
âYou got it, Captain.â He salutes.Â
You give him a determined nod and a thumbs up before turning to your respective side and beginning to pick the blueberries. The two of you work without much fanfare or conversation, and itâs a silence that lingers between you comfortably. It reassures you to hear the sound of the bushes rustling from Donghyuck working; his companionship alone relaxes you.Â
Eventually, when the sun starts peeking through and the weather grows warmer, both of you decide to take a break. You find a spot in the shade before sitting down, pulling out snacks and bottles of water from a backpack Donghyuck brought along.Â
âI have a surprise for you,â you tell him, trying to hide a smile. âClose your eyes.âÂ
He eyes you suspiciously but does so anyway. You fish out a handful of unripe blueberries wrapped in a handkerchief from your pocket and feed some to him. His reaction is nearly instant the moment he starts chewing them; you watch as his face puckers up from how sour they are and his entire body shrivels into itself, a shudder running through him. Heâs polite enough to not spit them out, but youâre not polite enough to resist pointing and laughing at him. Throwing your head back, you laugh so hard that your stomach starts to hurt.Â
âOh my God, your face!âÂ
âUgh,â Donghyuck groans, taking a big gulp of his water. âI shouldâve known you had sinister intentions from the start.âÂ
âI didnât think youâd react like that,â you finally manage to say after catching your breath. âYou really canât handle anything except for sweet stuff.âÂ
âAre you having fun bullying me?â He rolls his eyes.Â
âSo much fun,â you say in a sing-song voice.Â
Donghyuck tries to continue feigning annoyance, but he canât help the low chuckle that rumbles in his chest. His eyes always soften when he looks at you, and his gaze is intimate like a loverâsâgentle, tender, unwavering, and vulnerable. But his warmth is always fleeting, and he only allows you glimpses of it through the unmoving walls that heâs erected around himself.Â
You wish he wouldnât indulge you so, terrified youâll try to cross the line heâs drawn between the two of you.Â
âWhat are you thinking about?â Donghyuck asks, trying to read your expression
âAbout the delicious pie Iâm about to make when we get back,â you smile.Â
âI see,â he responds, though itâs clear he isnât convinced. âIâm looking forward to it.â
âYou better be. This is how Iâm paying you back for driving me here,â you nod.Â
âInstead of that, pay me back by telling me what your favorite dessert is,â he suddenly says. âI do still want the pie, though.âÂ
âThat was random,â you snort. âWhy do you want to know my favorite dessert?â
âBecause you asked me, but you never told me yours.âÂ
You suppose he has a point, but you find it ironic that he wants to know more about you when he refuses to offer you even a modicum of information about himself. Despite this, you tell him anyway because you are obviously the fool here.Â
âIf you must know, itâs red velvet cake,â you sigh.Â
âWhy?âÂ
You donât answer at first, carefully thinking about if youâre ready to be vulnerable in front of himâstill a virtual stranger. A virtual stranger who loves sweets. A virtual stranger who is a bit of a messy eater. A virtual stranger who knows Pompompurin. A virtual stranger who worries about you even when heâs not on the clock. A virtual stranger who gently tells you to be careful whenever you try to do something dangerous, whispering, âIâll do it instead.â A virtual stranger who allows his luxury car to be caked in mud for you.Â
âBecause itâs the dessert that made me realize I want to do this for the rest of my life,â you finally say. âI baked it for my momâs birthday, and I think I ended up being more excited than her.âÂ
Donghyuck stays quiet, gauging your reaction.Â
âI was in college, studying to be a doctor like everyone else in my family. So, like a dumb young person who thought that dreams were more important than money, I dropped out of college and went to culinary school. My parents told me I was ruining mine and their lives, disowned me, yada-yadaâa bunch of depressing stuff, you know. Eventually, I graduated, took out a huge loan, and opened up my own bakery. Worked a bunch of part-time jobs until my business could stand on its own. Now here I am. Still in debt, though,â you laugh awkwardly. âBut Iâm not doing too shabby. I was able to hire you, so at least I have a little cash to spare.âÂ
He still doesnât say anything, so you find yourself starting to ramble. Youâre really not sure what possessed you to trauma dump on him like that.Â
âYou know, a lot of people talk shit about red velvet cake because they say the only thing that makes it special is the red food coloring,â you hurriedly explain, âbut thatâs not true. The cream cheese frosting is super important too. Also, I always say love is the most important ingredient of all. As a baker, youâre kind of baring your heart to the customer, and isnât it kind of cute that red velvet cake is red like a heart? Okay, please say something now or else I think Iâm going to projectile vomit.âÂ
Donghyuck reaches over and brushes a sweaty lock of hair out of your face. His fingers brush over your temple, which makes you sharply suck in a breath. You almost lean into his touch, but you catch yourself. His hand slightly lingers on the side of your neck, like he wants to bring your face closer, but he eventually pulls away.Â
He searches your face, and youâre not sure what heâs looking forâif anything. Rather, perhaps heâs not searching. Perhaps heâs committing your features to his memory, as if the way you look right now is something he wants to remember forever.Â
âYouâve worked hard, Y/N,â he says softly, voice slightly hoarse. âThis is long overdue, but congratulations. You achieved your dream, and donât let anyone ever discount that. Not even yourself.âÂ
You wonder how long youâve waited to hear that. Youâre not even sure you knew you needed to hear that. But when Donghyuck says it, it hits you just how long and hard youâve worked all on your own without a single break. Throughout the years, youâve really only ever heard, âIâm sorry that happened.â When was the last time someone congratulated you? When was the last time you congratulated yourself?Â
You surge forward, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and burying your face in his shoulder. Donghyuck cradles you against him, one hand wound tightly around your waist while the other is tangled in your hair. You can feel his chest rise up and down as he holds you. He smells like lavender soap and a bit earthy from being outside, and the warmth of his skin against your cheek makes you want to close your eyes and fall asleep in his arms.Â
âThank you,â you whisper.Â
âNo, thank you,â he murmurs into your hair.Â
Youâre not sure why heâs thanking you instead, but what you are sure of is that youâre crossing the line, taking a step towards him and wondering if heâll meet you halfway.Â
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âTada!â you announce cheerfully, setting down the freshly baked blueberry pie onto the table.Â
Donghyuck claps excitedly. âHoly shit, it looks amazing.âÂ
âIâm still trying to figure out the right portions for the filling, so let me know if you think thereâs too much or little,â you tell him as you hand him a slice.Â
Without even answering you, he stabs his fork into the pie and almost eats the entire slice in one bite, seemingly unbothered by the steam still rising from it.Â
âBe careful. Youâre going to burn your tastebuds off. Iâm not letting you eat it for shits and giggles, you know. This is for research purposes.â You cross your arms.Â
âItâs perfect, Y/N. Iâm serious,â Donghyuck says after swallowing. âThe filling isnât too sweet, and the crust is airy and light.âÂ
âWell, alright, Gordon Ramsay. I think weâre going to be adding a new menu item then,â you smile. âThink you can get Mrs. Kim to buy a dozen of these?â
âI donât think sheâll need much convincing with how good these taste.âÂ
âYouâre so easy,â you tease. âAll I need to do is feed you. Anyways, Iâm going to clean up here, but you should head home. Itâs getting late, and you wake up way earlier than me.âÂ
âIâll help,â he insists.Â
âGo,â you order, pointing at the door. âI can handle it.âÂ
He looks conflicted but eventually relents when you threaten to physically kick him out. Before he leaves, he turns back to you and says, âThank you, Y/N.â
âWhy do you keep thanking me?â you laugh.Â
âItâs been a long time since Iâve had this.â
âWhat? A blueberry pie?â
Donghyuck pauses, a slight wonder in his expression, as if heâs realizing his answer for the first time as well.
âPeace.âÂ
And you think maybe this is a step forward for him too.Â
RECIPE 3. CREAM PUFF
Itâs quite surreal how easily and naturally you and Donghyuck fall into a routine together. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, two weeks becomes two months. Youâve learned the little things about him, like how he always swipes some icing before you can fill up the piping bag or that heâs not a coffee drinker at all (more of a hot cocoa person) or that he purses his lips when a dessert heâs testing tastes off (no matter how hard he tries to hide it) or that he involuntarily sticks his arm out in front of you when he wants to stop you from doing something you shouldnât.Â
You also notice that he sometimes comes into work with injuries. Theyâre not nearly as bad as the first time you met him, but itâs hard to ignore a bruised cheek or bloodied knuckles. He always has a reason for them, whether itâs tripping down the stairs or accidentally falling down and scraping his hands on the concrete. You can tell by the way he laughs it off that he doesnât plan on telling you the truth, so you laugh with him. The two of you, having taken only a step towards one another, find yourselves completely immobile now.Â
He always does this: envelops you like a cloud but disappears the moment you reach out for him.Â
Youâre honestly not sure why heâs still here. Your injury has long healed, and he clearly doesnât need the abysmal pay youâre giving him. He feels like heâll slip away at any moment, fleeting like a warm spring breeze, and you suppose time flies by when you know itâs limited. Despite knowing that, you canât help but desperately want him to stay.Â
âI think itâs cute how hard heâs working,â Yeri randomly says one day as she eyes Donghyuck prepare orders in the front. Heâs in the middle of a lunchtime rush, so he doesnât even notice the two of you watching him like weirdos.
âWell, thatâs what Iâm paying him to do,â you reply, rolling his eyes.Â
âOh, I think the money is the least of his worries here,â she hums, taking a sip of her coffee.Â
She has a point, but youâre pretty sure sheâs implying something else as well. Just as you go to ask her what exactly she means, you hear a loud clatter. Flinching, you turn your attention back to Donghyuck and realize that heâs dropped a tray on the floor. However, the tray is the last thing on your mind when you see the expression on his face. Itâs a mixture of horror, anger, and almost sadnessâlike heâs finally come face-to-face with whatever heâs been running from. It makes your blood run cold.Â
Donghyuck is looking at a boy around his age; the boy has dark hair, a mole under his eye, and a grim expression. More importantly, heâs covered in injuries too.Â
âWho is that?â Yeri whispers. âWhy does Donghyuck look like heâs seen a ghost?âÂ
Maybe because he has, you want to tell her.Â
Donghyuck grabs the boy's arm, squeezing so tightly that his knuckles turn white, and mumbles something to him. When he turns around and meets your eyes, he looks pained and fearful as if you witnessed something you shouldnât have.
âIs it okay if I take my break early today?â he asks calmly, though the tremor in his voice gives him away.Â
You nod hesitantly, unable to force yourself to speak. You watch him as he drags the boy out; when he passes you, you can tell how tightly his body is wound right now. His jaw is clenched, a muscle spasming as he tries to control himself, and every step he takes seems labored. Heâs running on pure adrenaline right now, like heâs physically steeling himself.Â
However, you donât think heâs ever appeared so incredibly alone before. As you watch his back disappear further and further from your view, youâre unsure if heâll ever return, and you never imagined how terrifying that would be.Â
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The cream puffs arenât rising.
Youâre crouched in front of the oven, watching the dough remain flat and lifeless. You shouldâve known better than to attempt to make cream puffs on such a shitty day, especially when pastries like these are so sensitive to the environment and atmosphere. Even though you know you should probably just scrap them and try again, you wait for just a little longer, hoping that maybe if you wish hard enough that theyâll magically start to rise.Â
But then again you suppose that no matter how hard you try, no matter how careful you are, no matter how perfect the batter is, no matter how much time you spend time piping them, no matter how much you want them to rise, they wonât.Â
You decide that Donghyuck isnât like a tiramisu at all; heâs sensitive and delicate and elusive and frustrating like a cream puff.Â
âY/N, theyâre burning.âÂ
Losing your balance and nearly falling over, you gasp loudly. You were so lost in your thoughts that you didnât even hear Donghyuck walk into the kitchen, nor did you smell the undeniable scent of something being burnt to a crisp.Â
âOh, fuâ!â you curse, hurriedly opening the oven and casually suffocating both you and Donghyuck with a hot plume of air. Sputtering, you look around and grab a random rag from the sink before reaching for the cream puffs.Â
âWait, stop!â Donghyuck stops you with an outstretched arm, his hand pressed to your side. âLet me do it.âÂ
He gently takes the rag from your hand and removes the tray of charred cream puffs from the oven, dumping them into the trash before putting the tray in the sink and running some water on itâjust how you like it.Â
Letting out a relieved sigh, he turns back to you and asks, âAre you okay? Itâs not like you to make a mistake like that. You didnât get burned anywhere, did you?âÂ
When you donât answer immediately, Donghyuck rushes forward and grabs your hands, carefully examining your fingers and arms. âWait, are you hurt? Where? Tell me where you got burned. We have to cool it down with some lukewarm water. And donât just say youâre fine. Burns are not a joke, Y/Nâwhy are you looking at me like that?âÂ
His hands are calloused and rough, and you can still see scabs from where he tore his knuckles, yet he touches you like youâre the delicate one. Heâs covered in fresh and old wounds, yet he looks so panicked at the thought of you having a scratch.Â
âShut up,â you whisper furiously, ripping your hands away from him. âFrom now on, donât ask me another question. Itâs my turn to ask you questions.âÂ
He blinks, a bit stunned by your reaction, but itâs clear he knows what youâre about to say. He goes to reach for you again but decides against it. âOkay.âÂ
âWho was that guy?â you demand. âWhy are you always covered in injuries? Why did you lie to me? Who are you?âÂ
âHeâs an old friend,â Donghyuck starts quietly.Â
âDo you treat all your friends like that?âÂ
âWhen I donât want to see them.âÂ
You wait for him to continue.
âBefore I met you, he and I and a few of our other friends workedâŠodd jobs for cash,â he explains, and he looks like heâs choking on every word. âThe jobs usually entailed us hurting people and also getting hurt. I did a lot of shit I wasnât proud of. At the time, I didnât really care. It was just nice to feel something, whether it was the adrenaline rush from doing the punching or the pain from being punched. I got a bunch of money, bought a bunch of expensive stuff, but none of it mattered. Eventually, I just felt nothing again. I didnât even have the energy to loathe myself anymore. So, I took one last job, got the shit kicked out of me, and then I left. Thatâs when you found meââ
He inhales, and his eyes flicker towards you. He gazes at you so longingly, as if you were impossibly out of his reach, that you canât help but involuntarily take a step towards him.Â
But he steps back.Â
âI thought that working here would make me feel like a human being again, but I didnât realize how much I wouldââ He pauses again. âI thought working here would be a nice reset for me, but I naively thought that I could completely leave my past behind. My friends eventually found me, and I guess I care about those reckless assholes more than I thought because they managed to convince me to take on a few more jobs with them. Thatâs why Iâve been coming to work with injuries. But Iâm done. I cut them off for good when they walked into this bakery. I donât wantâŠI donât want our past to tarnish this place. I want to keep this place a beautiful, warm, and pure safe haven that you worked so hard for it to be. Thatâs why I lied to you, Y/N. Iâm a coward to the bone, and I was envious of you. I was ashamed to admit it to you. You, who had the courage to chase after your dream. You, who had the kindness to help a good-for-nothing asshole like me. I only want you to have happy memories from now on, and I am not one of them.âÂ
âAre you going to leave?â you ask softly.Â
âI probably should,â he answers shakily.Â
âWhatâs stopping you?âÂ
âJustâŠone reason.âÂ
âWhen you say it like that, it makes it sound like the reason is me.âÂ
Donghyuck laughs bitterly, and his eyes drag across your face like every movement hurts him.
âYou know itâs you. Itâs always been you.âÂ
When you reach for his hand, he turns away like just the warmth from your body heat burns him. So instead, you take a step back.Â
âI wonât ask you to stay, Donghyuck, I wonât chase you. Iâm going to wait right here, and itâs up to you if you're going to meet me halfway.âÂ
RECIPE 4. RED VELVET CAKE
When your alarm clock goes off the next morning, you seriously consider just not showing up to work. Itâs not like you can be fired for being a no-show when youâre your own boss, after all.Â
And itâs not like you have any employees who will be expecting you.Â
Youâll just apologize to Mrs. Kim and your other regulars later. Youâre allowed to have a day where you just rot in bed and feel sorry for yourself.Â
However, no matter how much you tell yourself that, you find yourself crawling out of bed and getting ready anyway. You canât seem to brutally crush that small glimmer of hope that Donghyuck might still be there, no matter how hard you try. When you see yourself in the mirror, you recoil in horror. Your eyes are almost swollen shut from the amount of crying you did last night, and your face is sallow and lifeless.Â
So much for putting on a brave face, you think wryly to yourself. You tried so hard to look tough, when in reality, you bawled your eyes out and even considered praying to God for Donghyuck to stay. Itâs a humiliating and humbling reality check.Â
âStand up right now,â you sharply tell yourself in the mirror. âHeâs just some guy. Get it together.âÂ
You do your best to clean up your appearance and make the trek over to the bakery. It takes another internal pep talk before you can make your way to the door. After you finally walk up, you see that the lights inside are off. Your stomach sinks, and your eyes start to burn. Even though youâre holding the handle, you canât bring yourself to open the door. Itâs an outcome that you expected, yet you wonder why it hurts so badly.Â
âYou liar,â you mumble to yourself, âYou said you only wanted me to have happy memories.âÂ
Once you make your way inside, you numbly head towards the kitchen, trying to remember what exactly you have to do today. Oh right, now that heâs not here, you also have to make sure all the ingredients are prepped first.Â
When you walk into the kitchen, you do a double-take.Â
The whole place looks like itâs been completely ransacked: used pans and utensils piled up in the sink, two opened boxes of cake mix, containers of ingredients without lids on on the tables, random lumps of flour and egg shells strewn aboutâÂ
And right in front of the oven is Donghyuck, flour in his hair and frosting on his nose. Heâs holding a cake stand withâŠyou think itâs supposed to be a cake on it? The shape is mangled and haphazardly cut, but it has echoes of a heart. The frosting is a hot mess, as if a bird with diarrhea shat all over the cake. The batter is clearly underbaked and makes the cake look gooey in a bad way.Â
âUm, I promise Iâll clean all of this up in a second, but I wanted to surprise you,â Donghyuck starts awkwardly. âItâs not perfect, but I tried making a red velvet cake for you.âÂ
You stare at him, still not sure how to react.Â
âYou once said that baking is like baring your heart to the customer and that love is the most important ingredient of all,â he laughs softly to himself. âI think love is the only ingredient I managed to get right, but Iâm baring my heart to you now, Y/N. Iâm sorry I hid everything and lied to you, but Iâm in love with you. Hopelessly so. All my life, Iâve chased a feeling, not knowing what it was. But now I do. I donât think I knew how to feel until I met you. I never once thought I would ever have a purpose in my life, but you make me want to be a normal, proper member of society. Your dream is my dream. I want to wake up at 5AM and sell egg tarts with you for the rest of my life, if youâll have me.âÂ
Donghyuck sets the cake down on a table in front of you, and you notice that his fingers are dyed red from the food coloring. It almost reminds you of when you first met him, except his injuries have been replaced with red food coloring, flour, and cream cheese frosting.Â
âThis cake is terrible,â you smile, âhow did you butcher it that badly when you used cake mix?âÂ
You watch him blush all the way down to his neck, as he sheepishly looks away. âDonât make fun of me. I really tried my best. I stayed up watching tutorialsââÂ
Leaning across the table, you cup his face with both hands and kiss him, brushing your thumbs across his cheekbones. He tastes like frosting, hot cocoa, and your prayers being answered. The way he kisses you back is bruising, dizzying and knocking any coherent thought out of your head, his hands finding your hips and anchoring you to him. He kisses you like youâre the sweetest and most wonderful thing heâs ever tasted.
When you finally pull away, it takes you a moment to regain feeling in your legs. Donghyuck presses his forehead against yours, lips brushing against yours once again as the two of you try to catch your breath.Â
âI think Iâm going to have to fire you, though,â you whisper. âYou know, with me being your boss and all. The power dynamic is too weird.âÂ
He hums, pausing for thought. âThen how about I become your business partner?âÂ
âWhat?â
Donghyuck reaches into his pocket and fishes out his wallet, pulling out a shiny and fancy-looking credit card. He hands it to you without much fanfare.Â
âI have a lot of money, you know. So Iâm going to invest in your business. Use it as youâd like,â he casually announces.
You stare at him, your jaw hanging wide open. He never tried to hide from you that he was rich, but he never told you that he was rich rich.Â
âWell, damn! Why didnât you show me this earlier? I would have forgiven you a lot sooner,â you tease, slapping him on the arm. âAre you sure you want to give this to me? Iâm quite the gold-digger, you know.â
âWhen I told you to use it as youâd like, I meant me as well,â Donghyuck replies, shrugging.
âYouâre insane.â You hope he canât tell how much your face is burning up.Â
âI guess I am,â he laughs, and you donât think heâs ever looked so free. You want to tell him that you hope he only has happy memories from now on too. You want to tell him that youâll rewrite all of his scars with sugary and fluffy desserts so that they wonât ever hurt again.Â
And for the first time in your life, you feel it too.
Peace.Â
EXTRA
âSo, have you figured out what your favorite dessert is?âÂ
Donghyuck stirs slightly, groaning, as he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you closer. He slips his hand under your shirt (well, technically itâs his shirt) and rests it on your bare hip bone.Â
âWhy arenât you asleep?âÂ
âBecause Iâm curious.âÂ
âIf I answer, will you let me rest?â
âDepends on how good your answer is.âÂ
âBlueberry pie. Thatâs my answer.âÂ
You smile against the crook of his neck.Â
âWhy?âÂ
âBecause itâs the dessert that made me realize I want to do this for the rest of my life.âÂ
#nct imagines#nct scenarios#haechan fluff#haechan angst#nct dream fluff#nct dream angst#nct 127 fluff#nct 127 angst#nct 127 imagines#haechan#nct#choerrypuffs
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master of all elements.
synopsis: y/n, a waterbender of the northern water tribe, has been named the new avatar. she must master all of the elements in order to keep the peace of the four nations. which path will she choose first?
pairing: 00 line x reader
genre: fluff, angst
authorâs note: i am so late to the game but i finally watched all of avatar the last airbender and i knew i had to make a fic/series about it so here i am. this series is formatted like a dating game. you pick a route with a character (00 line) and then once you finish that route (the fic), you go back and pick another one. the stories have nothing to do with each other, like wiping clean the slate!

the element of change | na jaemin.Â
your childhood best friend and longtime crush. in your opinion, he shouldâve been the avatar but thatâs not how it works unfortunately. kind, patient, and achingly handsome, keeping your focus on the bending and not him will prove to be a challenge.

the element of substance | lee jeno.
a gentle, but mysterious, earthbender that saves you when youâre in a sticky situation. for some reason, he refuses to teach you earthbending no matter how much you beg him. it would be much easier to just find another teacher, but thereâs just something about him that draws you in.

the element of power | huang renjun.
cold and armed with a nasty temper, this fire nation soldier knows just how to push your buttons. despite his bad attitude, thereâs no dispute that he is among one of the most skilled firebenders thatâs ever been. at this point, youâre not really sure if you want to kill or kiss him.
   Ⳡthe story continues in sunrise: an element of power story.Â

the element of freedom | lee donghyuck. * for the sake of my sanity, weâre just gonna pretend that the air nomads donât shave their heads.
a mischievous airbending thief that somehow ropes you into his antics. in exchange for being his accomplice, he teaches you bending. life is never dull with him, but he seems to be running from something and you desperately want to know what.
#this is so late but happy atla live action release!!!#haven't heard amazing things about it but luckily my writing in this series isn't all that great either so it fits đđđ#i hope everyone is doing well!!
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demigods.
synopsis: summers at camp half-blood are never dullâespecially when thereâs a cute boy at every corner.
pairing: 00 line x reader
genre: fluff, angst
authorâs note: back at it again with another 00 line series because i like pain! i recently discovered my old copy of the last olympian in the depths of my messy room, and i knew i had to do a camp half-blood au (edit: percy jackson is getting a disney+ series so i guess iâm psychic). i wanted to make the fic names resemble rick riordanâs chapter titles, and theyâre kind of cringe but i tried my best. like my avatar series, the fics are standalones and can be read in any order (though you might miss a couple of easter eggs here and there)!Â
important: this may not be 100% accurate to the camp halfblood in the books because i needed to bend some rules/traditions for the flow of the story. hardcore stans, please donât get mad at me!
credit for the template used in my edits ( x )

my best friend wants to be abducted by aliens | son of athena!renjun x daughter of aphrodite!reader
as the self-proclaimed matchmaker of camp half-blood, you have had a 100% success rate with all of your matches. your current project is finding a date for your best friend, huang renjunâa prickly smart aleck that perfectly fits the child of athena stereotype. unfortunately for you, he seems to be hellbent on tarnishing your perfect record. his refusal to get a girlfriend prompts you to come up with all sorts of conspiracy theories (alien abduction, ghost possession, lizard people etc.) in an attempt to crack the code that is renjun. even though youâre able to create these insane scenarios inside your head, you canât seem to realize the glaringly obvious: renjun is in love with you.

i become attracted to seaweed | son of poseidon!donghyuck x daughter of athena!reader
ever the perfectionist, you take your job as the head counselor of the athena cabin very seriously. unlike others, your summers at camp half-blood are when you are at your absolute busiest. you donât have a moment to rest, constantly running around to make sure everything is perfect. but the gods seem to have a twisted sense of humor, throwing a wrench into your meticulous schedule in the form of an unconscious boy right in front of the entrance of the camp. because youâre the one who discovers him and the fact that heâs taken a liking to you, youâre tasked with looking after himâdonghyuckâuntil his godly parent claims him. you become a sort of mentor to him, despite your initial protest. his presence eventually goes from a nuisance to a solace to you, and you find yourself wishing he could stay by your side.

captain sparkle fingers revives me from the dead | son of apollo!jaemin x daughter of hades!reader
after a mission gone awry, youâre severely injured and rushed to the infirmary. you have an extremely close brush with death (and your father), but you manage to somehow survive. once you come to, you find out your life was saved by the camp half-bloodâs golden boy, na jaeminâthe unspoken favorite son of apollo and the infirmaryâs most talented healer. you want nothing more than to get back to your mission, but you canât get past jaemin. even though everything he says is delivered with a sweet smile, you find him to be quite terrifying. during your recovery period, he does his best to try and befriend you, but youâre making it quite difficult for him. you really donât want anything to do with him, in fear of misunderstanding his kindness for something else. but you know, and so does he, that itâs only a matter of time.

i suddenly realize my archnemesis is hot (during a battle to the death) | son of ares!jeno x daughter of nike!reader
being the daughter of the goddess of victory, winning is literally life or death for you. when it comes to battle prowess, youâre close to unmatched. the only one who can give you a run for your money is lee jenoâthe frustratingly handsome son of ares, who also happens to be your greatest rival. youâve been duking it out with him since your first meeting, turning everything into a competition. the two of you easily cement yourselves as the top two warriors at camp half-blood, which is why you get paired together for a top secret mission: to retrieve the stolen golden fleece. both of you reluctantly agree to a truce for the sake of the camp. however, the more time you spend with him, the more your hatred for him seems to dwindle. you tell yourself that the fog of war is just getting to you, but deep down, you know itâs something more.
finished reading? check out the sequel series, demigods: electric boogaloo!
#this is a bit late but happy pjo series release day#it makes me so happy that people are still coming back to this series đ„čđ«¶#i promise im still working on the sequels đ«Ą
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what the puck!

pairing: hockey player!donghyuck x reader
genre: fluff, slight angst, a crackfic turned way too serious lmao
word count:Â 11.6k
synopsis:Â you hit the universityâs star hockey player with your car. shenanigans (and maybe even a little romance) ensue.Â
authorâs note: sorry i came back after almost an entire year and dropped this instead of anything people actually asked for teehee đ also i know nothing about hockey so none of the sports stuff makes sense pls kindly ignore <3 big shoutout to miss cat and moon for coming up with the only good parts of this ficÂ
warning(s):Â brief descriptions of injuriesÂ
playlist:Â and july (feat. dean and dj friz) by heize â mixtape 2003 by the academic â chit chat by beach weather â 1983 by neon trees â fearless by taylor swift
part i. lee taemin once said his ideal meet-cute is a girl running him over with her car <3
First off, to set the record straightâ
You are not a bad driver.
There just so happened to be a bad thunderstorm, and your windshield wipers happened to malfunction, and you happened to lightly tap someone with the front of your beat-up Toyota Prius. Honestly, the person probably did more damage to your car thatâs one airbag deployment away from spontaneous combustion than the car could ever do to him.Â
However, for some reason, the blurry figure that you can barely make out through the onslaught of rainfall doesnât seem to be getting up off the ground.Â
Hurriedly putting your car in park, you clamber out in a panic as water pelts you in the face like one of those super strong hoses set on sprinkler mode. Without even asking if the person is okay, you lift him up by the shoulders and shake him violently.Â
âOh my God, please donât die! I literally canât afford to pay for someoneâs funeral right now,â you wail.Â
Youâre met with a pained chuckle, and a hoarse voice replies, âIâm not dead, but thanks for the concern.âÂ
His words cut through your blubbering like the sun peeking through the dark rain clouds, and the violent storm that nearly killed him five minutes ago suddenly subsides into a pleasant drizzle. Now that you can open your eyes without getting waterboarded, you blearily blink at him, finally able to get a good look at your victim.Â
Even though heâs soaked to the bone with rain, the guy in front of you takes your breath away. He has angled features but big, round doe-eyes and heart-shaped lips that brings a softness to his face. His dark hair, presumably having been styled before this whole fiasco, is flat against forehead and falls into his eyes, brushing against his eyelashes. If you hadnât just almost committed vehicular manslaughter against him, heâd definitely be someone that you would make eye contact with by chance and have delusional fantasies of living in domesticity with him before looking down at your feet and making a beeline in the opposite direction.Â
His expression is a bit dazed, a half-smile tugging at his lips, as he makes eye contact with youâalmost like he isnât aware that heâs smiling. You grow a bit concerned, wondering if heâs fallen into a stupor because of the adrenaline.Â
However, thereâs another thing thatâs been bothering you more.
And itâs the fact that he looks so familiarâ
Then, it suddenly hits you (no pun intended).Â
You know exactly who this guy is because you pass by a banner with his face on it twice a week on your way to your statistics class.Â
âHoly shit,â you breathe, âyouâre Lee Donghyuck.âÂ
A star hockey player whose talent hasnât been seen in generations, the guy that is single handedly carrying the universityâs legacy on his back, a permanent fixture in recent sports news cycles, the shoo-in for the upcoming NHL draft, and someone who definitely cannot afford to be injured just as heâs reaching the peak of his careerâthat Lee Donghyuck.
âYep, thatâs me,â he replies with a fairly cheerful demeanor for someone who was just hit by a car. âAnd you are?âÂ
You just stare at him for a beat before you realize that heâs actually talking to you. âOh, Iâm Y/N.âÂ
Donghyuck goes to say something but stops, clenching his jaw. He reaches down and grasps his right leg, face twisted in pain. Dread sinks into you with the pressure of a dozen semi-trucks.Â
Before you can bring yourself to look at how bad the damage is, you pray to every god that you can think of that itâs just a teensy-weensy little scrape and Donghyuck has a low pain tolerance. After all, you may not be particularly religious, but you consider yourself a pretty decent person that hasnât committed a sin grave enough to incur this kind of punishment.
Unfortunately, the gods donât seem to agree because when you look down, Lee Donghyuckâs calf is bent at an angle that no humanâs calf should ever be bent at, his leg resembling an extremely grotesque and mangled L-shape.Â
You may not have to pay for Donghyuckâs funeral, but you might be holding one of your own.
âYeah, itâs broken,â the ER doctor says matter-of-factly.Â
You put your head in your hands, feeling the urge to curl up in a hole and die as if it were your career on the line.Â
âYouâll be out for six to eight weeks. But on the bright side, it was a pretty clean break, so you shouldnât have any trouble getting back on the ice once youâre healed,â the doctor continues, thumbing through the X-rays on his clipboard. âYou were hit in a very methodical way.â
Whipping your head back up and nearly snapping your neck, you gawk at the doctor. âWhy are you saying it like I did it on purpose?â
âHm,â is the only response you get before he turns back to Donghyuck, patting the latter on the shoulder. âAnyways, just know that the whole staff here are huge fans of you, and weâre all rooting for ya. Get well soon, and make us proud.âÂ
Donghyuck just gives him a strained smile, stiffly trying to sit up on the bed without jostling his leg thatâs been propped up in a heavy, thick cast. The doctor fanboys a little more before finally leaving, drawing the privacy curtain closed behind him.Â
An extremely awkward silence hangs in the air between the two of you. You wait for him to start crying or screaming or have some sort of emotional outburst. However, he doesnât react at all, just quietly sitting and fiddling with the heart rate monitor clipped on his finger.Â
âSo, um, are youâŠare you okay?â you ask quietly.Â
Donghyuck laughs. âI think thatâs the first time youâve asked about my wellbeing since we got here.âÂ
Thatâs the second time heâs smiled in front of you. You donât understand why he hasnât reached over the railing of the bed and throttled you yet. You canât even imagine how frustrated and disappointed he must be right now. While the doctor did say heâll be fine once heâs healed, itâll take at least a month for him to fully recover. That means heâll be missing at least 7 or 8 gamesâgames that will undoubtedly have important scouts present.
Hell, Donghyuck even had to pay the ER bill too (luckily, his insurance covered the majority of it).Â
âIâm really sorry,â you sigh, finally giving him a well overdue apology. âI wasnât thinking straight back then. When I panic, my head goes empty, and I just blurt out stupid shit all the time. I know saying sorry isnât nearly enough, but if thereâs anything I can do for you, I will do my best to make it happen.âÂ
You watch him pause to think. âYou knowâŠthere actually is.â
You lean forward eagerly, nodding for him to continue. Youâre expecting something labor-intensive or gross, like cleaning his house or doing the hockey teamâs laundry.Â
âCould you drive me to and from my classes and practice?â he simply asks. âMy parents live out of state, and my teammatesâ schedules are always packed, so I kind of need someone to help me.âÂ
You blink at him.Â
He blinks back.Â
âYou want me to drive you around?â you ask slowly. âIn the same car I hit you with?âÂ
âWell,â he shrugs, âIâll be in it this time, not in front of it.âÂ
Youâre not sure if you should be impressed or concerned by his faith in your driving ability.Â
âIf youâre too busy thenââ
âNo, no! I can,â you quickly interject, âAs long as youâre okay with it.âÂ
You still find it surreal how calm he is about everything.Â
Donghyuck beams. âPerfect. Because I have practice in twenty minutes.âÂ
âWait, you want to go to practice now? But shouldnât you go home and rest?âÂ
âEh, Iâll be fine. Even if I canât play, I want to show up for moral support,â he replies nonchalantly. âPlus, I still havenât told them that my leg is broken.â
You make a mental note to casually slip out of the room when that conversation takes place.
âUm, okay then,â you start hesitantly, âonce youâre discharged, Iâll drive you there.âÂ
He gives you another grin, and it suddenly hits you that youâve just committed a whole month of your life to chauffeuring the pride and joy of the hockey world.Â
Then again, youâve already hit him with your car, so surely nothing worse could happen.
Right?Â
When Donghyuck is finally discharged from the ER, you help him hobble along to your car with his crutches and carefully into the passenger seat. You had already haphazardly swept all the empty water bottles, crumpled receipts, and miscellaneous trash under the backseat, so luckily, he doesnât notice the absolute abysmal state of your vehicle.Â
You play some music once you hit the road, and he hums along, tapping his uncasted foot to the beat. You, on the other hand, can barely hear the song. You keep your back ramrod straight and grip on the steering wheel so tight that your knuckles turn white, driving with the focus of a Secret Service agent escorting the President.Â
âSo, whatâs your major?â Donghyuck asks jovially.Â
âWhat?â you jolt. âOh, um, communications.âÂ
âOh cool,â he says, sounding genuinely interested. âWhat do you want to do when you graduate?âÂ
âUh, just a typical 9-5 office job, I guess,â you answer half-heartedly.Â
When he doesnât immediately respond, you hurriedly continue, âIâm not a very ambitious person, as you can see. It probably sounds so mundane to a hotshot like you.âÂ
âYou think Iâm a hotshot?â He waggles his eyebrows.Â
You give him a confused look. âYour face is literally plastered all over our school.âÂ
He shrugs like you have a point.
âWell, thereâs nothing wrong with mundane,â he continues reassuringly, âBesides, I doubt a communications degree would entail a super flashy job or anything.âÂ
You shift in your seat, now feeling strangely defensive over a degree that you care nothing about. âWell, I could be, like, a PR manager for a celebrity or something.âÂ
He raises an eyebrow. âDo you really want to clean up the messes of a bunch of entitled millionaires that would probably treat the gum stuck to their shoe better than you?â
You rack your brain for a clever retort and eventually give up when your silence drags on much too long for a quip, no matter how smart, to have any merit anymore.Â
âNo,â you finally admit, shaking your head like a toddler who just got caught doing something bad.Â
âAw, donât look so down,â Donghyuck says, clearly trying to stifle a laugh. âDonât worry. If I become a professional hockey player, Iâll hire you.âÂ
Now itâs your turn to raise an eyebrow. âSo when you become an entitled millionaire, you want me to clean up your messes while you treat the gum stuck to your shoe better than me?âÂ
âAh, but you see,â he trails off dramatically, âthe twist is that Iâm going to remain my angelic self as always and then you wonât have any messes to clean up. Youâll basically just be paid for sitting around and doing nothing. Itâll be a nice, easy, cushy job. Perfect for someone with no ambition.âÂ
You laugh, leaning back in your seat. âHow generous of you to offer a job to someone who almost killed you a couple of hours ago.â
âBygones,â he says breezily. âWhat do you think? I promise Iâll treat you well.âÂ
Donghyuck puts his elbows on your center console and props up his face in his hands, batting his eyelashes at you.Â
âI think the doctor might have given you too much morphine,â you reply, rolling your eyes.Â
âIs that why Iâm seeing so many shapes and colors?âÂ
You whip your head towards him in concern.Â
âJust kidding.â He winks.Â
âNot funny,â you grumble.Â
âI think I heard your neck crack.âÂ
âShut up.â
âDo you know what tech neck is?âÂ
âAre you always this annoying towards strangers?â you demand.Â
âOh come on, weâre not strangers anymore,â he insists. âWeâve become trauma bonded.âÂ
You actually canât dispute that.Â
âAnd are you always this chipper after sustaining a severe injury that inhibits your burgeoning career?âÂ
âOnly when I have good company,â he replies smoothly.Â
While your eyes are focused on the road, you can still see him through your peripheral vision. You know heâs looking at you, feeling his gaze like a beam of sunlight shining directly on your face (also probably why it feels so warm). He has one arm on the center console, covering his mouth with his palm, but you can tell heâs smiling by the way his animation-like eyes crinkle in the corners and how his cheeks are puffed up.
Youâre not sure how to respond to a joke like that; rather, youâre not really sure how to respond to Lee Donghyuck at all.Â
âOh, weâre here!â you announce, sounding a little too relieved when you see the skating rink right up ahead.Â
Much to your surprise, you do an amazing job at parking, carefully easing into the lines with a doctorâs precision. Performance anxiety really does make a person thrive.
You quickly get out and grab the crutches from the backseat before going over to the passenger side door, where Donghyuck is balancing on one foot as he tries to exit the car on his own.Â
âBe careful,â you scold, immediately grabbing his arm and looping it around your shoulder. âWait for me to come get you. Iâm supposed to be helping you.âÂ
âBut I want to look cool in front of you,â he replies sheepishly. âWant you to see my swagger when I walk.âÂ
Rolling your eyes, you hand him his crutches and hold him steady until heâs able to stand on his own. Even though he insists that heâs fine now, your arms still hover by his side, ready to catch him at any moment if he slips.Â
Just as the two of you are about to reach the entrance of the rink, you see another guy walking towards it as well. Heâs carrying a hockey stick covered in tape and a giant duffel bag that isnât zipped fully, overstuffed with what you can only presume to be hockey gear. His red and blue jersey has the number 2 and the name âLEEâ printed on the back of it.Â
Hearing your shuffling footsteps, he glances over and catches Donghyuckâs eye before doing a double take when he realizes that the latter is in a cast.Â
âDude, what the hell?â he gawks, marching right over to Donghyuck. âWhat happened to your leg?âÂ
âMark, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is Mark,â Donghyuck quickly introduces the two of you, ignoring Markâs question completely. Mark gives you a confused wave before turning back to Donghyuck and raising his eyebrow.Â
âAnyways, Y/N hit me with her car,â Donghyuck explains casually.
You gasp, nearly punching him in the arm but holding back just in time because a) heâs already injured and b) heâs right. You just wish he didnât say it like that.Â
Markâs expression grows more bewildered when he looks at you. âWhy? I mean, I know heâs annoying and a bit of an eyesore, but heâs still a pretty good guyâŠâÂ
âAccidentally,â you clarify through grit teeth. âIt was an accident.âÂ
âOh okay,â Mark nods as if everything suddenly makes sense now. âYou know Coach is gonna lose his shit, right? We have a month before playoffs.âÂ
You let out a small squeak of fear even though Mark isnât talking to you anymore.Â
Donghyuck certainly never mentioned that. Your guilt only grows tenfold; of course, you couldnât just hit this prodigy player on any random Tuesday. You had to hit him right before the playoff games that determine the championship.Â
âYeah, well,â Donghyuck mumbles, shrugging. âAt least you boys will be treated to a nice show.âÂ
Mark snorts before grabbing the handle to the door and holding it open for the two of you, gesturing for you to walk in first. You feel both of their expectant gazes on you, waiting for you to move, but your feet feel like theyâve been bolted in place.Â
âWhatâs wrong?â Donghyuck asks, shifting all his weight onto one crutch so he can lean forward and look at your face. âAre you feeling sick?âÂ
âYou could say that,â you mutter, âI suppose the crippling fear of being skinned alive by your coach might be the reason why Iâm so nauseous and sweaty.âÂ
âDonât be afraid,â he reassures you, puffing up his chest. âIâll protect you!âÂ
âHow are you going to protect me?â you demand. âYouâd last three seconds against him with that leg and then weâd both just die.âÂ
âYou could use him as a human shield,â Mark suggests. âJust throw him at the Coach as a distraction and then run away.âÂ
âNo,â you sigh. âHeâs too heavy with that cast. I canât lift him.â Â
âAck,â Donghyuck gargles dramatically, âDid you hear that? That was the sound of a knife entering my back. Et te, Brute?âÂ
âItâs Et tu, genius,â you correct, rolling your eyes.Â
âYeah, dumbass. Didnât you read Julius Caesar in high school?â Mark sneers.Â
âSorry that I was cool in high school, â Donghyuck retorts, âGet out of my way, nerds.âÂ
You chuckle as he hobbles past you and shoves Mark on the way, heading into the rink at a snailâs pace. After lightly bullying Donghyuck, you feel much more relaxed than before. Even though youâre still terrified of the reactions youâll be met with later, you decide to finally gird your loins and step foot into this godforsaken place.
Donghyuck and Mark kindly give you an informal tour as you make your way down to the skating rink, pointing out the locker rooms and where the student section is in the seats. It astounds you that youâre only a couple quarters away from graduating and yet youâve never been here before. You have some friends who are fans or just show up to ogle hot players, and theyâve invited you to games, but youâve just never really cared about the sport in general.
How ironic, you think to yourself and stifling a slightly hysterical giggle.Â
The rest of the team are doing warm-up exercises on the ice, and you notice the burly-looking coach watching over them with a hawk eye and a whistle in his mouth, arms crossed. His face is turned downwards in an extremely scary scowl.Â
Your palms start to grow sweaty and your footsteps become heavier again, and Donghyuck seems to notice instantly, turning around and giving you a wink.Â
âI got this,â he says coolly.Â
You watch Donghyuck confidently swagger (as best as he can) towards the coach, who looks at him like he just saw a ghost, all the blood draining from his face. The coachâs mouth hangs wide open, the whistle slipping out of his mouth and hitting his chest.Â
The sounds of the blades of the skates skidding across the ice come to a sudden halt as everyone in the room stares at the cast on Donghyuckâs leg and slowly starts to register what that means.Â
âHeeey, Coach!â Donghyuck walks up to him and does jazz hands like an idiot. âWhatâs kickinâ? Haha, not me!âÂ
And you realize that Donghyuck does not, in fact, got this.Â
You might as well just grab a shovel and start digging your own grave.Â
âLee Donghyuck, stop dicking around and get your ass on that ice now. I donât have time to deal with another one of your pranks. Not when playoffsââ
Donghyuck, the little arsonist who likes to dump fuel on the fire he is, takes out the X-rays of his broken bone from his pocket and proudly presents it to the coach.Â
âWhat the hell did you do?â The coach asks after staring at the X-rays like they had complex quantum physics equations written on them.Â
âI got hit by a car?â Donghyuck answers sheepishly, holding his arms out as if he were announcing something grand.Â
You watch as the gears start falling into place in the coachâs head.The blood that had drained from his face earlier suddenly comes rushing back, and youâre surprised steam doesnât come out of his ears.
âDid I or did I not tell you to not act like a little shit before playoffs? I asked you to behave for just once in your life and then you go and get yourself hit by a car!â The coach hollers, fuming. âWhat, did you finally piss someone off enough? Who hit you? I want to meet them and ask why they didnât just kill you right off the bat. Youâre of better use to me dead because then at least I would be sad for you. What the hell am I supposed to do with you now? Limping around like a three-legged dog.â Â
âAw, Coach, youâd be sad if I died?â Donghyuck sniffles. Judging by his reaction, you can tell this isnât the first time heâs been chewed out by the coach before. Despite the coach's harsh words and tone, itâs clear that he has a strong familial bond to his players.Â
âGet out.âÂ
âI get that youâre mad, but itâs kind of rude to compare my gait to a three-legged dogâs, as adorable as they may be. Admittedly, my swagger is kind of off, but Iâd prefer you call it something with a little more pizazz. Like âfracture swaggerâ orââ
âGet out!â The coach hurls his whistle at Donghyuckâs head.
Even with his injury, his athlete instincts kick in and he dodges it with ease.Â
On the other hand, youâwho had sneakily slipped behind Donghyuck without him noticing in an attempt to hide yourselfânot so much.
Luckily, the metal whistle doesnât hit your face, but the lanyard itâs attached to slaps you across your cheek like a whip. You let out a yelp, but itâs not really out of pain. Itâs more out of surprise and terror of being on the receiving end of the coachâs wrath.
âAre you okay?â Donghyuck asks immediately, looking way more concerned than he should be. âDid it hit you in the eye?âÂ
âNope. Iâm totally good,â you answer a little too quickly, nodding like a bobblehead.
He hesitantly reaches over but drops his hand right as his fingers brush your jaw. Turning away stiffly, his concerned expression quickly morphs into a glower.Â
âCoach,â he says, all humor draining from his tone. âApologize.âÂ
Donghyuck lowers his voice, but the weight of his words loom in the air like a rumbling storm cloudâthe ones you see on weather satellites that eventually amasses into a hurricane.Â
âIâmâŠsorry,â the coach stammers, clearly taken aback.Â
You feel like all of the air is being sucked out of the room, so you just give him an awkward thumbs-up.Â
Another beat of silence passes by before the coach snaps out of his surprise and yanks Donghyuck by the ear. âYou have a lot of nerve talking to me with that attitude, little brat. Especially after the stunt you pulled today. Who the hell is she anyways?â
âOwie,â Donghyuck whines, pawing at the coachâs wrist before finally being released. âOh, thatâs Y/N.âÂ
As if it were just a blip in time, that unimaginable pressure dissipates in an instant. He goes back to his mischievous self so smoothly that you wonder if you had just imagined everything before.Â
âHello,â you greet, trying your best to smile naturally even though it probably looks like youâre just opening your mouth and showing your teeth.Â
âSheâs the one who hit me with her carââ
In that moment, the gods suddenly decided to grant you the same athlete instincts that Donghyuck is graced with because you lunge forward in a blur, slapping a hand over his mouth. The clap reverberates throughout the whole rink, but you just smile sweetly.Â
âAccidentally. It was an accident. Iâll be driving him around until his leg heals.âÂ
It takes another second for the coach to register what you mean, and you brace for the worst, expecting another object to go hurtling towards youâthis time with intent.Â
Instead, the coach glances at Donghyuck before looking back at you, a knowing smirk on his face.Â
âWelcome to the team, I guess.âÂ
Despite your initial qualms, you adjust to your new norm pretty quickly.Â
In fact, itâs kind of surreal how suddenly you were thrust into Donghyuckâs world and how perfectly the pieces of your life and his mesh.
Heâs a morning person, so heâs always ready and lively when you pick him up at 7AM, even if youâre running late. But no matter how late you are, the two of you always get coffee first. Itâs become a routine that actually makes you look forward to waking up at the ass crack of dawn.Â
Your classes also end an hour earlier than his, so you have time to grab food for the two of you before screaming Taylor Swift song lyrics together at the top of your lungs in your car on your drive to practice. You watch all of the practice and official games with him, and he tries his best to explain whatâs happening, though the terminology mostly flies over your head. Youâre on first-name basis with all of his teammates and even managed to ingratiate yourself with the coach by offering to help him fill up water bottles. Everyone treats you as if you were part of the team; though they were already a completed puzzle, they softened their edges to make room for your mismatched piece.Â
Itâs unnerving how attached you grow to themâto Donghyuckâsince it will all go away in a month. You feel like youâre a part of something here; Donghyuck makes you feel special, as if heâs made a place just for you in his life.
You suppose time truly flies when youâre having fun because, before you know it, three weeks have already passed by.
The teamâs last official game before playoffs is finally here.Â
When you pick Donghyuck up to take him to the game, you can tell heâs a bit off today. He still puts on a brave face and tries to goof off like he normally does, but you know heâs nervous by the way heâs nervously tapping his uncasted foot to the music. In fact, youâve been sensing his growing anxiety at the past games for a while now. The team has been holding their own relatively well without him, but their momentum has definitely started to slow as they get closer to playoffs.Â
You canât really blame him for getting antsy; he may have been eerily calm and in good humor when he first got injured, but youâve realized that his playful nature is often used to deflect from his actual feelings. You used to think he did it to push other people away, but itâs really so he doesnât crumble under the weight of the immense pressure he puts on himself.
You wonât mention it, of course, since youâre probably not supposed to know that.Â
Instead, you turn the music up as loud as itâll go and grab his hand, yelling at the top of your lungs, âYou take my hand and drag me head first, fearless!âÂ
Donghyuck tries to sing with you, but his voice catches in his throat and cracks.Â
Oh, thatâs another thing about himâhe can dish it but he canât take it. Heâll flirt with you like thereâs no tomorrow, as if he were a corny protagonist from a dollar store romance novel, but the moment you get too close to him or brush his arm as you walk past him, he suddenly becomes petrified like he looked into Medusaâs eyes. He reacts like he couldnât even fathom you reciprocating his flirting, and youâre not sure if itâs because he thinks youâre that much of a loser. Either way, it also makes you flustered in turn when he acts like that, so the two of you just end up awkwardly standing there like two embarrassed fools.
But this is different. This isnât just simple flirting; this isâŠsomething else.Â
So you squeeze his hand tightly and sing even louder, hoping itâs enough to drown out his worries even if for a little bit.
.
.
.
Thereâs only a minute left in the third period of the game, and the score is tied 3â3, but you canât even focus on the game.Â
Youâve never seen this kind of expression on Donghyuckâs face before.
Despite the fact that heâs sitting right next to you, you can tell by the glisten in his eyes that heâs feeling all of the emotions that his teammates on the ice are. Hockey usually brings out a boyish energy in him, as if he were a child full of wonder. Yet here, he looks down at the rink with a wistfulness, a sense of longing. A homesickness.Â
So when the opposing team scores a last-minute goal, followed by the blaring buzzer that signals the game is over, you know that Donghyuck is blaming himself for the end of his teamâs winning streakâwhen he should be blaming you for hitting him with your goddamn car.Â
He was born to be on the ice, to be a champion. He doesnât belong here in the stands, to be a spectator on the sidelines.Â
That role has always been meant for you.Â
You donât realize youâre crying out of frustration until the tears hit the back of your hand, the warmth a stark contrast to the chilly temperature of the rink. Donghyuck turns to you to say something and jolts in alarm when he sees your state.Â
âWhaâŠWhatâs wrong?â He leans in closer when you try to turn away, grasping your forearm gently. âAre you not feeling well? Do you feel sick? Is it too cold? Do you want my jacket?âÂ
You shake your head, trying to choke down the ugly sob in your chest.Â
âIs it because we lost?â He asks hesitantly. âDonât cry, Y/N. Iâm gonna recover in a jiffy, and weâll breeze through the playoffsââ
You shove him weakly before the wail youâve been holding back rips through your throat like projectile vomit. Fat tears fall freely from your cheeks, and youâre pretty sure snot is dripping from your nose. âYouâre an idiot!âÂ
Donghyuck stares at you in bewilderment before slowly saying, âWell, I canât really dispute that, but may I ask why?âÂ
âStop being nice,â you blubber, âJust get upset because I know you are. Itâs my fault that everyone lost. You should just cuss me out or something. Or punch me in the nose. How about you hit me with your car to make things even, huh?âÂ
Youâre far too gone to know what youâre saying anymore, just blurting out your stream of consciousness.Â
âYou want me to hit you with my car because we lost one game?â Donghyuck laughs. He gazes at you with a mix of disbelief and aweâthe same way he looked at you when you first met him. You wonder if his eyes warmed with adoration like this the first time too.
ââand youâre supposed to be the protagonist while Iâm just a side character. Me hitting you with my car derailed the canon event of your undefeated season. I ruined your lifeââÂ
âOkay, okay,â he finally interrupts your nonsensical rambling, brushing the tears from your face with his thumbs before dabbing away the snot from your nose with the sleeve of his jacket. âI donât understand a word youâre saying, so no more of that.âÂ
But youâre inconsolable, holding your head in your hands. âItâs all my fault. Iâm the reason you lost. The team lost because you werenât there.âÂ
âYou know, going by that logic, that means youâre also the reason why they won the last couple of games without me,â he points out. âSo, I guess that means I should also cry and thank you.â
âWhat? That makes no senseââÂ
âThank you, Y/N,â Donghyuck says softly, his thumb lingering on your cheekbone, running along it with a feather touch. âFor crying for me. For comforting me.âÂ
âYouâre so full of shit,â you sniffle, swatting his hand away in annoyance. âYouâre the one comforting me right now. I havenât done anything to comfort you. âÂ
âYouâd be surprised,â he whispers underneath his breath, but his words are lost among the bustle of the packed rink.Â
Not that you wouldâve heard him anyways.
Now that you think about it, there really hasnât been a single thing youâve done for him other than driving him around, but that doesnât count. You want to do something for himâsomething that would make him look the way he does when heâs excitedly telling you about a good hockey play that you didnât understand but nod along anyways to.Â
And you have just the idea.Â
part ii. hey girl are you the american healthcare system? because iâll be indebted to you for the rest of my life <3
You drum your fingers in against your steering wheel in anticipation as you wait for Donghyuckâs last class of the day to end. When you see him walking out of the building and to your car, you try to act cool, but itâs hard when youâre literally bouncing in your seat.Â
Naturally, Donghyuck notices.
âYouâre in a good mood today,â he teases as he buckles himself in. âDid you do well on that statistics quiz from last week or something?âÂ
Youâre surprised he even remembers that; you had only mentioned it in passing.Â
âNo way. I definitely failed that,â you dismiss, waving your hand to shoo off the negative energy if that cursed quiz. âI have a gift for you.âÂ
âFor lilâ olâ me?â He gasps loudly, covering his mouth and fanning his face.
Ignoring his theatrics, you whip out your phone from your back pocket and present it to him proudly. âTa-da!âÂ
âWow,â he claps politely. âYou finally got your screen replaced. I was worried you would slice your thumb with how crackedââ
âShut up,â you cut him off, âYou just ruined my dramatic reveal.âÂ
Unlocking your phone, you go to your photo album and show him the video you took a couple days ago. âLook! I asked your coach which team you guys would be up against first in the playoffs and did some old-fashioned espionage by sneaking into one of their games and filming everything. Your leg is healing pretty fast, so I figured youâd want to study their playstyles before you got back on the ice.âÂ
Much to your satisfaction, Donghyuck seems genuinely surprised. He gingerly takes the phone from your hand and presses play on the video, and you see that spark in his eyes that you so desperately missed.Â
Eagerly leaning on the center console, you point out of the players and say, âYou see Number 30? Iâm pretty sure that guy is the you of his team. He scored three goals in one gameâoh wait, you told me thatâs called a âhat trick.â Anyways, he did a hat trick, and the last goal actually won them the game. So we have to make sure to tell the team to watch out for that guy. Oh my God, and halfway through the game, Number 21 and Number 4 started fighting! Dropped their gloves on the ice and started punching each other while the referees just watched. I know you said fighting is allowed in hockey, but it was still wild to see in 4K like that. Hold on, let me fast forward to show youââÂ
When you glance over at him, Donghyuckâs face is about four inches away from yours, and he isnât paying attention to the video at all. Youâve never seen this kind of expression on Donghyuckâs face before. If hockey brings out a boyish joy in him, then you wonder what this is.Â
He gazes at you with a mellow softness, as if you were a moment of peace from the glaring stage lights, screaming crowds, and thunderous applause. Like you were a cloud of warmth enveloping him after braving through the unforgiving cold of the ice. He looks at you with a sense of longingâbut itâs different from the way he looked at the game. That was wistfulness, a homesickness. A responsibility that he bears.Â
This is reverie, a daydream. A moment of escape.Â
Suddenly, your arms, which had been holding most of your weight on the console, give out. Your shoulder smacks into his, jostling the two of you out of whatever trance you had been under. Recoiling at supersonic speed, your face burns as your sputter, âJ-Jesus, you scared me! Why arenât you watching the video and just staring at me like the blue-eyed Miley Cyrus meme?âÂ
Donghyuck drags a hand down his face, and you see his ears turn a bright red. âS-Sorry. I didnât even notice I was doing itâHey! Thatâs rude. Iâll have you know that Iâm often told that I have innocent Bambi doe-eyes.âÂ
You know heâs trying to give you an out by cracking a joke, and youâre grateful. Any more of that and your heart wouldâve jumped out of your mouth.Â
âWhatever. Just watch the video. I worked really hard to get it, you know. I even wore one of those oversized hoodies and giant sunglasses with a scarf to hide my face so I couldnât be incriminated.âÂ
He raises an eyebrow. âYou wore sunglasses inside? What are you, a Republican?âÂ
âDo you want the video or not?â you snap.
âHey, you canât give me a gift and then threaten to take it back,â he retorts before quietly continuing, âThank you, Y/N.âÂ
You try to ignore the way your heart swells at his sincerity.Â
âYouâre welcome,â you mumble.
On the drive to the skating rink, neither of you notice that there isnât any music playingâtoo distracted by the butterflies in your stomachs.Â
.
.
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When you pull into the parking lot, you spot Mark getting out of his car. Desperate to escape this suffocating enclosed space with Donghyuck, you nearly tumble out of the door after him.
âOh, look, thereâs Mark,â you say hurriedly, âIâll show him the video too.âÂ
âWait, Y/Nââ Donghyuck calls, trying his best to hobble after you.Â
Mark spots you in his peripheral and stops, waiting for the two of you to catch up.Â
âWhy are you running?â Mark asks when you jog up to him. âIf youâre trying to get away from Donghyuck, all you need to do is power walk. Or you could hit him with a car again and break this other leg.âÂ
âVery funny, dickwad,â you shoot back, rolling your eyes. âAnd to think I did you a favor.âÂ
âYou did?â He looks confused, but youâve realized that he always perpetually looks confused.Â
You go to show him your phone, but Donghyuck finally catches up and squeezes in between the two of you. âWait, I need to talk to MarkââÂ
âHold on a sec, dude. Let me see this first. Iâm curious now,â Mark huffs.Â
âI asked Coach which team you guys would be up against first in the playoffs and snuck into their game to film it, so you could watch it and learn their tricks,â you announce proudly.Â
âOh, you donât have to worry about that,â Mark replies breezily, âWe already have recordings of a bunch of their games.âÂ
You slowly lower your phone, nearly letting it slip out of your hand.Â
âWhat?âÂ
âDonghyuck didnât tell you? We always review our opponentsâ games before playoffs,â Mark explains, glancing between you and Donghyuck and realizing a beat too late that he said something he wasnât supposed to. âOh, I guess he didnât, huhâŠâ
âYou have literal shit for brains, Mark Lee,â Donghyuck says through grit teeth. âHow many years have we played together and you still canât take a hint?âÂ
âSorry! I thought Y/N knewââ
âJust go,â Donghyuck sighs, shaking his head.Â
Mark runs away so fast that he almost leaves a puff of smoke in his wake like a Looney Tunes cartoon. Once heâs gone, Donghyuck cards a hand through his hair and turns to you with an apologetic look on his face.Â
âY/NââÂ
âYou couldâve told me,â you say quietly. âInstead of making me look like an idiot.âÂ
âYouâre not an idiot,â he responds almost immediately. âYou just looked so happy, and it made me happier, so I kept quiet. Besides, the video does help.âÂ
You laugh bitterly. âIn what way? Was it funny watching me get all excited like a fool, thinking I had actually done something for you?âÂ
âWhy are you being so harsh on yourself?â Donghyuck asks, putting a hand on your shoulder. âI mean it. The video really does help.âÂ
âIâm not being harsh on myself. Iâm telling the truth. All Iâve done is just screw up your life, and when I try to help even a little bit, it just hinders you more,â you say in frustration.Â
Youâre not sure how the atmosphere grew so somber, but you suppose that's the energy youâve always brought to him. Youâre just a dark rain cloud to his sunny skies.Â
âCome on,â Donghyuck says, grabbing your hand and tugging you towards your car. âLetâs go to the mall.âÂ
âWhat? Why? What about practice?â you ask, completely caught off-guard by his seemingly out-of-nowhere suggestion.Â
âCoach wonât even notice that weâre not there, and if he does, heâll get over it,â Donghyuck replies. âNow come on.âÂ
âBut I donât want to go to the mall,â you say petulantly, pouting like a child and wanting to wallow in your own misery.Â
âWeâre going.â
âYou know you canât go anywhere without me driving you, right?âÂ
âThen you better hurry up and get in your car unless you want to unleash this traffic hazard onto the streets,â Donghyuck says, pointing to his leg.Â
The two of you have a staredown before you finally relent, begrudgingly getting into the driverâs seat and slamming the door. He beams at your silent agreement to go, and youâre suddenly not as upset as you were earlier, though you still maintain a pissy expression because youâre dramatic.
Luckily, the mall is about a fifteen minute drive from the university, so you get there rather quickly. You wait for Donghyuck to explain why he randomly insisted on this impromptu trip, but he keeps mum about it, simply leading you to the lowest floor of the mallâwhere the skating rink is. Other than the handful of staff who are all either on their phones or hiding in the break room, the two of you are the only ones here since itâs the afternoon during a weekday.Â
âSo we left that skating rink to go to another skating rink?â you ask wryly.Â
âYup. Wait here,â Donghyuck says, leaving you in the changing area while he goes to the front desk. You awkwardly sit at a bench and twiddle your thumbs until he comes back with a pair of skates in hand.
âWhat are you doing? I know the doctor said you can walk on your leg now, but he definitely did not say you could skate,â you scold.Â
âGood thing I wonât be skating,â he answers nonchalantly, handing you the pair of skates. âI didnât know your exact shoe size, but these should fit.âÂ
âNo way,â you shake your head. âNuh-uh. I havenât skated since I was, like, seven.âÂ
âWell, youâre about to receive a lesson from a damn good teacher,â he says, nudging your foot. âHurry up and put them on.âÂ
âHow are you going to teach me with that giant walking boot? Are you just going to get on the ice without any skates?â you demand.Â
âAs a matter of fact, I am,â he counters, âItâs not like the staff are going to call me out.âÂ
âI donât understand why youâre doing this,â you sigh. Nevertheless, you slip your shoes off and put the skates on. âAnd I still donât think you should be on a slippery surface even if youâre not skating.â
âAnd I donât understand why youâre getting a communications degree with you when you have a PhD in nagging,â Donghyuck teases.Â
âYouâre a douche,â you say, giving the laces on your skates one final tug before standing to your feet, albeit wobbly as you try to remember how to keep your balance on the blades. âLetâs get this over with.âÂ
Donghyuck offers to hold your hand as you make your way to the entrance of the rink, but you quickly swat him away in fear of dragging him down with you if you fall and injuring him further.Â
Your legs tremble like a newborn fawn when you finally step foot onto the ice, clinging onto the side railing with a vice grip. Donghyuck, despite his five-pound walking boot, comfortably walks onto the ice and maneuvers around as if he were uninjured.Â
âIs this some sort of sick humiliation ritual? Is this how youâre going to get your revenge on me, by having me bust my ass on this ice?â you ask, voice wavering like just the rest of your body.Â
âAnd you say Iâm a drama queen,â he mutters. âWhy do you always think of such dark scenarios? You were like this when we first met too. You just assumed I was dead first before asking if I was okay.âÂ
âI like to assume the worst,â you reply matter-of-factly, âLowers my expectations. Makes my life a lot easier.âÂ
âYeah, Iâm sure it does,â he says sarcastically before gently grasping your wrists and carefully dragging you away from the railing. âNow stop hiding in the corner like a small injured animal. Thereâs only room for one injured animal, and thatâs me.âÂ
âNo, no, no. Iâm going to fall,â your voice slowly escalates into shriek as your nails dig into his forearms. The ice is too slippery, too slick, and you feel your knees start to buckle as you lose your balance.Â
But you donât fall. Instead, Donghyuck wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you against him, keeping you upright even with your jelly legs. You feel the taut cord of muscle in his arm flex as he holds you, and he sucks in a sharp breath when your chest presses to his. Your breath comes out in labored white puffs from the temperature, and you curl your fists into his shirt, clinging onto him for dear life because you know youâll crumple to the ground if he loosens his grip even a little bit.Â
Even though your mind is whirring with a million thoughts and you feel like youâre about to have a heart attack, your body reacts naturally to him, curving to fit with his just right. The warmth of his calloused fingers splayed across the small of your back anchors you, and you feel so secure in his arms; he cradles you against him as if you were made of glass.Â
âI got you,â he reassures you, his breath rustling your baby hairs. âOkay?âÂ
You give a small nod, and he takes a small step back. And another. And another.Â
Slowly but surely, he manages to pull you to the center of the ice, where the logo of the mall is printed.Â
âDo you remember what position I play, Y/N?â Donghyuck asks, leaning back so that he can look at your face.Â
Now that youâve regained some strength in your legs and have grown a bit more comfortable on the ice, you start to relax your grip on his poor shirt. You even manage to tear your eyes away from your feet to meet his gaze.
âCenter,â you answer. A fitting title, indeed.Â
âSo youâre not just a black hole of hockey information, after all,â he sniffs. âIâm so proud.âÂ
âGet to your point quickly,â you warn.Â
âSo impatient,â he tuts before breaking out into a smug beam, âYouâre standing right where I usually am at games.âÂ
âYou dragged me all the way out here to flex?â you gawk in disbelief.Â
âOf course not!â He raises an eyebrow.. âBut are you impressed?âÂ
âTake me back, you ass.âÂ
âKidding,â he quickly says, stifling a laugh, but you still feel it rumble in his chest.Â
âWhy are we here, Donghyuck?â you ask again, exhausted.Â
He pauses, and everything goes perfectly still.Â
âYou know, this is the first time Iâve stood here in a month,â he muses, almost unaware that heâs speaking aloud. âThis is the first time Iâve been on ice in a month.âÂ
âWell, you were injuredââÂ
He shakes his head. âHockey players play with worse injuries than this constantly. If I had really wanted to get back on the ice, I wouldâve done it.âÂ
You donât say anything.Â
Donghyuck looks around the empty skating rink. âItâs big, isnât it?âÂ
You follow his line of sight and scan the vast expanse of the ice. From a distance, it doesnât seem so big, but the ice feels like it stretches on for miles when youâre standing in the middle.Â
âYeah, it is.âÂ
âI thought so for a while too. Trying to get to the goal felt like climbing Mount Everest. I loved that feeling of the cold air freezing my lungs, the air getting thinner as I got closer,â he describes before trailing off. âBut one day, the rink felt like it was shrinking, closing in on me. I was being chased instead of the other way around. Centers cover more ice surface than any other player, but I was being held down. Anywhere I skated wasnât far enough. But that didnât matter. I had a championship to win. A team that I couldnât let down. Scouts that I had to impress. A talent that I worked my entire life for. A career that people would kill for. It didnât matter that I felt like I was suffocating every time I put on my uniform.âÂ
Your first reaction is to say something, anything to comfort him, but his expression tells you that the best thing you can do right now is hold your tongue and just listen.Â
âAnd as comical as it sounds, being hit by your car couldnât have come at a better time for me. For the first time in my life, I was relieved that I didnât have to play. Even though my career couldâve been over, I didnât feel a thing. I just wanted to quit everything, but the thought of throwing my whole life away terrified me too. I thought maybe if I attended the practices and the games that it would make me want to get back on the ice, but it didnât. It wasnât the game that made me want to play again. When you cried for me after we lostââ
Donghyuck draws in a shaky breath.Â
âI had forgotten what it felt likeâto have someone cry so wholeheartedly for you. To be yelled at for pretending to be okay. To be seen. Being with you has made me realize that maybe my world isnât so small after allâthat it isn't collapsing in on itself like I thought. You make me feel free again.âÂ
He lifts his hand and brushes a stray lock of hair from your face. You watch as his eyes drag across your features, going from your eyelashes to the slope of your nose before lingering on your lips.Â
âI wasnât lying when I said your video helped,â he reiterates, âWhen you showed me your phone with that spark in your eye, it made me want to play hockey again. I want to see it the way you do. I want you to see me.âÂ
Your breath hitches in your throat when he leans in, resting his forehead against yours. The hand on your back brings you closer while his other hand reaches down and grabs your own.Â
âIâm really glad you hit me with your car, Y/N,â he whispers, a bright laugh escaping his lips.Â
That sentence cuts through war raging in your head, and you let out an involuntary snort, giving him a half-hearted shove. âStop making it seem like I did it on purpose.âÂ
âThatâs all you have to say after I just poured my heart out to you?â he asks, raising his eyebrow in amusement.
âNo! I justâŠIâm thinking,â you mumble, head swimming with the scent of his fabric softener. The way he talked about you, the way heâs looking at youâdoesnât that mean he likes you? But that makes no sense. The two of you areâŠwell, youâre not sure what you are.Â
âAbout?â he hums, lacing his fingers through yours and playing with your hand.Â
âIâI donât know. Youâre being very distracting,â you sputter. Has he always this suave? You distinctly remember how he would turn bright red whenever your hand would just accidentally brush against his, and now heâs grown so emboldened seemingly overnight.Â
âI am?â He blinks innocently.Â
And you know youâve got it bad when you even find that somewhat adorable.Â
âOkay, back up, buster,â you order, pushing yourself off him. âI need five feet between us, so I can properly think.âÂ
âWait, Y/Nââ
In your frazzled state, you forget that youâre wearing ice skates that you are very much incapable of standing upright in without Donghyuckâs help. You feel yourself beginning to tip backwards and shoot your arms out behind you to break your fall.Â
Crack.Â
âYeah, itâs broken,â the same ER doctor from your last visit announces, flipping through yet another set of X-rays. âNot as clean of a break this time. Probably going to take at least twelve weeks to heal.âÂ
If you could put your head in your hands, you would, but your right arm is currently in a thick cast and hanging from a sling. Not to mention it hurts like a bitch.Â
âIâm sorry, Y/N,â Donghyuck winces, âItâs my fault. I shouldâve caught you.âÂ
âNo, itâs fine. This is divine retribution, Iâm sure,â you sigh.Â
âIf I may ask, what exactly do you two get up to in your spare time?â The ER doctor looks from Donghyuck to you and then back to Donghyuck.Â
âI actually decided to pivot to a career in amateur wrestling, and Y/N agreed to be my practice partner, and sometimes we getâŠexperimental,â Donghyuck responds without blinking an eye.Â
âNo,â you snap.Â
The ER doctor gives the two of you one last side eye before leaving, drawing the privacy curtain behind him.Â
âWhy do you always insist on embarrassing me in public?â you ask, shaking your head.
âI simply have a natural calling for it. Like Michaelangelo and sculpting,â he insists.
âI hate you.â
âWell, thatâs a shame because I really, really like you,â he smiles.Â
And you think he really, really means it too.Â
You look away, still unsure of how to answer him. You know it doesnât go unnoticed by Donghyuck, but he changes the subject anyways.Â
âI guess itâs my turn to drive you around now,â he says in a sing-song voice.Â
âHow the hell are you going to do that with the boot?â you ask, giving him a dubious look.Â
âIâm getting it off in two weeks,â he points out.Â
âSo you want me to miss two weeks of school?âÂ
âNo,â he sniffs, âIâll get Mark to drive us.âÂ
âMarkâs car is filthy!â
âAre you really one to talk?â
You shut your mouth after that.
.
.
.
The two weeks whizz by, and Donghyuck finally gets his walking boot removed in exchange for a much more discreet brace. The doctor even gave him the OK to play but only for short increments at a time and no more than ten minutes.Â
With Donghyuck so focused on his recovery in addition to the fact that the two of you have been carpooling with Mark, you and Donghyuck havenât really had a chance to properly talk alone since the mallânot to mention the fact that youâve been avoiding him like crazy. Itâs also pretty hard to think about anything else other than how much your arm hurts and how sweaty your cast gets.Â
However, despite everything, you still show up to watch Donghyuck practice for his first playoff game. He texted you that he could pick you up in the morning, but the thought of being alone with him after all this time made you feel way too jittery, especially since you were still trying to sort your feelings out. In the end, you lied and said your arm hurt too much, skipped your classes, and told him a friend would drop you off in time for practice (you just called an Uber). Since you leave your house a bit late, practice has already started.Â
You see Donghyuck doing laps around the rink, warming up. This is the first time youâve seen him in his uniform in person, and you realize that this is how a hockey uniform is supposed to be worn. Youâve always thought that hockey players always looked a bit like the Michelin Man with how bulky their gear is, but Donghyuck looks like he belongs in a modeling catalog.Â
This is so pathetic. He gives you a little bit of attention and now youâre fawning over him like youâre sixteen again.Â
But itâs hard not to fawn when he looks so natural on the ice. Even though heâs not at his prime, the way he glides so smoothly across the rink and how he dribbles the puck with his stick all feel like second nature for him. Every move he makes seems purposeful, graceful.Â
You make Donghyuck want to play hockey again? Impossible.Â
Not when he belongs on the ice.Â
But why does he hold you in such high regard? Why does he make you feel so special? He makes you feel like you belong with him. The spot beside him is not a place someone like you could ever dream of taking, yet he makes you want to. He makes you want to be selfish, to expect something.Â
Even if he does like you, he canât possibly like you more than you like him. He may have been reliant on you this past month, but youâre going to need him more than he would ever need you.Â
The more you watch him on the ice, the more you feel like youâre looking at the banner of him on your way to statistics. Heâs not really a person that you know anymore but a pillar. A pillar of everything that is out of reach to you. Youâve gotten to see a different side of him for a short period of time, but youâll be nothing but a blot of the past once heâs fully recovered. Heâs going to graduate college and become a professional player in the NHL. Heâs going to make a name for himself. Youâre just going to be in a cubicle for the rest of your life.Â
The two of you make no sense.Â
Itâs easy to not want something that youâve never had, but itâs so much harder to let go when youâve been given a taste.Â
Itâs a sobering feelingâreality.Â
âY/N?âÂ
You startle, turning to see Mark.Â
âHi, Mark,â you say, voice wavering between octaves.Â
âYouâre here to see Donghyuck, right?â
âNo, Iââ
âDonghyuck!â Mark calls out loudly, cupping the sides of his mouth with his hands. âY/Nâs here!âÂ
You wince at the echo of his voice, but Donghyuckâs head shoots up when he hears your name. A huge grin breaks across his face, and he gestures for you to wait while he starts to skate off the ice, ripping off the bulkier padding of his uniform and taking off his helmet as he goes.Â
âHey,â Donghyuck says, making his way up to you. âYou didnât have to come if you werenât feeling well. Howâs your arm?âÂ
âFine,â you squeak out a bit too fast.Â
âYou donât sound fine,â he points out, completely unconvinced.Â
You curse yourself for being such a shitty liar, avoiding his gaze like a criminal being interrogated. You absolutely do not need him to psychoanalyze you when youâre in such a vulnerable state.Â
You can feel Donghyuckâs knowing gaze sweep across your features. âThis isnât about your arm, is it? Is that why youâve been avoiding me?âÂ
Your silence is confirmation enough for him. âY/N, I just wanted to tell you how I feel. Youâre under no obligation to like me back. If you want me to pretend like it never happened, I will, but please donâtââÂ
You really donât want to have this conversation here or ever, but you suppose you canât exactly ignore it any longer.Â
âI do like you back,â you say gingerly. âMuch more than you know. Much more than you like me.â
He goes to protest, but you cover his mouth. You want to say it all at once because you know heâll change your mind if you let him talk.Â
âIâm not an ambitious person, Donghyuck,â you whisper. âI know when I donât belong. Thereâs no place for me here. We only have a little bit before graduation, and then weâll probably never see each other again.âÂ
His expression wrenches. He looks like heâs in more excruciating pain now than he did when he broke his leg.
âI know you say I always think of the darkest scenario, so Iâll try my best to be optimistic this time,â you continue. âOnce you become a famous hockey player, treat me to a meal or something if you remember me. Or we could have a listening party when Taylorâs new album comes out if you still like her music by then. But I donât think weâll be any more than that. We canât.âÂ
âWhy?â he asks harshly, grasping your wrist and removing your hand from his mouth. âWhy are you deciding that before anything has even happened?âÂ
âIâm trying to make your life easier, Donghyuck,â you say, exasperated. âSo you wonât have any baggage when you leave here. Youâll forget about me in no time.âÂ
âYou are so mean,â his voice cracks on the final word, âI wish you just told me you hated me.âÂ
âIâm soââ
âDonât,â he interrupts coldly, and youâve never heard him speak like this to you before. âDonât apologize. Justâplease just leave.âÂ
You know heâs crying by the way his shoulders shake when he turns away from you. He doesnât return to the ice, instead opting to head back to the locker rooms. Every step he takes grows more and more sluggish, and youâre worried that his leg is giving him trouble. You watch his figure disappear behind the double doors and stand there silently, listening to the sound of a whistle cueing drills followed by the ice skate blades skidding across the ice. Theyâre noises that youâve heard thousands of times over the course of the month, but you think youâre going to miss them a lot.Â
Youâre going to miss him.Â
This is for the better, you keep telling yourself.Â
Eventually, the words donât even make sense anymore.Â
Against your better judgment, you decide to attend the first playoff game.
You havenât spoken to Donghyuck since you rejected himâis it really a rejection if there was nothing to reject in the first place?âbut it doesnât change the fact that you care about him more than anyone. You want him to succeed. You want to support him, even if that support is unwanted.Â
You tell yourself that youâre going to be selfish one last time and then youâll let him go.Â
As to not be a distraction to him in case he somehow spotted you, you decide to wear the same attire you wore when you snuck into the opposing teamâs game, sunglasses and all. Luckily, by the time you arrive, the rink is already packed to the brim since itâs Donghyuckâs comeback game.Â
You find an area in the back to stand, lowering the brim of your hat to avoid any unwanted camera shots on the big screen. Shortly afterwards, loud music starts to blare from the speakers and you spot the team skating out on the rink. Donghyuck leads the line to wild applause from the crowd, and you clap along as well, but your stomach turns at how exhausted he looks. He smiles and waves for the cameras, but his face is pallor and there are deep bags underneath his eyes.Â
This isnât what you wanted.Â
You wanted him to thrive, much more than he wouldâve without you. You wanted him to forget about you and focus on his career. You wanted him to be okay.Â
So why do you keep hurting him?Â
You dig your nails into your palms as you watch him skate to the center and take his position. Thereâs a momentary hush that falls over the crowd as the referee holds the puck above him and the other centerâs head before dropping it between them, and the game is off to the races.Â
Donghyuck ends up playing for way longer than ten minutes, throwing all caution to the wind, but he moves like a lightning streak across the iceâscoring a hat trick before the first period is over. His momentum carries onto the last two periods as well as he absolutely demolishes the opposing team. He is especially persistent in hounding Number 30, the player you warned him about. You almost feel bad for Number 30 since he is most definitely on the receiving end of Donghyuckâs poor mood.Â
With only ten seconds left in the third period, Donghyuck scores a buzzer beater and the winning goal of the night. The crowd is on their feet, clapping their hands and stomping their feet so strongly that the whole stadium shakes.Â
You feel like crying again as you watch Donghyuckâs teammates descend on him in happiness.Â
They donât understand.Â
Heâs playing like he did beforeâlike heâs being chased. Like heâs being slowly crushed between walls of the stadium. Itâs a lifeless victory, and itâs your fault.Â
You were wrong.Â
Heâs not okay. You hurt him more than any physical injury ever could.Â
You shouldâve just thrown yourself into his arms, your fears of being hurt be damned. You shouldâve believed in him, believed in his feelings. You shouldâve at least given him a chance to prove you wrong. You shouldâve just allowed yourself to like him first and foremost.Â
When you look back at the rink, you see a reporter making her way onto the ice with a camera crew. Donghyuckâs face is suddenly on every screen in the skating rink.Â
âSo how does it feel to score so big after being away for more than a month?â she asks, handing him the mic.Â
Donghyuck looks upâpast the reporter, past the cameras, past the audience, past the lights.Â
He sees you.Â
Even with your sunglasses on, you feel how piercing his stare is. The mist that had clouded his gaze the whole game dissipates almost instantly. His eyes shine clearly, and you see that spark that you thought you had single handedly stomped out.Â
âHey,â he breathes out, clutching the mic so tightly that his knuckles are white. âHey, girl wearing the sunglasses inside like a Republican.âÂ
You freeze as the crowd starts to mutter to each other, confused as to what he means.Â
âYou lied to me. You said I would forget about you, but I see you even in my dreams. And now youâre here too. Why are you tormenting me?â he demands.Â
You hurriedly start to make your way down the stairs and to the entrance of the rink, not wanting him to say something he would regret in front of a live audience. When he sees you coming down, he skates over to meet you.Â
âYou were wrong,â he continues. âI like you way more than you like me.âÂ
âDonghyuck, IââÂ
âIâm an ambitious person,â he states. âI can be in love and be a professional hockey player. I know I can. Iâll have enough ambition for the both of us, so please be with me. You belong right here with me, Y/N.âÂ
You finally make it down to where he is, trying to catch your breath as he watches you, looking at you as if you were just a figment of his imagination.Â
âI promise Iâll treat you well,â Donghyuck says softly, lowering the mic. You realize that heâs echoing the words he said to you the way you met him, and you wonder if youâve been in love with him since then.Â
There are so many things you want to say to him, an apology especially, but you decide to save those words for when the two of you are alone.Â
Instead, you march right up to him, loop your sling over his neck so that your cast can rest comfortably on his shoulders before cupping his cheek and pressing your lips against his.Â
It only takes him half a second to kiss you back, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you off your feet. You can feel the tension physically leaving his body, as if he finally released a breath he had been holding for a long time.Â
When you pull apart, you ignore the loud whooping and hollering of the crowd, leaning in just close enough so that only the two of you can hear what youâre about to say. Your lips brush against his again when you say:
âIâm really glad I hit you with my car, Lee Donghyuck.âÂ
âWow, I must say, that was like a scene straight out of a romance movie!â The reporter gushes excitedly. âSo how did you two meet?â
You and Donghyuck exchange glances.
âWellâŠâ
#nct imagines#nct scenarios#haechan fluff#haechan angst#nct dream fluff#nct dream angst#nct dream imagines#nct 127 fluff#nct 127 angst#nct 127 imagines#haechan#nct#choerrypuffs
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lana! how are you doing these days?? I miss seeing you on my dash smđ
hi my love! đ i'm sorry for such a late response, and i miss you too!! i've just been so busy with life and school plus the fact that i'm not really keeping up with nct anymore so i haven't really been active on here unfortunately :((
a quick life update: i'm entering my last year of grad school, and i'm set to teach my own class this upcoming semester as a TA! i've been travelling a lot more this summer, and i actually just came back from vacation where i finally, finally got to meet up with cat and moon đ„č it was a long time coming bc i live so far away but i finally got to check luvpuffcore irl meetup off my bucket list! đ„° i've also been playing way too much honkai star rail and acquired a gambling addiction thanks to it đ
i'm still going to finish my fics that i have planned for this blog, but i'm not really sure when i'll be able to post them. i apologize for the delays, but i wanted to log back in to let you guys know i haven't completely disappeared off the face of the planet lmao đ«
p.s. for those that have left asks in in my inbox, i see them! i check my inbox frequently so even if i don't respond to them, just know that your messages always makes me happy and i reread them whenever i need a boost of serotonin đ
i hope everyone is doing well and i'm sending all my love as always đđđđ·âš
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this is unbelievably funny. he's defeated every single green and roman monster ever and now comes the greatest challenge yet: college applications
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Why does fire bender renjun have to lie to his dad about making the ship capsize? Wouldnât the assistance be a good thing?
hi, my love! that scene was supposed to imply that renjun was ordered by his father to keep tabs on y/n and monitor her abilities. the stronger she is, the more of a threat she becomes to the fire lord. renjun lies and minimizes what y/n did in order to cover for her and protect her. thatâs also why he tells her to leave at the end because he knows that his father will eventually figure it out and take action. in retrospect, i probably couldâve written that scene a bit clearer so i apologize for the confusion!
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miss lana the horse icon in your luvpuffcore gc???? is that miss moon omf
why yes it is

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LMAOAOAOAO THE SHRUBCHENG PHOTO IS AMAZING
MY NEW LOCKSCREEN THANK YOU SM
i showed your ask in the luvpuffcore gc bc it made me laugh and here is catâs response đ
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I HATEE YOUUU WHY ARE YOU SO TALENTEDDD OMG ACTUALLY I TAKE THAT BACK WTF I LOVE YOU EVERYTHING U WRITE IS SO đđđđ ILL STAY UR #1 FANGIRL FOR LIFE CUS U SIMPLY JUST DONT DISAPPOINT
FJJDJDJD PLSSSSS I LOVE YOU MORE THANK YOU SO MUCH đ«¶đđ„čâšđđ„°đđ·
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