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tales-from-exo-planet · 5 years ago

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COLORADO II PATHCODES VOL. II

COLORADO || PATHCODES VOL. II

ACT II. “To have and to hold”

Length - 7,236

Mood - grief stricken, indelicate

Pairing - Kyungsoo x Reader

Warning - Mature content for sexual references, mention of miscarriage

“I've been homeless, hopeless with no address

'Til my heart, you chose

Now I got a home, baby

Out here in the world I'm not alone

As long as I've got you, I've got a home

If you just don't let go so I don't feel the cold

As long as I've got you, I've got a home

These four walls, they can't hold me like you do

You already know, babe

And I'll just fit my life inside you

Taking you everywhere I go, babe”

“Home” by - Snoh Aalegra

____________________________

You made it so easy

To forget the world beyond ours

But then I realized

I never wanted

To know anything

Beyond you

©️Asteria-Amphitrite

________________________

“Have you decided _____?” He asked, a slight quiver of nerves disrupting the smooth cadence of his voice as your eyes rose to his at his sudden question.

You sat beside one another in the town car Minseok and ____ (Berlin Reader) had arranged for the departing Pathcodes board.

Earlier, Jongin and his dear ____ (London Reader) had alighted from your vehicle, ____ (London Reader) waving after leaning forward to hug both you and your husband while Jongin held the door open, his farewell hugs already given.

“I hope to see you again soon. Take care,” she beamed at you, her smile as brilliant as the sun’s first light in winter.

“Take care ____. Be of good health,” your husband called after her nodding as she turned once more to wave, Jongin’s hand enveloping hers that wasn’t sparing you a parting greeting.

“Travel safe and well hyung. I love you both. See you very soon,” Jongin leaned down, ducking his head inside to wave once again now that she was by his side, leaning against him, her eyes on him.

You both waved.

“Take care Jongin. It’s good to see you both again. Please be well until we see each other again,” you called out and Jongin nodded in acknowledgment before gently shutting the door as they walked away, their eyes on each other.

Now you looked at him, slightly confused.

“I’d like to go with you. I know you planned out the alternative for me and I appreciate it. But I would like to see the family home and I would like to support you, if that’s ok?” You were sure that your smile was sweet and harmless. That’s what you intended and meant it to be.

But he watched you still, even as your hands took his within your own.

He allowed you to bring him closer, his eyes large and ever patient.

“I know this event has been hard for us. I know it’s not fair to you and I haven’t been fair in how I tried to hold back everything I felt. I know it’s not easy for us to come back into our relationship after so much time spent apart. I’m not sure where we start over but I want to start again. Please Soo. Please let me go with you,” you asked, feeling the resolve in your intended harmless, guileless smile cracking to reveal your anxiety that he was actually indifferent to you after so much time.

He sighed, breaking eye contact to look down at your hands in his.

After studying them for a moment, he brought your hands to his lips, kissing them with the ultimate tenderness, caressing the skin at the back of your hands over and over and over again with kisses as he began to murmur, “I have missed you so much.”

________________

Together, prior to your departure from your semi rural home, you decided that you would return with him to his home city in Seoul following the New Year's gala in Berlin.

Your in-laws seemed altogether surprised that you would return to the family restaurant to invite them to your family home for dinner where the announcement was made.

And you felt the telltale sting of guilt, embedded like a stitch in your side, as you watched their reaction to your husband’s declaration.

“Will you return together?” Your father-in-law asked, pointedly pausing in his meal to place his utensils down to give you his undivided attention.

A chilled silence fell over the usually hushed dinner and your husband quietly protested after a moment, “father, yes. I will return home with my wife.”

______________

You knew then of course how much rode on this journey.

You knew also how far you had fallen in their eyes.

You knew then a feeling of such intense foreboding that broke the false security that you thought your relationship had always held tethered about it.

You understood how much he shielded you from and how selfishly you had expected him to do so.

Your vows came to you as you washed the dishes that night from your family dinner, looking at his traveling bags that he had dropped at the front door just the night before upon his return to your broken home on your request following your phone call all those months earlier.

You remembered again the way he had allowed you the illusion and the dream of an alternate place you two entered.

You remembered how easy he had made it to be for it to always just be you and him, separate from everything and everyone that chose to inflict hurt.

You realized that you counted on him to protect you in this way.

You realized that you had depended on him to sacrifice his needs before yours even to the detriment of your relationship.

What vows had you truly upheld?

What had you promised?

_______________

“This may take some time,” he spoke to you as he always did, patiently and with great consideration in his inflection.

Never to worry ____. I have it all under control.

“I can wait. I am not anxious for anything,” you lied.

You fidgeted all the way from Berlin to Seoul, 14 hours straight.

You couldn’t sleep.

You couldn’t eat.

But you pretended you did to allow him to rest.

His eyebrows seemed to quirk up as if he knew you were only running on maybe an hour or two worth of sleep.

“If you’d like to tour the city? I’m sure I could ask my aunts to take you with them on an outing-”

“Oh I...well I don’t want to trouble anyone. I’m happy to go with them. It’s been a while since we saw each other last. But I would like to stay as well...I. Well whatever you think is best,” you felt strange trying to hide your worry in front of him and you knew that he knew you were trying despite your promise to be transparent.

“I don’t want anything to happen as it has before. Promise me that whenever you feel anxious that you will tell me and we’ll figure out an alternative,” he asked of you the first night you arrived in Berlin where he had resigned himself to sleeping in the guest room of your hotel suite.

You were dumbfounded that he refused your offer to spend the night together after such a long time spent apart but knew that it was frightening to you too to consider resuming intimacy as if nothing had been stolen from you both after all this time. Even when he returned to your home from his personal business schedule abroad, you hadn’t laid together as husband and wife even once.

Suddenly you were shy about being naked in front of him, preferring to change your clothes in the bathroom after your shower.

He also wore longer pants to bed, and asked you if it was all right if he brought an extra blanket to bed to keep warm with.

You were too shy to ask him to hold you instead and he was too reserved to cross the space your blankets now created between you.

You wanted him just as you did before and you could see that he wanted you.

You could smell it on each other.

The heat of your mutual lusts.

But it was as if you were assessing whether you were ready to face not only yourselves but the many, many hurts collected along the way.

He looked at you with the same consideration and understanding, reaching forward with a heart filled gesture, taking your face in his hands as he leaned in to kiss you wholeheartedly.

“I need you to trust me. I have been trying to put this off but there is now an issue with the family that I need to take care of. After I take care of it, I can tell you everything. I’m not sure if I was ever ready to tell you all of this but I cannot keep this from you anymore. But no matter what happens or what you see or what you hear please remember that I do love you, ok,” he seemed to be warning you that the anxiety you felt now would be nothing compared to the devastation that awaited you.

And as the gentleman he was, as the true prince of peace that he was to his earthen core, he prepared you ahead of it, readying himself to take the sword in his own heart all the way to its hilt if but to spare you the searing pain of judgement.

_______________

His family home, belonging at this time to his paternal grandmother, was settled in one of the bustling satellite cities of Seoul and a gathering place for many generations of his family.

You had visited once many years ago upon the initial news of your engagement for a brief introduction during a winter family holiday after his birthday.

The family was welcoming of newcomers but distant even then, asking through your husband then fiancé about your career and what aspirations you held.

“A modern woman,” you had heard his cousins chatter behind manicured hands, followed by raised full and filled-in eyebrows at his answers to his aunts and cousins.

You returned now to that house, all these years later seeing those same manicured hands now sporting engagement and wedding bands of their own, the children of some of those cousins twittering parroted conversations of their parents.

“Cousin is back”

“His modern woman came too!”

______________________

Your husband went ahead of you into the private room where his grandmother waited on him alone and you waited in the kitchen, attempting to help with meal time for his younger cousins.

The youngest girl, who couldn’t be more than two years old, that you were helping to feed, snuggled against you, smiling at you genuinely as you raised the spoon to her lips.

She clapped as you mimicked the eating action to encourage her, giggling open mouthed before taking a bite that you offered to her.

“She usually does not eat so well with others. What kind of magic is this?” One of his cousins muttered, once again behind her hand.

The young girl’s mother had gone in behind her cousin, your husband, as she apparently also had paperwork to fulfill.

“Ah...I don’t know. She does seem to be eating very well,” you acknowledged her statement but she didn’t look at you and instead turned further away towards her companion, another distant cousin.

“They say when children are sweet to you like that that you must be pregnant.” You felt a sudden tempered blaze budding against your cheeks as they pretended to hush their voices in front of you.

The little girl in your arms tugged at your sleeve, waiting on you to serve her.

“I’m so sorry. Were you ready for another bite already?” You shifted your focus to her, guiding the spoon gently as you heard them gasp.

“But I thought she was barren?”

“That’s what Aunt told us.”

“Well she has every right to be upset. He gave up so much to marry her and now look what this marriage has done. It has no future.”

“But what alternative does he have? He can’t dishonor his vows.”

“But he would forsake the family?”

You finished spooning the rest of the pumpkin porridge into her mouth and carefully placed the dishes on the table before turning to face his cousins.

“Excuse me...excuse me what are you talking about?” You asked, waiting on both of them to turn to you.

They waited you out, finishing another spoonful of porridge before turning to you.

“Aunt came to visit us when you were mysteriously ill and told us how you had ruined her son. That your family was negligent and how much you depended on him.”

“What could have attracted him to you? He could have had any woman within our country.”

“I’m sorry? What are you talking about?”

His cousin rose to her feet abruptly, leaning forward as she planted her hands on the table before her, grounding herself as she lurched towards you until your noses almost touched.

The child in your arms yelped and began to cry aloud in shock at the sudden commotion.

You were surprised that her mother didn’t rush out to tend to her with the way she shrieked and refused to be consoled.

“You have no idea who we are. He made sure to keep you out of it. I told him that he would regret it. And now he does. You’ll see,” she spat in your face before wrenching herself away from the table, picking up her child she had been feeding.

The cousin who sat beside her reached for the young girl who was crying and clinging to you, wrestling her out of your grasp as she followed her cousin down the hall.

“C-come back here! Come back!” You called after her, wiping away the spit from your hair and face, reaching frantically for a cloth to clean yourself with.

There was a slammed door and a shuffle of footsteps down the hall as the children shrieked again at a sudden enraged shout.

“내 아내한테서 떨어져요!”

As you opened your eyes and stood to follow them, you saw your husband at the entryway of the kitchen and the women retreating from him, the rage in his eyes dimming.

His expression was gray and withdrawn as he came towards you, hurrying around the kitchen table to help you sit down.

But you felt yourself resisting at first, alarmed by his sudden shout at his departed cousins.

“Kyungsoo what-”

“Please sit down 여보,” he asked, reaching for the cloth you were at dabbing your hair and face with.

“Kyungsoo what did they mean?! What were they saying? Why did she spit at me?! What’s going on?! What’s-”

He helped you clean up the rest of it speaking in hushed penitent tones.

“I never wanted you to be part of this. But now I don’t have a choice.”

__________________

You departed from his grandmother’s house on foot just as quickly though not as peacefully as you had originally come.

He held your hand gripped tightly in his, brusquely leading the way.

“Kyungsoo please let’s talk about this now. I want to understand. Is there something about being married to me that your family doesn’t like? We have never had a close relationship but her anger towards me caught me off guard...did something happen-”

“I would prefer that we wait-”

“Please Kyungsoo. I-i understand that you want to wait but-”

“Can we at least just get inside and not be on the street?” He demanded, motioning towards the rental car you’d purchased.

You hurried along after him, jumping back as he wrenched and slammed at the car door and gasped as he pulled away from the house quickly, moving along the street at a jilted pace.

“Kyungsoo-”

He shook his head, continuing to drive in agitated silence amongst the traffic cluttered roads until he came to a lesser populated rural highway road where he pulled over.

“Kyungsoo-”

He leaned forward to kiss you then, taking you in his arms roughly, hungrily as if he was aching for nourishment.

You melted against him, pulling his arms closer around you.

“여보,” he moaned against your parted lips.

“Kyungsoo please tell me what’s going on. Why did we come here? Why did your grandmother refuse to see me?”

He slowly sat back, his head resting against the top of the seat.

“____. I would have never told you all of this because this isn’t your world. I brought you here today in response to my grandmother’s request and my family didn’t appreciate that-”

“What request?” You asked though you remembered again now his father’s pointed question.

“Will you return together?”

“What did your grandmother ask you to do?”

He turned his eyes towards you, reaching for your hand as he said, “she asked me whether I was still considering a divorce.”

_______________

The word shattered your mind.

_______________

“Were you? Did you want a divorce?” You managed to squeeze out of your throat and he shook his head resolutely.

“I don’t know what I want anymore-”

“What does that mean? What-what-what paperwork did she ask you to sign?”

“Rights to our family company-”

“Through the Pathcodes? I thought-”

“No...it’s…” he paused again, seeming to grow exhausted by the perpetual onslaught of your questions.

He dispiritedly folded forward until his forehead rested against the car horn at the center of the steering wheel.

“Kyungsoo talk to me. What don’t I know? There’s something you’re not telling me? What did your mother say to your cousins about us? Did she tell the whole family?”

“Yes. Yes she did. It was at dinner. She had been drinking-”

His tone became increasingly subdued in its delivery though he remained exasperated as he answered you and that only heightened your anxiety.

“Kyungsoo. What-what-what don’t I know?! What-”

“Everything ____! Everything! I kept everything from you-”

“What do you mean? Like you lied about who you are-”

“I didn’t lie about who I am. I just didn’t-”

“Even if you kept certain parts to yourself that is still not telling me the complete truth-”

“Oh now I’m not telling the truth?!? Now I am the one keeping things from you? We have spent an entire year and a half away from each other because you chose to shut me out. You walked away from me for an entire year and a half ____.”

His tone was stricken as he spoke to you but he remained eerily calm as he brought up your chosen separation and solitude from your relationship.

“I am guilty of that yes. I did walk away from you. I am sorry-”

“I don’t want you to apologize to me. I want to know why you did it-”

“I could not face you after that...after that ma-many miscarriages. I was embarrassed...I-”

“Did you think that I thought it was your fault? Did you think I was angry at you?”

“But weren’t you angry at me? Even just a little bit? Weren’t you disappointed in me? Weren’t you sorry that you married me?! Weren’t you?! Just say it! Just tell me the truth! Didn’t you hate me?!” The resolve you had held so close, gripping it between not only your fingertips but between your teeth as well was finally torn from you.

You tasted blood as you continued to speak, feeling a stinging pain within your cheek that you had bitten through.

“You’re all I have. I hated that you would keep yourself from me. But I don’t hate you ____. I have never hated you. Never.”

The tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at him, shaking your head in miserable disbelief.

“What don’t I know Kyungsoo! What aren’t you telling me?! Is there someone else?” You pulled away from him as he reached for you.

And he sat back from your reluctance, allowing you space from him once again.

“Yes,” he admitted after what felt like an eternity.

—————————

He told you in that weary grief stricken tone that he belonged to an older farming family who had grown from their small rural field to comfortably support territories in South & North Korea, Japan, China, Thailand and Cambodia.

While they steadily acquired and maintained a significant profit from their satellite operations, infighting for redistribution of wealth constantly threatened to topple their family’s dominance within their own empire.

As part of their created tradition, an available male member of the founding family was required to marry into the neighboring farming families to maintain the founding family’s domination and to “secure their future” as he derisively put it.

“I always thought that I could live a normal life like my peers. I thought that I could marry the person that I wanted and have the career that I wanted. I thought that I didn’t have to be what others wanted me to be just because of the family I was born into.”

“I knew a dear friend once whom I thought that I could have married...but she was married young because her family did not agree with mine over land and territory disputes. I thought that if I could convince my grandmother to reconsider some of our land development here that would be a sign of good faith to her father…but in the end she loved her husband and when I learned that...I gave up on that entirely.”

He was quiet after confessing that there had been someone before you.

Someone he had loved a lifetime ago.

What of himself had he shared with her that you had never known?

What of herself had she shared with him that he still treasured and missed?

Was there a man other than your husband that you knew?

Never.

Not in all the years had you been together had he ever mentioned this family history.

Not the Fourth of July celebration where your paths first crossed.

Not after the first time you went to his family’s restaurant.

Not after your first official date.

Not after you moved into your shared home.

It had never slipped.

Never.

Even when you had traveled here after your engagement.

They were just family.

No secret meetings to sign paperwork.

No forward and bold faced aggression.

How and why had you been kept from the truth?

Were you a weak and willing pawn so taken by the comfortable, unassuming life he had offered to ever wonder if there was more to the story?

“I chose to leave home and to be stripped of my birthright. My grandmother allowed me until my 25th birthday to choose someone to marry. If I hadn’t found someone I would still be considered an available suitor…”

Cars rattled by on the lone country highway.

The sun shifted behind the clouds, peeking from above, below, and in between.

You felt the fabric of your dress sticking to the back of your legs and smelled the faint scent of sweat mingling with his cologne.

A dusty whirl of wind caused a slight tremble to shake your vehicle.

All the while you struggled to breath past the reality that had overcome you, your tongue puffed and sticking against the roof of your mouth, bearing down upon you within this car’s deliriously unbearable heat.

Hot seat.

“When you came here for the film festival...did they...had they found a suitor yet?” You counted the years again knowing that his 25th birthday had well passed since your first year of marriage since the miscarriages began and again the weight of the knowledge he shared pressed you further back into the car door’s frame jumping away from its metal brackets and pieces.

“My brother...his health issues kept him from ever being considered. But because of my example...there are quite a few people in my generation that have done what I did. Many of us have moved away to other parts of the world and that puts a strain on our family…”

“And my miscarriages...the way that my parents handled the engagement and our marriage...that reflected poorly on you. Your mother...she told them everything and they thought badly of you didn’t they?” The tears welled in your eyes as he nodded.

And you finally understood the extent of your transgressions.

“I was so selfish. I was so embarrassed Kyungsoo. I thought if we just got married then everything would figure itself out. My parents would come to their senses and you and I would be as happy as we always were. But we didn’t truly know each other did we? I didn’t know everything that was riding on our marriage...I didn’t know how much you were risking...but why did you never tell me?”

His gaze shifted to his wedding band.

“I gave you space because I knew it was incredibly hard for you to deal with that heartbreak in front of me. I knew that you blamed yourself and that no matter how much I told you that it wasn’t your fault and that we weren’t the only ones faced with that kind of hardship that you would not believe me. I wanted to comfort you. You knew what it was to be neglected by your family but losing our children broke your heart. It broke my heart. I wanted to mourn our children. So many of our children with you,” he had reached down to turn his wedding band on his finger and tightened his grasp as he uttered the end of his phrase, his mouth wrenching closed.

He sniffled after a moment, exhaling as he opened his tearful eyes to go on turning his band about his finger, “but I knew you wouldn’t let me be there for you and that I had to wait until you were ready. And that waiting was agonizing. I hated it more than anything. I second guessed us. Many a time I considered divorce to spare you and to spare us because I didn’t know whether you would ever have the heart to try reconciling. It was around that time that my mother mentioned the divorce to my grandmother that I met her again, my childhood friend, when I came back for the film festival. She came to one of my press conferences. And seeing her again was like a breath of fresh air that I needed. She knew everything about me since childhood. I didn’t have to put part of myself away for her.”

You felt your heart shrinking and straining to continue its mournful beat at his words.

“She was newly widowed. Her husband served in the unit my father and grandfather and her father and his grandfather served in. He carried a wound from training that developed into a sickness that he ultimately passed away from. But she still seemed hopeful. She was at peace. And I had a moment where I wondered what life would have been like if I hadn’t left. Just a moment,” he looked at you as he disclosed his brief emotional betrayal and you allowed him that waiting helplessly as he went on.

“We talked for a little while after the press conference just standing to the side and she asked about my family. She already knew about my marriage and our hardships. And she offered us sympathy...she said ‘I know your heart aches for her. You must be patient with her.’ And I knew she was right.”

“I didn’t come back to you because she told me to. I didn’t come back to you to spite my family. I came back to you because that world, with its politics, and its traditions is no place for me. I came back to you because I want our life. I want the simplicity of our life. At one time or another yes I loved that woman when we were children and rebellious and carefree. But as the man I am today...I have made a commitment that I have given my heart to. I would gladly give up that life for you ____. I was wrong to keep that from you. I was wrong to think I was doing the right thing by shielding you from it.”

“Because I kept it from you you didn’t understand my anxiety about delaying the marriage or even tossing it altogether. You didn’t even know who I was. I didn’t allow you to and I am sorry,” he reached for you again, with both arms, but you held your position.

“I haven’t held you as your husband in such a long, long time and I don’t know how we get back to that point. I don’t know how we come back together when you’re just learning all of these things about me before we met. I don’t deserve your forgiveness for concealing myself but I want your forgiveness-”

“How could I not forgive you? After everything I have done-”

“It’s not...I don’t want you to forgive me as a way to punish yourself. I want us to move past that now ____,” he sternly disagreed, his arms dropping, allowing you to keep distance from his soothing touch.

“Is this life not second best to you? To everything you could have had? If she is a widow now...why not marry her? You don’t think that you’re settling for me? For us? For this life? When you deserve so much more? Don’t you think they were right? That you deserve more?” You asked.

“Loving you even through the lens I allowed myself to love you was what I needed. Before I would have said that I chose us because your world was so different. You were so separate from everything I knew growing up. I fell in love with the worlds you illustrated and I wanted to remain in the dreams of those worlds rather than face the reality of my own.”

“And now?”

“And now I see how selfish I was and what heartache that has caused us both for me to not live in the truth-”

“And what is the truth-”

“The truth is that I am from an older farming family that advocates for inhumane labor conditions and financial and political domination in multiple regions. If I stayed within that family structure I would have had a hand in some of those despicable things. I chose to leave as a child to find new opportunities for my family. I met you and I hoped that you and I could find a way to be happy together. I didn’t tell you everything because I didn’t want you to be tainted by that but I ended up hurting us and tainting our relationship anyway. The truth is that I hadn’t given you the chance to get to know me and now I hope you will…”

He looked at you with those hopeful eyes, brimming with unshed tears as he waited for you.

But you couldn’t breathe.

“I need some air,” you rasped, coughing past a dry patch in your throat.

He fumbled with the car keys turning the car’s A/C on and blasting it in your direction.

He leaned over to your side to turn the fans on you and you caught his arm before he leaned away.

You briefly caught the look in his eyes as you leaned forward to kiss him.

He moaned against you, bringing his arms around you to hold you firmly to him.

“I don’t know how to do this…” you started breathlessly between kisses.

“Together. We do this together,” he insisted and you nodded, pulling away to look at him.

“What do you want this life...our life together to be like?” You asked him, his hands holding you just above your hips.

“I…”

“Knowing there’s another woman out there...that there’s someone who loved you and that you loved. I know it’s over now but Kyungsoo...I have a hard time believing that you love me for who I am. I...can we actually be together? Is it possible to move past this?” You couldn’t stop the questions and he seemed to understand, his hold on you loosening as his arms came around you to pull you closer again.

“It’s a lot that I am asking…”

“What exactly were you going to sign?” You asked quietly as he finished and he stiffened in your embrace.

“I...they did...my family wants me to allow them partnership in some of our operations in the Pathcodes especially if we do plan to pursue work in Seoul. If I won’t give you up and come back then I have to do that. I told them that I cannot make any decisions until our board has a chance to discuss it.” He kept his voice low as he spoke against your shoulder.

“And if we got a divorce?”

“They would give up their interest in the Pathcodes but I would have to go back to Seoul with my family. It would be easier for my brother to stay where we are. It’s healthier for him to stay where he is now. But my parents miss everyone. Even if I want to stay they want to go home.”

You shifted out of his embrace wiping the tears from your eyes and nose.

“I don’t want you to continue to miss out on things in life because of me, Kyungsoo. I don’t want to hold you back ever in life-”

“You’re not holding me back-”

“Kyungsoo!”

“___! You’re not holding me back! Don’t you ever say that! Ever-”

“Kyungsoo!”

“Why would you say that?! Why wouldn’t you just say that you would go with me?! Why don’t you just say that you’ll be by my side?! Do you want me to leave you? Do you want me to hurt you like that? Do you want me to break my own heart like that-”

“But am I the one you actually want by your side? Is it wrong for me to question that now? Kyungsoo how do we actually do this-”

“We just do it ___! We just-”

“Could you really be here without your family? The family you just said you did everything for? I may have been a terrible daughter in law so far but I know better than that…”

You realized how heavy you both were breathing, and how much stickier your skin was at all the added hot air.

You gripped at his forearms, your nails tentatively digging into his flesh.

He looked down at your hands, stopping abruptly.

“___?”

“I can’t bear this heat anymore…”

“Ok let’s...let’s at least get back-”

He hurried to put the car into drive, turning up dust and dirt in his rush to get you both back to the hotel in the city where you had planned to stay.

You reserved yourselves in normal company, politely thanking the staff for their accommodations as they guided you up to your lodgings.

You went to the bathroom immediately, tearing at your clothes, hearing Kyungsoo come in after you.

“Kyungsoo-” you fumbled with your dress’ buttons, trying to pull the fabric back together modestly at least.

But he charged across the marble bathroom floor, pulling at your arms until you released them.

“Don’t hide from me anymore ___. I need you,” he groaned, crushing you against him as he pressed you against the bathroom wall beside the couple sinks.

“Kyungsoo!” You cried out in anguished desire as he took your chin between his fingers, pressing your face away from him so he could kiss your neck, pulling your dress open until it fell from your shoulders to your waist.

Your hands frantically scaled him, from his forearms to his chest where you teared at his dress shirt. As you pulled it from his taut and twitching shoulders, he pushed himself forward, pressing your legs apart as you brought your thighs around him struggling to lift yourself higher.

His kisses became more insistent in their sucking, and you cried against his lips as he lifted you up against him turning with you abruptly to head back into the bedroom.

A flash of lights from the hallway made you gasp as you realized that the door was still open where the staff was bringing in your luggage behind you both to the suite’s living room.

“Kyungsoo!” You whimpered against him, shrinking in his arms but he didn’t mind them and continued carrying you into the bedroom down the hall, kicking the door closed behind him.

Just before he had closed the door you had heard their bashful choruses of “excuse us” before they closed the door to your suite behind them.

“I don’t care who is looking…” he grumbled as he came to a stop before the bed.

You felt yourself slipping slowly to its surface and as you went you pulled at where your dress sat at your hips.

His hands found yours, pulling determinedly at the fabric until it gave way and you shimmied out, rising on your shins to help him pull off his dress shirt that hung bound at his forearms as he pulled at his belt buckle.

“Hurry…” he groaned hotly, waiting for you to finish getting his arms through though his pants and briefs were already at his ankles.

“I...I’m trying-”

“Don’t make me wait anymore ____. I want you right now. I need you right now…” he groaned as you finally pulled both of his arms free.

Reaching down he grabbed underneath your thighs as you reached for his neck, whimpering at the singing heat of his bare skin as he crushed you against him. Finally.

“I am sorry for how rough I am going to be…” he apologized as he walked around the bed, lifting himself up as he brought a hand down to anchor you above him, crawling with you in his arms until he found the center of the bed.

He let you fall and you trembled as he moved down and away from your hands that reached to bring him back to kiss and caress him.

Following the trail of his kisses in your mind’s eye you knew where he was headed.

“I haven’t tasted you in so long…” he whimpered aloud, expressing desires he had always only ever done in quiet reverence.

“Kyungsoo!” You screamed as he brought himself down into you, kissing and suckling at you zealously.

You writhed onto and against him, crying as he brought you higher and further and further until-

“____...come here,” he murmured lovingly, sitting back to give you room. He stood now where he had kneeled before you.

But even in your quaking surprise you found strength enough to move to stand and take tremoring steps back towards him, turning to look at him over your shoulder as you swept your hair away from your gaze.

“I know you love it that way but I need to look at you this way…” he whispered, bringing your hips towards him as you rose and turned to face him.

You sat where you prepared to bend over and he laid you down, your hands spanning the expanse of his waist to crest over the top of his broad shoulders holding him as he slowly pressed into you, pushing further until you wailed before pulling away and crushing himself against you again.

“Haaaaaa _____. Baby...baby I….baby…” he whimpered against you as you hissed and cried, forgetting yourself in your movements, your fingernails scratching at his shoulders.

You went on like this until he stood, your hands trying fruitlessly to keep him directly above you as he barreled on.

He pulled your thighs aching and sweating from round him to rest upright against his chest.

“Show me that sweet face you make when it feels good,” he murmured under his breath and you gasped as his rhythm increased feeling yourself bouncing and bucking harder against his swift pulsing.

You turned away shyly as the curl of a fevered hedonistic smile broke your consumed amorous gaze, putting your hands over your face in lieu of calming the bounce of your body against his every thrust.

“Mm there you are let me see you. Don’t hide from me. Tell me how much you missed me. Tell me ____,” he called aloud to you.

“Kyungsoo we’re too loud already. Baby I-”

“I don’t give a damn. Tell me how much you missed me. I can feel that you missed me. I feel it everywhere. And I love that so much baby. Tell me ____. Tell me baby. I want to hear you say it,” he stopped mid motion to push you up further so that he kneeled above you, your thighs around his waist again like you liked.

His grip slipped from the backs of your calves as he leaned down into your whispering.

“I can’t hear you,” he taunted, leaning back up, the change in position while maintaining consistent motion making you flush hotly.

“Kyungsoo-ah…” you moaned but he wouldn’t relent.

It had been a while but you remembered the stubbornness of your husband.

Especially in this capacity.

“Say it ____. For me, baby. I need to hear it,” he demanded, enunciating every word with movement.

You uncovered your eyes, looking into his as you said it, for once, finally, forgetting who was around, who was listening and what the consequences might be.

You told him plainly how much you missed him and how much you needed him and how much you wanted him, luxuriating in the way he moaned your name at your submission to his request, riding the blissful high when it came to you and followed for him.

You knew, though you had heard him apologize earlier, by the way he helped you to his chest, carefully tucking you into him as you wiped away the tears from your feverish cries, that he was sorry that he needed to be that rough with you.

Even in your special place, the private place, where you loved, he hadn’t loved you as fervidly as he just had. There were pauses and coaxing, so much goading on and on until you did.

But it had been so much time and space between loving.

And in his gestures, his intense gaze, his open hearted cries of ecstasy in union with you...you knew that there was no one else for him just as you felt for him.

There had been no one else that loved him as you did.

...and there never would be.

The fears you kept in your heart, the way you thought yourself less deserving, a peon worth no more than the spit hocked in your face earlier that afternoon, all of that pitiful miserable self wallowing and search for commiseration, were suddenly abominations in your eyes.

Think again about who this man is that is lying here with you.

Think again about what he told you.

Yes he didn’t tell you everything.

Yes he kept things to himself.

Yes.

But did you ask?

Did you ever really wonder?

What were you so focused on?

And whomever she was...that person whom he had loved then...it was you who he came back to.

Think again about how he pleaded with you, worshiping you as he begged you to affirm him and his place in your heart.

How powerful is the love you share for him to endure all that he did?

Think again about what you must mean to him?

Who is this woman he is looking to with such trust?

Who is this woman that he so desperately needs?

It’s you isn’t it?

What does that say about you?

You touched your husband, his chest rising and falling slower as he settled into sleep, his lips parted as he breathed, his eyelids fluttering briefly until they closed, his hands on the small of your back, feeling yourself wrapped around him, cradling him as he cradled you.

That’s right.

He is my husband.

And me?

I, am his wife.

#EXO Pathcodes AU #Kyungsoo fanfic #Colorado x Kyungsoo #Colorado #Human Realm #Universe Gamma

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baekchen-express · 5 years ago

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Since both Beautiful Goodbye and UN Village has this particular word in it, may i present to you: Streetlight.

send me a one-word prompt for a tiny baekchen fic c:

Jongdae wakes up at half past midnight with a jolt. He expects it to be pitch dark, but it's not -- there's light filtering in through the gap under the door.

Maybe Jongdae's forgotten to turn the kitchen lights off. He slips out of bed to check, but when he opens the door to the main area of his tiny house, the lights in the kitchen are off.

It's not coming from inside, it's coming from outside the house.

Jongdae halts. No, it can't be. Maybe it's just a car that's come to a stop right outside of Jongdae's isolated house, located in the middle of nowhere on a never-ending road bordered by an endless expanse of dry grassland. Maybe it's a lost traveller with a flashlight.

A phantom hand clenches around Jongdae's heart, causing a dull ache to bloom and spread across his chest, down to the tips of his limbs. He can't feel his legs as he makes his way to the front door and pushes it open.

Jongdae's breath hitches, clogs his throat.

There, in front of him, is the lone streetlight that accompanies his house. The streetlight that hasn't lit up for the last eight years that Jongdae's lived here. The streetlight that, when Jongdae comes near and tries to feel the river of electricity coursing through it, can't. The streetlight that feels sparkless and dead, because the wires inside are frayed and broken and it's not supposed to work.

But it is, right now, right in front of him, lit up in a light too white to be that of the characteristic sickly, yellowish glow of a normal streetlight, too bright, too pure.

And under it, with a smile so sweet and beautiful and familiar, stands Baekhyun.

Jongdae breathes out. He digs the nail of his thumb into the pad of his forefinger, pressing hard, pressing harder. It hurts -- not a dream.

"Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun's smile widens, relieved and disbelieving and oh so sweet. "Jongdae."

Jongdae's moving before he knows it, and within seconds, he's standing a mere step away from Baekhyun. It's been eight years.

Jongdae wraps his arms around Baekhyun's shoulders as Baekhyun circles his arms around Jongdae's waist, bringing him close and closer still.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here," says Baekhyun into the crook of Jongdae's neck, breathing out warm air into the skin there. His hair is white now, like the radiant, bright light he brings with him wherever he goes. "I left for Almaty when Jongin said he saw you there, but by the time I got there, you were gone."

Jongdae buries his fingers in Baekhyun's hair -- still so soft -- and his nose into Baekhyun's neck, and breathes in. "I'm sorry." He's missed this scent so much, been deprived for so long he was starting to learn to ignore the fact that he was starving, craving, for Baekhyun. "I'm sorry." He pulls away only far enough to kiss Baekhyun, press his mouth against Baekhyun's soft one. "I'm sorry."

Baekhyun sighs into Jongdae's mouth, nipping at his bottom lip until Jongdae is whining, whimpering for more. "And then I heard about some really unusual lightnings happening somewhere in Siberia. They said it was so frequent it rivalled the Catatumbo." Baekhyun's hands cradle Jongdae's face. Jongdae feels like he can finally breathe again. "And I knew you'd be here."

Jongdae kisses Baekhyun's cheeks, then his nose, his chin, the corners of his mouth. Hugs him tight again, whispers into his ears, "Thank you. Thank you."

Above them, the streetlight continues to shine, warm and clear and brilliant.

Baekhyun is home, and he's here to stay.

baekchen-express for more

#baekchen #chenbaek #baekhyun #chen #jongdae #exo #prompt #ft jongin #pathcode au

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chansoobookshelf · 7 years ago

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Smoke White (2697 words) by jongdae Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: EXO (Band) Rating: E Relationships: Chansoo Characters: Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O Genre: Romance, Smut, Fluff AU: Pathcode Powers, Domestic, Not Famous Summary:

Kyungsoo is prompted to think back on their relationship as he watches Chanyeol smoking.

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attractive-asshole · 7 years ago

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When you think it’s too late, you’ve already fallen for me, it’s out of your control.

Playboy - EXO (Spy!AU with KJN) for @hellomellowyellowjello

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aj-summers · 7 years ago

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The Unexpected Path Summary

Have you ever woken up so scared that you had a hard time breathing? That something went wrong that shouldn’t have that would effect you so much that it felt like you were dying? This isn’t something that usually happens but it did. It happened to me and I had taken such an unexpected path. Im Ji-eun and this is that path that led me to him and his friends.

#byun baekhyun #baekhyun #exo #exo pathcode #exo au!#fluff #smut #angst #chen #kai #lay #suho #chanyeol #sehun #d.o #junmyeon #jongin #jongdae #kyungsoo #yixing #summary

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gguksgalaxy · 7 years ago

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3. Tao (Cerca Trova)

Masterpost <– Part 2 | Part 4 –>

Short: After what happened to your boyfriend Suho, you have to leave the comfort of your home and live up to your promise. For him. (this can be read as a one shot)

Type: Angst, a little bit of fluff, shit loads of dialogue Words: 3988 Pairings: (Reader X Suho), platonic!Reader X Chen Warnings: ahhh nothing? a bit of angst.

Read it HERE on AFF or on tumblr :3

Barcelona 19:50

Your flight to Barcelona was long, but you didn’t hate flying so it was fine. You picked a cheap hotel not to far away from the airport, to start. This city was big as well, and your Spanish wasn’t any better than your Kazakh, but maybe your French would help. The location however, on the polaroid seemed more easy to find. It was a cafe, so more people might know the place. It wasn’t a picture of a part of a building, it was actually the front. It was a little too blurry to read the name of the cafe, but the doors were white and the walls grey. There were little wooden chair outside, with an open parasol. It looked cozy, and you’d love to sit there for a while, enjoying the sun.

For now though, you checked into your hotel and went up to your room. You spread the pictures out on the cover of the bed. Jongdae’s picture you put with the other pictures that belonged to him, and you wrote his name on the back along with his number, 21. Suho’s pictures also went together with his number, 01. What number would you meet this time? Would this be Jongin’s location? The boy who’d saved you and abandoned you at the same time. How would you ever find someone who teleported, he could be anywhere right? You let yourself fall back after you’d neatly stacked all the pictures back into the little box. After finding Jongdae you had a little more hope of finding the others, you just hoped they’d all be so nice. You remember the feeling of his lips against yours, the little spark you’d felt. He was Suho’s brother, you’d never date him, but he deserved it really. He would call you soon, you were sure of it. Just to check on you maybe. Tomorrow your search would start, beginning in the city centre. But now, now you were going to take a rest from your trip. So your changes, brushed your teeth and got under the covers.

The next day you took a metro to the city centre, navigating here was easier. And french did help somewhat, luckily. You found yourself a large pastry store and bought a croissant there, you’d missed those. The store owner was nice and you showed her the picture. “I’m looking for this, do you know where it is?” To your surprise, there was a young girl standing next to you, maybe 16. She translated for you, and you thanked her. The lady frowned, and went then pointed somewhere outside, mumbling something in Spanish. The girl tapped your arm. “She says it’s called Cafe Kafka, it’s a few blocks from here, to the left of the church.” Your eyes were wide in surprise, were you really this close? Would it really be this easy? “Thank you so much, thank you.” With your croissant in hand you ran over the street, following to the place they’d pointed you. A few blocks, how many? You slowed down, taking a bite, and roamed around for a little. Then you stopped. There, right in the centre of a little plaza, was the cafe. It was small, but it was definitely there. Cafe Kafka. For a moment you just stood and watched, and then you went inside. But wait, this was a cafe, does that mean he comes here every day? Or is it a one time thing. The floor above seemed to be holding apartments, maybe he lived there? Should you just knock or? You finished your croissant, and went inside to just get some coffee and think. It seemed fancier on the inside, and you ordered a cappuccino. There was a nice place in the corner, and you sat down there. You noticed then, that the seat was warm. Like someone had just sat here, but the table was already cleaned and cleared. What if it was him? Were you too hopeful? Maybe you were. When your drink came you thanked the owner and grabbed your laptop from your back. There was wifi here, thank god. You logged on and went to your email, sending one to your parents.

Dear mom and dad, I’m in Barcelona right now, sitting at a small cafe near the city centre. Almaty was beautiful, and I think I liked it better until now. Although the Spanish language is better. I hope you guys are doing okay, and that you don’t miss me too much. I’ll send you some pictures later when I get the time to transfer them from my camera. Love, Y/n.

You also went and called your friend over Skype, but she didn’t pick up. Maybe she was out or something. So you decided to just text her, giving her a similar message you’d given your parents. When you locked your phone, you saw the picture of you and Suho, his face buried in the crook of your neck, holding you from behind. It made you a little sad again, remembering how happy you were. You had to be happy now as well, to be strong. You remember the stories, about the others. How Suho told you Jongdae had tried to comfort him when they were in that van, and you remembered him mentioning Zitao. Zitao who had cried on his shoulder there. Jongin and Sehun, their youngest, and Yifan, their eldest who hadn’t survived. You remembered Yixing who had gotten captured first, who’d screamed for his freedom. Luhan, who was lost, and might never be found. If you could, you’d go out and find him, but that was worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. At leat you’d know to tell a needle from hay… When you finished your cappuccino, you’d browsed your social media, you’d ordered another one, and the hope was sinking. Finding the location so soon gave you false hope, maybe he was near, and not just here. No, you told yourself, you couldn’t give up that easily. You had to keep going, maybe if you came back a few days at different times. Maybe he’d already been here, or only comes around later in the day, or just on thursdays and mondays. It was Tuesday now. So you just told yourself you’d spend half a day here for two weeks. The rest of the day you could roam around and see other places, might as well enjoy the time here right? It was nearing 2pm, so you paid the bill and went to look through some places.

1 week later Barcelona 10:09

It was Tuesday again, and you still hadn’t seen a single asian boy in the cafe. They were all asian right? Suho mentioned four of them having been from China, and the rest from Korea. So you just assumed you weren’t looking for a blue eyed blonde boy. You were drinking your cappuccino, you’d lost count of how many you’ve had here but they’re really nice. The flavour was full and the milk was really foamy, plus the tiny cookies were to die for. The owned by now recognised your face, and greeted you every time. It would’ve been easier if you spoke Spanish, to ask him maybe if he’d seen someone, but sadly his English was terrible. You’d chatted to your friend on skype yesterday, she was excited to see your face. The two of you talked about small things, the places you’ve been and things you visited, people you met. Apparently she was dating someone now, and you were happy for her. The little bell of the store rang, and someone stepped in. You lifted your head from the book you’d gotten from a local store. The guy who stepped in made you look twice. He was slim, tall, and gorgeous. His skin was flawless, sharply defined features, like a fox. The colour of his hair was light blonde, and he was wearing a black turtleneck with a blazer, and white and black checkered pants. He looked at you, frowned and stepped over. You held your breath as he moves, silently and graciously. “I’m sorry, this is my table.” He spoke in a bit bracketed English. You blinked a few times, but you couldn’t utter out a word. Was he one one of them, one of Suho’s brothers? “Hello, can you please move from my table?” he asked again, a bit louder this time. “Uh…I’m sorry,” you stumbled, getting up, not knowing what to do really. The way you met Jongdae had been much easier. He sat down and you picked up your coffee, placing it on a nearby table. You watched him open his paper, as the owner brought an espresso to his table. “Staring is impolite.” He mumbled. “Huh?” “Stop staring.” His voice was sharp and harsh and it took you aback. You looked down at your table, how could you ask him this, maybe he was a random stranger. He didn’t seem nice, and you really had no intention of upsetting him or causing a scene. Your duffle bag was by your feet, as you were moving to a hotel closer by the other side of the city today. Maybe you should show him the blanket, Jongdae had seemed to recognise that, or your necklace? For a second you looked to your side, and you met his eyes, he glared at you. You decided then, that it wasn’t him, it couldn’t be him. Someone that seemed so menacing. So you paid the bill and got up, taking your belongings and leaving the cafe. One more week, you told yourself mentally, one more week and you’d move on. You’d find a way to ring the apartments upstairs to see if he lived there. While strolling back to your new hotel, you passed crowds of tourists, and calm almost empty streets. This city was diverse, and changed the further you got to the outskirts. You just hoped you hadn’t wasted your time.

3 days later

You were sitting at the cafe again when your phone rang, it was Jongdae. “Hi there.” You said, picking up. “Hey.” You could hear the smile in his voice. “How’ve you been? Did you find anybody yet?” You sighed deeply, rubbing your temple. “No, I found the location, on my first day here. But I haven’t found him yet…” “Where are you at?” “I’m at a cafe, something small but fancy.” Jongdae was quiet for a little, probably thinking. You heard a soft bark on the other line. “Is Kris with you?” “Yeah, I’m home right now.” He said. “You said a cafe, fancy? Makes me think of only two people, one of them being Junmyeon and the other Zitao.” You nodded. “What does Zitao look like? So I can scout out for him, who knows it might help.” “Tao is, one of our younger ones. He’s tall, skinny probably, he has a bit of a feline like face. Sharp eyes and lips, will probably wear expensive looking clothes and possibly earrings as well.” It sounded an awful lot like the guy from Tuesday. “I saw someone, he was ab it foxy, like you described, with blonde hair. But he was really rude and snappy. Told me to move away from the table because it’s his. Was quiet most of the time though.” “Sounds like something he’d do.” Jongdae said. “If it’s him though, go easy on telling him about Junmyeon. He was really close to him, he might snap at you if he thinks you work for the people of the asylum.” “He has a short fuse?” “Zitao is a bit…eccentric. His power is time, so everything feels very odd to him, time passes him by in a way. But he’s also really whiny and rude, like you said.” You took a sip of your drink. “Jongdae, how have you been? Did you find a new place yet?” “Yes, I’m moving out in 2 weeks.” “That’s great.” “I’m not telling you where I’m going though.” He mused. “Because you won’t tell me where you are.” You chuckled, it was nice to laugh. “Because I don’t want you to secretly follow me.” “I wouldn’t.” He whined. “I just want to know if you’re okay.” A soft laugh escaped your lips, at his concern and tone of voice. “I’m okay Jongdae, don’t worry.” “I just wonder if they might come to find you or something. I worry.” “Jongdae, you barely know me.” “As the brother of your boyfriend, I feel it’s kind of my job to look after you now. If he can’t I will do it, so please if anything happens call me. Or if you need someone to talk to.” He spoke, and you heard little Kris bark again. “Kris misses you too.” “I will Jongdae, thank you. Tell Kris I said hi, I need to hang though. Otherwise I’m going to run out of minutes for this month. Foreign phone calls are expensive.” “Ah yeah, talk soon okay?” “Bye Jongdae.” “Bye y/n.” You hung up the phone and sighed again, rubbing your temples and finishing your coffee. If only this was as easy. You’d have to somehow talk to that guy from earlier this week. The bell went off again, and there was a sound of fancy shoes on the tile floor. A movement in the corner of your eyes as someone sat down in the corner table. In his spot. You dared lift your eyes to the person and found him, wearing the exact same clothes, his hair styles in the exact same way. Something about him could be a model, his features to flawless and unique. There wasn’t a single blemish on his skin, let it be for the slight dark circles under his eye. He took a sip of his coffee, and you adverted your gaze, before he caught you staring again. Courage, you’d need courage to do this. So you took a deep breath, closing your eyes for a second and willing yourself to just do it. You spoke; “Zitao?” His head immediately whipped to the side, eyes wide and startled. “How do you know my name?” “Uhmm, I….” “You work for them don’t you.” He was up in an instant, and everything around you seemed to slow. Or he seemed to speed, up, you weren’t a hundred percent sure. He was out of the door in a flash.

Thing flickered back to normal when the door fell shut behind him, the owner dropping his cup, coffee spilling on the floor. You stood up quickly, leaving money on the table and sprinting after him. But out on the street he was nowhere to be seen. You scanned around, there weren’t a lot of people, and he shouldn’t be hard to spot. Checkered pants slipped around a corner on your right and you went in that direction. You ran, and ran, calling out his name. But he never stopped, he occasionally looked back to see if you were still following him. “Zitao stop!” you called, running out of breath. “Please!” he was way faster than you,and you were going to loose track of him. In a moment of dread, you yelled the only thing you thought of. “Junmyeon is dead!” Then he stopped, he stopped dead in his tracks but didn’t turn around. You closed in on him, stopping a few feet away and leaning on your knees. “Please tell me you’re lying, and said that to come and take me away.” He said flatly. “I wish I could.” You answered him. He turned around, facing you with no emotion whatsoever in his eyes. “What year is it?” “It’s 2017, July 25th.” “It’s been exactly 1381 days since I’ve last seen him.” Zitao stated. “Since I’ve last seen any of them. It’s weird you know, it seems like yesterday, like only a week passed. I don’t feel a day older. Time passes so quickly.” You nodded, stepping a little closer to him. “Zitao, do you want to sit down and talk?” “I don’t want anything to do with you.” He growled suddenly. “With any of you.” “Zitao please.” You reached out for his arm but he flinched away. “Zitao I just want to talk.” “NO!” he yelled, so loud it made you flinch now. “No, I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to see them. I don’t want to sit here and see how they wither away with age while I stay the same.” His voice was erratic and his hands were trembling. “Junmyeon isn’t dead, he’s not. He’s happy somewhere, happy and smiling, and content. Don’t come here and tell me these lies!” You didn’t know what to do, you could only watch this boy as he fisted his hands in his hair. “Go away!” he yelled at you, tears shining in the corners of his eyes. “GO THE FUCK AWAY!” There was nothing else you could do, you were on the verge of breaking down, and you didn’t need to give him the satisfaction. So you turned around and left, left him standing in the middle of the empty street, crying for his brother. You left with a hurt feeling in your chest, walking slowly to your apartment and picking up some food on the way. Not that you really had an appetite,but 4 chicken nuggets would have to do for now. You had to eat something. This room was a little bigger than the previous one, and you stripped to get under the shower and wash away the feeling. Wondering whether more of them would react this way, you rinsed the shampoo from your hair and stepped out again. The room smelled a bit old, and it looked so, but the bed was nice. So you laid down wrapped in a huge white towel and took out your phone. Should you call Jongdae? Tell him what happened? You stared at your phone for a while and decided it might be better to call him tomorrow, because you’d be waking him up now. So you just went to sleep

The next morning you slept in, you felt lethargic and down. How would you be able to deal with this every time. The distress and fear and anger in Zitao’s screams. For a second you had been afraid the police would come to the sound, or at least nearby people. But nobody did, and you left him there on his own. You wondered if he didn’t really miss them, if he really didn’t want to see them. You contemplated getting food and staying in the room all day, but maybe also found it worth it to check by the cafe and see if Tao was there. So you showered again, free water was good, and it calmed you a little. It was another warm day, and you pushed you’re baseball cap on a little further to shade your eyes. It was a Saturday, so it was more busy, and your wait for food was a little longer. You left a tip, because you’d eaten at this place every day and it hadn’t disappointed you yet. After shopping for some things you’d needed by now, and going to a place to do laundry, you went to the cafe. It was a bit busier, and you actually took seat outside after checking if Zitao was there. But he wasn’t. The sun was pleasant on your skin, and there was a soft breeze right there. Zitao never came, and he didn’t come the next day, or the day after that. And the second week of waiting had passed and you never saw a sign of him again. You’d even asked the owner, and he said he hadn’t seen Zitao in a long time. That he’d been coming here religiously every day at the same time. But not anymore after what happened with you. You’d apologised and moved away. You decided to write him a letter, to let him know what was up. Not that you know where he lived, but you’d leave it at the cafe.

Zitao

I apologise for scaring you last week, or whenever it was when you read this. I’m writing this because of your brother, Junmyeon. I am, or well, was his girlfriend. We lived happily together for quite a while until he mentioned to me what had happened to you all, his powers, yours the asylum. I loved him so much, and then that day, they came for him. They came for him and they killed him. He died to save me and for that I am sorry. As his dying wish he asked me to find you all, to see if you were safe and help you to relocate. I am sorry for upsetting you, it was not in my intention. But I hope you’re okay. I won’t bother you anymore after this, but know it’s probably safer if you change name and relocate after this. I’m sad I couldn’t do this more securely, and not lead them your way, but I wasn’t made for that. I’m just another girl My phonenumber is on the back of this card, if you ever need anything, or want someone to talk to. Don’t hesitate to call me.

Y/n.

You’d given the envelope to the owner the next day, saying it was for him. He’d nodded, and put it on the counter. You’d never really know if he’d ever see it, but it was a little sliver of hope wasn’t it? A few hours later you found yourself in an internet cafe, together with the photo’s. You’d written Zitao’s name on the back of his, but his number was yet unknown to you. Maybe you could ask Jongdae when he called again, he’d sure know. You’d flipped them over, and drawn a random card. That card would tell you your next destination. You were happy to see it, it was a city you’d always wanted to go. So you’d logged onto a booking site, and found a not to expensive flight there. You didn’t really care for luxury in that way, right now it was important to save money where you could. Because there were faraway flights that would cost you a lot. More so than this one. When your phone rang you picked it up before you looked. “Y/n.” “Hey sweetie!” “Hey mom!” you smiled, logging off the internet quickly. “I just saw you booked a new ticket.” You sighed. “You don’t have to check my bank account, really.” “No, sweetie, we want to just give you a little extra, so we’ve covered the expenses for this one for you.” It silenced you for a little, and you felt tears prick at your eyes. “Thank you so much mom, that means a lot.” “Everything for our daughter. We know how important this is to you, but you know you can come home for a while any time you want. We miss you.” A tear slipped away. “Yeah mom, I know. I love you.” “We love you too, y/n. We’re always here for you.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” The two of you chatted about the things you’d seen, and your mom mentioned that Snuffs missed you, it was their cat. A grumpy cat at that. You promised to send over some more pictures when you arrived in the next city, where you hoped you’d have better wifi than here. When you hung up, you had to wipe away more tears. You really did miss your family, you were here all alone. God why did you have to be so negative about this al the time. You had to push through. You were seeing the world, this was a positive thing. Suho would’ve wanted to see you happy, and strong, as he’d known you. For him you had to keep pushing. For him, for love, for his brothers.

A/N: This series has been gone for such a long time, and this part kind of sucked I'm sorry. I didn't really have a vision in how to go about this. So I hope you guys liked it, please let me know.

@oh-beyond @xingtrash @xiubaek13 @yeollieollie @littlekatlizzy @an-army-exol @melyyexo @paark-haaraa @nunchiwrites

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fy-exo-mama · 7 years ago

Video

youtube

Exodus: The Movie - Official Trailer (Fan Made)

#MAMA!au #Pathcode!au #Lucky One!au #Monster!au #mama lore #mama powers #exo fanvid #OT9

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coffee-and-kpop · 7 years ago

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타는 저 해가 져 그렇게 너는 더욱 눈부셔

taneun jeo haega jyeo geureoke neoneun deouk nunbusyeo

The burning sun is setting, but you’re even more dazzling

Lyon 06:26 -> 06:27

“Are you sure we’re not going to get caught,” I whispered, my breath hoarse and throaty. I couldn’t help but giggle as I was pushed against the stairs leading up to the large church, the concrete digging into my spine.

“Not unless you’re too loud,” Baekhyun whispered back playfully, placing a kiss under my ear. He pulled away slightly and looked down at me, a crooked grin spreading across his face. His bangs were shaggy, and moving down into his eyes, making him appear much younger than his actual age.

“What?” I asked, feeling increasingly uncomfortable under his puppy dog stare. He cocked his head, and the grin grew. “What are you looking at?”

Baekhyun didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned back in and placed a sloppy, unaimed kiss at the corner of my mouth, at the crook of my nose, and another on top of my eyelid. That was the thing about kissing Baekhyun; he was always too excited to actually kiss you proper. Instead, his kisses were random, full of too much energy. Like he couldn’t move on to the next bit of skin fast enough.

Which left it up to me to tangle my hands in his hair, pull his lips down on to mine, and slow him down. He let me, but I was sure by the way that his hands couldn’t stay on one spot of my body for longer than a second that he wanted to kiss elsewhere. But I kept my lips on his, tugging at the tufts of hair at the base of his neck and working my hands into his scalp.

When he gripped my lower thigh tightly under my dress, his slender fingers grabbing onto me in a viselike grip, I pulled him away slowly, my eyelids heavy and my lips sore. His grin was back, and he leaned down again to place a kiss on my nose, connecting our foreheads as he did so and holding that position.

“Baek?” I whispered. Far away, a dog barked. A murder of crows flew overheard, their wings flapping wildly. But here, on the sacred steps of this one old church out of many in France, it was peaceful.

“Hm,” he whispered against my skin, drawing me closer to him. The steps we were lounging on were extremely uncomfortable, and I wasn’t sure how he hadn’t shifted away from me once; I knew the concrete had to be digging into his palms the same way it was digging into my back.

“I lov…” I tried to begin speaking, but the flickering of a street lamp above us cut me off. With my hands still tangled in his hair, and our bodies still pressed together, we both glanced upwards sharply.

The light above us flickered slowly, bringing our faces in and out of the shadows. At first, it started slowly, and then gained speed, until finally it flickered with such a ferocity that it blew out. I gasped as the bulb busted, raining tiny shards around us. And just like before, all was still.

“The electricity in France sure is something,” Baekhyun laughed uneasily, turning back to look at me. I forced a smile back at him, but kept the busted lamppost in my peripheral. And then, the two beside it started flickering. It kept spreading, until every light around us was suddenly flickering on… off… gaining speed.

“Baekhyun…?” I whispered uneasily as his eyes travelled from each lamppost. I gasped as he pulled me off the stairs quickly and grabbed my hand.

“Run,” he snapped, tugging me along the underside of the church with him. We continued a light jog around its side and into the narrow streets that surrounded the place; tiny alleyways and cobblestones built for only a few people to walk down.

It wasn’t until I glanced backwards that I realized that the lights were continuing to flicker and burst behind us. I squeezed Baekhyun’s hand tighter in mine, and he seemed to get the message. He glanced behind us, realizing the darkness was slowing closing in, and pulled me faster along the streets.

I was out of breath in only a few short minutes; I’d never been very much of a runner, and this constant sprint was knocking the breath from my lungs faster than I could bring it in. But still, Baekhyun kept running, tugging my arm until it felt like the socket in my shoulder would come lose.

Everywhere, bulbs were bursting and darkness was swallowing up the light at our ankles. I glanced around every so often, catching glimpses of the city as it slowly went out, power and lights escaping it. Clouds rolled and tumbled overhead, removing anything the stars were willing to offer. Lyon seemed impossibly large once it was shrouded in the dark, once you couldn’t place one foot in front of the other without being sure where it was you were going.

“Baekhyun, please, what’s… what’s happening?” I gasped, tugging back on him to slow down. But he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t answer, wouldn’t let me keep up. He just kept running, and running, and running, until he wasn’t anymore.

We’d stopped at one of the large wrought iron gates the locked the church in safely at night, kept out unwanted youth and criminals. Like us. I could feel a lump welling up in the back of my throat, the unwanted hypervilinlation of too little air starting to set in. I was gasping through the little air and the panic as Baekhyun tugged desperately, uselessly at the gate.

“Baekhyun,” I gasped, feeling my head start to lose pressure and my heart thump against my ribs. But he didn’t hear me, couldn’t hear past his own shaky breath.

“Come on, come on, come on!” He shouted, pounding his fists against the gate.

“Baekhyun,” I cried, my knees hitting the uneven cobblestones with a hard crack. The pain in my knees suddenly brought my head back into focus, brought me back to the street and the growing darkness: the one street lamp left, flickering on and off.

Baekhyun pulled me up into his arms, caging me in against the gate, his back facing towards the darkness as three, two, one, we were surrounded completely in it.

"I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. They’re after me, they’ve found me,” he gasped above me, his arms trembling fiercely as he held me. I clung on to his shirt as he buried placed his forehead back against mine. Although this time, it wasn’t the sweet gesture it had been merely minutes before. Instead, now he was doing it out of protection, fear. Baek’s eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth clamped around his plump bottom lip.

I wrapped my arms around his waist through the leather jacket he was wearing, pulling myself into his chest. He kept murmuring as the buzzing of bursting lights kept up their high pitched symphony around us, in the city. And then, nothing. Everything was just as quiet as before, only this time, there was no light to see by in all of Lyon. It wasn’t so much that I could see that the whole city had succumbed to the dark, but yet I could feel it, like a coldness creeping into my muscles.

At this point he was visibly shaking. I tried placing a hand on his cheek to calm him, but I knew my efforts would be futile. Suddenly, as if by a sheer act of God, a door to a wine cellar rattled in the breeze beside the buildings, showing its lack of a lock. I tugged Baekhyun’s hand, pulling him towards the door and locking it tight behind us.

As soon as I sat on the ground, Baekhyun crumpled into my arms, his trembling slowly down to heavy breathing. I stroked his hair slowly, listening to the rhythm of his inhales. Baekhyun had always been scared of the dark, ever since he was little. I remembered him telling me about how his mother would turn out every light in the house, but he would sneak to the window and pull the curtains, just to let in the moonlight.

Baekhyun’s theory was that every member of his group had to have some kind of deep emotional tie to their skill, and his was his crushing, paralyzing fear of the dark as a kid.

But now, it wasn’t the dark that was scaring him. I knew it was the sound of voices outside, of trampling feet and yelling men. Of one lone gunshot, and how close they’d come to getting him tonight. Maybe the next night they would. Escaping was always a game of chance.

Eventually, Baekhyun and I traded places, so that I was wrapped in his arms and he was leaning against the wall, placing a kiss to the top of my head every so often. Even in the damp, cold cellar, I felt warm and safe next to him. I closed my eyes, lying my head against his chest. I knew the sun would be up soon, and we’d be able to make our way home in the dawn’s light.

But for now, Baekhyun made his own. With his scent of eucalyptus soap enveloping me, my eyes too heavy to open, I felt the twinkling in the air all around us. Fluttering, warming, and casting shadows and streaks across the backs of my eyelids. Here I was, cramped in a tiny cellar, and in Baekhyun’s arms I felt secure, pulled away from the darkness. Safe.

Lyon 07:03

<– pt 7 pt 9 –>

#peachjin #kpop #kpop requests #kpop scenarios #kpop au #exo #exo au #exo pathcode #exo pathcode au #exo scenarios #baekhyun #baekhyun au #baekhyun scenario #byun baekhyun

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dragonowl · 2 months ago

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Pathcode: Light Through a Broken Lens

The Sky That Doesn't End: Part 2 Masterlist Genre: EXO AU, Mystery Rated: PG Summery: Exo has scattered. Now in hiding after the Red Force closed in on them and Luhan went missing. Baekhyun finds himself in a small town while he waits until they can reunite again. Guarded after everything that has taken place, he’s not looking for friendship, or anything else, until a light shines through, even as the darkness closes around them.

Prev, Next. AO3

Chapter 2: Tao: Barcelona, Spain, 10:09

Voices. Whispers and quiet conversations mixed easily with the sound of the buzzing machinery and soft piano music. The scent of roasting beans and brewing coffee was rich and wafted around Tao like a warm hug, reminding him of the early school mornings and Xiumin’s passion for fine coffee. He’d nearly chosen the traditional hot chocolate and churros for breakfast, but the homesickness that hit him after smelling the coffee had changed his mind.

Bringing the warm glass to his lips, he paused and then quickly placed it down as he lifted up the morning’s paper. A small section near the base of the newspaper’s front page caught his attention and he quickly flipped through the pages to find the full article.

His heart stuttered as he processed the words that made him feel sick. A light flickered and his eyes shot up just as a bulb shattered. He brought the newspaper up to protect himself from the flying debris as he flinched at the noise, but the debris never hit. The cafe went silent instead of beginning to clammer at the danger, and he looked around to find the cause.

His breath caught when he realized he’d frozen time without even realizing it.

The hold he had was wavering though and he knew he needed to get out. The Red Force had found a way to track them down and using his powers would likely narrow down their search parameters if they had the right tech. Chen hadn’t been able to determine how they had been found, but he and Suho had cautioned against using their powers in case that had been the cause.

He rushed out of the cafe in a daze, trying to ground himself enough to find his way back to the small room he was staying in. After what felt like forever he made his way back and stumbled multiple times as he ran up the flight of stairs and through the door, gaze darting around to keep an eye on his surroundings.

Once inside he rushed to grab his bags and throw in any essentials he had left lying around. He tried to make a mental list as he double and triple-checked everything. Unable to handle being there any longer, he prayed he had everything that couldn’t be replaced. He’d need to go by the public locker and grab a different ID and some money, and then maybe take a train to another city to fly out of. Deciding on his next location in the moment would hopefully throw off any tail he might have. Something completely random.

Slinging his bags over his shoulders, he exited the small space and quickly made his way down the stairs and outside to the sidewalk.

Someone collided with him, his fast pace and height making him completely miss their presence.

“I’m sorry,” he stumbled, arm encircling the young woman to keep her from falling.

“It’s okay,” she said, her hands fully grabbing his arms to steady herself. “You should pay more attention to your surroundings though. You could get hurt.”

A chill washed over him at her words and he tried to see her face, but she had kept her head bowed. She let go of one of his arms and grabbed the other tightly before he could move and he winced when there was a sudden prick, immediately followed by what felt like fire in his veins. Stumbling back, he found a purchase against the brick wall and dropped his bags as his head erupted in pain, making him drop to his knees. He cradled his head in his hands as the pain drowned out his other senses and his breathing became labored. It ended as quickly as it started and he slumped against the wall, his arms falling to his sides in exhaustion. Tao blinked at the young woman standing over him, but his eyes were too blurry to make out her features and drooped closed as he fell into unconsciousness.

Prev, Next

#exo #exo fanfic #tao #z.tao #Pathcode #light through a broken lens #the sky that doesn’t end series #dragonowl #dragonowl fics

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tales-from-exo-planet · 5 years ago

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LYON II PATHCODES VOL. II

ACT III./Pt I. “Dirty Chai”

Length - 8,637

Mood - Amorous, Captivated

Pairing - Baekhyun x Reader

Warning - Mature for sexual references

“You’re perfect

I’ll fill up your empty heart

To the brim with me”

-Baekhyun “Stay Up” feat. Beenzino

You tucked the slim rose gold circle back into your pocketbook after checking your complexion once again.

The inside of the cafe he had suggested to meet, a blend of cream and taupe walls, sky blue ceiling and plates, silver and earthenware cups, and cherry wood furniture, a modern update to a cultural staple, was tranquil and enchanting as expected.

There were a mixture of students stopping to take a break from their studies, young couples side by side at tables sharing small café plates of tartine between them while enjoying a peaceful weekend, and elder patrons ordering an un déca to take to the terrace, the prime spot for people watching, the morning paper rolled and tucked against their side as they carried their cup out into the breezy afternoon air.

You’d taken a barstool window seat at the front, where you also observed the comings and goings of café patrons.

It was a non assuming, homey weekend in Lyon yet within your ribcage you felt as though your heart was spastically beating out of time every minute that he had yet to arrive.

You felt a jittery whirlwind of unbidden exhilaration and nerves after your chance reintroduction at L’ambassade.

You knew you weren’t fooling him with your, “my schedule should be clear soon. It’s just a crazy month,” texts.

In fact, every time you sent one of those after another “so what does your week look like?” texts from him he would call you after an hour, shifting the conversation to something entirely apart from what you had previously talked about, sharing an anecdote about his day, and always asking you more about yours. It was after one of those conversations that he met you again, somewhat at your invitation but moreso because you told him about the event, at a charity concert by a classical pianist spotlighting the entirety of Chopin’s Nocturnes. He came with a friend whom he introduced you to, an equally connected young man that disappeared from his side before the actual event leaving him alone to find a way to you without his wingman.

Later, on the phone, he continued to ask a lot about your hobbies; recreating Pinterest boards in your office as vision boards for potential clients complete with fabric and scent details, thrifting with your best friend whether here in Lyon or Marseille for vinyls, unique home decor, and vintage seasonal wear you liked as a reward to yourself for another happy customer, volunteering at the plant nursery you’d been going to since you were a child when they needed help, and told you about his; taking a foodie tour of the city with his grandmother and mother when she was in town to visit them, staying in after long stretches of activity for his radio broadcast to game, ordering in lunch and dinner at his studio’s practice room to try his hand at a new piano composition unbothered, spending time with his grandparents at their country home he had bought for them after his first paycheck to help around the house with their gardening only to be rewarded with a home cooked meal.

The conversations were unhurried and disarming, his tone of voice, always genial, growing warmer the more you shared.

Sometimes you were still confused at how two low key individuals would choose to meet one another in an environment altogether separate from their private big hearted, blissful personalities.

Why had he chosen to host that party?

Why had you chosen to go?

Couldn’t you have just as easily bumped into him while out thrifting with your mother and he, out on a foodie tour with his grandmother and mother?

Wouldn’t that have been more organic and natural to affection than to see each other as you had at L’ambassade, in the ambitious, commanding personas you reserved for the public?

”I hope to see you soon,” he’d say towards the end, in a hushed confiding tone and you’d pause hearing his hopes crumbling until you answered, “Mhm. If my schedule clears up.”

You confided in your best friend (Marseille Reader) after one such conversation, saying that “Mm what if it’s not all that I think it will be anyways. There’s nothing worse than having your time just...wasted. After all the anticipation…” But she made fun of you where you hoped to find someone to laugh with.

“I’m so through with you! After he hopped in the car to come have pizza and watch your favorite movie, your mother suddenly called and said that she had an accident at the shop in the middle of the night? I mean...I tried my best not to blow your cover but really____?”

You were sheepish at her blatant though truthful accusations about your dubious attempts to avoid being left alone with him.

“I thought you were IN LIKE with the guy! He was ALL you would talk about whenever you found the time and now when he hopped in the car, and ditched his own party, something Prince Charming didn’t even really do, need I remind you Cinderella, to get to know you, you’re going to text your mom and chicken out? I was too embarrassed to laugh.”

You took a breath to respond but knew that you couldn’t explain it away. You were out thrifting at the time and she had moved on to the next clothing rack by the time you’d thought of a response anyways.

As soon as she (Marseille Reader) had taken off from L’ambassade, you were texting your mother to call you with some excuse so that you could get out of this possible date slash round two of whatever you had started back at his party.

And much to your shame, she did call but asked you about “the spontaneous affair” later.

He was all you could talk about.

He was the person you had wanted to meet the most.

Well...one of the people you had wanted to meet the most.

It felt wrong to feel drawn to him, and to desire his presence as you did.

Whose presence do I desire?

It felt wrong now that he was looking at you, sharing not only your space but the sweat of your dance upon his own skin.

It felt too rushed.

Too soon.

How could you know something as surely as you felt within your soul that though he was a stranger to you in name, in touch, in scent, his aura told you otherwise.

Truer was he becoming to the drawing of happiness you had inactively but subconsciously crafted when thinking “this is the kind of man he will be.”

Could you trust that blueprint when you had failed before, falling for those who turned out to be fallen, faithless princes instead?

But I have known you before.

The whole world has known our story as some sugar spun fairytale but it’s real.

It’s before me, finally.

I can’t let the sun go down another day without being in your presence.

Without being by your side.

When he looked at you as you took that call from your mother.

When he called you after you sent another frightened “I need space” text.

You knew that he knew it.

He felt it.

And he waited.

More patiently than you honestly expected him to be.

His tone of voice was ever cheerful, ever sweet, ever thoughtful.

When you lied to him and to ___ (Marseille Reader) that you had to see about your Mom and hoped you could see him again another time, he paused. His entire being seemed to slow in motion, his head turning, though not suspiciously, but genuinely concerned that he had done something irrevocably wrong.

“I hope everything is ok?” Was all he said at first and the car was quiet as _____ (Marseille Reader) slowed at the light and made to turn the car around to return to the club.

“I’m sure it’ll be just fine,” _____ (Marseille Reader) sighed as she came to a stop.

You felt your breath coming in high and fast as you waited for him to go.

“I really hope everything is ok. Maybe we can see the movie another time?” He asked, his inflection, meant to be both compassionate and trusting, drew your gaze from your screen where you looked at your mother’s most recent text.

“I thought you were at an event tonight. Why would you need an excuse to leave? Is everything ok? Are you safe?”

You tapped the button to darken the screen.

His eyes took you in, gauging your false worry and concern over your mother’s shop.

But though you were sure the lie you crafted was clear as the night’s starless sky, and that he was merely seeing the extent of the growing anxiety you were sweating to contain, he only gave a small, tender smile that lit his eyes with knowing.

“If it’s ok, I’ll call you later? Just to make sure you’re ok. Ok?”

And after so many phone calls, later here we finally are, you thought to yourself as he entered the cafe, took a cursory glance around the place and upon settling his eyes on you, smiling a smile that was for you and you alone.

As if to say, finally.

“________,” he greeted you as he came closer to your perch.

“Hi,” you smiled back, remembering your Mom’s hands in your hair that same night you fled to her shop.

“Don’t be afraid to love someone, _______. There were boys you met in school. You have had some heartbreaks now as a young adult. Things don’t always appear as they seem to be. We’ve talked about those times. We’ll talk about everything that happens no matter who it is. But life is about experience. Life is to be lived in both joy and pain, no matter what happened before. Don’t be afraid, my darling, my baby girl,” she smoothed her hands through your hair, scratching gently at your scalp as you turned your face into her stomach and cried.

————

“Café allongé? Really? I would have thought…”

You knew you were pulling a face and his eyes watched as you playfully judged his choice.

He sniffed at the dirty chai you ordered too before leaving the café.

“That smells so good. The dirty chai you ordered.” Did he have a thing for scents too?

“It’s one of my favorites. Have you ever tried a chai before? If you like café allongé you might like a dirty chai. It also has espresso in it but has more flavor from the milk and spices used. Milk drinks are more for breakfast but ah well. My mom uses cloves and fresh ginger when she makes it for me at home,” you stated, stopping beside him where you walked to bring the steaming to go cup up for him to smell.

Stepping closer to where you offered him your uncovered cup, he took a hearty inhale, nodding once with his eyes closed, a fan of golden brown lashes against his pinkened cheeks.

“That does smell delicious,” he said as he opened his eyes.

His eyes resembled the spice blend swirling beneath the steam from your uncovered cup.

Delicious, he had said in English.

The slight spring breeze carried his voice high above you, above the square framed by the Cathedral Saint Jean to the sun, beaming brightly atop the clouds.

You stood still moving carefully to replace the top without wasting your coffee all over yourself from nerves.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like more,” he said after you finished.

You could tell that he had watched you until you successfully replaced the top.

The nonchalant way his hand slid back into his pocket that wasn’t holding his coffee cup as if he was braced to pull the cup from you if it began to fall.

“What do you mean?” You asked, sipping briefly.

“I mean...I didn’t know if you would like to go out dancing again. You seemed to have so much fun when we were out,” he tilted his head back to swallow a large gulp.

The way he winced afterwards let you know that it was as bitter as you thought.

“Ah well dancing is fun too...it’s nice to just be out today. Thank you for inviting me,” you shook off his assumption that you were bored with his choice when it was entirely the opposite.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon in Lyon for window shopping, most specifically at Les Jouets des Anges, for his nephew and niece who were visiting next month.

“It’s just...if I can be honest with you I don’t go to nor do I host events like that often. I’m more of a homebody,” he chuckled at his sudden confession but it was the expression that came over his face that made you chuckle too.

“I can relate to that. After the past couple months of back to back to back schedules, it is so nice to just do something low key like today. What kind of gifts are you looking for?” You asked as you neared the shop’s ruby red and gold lettered facade.

You followed him into the shop, greeting the shopkeepers and waiting for him to explain his reason for stopping in, that he was looking for a unique doll for his niece and potentially a new toy car for his nephew.

You noticed the pauses between his phrases, as if he were searching for the right words to use and remembered that he had mentioned still not feeling as comfortable with using French as he was his native language, a revelation that made you think back to the combination of English, Korean, and French you had heard him using during his evening broadcast.

The shopkeepers brought you around the shop, showing you the best that they could offer, and he was considerate of their offers though you could tell that none of them were exactly the items that he was looking for.

You left without purchasing anything at all, and continued to wander together, another swift breeze wafting the citrus like scent of magnolias your direction.

“Ah, that's a shame that there wasn’t anything there. I know that she does have a doll at home but it’s dress is older and so I was hoping to find a new one,” he frowned as he suddenly brought his phone from his back pocket, and swiped at the screen.

“Here they are,” he spoke softly, and again you came closer until you both were standing beside the bench where the magnolia blossoms had fallen from their tree onto the seat.

He gingerly brushed the blossoms to the floor, making space for you both to sit side by side so that he could show you the photo.

She sat in his lap in the photo, a little boy whom you assumed to be her elder brother stood beside them where they sat, his head leaned on his uncle’s shoulder, who had his arms wrapped around them both.

You saw the doll and action figure he had mentioned to the shopkeeper only moments ago on the floor in their boxes, newly unwrapped Christmas presents.

Their sincere smiles melted the last dregs of your anxiety and you allowed yourself another deep exhale.

“They’re beautiful. Both of them. How old are they?” You asked and he brightened at your question, telling you all about his brother’s children whom would be visiting soon to celebrate his birthday with him.

“So most of your family still lives in South Korea, where you’re from?” You asked, turning towards him and placing your pocketbook against your stomach so that you could cross your legs.

He nodded, turning towards you as you turned, crossing his opposing leg, his arm stretched along the back of the bench, his phone tucked into his front pocket, his left hand on his thigh.

“Yes my grandparents and I are the only ones who emigrated here when I started school. My parents could not afford to come too, otherwise they would have. My brother and his wife were just starting their family when I planned to move so they weren’t able to come too,” he spread the fingers of his left hand wide along his thigh as he pushed and pulled his palm along the fabric.

“Why Lyon of all places in France?” You asked, genuinely curious as he pursed his lips, a gesture that told you that he was again thinking about how to say what was on his mind in a way that you would understand.

“Well back home, my brother, my father, and I, and a lot of men in our country are required to enter military service within a certain time period. I decided to go in as soon as I was old enough to do so because my parents and I had discussed what I would like to do in my professional career.”

“I have always loved music and had learned to play the piano when I was very young. There was a piece I learned in school by a French composer and I thought that in addition to learning about genres from other countries that maybe it would be interesting to travel and live in a different country. I did not know any French when I decided to come here for my studies but I thought I could learn and just give it a try.”

“So my grandparents decided to move with me. My grandmother teased me and said it wasn’t realistic to send me off on my own to a foreign place where she could not be sure I would eat well.”

He paused at this part of the story as you giggled at another of his shameless admissions, a quirk of a meek smile spreading from one corner of his mouth to the other.

“How could you just uproot your grandparents like that for the sake of food?” You quipped and he laughed aloud, shaking his head and hands simultaneously, “아니, 아니!”

“But you haven’t even tried my grandmother’s cooking. There’s just something about home cooking, you know,” he said in his own defense and you laughed all the more, falling forward and doubling over at his shamelessness.

You hadn’t meant to reach out to brace yourself against him, one hand on his thigh while the other arm cradled your own stomach.

But he didn’t pull away from your touch.

Instead you felt him lean to shift his weight and allow himself to support you.

You sobered up, leaning back, brushing your curls away from your face.

His eyes followed your assent, his cheeks somehow pinker as a sudden glimmer took over his gaze.

“So you moved your dear grandparents here from their home and then you went to Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de danse de Lyon for piano pedagogy?” You remembered that had come up during one of your initial conversations after you confessed that you wanted to take your time before considering seriously talking to anyone. Especially with the way that you had met. It’s easy to get confused.

He apologized immediately, thinking that you were assuming that he was only interested in coming back to your place with you and your best friend potentially for...well.

“Yes, they moved with me and I stayed with them on the weekends especially when my family came to visit and during the holidays. I think my grandmother especially was worried not only about my diet but also about my being alone without anyone to talk to.”

“That was another reason that I started my radio program. I wanted to work on using French more and more often. I had experience during my high school years doing a radio broadcast for our school as well. But in college it was different as all things are. I had a lot more freedom in my programming and tried to make it more than just being about myself. I’m not sure when it started to be shared outside of the school circulation but eventually I was approached by producers to make this a regular gig after I completed my training. I was surprised to be received as well as I was and happy that my French improved, even just a little.”

His smile was shy when you nodded and said that you could understand him.

“I think it would be wonderful to learn a new language. I of course know French, but also English, and Portuguese. It would be interesting to learn Korean. The more you are able to rely on yourself and not have to hire outside to supplement needs, the more marketable you are. Definitely worth it to try to pick up a new language if you have the time,” you said, meaning every word that you said.

He seemed to take you at your word, leaning slightly closer to you.

“Also, if you’re still looking for a new dress for your niece’s doll, I...may know a dressmaker that can help you out. Would you be ok with sending me that picture? When would you need the dress by?” You asked, pulling your phone from where it was tucked within your pocketbook.

He gasped at your offer and looked shocked at the sincere way you looked at him, your phone cradled in your hands.

“I...you don’t have to do that. I have been looking on and off but just have not found anything that looks right for her. Or him. That’s so nice of you to offer. Really.” Again, his really was in English.

“Well I don’t mind. Really.” You intoned as he did, his shy smile beaming ever brighter.

“I…” he sighed, running a hand through his hair as a blush bloomed against his neck.

You tucked your hair behind your ear, placing your chin on your hand anchored by your knee, blinking at him expectantly.

He exhaled aloud, blowing a raspberry as he tapped through his phone and you felt your phone buzzing within your palms.

“Thank you,” he had written below the photo now in your inbox.

______________

The evening fast approaching, he drove you back to your flat after you took another walk along the streets, from which you had walked to meet him earlier that afternoon, his hand fidgeting on the stick shift where your hand rested on your own thigh only inches away.

___________

“So should I send the items to your grandparents or should I bring it to you whenever we meet again?” You asked after you shut the door to his Audi and met him on the sidewalk where he stood waiting for you.

He flushed again at your mention of meeting again.

Before you left the Cathedral’s square, he had asked you out to coffee again or maybe dinner out to which you had agreed.

“That’s up to you and also the dressmaker. Would it be ready when we see each other again? Did you want to go out again tomorrow? Or next week?” He asked, as you stepped closer, your heels clicking against the pavement as you went.

“Mm that is true. It would be a shame if it was not ready in time. Is it ok if I have your grandparents’ address then?” You asked, offering him your phone which he took, stepping closer still, to type the address in the note you’d left open under the title “Operation: Toy Delivery.”

He smirked at the title, slipping the phone from his hand to yours so that your hands overlapped and for a moment his hand held yours.

“I was serious about improving my French, if you were serious about learning Korean,” he said, your eyes dancing from his eyes down to his broad shoulders in his trench coat that towered above you, the sun crowning him in its rays.

You were a breath apart now but you spoke in your normal voice, feeling the vibrations bounce back to you as you stood within the cradle of his broad chest.

“So next time, French and Korean lessons?”

“Just next time?” He asked, the end of his question lifting in wonder.

You watched his lips form each syllable he uttered in English.

“Well...it depends on the level you want to reach,” you breathed.

And his smirk broadened.

“I want to be proficient,” he said, again in English.

Now you were flushed to the soles of your feet.

But you smiled all the more, relaxing ever more.

His gaze was ever watchful and when you smiled, when you really smiled, he took your hands in his where they were clasped in front of you keeping your pocketbook still where it rested against your stomach.

His touch was gentle, as you expected, his slim fingers weaving through yours.

“내 미소로 너의 미소의 아름다움을 만지고 싶다,” he whispered in the most tender tone.

“I...what did that mean?” You shivered, coming further into his embrace, the sun falling to insignificance behind him.

“I want to touch the beauty of your smile with my smile,” he whispered, his tone ever more tender as he waited for you to realize what he had asked.

You felt a quivering in your knees but held his hands more firmly, tipping forward and up towards him to kiss the corner of his mouth.

He bit his lip as you settled back on your feet, his hands still holding yours tightly.

You stepped further into his embrace and lifted yourself up again on your toes, feeling him bring you closer, his head turning just in time.

_______________

Two weeks later

He sent you a photo of the gift on his grandparents’ dining table, and a video of his niece and nephew opening the gifts while squealing in delight at the matching outfits for both of the children and each of their toys, crafted by your mother at your request, unbeknownst to him.

You looked at the tag “from your uncle’s good friend” you had written coyly and wondered if he had thought you were passively aggressively friendzoning him.

He called you later that night to thank you again.

“You really didn’t have to do that. I can’t tell you how much they loved the outfits and the extra toys you sent. My brother and his wife, my parents, my grandparents, they all want to thank you personally. It was such a nice gift, ______,” his tone reverent.

______________

A week later

Weaving his fingers between yours once you stepped up to the sidewalk from the car, you walked once again alongside the magnolias, a chattering of birds following you as you spoke together translating phrases and teaching one another new ones.

“너는 오늘 너무 아름다워”

“J'aime cette couleur sur vous”

“나는 너와 함께 시간을 보내는 것을 정말 좋아한다”

“J'ai hâte de vous revoir”

His kisses at your door that night were ever more demonstrative in their tenderness.

The way he cupped your cheeks in his palms, and cradled you into his chest, swaying slightly when you wrapped your arms around his waist, accepting his warmhearted embrace.

___________

Two days later

“But why didn’t you tell me that your mother made them? I...I would like to pay her back-”

“But that’s the point of a gift. It’s not about paying me back. I paid for the fabric and I did also pay my Mom for her time. I know better than that,” you chuckled, picking up your fork to get another bite from the cake you two were sharing.

He pulled the plate of cake from your reach, so that you had to look at him.

“I’m serious, _____. I haven’t even met your mother yet. But my family knows all about these gifts and about you. I would like to meet her and tell her thank you, myself,” he insisted, his tone dropping into his chest.

“Well...ok then, Boss,” you said, reaching for the plate of cake, which he gave to you after holding it away from your grasp a moment longer, kissing and sucking away the cream at the corner of your mouth.

“Was that so hard,” he laughed at your bashful frown.

____________

Two weeks later

“This is my grandmother and mother. 할머니, 엄마 this is ____, and her mother,” he gestured between the three women, the jade green 청자 vases he had ordered and his brother had brought back with him on the center table of your mother’s floral shop.

Your mother, her eyes large as saucers at the size and variety of the vases, quickly began to ask the sweet women, his grandmother and mother, about traditional floral arrangements. He sat between his mother, grandmother and your mother and you sat opposite him helping them to understand one another in their mutual excitement that you felt had less to do with the vases the longer you listened.

_____________

That same week of your birthday

“I trust you, but I don’t trust the sidewalk,” you laughed, feeling his gait slow to awkward shuffling steps framing your tentative ones.

“I won’t let you fall. I promise,” he whispered, brushing his lips against the top of your ear before letting his hands fall.

“Lumière Fourmi closed for an exclusive event...” you gasped at the title, Ever After, showing in each of the window panes.

He took your hand in his, ushering you through the front doors where a banner sparkled under the pearl white ceiling lights.

“Happy Birthday, _____”

——————————-

After a shared bucket of popcorn while cuddling in the plush velvet seats

“Monsieur, Madame, your dessert has arrived,” your lone attendant of the evening announced as he wheeled the cake tray in, complete with a frosted ice bucket of champagne.

After handing the matches to him, they bowed and made their exit.

He sat up, lighting each of the candles one by one, spelling your name.

He sang you the birthday song, his voice like his embrace, warm-hearted, and buttery like toffee, in French.

You clapped enthusiastically, tears in your eyes as you leaned forward to kiss him in thanks.

“마음에 드세요?” He drawled, seemingly happily dizzy from your successive kisses.

“응! 너무 좋아! 정말 고마워!” You took his cheeks in your hands, leaning forward to kiss him again.

He held you to him after the last kiss, murmuring throatily, “Serez-vous ma petite amie?”

Though at this point you knew it was purely a formality, you sat back, his hands resting on your mid back.

“Mille fois oui,” you answered, your gaze straightforward and your heart clear.

_______________________

After a mouthful of cake sweetened kisses

“What movie did you learn that phrase from? I didn’t teach you that,” you joked, snuggling into his arms, as the credits began to roll.

He rolled his eyes, licking his lips after a beat.

“사랑에 빠진 사람은 한계를 모른다,” he murmured between kisses.

_____________________

Finally, at your apartment later that evening

“Wow, this is such a beautiful place, ______,” he said the moment that you led him into your flat.

“Thank you,” you said, pulling down at the hem of the sleeve of his trench coat as he stood in wonder.

He looked down at where you tugged at him and giggled as he shrugged out of his trench coat, and waited for you to hang it at the door before you let him know to make himself comfortable.

He stepped out of his dress shoes at the door, placing them so that their toes faced the door, before he walked towards the living area where your curtains were held open.

You moved through your apartment, dreamily, gathering blankets, pillows, placing a new unopened toothbrush on the bathroom counter that you bought for yourself but hadn’t opened yet.

He stood at the window, leaned against the pane, viewing the street below where his car was parked across the street after bringing you both back to your flat.

You stood, unable to move closer.

Though not entirely in fear.

But in peaceful stillness.

In absolute incandescent happiness.

“This has been such a great birthday,” you announced, seeing him jolt slightly at the sudden sound of your voice.

He turned to walk towards you, and you met him in the middle of your hardwood living room floor.

“I’m sorry that I kept you out so late. I hope it’s ok that I stay just this once,” he winced and you rolled your eyes at him.

“I insisted that you come by instead of driving all the way back to your grandparents. I would have been worried if something happened to you out there at this time of night. You forget that both your grandmother and mother have my number.”

He shrugged, his eyes drifting to the blankets and pillows in your arms.

“Let me help you with these then?” He offered and took them, placing them on your sofa and you followed to sit beside him.

Sitting which inevitably became cuddling.

“I’m embarrassed at how easy it is to end up like this,” you admitted into his neck, feeling his throaty chuckle against your lips.

“Is it bad that I’m not?” He murmured, wrapping his arms around you.

“That makes you sound like a player though,” you said, leaning out of his arms, to gauge his reaction.

His brow rose at your insinuation.

“I…?”

He released you from his chest, taking your hands in his instead.

“I don’t want there to be misunderstandings between us. I’m not here for any other reason than that I really truly like you. But I feel like there’s a barrier between us no matter how sincere I am. Please help me to understand that,” he spoke in low tones, the pads of his thumbs gently tracing the veins on the backs of your hands.

Could he feel the jump in your pulse at his heartfelt inquiry?

“...well…”

“We don’t have to go too fast. I’m not asking you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I can leave if you feel burdened. I don’t want to harm you, ____. Ever,” he brought your hands to his lips, kissing the back and hearts of your palms twice.

“I’m not afraid of you touching me. Or holding me. It’s not the physical intimacy that scares me. I can feel our hearts becoming closer the longer we spend time together moving at a pace that seems rushed when I think about the amount of time we’ve actually spoken to one another.”

“But my heart says another thing. My heart wants more time. More and more time. It’s so easy to talk with you. To spend time with you. To just be.”

“But do you really, ____? Sometimes I feel that our hearts are in the same place. I feel that we both feel safe together. And that you’re beginning to trust me. But then I can feel you pulling away as if you want to hide instead of remaining in the same place with me. Is there something about me that makes you feel uncomfortable?”

He kept his eyes on the back of your palms, tracing your veins with his forefinger as he gradually let your joined hands drop between you both.

“I…”

How messy was it to explain the gaps between your fingers where he held onto you more tightly than you held onto him?

How soon was too soon to reveal all that you feared?

But he had become close to the entrance to your heart.

He chose to wait there.

Sincerely, just as he said.

“You don’t have to tell me everything at once. But I want you to know that when you are ready that you can tell me everything. I want to know.” He waited for some time before speaking, continuing his gentle rotations against the back of your palm.

Don’t be afraid to love someone, _______.

Life is to be lived in both joy and pain, no matter what happened before.

Don’t be afraid, my darling, my baby girl.

You fidgeted, pulling your hands from his embrace, to cradle his instead.

You brought his hands, the backs of his palms, his fingers, then turned his hands to their center to your lips as well.

He exhaled, slowly. Allowing you to turn him this way and that.

Closing your eyes, you repeated the gesture before bringing his hands to your heart, pressing down until you could feel your heartbeats, his through his hands, and yours atop his.

He leaned forward, brushing the bridge of his nose along the hill of your cheek.

“Please be careful with me,” you whispered, shivering as he kissed the center of your cheek, moving glacially towards your lips.

Then your hands, yours and his, pulled each other closer.

Breaking apart, he hummed against your lips.

“Please be careful with me, also.”

You answered in kind with another kiss.

__________________

7:00 am, the morning of your actual birthday

You awoke curled into his chest, feeling him shiver as you stirred again in his arms, turning into his neck.

Your clothes from the day before that you both still wore were rumpled where they had been pressed and freshly laundered for the surprise special showing he had gifted you the evening before.

His dress shoes were still at the door.

Your pumps had somehow ended up beside them.

He moaned as you shifted your weight, pulling yourself up to a seated position.

His arms followed you where you went, his hands drifting down to your waist, his fingers twitching slightly as you continued to move.

You turned to look at him, seeing that he was still asleep, his lips puffed and bruised as were yours.

You blushed as your eyes trailed to the right of his lips, focusing on his chin, his neck and where his dress shirt were unbuttoned exposing his clavicle.

There you had left your marks.

Seeing his made you bring your hand to your own that he had made; love bites on both sides of your neck, the top of your left shoulder and the stretch of skin just above the mound of your left breast.

Your phone chimed in your purse on the counter and you stood up quickly, hearing him gasp and groan in his sleep.

You made it in time to catch it on the third ring, answering it as you swiped your purse from the counter and hurried down the hall to your bedroom.

“______! Happy birthday love!” _____ (Marseille Reader) exclaimed as soon as you answered, blowing her kazoo into the mouth piece of her phone.

You laughed hoarsely, muffling the volume of the sound.

You thanked her as you started your shower, creating another barrier for your conversation.

“Am I catching you at a bad time? Are you on your way out already? Why is your voice so husky? Is he…? Wait!-”

“Could you be any more nosy?” You sighed to which she laughed.

“Well a very happy birthday to you girl. I’ll hang up now. Text me when you have a minute ok?”

You hung up after you both said goodbye, texting her quickly.

“We didn’t. If that’s what you’re thinking. He just stayed over after we came back from the theater. We slept together but not...not like that.”

Three dots.

“Are you ok? How do you feel about things? I know you’ve been anxious about it for awhile.”

You placed your phone on its designated dish for when you brought it to the bathroom, and went back to your bedroom to place your purse on its hook.

“I’m still nervous about everything. I don’t know why though. You’ve known me long enough to know what I am always like.”

The three dots flashed quicker this time.

“What makes it so different this time?”

You undressed, thinking about her question as you washed your hair, scratching your scalp in slow methodical circles.

When you were rinsed clean, you hurried to change into comfortable sweats, grabbing your hair brush from its holder in your bathroom but turning round in a circle stunned to see that your leave in conditioner was missing.

“Where-”

You went to grab your phone, swiping to open a happy birthday text from your Mom.

“Thank you! I’ll call you in a little bit ok?” You responded quickly before going back to _____‘s (Marseille Reader) text message from before.

“Obviously every situation is different. But...it’s just the way he completely reads me, _____ (Marseille Reader.)”

A question mark.

“Last night we talked after we got back and he wants our relationship to move forward. He officially asked me yesterday. And somehow he realized that though I said and meant yes, I was also still feeling wary about it. And he asked me why? And when I was wondering why he would be willing to trust me so completely, my mom’s voice came back to me telling me that trust is part of the process. No one can really guarantee that things won’t happen.”

“Mmhm”

“Trust is part of the process.”

You felt your hair dripping on your bare shoulder.

“You deserve to be loved the way he wants to love you, _____. Don’t you think you deserve to be wanted and loved like that? If you don’t think you’re ready for that then don’t lead him on. But if you want to love him then don’t be afraid to want and accept that.”

________________

“I’m sorry,” you cried out as you almost collided with him in the hallway.

“I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed also, catching you where you had almost fallen to jump away from him in time as he approached.

“I just wanted to come take a shower because it sounded like you were done. Is that ok? Can I use the towel that you left out? I should have brought some things with me but I didn’t think I would stay over,” his chuckle was nervous as if he was worried that you were going to rescind your invitation.

But you shook off your nerves, reaching out to take his hand in yours to lead him to your bathroom.

“Your hair is different from how it usually is ,” he said aloud, his eyes surveying every wet curl atop your head.

“Yea...I was coming out to get my conditioner that I left in the living room. I was hoping I wouldn’t wake you since you still seemed tired-”

“Oh no I’m fine. So what will you do to your hair now? Just let it dry?” He asked, reaching out a hand to touch one of your curls.

“I’ll be right back if you want to wait right here?” You asked, and left him to look around to find a chair to sit in, hurrying quickly to your guest bathroom to find your leave in conditioner bottle that you had left on the window sill the day before.

You returned to your bedroom to find him looking at the picture frames on your writing desk, those of you and your mother, _____ (Marseille Reader) and you on holiday, you outside of your university holding your diploma.

You moved around him, allowing him to see what he wanted, turning on your radio.

You went into the bathroom, hearing him stir at your writing desk as he watched you go past.

After hunting for your comb you went to sit at your bathroom bench, spritzing your hair with your leave-in conditioner spray you concocted before you began to comb through and part your hair.

You heard him before you saw him at the door of your bathroom, “you can come in. If you want to sit beside me?”

He came slowly, his footsteps soft on your marble floor.

You felt him come closer until he sat down beside you and you shifted over, giving him room.

He sat quietly, watching you as you braided your hair and put it into a bun.

“What’s in that spray bottle? It smells like coconut and something else delicious,” he asked, as you turned back to him, handing him the unopened toothbrush after putting your hair care items away and washing your hands.

“I’ll tell you as soon as you shower ok? What would you like for breakfast?”

__________________

After breakfast, your mother’s chai tea recipe, baguettes, strawberries, and 길거리 토스트, something he asked for but wasn’t positive of the recipe for, you cleaned up the living room and you both moved into your bedroom.

You called your mother back while he showered earlier and she planned to invite both him and his family if they were available for your traditional birthday dinner at her home.

When you asked him over breakfast, if he and they were available later this evening or tomorrow depending on their schedules, he immediately called his mother who called your mother to arrange the dinner for the following evening.

“Did you call off your schedule for the rest of today too?” You chuckled, when he announced that everything was arranged.

He sighed after a long sip of chai, rolling his neck side to side as if he were finally waking up, saying, “I didn’t have anything else scheduled for this weekend. I go back in on Tuesday to record again. I planned ahead. I have time.”

“Time for me?” You asked, enjoying the warmth in your hands from your cup of chai.

“Time for us,” he smiled in return.

_________________

“Come here,” you said, standing with his hands cradling yours.

He followed where you led down the hall past your kitchen, past the half guest bathroom, further down the hall to your bedroom, weaving his fingers between yours in a solid embrace.

You led him to your room, leaving him at the door to get your picture frame.

He waited by the door, not crossing the threshold, until you gave him permission.

_________________

“This love, this love

This love, this love

Let me feel the love, you get to know me

Figured that soul, I hold you only

Take him in and chilling, we keep it rolling

Let me get a hit of, you feeling on me

Let me feel the depth as you get to know me

Figured that soul, I hold you only

Take him in and chilling, we keep it rolling

Let me get a hit of, you feeling on me”

You laid side by side as Cassie sang, her voice tinging the light of the sun’s descent filtering into your bedroom from your curtains in bashful pinks, and deeper reds.

His hand held yours, slipping his fingers between yours, rubbing his thumbs against the inside of the heel of your palm.

You turned, your eyes finding his first where he watched you.

“이쪽으로 오세요,” he whispered, his other arm reaching up and over, creating within himself a circle for you to fill.

You went, snuggling into his chest with your ear over his heart. His arms held you close, one of his hands drifting higher to your now dried hair. At first he petted your hair, gently teasing stray curls from your bun, and eventually his fingers inched along your scalp, scratching you in all the right spots.

You moaned against him, writhing closer.

Until he suddenly stopped.

You opened your eyes just as he reached his hand that had been in your hair beneath your chin, tilting your face up to him, his kiss full and passionate.

You pulled him, by his broad shoulders, wrapping yourself around him, as he turned with you, bringing your thighs around him, his palms spreading along your skin.

“Mm,” he kissed the tender love bites he’d created earlier that morning at dawn, and nosed down further as you pulled at your sweatshirt.

You helped each other out of your clothes, down to your silk and his cotton, chasing each new reveal with another kiss, and another until finally you were free.

He shyly pulled away when you pulled him closer by his hips.

“I-”

“Are you ready or are we moving too fast?” He asked immediately.

You brought your hands to your chest, covering yourself.

“I don’t...if you don’t want to be together...I really don’t want to do this…” he said, his eyes looking and you hushed him with your lips realizing then that you were both nervous about whether you were in the same head space.

“I want to. Je veux.”

“Moi aussi.”

__________

“Mm…” he let out a long low moan as your kisses drifted from his neck.

To alternate between sucking and blowing hotly against his nipples, his chest, his stomach.

He bucked against your sudden kiss at his hips.

The way that you slowly opened your mouth, nibbling at the indent of his hip bone.

While he focused there, panting open mouthed, you reached, sliding an open hand down, past his belly button pushing past curls of hair, grasping him.

“____,” groaning your name at first, you felt him still against you as you opened your mouth.

“Ha...I,” he squirmed involuntarily but towards you.

____________

He was buzzing in your ear, humming as he breathed you in.

You turned into his embrace, your back flush against his chest.

He cradled you, making himself a throne upon which you reigned.

His hands were at your breasts where his mouth had been before he turned you over.

You pulled one of his hands from your breast, as his lips pressed into your neck, murmuring drunkenly against you your name over and over and over.

“Vous pouvez aussi me toucher ici,” you murmured rotating your hips as you brought his hand down further past your belly button, past the silk, past your curls, to you.

“Vous êtes si doux et doux même ici,” he bit at your neck, sucking the skin there as he placed his hand above yours, following your movement.

___________

He turned you to him, taking a handful of your hair in his hands, helping you closer with his other hand spread wide against your behind, as he rocked you higher and higher.

“B-Baekhyun!” in tears you said his name again and again.

__________

“Seeing you again at my party after that first winter we happened to meet left me empty. I tried to wait until we could see each other by chance. But I found myself asking and wondering more. I found every chance to ask about you. But how could I find a way to casually see you being that our careers are what they are?”

“When I saw you again _____. I can’t tell you what it meant to know you were coming.”

You pressed a sleepy, tearful kiss to his Adam’s apple.

“I’m surprised you didn’t give up…” you whispered huskily.

“How can I? My heart belongs to you. There’s nowhere I can go without thinking of you. Not even to sleep, ____. You’re with me always.” He kept a hand at the small of your back, circling from there to the rise of your bottom, while his other hand held your thigh ascending to your knee. He held you to him, with your thigh wrapped over his hip.

“Always?” You asked, your hand that rested on his rising and falling chest, moving up to turn his face down to you.

“Always,” he nodded, nuzzling you and turning until he rested his head on your breast.

You scratched at his scalp and neck, stirring and writhing against him as his drowsy kisses again became urgent.

“B-Baek-Hyun-Ah please…”

How did he know that you liked it like this?

How did he know that you needed him to touch you there?

“Ah foda-se...ha!”

Like that.

Again.

“...please”

More.

“Come here baby,” he murmured against your brows, one hand in your hair, as his other held your thigh, pulling you together until you were blissfully one, again.

____________

#EXO Pathcodes AU #baekhyun fanfic #Lyon x Baekhyun #Lyon #Human Realm #Universe Gamma

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lufancy · 6 years ago

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Old masterlist

Author’s note: This is a masterlist for my old (and cringeworthy) scenarios, I don’t like any of these anymore (most of these I wrote yeaaars ago) but I won’t delete them in case there are people who really want to re-read them (you really shouldn’t though).

New masterlist

Luhan Notebooks // (1) / (2) / (3) // High School!AU The Confession (M) Longing // Wolf!AU Fight me ft. Jongin // High School!AU

Baekhyun Pups // ft. Chanyeol Sehun Hazardous // Mafia!AU Smile Come On.. Give Into Me // Bodyguard!AU Psychosis // Psycho!AU

Jongin King’s Cross // Pathcode!AU Fight me ft. Luhan // High School!AU

Yixing Vodka & Roses

Chanyeol No More & (Sequel) The Job // Assasin!AU Regret // Rocker!AU Impulsive

Optional bias Baby Baby (Sequel)

Exo drabbles

#masterlist #exo

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thechanbaeklibrary · 6 years ago

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Summary: Chanyeol claims to be Baekhyun’s only hope when it comes to dealing with the Recruiters, but Baekhyun isn’t sure that he can trust the man who trespassed into his house and killed his plants. Author: convexxed for exoleague Length: Oneshot Status: Completed Genre: MAMA au, (Pathcode), Supernatural Rating: PG Warning: Mention of depression

Admin Z: exoleague fest started about a week ago. They are theme focus on exo powers. Check them out for more other pairings!

#chanbaek #baekyeol #mama #supernatural #pg #exoleague #oneshot #ao3 #all au #by z

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pikakehimesama · 6 years ago

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Mobile Masterlist!

Masterlist for those on Mobile devices :) Updated: November 9, 2018

Key: Angst: ☃

Fluff: ♡

Smut: ☆

In Progress: ✎

Character Death: 🕱

Theory: 🗊

Complete ✔️

Suga / Yoongi

☞ Bus Rides [ ♡ 🕱] Oneshot!

☞ Run [ ☃ ♡ 🕱 ] Gang AU | ✎

Rap Monster / RM / Namjoon

☞ Do You? [ ♡ ] University AU | Oneshot!

Jimin

☞ Serendipity [ ♡ ] Soulmate AU | Oneshot!

Jungkook

☞ Beautiful Hair [ ♡ ] Oneshot!

☞ We Don’t Talk Anymore [ ☃ ♡ ☆ ] Fuck Boy AU | Oneshot!

Chen

☞ Opportunities: Part 1 | Part 2 [ ♡ ]

Baekhyun

☞ A MidAutumn Midnight Rain [ ♡ ] College AU | Oneshot!

☞ Wake Me Up When May Ends [ ☃ ] Oneshot!

Luhan

☞ Moonlight [ ☃ 🕱 ] Idol AU | Oneshot!

EXO Theories

🗊 The EXO Timeline

Taeyong

☞ Another World [ ♡ ] Bad boy AU | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Leo

☞Touch & Sketch [ ☆ ♡ ] Boyfriend AU | Drabble

Find me also on: AFF @pikakaehimesama

#mobile masterlist #masterlist #kpopfanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #k fanfiction #himesama stories

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aurists · 3 years ago

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the gemini project #au!gemini

apartment au + mutants au genre slice of life, sci-fi, fantasy keywords apartment, clone, twins, mutant, experiment inspired by x-men, exo’s pathcode & obsession concept

› summary

twelve normal citizens are cloned without their knowledge for the gemini project, a top-secret research effort aimed at creating superhumans.

these twelve citizens now live together in one apartment building in seoul—unknowingly, with others who have also been cloned.

their clones reside in an underground research facility in jeju, mutated.

the originals and their clones may have the same faces, but they have different memories and lead different lives.

under the cut: intro, details, skeletons

› intro

MUTATION: it is the key to our evolution. it has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. this process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years, but we can’t wait another millennia for evolution to leap forward.

operating out of an undisclosed underground headquarters in jeju, the gemini project is an ambitious top secret research effort by leading genetic research center, x-corporation, aimed at perfecting the cloning process & creating genetically advanced subjects for military use. the gemini project officially began operations in 2018, kicking off with the abduction and cloning of twelve carefully selected citizens. the cloning process was quick, lasting only two days, and so the twelve subjects were returned to their lives, memories altered, before anyone could even notice that they were gone. now, by some happy coincidence, these twelve subjects all live in the same apartment building in seoul - with nothing to show for their time in x-corp but a few bad dreams and the eerie feeling that something is missing, that they’re being watched. meanwhile, their clones exist underground, heads shaved and filled with false memories, living in pairs inside concrete boxes, eyes burning from the flourescents.

› details

seoul, 2021 on an unusually quiet cornerstreet in hongdae is a small apartment building named 'the gemini,' only four floors high. it has a rooftop, and three floors with seven rooms. full occupancy, because the mysterious apartment 3C has been locked and 'under renovation' for as long as anyone can remember. the building is quite new and well-maintained. the middle-aged man guarding the lobby is kind and he smiles at you when he sees you. the building's caretaker, an elderly lady with the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen, is just as pleasant. rent is relatively cheap for such a good neighborhood and a 20x20 space. nothing seems all too strange here, but you just can't shake the feeling that you're being watched. and you know your neighbors are strangers, but you just can't help feeling that you've all met before - maybe in another life?

jeju, 2021 the gemini project is composed of six units, and each unit is comprised of two subjects. subjects' heads are kept completely shaven, and everyone is given the same drab gray pocket-less jumpsuit and white shoes to wear. try as they might, none of the subjects remember their "real names"; everyone refers to each other by their numbers (ie. subject G0062 is called 'sixty-two', subject G0011 is called 'eleven', etc.) every unit is given a 20x20 living space that comes equipped with two beds, a sitting area, and a closet of gray jumpsuits and white shoes. it's bare, but comfortable. one unit is allowed to request one personal effect every month. this can be anything from books to toys to a piece of clothing, but evaluation is so strict for any items that are allowed to go into the facility, that most requests are denied - or otherwise, heavily altered (books with text blacked out, items with parts taken out, etc.) there is a central bathroom and bathing area where units take scheduled baths and bathroom breaks. if a subject wants to go to the bathroom out of schedule, they must be accompanied by two guards. all they have to do is ask. most guards are lenient with bathroom breaks.there is a small canteen that serves as a dining area where subjects take their scheduled meals together. this canteen has four tables, each with four chairs. subjects are free to sit where they want.subjects undergo a variety of different lab tests at different times. a subject may or may not be notified of these tests ahead of time. there are no clocks within the facility - time does not exist outside of stopwatches. and so, subjects are taken from one activity to the next by a researcher and a handful of guards. a typical day for a subject with no tests scheduled consists of waking up, going to the bathroom to do their business and bathe, having their first scheduled meal, being escorted back to their room, being picked up for their second meal, being escorted back to their room, being picked up for their third meal, being escorted back to their room, then being picked up for a trip to the bathroom to do their business and bathe, then being escorted back to their room. a subject can be removed from this schedule at any time if they're scheduled for a lab test of some sort. sometimes, a subject can be gone for a whole day or two or five. no subject deviates from the schedule, or uses their abilities where the staff can see, because they know too well that doing so brings about harm to the unit.

› character skeletons

test subject character skeletons.

UNIT G00 - SUBJECT G00

SUBJECT G0000

abilities: classified

place of birth: unknown

security details: classified

UNIT G01 - SUBJECT G011 + SUBJECT G012

SUBJECT G0011

abilities: telepathic abilities

place of birth: seoul, south korea

security details: discovered in barcelona, spain

SUBJECT G0012

abilities: empathic abilities

place of birth: seoul, south korea

security details: discovered in barcelona, spain

headcanons (fabricated memories that x-corp wrote into the subjects’ minds)

fraternal twins

were undercover mutants living in secret, working as enslaved performers for a traveling circus before G0011 killed the ringmaster & they escaped

x-corp found them starving in the streets and offered them shelter and food in exchange for their help with the project

they've been living in the facility the longest, since they went in in 2009

UNIT G02 - SUBJECT G021 + SUBJECT G022

SUBJECT G0021

abilities: power negation

place of birth: seoul, south korea

security details: discovered in arizona, usa

SUBJECT G0022

abilities: power augmentation

place of birth: seoul, south korea

security details: discovered in arizona, usa

headcanons (fabricated memories that x-corp wrote into the subjects’ minds)

siblings

born in south korea, grew up in america

were born into an upper class family who kicked them out after they were discovered to be mutants

they were then taken in by the founder of a school for mutants in arizona, where they lived and trained for years

when the government forced the school to close in 2014, they were contacted by a scout from x-corp and taken to jeju

G0021 is resentful of humans for hating mutants

UNIT G03 - SUBJECT G031 + SUBJECT G032

SUBJECT G0031

abilities: shapeshifting

place of birth: anshan, china

security details: discovered in marseilles, france ; subjects’ physical condition and abilities become weaker when far away from each other

SUBJECT G0032

abilities: duplication

place of birth: anshan, china

security details: discovered in marseilles, france ; subjects’ physical condition and abilities become weaker when far away from each other

headcanons (fabricated memories that x-corp wrote into the subjects’ minds)

fraternal twins

faced persecution after they were discovered to be mutants, and escaped their small provincial town by becoming stow aways on a boat - could not yet use their abilities to protect themselves because they had no control over them

lived in a rickety apartment in france until they were taken in by x-corp

executed a failed escape attempt four years ago - they were tortured to within an inch of their life, used by x-corp to set an example for all the subjects. now, no one dares to try (a/n: in reality no escape attempt was ever made as the facility was not even functional up until two years ago, but x-corp has written this event into everyone's memories)

through training with x-corp, they now have almost perfect control of their abilities. however, they are watched very closely

UNIT G04 - SUBJECT G0041 + SUBJECT G0042

SUBJECT G0041

abilities: supernatural speed

place of birth: north jeolla, south korea

security details: discovered in saraburi, thailand

SUBJECT G0042

abilities: supernatural strength

place of birth: north jeolla, south korea

security details: discovered in saraburi, thailand

headcanons (fabricated memories that x-corp wrote into the subjects’ minds)

childhood friends

were running away from authorities for armed bank robbery when x-corp found them and offered them refuge

UNIT G05 - SUBJECT G0051 + SUBJECT G0052

SUBJECT G0051

abilities: pyrokinesis

place of birth: new york, usa

security details: discovered in arizona, usa

SUBJECT G0052

abilities: cyrokinesis

place of birth: daegu, south korea

security details: discovered in berlin, germany

headcanons (fabricated memories that x-corp wrote into the subjects’ minds)

complete strangers; not blood-related but paired based on physical compatibility

G0061 was forced into the facility by tearfulparents that didn't know how to handle having a mutant child

G0062 remembers nothing from their time on the outside; mind completely blank - G0061 tells them that the memories will come back eventually

G0062 is the newest addition, and was only brought in on december, 2020

#au #au!gemini

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