#Weekly Jobs Newspaper Read Online

[allthecanadianpolitics]

About 30 per cent of newsroom jobs have been cut at a 145-year-old daily newspaper in St. John’s, N.L., following a takeover by Postmedia. Keith Gosse, head of the union representing workers at The Telegram, says staff learned Wednesday that four of the paper’s 13 newsroom positions will be eliminated. As well, Saturday will be the paper’s last daily print edition, as it is moving to a weekly print version beginning next week with daily news online. Gosse says there were more than 40 people working in the newsroom when he first started at The Telegram in 1986.

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Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[sunflowersandsapphires]

Make a Mistake

Wake Up, Chapter 6

Series Masterlist           Next Chapter

pairing: Matt Murdock x fem!reader 

summary: In an attempt to stop the advances of an unwanted suitor, Matt Murdock accidentally condemns you to being his fake girlfriend.

warnings: smut-adjacent towards the end (steamy kissing), swearing

a/n: This chapter was so much fun to write! I tried to unpack Matt’s insecurities a little bit and I had so much fun with that. As always, like, reblog, respond, and request if you have feedback!!

w/c: 3.6k

It had been a few weeks since you survived an attempted mugging, the pain in your head having mostly faded. 

Matt had stayed with you at your place for the entire weekend, reluctantly departing for work on Monday—though he diligently checked in on you every hour. Your boss has been more than sympathetic to your situation, giving you a few days off and letting you work from home until you’d fully recovered. 

During that time, you were hesitant to be left alone. While you barely remembered the encounter itself, the fear surrounding it was still very present as you went about your days. Matt had become your anchor (to a higher degree than he already was, you supposed.) 

You replayed your foggy memories of that night over and over in your head, thinking back to how Matt had knocked a man unconscious to help you. Though, from what you knew about the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, he was pretty practiced at that. 

After you pieced together the trail of clues he’d unknowingly left you, you began to care more about the public’s view of the vigilante, for obvious reasons. It had become a new obsession of sorts. Reading newspaper articles about the various criminals he had stopped, looking at images of “sightings” online, rabidly defending him in online forums against trolls. 

While others might feel betrayed or disgusted by Matt’s secret, you felt…awe struck. 

This man was devoting every single minute of his life to the people of the city that needed help. The people that needed him. He had saved hundreds of lives, including yours. He had almost died. Multiple times, according to some sources. You’d have to ask someone about what the fuck had happened at Midland Circle, though you doubted anyone would be forthcoming with the story. 

The knowledge of Matt’s alter ego made you want him even more, which was really complicating your role as his fake girlfriend. As was the fact that this sweet, savior of a man was now spending damn near every night at your place to make sure you felt safe enough to fall asleep. 

Sheepishly thinking back to the night two weeks ago when you’d called him sobbing after a concussion-induced nightmare, you couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he cared about you enough to check on you daily after that. In fact, you were expecting him soon for your weekly dinner, which he had promised would turn into another night at your place. For your security, of course. 

Groaning and dropping your face into your hands, you cursed your crush-happy little heart. Here you go getting attached to the man that you were in a fake relationship with. This was bad. Your feelings could jeopardize everything! And Matt didn’t deserve that. The poor man was working another job after coming home from the office and you were begging him to spend time on you for, what, comfort? Sure, you weren’t stopping his nightly activities from happening—if the way he leapt out your window after you had fallen asleep was any clue—but you weren’t exactly making his life easier. 

‘And you should be making his life easier’, you scolded yourself. All this man does is help others. He deserves to have someone looking after him for a change. Hell, he deserves a whole team of people to look after him, but if you needed to act as a one-man army, you could do that. 

A knock shook you from your thoughts. Putting your anxiety on hold, you went to retrieve Matt at the door. 

Picking at your dinner as your nerves tied your stomach in knots, you faked a smile and asked “How was your day, Matty?”

“Not bad. We got the charges on the Jones case dropped. Dismissed with prejudice.” 

“Oh Matt, that’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!!” Slipping your arms around him, you squeezed tightly. “Shouldn’t you be out celebrating?” 

“Eh, I was tired. Besides, a bar wouldn’t really be good for your head just yet and I don’t want to give you a migraine.”

You shook your head at him, smiling. “We aren’t sewn together, you know. You should've gone without me!” You gave his shoulder a light shove. 

Matt simply shrugged, burying himself in your hair. “I don’t want to go anywhere without you, anymore.” 

The statement caught you off guard, but before you could blurt out a response, he stammered. “I—I mean, you’re my girlfriend to the public. So it’s best if we spend a lot of time together around other people, is what I meant.” 

Your heart sank. “Yah. No, yeah that makes sense.” You were quiet for a moment while you debated whether to be honest with him about your growing affection. After a bit of deliberation, you choked out “How did you get the charges dropped? I thought that case was a disaster.” Cringing internally at your cowardice, you pulled away from Matt and back into your own seat. 

Matt frowned, hands clenching momentarily before his expression evened out. “The court's error was big enough for us to turn their main argument on its head. The judge didn’t think the case was worth the time after that, I guess.” He gave a mirthless chuckle, staring at his lap. 

“Good thing you discovered that error then!” You squeezed his knee and his expression brightened a little. 

“I did the easy part. It was all Foggy and Karen, really.” 

“Well, you’re a team! So of course they would—“ you tried to reassure him but Matt interrupted. 

“Honestly, I’m shocked they still want to work with me. I rarely pull my weight. They’re both so kind and devoted and I’m…I’m a mess.” 

You looked at him in disbelief, gently taking his hand in your own. “What do you mean, darling? How are you a mess?” 

Biting his lip, he refused to turn into your gaze. “I just— we won today but I felt so…ashamed. Like everyone was giving me all this credit for something I didn’t do. I feel like that a lot of the time.” He closed his eyes, body deflating. 

“Oh, Matt,” You cupped his cheek to try to bring him out of self-deprecation mode, but he wasn’t ready to step out of it yet. 

“And it’s not just work, I mean I have no idea why you haven’t run for the hills yet. I’m overbearing and temperamental and selfish. I just take and take and most people realize that and cut me off— but somehow there are some people that don’t seem to care that I’m bleeding them dry. But I can’t pull away because…I need it now. So I just sit here and take the credit and pretend that I’m helping, but I’m not.” To your horror, his eyes became glassy. 

“You are helping.” You began firmly. “And you are allowed to need help yourself, darling.” You tenderly gripped his nape, stroking the skin underneath his jaw with your thumb. “We haven’t ‘run for the hills’ because we care about you too. And, as much as you want to deny it, you are incredibly patient and sweet and thoughtful.” 

“But I—“ 

“Darling, I’m more than willing to hear you out, but I want you to acknowledge that this is just a flare up of your imposter syndrome and a side effect of your crippling Catholic guilt. Is there anything that you could be doing that would satisfy you? Or would you still be critical of yourself for not doing ‘more’?” 

Matt sighed, leaning into you and resting your foreheads together. You brushed some hair away from his forehead and gave it a firm kiss before letting it fall against yours once more. 

“I am honored that you trust me enough to talk to me about this, and your feelings deserve to be heard and acknowledged, but you have to cut yourself some slack sometimes. Have you ever had a moment where you felt that you were enough?” You posed the question as precariously as possible, but Matt still felt emotion well up in his throat. 

“No.” His soft voice cracked on the admission. 

“Why not?” You pressed, still stroking his warm skin. 

“Because…because—“ he drew in a ragged breath. “I’m just not enough. I’m just not and I never will be.” 

“And I can absolutely relate to how you’re feeling right now, but have you ever had a personal reason for feeling this way, or is it because it’s what you’ve been told?” 

Matt hadn’t revealed much to you about his childhood, but you knew that it hadn’t been filled with love or validation. As someone who had also lacked those things growing up, you expected his guilt and shame surrounding what he wasn’t doing stemmed from never being good enough for others. 

“Matty, darling,” you continued as he stayed silent, your concern and curiosity growing. “When was the last time you felt appreciated by someone close to you” 

“Um…probably last week when you—“ 

“Someone besides me, love.” 

Matt held his breath, wracking his brain for an answer that would appease you, but he couldn’t find one. 

“I don’t know.” A tear finally slipped down his cheek and you brushed it away. 

“Do you feel good when people do appreciate you?” 

Matt nodded against you. “Yah. I know I don’t deserve it but…”

“Matthew Michael Murdock, of course you deserve it.” You chastised, but your words held no real anger. “I know it’s hard to believe when you hear it so rarely but you are wonderful. And if I have to convince you of that all by myself, I will.” You repositioned yourself so that you were in his lap, running your fingers along his scalp, foreheads remaining glued together. 

“You are so compassionate. Everything you do is for someone else. I don’t know many people who would think about dropping their evening plans to console a friend after a nightmare once, let alone consistently care for them for weeks after.” 

“See? Overbearing.” Matt interjects and you push at his chest to interrupt him. 

“No! Not overbearing. Kind. And you might operate on a…unique schedule…” Matt flinched at this so you hurried to praise him again. “But! You are so effective and intelligent that you manage to juggle everything anyway! Like that week when you stayed home from the office because you’d fallen and sprained your wrist. You told me Foggy was upset with you, but you unraveled the opposition’s argument in less than an hour the day you came back. That was impressive. You’re impressive.” Matt flushed at your comment, burying his face in your neck. You smiled down at his adorable position before continuing. 

“And you’re so resilient! You’ve been through so much and you’re still trying to make the world a better place. So many people would’ve given up on the rest of humanity but you don’t. And I don’t think you ever will. You’re just so…good. So don’t ever say that you don’t deserve to be praised for what you do and who you are. You’re the best man I’ve ever known. And I will always appreciate you.”

“Thank you,” Matt spoke your name softly, gripping the top you wore as if it was the only thing holding him together. 

“Anytime. I mean that. If you’re ever having a bad day, I will gladly ramble on about your great body and incredible personality.” 

“I don’t believe you mentioned my ‘great body’ before.” Matt straightened up with a tiny smirk.

“Oh c’mon. You and I both know that you’re well aware of the effect you have on women. We’ve been fake dating long enough that you don’t need to pretend with me.” You scoffed.

“I know that other people have considered me attractive, hell, Foggy talks about my ass so much some people think we are married. But I don’t think you have ever said anything.” 

“Because I knew it would go straight to your head and i refuse to give you the satisfaction.”

“Weren’t you just saying that I should be complimented more?”

“This is different.” 

“How?” 

“It just is!” You laughed as he poked your side. 

“It sounds like you’re not ready for my line of questioning. We may have to revisit your testimony at a later date, if the opposition permits.” Clearly his wave of insecurity had passed, if the joking nature of his comments were anything to go by. 

You shook your head at his jest, tracing his perfectly sculpted jaw with your fingers. As you scraped your nails over his stubble he made a sound akin to a purr. Giggling, you did it again with a bit more force. “You like that, do you? Good to know.” Your brain signaled to you desperately. You are treading a dangerous line, ma’am. You ignored your rational side, continuing to stroke the lawyer’s face. 

Matt let his head fall against yours once more, the bridge of his nose pressing against your cheek. Your hand moved back to his scalp, kneading gently. Leaping over your own anxiety, you took a risk. He felt your jaw move as you spoke again. “You know, I’ve been thinking about all the preparation we’ve done, but we haven’t practiced something that seems kind of…big?” 

Matt nuzzled your ear, hearing your pulse throb under his touch. “What’s that, angel?” 

“Well, um, it’s just that—we’ve never, uh, kissed before.” You stumbled over the request, continuing to thread your fingers through his hair. Before Matt could say anything, your ramble continued. “I mean, you’ve kissed me on the cheek, I guess. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound needy or anything—I mean, it’s fine! We don’t need to do that. Forget I said—“ 

Cutting you off, Matt swiftly dipped your body so that you were lying horizontally on the couch cushions and positioned himself over you. A dark smirk crossed his face as your arousal grew. “Have you been thinking about kissing me, angel?” 

“No!” You squeaked, wriggling out from the trap his arms and provocative gaze had created. God, why was it so hot in here right now. Standing up from the couch, you paced away from him. “I just meant— It seems like something other people would expect couples to do, is all.” 

Matt’s sinister smile faded to a softer one. “If you wanted me to kiss you before, sweetness, all you had to do was ask. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” 

“Oh trust me, you don’t need to worry about that.” You brushed off the concern quickly before realizing what you’d just admitted to. “Uh—I mean—“ 

Matt just chuckled, standing from the couch and moving over to you. He softly took your chin in one hand. “You know, you’re cute when you’re flustered.” That statement did not help your feelings at the moment, but Matt wasn’t done. “You want me to show you what we could do, the next time we are at an event together?” 

You were nodding, practically breathless at this point. “Please, Matty.” 

“Well, a pretty girl like you deserves a nice experience, not just a quick peck on the lips.” Matt pursed his lips, thinking, and you fixated on them. Desire was pooling in your gut. Matt, seemingly, did not notice your growing hunger as he stroked the hollow of your cheek before continuing. “We’d want to get their attention, right? So, I think I’d start by pulling you close.” He tugged you into him, making you gasp. Smile widening, he slid a hand around to the back of your neck. “I’d want to hold you like this, I think. Make a real big show of how lucky I am to have you, ya know?” 

This man was going to kill you. He had to know what he was doing, right? Damn your lovestruck heart for initiating this. 

You shifted from foot to foot, a rush of pure lust making you a bit impatient. Matt frowned, “Sorry, too much? Need to stop?” His hand dropped from your nape and you whimpered involuntarily. 

“No!” You squeaked, cringing at how high pitched your voice sounded. “No, it was nice. Please don’t stop, I want to, um, prepare for the next event! Like you said.” 

Matt’s smile flickered back to life, his hand coming to rest under your hair once again. “Oh, I get it now. Did you like this, pretty girl?” He pulls you impossibly closer, breathing over your lips. “I’ll keep showing you what we could do, but if you stop liking what I’m doing, you tell me, ok?”

“Uh huh.” You managed, completely breathless now. Matt grinned, wrapping a strand of hair around one finger and giving a slight tug.

“Good girl.” You bit back a moan, keening into him a bit. Matt steadied you with a laugh, “Well, once we had everyone looking—and they would be looking, sweetness—I’d lean in…” He did so, his lips ghosting over yours. “And I’d kiss you until everyone in the room knew you were all mine.”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You forcibly closed the indiscernible gap between the two of you, wrapping your arms around him. As your lips met, sparks danced across your eyelids. You’d heard rumors, but you were still amazed at how skilled Matt was. He was an incredible kisser. Threading your lips together with ease, he gave your top lip an almost imperceptible tug before slowly pulling away. “Something like that, sweetness.” He panted, brushing a thumb over your lower lip. 

“I think I need another demonstration.” You murmured, hand coming up to his head to push him back onto your lips. His mouth parted in a broad grin as you desperately pressed your mouth to his again. Your knees were practically buckling, Matt was holding you up—hand still woven into your hair. 

Stubble scraping against your chin, you gently pulled at his bottom lip, mirroring the sensation he’d just created for you. His breath danced across your face, a small noise escaping his lips. His tongue gave the tiniest swipe over your lip and you mewled. 

Pulling away abruptly, your own noise acting like an ice bath, your eyes widened with horrific realization. Clearly, you were taking advantage of the position he’d put you in, and you were more than embarrassed at the thought of you getting off on it. 

“Oh god, Matt I’m so sorry—I-I don’t know what came over me!” You stammered, stepping away from him with your head falling into your hands. He let you pull away, but smiled after you, shaking his head. 

“You didn’t do anything I wasn’t more than ok with, sweet thing. I’d be overjoyed to practice that again sometime.” 

You peeked at him between your fingers. “Really?”

His eyes darkened with want. “Really.” 

“Are you absolutely sure? Because I don’t want to push you—“ 

Matt was on you in an instant, wrapping his strong arms around your waist and touching his nose to yours. “Please, angel, kiss me like that again.”

And you did. 

“So are we going to dance around the big fat elephant in the room all night?” You stirred your drink, avoiding Marci’s question. 

“What elephant? There’s no elephant.” You assured her, maybe a little too quickly given her knowing smirk. 

“God, you're a worse liar than Fog. Who told me after little to no pressure was applied that you and Matt are kissing now? Am I supposed to pretend that’s not a massive development?”

“Marce, it’s not like that. We were practicing for the legal conference next week.” 

“I’m sorry, ‘practicing’? You have to know how disgustingly middle school that sounds.” 

Burying your face in your hands, you heaved a sigh, knowing that Marci would not drop the topic until you’d satisfied her curiosity. She was ruthless that way. “I mean, when you put it like that—“

She laughed as heat rose in your cheeks. “Ok then spill! How long has this been going on? Have you told him that you like-like him yet?” Her voice rose in a sickeningly teasing falsetto. 

Ripping your head out of your palms, you looked at her in shock. “I do not like-like Matt. What are you—“ You trailed off, taking in Marci’s knowing look and raised eyebrow. Returning to the shelter of your hands, you groaned. “God, does everyone know? Does Matt know??”

“Foggy, Karen, and I have been speculating for a while. Matt seems to be blissfully unaware.” 

“Ugh! You can’t tell him, Marce. Promise me! It’ll ruin everything.” You pleaded, anxiety swirling through you at the thought of him finding out that you’d been infatuated with him throughout the fake relationship. 

“I won’t tell him.” Marci took your hands in hers, encouraging you to look at her again. “But, I don’t think it would ruin anything. In fact, I know that it wouldn’t. He likes you just as much as you like him.” 

“He does?” You bit your lip, warmth cascading over your face at the thought of Matt returning your affections. 

“Yah, babe. He treats you like you hung the moon. And, apparently, you two have kissed already…” 

You rolled your eyes. “Ok we kissed a handful of times in my apartment and once in public and we agreed that it was so it wouldn’t look awkward in front of Snyder in the future.” 

“Ok so that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You two have kissed multiple times in the last week and you still think this relationship is fake? I’m begging you to put an end to all of this misery and TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL.” She gently shook your shoulders to prove her point and you laughed. 

“Ok! Ok. I’ll do it. I’ll tell him.” 

“Thank god!” Marci downed the rest of her drink. “I'm going to hold you to this.” She pointed at you, sternly. 

“Yah, yah. I know.” 

Little did you know, Matt was getting an eerily similar lecture from Foggy and Karen on the other side of Hell’s Kitchen. 

Taglist: @maladaptivedaydreamingbum @scoliobean @harperdoodle @mattkinsella @leikelle @sweetbee0108 @dark-night-sky-99 @fallen-angels2213 @will-delete-this-later-probably @cheshirecat484 @thornbushrose @vernon-dursley

[mariacallous]

VSquare:

WIRETAPPING SCARE IN HUNGARIAN MINISTRY DEALING WITH CHINESE PROJECTS

Xi Jinping’s May 8-10 visit to Hungary is partly about negotiating and announcing new, China-financed railway projects. I reported this – and more on the background of Xi’s Hungary trip – last week. Viktor Orbán’s government appears extremely enthusiastic about Chinese rail projects and refuses to acknowledge any potential national security risks. However, behind closed doors, their attitude toward their Chinese counterparts seems markedly different, as illustrated by this amusing anecdote shared by a source familiar with a security incident from last year. According to the source, senior officials from the Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport, led by Minister János Lázár, received several model trains as gifts from Chinese partners involved in the Budapest-Belgrade railway reconstruction project. While this is standard practice in Chinese business culture, Hungarian ministry officials were so suspicious that they immediately sent the model trains for technical security examinations to check for any hidden wiretapping devices. My source revealed that the scan found no concealed bugs or cameras in the model trains. (The Ministry of Construction and Transport commented that the Chinese never brought "toys" as gifts, as the ministry is only involved in serious work instead of playing.) 

SLOVAKIA’S FICO TRIES TO EMULATE ORBÁN’S CHINA POLICY

"Fico is trying to replicate Orbán's approach to China by attracting more and more Chinese investments to Slovakia," a well-connected Central European foreign policy expert told me during our discussion of Xi’s visit to Hungary. Fico and Orbán seem like brothers-in-arms, sharing similar pro-Russian and pro-Chinese foreign policies, but this means they may end up competing for future Chinese investments, particularly in the automotive and electric vehicle sectors. In 2022, Slovakia and Hungary fiercely competed for a Volvo EV factory, with Slovakia ultimately securing the €1.2 billion investment. "Fico wants to stay in power for at least ten years. To achieve this, he is working on stabilizing his popularity through investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, job creation, and tax revenue generation. My contacts say he's primarily following Orbán's playbook by relying more on China," my source explained. Evidence of this emerging strategy is already visible: Last year, a Chinese battery factory was announced for Šurany, a town in Slovakia’s Nitra Region, followed by announcements of major bridge, road, and railway reconstruction projects, including the Bratislava–Komárno railway line, this April.  

“PRO-RUSSIAN” HUNGARIAN WEEKLY IN CENTER OF POLISH DEBATES

Hungary’s pro-Orbán weekly, Mandiner, featured a front-page interview with former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as he attended the CPAC Hungary event in Budapest. The cover featured Morawiecki and the headline read, "Brussels is a threat to European democracy" displayed on billboards throughout Budapest. Current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticized his rival, labeling him a "useful idiot" and calling the weekly "pro-Russian." This reminded me of a story I collected, but ultimately didn't publish, while working on our feature "How Orbán Angered His Closest Polish Allies," which explored the deterioration of Polish-Hungarian relations. That article recounted an incident where Magyar Nemzet, another pro-Orbán newspaper, declined to publish a Morawiecki op-ed on the war in Ukraine due to his "different approach" to the conflict. Additionally, a source connected to the Polish government informed me that in May 2022, Mandiner refused to publish an op-ed by Jakub Kumoch, then-adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, in print. The op-ed was pro-Ukrainian and anti-Kremlin. The op-ed eventually appeared online, but Mandiner claimed there was "no space" for it in the print edition. In reality, it was understood that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only reads the weekly in print, and editors didn't want to upset him with an article opposing his pro-Russian stance. Meanwhile, the Polish government at the time noticed that Mandiner editors allowed virulently anti-Polish comments to appear. Comments under articles by figures like pro-Law and Justice media owner Tomasz Sakiewicz included sentiments such as, "Poland should be divided between the Germans and the Russians. Scumbag warmongers." Interestingly, now that Law and Justice politicians are out of power, they seem to have forgotten how Orbán's government-controlled media once treated them. (Again, I really recommend this previous long read on Polish-Hungarian relations.)

ALLIES DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS OF HUNGARY’S AFRICAN MISSION

Some months ago, along with Direkt36 and Le Monde, we uncovered that Orbán’s son, Gáspár Orbán, is deeply involved in organizing a strange Hungarian military mission to Chad. Later, I also revealed that Orbán Jr. is secretly helping to set up his father’s new national security advisory team. I now have new information about Orbán and Orbán Jr.'s peculiar mission in Africa, which has left Hungary's NATO and EU allies puzzled. A Central European government official responsible for security matters told me that, according to their information, the alleged "counter-terrorism and migration-control" objectives of the Chad mission are merely a pretext. "What we've heard is that the Hungarian government also intends to establish a military intelligence center in Chad, which concerns us. Since Prigozhin's death and the disintegration of the Wagner group, Russia has lost some influence in Africa. We fear that this Hungarian military intelligence center could potentially serve Russian interests, and I suspect Kremlin officials like Sergey Lavrov, Russia's main face in Africa, encouraged the Hungarians," the official explained. "If Russia escalates the conflict in the coming years, we expect it to be multifaceted, and Africa and migration will likely be involved as well," the official added. Several NATO and EU representatives with whom I've spoken emphasized that the planned Hungarian mission is neither affiliated with NATO/EU nor the UN and wasn't coordinated within the NATO alliance. When I asked a NATO official knowledgeable about Russian affairs, they said, "It's definitely an unusual mission that doesn't serve any Hungarian interests, unless it's a scheme for some oligarch friend to profit and pay Putin back. Otherwise, it's a complete waste of resources and needlessly dangerous." Meanwhile, amidst escalating tensions in recent weeks, the United States has withdrawn its troops from both Niger and Chad, while the two African countries have strengthened their military cooperation with Russia. Despite the deteriorating security situation, a senior EU diplomat stationed in Budapest noted that Hungarian government contacts remain fully committed to deploying 200 soldiers to Chad.  

FRESH LEAKS ON HUNGARY’S UPCOMING EU PRESIDENCY

Hungary will assume the EU's rotating presidency in the latter half of 2024, but no official program or agenda has been publicly disclosed. However, multiple diplomats from EU countries told me that the Orbán government intends to release the official program on June 10, a day after the European Parliament elections end. According to one diplomat, the Hungarian EU presidency seems underfunded, which could have been one of the reasons that preparations are delayed. A trusted journalist colleague, who wished to remain anonymous and uncredited, shared with me a draft schedule for Hungary's presidency as well as additional information. The present plan seems to be for Viktor Orbán to officially present the Hungarian presidency’s agenda at the European Parliament’s opening session in Strasbourg on July 17. Although everything is still subject to change, what seems to be most interesting is that the draft schedule, as well as information from Hungarian officials, indicates that an informal EU Council meeting is planned in Budapest for November. This summit is expected to focus on the Western Balkans, with heads of state and prime ministers participating. (Again, the Hungarian government did not respond to my request for comment.)

[vajiraoandreddyiasinstitute52]

How to Prepare for UPSC Exam While Working

The balance of a full-time job and UPSC Exam preparation is not easy yet, it's a challenge that many aspirants have succeeded in conquering. If you're preparing to take the UPSC Exam while working, the secret lies in time management, strategic studying strategies, and utilizing the appropriate tools.

1. Time Management: The Secret Weapon

The biggest difficulty to getting ready for UPSC Exam while working is making time for studying. Here's how you can improve your schedule for the day:

Create a daily Routine Plan a schedule that is based on your working hours. Mornings that are early or late at night are ideal for focused studying sessions.

Maximize Weekends: Weekends are crucial. Utilize them to study larger parts of the syllabus, such as reviewing and taking mock test.

Take advantage of the breaks in your day to have short review sessions. Even a few minutes can be a significant amount of time over the course of a day.

2. Leverage Smart Resources

The preparation for the UPSC Exam during your work wants that you are careful when it comes to the study materials. Instead of shifting on a variety of books, concentrate on a handful of reliable resources:

NCERTs: Begin by reading NCERT books for an superb foundation in all topics.

Basic Reference Books Use the standard reference books to get in-depth coverage.

Online Courses: You can enroll in online courses at the Vajirao & Reddy IAS Coaching in Delhi that provides a comprehensive overview with detailed lectures. This systematic approach will assist you in managing your preparation in the midst of a busy job.

3. Consistency is Key

Consistency is the foundation of successful preparation for the UPSC Exam while working. Even if you only take a couple of hours per day, it is important to maintain an ongoing progress.

Keep Motivated: It's very easy to become demotivated, especially when you're trying to manage work and studies. Always remind yourself of your goals as well as the larger overall picture.

Join a community: Connect with other students who are also studying for the UPSC Exam and working. Forums, study groups, online and mentorship programs are a great way to help and motivate you.

4. Prioritize the Syllabus

In a short amount of time available, it's crucial to prioritize your course and focus on those areas that can yield the greatest positive results:

General Studies: Start with static subjects like History, Polity, and Geography. They are fundamental and do not change, which makes them more easy to cover in a systematic manner.

Current Affairs: Stay current with the current news of the day by reading reputable newspapers such as The Hindu or Indian Express. Alternately, you can utilize monthly compilations to concentrate on the most current information.

Optional Subject: Select an option that matches with your interests, or has overlaps the subject of General Studies, as this could help you save time and energy.

5. Practice Answer Writing and Mock Tests

Answer written and mock tests are important in UPSC preparation, particularly for the Mains test.

Everyday Answer Write-up: Set aside at least 30 minutes a day to write your answer. It can be done during lunch breaks or even after work. Make sure to write simple, brief responses.

Weekly Mock Tests: Make use of weekends to practice for practice tests. These tests can help you determine your level of preparation and increase your ability to manage your time.

6. Prioritize Your Health

In the process of preparing for UPSC Exam while working, it is important to not neglect your health. A healthy food plan and daily workout and adequate rest are vital for maintaining physical and mental health. Breaks during studying can help you reenergize your mind.

Making preparations for the UPSC Exam when you are working can be a challenge but it's not impossible. If you manage your time efficiently by prioritizing your syllabus and using smart resources such as the Vajirao and Reddy IAS Institute General Studies courses will help you achieve your UPSC objectives without having to sacrifice your commitments to work. If you are determined, have a strategic plan and a constant effort the success you desire is within attainment.

A good online IAS coaching can provide many benefits which can significantly aid how you prepare for IAS exam. The accessibility and flexibility offered by online platform, paired with individualized learning experiences, skilled faculty, extensive study material as well as regular tests as well as a helpful study community makes these platforms a great source for those aspiring to take the exam. If you're thinking of going online, Vajirao and Reddy Institute are the best option. They blend the elements to assist students throughout your IAS journey.

[mgiclasses]

A Comprehensive Guide to SSC CGL Preparation

The SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) exam is one of the most sought-after competitive exams in India. It offers lucrative government jobs and is a gateway to a stable and rewarding career. Preparing for the SSC CGL exam requires a strategic approach, dedicated effort, and the right resources. Jaipur, known for its educational institutions, has become a hub for SSC CGL aspirants. This guide will help you navigate your SSC CGL preparation in Jaipur effectively.

Understanding the SSC CGL Exam

Before diving into preparation strategies, it’s essential to understand the SSC CGL exam structure. The exam is conducted in four tiers:

1. Tier I Computer-Based Examination (Objective Type)

2. Tier II Computer-Based Examination (Objective Type)

3. Tier III Descriptive Paper (in English/Hindi)

4. Tier IV Skill Test/Document Verification

Each tier tests different skills, ranging from general intelligence and reasoning to quantitative aptitude, English language, and comprehension. Understanding the syllabus and exam pattern is the first step in your preparation journey.

 Why Choose Jaipur for SSC CGL Preparation?

Jaipur has emerged as a prominent center for SSC CGL preparation due to several reasons

1. Experienced Faculty 

The city hosts numerous coaching centers with experienced and qualified teachers who provide expert guidance.

2. Quality Study Material 

Access to comprehensive and up-to-date study materials and resources is readily available.

3. Competitive Environment 

Being in a hub of aspirants creates a competitive environment that can boost your preparation.

4. Affordable Living 

Compared to metropolitan cities, Jaipur offers a more affordable cost of living, making it a suitable choice for students.

Choosing the Right Coaching Center

Selecting the right coaching center is crucial for your SSC CGL preparation in Jaipur. Here are some factors to consider

1. Reputation and Reviews

Research the reputation of coaching centers through online reviews, testimonials, and word-of-mouth recommendations. Centers with a track record of successful candidates should be on your radar.

2. Faculty Expertise

Check the qualifications and experience of the faculty. Experienced teachers can provide valuable insights, shortcuts, and strategies to tackle difficult questions.

3. Study Material

Ensure the coaching center provides comprehensive and updated study materials, including books, practice papers, and online resources.

4. Batch Size

Smaller batch sizes ensure personalized attention and better interaction with the faculty. Avoid centers with overcrowded classrooms.

5. Mock Tests and Practice Papers

Regular mock tests and practice papers are crucial for assessing your preparation level. Choose a center that conducts frequent tests and provides detailed feedback.

Self-Study Tips for SSC CGL Preparation

While coaching centers provide guidance, self-study plays a crucial role in your preparation. Here are some tips for effective self-study

1. Create a Study Plan

Develop a realistic and structured study plan covering all topics. Allocate more time to subjects you find challenging and ensure you stick to the schedule.

2. Understand the Syllabus

Thoroughly understand the SSC CGL syllabus and exam pattern. Focus on important topics and practice previous years’ question papers.

3. Time Management

Time management is critical during the exam. Practice solving questions within the stipulated time to improve speed and accuracy.

4.Regular Revision

Regular revision is essential to retain concepts. Allocate time for weekly and monthly revisions to consolidate your learning.

5. Mock Tests

Take regular mock tests to evaluate your performance. Analyze your mistakes and work on your weak areas.

6. Stay Updated

Stay updated with current affairs and general knowledge, as they form a significant part of the exam. Read newspapers, magazines, and online resources daily.

The Role of Bank Coaching in Jaipur

While SSC CGL and bank exams have different focuses, some aspirants prepare for both simultaneously. Bank coaching in Jaipur can complement your SSC CGL preparation in the following ways

1. Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning

Both exams test quantitative aptitude and reasoning skills. Bank coaching centers provide extensive practice in these areas, which can benefit SSC CGL aspirants.

2. English Language

Proficiency in the English language is crucial for both exams. Bank coaching centers emphasize grammar, comprehension, and vocabulary, aiding your SSC CGL preparation.

3. Speed and Accuracy

Bank exams require high speed and accuracy, which are equally important for SSC CGL. Practicing with bank exam materials can enhance your problem-solving speed.

Balancing SSC CGL and Bank Exam Preparation

If you are preparing for both SSC CGL and bank exams, here’s how you can balance your preparation

1. Common Subjects

Focus on common subjects like quantitative aptitude, reasoning, and English. Prepare these subjects thoroughly as they are crucial for both exams.

2. Separate Study Plans

Create separate study plans for SSC CGL and bank-specific topics. Allocate dedicated time slots for each exam’s preparation.

3. Practice Papers

Solve practice papers and mock tests for both exams regularly. This will help you get accustomed to different question patterns and time management strategies.

4. Stay Focused

Maintain a focused and disciplined approach. Avoid distractions and stay committed to your study schedule.

Conclusion

Preparing for the SSC CGL exam requires a combination of the right resources, strategic planning, and consistent effort. Jaipur offers a conducive environment for SSC CGL aspirants with its experienced faculty, quality study materials, and competitive atmosphere. By choosing the right coaching center and following effective self-study practices, you can enhance your chances of success. 

Additionally, leveraging resources from bank coaching in Jaipur can further strengthen your preparation. Stay dedicated, practice regularly, and keep your goals in sight to achieve success in the SSC CGL exam.

[bethestaryouareradio]

Elimination of Media, Journaling, Home Hacks

Tune in LIVE weekly to the upbeat, positive lifestyle broadcast where producer and host Cynthia Brian showcases strategies for success on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®. Available wherever you listen to your favorite programs!

In 2023, twenty thousand media jobs were eliminated in the United States. This was a 500% increase from the 2022 loss. Will democracy falter because of the decay of revered media and newspapers? 

Do you journal? Journaling can be your best friend, helping you to reflect, refine, and understand yourself. Whether you just jot down your random thoughts, or create a gratitude journal, journaling helps you get in touch with your inner thoughts. Express yourself with art, poetry, or stream your thoughts.

Hacks help your household! Discover a few simple hacks that will make life so much easier and efficient.

Follow StarStyle®:

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BTSYA Operation Disaster Relief. Please donate. http://ow.ly/ks8A30lekGe

Read how BTSYA is Making a Difference: https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/460747/IBPA-Member-Spotlight-Cynthia-Brian.htm 

Read our Newsletter:Cheer for the New Year: https://open.substack.com/pub/cynthiabrian/p/cheer-for-the-new-year?

[husampersonal]

Digital Marketing Consultant Services Marketing Consulting Agency

Listed as the world’s main marketing advert consultant, and now boasts a track report as an investor and co-founder of software program firms. Anyone can use this record, however if you are a marketing company, business, brand, or influencer, you can online marketing consultant find solutions similar to how will you enhance conversion rates in your website? Excellent at on-boarding a brand new discipline (CX) within our organization.

Since we weighed the relative professionals and cons of each approach, this week we'll talk about the basics of pricing a digital marketing consultant, so you understand what you’re paying for and what to plan on. Consumers use online search every online reputation consultants minute of the day, folks don’t buy newspapers or read promotional flyers in the mail box both. They search using Google and try to discover a local small business to fulfill their requirement.

Ignite Visibility can set up your small business website, help you switch or redesign your web site for rebranding, or simply drive extra visitors to your present website via optimization. They code every site from scratch, creating a custom website that aligns with your small business model, business online digital marketing consultant, goal client, and goals. Lyfe Marketing’s clients report they work with a devoted account manager reachable every day by way of email. Account managers arrange weekly, biweekly, or monthly reporting classes with shoppers and produce monthly stories detailing the state of campaigns.

This simple division of digital best practices can also assist college students learn beyond the complexities of the differing types. You can do it all marketing consultant online for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods. Now let’s see what that consulting expertise would appear to be introduced in another way.

Competition is intense in digital marketing and fairly frankly, there are already a metric TON of businesses. If you’re beginning an agency, being a generalist who serves everyone will rapidly put you within the “everybody else” pile. Choose to stand digital marketing consultant out instead of setting yourself up for an uphill battle. You do this by selecting a distinct segment and drilling down explicitly on the businesses inside that niche.

Their choices vary from PPC & SEO to digital marketing & web design services. TOP Agency combines a well-researched brand strategy with affordable packages to help corporations enhance their model awareness, brand recall and in the end, improve business revenue. With the ever-changing business dynamics and fast-paced digitalization, marketing consulting companies are the ones that help businesses steer through adjustments efficiently online marketing consultant. Finally, we hope you get pleasure from our ever-expanding record of high digital marketing consultants that will continue to develop, so hold a watch out for model new and noteworthy names to add to your community. Digital Marketing Expert Linsey Anderson is a well-known digital marketing skilled. In addition, Lindsey Anderson is an professional in search engine marketing (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC).

Build a great web site with WordPress or one other supplier that showcases your portfolio and supplies details about your small business and your experience. Of course, self-employment isn’t for everybody small business online marketing consultant; there are execs and cons to any job. Read on to find out more about changing into a marketing consultant to find out if it’s the most effective match for you.

[allresultus]

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor 2022

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor 2022 today Saptahik Chakrir Khobor is a comprehensive list of job postings from leading recruitment agencies, government jobs, and more. Saptahik Chakrir Khobor allows you to search for a career at your convenience, whether right now or in a month. If you are looking for a job or want to search for the latest job vacancies in Bangladesh, you can find weekly updated jobs with all the necessary information about jobs and requirements of various posts here. This article will be updated weekly and will include new articles and insights about the job market in Bangladesh.

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor Weekly Jobs Newspaper 2022

The Weekly Job Newspaper, or Saptahik Chakrir Khobor, is popular among unemployed young people. You are probably aware of Bangladesh's labor shortage. In these newspapers, people can read about jobs and apply for them. There is no fixed date for the weekly job news. Every Friday, it is published in Bangladesh for jobless Bangladeshis. Saptahik Chakrir Khobor is frequently searched on Google. Weekly Jobs in Bangladesh"Bangladesh newspapers list the jobless hartal closes and new discovered jobs with ads. Recruiters are constantly searched on Google. The average search volume for "Bangladesh newspapers list new and old jobs to be processed on the web." The Saptahik Chakrir Khobor, a weekly job posting newspaper, refers to over 5000 jobs every day, allowing you to find all kinds of employment-related opportunities in one place. The Bangladesh national newspaper lists interesting articles and recent news and offers career-related opportunities to Bangladeshis. It is divided into Job Clusters: Administration Support; Arts & Sports; Defence Production & Services Sector; Education Industry Service Providers; Environment Health And Safety sector and Government Jobs sectors. This weekly job newspaper gives part-time job news for SAC, HSC, and university students. The favorite job news magazine of unemployed youth is very important. Recruitment notices for multiple governments, private and part-time jobs at low cost are received in the job magazine every Friday. All the job advertisements in the same magazine all week long. You will get the news of a government job in the form of a headline on the first page, and after the government, you will get news of a private job. There are few job openings, but many employment circulars are published every day, week, or month. We have put together a list of the latest Saptahik Chakrir Khobor so you can find the right job for you. In addition to being available in PDF and JPEG formats, our Saptahik Chakrir Khobor news also has a contact form on the website. Due to this, you will be able to access them at any time and utilize them as needed.

How to get saptahik chakrir khobor?

All Saptahik Chakrir Khobor is available online; interested candidates can read the announcement. Weekly job news or job posts are published in the newspaper every Friday. All government & private jobs are posted online, and one-week job recruitment notices are advertised in the newspaper.

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor Today 21October 2022

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor 2022 Today Download PDF

There are many job news magazines in Bangladesh. These magazines have been launched to reach the unemployed youth with job news. Our country has a large readership of these magazines. Because unemployment in the country is much higher than normal, these magazines are helping to reduce unemployment a lot with the right job circular. Almost all the unemployed youth buy these job newsletters every week and look for jobs. Almost all kinds of news are available in the weekly job news. The job circulars of small and big companies to the job circulars of all the big companies are available here. You will also find recruitment notices in various government sectors here. Many types of government jobs will be advertised in these newspapers, including positions with the Department of Education, teachers at various government schools or colleges, peons, etc. In addition, the circulars of various small and medium private companies will be found in these magazines. This post has a PDF file of the most recent job news that can be easily downloaded. All previous job circulars are now available on our official site. Because all previously available jobs would not be easily found on many other websites, the extensive job opportunities at the workplace are detailed there.

Is all the news in the Saptahik Chakrir Khobor real?

Yes, all news is real. Keep an eye out for all current government, private, NGO, private bank, and insurance company job news for one of its ongoing job news every Friday. Understand the latest or this week's All Job Circular for free in PDF with only PDF on everyone's favorite website. If you are a Job Candidate, you may be thinking about where and how to get this Friday's job paper this week. Not so worried about it! The tension with job news is free and visit our website from now on. In today's job newspaper, all the government, private companies, NGOs, banks, and insurance sector at a glance, the weekly job newsweekly is the best. 70% of job seekers look for a magazine worth Rs. 5 without daily job recruitment notice. This week's job news, government job news, private job news, NGO job news, company job news, all private job news are sorted out like online job magazines.

Saptahik Chakrir Dak 21 October 2022

Saptahik Chakrir Dak publishes all the details of government-private jobs for the whole week, so Weekly Job Post Magazine is very attractive for Bangladeshi job seekers. Collection of job posters All government job news is beautifully detailed for your convenience. If you want weekly newspaper news, check out our website regularly, which helps you get all the workplace news in one place. We think it helps people, especially those who are looking for a quality job or deserving of a job and trying to build their career in the job market.

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor new 21 October 2022

Saptahik Chakrir Khobor 14 October 2022 Download PDF

        What is the benefit of reading the Saptahik Chakrir Khobor?

- Saptahik Chakrir Khobor is for jobs in various industries, vacancies in educational institutions at all levels, e.g., The newspaper publishes a job search advertisement for teachers by government or private school employees every Tuesday as detailed information on the upcoming positions relevant to your qualifications. - It helps you to get the job interview on time. - Gives new ideas and opportunities which give your life full of positive changes forever. Weekly Job Post Maths - Saptahik Chakrir Khobor is the biggest and most popular job news magazine for government jobs in all sectors, especially for those aspiring to take better care of their future. Weekly Newspaper provides different advertisements pertaining to Engineering, Management sectors which helps you apply as well as get application tips by profession related categories, e.g., Fashion Designer with commercial role requirements. - Weekly Job Post is a guide to improve and boost your career. - Weekly Newspaper helps you find a job in a few sectors so that you are offered a good salary which will help them lead a better life with their family after getting employed. Finding new job-related details, if necessary, includes a different advertisement. Therefore, we believe the weekly newspaper Saptahik Chakrir Khobor can help everyone who needs the feature explained more concerning government jobs in all sectors, particularly in any organization. - Weekly Job Post gives the latest news on job opportunities in industry and business firms' having more than 1000 posts at different levels to be filled by qualified candidates suitable to give the best service. More Circular: - Grameen Bank Job Circular. Conclusion: Saptahik Chakrir Khobor 2022. We have put together a collection of articles about jobs and careers for students, professionals, and managers in Bangladesh. This is a truly wonderful website to find the latest job news in Bangladesh from a very experienced news publisher. The daily updated information on all sectors, posts, and individual advertisements provides additional insights for getting better jobs by improving qualified candidates of the organizations that need employees for their financial and organizational effectiveness. Read the full article

[poulpichou]

Government failures and fucked-upperies in France

Ok, so I recently wrote a bit about the situation with police brutality in France, but now I would like to tell you more about WHY the government needs the police so much. A lot of my sources will be in french (and marked (F) like this) because there are a lot of cases that didn’t make it to the international press. Many sources also come from the newspaper Mediapart and require a subscription.

I’ve had a lot of people telling me “BuT It’S nOt ChInA” and let me tell you, yes I know it’s way worse in other countries (Peru, Thailand, Nigeria and so on, a lot is happening right now in the world), but where the fuck do you draw the line? The kind of things I’m gonna tell you about is unacceptable, and so hypocritical when a country calls itself a democracy and the land of human rights, and we should be angry about that and try to make it change. Here I’m talking a lot about Macron but let’s not forget that many current problems began under Holland’s presidency, who was supposed to be from the left, and even before. Alright, here we go.

President of the wealthy

Soooo let’s begin with how Macron was elected by wealthy people: half of the 16 million euro collected for his campaign was financed(F) by 1200 people, mostly living in Paris, by banks, and also by rich french people living abroad. So of course the first thing he did when he could was to reward them for his victory and he cut their taxes in december 2018. He deleted the “taxe on fortune” that was in place for 40 years (minus 3 years under Chirac first presidency) and replaced it with another that taxes way less, in the name of trickle down economy (you know, the same way Thatcher and Reagan did) saying that rich people would invest more and thus creating more jobs. Of course that didn’t happen and rich people just got way richer without any effects on poor people.

At the same time, he cut down housing benefits for students and poor people (1/4 of people between 18 and 24 are under the poverty line) and cancelled housing helps for 50,000 people. In december 2018, he wanted to pass a law that would increase fuel prices in the name of ecology, but that would once again mainly affect working and middle classes. That’s how started the yellow vest movement, because people were becomming poorer and poorer and they felt like the government only gave to the rich and took from the poor.

In 2018, 14% of the french population was under the poverty line, and 21% suffer from food insecurity and it has only worsened since.

At the end of 2019, a student even set himself on fire at his university because he was in such financial distress he couldn’t go on anymore.

Yellow Vest movement

If you have to read one article about it, it’s this one.

In 2017, Macron said in one of his speeches about a train station that it was “a place where one encounters people who are succeeding and people who are nothing”. The yellow vest movement came from these “people who are nothing”. For the first time in decades, people who were not heard, people who didn’t have a place in the political landscape in France were on the front scene. A lot of protestors never demonstrated before, or even engaged in politics. Many of them now protested because “they had nothing else to lose” (F). People were angry from not being listened to and being used only to allow rich people to get richer, and oh boy they showed it in the street.

The first protests took the government by surprise. They were not expecting the numbers of protestors, nor their determination. The protest were also completely different from the demonstration the state was used to deal with: there were no official leaders, making it really difficult for the government to negotiate, demonstrations were often not declared beforhand in prefectures (F), and people were systematically targetting (F) banks, major brands like Apple or McDonalds and luxury shops, causing millions euro worth of damages.

On the 1st of december 2018, protestors in Paris took over the Arc de Triomphe and completely overfloaded the police.

One policeman said afterward that on this day, “the Elysée could have fallen” (F). Police forces were not prepared, the right orders were not given at the right times and some police company were surounded by furious protestors. The same policeman said that in that moment, “they forgot about their code of ethics”, that they were just shooting rubber bullet wherever they could and “trying protect their life”. The following weeks, police put on steel fences around the Elysée and members of the government and their collaborators were asked to lock down and put away all of their documents(F) before the weekly demonstrations, in case the protestors were able to take over the buildings.

It was a turning point in the protests, and from then the orders given to the police changed completely. From then they’ve been allowed to litterally do whatever it took to keep the country in order. The government understood that the last thing between them and the furious people they betrayed was the police, and that’s precisely why they are trying to give them even more power today with the law on global security (see my last post, and probably a next one I’m gonna write soon because it would be too much for this post).

Since December 2018, a journalist, David Dusfresne, documents and keeps count on the police brutality, first on twitter and then on the online newspaper Mediapart(F) (TW for really graphic pictures of wounds and blood). For now he counted 4 deaths, 30 people who lost an eye due mainly to rubber bullets, 6 who lost a hand due to detonative grenades (France is being the only european country to use them against its own population), 346 wounded to the head (fractured skull mainly, due to the rubber bullets and baton blow) and a total of 969 documented reports on police brutality (and that’s only for 3 years).

Since then, a total of 9 police officers have been judged guilty, 7 of them being only suspended temporarily and avoiding prison, with only 2 of them ending up in prison(F) and being expelled from police forces.

People began to record the police more and more to prevent any brutality or to have proofs in case it happened, and then the police began to target journalists and anyone who had a camera.

They began to lie to people, telling them it’s forbiden to record the police (for now it isn’t), they forced photographs to delete their photos in the middle of demonstrations. They covered their ID number on their uniform (F), they covered their licence plates.

The government also began to talk about legitimate protest, aka the peacefull one, and put the name of “casseur” (thug) on anyone who would be too angry. to their taste, saying that the latter were taking the former in hostage. Basically they were saying tht yes, protestors took aver the arc de Triomphe, but it was only hooligans who just wanted to burn things, nothing political behind that.

Here began the preventive arrests (F) before demonstrations (arresting people who had done nothing on the only presumption they will), the arrest of journalists, the arrest of people having masks and protection glasses on them. From now on the administration can ban someone from public demonstration without going through the justice system.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, around 3,000 person(F) from the yellow vest movement were senteced to community services, fees, suspended prison sentence, and for 1/3 of them prison sentences. Those numbers are underestimated because many cases have not been judged yet. Some protestors were sentenced for shouting slogans(F), for wearing protective masks(F) (F), other were sent to prison for damaging radars(F) on highways, or for filming riots while wearing a yellow vest(F). There has been a massive tendency(F) for the state to sue people for “participation to a gathering with the intent to commit violences against persons or goods”, allowing them to give fees, community services or even prison sentences to people based only on the intent they gave them. Many people found guilty of attacking police forces were judged with the only proof being the declaration of police officers, and even though a lot of them claimed to be innocent they were still sentenced because they couldn’t bring proof of their innocence.(F) Amnesty International talks about the criminalization of demonstrators(F) that’s happening in France and warns about the instrumentalisation of laws that goes against international law. (F)

The ban on masks (they can be considered as weapons) during demonstration allows police to take protestors(F) who have some on them or in their car to the police station for a maximum of 48h for the sole purpose of making them miss the demonstration. This law is not applied nowadays because of Covid, but it still exists.

With the yellow vest movement, the part of the population who wasn’t used to the police actually began to endure what POC have been living for decades.

Racisme

France is a fucked up racist country. It was born in colonisation and slavery, and still rely on its former colonies to prosper economically. Young men perceived as Black or Arab are 24 more times likely to be stopped in the streets. The overwhelming majority of people killed by the police are black or arabic(F). When the police kills POC, the judiciary system often refuses to do a full investigation, refuses to hear some of the witnesses, refuses to watch some of the video tapes from surveillance cameras (F). A lot of autopsies are proved to be ballant lies, founding heart diseases(F) or blood infections(F) when the victim was actually killed by suffocation due to ventral tackle, a police technique that got France sentenced by the European court of human rights (F).

BAC

Since the mid 90′s, France has special police forces for working-class neighborhoods, the Brigade Anti-Criminalité (BAC), that operate in suburbs (in France rich people live in the city center and poor people in the suburbs) where a majority of imigrants and people from black and arabic descent live. BAC agents are all volunteers, they act in unmarked cars and civilians clothes and can carry weapons(F).

Their purpose is to roam the streets and to catch misdemeanor in the act, and they’ve been known (as well as regular police) to harass population by proceeding to systematic identity cheks(F) (often outside of what’s allowed by law), by insulting people(F), provoking people with racist and homophobic insults(F), by beating them(F) and charging them for “outrage” or “rebellion”(F) when they protest (charges that always give reasons to police officers when there’s no recordings of the arrest and allow them to get money for the prejudice). There have been reports of torture on adults(F), tennagers(F) and children(F), and cases where the BAC agents took victims to quiet places so they could beat them up(F). There have also been reports of agents inventing charges when their provocations didn’t push the victim to confront them(F).

They are basically above the law. There have been cases of massive corruption(F) where the agents returned to their unit(F) after the end of their suspension, and the person who leaked the info got fired.

As they are field agents, their role is also intelligence: they gather intells in the suburbs and they also infiltrate demonstration(F) and wear the attire of “casseurs”, to gather intells on violent individuals. Since the beginning of the Yellow Vest movement, they’ve participating in containing demonstrations as well even though they don’t have any training in that field.

Refugees

Police is being extremely violent against refugees, particularly in Northern France and what used to be the “Jungle” of Calais. Amnesty International reported that police had been beating refugees with baton, confiscating their clothes and tent daily during winter (it also happened in Paris(F)), urinating on their tents, spraying teargas directly in the face of sleeping men. A group of 4 associations also issued a report(F) on police harassment against volunteers who helped refugees, with as much as 646 instances of police harassment and abuse against volunteers between November 2017 and June 2018 in Calais. Human rights observers reported harrasment techniques such as body search of female volunteers by male officers, insults, pushing, threats of legal suits and threats of arrest. Volunteers who reported these behaviours were told by the police internal investigation body that the reports where defamatory and could constitute a crime.

At the beginning of the year, associations that were not approuved by the state were forbidden to distribute free meals to refugees(F).

Islamophobia

France has always been an islamophobic country but it has been more public and accepted since the 2015 terrorist attacks. Many laws promoting laicity are actually used to target Islam:

The ban of public display of religious items in public institutions (schools, libraries, government buildings) target mainly women wearing hijabs when many mayors keep on installing nativity scenes during Christmas(F). In 2016 some cities made wearing a burkini (full body covering bathing suit) on the beach illegal and we had some astonishing scenes of police officers asking a women (who wasn’t even wearing a burkini) to undress on the beach in the name of the law.

The law that says people have to uncover their face when being in a public space only target muslim women and is now completely useless as we have the obligation to wear a mask everywhere

The law that says street prayers have to be autorized in prefecture beforehand only target muslim community: when a muslim association organized a street prayer(F) in 2017 to protest their eviction from their place of cult in the city center they were charged 10,000€ (5,000€ from the association and 5,000€ from its president), whereas catholics students organized a street prayer(F) last month and didn’t face any charges. Legally, any autorization must be asked more than 3 days in advance and in both cases it was only asked on the day before.

Following the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was attacked mid october for showing caricatures of the prophet Mohamed in class, four 10 years old children were arrested for “terrorism apology”(F), interrogated for 10 hours and their houses checked by police forces in full gears. The minister of interior also disolved the Collective against Islamophobia in France, saying that, since it was prottesting against anti-terrorist laws (that are super islamophobic) it was promoting radical islamism and terrorism. A minute of silence was imposed in schools and the names of people who didn’t follow the procedure were given to the minister of education, who said “none of them will be left unpunished”.(F)

To sum up: the government is being super islamophobic but muslims who voice their concerns are seen as radical islamists and are associated with terrorists.  Furthermore, it’s now easier for islamophobic people in government to ban associations or to pass shady laws thanks to the state of emergency.

State emergency

Following the 2 years of state emergency (2015-2017), France passed a law against terrorism(F) that normalized a lot of the state emergency’s characteristics: it took power away from the justice system to give it to administrations, directly under the control of the government.

The government, who previously had to be accountable in front of a judiciary judge, can now do many things under the only control of an administrative judge(F). The actions of administrative judges are controled by the council of state, and the president of the said council is the prime minister or the minister of justice, named by the president.

Here is what they can now do(F):

place people under house arrest with obligation to check in police stations every day for a maximum of a year

deny or restrict access to public events to some people, or proceed to body search

make someone wear an electronic bracelet when they didn’t commit any infractions

close places of worship for a maximum of 6 months when the ideas discuted there promote hate, discrimination, violence or terrorism

require people to give their login of any account on internet to the police

investigate on civil servants using secret services files

create a national centralized file with the names of people travelling in and out of the country by plane or boat

With the autorisation of a judge of freedom and detentions, they can also search houses and seize computers or phones to inspect the contents.

If people refuse to do any of the above when they are asked to, they risk 3 years of prison and a fee that can go up to 45,000€.

The offense “terrorism apology” was used against hundreds of people, with a large proportion of them being underaged (1/3 of them in 2015), sometimes for something as unsignificant as a non-violent facebook comment, a situation pointed out by Amnesty International(F). The NGO also highlights the fact that the fear of being considered as an extremist or the fear of facing judiciary consequences sets limit to freedom of speech.

Since 2015, the government has used the power given to them by the state of emergency to place 24 environmental activists under house arrest for the duration of the COP21(F) and to search the house of people who were protesting against the construction of an airport(F), construction potentialy linked to corruption(F), and also to close temporarly more than 30 mosques and install security cameras inside(F).

The consulting national commission on human rights pointed out a “highjack” of the state emergency, that was used to silence protestors, unions and refugees with abusive means, like unnecessary handcuffing, adults and children being aimed at with assault riffle during house searches and house being damaged during searches.

2015 was also the year of the Intelligence Act, a law that allows inteligence agencies to install scanning devices on the infrastructure of telecom operators so they can collect data on communications that are likely to reveal a terrorist threat.

Covid 19

When the epidemy started to be problematic in France in February 2020, hospital workers had been on strike for 11 months(F) and were asking for doctors and nurses jobs opening, and more beds in hospital. At the beginning of february, 600 administrative hospital workers had quit(F) so they were not “accomplices of the management of misery”. Healthcare workers had been saying for years that the deterioration of the working conditions in hospitals were gonna lead to patients death.

Since the beginning of the 2000′s, 100 000 beds have been removed(F) from hospital services and there has been a budget cut close to 12 bilions euros(F) for the health services.

Then comes Covid 19, and the government asks health workers to always do more with less, in the name of common good. We applaud them at our windows every night, and then they don’t get the bonus(F) the government promised, the healthcare system doesn’t get any budget increase and even worse, it still has to face a 800 milions cut in the middle of the pandemic(F).

The newspaper Mediapart issued a report(F) exposing the lies of the government:

They decided to get only small quantities of masks at the beginning of january against experts opinion, they said the virus wouldn’t reach France.

Government lied about the usefullness of masks to prevent people asking for them when they didn’t have some to distribute to the whole population. They said it was useless, and even dangerous because we didn’t know how to use them, they actively encouraged people not to wear them, and they lied about mask shortage. I really want to insist on that point, the instensity of communication on the subject was incredible. Every day we had many different high-ranked person in the government telling us on TV, on the radio or in newspaper that we shouldn’t wear masks. They only made wearing masks compulsory in public spaces mid July, 6 months after the first case in France(F).

Healthcare workers didn’t have enough masks and thus faced higher risks of contamination but the government still allowed non essential big companies like Airbus to use milions of the precious FFP2 masks. The government still refuses to give the number of healthcare workers who died from Covid19(F), the only count we have is made by journalists, and it’s believed to be underestimated.

To this day, healthcare workers are still on strike for better working conditions and better pay. I took this pic earlier this month from one of the firestations in my city, you can read written in white paint on the doors “understaffed, population in danger”, “18 months of strike and still NOTHING”, “Covid bonus ???” and “SOS”. Firefighters also write this on their trucks and their helmets, and hospitals have had banners deployed for more than a year now. All of these people are still working to ensure everyone’s access to health services but they refuse to transfer data to the state sickness insurance for example (and they are now facing administrative sanctions(F) and are threatened to not be given cancer drugs if they don’t end the strike(F)).

Regarding Covid, we are one of the only countries in europe to use self-filled certificates to be able to go outside. These certificates are controlled by the police, and like I said earlier, increased police controls harm a certain part of the population (young people and POC). Amnesty International issued a report(F) on the violences comited during french lockdown, pointing out repetitive and significant illegitimate actions from the police, such as beatings, use of tasers, illegal arrests, racists and homophobics insults and verbal threats. In April 2020, Mohamed Gabsi, a homeless person, was killed by the police after being arrested for being outside during the lockdown(F). The officers who killed him are still in service.

The covid crisis brought us in the worst recession we had since WW2, and the Secour Populaire (french association that helps poor people) had to help 45% more people than it helped in 2019(F). In my city, there are so many people coming for food distribution on certain days they had to install permanent fences in the street so people can queue in order.

Corruption and Other Stuff

In France (as in many other countries) it’s rare to have politicians who’ve never been prosecuted in any judiciary or administrative case.

Here I’m only gonna tell you who have been accused and who have been prosecuted for what in Macron’s government, and quite frankly it’s not exhaustive because one wikipedia page just brings me to 5 more.

The following tab is quite heavy so feel free to just check the left column with the legend.

(Now let me cry thinking about this Swedish minister who had to quit over a chocolate bar)

(All my sources are from french newspapers, I can give them if you ask me but I’m not gonna put them here because there are way too many)

People who had to quit the first government were still appointed deputy governor of the Bank of France (Sylvie Goulard), president of the national assembly (Richard Ferrand) and chief of foreign affaires commission at the national assembly (Marielle de Sarnez). They are being investigated for corruption and embezzlement and they still have a successfull political career, and more important they still heavily influence the laws of our country and of Europe. Sylvie Goulard was even chosen by Macron to seat at the European Commission but european deputies decided it was fucked up and rejected her appointment (F).

In this list I only talked about members of the government but there has been other scandals linked to people around Macron.

Benalla cases: It all began when we discovered Alexandre Benalla, chief of security and travels for the president, was participating in demonstration as a policeman (which he wasn’t) and used his position to beat up protestors and passerby. The rest of the case is filled with destruction and hiding of evidences(F), illegal sharing of public surveillance videotapes by the police, undeclared guns(F), illegal but unpunished use of data by the police(F) and the Elysée(F), breaking of the judiciary control by Benalla, illegal diplomatic passports and meeting with african’s leaders, russian contracts with an alleged mafia boss(F), office searchs for a newspaper ordered by the State, who tried to seize the proofs and the sources the newspaper had on the case(F) and so on. The case involves several members of the government and members of special forces, and some journalists who were writing on it were then auditionned for disclosure of state secret(F). The case in general highlighted the impunity members of the government and police officers have, as well as anyone who is close to the president, but also the dysfunction in the justice system and the impossibility for high ranked people to face justice. The fucker is still free, taunt people on twitter and still gives interviews to national television.

Kohler case: Alexis Kohler, general secretary of the Elysee and Macron right hand man during his campain, hid his personnal links to the sea transporters MSC and then attributed them huge state funds. He also lied in his involvement in the decision. We discovered Macron sent a letter to the national financial prosecutor's office to clear him, which they did, until an anti-corruption association relaunched legal proceedings. The guy is now being prosecuted for corruption and bribery. (F) (F)

Conclusion

Fuck the police, eat the rich, let’s forbid them from being elected, a next long post on the Law on Global Security the governement is trying to pass is gonna come soon if you’re interested.

Please tell me if you see any inconsistency in this post, I tried to source it as much as I could and to verify everything I wrote but like anyone else I have bias and sometimes I wrote things at 5am so I’m aware I might be incorrect  and I’m open to constructive criticism. Also sorry for my approximate english sometimes.

[smoochkooks]

—the (un)holy cock-up (m.)

⟶ pairing: park jimin/reader

⟶ genre: smut, angst 

⟶ word count: 14.5k

⟶ warnings: explicit sexual content, oral sex (m receiving), dirty talk, profanity, unnecessary amount of biblical puns, some critic on catholic church, this is a heavy read be aware

⟶ summary: there is a quite long list of circumstances, with student loan and rent on the very top of it, that led you to work in the sunday’s spirit editorial department, a newspaper overally known among fellow catholic community of busan, with park jimin as your boss.

when your small cock-up goes unnoticeably out of your hand, you find yourself in a situation painted in all shades of wrong.

or, alternatively: when it’s forbidden, it tastes bittersweet.

a/n: please, before you read this: take the warnings seriously. this is not a light read, it touches some heavy and quite controversial topics. tit also involves a scene where a person in charge exhibits inappropriate behavior towards their subordinate which I do not condone, however it’s all done with consent.

ps. im really proud of this work so give me some love please:(

Fingertips typing furiously on the keyboards, sights focused on the computers’ screens, brows furrowed, minds utterly concentrated and all of this accompanied by angelic voices of various religious songs playing in the background.

This is how a typical day at Sunday’s Spirit editorial department goes by.

The newspaper is a local source of information for the catholic community not only in the city of Busan, but in the whole country. Its history starts in 70s, when Park Min-Sung with his wife started publishing the very first version of the Sunday’s Spirit, selling copies in front of churches. Young activists definitely hadn’t anticipated such a big success, especially due to hard times of the military dictatorship in Korea, but two decades later they have become one of the most affluent families in Busan. The newspaper remains the Park’s legacy till these days, being owned by Min-Sung’s son, with the original founder’s grandson Jimin as an editor-in-chief.

Sometimes you ponder how did you end up in this kind of situation. Sitting at your desk with eyes glued to the screen, working for the catholic newspaper with Mary did you know and other holy songs playing from the Spotify’s Blessed Hits playlist.

First of all, you aren’t quite a Jesus stan yourself. Not a regular churchgoer, Bible reader or a person who lives according to God’s will with Ten Commandments written on your heart and soul.

Someone may wonder, what a young, aspiring journalist like you is doing here? Yes, that’s right.

Money is the reason.

The perspectives of wealthy life as a presenter in the national television or a host in the radio were just a mirage, because after receiving your master degree in journalism you realised that, unfortunately, a bright future was bright only in your unreal dreams.

The case was simple. You needed money. Your bank account was literally screaming at you to get your shit together and figure something out before you end up under the bridge. So you started searching for a job, looking over various offers on the Internet for two weeks straight. A waitress? Nah, too clumsy for that. Jewelry seller? Definitely not, since you are a happy owner of a few pairs of earrings from etsy-like online shop that certainly have nothing to do with real gold. You were almost convinced you’re destined to be a sexworker but then you stumbled upon an offer from the Sunday’s Spirit.

It was your chance. A God himself decided to take pity on you.

In that exact moment the genre of the newspaper wasn’t important. The vision of bankruptcy was enough for you to wear knee-length black skirt, white button-up shirt and a pair of high heels you’ve never worn before and go on a job interview with plastered smile on your face, looking delightful like you have just given birth to Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.

All the Hollywood actresses could be put into shame after your Oscar-winning performance you acted out on the interview in front of middle-aged woman in checked jacket that no one wears since 90s. Your enthusiasm and assurance you live good, catholic woman’s life, along with your master degree and motivational letter (you added a quote from The Letter to Philipians at the end of it to spice it up) was enough to be accepted for the position of Ask and you shall find column creator.

The job itself wasn’t complex or tough. The newspaper on its online site has a page where people can create an account and send asks to the author of the column who responds to them. You did something wrong and you aren’t sure it should be considered a sin? Having problems with regular praying on mornings and evenings? Write to us and we will solemnly help you with the God’s blessing, it says.

This is basically how it works. Each week, the said journalist chooses the most interesting questions and answers to make an article to the Sunday’s Spirit’s next publication. Of course, you can’t answer those questions the way you would like. You must do it according to the catholic laws and God’s plan (the True God’s plan, not Drake’s). A woman who interviewed you even gave you a notebook full of already made-up responses and a list of things you definetely mustn’t write if you still want to be employed.

To be completely frank, you don’t hate your job that much. You actually feel kind of nice, helping other people with their problems. You’ve been doing this for six months now and during this period of time you got used to some things.

A ‘Jesus, I trust you’ framed picture you swore your mother gave you on your 16th birthday standing on your desk. Holy beats blasting through the speakers until you leave the office at 5pm. A big-ass cross hanging right in front of the entrance to the editorial. Lee Chin-sun, the Weekly News column author, rushing to Park Jimin’s bureau every day at different hours in her pencil skirts and high heels knocking on the floor.

There’s only the Pentecost in the middle of the office that could actually surprise you.

“Looks like our Mary Magdalene is going to Jesus cave again,” mutters Kim Taehyung, the newspaper’s main photographer, friend from your desk and, actually, the only friend you have here. Very much gay and just like you, in desperate need for money. “It’s her third visit today. I wonder what it is this time. New prayer to Pope Francis she found?” he whispers and you chuckle at that quietly, looking around if anyone pays attention to your conversation, but everyone seems busy doing their own stuff. “Maybe she’s sucking his dick right now and we all think they are playing Who said it? Bible edition,” he adds in a hushed tone.

You start thinking about it for a while. Is that really possible for someone like Park Jimin, the editor-in-chief of the Sunday’s Spirit to have a sexual relationship with his coworker? The man who has a smaller version of Pietà in his office?

“I mean look at him. I would smash that ass too.”

You roll your eyes at Taehyung words, going back to your previous task but every time you try to concentrate, the face of your boss appears in front of your eyes uncontrollably.

Truth to be told, Park Jimin was a sight.

Blond hair, always perfectly styled and simply parted in the middle, revealing his forehead. Dark, sharp eyes that seem to pierce right through your soul and full, plump lips which could only be described as kissable.

He wears only high fashion brands, wandering through the office in Prada and Tom Ford suits that hugs his sculpted body just right. You think that as for a person who never misses Sunday’s mass, Park Jimin has also nice thighs. And a fine piece of ass, as Taehyung would describe it.

Newest Rolex that costs probably more than you will ever earn in your entire life on his wrist, Mercedes who just got brought out to the international market standing on his parking spot in front of the building, an apartment in the most luxurious area in Busan.

Park Jimin inhales God’s mercy and exhales money.

You spoke to him more explicitly only once, on your first day at work. He greeted you and wished good luck, saying that everything will be fine because you know, God’s good. Since that day, Park Jimin seems out of your reach. You contact him only through email, sending articles for him to check and approve, occasionally receiving some short message from him to improve this and that. He rarely leaves his office during working hours but when he does, it’s either for business meetings outside the editorial or for a lunch at nearby restaurant.

There’s also one, special occasion, every Friday, that’s a sacred time for all the employees. The clock hits 12am and so it begins. The angelic voices stop singing and everybody shifts on their sits.

“Oh, Holy Judas. I almost forgot about my favourite part of the week,” Taehyung sighs, standing up from his desk. And by that, he means-

“Friday’s Bible contemplation lunch break, everyone please gather up at the cafeteria.” Park Jimin’s sweet as honey voice says through the speakers.

You stand up from your chair with reluctance. Taking food with you, you go to the cafeteria, following Taehyung.

That’s actually the next thing you got used to while working at Sunday’s Spirit. Bible contemplation meetings are, as you found out from Taehyung, Jimin’s idea after he became an editor-in-chief almost one year ago. Every Friday all the workers sit together, eat their lunches and listen to Jimin as he reads a certain chapter from the book with true admiration written on their faces. After that, he usually asks some questions holding a discussion among the participants who, unlike you, happily takes part in.

The cafeteria looks rather normal, like any other lunchrooms you see in offices. Painted in bright yellow colors, with a few tables and a typical kitchen set in the back. Except for one thing.

A replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper hanging on the wall.

You decided a long time ago that you don’t want to know how much money it cost Jimin to have something like that here.

The newspaper’s workers, almost like the twelve Apostles, sit together by the tables. Lee Chin-sun at the very front, looking completely mesmerized by today’s Park Jimin’s appearance. He’s wearing navy blue suit that Taehyung swears it’s from Hugo Boss. The place next to Chin-sun is always occupied by tall, black-haired guy named Choi Eunwoo, main graphic designer, hopelessly in love with her since his first days at work. Behind them there’s a group from emendation department, with their leader Min Yoongi and other journalists. You always sit with Taehyung at the back, near the kitchen, not necessarily paying attention to what’s happening in the front.

Jimin, as on every Friday, walks to the small podium, designed to look like a pulpit in the church and opens the Bible. But one thing is odd: Jimin ain’t no priest or altar boy himself and he certainly dosen’t look like one, flipping through the pages of what you think it’s New Testament this time.

From your point of view, you could practically see how Chin-sun sighs with content expression on her face, lacing her fingers together on the lap and straightening her back. Eunwoo, on the other hand, shifts uncomfortably on his seat, sending Chin-sun quick glances full of unspoken longing she never acknowledges, to his dismay.

Then, Park Jimin clears his throat and the whole cafeteria goes quiet.

Truth to be told, you never really listen to what he’s reading. This time is no different. You just chew on your avocado sandwich, occasionally taking a sip of coffee. Your boss’ smooth voice reaches your ears faintly but you don’t pay attention to it, focusing on eating and Taehyung’s hushed rumbling instead.

“Look at our Mary Magdalene, she looks like she might burst a nut just by listening to CEO Jesus,” he says, making you peek at the girl.

Mary Magdalene is a nickname that Taehyung made up for Chin-sun when he started working at Sunday’s Spirit, mainly because of her attitude and relationship with Jimin. It’s rather platonic, at least for now. She looks at him with pure admiration on her face and she literally melts everytime he smiles at her. But Chin-sun’s ‘stalking’ isn’t unreasonable. Her father is a well-known philanthropist in Busan. He donates catholic charities, churches and, what’s the most interesting – he has some connections with Jimin’s father, the owner of Sunday’s Spirit.

And here’s the thing: Chin-sun’s hare and hounds definitely have some hidden reason. Maybe the whole marriage thing that has become a gossip in the office is true. Which makes poor Eunwoo’s situation even worse.

“Sometimes I wonder why has he fallen in love with her in first place,” you whisper, pointing at the graphic designer. “He knows he stands no chance against Jimin.”

“What can I say, you can’t help who you fall in love with.” Taehyung muses almost poetically, shrugging his shoulders.

You hum at that, placing your coffee cup on the table and looking around the cafeteria. It seems like Jimin has ended his reading session for today and now he invites everyone to join the discussion about the topic. He flashes Chin-sun a gentle smile and you could swear the girl is biting her lip.

On the corner of your eye you see Taehyung smirking.

“What?” you ask.

Taehyung takes a sip of his coffee lazily (it’s always caramel macchiato), peering at Jimin. “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if our boss really wants to settle not only with Chin-sun, but anyone in general,” he says languidly.

You furrow your brows. “What makes you think that? I mean, look at him. He probably waits with sex till marriage.” you snort.

Taehyung chuckles at your words. “Ah, sweetheart, you really know nothing about Park Jimin.”

“What do you mean?”

He moves closer to you, leaning towards your ear. “What I mean,” he whispers, “is that Park Jimin isn’t such a prude everyone thinks he is. At least he didn’t use to be.”

You raise your eyebrows at him with disbelief. “What? He’s secretly gay?” you mock.

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “I wish, but no, he isn’t,” he answers with a sigh. “Do you know Min Yoongi from emendation team?” he then asks, pointing at grey-haired man with feline eyes sitting behind Chin-sun.

You nodd your head. Min Yoongi is a hard to read guy. Always suspiciously silent, practically never leaves his office. Something makes you wonder how did Taehyung end up befriending him enough to casually gossip about the boss. You will ask him about this on another occasion.

“So here’s the thing,” Taehyung begins, lowering the volume of his voice. “He used to study at the same university in Seoul with Jimin. They even had been together in the fraternity. Yoongi-hyung told me some juicy details about our boss’ life back then.”

You frown at his words. “And you are telling me this now?!” you hiss.

“I found out literally two days ago!” Taehyung exclaims, maybe a little too loud, so you quickly place your index finger on your lips, shushing him.

“Fine. Continue.” you whisper, looking around to see if anyone pays attention to you.

“Well, Park Jimin used to be a trouble back then. A golden boy of his family in Busan, but a campus fuckboy and obnoxious heartbreaker in Seoul. He smoked cigarettes, drank enormous amounts of alcohol, got wasted on every weekend, missed classes and changed hair colors as often as his girlfriends. By the way, don’t you think he would slay pink hair?”

“Taehyung can you please–”

“Okay, okay. Enough thirsting over Jimesus. So, as you can see, there was no place for Sunday’s mass and Bible contemplation meetings in his life. And here’s the awaited plotwist. His parents somehow found out his son wasn’t living good catholic life on his studies and got extremely pissed off. They simply gave him an ultimatum: if he doesn’t stop his shenanigans, they will cut him off their money and they won’t make him Sunday’s Spirit heir.” Taehyung stops his rumbling for a while, letting you proceed all the bewildering informations about your dear boss he has just revealed.

Your eyes simply widen at the revelations.

Park Jimin, the man who organises Bible contemplation lunch breaks, a regular churchgoer, someone who you always thought has a cross tattooed on his back, was a playboy who slept with a half of the female community in the university?

Interesting.

“Rest of the story is simple. He changed his behavior, got a master degree in journalism and came back to Busan to work here. What is funny, his first position was the same as yours now,” Taehyung ends his story with a light chuckle. “Now you understand why it’s hard for me to believe he really thinks about getting married and having at least three kids.”

You look up at Park Jimin, who’s standing now in the centre of the cafeteria, with his arms crossed over his chest, nodding at one of the journalists words. His gaze is so intense and filled with such an authority that makes you understand why Chin-sun literally squirms when he looks at her that way.

It’s not hard for you to imagine him in much different surroundings.

Him, standing with a cup of beer in his hand in the middle of the crowd of drunken people at some frat party. There’s a leather jacket on his shoulders and he’s wearing tight-fitting pants that hugs his gorgeous thighs much better than his usual slacks he puts on every day before he sets off to work. He scans the room with a mishevious smirk dancing on his features, biting and licking his lips as he looks for his prey for tonight.

He then spots her, his pick for the night. He runs his fingers through his silky locks and approaches the girl, whispering dirty promises to her ear as he sways their bodies to the rhythm of loud music blasting through the speakers. Later that night he has her underneath him, begging him to touch her. He fucks her hard, leaving bruises all over her limp, exhausted body. There will be soreness between her thighs in the morning and a few violet love bites on her neck, a gentle reminder that all of this wasn’t just a dream.

But there’s no warm body next to her she could wake up to, no ‘good morning, baby’ or a second round of love making between the sheets. Because Park Jimin isn’t like that. He waited until her breath slowed down and eyelids fluttered shut, drifting her off to sleep. He left in the middle of the night, a cigarette caught between his swollen from kisses lips. He fumed the poison and smiled to himself, wondering what his parents would think when they found out. A golden boy of his family, future heir of the Park’s legacy, coming back from one of his sexcapeds with girl which name he didn’t even remember.

The Lord himself must have already cursed him and he’s currently planning the punishments for him in depths of Hell. But does Park Jimin look like he really care?

You stare blankly ahead, imagining those scenes in your head. You can’t help but squeeze your thighs because God, yes, Park Jimin is hot, even if he reads Breviary before he goes to sleep. What a shame he has changed. 

A smooth like honey voice pulls you out from your airy-fairy slumber.

“Miss Y/N?”

You jolt in panic after hearing your name, glancing around and praying that wasn’t the person you think it was. But this silky, melodious voice you would recognize everywhere.

God hates you though, he knows what kind of scandalous things you were daydreaming about and now it’s his time to punish you.

Looking up, your gaze settles on no one other than Park Jimin, who stares at you with his left eyebrow raised, pursing his lips. He extinguishes the aura of pure dominance around him and you involuntarily blush, squirming under his intense glare. You’re royally screwed.

You clear your throat, trying to calm down rapidly beating heart. Without success.

“Yes, sir?” you manage to answer innocently. Certainly not like you weren’t thinking about being fucked by him minutes ago. You don’t even have time to be surprised he remembers your name.

Park Jimin looks unamazed by your sweet tone; he almost seems bored, but definitely irritated. “I asked you a question and I’m waiting for your response.” he says lowly.

Fuckfuckfuck. God have mercy on you. What was the question? Shit, you don’t even know what fragment he had read before.

In act of complete desperation you elbow Taehyung for help but this little shit pretends he has no idea what’s going on, looking at The Last Supper with sudden interest.

You are purely, loyally, utterly fucked.

You adopt the most charming smile you could muster, knowing that it will have zero affect on Park Jimin and ask, “Could you repeat the question one more time, sir? I’m afraid I didn’t hear you correctly.” Jesus, when has your voice become so high-pitched?

A cruel smirks forms on Park Jimin’s lips. He shakes his head, tsking. Taehyung mutters something under his breath that sounds dangerously close to “It was nice meeting you, sweetheart.” You gulp, waiting for your sentence and hoping Pontius Pilate will be gracious to you.

“My, my,” Jimin muses. It makes you feel like a little girl being scolded by the teacher due to her outrageous behavior. You bite your lip so hard you might draw blood, waiting for your boss’ next words. “Of course you didn’t hear my question, because you weren’t paying attention to our discussion.”

In the corner of your eye you see Chin-sun shaking her head with detestation. What a bitch, you think to yourself.

You take a deep breath then, nails digging crescent moons on the skin of your palms. You don’t like being in the spotlight, you never did, but now you have no choice but face the consequences. “My deepest apologies, sir. The behavior I exhibited was highly inappropriate,” you say, bowing your head. Jimin eyes your figure from head to toe and you might actually feel his burning gaze on your skin. Your cheeks flush in crimson even more.

The editor-in-chief seems to deliberate with himself for a while, turning his head slightly to the side, not breaking the eye contact with you. Finally, after a moment that seems to last an hour, he speaks.

“I think you need a lesson that will teach you to pay attention to our weekly discussions, miss Y/N. That’s why I want you to write a 4000 words long paper about the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ’s life which we had discussed today but you, unfortunately, didn’t acknowledge it.”

You freeze. Like a scene in the movie, everything stops. The embarassement you felt earlier is quickly replaced by pure anger and irritation. He wants you to write a fucking paper? What is this? University lectures?

Never before in your entire life have you felt so humiliated. All eyes are on you; you could practically sense how they are trying not to laugh out loud. Eunwoo and Taehyung look at you with apologetic faces while Chin-sun smirks, whispering something to Jimin’s ear.

“I apologize once again, sir,” you grit through your teeth with a forced smile. Jimin nods then, not even bothering to look at you again. You’re dismissed, that’s what his behavior is saying.

“Our meeting is over, you can go back to your work.” Jimin announces and walks away from the cafeteria with Chin-sun by his side.

You wait for everyone to leave and the you let out a groan of annoyance, burring your head in your hands.

“Hey, it could have been worse. He didn’t fire you after all.” Taehyung laughs but he quickly shuts up as soon as he sees your glare. You stand up from your chair with a scowl written all over your face, and storm out of the lunchroom.

And may the God help you.

Later that unfortunate day, you sit by your desk again, scrolling through the Ask and you shall find page absentmindedly and waiting for the new asks to come. Everyone has returned to their work like nothing has happened but it doesn’t stop you from feeling all those eyes constantly on your back. Maybe you weren’t fired but the humiliation and embarrassment of being told off by your boss publicly makes you want to disappear and never show up at the editorial again.

“Y/N,” Taehyung’s deep voice pulls you out of your thoughts. You look up at him and find the man smiling at you lightly. He’s wearing a long, camel coat and a big scarf around his neck with ridiculous patterns that reminds you of Persian diwans. He places his black camera bag on the desk, which means he’s leaving the office. “I’m free of office work for today so I just wanted to say goodbye.” he explains and you just nod.

“Bye, Taehyung. See you on Monday.” you say maybe a little bit to wryly and he feels that, letting out a long sigh.

Taehyung seems to deliberate with himself for a moment before he decides to speak again. He clears his throat audibly. “And I, uhm, I’m sorry. It’s my fault that you are in this situation. I started this conversation and I should be the one writing this stupid paper for Mister Prude.”

You can’t help but chuckle at the new nickname Taehyung gave Jimin. The anger you felt before drifts away from you slowly, and you smile at your friend apologetically. “Oh, God, Tae. I’m such a bitch sometimes, sorry,” you blurt out.”I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at him. Besides, maybe that’s good I’ve got homework. I don’t remember when was the last time I wrote some-”

Your words are interrupted by a loud laugh that resonates through the office. You look in the direction of the voice just to see Chin-sun with her manicured hand on Jimin’s chest, throwing her head back from the laughter, too dramatically for your taste. She seems to have changed her clothes, a black pencil skirt long forgotten and replaced by a red, bodycon dress. Her dark hair is also styled differently, curled and loose. She looks beautiful, matching Jimin’s appearance perfectly.

“Where are they going?” Taehyung whispers to you, furrowing his brows. You shrug your shoulders, tearing your eyes of Chin-sun and Jimin. “Maybe our Mary Magdalene’s plan to win Jesus’ heart is working. Poor Eunwoo,” he sighs, looking at his watch to check the time. “Anyway, I gotta go. I have to drive all the way to some shithole near the city to take photos of an old lady who swears she saw saint Francis or other dude with halo speaking to her,” he grumbles and you giggle at his words. “Good luck with your paper, sweetheart.” he leans and places a small peck on your cheek.

“Bye, Tae.” you say, watching him leave the office right after Jimin and Chin-sun.

You let out a long, tired sigh, counting the time to leave the office and finally be back home, with a bottle of red wine and new season of Game of Thrones that are waiting for you to watch the whole week. Then, when you’re about to stand up and make yourself another coffee, a new ask pops up in your inbox with the title ‘Sex S.O.S’.

You raise your eyebrows because honestly, what kind of title is this? Curiosity wins the battle with a hot cup of an americano and you click the show more button. You put on your prescription glasses and start reading.

Dear Sunday’s Spirit editorial,

My name is Kang Seoyeon. I study medicine at the University of Seoul, I’ve got an amazing group of friends and a loving boyfriend. And here’s where the actual problem begins. I’m from the catholic family with long traditions, and as you can guess, he isn’t.

We’ve been together for almost 2 years now and since my parents don’t want me to live with him before the marriage, there’s also no sexual life between us. I was actually surprised they agreed I can date a non-religious person in first place, so the rules weren’t that horrible at the beginning.

My boyfriend always seemed to be understanding about the fact that I’m catholic and he has never had issues against it because I stated this on the start of our relationship, but lately… he’s been distant. We meet up less often and I feel like simple kissing after 2 years isn’t enough for him. I even thought about initiating something that wouldn’t necessarily involve the real intercourse but I’m too inexperienced and shy for that. We are slowly drifting apart.

I don’t know what to do. I love him so much and I don’t want to lose him just because of some stupid rules I need to follow. I’m scared he will leave me for some other beautiful girl who wouldn’t have anything against sleeping with him, especially after considering the fact that he isn’t virgin unlike me and he experienced this kind of pleasure before.

I hope you will help me.

Yours faithfully,

Kang Seoyeon.

You blink once, twice. Read the message again and then, something snaps in you.

To Hell with these stupid, old-fashioned rules straight from the Middle Ages. To Hell with celibacy till marriage, masturbation prohibition and living according to God’s will. To Hell with Park Jimin and his ridiculous moral code (and his Bible contemplation lunchbreaks).

Unofficial eleventh commandment: If a girl wants a dick, she deserves to have it.

And that’s exactly what your response to the girl is in a nutshell.

Your blood boils in your veins with anger as you’re typing furiously on the keyboard, not even bothering to check if your sudden outburst makes any sense.

Dear Seoyeon,

It’s Y/N here, the journalist who you wrote this message to.

I don’t know what kind of response are you expecting from me but honestly? If you think I’m going to recommend you some praying to Saint Rita then you’re wrong. I’m done with this shit.

Let me make this straight: if you want to fuck your boyfriend, do it. Maybe God wouldn’t approve that but don’t worry, he won’t send you to hell because of some dick in your pussy.

They are plenty of worse things in this world than having sex with the person you love. Look at me. I’m literally writing to catholic newspaper while using words like ‘God’ and ‘Fuck’ in the same sentence. And that’s not even a small piece of what I’ve done in my life.

So you go girl, suck your boyfriend off. Make him beg. He will never leave you after this. You have my blessings and Jesus is giving you metaphysical thumbs up from above. Sex is amazing thing and you don’t have to wait for it until you say ‘yes’ in front of some guy in black cassock. Just go with the flow.

 May the God help you!

Love, Y/N.

P.S. Watch out that guy. He seems suspicious. If he’s been really sex deprived for two years he will die after you give him a head.

Sent.

You exhale loudly, staring at the screen. You did that. Six months into working in Sunday’s Spirit and the time when you lost your temper has finally come. You should probably feel ashamed or have some type of conscience pangs but actually you aren’t even near this state.

Grinning to yourself, you delete the message you had sent to the girl from your inbox and check the time. It’s almost 5pm and it looks like you haven’t even realised you’re the only person at the office right now. Since it’s Friday and Jimin has already left, seems like everyone has decided to set off earlier too.

You turn off your computer, packing your things to the bag. Wrapping a scarf around your neck tightly, you leave the building, welcoming the coolness of the early Spring evening in Busan.

When you’re about to cross the street, your phone buzzes in the pocket of your coat. You stop for a moment, smiling to yourself when you read the message.

[04:23pm] from Tae: hey

[04:23pm] from Tae: i know you are probably planning an evening with mary magdalene n jesus but

[04:23pm] from Tae: wouldnt u want to go for drinks with me tonight?

[04:23pm] from Tae: same place as usual

[04:24pm] from Tae: as a wise man once said: nothing helps better for the writer’s block than vodka

[04:24pm] from Tae: so what do u say?

You don’t need to think twice when you quickly type a response. Game of Thrones and wine can wait till another time.

[04:26pm] from me: how could i say no to kim taehyung and vodka?

[04:26pm] from me: see u there

Kim’s is a place like no one other in Busan.

You wouldn’t even know about its existence if it wasn’t Taehyung who took you there first when you started working at Sunday’s Spirit, solemnly promising free drinks. Who would you be if you didn’t agree to that?

When you arrived at the bar, it eventually turned out the alcohol was costless hence it’s his family business since over thirty years and his brother Namjoon is a bartender, not because Taehyung willingly decided to pay for you.

Kim’s is located in rather industrial part of the city, sandwiched between factories and huge housing estates, not looking really inviting at first glance, but the place has its own, unique charm. There are some stories, shrouding the building’s history in mystery. Some people say it used to be headquarters of the most dangerous mafia in Busan, some even believe it served as the secret arsenal during the Korean War.

But what’s definitely true, it’s the fact that Taehyung’s parents bought this place in swinging times of 80s for a small amount of money and turned the place into disco bar which had become a must-go spot for young people in Busan.

Kim’s on the outside, with its large red neon sign hanging above the entrance, looks more like a night club than a bar, but on the inside the magic of kitschy 80s still remains the same (Taehyung swears retro is in fashion these days and that’s why he didn’t let his parents redecorate when they wanted to).

You always feel like you’re traveling back in time when you visist Kim’s.

The place is quite big, with a large dancefloor in the middle and red leather sofas strewn around the place along with the tables. Walls are made of brick and colorful, vibrant neon lights are shimmering on them. Oh, not to mention the huge disco ball on the ceiling. Everything accompanied with the quality music provided by Namjoon.

There are few billiard and foosball tables in the corner of the bar, always occupied by the same group of middle-aged men on weekdays and university students on weekends. But the thing that attract attention of the customers the most, is the bar with Namjoon behind it.

When you enter the place, you spot Taehyung and his blond mop of hair immediately. He sits on one of the bar stools, talking to his older brother. He’s wearing beige pants and floral button-up shirt that seems to match colors with his pinkish-looking drink he holds. You notice a new pair of sapphire earrings and a huge ring from the same collection on his forefinger. Classy, as always.

Taehyung grins broadly when he sees you. He puts his drink on the counter and stands up to greet you. His breath smells like strawberries and vodka when he leans to place his usual, small peck on your cheek. “Hi, sweetheart,” he says with his signature smirk plastered on his face, scanning your figure. “You look gorgeous. Last time you did this kind of make-up you wanted to get laid.”

You rolls your eyes at his words, sitting on a stool next to him. “Hi, Taehyung. Thank you for appreciating my efforts to look like a decent human being but no, I’m not planning on getting laid tonight.” you answer, waving to Namjoon who makes drinks for a group of girls a few meters from you. He smiles bashfully at you, showing his dimples.

“I’m not saying you want a fuck, calm down. I just assumed since it’s not everyday that you put eyeliner on,” Taehyung explains himself. “So let me do that again,” He takes a deep breath, placing a hand on his chest in a dramatic manner. “Y/N, you look absolutely breathtaking. I could stare at you for hours and I wouldn’t mind that even a bit. My homosexuality is at risk right now.”

You ignore his exeggarated outburst, rolling your eyes. “I’m not using eyeliner everyday because there’s something called dresscode in our work, you know?” you say. “Besides, my mum says you should look good on every occasion because you don’t know when you will meet the love of your life.”

Taehyung puts a hand on his heart and sighs with relief. “Thank God I always look good.”

You chuckle and then your eyes wander for a moment to Namjoon, who seems busy listening to whatever the pink-haired girl is telling him with polite smile on his face.

“Here,” Taehyung nudges your side, bringing your attention back to him. He hands you the same pinkish drink as he was drinking when you arrived. “Hyung told me it’s their new specialty or something. It’s called Flamingo’s Beach,” he says and you take the glass in your hand. “I have no idea what Namjoonie-hyung put here but as long as it looks good, it’s good. Cheers!” Taehyung sips his one and watches you with raised eyebrows as you’re taking a generous gulp of the drink. “And…?” he asks.

You lick your lips, humming to yourself. “Not bad. Tastes like strawberries.”

Taehyung opens his mouth to say something but he gets interrupted by his brother. “Y/N, hi. How are you?” Namjoon approaches you with two beer mugs in his hands.

His hair is back to his natural brown color now, purple strands long forgotten since the last time you saw him. It looks like he’s been working out lately, his posture more bulky and it makes his black shirt stick to his body tightly. Namjoon’s good-looking, you always knew that, but he seems to be even more handsome now.

“Hey, I’ve been good, thank you,” you greet him with maybe too much enthusiasm for your liking. You always had a weak spot for him. “How’s the bar going?” you ask.

“Busy, as you can see,” he replies, chuckling to himself. “I would love to talk to you more but I have some work to do in back room, so…” Namjoon trails off sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“Oh, it’s okay. We can catch up another time.” You smile at him and you could swear his cheeks flushed.

“I’ll be going. See you.” Namjoon stammers out, not even waiting for your response before he disappears from your sight.

The pregnant silence sets in between you and Taehyung, something heavy hangs in the air and you feel it, tapping your fingers on the counter to the rhythm of one of the ABBA songs, waiting impatiently.

Taehyung looks like he’s debating with himself in his head. You narrow your eyes. He’s adopted a face you know pretty well, too well even. He looks everywhere but keep avoiding your gaze. He wants to ask you something, you’re sure of it, but he doesn’t know how.

Finally, after a moment of awkward quietness, Taehyung finally opens his mouth. “So, here’s the thing,” he starts and you wait for the bomb to drop.

Last time when he approached you like that, he asked you if you would be down for a threesome with him and some guy he met on Tinder. Your eyes almost popped out of your head when you heard his blunt proposition. You were eating lunch at cafeteria and the words casually slipped from between his lips as he chewed on his egg sandwich, like he didn’t just propose you having sex with him and instead asked for a lift to home after work.

Taehyung begged you for a whole week, pleading and convincing it’ll be fun. When you eventually agreed (sex draught make people do stupid things), the other guy didn’t show up. You ended up drinking tequila shots with Taehyung that night in his apartment, and you can’t quite recall how it happened, but somehow you found yourself unzipping your friend’s pants and the rest is history. He passed out right after he came. Now when you think about it, you feel a sudden urge to ask him if he remembers that.

You will do it next time, you promise yourself.

Taehyung though doesn’t ask you about having a threesome or robbing Park Jimin’s house this time. His intentions are pretty much different.

“See, Namjoon split up with his girlfriend few weeks ago,” he says and you prick your ears. “He’s not in good condition right now, as you can see. It was a nasty break up, he found out she’s been cheating on him,” He lets out a long sigh. You bite your lip, imagining Namjoon’s disappointed face when he discovered the truth. What a bitch cheats on someone like him? “So, I thought maybe you could… cheer him up a little bit?” Taehyung ends hesitantly, with a glint of hope in his eyes.

You frown. Cheer him up? Did he just imply what you think about?

“Look, I get it, he’s sad and angry, but what the fuck, Taehyung? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to be his rebound? Make him forget?” you exclaim. Taehyung quickly shakes his head but you don’t let him say anything. “I feel sorry for Namjoon but I’m not going to take advantage of him when he’s literally still hurt.”

“No, it’s not like that!” Taehyung rushes to explain. “Well, maybe it sounded like that but I swear, I didn’t mean that!”

“Then what should I do? Wipe his tears? Tell him a joke? Or maybe-”

“Of course he wants you to suck his brother’s heartbroken dick, doll.”

A sudden, low voice interrupts your conversation. Your eyes follow the direction when it comes from, looking to Taehyung’s left where not even a meter away a very familiar grey-haired man with feline eyes sits.

“Min Yoongi,” you say matter-of-factly.

The leader of emendation team from Sunday’s Spirit editorial raises his hand in which he holds whiskey, greeting you and Taehyung. “Hello, doll. Hello, Taehyung,” he says, not even bothering to look at you.

You elbow Taehyung searching for explanation but he shrugs his shoulders, turning to face the man as well.

“First of all, since when do you call me ‘doll’? We have never spoken a word to each other. Secondly, how long have you been sitting here and listening?” you ask Yoongi.

He snorts, smirking. “Long enough to know how Taehyung comforts his brother after break up.” he simply answers and Taehyung’s cheeks blush in crimson at his words.

“You come here often? I’ve never seen you here before,” you continue, crossing your arms over chest.

Next to you Taehyung lets out a sigh. “Yes, he does. Albeit I haven’t seen him for a while here,” You look at him in confusion. “Yoongi-hyung is Namjoonie-hyung close friend from university days.” he clarifies.

You raise your eyebrows at that. “So Namjoon went to the same school as Park Jimin?”

“Not the same. We met under different circumstances.” Yoongi cuts in.

“They’ve been together in underground rap group, or some shit. Didn’t like each other at first but eventually stuck together till the end of studies.” Taehyung ends and grey-haired man nods.

You can’t help but chuckle at that.

“What’s funny in that?” Yoongi scowls.

“Nothing. I just imagined you and Namjoon in snapbacks, rapping about the unfairness of social hierarchy,” you say, grinning at him.

“Well, you may believe me or not, but we even made a mixtape.” Yoongi reveals proudly, taking a sip of his whiskey.

Your eyes widen in curiosity. “Then what happened? Why aren’t you in Seoul now, still producing music? Why do you work in this stupid newspaper and Namjoon’s a bartender?” you ask interrogatively.

“Life happened, doll. We didn’t have enough money to publish our works so we decided to quit it.”

“Oh,” you breathe out.

You could see the nostalgia written across Yoongi’s face. You feel sorry for him, for Namjoon. Everything is always about the money. That’s why you’re working in Sunday’s Spirit even though it was never your dream in first place. Even though you have much higher ambitions than being Ask and you shall find column author.

Ever since you were little, you loved writing. You never complained, not even once, when your teachers in school assigned you to write something. They kept saying you have an extraordinary talent and it would be a shame if you didn’t do anything with that.

During your high school years, you were the leader of school newspaper’s team, still writing your own works every time you didn’t have something different to do. After that, you got to the university in Seoul, your another dream came true. You got a master degree, an apprenticeship in the Korean version of highly popular, world-widely known magazine. And then, nothing. No job applications available. No newspapers or publishing companies wanting you, dismissing you right away because they didn’t have any vacant places.

This is how Sunday’s Spirit, even if that’s not your dream job, happened. And quite literally saved your ass.

“I’m sorry.” you say after a while.

Yoongi smiles but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Don’t be. What’s in past, stays in past.” he ends the conversation, drinking the rest of his whiskey.

You find this as a perfect possibility to do what you’ve come here for: get wasted, forget about this prick Park Jimin and his stupid assignment. You turn around on your stool to face the bar again, calling for the red-haired bartender named Hoseok who’s substituting Namjoon right now. You order a round of tequilla shots and quickly pours two of them in one go.

“Easy, tiger,” Taehyung teases, still sipping his pink drink as you wipe your chin with the back of your hand. Taehyung has stated a long time ago that he enjoys only casual drinking, which makes you and you lightweightness snort at him.

“Loser,” you mumble under your breath, deep down knowing you’re oh so much going to regret this after.

You focus your attention on the dancefloor now; technicolor lights glittering as the crowd of sweaty people bounce to old Madonna hits. You feel like your spirit might actually experience new kind of awakening during the chorus in Like a Virgin. You mouth the lyrics, the vodka already half-way to your bopping head. Your drunken self almost asks Taehyung and Yoongi if they would agree to be your backup dancers.

You eyes scan the room carefully and then, you spot him. He’s sitting in the corner, his arms splayed over the backrest of the red couch. A devil himself. A black horseman of the Apocalypse. A man who looks like every girl’s next mistake. Taylor Swift’s ‘we are never ever getting back together’.

A true sin.

Jet-black hair parted in the middle, onyx eyes and lucious smirk written across his lips as he bites them purposefully. He’s wearing a leather jacket and you wonder for a while if you would find inked tattoos on his body. He cocks his head to the side, his eyes glued to the same spot as he waits for something, or rather someone.

“Who’s that?” you ask, not even hiding your curiosity at this point.

Taehyung turns around as well, his eyes glancing to the dark-haired man briefly. “Ah, this, sweetheart, is Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin’s best friend.” he says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

You raise your eyebrows, watching as Jungkook’s face expression immediately changes when waitress approaches him. He says something to her that makes her roll her eyes. She tightens her grip around the tray she’s holding, asking him for his order.

“Don’t worry. You are not the only one thirsting over him. I would let him top me too,” Taehyung whispers to your ear and you flinch.

“I’m not thirsting over him! I came her for drinks, not to get laid, I told you.”

“Okay, okay, loosen up a little. Tequilla makes you aggressive. Besides, it looks like he’s got his pick for tonight.”

Jungkook stretches out his hand and fixes the waitress’ glasses that seem to rode down her nose a little. The girl frozes in place because of his action and he grins, calling her cute.

“He’s trying to ask her out for two months,” Yoongi interrupts suddenly, again. It looks like he has nothing better to do tonight. “I’m serious. He’s here every Friday. Normally, he would have given up after the second time she had rejected him but there’s might be something in this girl that makes his dick hard and his heart soft.”

Jungkook’s eyes girl’s body as she bends to pick up the glasses from other tables and maybe that’s the alcohol swimming in your veins but you could swear his face lights up when she sends him another irritated glare when he calls her name.

“Does Park Jimin comes here often as well?” you ask before you could stop yourself.

Both Taehyung and Yoongi shake their heads.

“I don’t think so. Jeon comes here because he lives nearby in this huge ass apartment complex. His father runs a chemical factory and he works there.” Taehyung explains.

Jeon? Chemical factory? Something clicks in your brain. Right, you know who his father is. The King of Washing Powder. Another rich as fuck Busan’s snob.

“God, I hate him. I fucking hate him. What a prick. Douchebag. Asshole of the century,” The string of profanities leaves poor waitress’ mouth as she walks to the counter with tray in her hands. “How’s your day, love? You look beautiful today, love. Fucking leave me alone, love!” she mutters to herself, taking the beer mugs from Hoseok abruptly which makes the bartender raise his eyebrows in confusion.

“How’s your assignment about Mary Magdalene going on, doll?” Yoongi asks then, startling you.

You roll your eyes at him. “I literally got it today, Yoongi. I haven’t started yet.” you answer, gulping another shot.

On the corner of your eye you see Yoongi’s smirking. “I’m surprised, to be honest. You aren’t the only one who doesn’t pay attention to shit Jimin’s says,” he trails off. “I work for him from the moment he started this ridiculous Bible lunch breaks and I swear, he’s never called out someone like that before.”

“What do you mean he’s never called out someone before?” Taehyung joins in curiously.

“Look, I slept through the majority of these sessions and Jimin knows it, but he has never lecture me about it,” Yoongi remarks. “Maybe you’re an exception. Or he’s become more strict because of this bitch Chin-sun.”

You furrow your eyebrows, confused. You know Chin-sun has been making heart eyes for Jimin for a long time but what why it might have an influence on his behavior?

“Lee Chin-sun? What the office’s Mary Magdalene has to do with that? Besides the fact that she’s drooling for his dick every time she sees him,” Taehyung snorts.

Yoongi chuckles lowly. “Oh, so you two really know nothing about what’s going on between them right now,”

“What’s going on right now? Spill.” Taehyung says abruptly. You sigh when you see the way his eyes flicker with mischeviousness. One thing Taehyung loves more than photography and fashion is gossiping (and dicks).

“First of all, Chin-sun is a fucking bigot. And well… she might be closer to being miss Park than we thought.” Yoongi muses.

Taehyung eyebrows practically disappear in his hairline. You’re sure you mirror his expression right now.

Yoongi asks Hoseok for another glass of whiskey and continues. “My friend Seokjin’s wife is Jimin’s personal assistant and secretary. She heard this and that, quite juicy things I must say,” he says in a lower tone, like he’s revealing government secrets to them. You lean closer into his direction along with Taehyung. “Chin-sun’s father recently bought the claims to the most popular, conservative TV station in whole South Korea. But, what is more interesting, it looks like Park senior has some shares in it as well.”

You’re astonished. You knew there’s something looming in the air but you didn’t expect this. A TV station? Even your slightly drunken brain can calculate it’s very interesting.

“So the marriage between Chin-sun and Jimin would be pretty convenient for their families, especially after considering the fact that Jimin is the heir.” Yoongi adds, gulping the first sip of his new whiskey.

“Poor Eunwoo,” you whisper to yourself.

“But why so soon? Why do they want to legalize their relationship so suddenly?” Taehyung asks.

Yoongi lets out a heavy sigh. “There’s a rumour going around that Jimin’s father isn’t in good condition right now. Seokjin-hyung mentioned something about the heart disease. So, if that’s really true, you have the answer why he wants his eldest son to settle down already. Everything’s about the money, I told you.”

Taehyung whistles. “Woah, so Mary Magdalene is really about to be CEO Jesus’ wife soon!” he exclaims, clapping his hands. “Brilliant. Finally something spicy is happening in this boring editorial.”

“I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic if I were you, Taehyung. This kind of business never ends well,” Yoongi says coldly, placing his glass on the counter and standing up from the stool. He glances at his watch and throws a few bills next to his empty glass. “I’ll get going. It was nice talking to you, doll.”

“What about me?”

“Shut up, Taehyung, you’re not pretty lady.”

“I feel offended.”

“And I don’t care,” Yoongi mutters. Maybe that was alcohol swimming in her veins but you saw Taehyung lifting the corners of his lips in amusement. Weird. “Good luck on your assignment, doll. See you all on Monday.” Yoongi glances to your way one last time, adjusting his jacket.

“Bye, Yoongi.” you wave to him and a small, even sincere smile appears on his face when he as well raises his hand lazily and leaves. “Why didn’t you tell me he’s actually nice, Tae? I was always too scared to start a conversation with him because I felt intimidated.” you say after a while.

“I’m sorry, should have I set you up for a date with him?” Taehyung mocks.

A groan escapes your lips. “Could you please stop insinuating things?”

“You need to get laid, seriously. Like soon-soon. You get easily irritated recently. You need a d i c k,”

“I don’t need a dick!”

“A cock, Y/N,” Taehyung emphasizes. “A penis in your precious vagina.”

“Shut up!”

Several shots and a few drunken dances to Cindi Lauper and Bon Jovi, you’re pretty much wasted. And maybe, just maybe, you need a dick. And Taehyung, like a dipshit he always is, thinks that’s actually funny.

“Don’t wanna homff,” you slur, supporting your weight on Taehyung’s arm that shakes with laughter at your drunken antics, as well as his whole body. “I wanna danfce witfh somebodyyy,”

“Holy Mother of Jesus, you must be really drunk if you started referring to Whitney Houston’s songs. And you smell like booze,” Taehyung mutters under his breath and you whine, tugging on his arm.

“TaeTae, Taehyungie, pffleasee, can we go back?”

Taehyung ignores your grumbling completely. He exists the bar, walking (or rather dragging) you to the cab. As he tries to push your body to the car, he sees in the corner of his eye Jeon Jungkook, standing in front of his black SUV. The waitress from earlier accompanies him as well. It looks like he’s trying to convince her to let him give her a lift to home. The girl shakes her head at first but eventually gives up, stepping into the car. Jungkook grins to himself then, clenching his fists in gesture of pure triumph.

“I fuckin’ hate Park Jimin and his stfupid newspaper,” you mutter incoherently as you bury your head in the crook of Taehyung’s neck in the back of the cab. Old, korean songs are playing in the radio when you’re driving back home. Taehyung smiles to himself, hearing your light snores. But then, he falters.

Ah, yes, he almost forgot. It is going to be a long way to the third floor of your apartment building.

Next day, you wake up in the middle of noon with raging headache and an abrupt need to throw everything up. Frankly speaking, you had worse hangovers during you university days but it doesn’t change the fact that the state you’re currently in still sucks.

“Oh, good God, what have I thought?” you mutter to yourself while standing in the shower, letting the water cool you down.

Truth to be told, a drinking escapade when you have a whole ass paper to write in two days wasn’t the smartest idea you could come up with. You know that for sure, when you’re sitting down in front of your laptop with prescription glasses on your face and a cup of tea in your hand.

There’s a blank document opened on the screen, with only your name written in the corner and the title in the middle. You feel pathetic and useless, staring at it for 30 minutes straight. If you keep sitting like this, you might actually call Park Jimin right now and beg him not to fire you due to your incompetence.

“Get your shit together, Y/N.” you say to yourself, clenching your fists.

At first you fought about making some mind-map, outlining the most important parts of your essay, as you always used to do when you were studying. But there’s a huge difference between what you’re working on right now and what you usually did during academic days. Above all, at that time you were writing about things you had more knowledge about, not about Mary Magdalene and her role in Jesus Christ’s life.

“Ah, fuck it.”

You open an online Bible page and quickly type ‘Mary Magdalene’ in browser. All fragments when she’s mentioned shows up in front of your eyes. You fix your glasses and before you could stop yourself, you whisper, “Let’s get it.”

You don’t know how much time has passed since you started reading, but when you glance a the clock it’s nearly 7pm.

You went through every single page in the Bible when Mary Magdalene appears or when for some reason her name comes up in conversations. You read two thesis in which you found quite interesting facts about the heroine of your work. Also, you watched some conspiracy theories on YouTube about her, in which people claim that she was actually Jesus’ wife. You were bewildered, even in your post-hangover state.

And after all of this researching, you have settled a plan. You’re a journalist for God’s sake, you’ve been writing your entire life and none assignment will break you. So you start typing on the keyboard, filling the blank document pages with words, hoping that Park Jimin will approve your efforts.

On Sunday, you look like a ghost.

You’re a mess, cured from hangover but still in bad shape, especially after spending the whole night writing in front of your laptop. There are bangs under your eyes and you hair looks like you could cosplay a scarecrow. Your eyes are sore from staring to the screen for so long and you feel like you might collapse anytime if you won’t drink coffee in five minutes.

In between writing next paragraphs, you answer a call from Taehyung.

“How’s your assignment going, sweetheart?”

You let out a long, exhausted sigh. “It’s fine, I guess.” you respond to him.

“That’s lovely! I knew you would slay this, babe,” you hear him saying.

“I’m not done yet, Tae. I still have like a half to write,” you mumble and then let out a yawn, closing your eyes for a brief second before you speak again. “I would love to talk to you more but I really need to get this shit done as soon as I can, so I could have some decent sleep before Monday. I don’t want to look like an old witch when I hand in the paper to Park Jimin.”

“I know, I know. You got this, sweetheart. I’m sure you will make Mister Prude’s dick hard because of this.” Taehyung assures you.

You crack a tired smile even though you know he doesn’t see you. “Thank you, Tae.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” he says and hangs up.

You take another gulp of your coffee and start writing again.

It’s a little past midnight when you’re, with your last amounts of force you posses, typing the last words of the paper. As you look at your laptop screen, eyelids half-closed, you dream about nothing but going to sleep.

You did that. You really did. You wrote this stupid paper for Park Jimin and you’re actually proud of it. You carefully save the document three times (to be hundred percent sure) and as soon as you close your laptop, you pass out.

Little did you know what is waiting for you in editorial in a few hours.

You stare at your reflection in small mirror you hold, thanking God that he has enlightened the person who discovered make-up. You won’t say you look stunning but, after five hours of sleep you had in last two days, you would risk it all and say you appear much more than decent looking. You’re wearing your new black jumpsuit that makes your legs look longer and you even used a different shade of lipstick, painting your lips in crimson red.

And all of this for nothing, because when you stormed into the Sunday’s Spirit editorial to give the paper straight to Park Jimin’s hands, his secretary with polite smile said he’s coming to work later today.

You pursued your lips and handed the woman your blood, sweat and tears (you’re actually sure a few tears rolled down from your face on the keyboard while you were writing it), wishing you saw your boss’ face when you place the printed pages on his expensive desk.

“I changed a little bit the topic of my work while I was outlining it,” you tell Taehyung as you both sit together by your desks later that day. “I focused more on a role of Mary Magdalene character in world ruled only by men. I showed how a powerful woman she was, standing at Jesus’s side even though the church for the centuries referred her to whore,” you explain.

“Wow,” Taehyung muses. “You turned Mary Magdalene into feminism icon fighting against patriarchy.”

“It’s not like that!” You hit him in the arm. “You may laugh as much as you want but I actually got into her story.”

Taehyung smirks. “Looks like being scolded by Park Jimin wasn’t that bad.”

You roll your eyes. “Shut up. I got humiliated in the middle of fucking cafeteria. I still hate him. And also, I don’t know what he thinks about my essay.” you say with a sigh.

“Don’t worry. He’s probably having an epiphany right now while-”

A voice from the speakers that certainly doesn’t sound like gospel choir interrupts him.

“Miss Y/N, please report to the Park Jimin’s office immadietly.”

“-or he isn’t.” Taehyung ends.

Once again, you’re frozen in place. It’s okay, you tell yourself, maybe he just wants to talk about my essay. But what if he didn’t like it? What if your sudden feminism outburst about Mary Magdalene was too much?

“Holy fuck.” you blurt out quietly.

Taehyung gives you an encouraging smile but he doesn’t look much convinced in positive intentions of summoning you to their boss’ office, he just doesn’t say it aloud. “Well, maybe it won’t be that bad! Maybe he wants to congratulate you,” he tries to comfort you, without success. You look horribly pale and scared to death.

“I repeat: miss Y/N, please report to the Park Jimin’s office immadietly.” Jimin’s stone cold voice pierce through the silence again. You shiver. The journalists in the editorial send you impatient glares.

“Whatever happens, remember that I love you.” Taehyung whispers, squizzing your hand, which makes you even more nervous. He gives you thumbs-up and you take a deep breath, trying to calm your trembling body. A whole Sunday’s Spirit team follow your movements with their eyes.

You stands from your desk on wobbly legs and walk to the door with golden sign hanging on its surface.

 Park Jimin

 Editor-in-chief

You take the knob in your shaking palm and twist, stepping into the lion’s den.

The atmosphere seems to shift when you walk into the room. You could hear your heart rapidly beating through the dead silence that lingers in Park Jimin’s office. “You wanted to see me, sir?” you ask after closing the door, subconsciously cursing yourself for sounding so weak already.

“Yes, have a seat,” Jimin says. “Give me a second. I need to finish something.” he adds when you sit down, not even bothering to spare you a look.

Jimin sits behind his desk, eyes glued to the computer screen. His hair is pushed back from his forehead, his jaw clenched. Oh, great, he looks pissed, you think to yourself.

He isn’t wearing his suit jacket like usually, which surprises you. His white shirt’s sleeves are rolled up, revealing a glimpse of veiny hands and his Rolex. This is the first time you see him like this. He looks so… unlike him.

Strange.

You use the time you have to take in your surroundings. Jimin’s office is painted in fair tone of grey. The rumors were actually right, there’s a smaller version of Michelangelo’s Pietà standing proudly on of the drawers. Behind the desk, on the wall, hangs a wooden cross with gold-plated figurine of Jesus Christ, and just underneath it there’s a framed picture of Lady of Fatima, which he once proudly showed to the whole editorial team on one of the lunchbreaks, saying his grandmother brought him this from her pilgrimage.

You focus your attention now on the wall filled with numerous diplomas and certificates, all of them signed with Park Jimin’s name.

You had read some of his works before you started your job in Sunday’s Spirit and you must admit: Park Jimin is a talented, smart journalist you aspire to be one day. It’s actually sad, you think, that he can’t pursue his career, wasting his abilities by working in catholic newspaper owned by his father. And as you know from Yoongi, his situation isn’t going to change soon. Maybe he was right after all. Money really does rule this world.

After a few minutes that seems to last forever, Jimin breaks the silence. “Do you know why are you here?” he asks, finally averting his attention to you. He stares so deeply into your eyes that you feel you might faint from the intensity of his aura.

You clear your throat, and then respond. “I do believe it’s about my paper I handed in to you this morning.”

Jimin raises his eyebrow at that. “Your paper? No, everything’s fine about it. I read it and I must say, you did a great job,” he says and you furrow your eyebrows. So if nothing’s is wrong with your essay then what does he want?

“Then… why did you call me in, sir?” you hesitantly ponder.

Jimin laces his fingers together and leans closer over the desk. “Well,” he begins, “Maybe you forgot or you really didn’t know about it, but I used to run the same column as you do now,” You nod your head, recalling what Taehyung told you recently. Jimin continues, “I was actually the one who created it. That means I am still, for this day, its administrator. Which leads to another conclusion: every single ask that is send to our editorial and your responses to them can be monitored by me.” he explains, gauging your reaction. You still don’t have an idea why is he telling you that, so you just sit still and wait.

Then, Jimin reaches for the paper that lays on the left side of his desk and hands it to you. “Could you please tell me what is this?” he asks, pointing at the paper.

You glance at it briefly. “These are the questions I got last week and my responses to them.” you reply straightaway.

Park Jimin doesn’t seem much satisfied after hearing your words. He then takes another paper and gives it to you as well. “And this particular one, Y/N? Could you please read it and tell me what is this?”

Ignoring his forego of ‘miss’, you take it to your hands and start reading.

Dear Sunday’s Spirit editorial,

My name is Kang Seoyeon. I study medicine at the University of Seoul, I’ve got an amazing group of friends and a loving boyf-

You gasp and immadietly put a palm over your mouth. Under Seoyeon’s ask there’s also, clear as day, your much inappropriate response to her. In which you persuade the girl to suck her boyfriend off.

Holy fuck. Jesus Christ. Shitshitshit!

Jimin said he monitors everything that people send to the editorial along with the responds. Of course he had to read it. Why have you been so dumb? How could you believe that simple deleting from your inbox would be enough? Why can’t you do something properly for once?

You gulp, trying not to cry because good God, he’s going to fire you. He will kick you out and write a bunch of negative letters to your future employees, in which he will explain in details how disobiedent, reckless of a worker you are.

“Did you also forget how to speak?” Jimin asks. You almost cry out right away from the coldness of his voice.

You muster up a courage and look at him, and that’s a huge mistake because as soon as your eyes meet his, you’re lost for words.”I-I don’t know what to say, sir,” you stammer out. “I have nothing for my defence. I can only apologize for my irresponsible and inappropriate behavior I exhibited.” you say, bowing your head down.

Jimin pursues his lips. He stands from his chair and walks to you, leaning his body on the desk. He takes the paper from you to his hands and starts reading. “If you want to fuck your boyfriend, do it. Maybe God wouldn’t approve that but don’t worry, he won’t send you to hell because of some dick in your pussy,“ he quotes your response to the girl and your cheeks flush in red; you wish nothing more than to disappear and never see your boss again. But he’s relentless and continues reading, spilling the crude words, humiliating you even more. “So you go girl, suck your boyfriend off. Make him beg. He will never leave you after this.“ Jimin chuckles to himself darkly and you shut your eyes. “Look at me when you are spoken to,” he demands. You quickly oblige, lifting your chin a little to meet his intense gaze. “Is that really how a good, catholic girl should act?” he asks in a mocking tone.

You shake your head. “No, it isn’t.”

Jimin clicks his tongue. “Do you think he really won’t leave her after this?” he asks out of the blue.

You furrow your eyebrows. What kind of twisted game is he playing now? “I don’t know, sir.” you answer honestly.

Jimin smirks. Devilishly, sultry and completely illegal. He then licks his lips and leans closer to you. You could swear his eyes are darken than before. Something has shifted in his demeanor; he looks daring. “Why don’t you show me then, how this poor girl should suck her boyfriend off, Y/N?” he whispers lowly.

Your eyes widen. Did he just-?

He didn’t. He can’t. Maybe you misheard him, maybe you started imagining things that aren’t real. Oh, sweet Lord, the look of absolute seriousness written on his face tells you very much different.

Park Jimin, your boss, the man who goes regularly on masses and reads Bible, wants you to give him a head. In his office.

May the God help you.

You should probably slap him in the face for his immoral proposition. You should save your dignity, leave and never come back again. But then, you clear your mind from all those twisted thoughts running through it and you realise that you’re walking on a very thin line. Line which is called unemployment and bankruptcy.

You think about your landlord who praised you recently for keeping up with rent every month regularly. You think about your student loans that you still need to pay.

And fuck, you hate Yoongi because he was damn right. Money wouldn’t buy you happiness, but it can provide you that.

That’s why you put away the humiliation, the what ifs. You shut your mind screaming at you and listing the future consequences. Maybe Jimin just tests you, but the way he looks at you denies it. He wants to see you on your knees in front of him. Perhaps he only wants to play before he fires you but you put that thought aside.

You at least need to try.

Jimin searches for any kind of protest in your eyes and when he doesn’t find it, he’s back to his domineering self. “What are you waiting for?” he asks, his voice an octave lower. “Get on your knees.”

He has a calm expression on his face and you wonder for a moment how many times has he been in similar situation before. Having a woman on his mercy and using her the way he likes. And now you know. All those stories you heard about, are actually true. Park Jimin isn’t a prude. He’s dirty.

You fall to the floor with a light whimper. Maybe it’s the last chance for you to leave, but the confidence that emanates from Jimin doesn’t falter your movements. You hate yourself for that but God, you want to see this man being a mess for your touch. Even if that’s fucked up.

And it’s wrong, so, so wrong, when there’s a cross hanging behind you, when he’s your boss who claims to be a good catholic, when you do that because you’re too afraid to lose your job. But in that moment, the morality doesn’t exist.

Jimin stands up to take his belt off, looking at you from the above as he slowly, purposefully pulls it from the belt loops. He doesn’t encourage you or say anything, he just waits. You gulp when he yanks his black slacks down, along with his underwear.

For a few, solid seconds, you just stare.

You aren’t a connoisseur of dicks. Dick is a dick, but Park Jimin’s length is just as perfect as the rest of him, semi-hard against his lower stomach. Your hands move to his sculpted thighs, running up and down, tracing the prominent lines of his toned abdomen. The muscles tense underneath your touch.

You don’t remember when was the last time you’ve gone down on someone. Maybe it was Taehyung few months ago when you were both too drunk to care? You can’t quite recall. Every move of yours is uncertain, but Jimin doesn’t mind. Maybe your uncertainty turns him on even more.

He watches as you take him in your palm hesitantly, hot and already stiff, stroking him several times until he hardens in your hand. The sight is purely erotic, filthy, and you lick your lips before placing a light kiss on his tip. Jimin hisses. That’s a warning. No teasing.

You pump him, trailing a thumb over his slit, spreading precum all over his cock. Jimin doesn’t say anything but from the shuddering breath he lets out you assume he likes it. You take a deep breath, wrapping your lips around his dick and swirling your tongue around the head.

Jimin groans, a guttural sound resonating through his whole body and you take it as a sign to continue. You ease more of him into your mouth, hollowing your cheeks and bobbing your head up and down around his length obediently. Some twisted and fucked-up part of you wants him to praise you, call you good girl with your lips around his dick and throbbing core. He does none of that. His hands tangle in your hair as he withdraws, and you know exactly what’s coming next.

It’s an unspoken question on his lips and your jaw falls slacks on command.

A forceful push of his hips and he’s burried deep inside your mouth till he hits the back of your throat. Tears brim in your eyes and you gag, breathing heavily through your nose. It hurts a little, a dull ache but the content sigh and fucked-out expression on Jimin’s face is worth it. So you let him fuck your mouth the way he wants, let him pull your hair harder, wreck you a little more. It’s so easy to submit to him, to let him overwhelm you in every sense possible.

Your eyes fall shut and Jimin stops his movements, pulling from your mouth. Drool dribbles down your chin and you wipe it with the back of your hand. Jimin lets out a shaky breath, staring down at you so intensely it makes your insides tighten, even if you don’t see him yet.

“Look at me,” he rasps and you do, how could you not. The sight of your boss’ flushed cheeks and sweat forming on his forehead will be imprinted in your mind forever.

You curse yourself for wanting him to fuck you senseless right against his deck, with a hand around your throat muffling your screams, fuck you so hard you won’t remember your name anymore, no matter how wrong it is.

“Good girl. You’re so pretty like this, letting me fuck your mouth,” Jimin nothing but purrs, filling you to the brim again, until there are tears forming in your eyes and running down your cheeks, until he hits the base of your throat again and again and you fight back choked gags every time. “Just like that, fuck-” he moans, lowly and beautifully, head thrown back and mouth parted.

He’s close, you could feel that, so you take him deep once again and when your throat tightens around him one last time, he lets out a gutural groan and comes. You swallow every drop of his bitter release and when he pulls out from your mouth, you nearly fall forward.

Jimin catches you, placing his hands on your shoulders, balancing your exhausted body. You look at him through your half-lidded eyes. He looks so young now, so innocent, his cold demeanor’s gone and replaced by pure bliss written on his face. For Park Jimin, cheeks rosy, disheveled hair and loosen tie, you would do it all over again.

He then does something unexpected. He reaches for your face, brushing your tangled hair away and placing the strands behind your ears. This is a loving gesture, something exclusive he definitely shouldn’t be doing. You’re frozen, you can’t move a muscle while he wipes your cheeks from the reminiscences of your tears. He trails his thumb over your swollen lips absentmindedly, faltering there. For a moment he looks like he might say something, but he quickly shuts his mouth, regaining his previous posture.

You take this as a sign to leave. You get up from the floor, your knees sore from the uncomfortable position you’ve been in. You walk to the mirror that hangs on the wall of Jimin’s office. You sigh, seeing your current state. There’s no way someone would believe you that you haven’t just sucked a dick.

Your cheeks are flushed in pink, there are smudges of mascara under your eyes and your lipstick is smeared in the corners of your mouth. Not to mention your hair is still a mess.

You are painted in all shades of wrong.

In the reflection of the mirror you see Jimin buckling up his belt and straightening his tie. He runs a hand through his blond locks and looks up, catching you staring at him. You quickly look away.

“Don’t worry. No one will notice anything. Everyone should be off for their lunchbreaks by now.” he says. He sounds so pathetically normal, yet there’s still a slight rasp in his voice.

You glance at the watch on your hand and check the time. It’s a little past 12. You brush your hair with your fingers quickly and proceed to leave, but you stop, remembering you have to ask about one last thing. You turn around to face him.

“Are you going to write a bad opinion about me to my future employees?” you ask, flinching at the hoarseness of your voice.

Jimin raises his eyebrows. “Bad opinion? No, absolutely not,” he answers, shaking his head. “I was never going to fire you in first place.”

You fight back the shocked expression that threatens to appear on your face. You quickly rush to leave this damn office and never look in his eyes ever again. What were you even thinking?

“And Y/N,” Jimin’s voice makes you stop with your hand hovering over the door knob. Single tear rolls down your cheek and you gulp. “I’m sorry.” it’s all he says.

You don’t ask him what he meant by that. You don’t deliberate if he was sincere or not. You leave the office as soon as you can, running to the nearest bathroom, closing the door behind you and leaning on it.

He wasn’t going to fire you. He just wanted to use you, demand to get down on your knees and please him the way he wants. It was all a game for him, and you became his plaything.

“I’m so stupid,” you mutter to yourself, burying your head in your hands. “God, I’m so stupid.”

You feel sick, used, but at the same time you can’t get away with creeping feeling that you enjoyed it, wishing he wanted you just as much as you wanted him in that moment.

You sigh, closing your eyes. You’re probably foolish for thinking it won’t have any consequences. You’re just about to face them.

The coldness of early Spring hits you when you exit Sunday’s Spirit editorial. You hug your body tighter with your coat, standing in front of the building awkwardly. You take a few deep breaths, trying to clear your mind, but nothing really works. There’s a vacant space inside your body, like your soul has drifted away and left nothing but emptiness.

You feel hollow.

You don’t know how long have you been standing there, inhaling fresh air and waiting for your blood to start circulating properly in your veins again. When you’re about to head to the underground station, on the corner of your eye you see Jimin’s black Mercedes. You probably shouldn’t stare but you helplessly do.

Probably if you didn’t, it would hurt less.

He approaches the car, looking perfectly fine as always, which you couldn’t say about yourself. And he isn’t alone.

You recognize dark curls of Chins-sun’s hair, contrasting her beige coat beautifully. The corners of Jimin’s lips lift when he sees her. You don’t know if it’s a honest smile or a forced one. You wonder for a while how does he look like when he’s truly happy. Maybe he’s happy now, when Chin-sun is by his side.

What you are really sure about Park Jimin, is that he’s a man of many maybes.

Something which definitely doesn’t look forced are his palms, cupping the cheeks of Chin-sun’s flushed face. He starts tracing circles on her skin in intimate gesture and murmurs something. Maybe he asks her how was her day. Your lips still tingle where he trailed his thumb over it bitten, swollen surface. Maybe he still remembers how they felt around his cock when he was relentlessly bringing tears to your eyes and stabs to your heart.

The way he leans and kisses Chin-sun’s cherry colored lips is purposeful, perfectly measured. Maybe he sighs into her mouth with content, a beautiful sound you have witnessed with your own ears, as you were working him to his climax. Jimin’s hands grip Chin-sun’s dark locks but it isn’t the similar manner he did to you earlier, as he laced his fingers through the strands, when you wished him to do nothing more than pull harder and harder, until the pain in you scalp was replaced by dull ache, until a whimper fell from your lips and eyes squeezed shut. He kisses Chin-sun lovingly and there’s no roughness in that. It’s gentle caresses and soft murmurs.

After a moment he breaks off, soothing his palms over Chin-sun’s shoulders. She sends him a smile and opens the passenger’s door, getting into the car. And then, when you swallow a lump in your throat, when you decide to turn around and go, run as fast as you possibly can, when you dream about nothing more but never seeing him again, you catch eyes with him.

Jimin looks pathetically apologetic. There’s something in his dark brown orbs you can’t read. Maybe it’s guilt, maybe regret. Park Jimin is a man of many maybes, yet he stares at you with expression you could only mistaken for sadness.

You wonder if he sees the way your eyes stare at him blankly. You wonder if he knows how he nearly wrecked your body and made you feel things you shouldn’t. If he hurts the same way as you do now. However, Jimin quickly diverts his head away from you, closing the door to his car behind him as well. You laugh quietly at the ridiculousness of this situation. A bitter laugh that escapes your mouth and deepen the hollowness inside you.

A hand touches your arm and you don’t even flinch, knowing already who it is.

“So you know the news,” Taehyung says, looking at Jimin’s car leaving the parking lot. How long has he been standing behind you?

“What news?” you ask, turning your head to look at him.

“Chin-sun is really going to be miss Park officially,” he replies. “Jimin proposed to her this weekend. The wedding is in may. But that’s not important right now. How’s your conversation with him, sweetheart?”

You feel sick. You excuse yourself, mentioning something about needing to catch earlier train and texting him later. Taehyung calls after you but you don’t listen. You start running.

You run until you couldn’t breathe, until there’s a soreness in your throat from the coldness of air. You run until you reach your apartment, stumbling into it on wobbly legs. Your back touches the wall and you slide off, sitting on the floor.

You don’t cry. The tears don’t strain your eyes. It’s only this damned, dull hollowness.

There’s written in the Bible that a guilty person is the one who broke God’s law, who committed a sin. The said person will be judged by their actions after their death. Because every human being has a conscience, the thing that sets the line between good and bad, so when we did something wrong, we should feel remorse.

When you sit on the floor and stare blankly in front of yourself, you know you have sinned.You both did. You wonder if he, trailing patterns of tender touches on his fiancee’s skin, feels the same as you. You wonder if guilt eats him up as much as devours you. Maybe there’s hollow ache in his chest, just like in yours. Maybe he doesn’t feel anything.

And may the God help you both find your redemption.

[girlsluvbot]

MATCHMAKER pt.1

pairing: roseanne park × fem! reader

genre: fluff, angst

about:

matchmaker /ˈmatʃmeɪkə/

noun

a person who arranges marriages or initiates romantic relationships between others.

"an enthusiastic matchmaker who continually tried to pair off the difficult bachelor with unattached ladies"

a/n: i'm back!!! hehe this goddamn thing took so long to write, i both despise and adore it with every fibre of my being. enjoy my blood, sweat and tears in the form of a fic.

You loved your job. Very few people are lucky enough to be able to relate to that statement, and you were thankfully one of them. Hell, not only did you love your job, you were extremely good at it.

Since you were a little kid, writing nas always been your biggest passion. Wether it was writing short stories, poems or essays about the french revolution, you were always happy when you were able to put your feelings and thoughts onto paper. This was the main reason why you became the manager of your local newspaper during middle school, high school and eventually even university.

You've won multiple writing contests and even people who had no idea what your name was knew one thing about you: you were an amazing writer.

Years of practice, your impeccable set of skills and a recommendation letter from your university professor secured you a job at Vogue almost immediately. After all this hard work, you finally achieved everything you were looking for. You were truly happy.

Until this very moment.

"Well, I don't know," the woman sitting in front of you made a disgusted grimace, "it just lacks any emotion whatsoever. I've quite literally never read something so stiff and akward."

And here they were. The first words of criticism you have ever recieved. You were so used to everyone praising your work, you didn't know how to react or respond.

Three months ago, you would have never gotten into a similar situation: simply because there was nothing about your work to critize. But a lot has changed in the past few weeks, and not exactly in the good kind of way.

When you first joined Vogue, you were the head editor and journalist of the spread dedicated almost entirely to interviews. Thats what you did, talked to celebrities and wrote about them. And that's what you were good at, almost too good.

Just a year after working in the magazine you got promoted. You were still the head editor, but now of a completely different part of the journal: one dedicated to a single topic. Love. This was bad news, very bad news.

Why, you ask? The reason was fairly simple but no less embarrassing. Even as the head editor of a spread all about love, you've never experienced it yourself. In other words, you've never been in love. And how are you supposed to write about something you know nothing about?

Your boss looks at you and shakes her head. She reaches for the stack of papers on the table in front of her and starts reading, "For example; 'His lips brushed against mine. They were soft. The kiss was short but sweet. I loved it.' What the actual heck? I kiss my cat more passionately than this." she took off her glasses and started massaging the crook of her nose.

"Listen, Y/N, I've read your previous pieces and they were simply wonderful. But this? I don't even know what else to say without hurting your feelings."

"I'm so sorry. I know, it's just that I dont have much experience in said area." you don't finish the sentence, hoping she somehow gets the memo. She doesn't.

"What area?"

"Love. I dont have much experience with love." you blurt out the words that have been on your mind nonstop since the day of your promotion.

"Oh, you poor thing" she leans back in her chair, her eyes scanning your every move, "Isn't that unfortunate."

You nod your head slowly, trying not to get offended at her words full of pity.

"How are you supposed to write romance stories then? This won't work." the woman grabs a post-it note

"Are," your voice cracks in the middle of the sentence, "Are you firing me?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I'm not," she hands you the piece of paper with a phone number, "We just have to improvise for the time being. Do you know Roseanne Park? She's the manager of our Matchmaker spread. You can be her assistant for the next few months, help her around, learn a thing or two. Hopefully your writing wont be so...bland after."

To be completely honest, you didn't handle changes well. Maybe that's why you were standing in front of your new, and hopefully temporary, bosses office, trying to build up the courage to knock on her door.

One of the reasons why you were so nervous was that Roseanne Park, the manager of the Vogue Matchmaker was insanely attractive. Admittedly, you did some online stalking the night before- okay, a lot of it. Here's the thing; you were a planner. Whether it came to your career, writing or even relationships, you liked to beprepared.

That's why after a few hours spent on the internet, you knew everything. The name of her sister (Alice Park), if the had a pet (yes, a fish named Joohwangie) and who her favorite band was (The 1975).

You weren't usually like this, so head over heels for a girl you haven't even met. But your writing, the reason you were here in the first place, didn't usually suck so after all, some things really do change easily.

Just as you reached for the dark wooden door in front of you, it opened before your hand could even touch it's sleek surface.

"Oh!" the tall woman stopped in her tracks. Thanks to your thorough internet digging, you instantly recognized her. Roseanne Park. Your new boss. A 'matchmaker' if you will.

"You must be Y/N! I've heard that you're going to be my assistant for a bit." your cheeks heated up for no apparent reason. Did she know the reason why you got transferred here so quickly? Every molecule in your body wished and prayed to every possible god out there that she didn't.

"Yeah, that's me!" you finally composed yourself enough to speak, but that didn't mean your voice didn't sound like one of a twelve year old boy going through puberty- high pitched and squeaky.

You examined her face more in depth, and realized quite a few things:

She was somehow even prettier in real life. How? you had no idea. Some people just really won the genetics lottery, you thought.

Her hair was red. Like undeniably, undoubtedly red. In all of the pictures you found yesterday it was either brown or black, so this change caught you off guard. You couldn't complain though, because this girl looked like a hotter version of Ariel with a much better sense in fashion (and music).

"Have you been standing out here for too long?"

"Oh no, I just arrived." lying has never been so easy.

"Great! I'm gonna go downstairs to grab a package but you can look around the office while I'm gone," she opened the door a bit to let you walk in.

You did as she told you and entered the room. The door closed behind you without you noticing, the only thing you could focus on was this girl's office. It looked just like you would imagine heaven to look like- full of light, white furniture and expensive looking leather couches.

There were pictures everywhere: a dozen of four young girls (one of them being Roseanne), a few more of her with famous celebrities and one of a familiar looking face- her sister.

You carefully walked towards the table in the middle of the room, not wanting to damage anything. You noticed quite a bit of unexpected clutter, and above everything a print of the brand new Vogue issue. A woman on the cover flashed you a beautiful smile as you picked it up. The headline stated: Kim Jisoo talks acting, NYFW and love.

You flipped the glossy magazine pages to find the spread dedicated to said interview and noticed just what you were looking for: the author of the article. The credits at the bottom of the page revealed a nice surprise- Author; Roseanne Park.

"Well what do you think? Is it a good article?" your soul almost left your body when you realized who was standing next to you. You quickly put the magazine down, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to touch your stuff. I just saw the cover and..."

"Oh my gosh, are you kidding? That's completely okay, I don't mind." she pointed to the journal, "That interview is actually one of the favorite pieces I ever wrote, and not just because it's about Jisoo. Plus, my friend took the pictures, so it was extra fun." She opened the spread again and pointed to a name credited right next to hers, Photographer; Lalisa Manoban.

"Oh wow. I've seen her pictures before, they're really good. I with I could take photos like that. Seriously."

Here's one thing to note: when you're nervous, you ramble. Like a lot. Some people would say its better than staying silent, but let's be honest- it's like stepping into a puddle instead of mud. Not a disaster, but there's still plenty to complain about.

Thankfully, Roseanne only giggled, "I know exactly what you mean. I hope you'll get to work with her someday."

You both stared at the magazine spread for a second before Roseanne broke the silence.

"But now, let's get to bussines. Sit down please, this might take a while," she pointed tkwards one of the leather couches you noticed earlier and took a seat at the other side of the table.

"So, as you probably already know, my name is Roseanne Park. As a manager of Matchmaker, my job is to read these letters," she grabben a handful of papers for emphasis, "and respond to them, give advixe basically. The title 'Matchmaker' comes from the fact that the majority of the letters talk about love. Any questions so far?"

When you shook your head no, she continued, "As my assistant, your job is fairly simple. You're going to sort and read through the hundreds of letters I recieve weekly and pick the most interesting ones for me to feature. And occasionally, you might accompany me to a few interviews. Sounds good?"

You slowly nodded, processing all the new information. Letters, answers, interviews and a hot boss. That doesn't sound so bad.

"Great. So Y/N," she suddenly stood up, "Would you mind going with me to Subway? I'm starving."

By the time you were finished with lunch, you had a new point to add to your list of realizations about your new boss:

She loves food, and by loves I mean LOVES.

The moment you arrived at the restaurant, food was the only thing she would talk about. She told you about what she had for dinner and breakfast, what kind of snacks she hid in the office and what kind of salad she was getting alongside a baguette.

After she actually managed to get a bit of calories into her system (thanks to a foot-long chicken turkey sandwich) the conversation finally got more interesting.

Don't get me wrong, you could listen to this girl talk for hours, no matter the topic. But after listening to a thirty minute long monologue about why pineapple pizza is the best thing ever invented, even you have reached your limit.

"So," you start, in an effort to break the ice, "how long have you been working at Vogue?"

She squints at the toast in front of her, trying to remember, "About five years? Yeah, it's gonna be five years in May."

"Oh wow, that's impressive."

She tilts her head, "Is it? I mean, when you work as often as I do, time just goes by. I don't even remember the last time I went out with my friends to discuss something that wasn't work related."

You pout, regretting the choice to ask her about work.

"But at the same time, I love what I do so I can't really complain. What about you though? Why did you decide to become a journalist?"

"Oh, I started just a year ago. And I studied literature, so I guess becoming a journalist made sense."

"Why did you study literature then? There's so many other better paying jobs out there."

"I don't think anyone works in such a field for money, that's for sure," you try to lighten the atmosphere, "Well, my mom wanted to become a writer, but she got pregnant before she could finish her book and she's been pretty much busy ever since. I guess her love for books kind of rubbed off on me."

Roseanne nods, to let you know she's listening. "I'm glad you and your mom have such an important aspect of your lives in common. My mother wanted me to become a lawyer, I doubt she's ever read even a single fiction book in her entire life."

"What does she think about your job now?"

Her lips tighten and she crosses her arms. "I don't know. I haven't talked to her since," her eyes seem empty, their signature spark gone. You can tell you struck a nerve. "I haven't talked to her since I moved out."

"Well, I'm sure that she's proud of you," you can't help but add.

Rosie lets out a dry laugh, "You don't know my mother then," she slowly pushes her plate away, "I think I'm full so I'm gonna head back to the office."

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut. You learned this the hard way.

You head back after your lunch break ends, alone. Even though Roseanne walked you through everything she expects you to help around with, you know that your job doesn't start and end with sorting through letters.

You softly knock on the office door before heading in. She's already sitting there, behind her desk. Without looking up from her laptop, she scoffs, "You're late."

"It's just five minutes," you shrug, not taking her tone seriously. Finally, she raises her sight to meet yours. Even without her saying anything, you understand. Do not play around with fire.

You mumble an apology and quickly run to the small hallway at the other side of the room which leads to your own (significantly smaller) office.

"What makes you think I'm done?" Turning around, you notice that her eyes are piercing through your back. Unsure of what she expects you to do, you walk back in front of her.

"While you were out there doing god knows what for two hours," you resist the urge to roll your eyes, "I already did your job and sorted through the letters. You're welcome."

She walks around the table and pushes a thick stack of papers against your chest, "That means you'll be doing my job and write replies to them. Can you handle that?"

You try not to show her how terrified you are. You? Giving relationship advice? Sounds like a recipe for a royal disaster. Instead, you rise your chin and smile, "Yes ma'am."

She visibly winces at the formal title, but still nods and returns to her seat. You take this as a sign to head back to your spot and do your job. Well, her job for now.

You sit down calmly and shuffle through the papers, trying not to look too freaked out. What the heck are you going to do now?

A quick peek at your boss reveals that she's either busy with work or just flat out ignoring you.

Trying to remain collected, you pick out the top letter from the pile. The first paragraph reads:

Hi Rosie! I'm a huge fan of your Matchmaker spread :) I never thought I'd be the one writing you a message but here we are hahaha. (Let's hope this gets featured!)

You roll your eyes but continue reading,

Me and my boyfriend have been dating for just about two months and I would describe our relationship as 'lowkey'. We first met at a bar a last year but we surprisingly didn't immediately hit it off.

With a raised eyebrow you skip over a page full of sappy descriptions and relationship stories, before getting to the end of the letter.

So what should I do? He's really sweet but I'm not sure if I'm ready to meet his family just yet.... please help! Love, Courtney.

You fold the paper back to it's original state with a quiet gulp. What on earth did you get yourself into?

[shraddhamatre]

Getting the Most Out of the RRB JE Exam: A Complete Guide to Success

A famous and tough test, the Railway Recruitment Board Junior Engineer (RRB JE) exam provides doors to profitable professions in the Indian Railways. The competitive nature of the engineering roles attracts aspirant candidates from throughout the nation, making the preparation process demanding and fulfilling. This blog article offers a thorough tutorial on passing the RRB JE test, along with advice on how to improve your chances of success and insights into the exam format.

Comprehending the RRB JE Exam Structure It's important to acquaint oneself with the test pattern before starting to prepare. The Computer Based Test (CBT) Stage 1 and Stage 2 are the two phases of the RRB JE test. Math, General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, and General Science make up the first four components of CBT. There will be a 90-minute time limit and 100 total points awarded. This phase is mostly concerned with evaluating the candidates' ability and fundamental comprehension.

Phase Two of CBT: This second phase is more technical and consists of five sections: Technical Abilities, Basics of Computers and Applications, Physics and Chemistry, General Awareness, and the Basics of Environment and Pollution Control. There are 150 total points available, and the length is 120 minutes. The purpose of this step is to evaluate the candidate's technical expertise and domain-specific abilities.

Practical Strategies for Preparation

1) Know the Syllabus Inside and Out: Reading over the syllabus cover to cover is the first step in preparing for any exam. Compile a comprehensive list of subjects for every segment and allot time according to the importance of each topic and your level of expertise in it. 2) Make a Study Schedule: When getting ready for competitive tests, consistency is essential. Create a realistic study plan with daily, weekly, and monthly objectives. Make sure to allot time for every segment, paying particular attention to regions in which you require development.

3) Practice Frequently: To strengthen ideas and increase accuracy and speed, practice frequently is necessary. To boost confidence and lessen exam anxiety, solve previous year's question papers, take online practice exams, and practice topic-wise questions. 4) Pay Attention to Weak Areas: Determine your areas of weakness and commit to improving them. Spend more time learning the concepts in Physics and Mathematics, whether it's a specific topic in these subjects. If necessary, look for assistance from study groups, coaching programs, or internet resources.

5) Keep Up with Current Events: A big part of the RRB JE test is the General Awareness component. Keep abreast on current events, particularly those pertaining to national and international affairs, railroads, and science and technology. You may keep updated by reading newspapers, visiting reliable news websites, and doing online tests. 6) Time Management: Effective time management is essential for both exam preparation and real administration. To increase your speed, practice answering questions in the allotted amount of time. Prioritize questions you know the answers to during the test, and don't spend too much time on difficult ones.

Last Words

An exciting career in the Indian Railways may be accessed via passing the RRB JE test. You can pass the test and land your ideal job if you have a disciplined study schedule, regular practice, and an optimistic outlook. Recall that your greatest partners on this road will be persistence and determination. I hope your preparation goes well!

Start Your Preparation With: https://gameacademy.in/ / https://clppenny.page.link/cTBm

Recommended: https://www.youtube.com/@gblions / https://www.youtube.com/@gblionsaeje 

[presidentrhodes]

iron husbands?

yaaaaaas thank u ❤️❤️❤️

who’s the werewolf and who’s the hunter

tony is the hunter; he comes from a long family of hunters who hunted werewolves in europe and then crossed the pond to come to the us. rhodey is heir/alpha to one of the royal bloodlines and centuries of survival instincts carved into his very dna has taught him to keep a low profile. rhodey's kept an eye on tony since college because their respective bloodlines have a long, bloody history. when wolves start turning up dead, rhodey assumes tony must be responsible, so he shows up in new york, ready to put tony's entrails on display in time square as a statement to the humans. except, to his surprise, he finds out tony has not only left his family's bloody history behind in the past, he's become a vocal activist campaigning for the rights of magical creatures in the country, including the werewolves. cue, rhodey and tony team up to find out who's killing the wolves and take them down; in the process, they obviously fall in love.

who’s the mermaid and who’s the fisherman

tony is the mermaid; he's been cast out of his family because of a mistake that got many merpeople and other marine creatures killed. he's been struggling to survive in the vast depths of the ocean, depressed, lonely and almost going out of his mind. one day, he sees a fishing boat capsize; while the land breathers are obviously an enemy, he ignores his basic survival instincts to help the fisherman struggling to stay afloat in the rough waters. tony brings the fisherman to a nearby island, with lots of greenery in the middle and no humans on it, and tends to his wounds (a broken arm, cuts and bruises etc). when the fisherman comes to, tony learns his name is rhodey and that, like him, he had also been cast out of his family and has nowhere else to go; that's why rhodey had set off for the ocean, hoping the waters would take him somewhere new. tony proposes that given their similar situation, they can begin their life anew on the island. and rhodey agrees.

who’s the witch and who’s the familiar

tony's the witch, rhodey is the familiar. tony spent the first 20 years of his life thinking he didn't have magic, even though everyone in his family is a witch or a warlock. rhodey's an animagus; his animal form is a grey wolf, and he had been with tony since he was a puppy and tony an infant. one day, tony is being chased by a wendigo and rhodey leaps in front of it to save tony's life, getting seriously wounded in the process. tony panics because rhodey's literally bleeding out in his arms and he summons every last bit of strength and wills rhodey's wounds to close shut. they do; and suddenly tony feels the magic surge through his veins, beat against his pulse and thrum in his ears. rhodey's wounds heal completely within minutes and tony, with his newfound powers, drags his best friend and familiar to the nearest bar for a celebratory drink because "fuck you, howard, i'm a witch."

who’s the barista and who’s the coffee addict

tony is the barista. he runs a small coffee shop that fits barely 10 people indoors and business has been bad ever since a fancier café opened across the road. tony knows he's going to probably have to close down soon and move out of the city because he can no longer afford rent. one night, right before he's about to close for the day, a tired businessman comes stumbling in and offers a $100 bill for a cup of coffee. tony notices how distressed and tired the man looks, so he lets him in and makes him a strong cup of coffee and warms up some meat pie, which the latter accepts gratefully. he finds out that rhodey's under a lot of stress because the board of directors at his company is trying to oust him from power. tony lends rhodey a listening ear that he desperately needs and they stay there in the café until 3am. from next day onwards, rhodey becomes a regular patron at the café, but business still dwindles until one day, tony puts up a notice outside informing customers that he will close down by the end of the week. rhodey doesn't show up for the next several days and tony assumes he probably gets his coffee from the other café now; until, on friday, as tony's about to close his outlet for the final time, rhodey shows up and hands him a stack of papers: it's the purchase deed for the space across the road. turns out, rhodey made the other café owner an offer they couldn't turn down. rhodey tells tony that he quit his job as ceo of his company and asks tony if he wants to be business partners. within a month, they're running the café from across the road and business has never been better; tony still works as barista from time to time even though they now have 10 full-time staff and rhodey's already talking about plans to create more franchises across the country. at some point, they evolve from being just business partners to...well, partners.

who’s the professor and who’s the TA

tony's the TA/PhD candidate and rhodey's the professor. they are both astrophysicists by training and they study pulsars for research. needless to say, their academic opinions differ plenty and whenever tony isn't marking problem sets and rhodey isn't lecturing young, impressionable minds, they're arguing about pulsars and what they can tell the world about matter and the existence of other exo-planets over a night cap. tony is envied by the other doctoral candidates in his year because he gets to spend so much time in professor rhodes' proximity (hello??? hot, youngish professor who's super accomplished, super smart, has some graying hair, wears tight polos and black-rimmed glasses? fucking hell...) in this instance tony's like 29, rhodey's about 34.

who’s the knight and who’s the prince(ss)

rhodey's the knight and tony's the prince. here's the backstory: tony's mum was king howard's first wife. when howard remarried, he had another son, prince arno. per the kingdom's rules on succession, you can only ascend the throne if you're of pure royal blood. tony's mum was a commoner, so she was never afforded the royal title of queen, whereas howard's second wife was a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. that said, king howard wants tony to inherit the throne, something that many of his close advisors as well as arno and his mother refuse to accept. they see tony as an impediment and when howard falls ill, numerous attempts are made on tony's life. tony is obviously very booksmart and he excels at strategy, which is why howard wants him to be king. when howard senses a possible civil war could be brewing in the kingdom, between supporters who want tony to be king and those who'd prefer arno, he calls aside a young knight, sir james, and makes him swear on his life to protect tony. (howard knew tony and rhodey had been childhood friends, which is why he approached him in the first place) when shit hits the proverbial ceiling, rhodey protects tony from all manners of assassination attempts until arno and his mother are finally thwarted and kicked out of the kingdom. tony becomes king and rhodey becomes his most trusted advisor, friend, confidante, and general. basically, tony hands the keys of the kingdom to rhodey and relies on him and his decisions to run it.

who’s the teacher and who’s the single parent

tony teaches kindergarten and loves his young charges very much. one day, they're joined by a shy, quiet new student, lila, and her overly anxious uncle, james. tony tries to reassure rhodey that lila, who had just lost her parents, would be fine and that he'd make sure she isn't being bullied or harassed for being the new kid. as the term progresses, lila slowly comes out of her shell; she makes friends, she loves recess, she loves colouring, and she is good with numbers. every week tony calls his kids' parents to update them on their children; his conversations with rhodey, however, last twice as long and become twice as frequent, until one day rhodey invites tony to lila's birthday party. tony isn't sure how to read into this: the other parents have never really invited him to their kids' birthdays and yet he doesn't want to turn down the invitation from the rhodes' (mostly because he doesn't want to upset young lila). though nothing happens at the birthday party, rhodey keeps asking him out. it starts under the pretext of wanting to know how lila is doing and morphs into them just spending time together until tony impulsively kisses rhodey on the day of lila's graduation to k2. with lila no longer his student, tony asks rhodey out on a proper date and soon he's spending his weekends at the rhodes' place until about a year later, he moves in with rhodey and lila.

who’s the writer and who’s the editor

rhodey is the editor for the opinions section in one of the top newspapers; he has a pretty fierce reputation of being a hardass editor who would chew and spit out anyone making rookie mistakes in the entire newsroom. new writers and reporters basically cower in fear; tony's an established hotshot columnist who's been headhunted from a rival paper to write a weekly political column. he is pretty well-known among politicos and is well read by a loyal audience, both offline and online. tony is basically used to getting his way until he submits his first copy for edit and rhodey returns it, each page crossed out in red, and with a remark on the final page that read: our company motto may be all news fit to print, but i am not letting this garbage print. tony is furious. how dare someone call his columns garbage when the news organisation is literally paying him a six-figure salary to write them. he marches up to rhodey's office and barges in, ready to fight. but he stops on track and blushes when he realises this asshole editor is the same handsome college senior that tony had a short, deeply physical relationship with almost 20 years ago. the argument just melts away from him and even rhodey can't find it in him to be as curt and critical as he is to the other writers because damn...the encounter brings up a lot of memories and regrets they have both had since leaving college and then losing touch.

send me a ship!

[zoom4ads]

Use Classified Ads to Boost Your Website's Traffic

So you have got a shiny new website, the content is excellent, images good and it is time to start making money. But, amazingly nothing is happening as yet. No visitors, no traffic, no sales, no money. You need to get the word out there and classified ads are a perfect place to start.

Thanks to the Internet and widespread public access the world of advertising has changed almost out of recognition. The old established technique of advertising in newspapers is less effective. Many businesses both large and small are now focusing on online advertising to obtain the best return on their investment.

Advertising your site using both free and paid for classified ads online is a very efficient way of boosting traffic. So it is important to not only consider but also use online ads as an important part of your marketing plan. With these benefits it is definitely a good use of your time:

It is free and you can attract targeted traffic to your site

You can do some tests and find out which wording works best or which squeeze page produces the best results

Most sites will give you statistics for visitors and help you determine the different results

If you are looking to build a list you will build it quicker using classified ads

Clearly you have to make sure your ads are doing their job but there are simple things you can do to maximise the success of your ad campaigns.

Firstly if possible try to find and use classified ad sites that are in your niche. It will give you a head start with interested buyers. Whichever sites you use have a quick read of any guidelines they have regarding ad layouts and wording. This helps you avoid the irritation of seeing your ad removed.

Place your ads on a regular basis to maintain a good response. Consider regular weekly updates to try to keep them near the top of the lists and receiving frequent views.It sounds obvious but do not forget to include your web address, the name of your company and a few words about what you are selling.

Pictures are good. They catch the eye and as the old saying goes - a picture is worth a thousand words.

Put yourself in your customers shoes. Be efficient, professional and spell check your ad. It is an absolute reflection of you.

Do a regular review of the ads, looking at the statistics and if you want to do some fine-tuning.

Do not forget to use keywords where they will naturally fit in to the ad. It must still read normally.

With these steps you will boost your sites traffic and your profits. Best of all you can do it all at no cost using the many free classified ads sites.

Zoom4ads is the best Classified Ads Postal For Multiple Categories Like, Cars & Vehicles & Dining, For Sale, Hotels & Travels, Jobs, Pets, Real Estate, Services Etc.  Post Free Classifieds in Countries Mentioned Below:

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Classifieds     democratic republic of the congo

Classifieds cook islands

Classifieds costa rica

Classifieds     cote divoire (ivory coast)

Classifieds croatia     (hrvatska)

Classifieds cuba

Classifieds cyprus

[yileyang]

Older Media VS New Media

Newspaper VS Online Journalism

History of Newspaper

Johannes Gutenberg's printing press has lowered the price of printed materials and paved the way for the Newspaper. The first weekly Newspaper emerged in 1609. This Newspaper has achieved success and spread through central Europe. In 1621, England printed the first Newspaper called Corante, and in 1641, the Newspaper spread into every country in Europe (4.2 History of Newspapers, 2016).

At the beginning of the 19th century, the circulation of Newspapers is deficient. With the development of technology and the rise of literacy, the circulations have increased, and the Newspaper's price decreased. For instance, "The Times, for example, increased circulation from 5,000 in 1815 (price seven pence) to 50,000 by the mid-19th century (five pence) (Newspaper, 2020)." In the United States, Benjamin Day has created the first successful penny paper, "the Sun in New York City," in 1833. Later, the Newspaper was shaped into many modern journalism directions, including entertainment, political, and economic (Newspaper, 2020). 

Why Newspaper is important

Newspaper is using to expose scandals, discover the government's issues, and identify the health danger. Newspapers have transmitted the information to particular audiences. For instance, general readers will be interested in politics, crime, wars, and economics. However, a farm newspaper will make some developments in farming technologies and the price of the crop. Before, people used to know the latest events from the Newspaper. For example, in the recent international event- COVID 19, people always get information about the situation from the news. Since the limitation of technology, Newspaper is the best way to transmit data. Newspaper can provide knowledge and improve readers' levels of literacy. Also, Newspapers can deliver job opportunities for people. Before, there is various job information posted in the Newspaper. With the development of technology, online news has started replacing the Newspaper.

The transformation from Newspaper to the online journalism

With the development of the new communication technologies, the media has transformed from Gutenberg's printing press to online journalism. Since the appearance of the age of the internet and Web 2.0, the media has changed to a digital way, which made information dissemination faster and more efficient. For news, it has been changed from a one-way information flow to serval spreading flows. People can now share their comments on the internet, and they can get the news more quickly with their cell phones.

Social Impacts

News media expresses the political consciousness, spread the ideas and culture of the society. The article "Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005–2008)" shows that Newspaper is a tool to diffuse information. This article argues that Newspaper is beneficial for the introduction and promotion of HPV vaccination. According to the report, "positive media campaigns to promote immunization have been shown to improve uptake rates by increasing public knowledge of the dangers of vaccine-preventable diseases (Wallace, Corben, Turahui, & Gilmour, 2008)." This quotation shows that news media can enhance people's understanding of HPV and the importance of vaccination. The article demonstrates that news media should introduce positive reports about HPV, which contributes to influencing the public's acceptance and necessity of HPV. When people perceive the disease's risk and perceive the vaccination's safety, the incentive to vaccinate will increase (Smailbegovic, Laing, & Bedford, 2003). This article indicates that Newspaper is an essential tool to transmit knowledge, and the news may influence the public's ideas and improve people's health. 

Cultural Impacts

The news media make people accept and understand things more quickly. Syamsul Zahri Subir's article argues that homosexuality issues in Malaysia were discussed widely in news media. The author contends that Anwar Ibrahim sodomy started the debate about homosexuality in Malaysia. The news media played a crucial role in homosexuality issues and tackled homosexuality's sensitive issues about homosexuality (Subir 15). Moreover, Newspaper impacts the culture of the countries.  The article "Gender Stereotyping in Newspaper Advertisements: A Cross-Cultural Study" demonstrates that Italy and the Netherlands use stereotypes in newspaper advertisements.  The Netherlands is one of the most feminine European countries and the sixth more equalitarian nation globally. However, Italy is the second most masculine European country and one of the less equalitarian European countries. Therefore, compared with Netherlands' media, Italy's media always portrays women as sexual objects instead of working roles (Tartaglia & Rollero 1104). Thus, media representation from different countries will constitute the cultural differences, especially on gender roles. For the appearance of online journalism, we can see comments from everywhere, which helps people get ideas from different cultures.

Political Impacts

The government controls newspapers, and news information only shows what the government wants people to know. Syamsul Zahri Subir's article about Malaysia's homosexualities shows how the government influenced news media. According to the reading, "The media's content and its nature of message are usually decided by the media's organization or its affiliation. This includes the setting of the agendas, deciding on what is deemed important and whom to include and exclude (Carter & Steiner, 2004)." It argues that the organization controlled the media content, deciding what should include or exclude. Although Malaysia's homosexuality problem has existed for a long time, the story about this issue did not get attention from the local news outlet due to the illegal of same-sex unions (Subir 14). Therefore, this reading shows that the harmony of Malaysia influences the news media. News media are unable to post the information that the country does not allow to post. However, online journalism is hard to control by the government. Since everyone can post on the internet, these posts are hard to control, and those posts' truth is hard to define.

Economic Impacts 

Printing news spends a lot of money on printing and distribution, but online journalism only needs the internet, and the news producers just post the information online. Besides, online journalism can quickly define target audiences. For instance, we can choose the news category online. If I want to read social news, I can find them as soon as possible. However, newspapers are printed, and it is hard to find specific information in a short time.

Conclusion

New media is a term that defines everything to do with the internet and the interaction between technology, images and sound. By Contrast, old media is any form of communication that preceded digital technology, including radio, television and printed matter such as books and magazines. Although new media has many benefits for both readers and producers, people should not forget the old media.

References

Blogger, G., & Chow, J. (2012, April 12). John Chow dot Com. Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.johnchow.com/how-new-media-has-transformed-traditional-journalism/

Newspaper. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/newspaper

Subir, S. Z. (2019). BEYOND THE CLOSET? THE TRENDS AND VISIBILITY OF HOMOSEXUALITY COVERAGE IN MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPERS, 1998 – 2012. E-bangi, 16(9), 13-30. Retrieved from http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F2396319866%3Faccountid%3D14771

Tartaglia, S., & Rollero, C. (2015). Gender Stereotyping in Newspaper Advertisements: A Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 46(8), 1103–1109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022115597068

What is New Media? (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2020/02/what-is-new-media

4.2 History of Newspapers. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers/

[minsugapie]

Now You See Me: part 33 (2783 words) - are you still taking your meds?

• • • • • •

You’re a content creator that is wanting to change up your brand a little bit.

Yoongi is a faceless musician. Well, he’s two people at once. He’s Agust D online and while performing, but he’s Min Yoongi in real life.

Who will he be to you?

• • • • • •

PART 32 // PART 33 // PART 34

masterlist

• • • • • •

tags : @dixonsbugaboo @mayumioutloud @xlilybebe @pocketfullofsuga @pwinny00 @rjsmochii @yoonglemickdoongle @live-2-fangirl @cherryicy123 @vernooope @okaysoplshelpme @thebleuprince @minyoongone @original-internetmonster @princesskimnamjoon @waddlingmyg @ur-gunna-h8-ths @zombiewerewolfqueen @spookyricewithsoysauce @tae165 @sunshinedeaa @dreamcatcherjiah @tirednation @labgeek @lyndseygoregasmxo @luwunacy

• • • • • •

Ha ha ha ha ha ... multiple things:

- im sorry for this crap. after everything in my life, this chapter just couldn’t be done the way I wanted it to turn out. i wrote and rewrote so much that I just can’t anymore. I hope it at least helps with the development of the story.

- the next couple of chapters take place kinda throughout this part. you’ll get it if you don’t already.

- i didn’t pass my exam so school is all wonky now

- ANYWAYS — IM BACK, BETCHES

• • • • • •

Your parents knew you were coming to town, well your mother did anyways. You had planned on telling the father figure that you sometimes called dad that you were planning on spending an unknown amount of time at home, but you just could not find the right words. He had told you that he had better not get a call to bail you out of anything, so you just assumed that included your mental health.

Therefore, you didn’t call him; you called your mom.

You weren’t expecting her to be waiting for you at the bus station, but there she was, an extra coffee in hand. She knew that you needed it. You instantly went to her, wrapped your arms around her waist in a tight embrace.

Around you, there were couples kissing, people simply tripping over their own luggage, and children laughing. Although this atmosphere seemed promising, you were not excited for seeing your dad’s disappointed face once again. No matter what you seemed to do, it wasn’t enough for him. There was always something about you that he wished he could have changed. You dreaded the moment that you were going to tell him all about your job and Yoongi in detail.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Bub?” Your mom asked, pulling back from the hug and placing the coffee in your hand.

Nodding your head once, you were sure that you both knew that it wasn’t true. You had to deal with the criticism your whole life, but getting it from people who didn’t even know who you were took a toll on you.

“And you’re still taking your meds?”

“Yes, Mom, I’m still taking my meds…” You groaned because you wished you didn’t have to. You went on a little stint where you refused to take them but that was a disaster, so it was a collective decision to get back on them. You visited your therapist weekly, even to this day, and it helped. But there were just some things that he did not understand. He was the one, however, that suggested that you tried to fix the root of your problems —your relationship with your family and more specifically your dad.

“Let’s go home, okay? He might not show it, but your dad is happy that you’re coming home. The neighbours have also been suspicious about our situation, and you know your father, he can’t lie. So naturally, the whole few miles around us know about our familial situation.”

“He basically told me that he didn’t want to see me until I changed my life. I haven’t exactly done that.” You sighed and looked at your scuffed shoes. You weren’t going to change yourself for anyone, but it definitely hurt to not have your dad as your biggest fan.

So basically when you walked into your house, you were not surprised that he did not talk to your nor make eye contact with you. He barely even acknowledged our existence. There was no reason for you to stick around him, so you simply made your way to your bedroom. It had already been a long day, and you wanted to sleep.

Your room was exactly as you had left it, so you simply dropped your suitcase at the door and flung yourself onto the bed. Grabbing out your phone, you saw the missed call from Yoongi and messages from all your friends, but the only person you responded to was Tae, telling him that you made it home fine.

Only a few seconds after you pressed send, Tae was calling you. The call lasted a long time, mostly you ranting to him about the fact that your dad didn’t even acknowledge your existence, but it was fine. You were fine.

Tae had to leave because Hana was over and they had paused the movie to talk to you, so you let them go.

Briefly, before you fell asleep, you wondered whether or not you should have called Yoongi.

***

The morning after your return, you awoke to the birds outside and your horse looking at you through your window. You had always been lucky enough to have a bedroom overlooking the stables. You hadn’t seen him in a while, and you were excited to get out there later and take care of him like you used to.

Quickly, you put on some clothes and raced outside. Who needed breakfast?

On your way out through the kitchen door, you ran into your mom and dad.

“What are you planning?” Your mom asked, giving you a cup of coffee. You looked over towards your dad, and all he did was read his newspaper, glasses on the end of his nose, sipping his orange juice.

“I’m gonna go riding,” you revealed, putting on your boots that you dragged down from your closet. They were dusty but oh well.

“Gimme a minute to get my boots, and I’ll come out with you,” she suggested, putting her mug in the sink and walking to the hallway closet to grab her boots. You loved riding by yourself, but you were here to make amends with your parents, so riding with your mom needed to happen. Riding was so cathartic. It was bound to be a great day.

Getting your horse ready was such a calming experience for you. On the back of your brain, you realized that you wanted Yoongi to see this part of yourself. It was a thought that quickly came and left, but it stuck with you for a bit.

Your mom must have noticed your expression because when she was brushing Tae’s horse, she asked, “What’s on your mind?”

You bit your lip when you looked into her eyes. “I was thinking about a boy.”

“Ooooo...the boy you told us about?” The horse was temporarily forgotten.

A small smile grew on your face as you thought of him. “Yoongi.”

“Well what about him?”

“He’s such a city boy, but I can’t help but want to show him this side of me. I’m not even sure he really knows about this part of me, and I just want him to come home and see this. I want him to know the person that I am when I’m not doing my job and in the spotlight,” you said, strapping the saddle down. Your horse was getting excited.

You mom answered after she mounted Tae’s horse. “He seems to make you happy.”

Leading the horses out, you couldn’t help but smile wider. “He makes me smile and makes me want to love.”

“You love him.” Not a truer statement had been spoken by your mom before.

“I think so,” you admitted, giving your horse a nice pat. He was doing so well even after not riding with you for so long. Deciding that you needed to up the pace, you brought him to a gallop and sailed forward, urging your mom to follow suit.

The land was beautiful and smelled like grass and flowers. The sun was starting to beat down, so you slowed your pace. Once you made it to a learning between trees, you shrugged off your sweater and tied it around your waist, so you wouldn’t lose it.

“Mom, can I ask you something?”

Your mom’s eyes were closed as she smelled the air and soaked up the sun, but she still hummed in response.

“How do you know when something is worth it?”

“Be more specific, baby,” she probed, opening her eyes to look at you. You saw so much of yourself in your mom. Honestly, you were glad that you weren’t too much like your dad.

“I’m worried that I’m making the wrong decisions. I’m not sure if Yoongi is the right fit or if my job is worth all that’s going on.”

“I think your heart has to tell you. I don’t want you living your life based on what your father wants, if that’s what you’re worried about…”

“But I just want to have a good relationship with him,” you admitted with a sigh.

“He’ll come around. And if you want my advice, I’ll tell you. Although your job probably won’t be forever, I think there are a lot of doors that it opens up for you, and if you love creating, don’t let the fear of failure or the fear of your father’s acceptance keep you from your happiness. As for the boy…I know I’ve never met Yoongi before, but he seems to make you happy, and I don’t believe you’d ever date someone that Tae didn’t approve of.”

“Actually, Tae encouraged us to date. Yoongi makes music online and produces, and honestly he’s amazing. He’s been Tae’s favourite artist for years; whereas, I only met him a few months ago.”

“He also has an online presence?”

“Yeah, but it’s more complicated. So Yoongi does music under his alias Agust D and covers his face so no one recognizes him. But the morning that I told you and Dad about him and my job, we had decided that we wanted to start dating. And now I’m getting a tonne of hate from people because they think I’m stringing along two people and sometimes more because of all the guy friends that I have, when in reality, it’s just Yoongi. I haven’t spoken to him in a couple weeks.”

“Oh, y/n, you can’t let what other people say about you affect your decisions. If you want to date the boy just date him.”

“But mom! I don’t want him to have to choose between his career as Agust D and me. He really likes his privacy and being alone, and I don’t want him to have to give that up for me. Especially because I’m not special enough for him to change his whole life.”

Your mom slapped your shoulder after your remark about yourself. “You are so special, and don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”

“And then there’s the fact that his ex-girlfriend still hangs out with him and is trying to be my friend. She’s actually very nice, and I think we’re going to be friends.”

“What do you mean that he still hangs it with her?” You knew that your mom was trying to pry some more, and you would indulge her. This was the time for that.

“I am under the impression that she still likes him but from what I’ve heard, he didn’t ever really like her too much. I don’t know, really, and I don’t really care to find out more. Everyone tells me that he likes me, but she’s just so pretty and perfect and nice and kind. Maybe she’ll rub off on me…”

“Well, she sounds like a lovely person, but the heart wants what the heart wants, kiddo. Now I need to head back because your dad needs my help today. I just wanted to talk to you some this morning.”

***

A week had gone by, and your dad was finally talking to you again. Gradually, he had been looking at you and acknowledging your existence, but this morning, he had actually wished you a good morning and asked how your sleep had been.

It really surprised you. It seemed like ages since you last heard his voice. Hell, the last time that you had properly spoken was a yelling match. Your conversation was strained, but your mom must have told him about your chats and what was really bugging you, so there was a silver lining.

Within that week, you’d also been getting a lot of reading and writing done. You hadn’t told anyone besides Jade that you’d been writing, and she was the most supportive person. She wanted to be a journalist, so it was basically fate that the two of you became friends. It was destined to happen. The book that you started was a story somewhat based on you and Yoongi —something you hadn’t realized until just that morning.

You weren’t talking to anyone else, because you didn’t want to be a bother, and you needed a break from your old life. Jade was still a relatively new addition, and a female, so you just knew that she was going to understand and be of help whenever you needed.

Your mom liked you join you outside whenever she found the chance, and today, she brought out some lemonade and sandwiches for you to have for lunch. “Mom,” you asked with half a sandwich still stuffed in your mouth. Chewing a little and swallowing some, you continued, “Do you think it’s unhealthy that I can’t stop thinking about the one person that I’m trying to avoid? Even with everything going on with dad and my job and school... I still can’t keep my mind off Yoongi and how he’s doing or what he wants.”

After taking a small sip from her glass, your mom sighed and closed her eyes. Her hand found yours when she replied, “I think what you’re experiencing is completely normal. I never told anyone this before, but my parents didn’t approve of your dad. They thought he could never love and they hated the fact that he was a farmer. I went through a similar thing that you are going through now…only we didn’t have the internet.”

Later on, you were sitting outside in the sun, reading, when Yoongi’s daily phone call should have came in. It had gotten harder and harder to decline the calls, and you were sure that you were going to give in, but it did not ring.

You waited for a few more minutes, distracted from your book, but your phone stayed silent. You briefly wondered if something had happened to him. Maybe you had jinxed it from the talk with your mom.

***

It’s now been a month away from social media and your normal life, and you were missing everyone. Yoongi hadn’t called you since that day. You just wanted to see Tae again. That morning, as you were brushing your horse, getting him ready for your daily ride, you spotted your father at the barn door.

He cocked his head, motioning for you to follow him, so that’s exactly what you did. The two of you walked around the yard together in silence for a while, until he finally spoke, “Are you doing this just to spite me?”

“Doing what?” You were watching the sun come over the hills in the distance, waiting for its warmth.

“Your job, school, and the boy…” He answered, taking his hat off and pushing his hair back before putting his hat back on.

“Oh, those things…I want you to know that I am not doing anything to make you purposefully mad. I just want to figure out my life without following anyone else’s orders.”

You were surprised that he was staying so calm. Heck, you were surprised that you were staying so calm. Neither of you were generally known for your calm demeanour, after all. “I just want what’s best for you, y/n. I want you to know that. I’ve been thinking for a long time, and your mother talked to me…we want to see the grandkids, and I do want you to be happy, so I am willing to let you figure it out. I will try to respect your decisions. As long as you talk to us more often and let us know what’s going on in your life, then I’m letting you go.”

“I’ll tell you things, I promise.” The sentence was loaded with worry, and it was awkward between the two of you. Neither of knew what to do about how well you were getting along.

“So tell me about this boy, then,” he probed. You wondered what exactly he was trying to get you to reveal, but you decided to tell hime everything.

You told him that you were sure that you were in love with him. You told him about his subtle, caring nature. You told him about his job. You told him about Tae’s liking him. You told him about Agust D.

When the conversation was over with, you felt a sort of weight lifted off your shoulder. There was no hug or affection shared between you and your dad, but there was a small smile. You would take what you could get.

In fact, you were feeling so much better, that you decided to go inside and film a video.

However, although you’d made peace with your dad, you still needed to figure out how to not let all the hate and negativity that comes from being present online affect your life.

You were going home, sooner rather than later.