#YURIM!! sorry this is so late

[ladyelainehilfur]

Yay!! I'm happy to see an Odd Girl Out reader who analyzes the story and really understands the characters (I read your blog post about your fave webtoons). How are you feeling about the hate Seungha is receiving? Many comments under each episode are about Chanyang being the best one for Nari and how Seungha is awful and how they'll drop the story if Chanyang x Nari aren't endgame. The way Morangg is writing Seungha's story saddens me not just because it is a sad story but because the author is incredible in fleshing him out, giving him so much development since the very beginning of season two, but the readers are too caught up on how he broke Nari's heart, refusing to see that Seungha is depressed and suffering just as much. So many shippers are focused on the romance and not the depth of the characters.

first: super sorry for answering this so late. I'm really glad to hear you enjoy reading me ranting about the comics I read :P

I believe the hate Seungha's receiving is from people who strongly relate to Nari and take her heartbreak as theirs. Seungha was in the wrong for refusing to communicate with Nari about his problems, but if Chanyang did the same thing, he might be disliked as well. People just don't like to think a guy they're in a good relationship with will turn on them for any reason, even if the reason is good.

Personally, I do prefer Seungha and Nari be endgame. As far as depth of character, Nari is much more suited to Seungha than Chanyang. We're experiencing Chanyang's backstory right now in the Korean updates, and while he's just as fleshed out as Seungha, his reasons for liking Nari still ring hollow in comparison to Seungha's. They both find her attractive, but like I've stated before, Nari is literally everything to Chanyang. His motivation, his happiness, his reason for living. It's not healthy and I don't want Nari to feel responsible for his growth as a person. He plants himself in various places in her life and some readers don't see that as problematic because his intention is romantic. Chanyang skipping school and running around the city to find her bookbag did display an admirable commitment, but also...that's crazy. Reckless displays of affection can be good, but he did it without thinking. Nari has that kind of influence over him, and that's just not it. I still like him as a character, because he does have a certain simple charm and humor about him, but he's simply not cut out to be a good long-term partner for her.

On the other hand, Seungha's brief time dating Nari without being her boyfriend showed how well they work together as a pair. I've heard people say they had to separate because Nari needed to come into her own as a student leader, and I don't disagree. She hadn't necessarily become reliant on him, but it did truly hurt her when she could no longer depend on him.

I think a lot of readers misinterpreted his decision to team up with Yurim. Admittedly, the optics of running for president against Nari while teamed up with her enemy were horrible. At that point, Seungha's main goal was to become the school president so his dad would "want" him and consider him as good as a biological son. He disregarded Nari's history with Yurim to achieve his goal because he felt had no other choice. He didn't know his parents would love him either way. His arc of coming out with the fact Yunha had been abusing him, and spending time away from his family to find and recenter himself was long. He didn't think Nari would stick around, and he didn't want to drag her through it anyway, so he wrongfully pushed her away instead of confiding in her.

Neither Chanyang nor Seungha are good at talking about their problems and feelings. Chanyang will make drastic decisions to solve his problems without telling the people he should so they're not in the dark, and Seungha does more or less the same. It's too bad that communication is Nari's main pull, because she does NOT like having to play detective. Chanyang could be dating Nari right now if he just told her about his messy family history, and I'm pretty sure she and Seungha would be half way to married if he'd just spilled about the abuse. Yunha would no longer be with us, but it would be a small price to pay.

However, it doesn't erase the good that happened when she and Seungha were on the same page. He met her where she was, he listened to her problems, and he supported her in the PR department when no one else did. He didn't blindly agree with everything she said, and in fact, he often challenged her. When she ignored him due to social pressure, he didn't let his feelings cloud his judgement or let that pressure get between their friendship. Like, when that man wants to fight for something or someone, he fights. He's not currently in the position to impose his feelings upon Nari, and he's not trying to, but they've made up in what has to be one of the cutest, goofiest ways I've seen a pair of characters perfectly suited for each other make up. (Spoiler: they both cried with each other).

I'm not sure what the author's intentions are with either Chanyang or Seungha at this point, but I've got a feeling this upcoming school festival arc is going to play a big role in determining who ends up with who. Nari slowly learning about Chanyang is leading up to something, as well as Seungha openly giving her full control of the organizational committee despite being school president. To me, the willingness to support Nari as a leader, while being a leader himself displays every reason why Seungha should be endgame. Neither of them consider each other above or below each other--they're equal partners.

I'm all for Nari putting herself first and deciding not to date anyone, but I hope she gives turtle-candy-loving, competitive-af, meticulous-date-planning, sometimes-cringe-fail Seungha a chance. I also hope she gathers enough information to give Chanyang a definitive, final answer concerning their relationship.

[sololosabelaluna]

and you have a right to be mad at the finale!! we all were!! it makes no fucking sense for them. it hit so hard esp since i watched this live during the pandemic and god for a hopeful show, i felt it was so out of place it ended the way it did, esp for THEM. i cant stress it enough. they shouldn't have ended it up like that. i love them so much and the shitty ending won't take away what was built up til ep 14 idc. idk those ppl in the last 2 eps. take some time away from it and watch it again (preferably only to ep 14) it'll feel empty but its a drama i always come back to. im like on my 4th rewatch but i now skip older heedo scenes 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi anon! this is bit late but i've been busy and wanted to have time to reply bc i knew i would need to rant about this lmao.

god yes i saw mixed reactions to finale with some people saying it was realistic, but to me it wasn't. like you said for such a hopeful show to end it like that? yeah no (god i cant imagine watching this in real time and during the pandemic, im so sorry)

heedo and yijin breaking up and never speaking again makes no sense after establishing during 13 episodes that the whole fundation of their relatioship was mutual and inconditional support (like, i could understand them breaking up at that point for a bit bc they were both young, but never coming back together and not being in each other's lives anymore ????) (and i hate to compare them like this because i really liked them as a couple but yurim and jiwoong making it through yurim moving to rusia but baekdo not making it through new york?) i think what i find more upsetting is not them not working romantically, but that they are not in each other lives anymore after being so important and so fundational even before they started dating. THEY WERE EACH OTHER'S WHOLE SUPPORT SYSTEM, literally in heedo's words he was the only person who rooted for her even when her own mother didn't, WHICH GETS ME TO MY NEXT POINT

the more i think about it and the reason i dislike the finale the most is that older hee do seems to be so lonely? that aparently she doesn't keep in touch with ANY of them? these people were the only family she had in her teens, her first support system after her dad died. she was so lonely when we started the show and i feel like we ended with older heedo just as lonely. and the thing i hate the most is that the final message of the show is that it is inevitable to lose those things when you get older. that friendship and love are things you only get when you are young. im in my late 20s and things do get more complicated as you grow and it is harder to mantain friendships but it is not impossible if the people are important to you. so i refuse to believe the show telling me that by the time im in my forties im going to be alone. i don't think the heedo we spent 16 episodes with, who grew up so alone and was resigned to live like that before starting the show, deserved to end up in her 40s with only her mother and her daughter (and married to a man we don't even know the name of) and with such bleak outlook in life.

ok this got very long, sorry and thank you for giving and excuse to get all this out anon. aparrently i had a lot to say lmao. as for rewatching the show, im a huge rewatcher of things, but my first reaction when it ended was that i was never going to rewatch it because I was very sad. but rn im on a maybe i could rewatch it skipping the finale because i actually really loved the show and the characters but idk idk let's see. also lol at you skipping older heedo's scene, same THAT'S NOT MY HEEDO.

[justalonelybitch]

agreed.. i honestly thought i’d search “2521 imagines” or “go yurim imagines” and find so many but i barely found 5 🥲

It's honestly a crime. You found some?! 😱 Please to tell, because I have been deprived. 🥲 (Also, sorry for this real late response, I don't know what happened but I didn't see this message for ages.)

[strxberri]

𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞.

「 ...i’ll always be there – teen dad au 」

navigaion.

imagines.

✒ word count... 634

⚤ pairing... jungwon x fem. reader

‣ summary... you and jungwon are currently dating, he’s the captain of the football/soccer team and you’re the captain of the vollyball and cheerleading teams. your lives were so perfect together, everyone just knew that after high school you guys would be the ones to stay with each other get married and have like three kids, or something like that.

♪ listen to... tamed-dashed by enhypen

“Good morning,” you heard the voice of your boyfriend say as you walked through the doors of your high school.

“Morning,” you say in a soft tone.

“What’s wrong?” Jungwon asks rubbing your back as you guys walk to your locker.

“I’ve just been sick this morning, I don’t feel good.”

“Then why are you here?” he asks pulling you in for a hug.

“Because I have to be at the game tonight,” you tell him before looking up at him.

“Okay, but if you get any worse, you’re leaving and having your mom or my mom pick you up,” he says just right before the bell rings.

“We’re late for class,” you tell him smiling as you both walk into your homeroom class.

“Mr. Yang Ms. Jeong you’re both late,” your teacher who was also your father says as you both walk into class sitting down in your assigned seats which just so happened to be placed next to each other.

“Sorry, Mr. Jeong,” Jungwon says in a sweet tone.

Throughout the day you began to feel worse and worse and ever threw up a few times, but you didn’t tell anyone that. While you were in the bathroom for the fifth time today you over heard Yurim talking to Rena about you.

“You know I think Y/N’s pregnant, she’s asked to go use the restroom like four times today.”

“Maybe she’s cheating on Jungwon,” Rena says as you walk out of the stall you were in to wash your hands.

“Hi girls, oh and by the way neither of thoes are true, I’m not pregnant and if I was it would be Jungwon’s baby because I’m not a cheater, so why don’t you spread some rumors that actually might be true,” you tell them as they leave and you go to your dads classroom, he was in the middle of a class, but when you needed to talk to him he would get everything the class needed to know before talking to you.

“What’s up?”

“Can you call mom to come pick me up, I’ve been throwing up.”

“Are you sure, you have the game tonight?”

“I just wanna her to make a doctors appointment, it’s not like me to feel sick like this,” you tell your father who then calls your mom to come pick you up and take you to the doctors office.

“Could you possibly be pregnant?” you doctor says looking at you as you slightly nod your head yes.

“Okay, so we’ll just have you take a pregnancy test and if that’s not it, then we’ll have to run some tests,” your doctor says as she sends you to the bathroom.

After the game was over you ran imedatly to Jungwon who just scored the winning points. “I’m so proud of you baby!”

“Are you coming over tonight?”

“Yeah, let me just tell my mom,” you say as you look at both of your parents who look furios.

“Mom, dad, what’s wrong?”

“We’re so disappointed in you two,” you father says in his teacher voice.

“Mom?” you ask looking at her as she hands you the text she got from the doctors office.

“I can’t be.”

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Jungwon asks you as you cry into his chest.

“I’m pregnant.”

Weeks later you had finally made a decision you’re planning on keeping that baby and if Jungwon doesn’t want to be apart of the baby’s life then it’s his loss.

“Jungwon I want to keep that baby,” you tell him as you stand in the doorway of his bedroom.

“Okay, you know I’ll always be here for you both right?” he asks as you smile.

“Thanks, Wonie,” you say giving him a big hug before you both lay down cuddling in his bed while watching a movie together.

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

OK it is not always easy to stay by someone's side when they're struggling with mental health conditions. I just really thought baekdo would overcome it though.

But if we look at Heedo's life, she's very fast paced. She's used to going and grabbing. She's patient but only if she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. It is difficult for her to put herself in her mother's shoes coz her mother is a tsundere while Heedo is extremely expressive.

Heedo and Yijin are quite different too.

Yijin wasn't someone who makes decisions so easily, he was just thrown into a fast flowing current and did whatever to survive only to make mistakes or relapse.

Heedo's arrival gave him a sense of direction in his life, her mother became his role model.

Yijin's presence led Heedo to have experiences she despite being so extroverted couldn't have. His words and other forms of support were uplifting and helped her until she finally got the whole Korea to cheer for her.

After they completed their purpose in each other's life, they started to fade out. Yijin was now no longer her only cheerleader, it didn't matter as much if he missed uplifting her on 1 or 2 occasions because she now had other people, namely the whole nation cheering on her. Yijin finally found a direction and landed in a stable job. His main priority was to keep this job so he could fulfill his initial plan and promise to reunite his family and live with them in one place. And so he put that above meeting with Heedo and keeping his promise.

Heedo understood that his sorries felt more sincere because his priorities had shifted. It is a different thing to want to keep the promise and not being able to and another to not being able to keep the promise because its priority in your eyes has somewhat decreased in comparison to other stuff.

Also coming back to the first point, Heedo needs someone who can take care of himself and be responsible for his health. Yijin often struggles with that, though mostly to an amount that average people do, but still for Heedo that could be too much to handle. She's spontaneous and strong and young. She can't help Yijin much because he only opened up to her after he came to Korea and avoided her before that.

When she understood what he needed, it was already too late, their relationship had been affected and Yijin (hopefully) decided to work on his mental health first.

As viewers we hoped that after he had gone to therapy and resolved some of his ptsd, they could come back together again but sadly it didn't happen.

Did it happen because they grew and became different people who didn't communicate well and had personal struggles that should've been shared more or was it meant to happen from the start as they no longer were the only source of comfort in each other's lives?

Heedo didn't share (as far as we know) about her feeling the pressure of Koreans to defeat Yurim in Madrid. Yijin didn't share that it was all getting too much and getting to him, and causing him to relapse and spiral down, including going back to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

She did share many things with her diary, but she also kept many secrets to herself. So did Yijin.

Are love, a new relationship and breakup just one secret away sometimes? Does a secret make all the difference? Is it timing? Because Yijin did tell her that he was depressed in NYC but he told her "too late". Or perhaps Heedo had already made the decision by then, regardless of what Yijin tells her? Coz in her pov no reasons or justifications were worth it or valid for him to try to ghost her like, they would all always feel like excuses since she already carried this feeling of being neglected by her mom. So in a way it was Heedo too, her insecurity about people's love when they're distant, she could only bear them to a point. She did gain a closure about it with her mom, but it would always strike a nerve, wouldn't it?

Both my babies deserved to see a therapist and a relationship counsellor, and then if they decided to part it would finally be worth it coz they knew it would be the right decision. Just like the coach made Yeji do all that to make sure she won't regret.

The adult Heedo and Yijin just feel like they've a lot of unfinished business and eventhough there was an attempt for proper closure, it really didn't satisfy either of them.

So while I see what the writers were trying to do, I do feel it could've been executed in a better way.

[wherethehellismysupersuit]

EP - 14 review

I feel like Minchae is the embodiment of the whole fandom rn lol

Sorry bout the late review. I had  an allergic reaction. I was definitely not crying. How dare youeven assume that.

Idk bout you but if i was watching a news broadcast where the anchor and the fencer were clearly  eyefucking each other, i would switch off the tv and demand they get a room. Such disrespect to lonely souls like me is unacceptable.

Julia Ko was a shock to me. I had already anticipated something bad was gonna Happen to Yurim, since she was being too giggly and happy with no mention of their surety. An interesting parallel that i noticed is when they were putting on helmets in Madrid, Yurim’s back was turned to Heedo whereas Heedo put on her helmet looking at her. I’m happy my girl won the gold in Madrid, but it does make me nervous about Yurim’s deteriorating support since she lost.

Now, i’ll shut my pessimist ass up and squeal about the chaos of the squad. Yurim saying she’ll kill Yijin, her oldest friend, her former sponsor if she hurt her new fencer bestie is so cute. You can quite literally see the betrayal in Yijin’s eyes. Yurim and Jiwoong being the only ones relatively sober and watching Seungwan having a mental breakdown, Heedo demanding explanation from an unconscious Baek Yijin with a sharpie mustache- poetic cinema.

But then again, we are yanked back to reality with Yurim’s dad crashing into a car. This puts a major amount of stress on the entire family dynamic, as well as the now added cost of hospital bills along with debt. Yurim witnessing her mom and dad cry was a heartbreaking moment.

i liked how her coach Yang didn’t ask questions. Didn’t judge, just quietly accepted and gave her support and hooked her up with the highest paying one. Did i ever mention how much i love Coach Yang?

Like i said, i have equal love for Yjin/Heedo and Heedo/Yurim. Seeing Yurim come to Heedo, collapse in her arms and confess that she was thinking of diving but hadn’t because Heedo had begged her not to- You can’t tell me they don’t have a deep love for each other. Platonic or romantic, we will never know.

You can see Yijin’s conscience grow guilty gradually. It’s subtle, and starts when he eavesdrops.

Yurim’s parents want her to live a life free from debt. they want her to be their little girl, one who laughs and smiles and brings joy into their lives. They don’t want her to suffer for money like they do. This decision really grates on Yurim, who expresses it to Jiwoong when they get her the cellphone and the music thingie (forgive me i can’t remember). And her standing up and saying she’s old enough to earn money makes them realise that in the blink of an eye, their lil girl has grown up. Truly heartbreaking. even more so when she knows what Yijin is gonna do.

Their last day together is nostalgic and filled with memories of rivalry, friendship and laughter. Which comes to a screeching halt at the sight of Yijin’s news report.

Much like her mom’s report, yijin’s report sends korea into a frenzy, with mutters of ‘how dare she’ and ‘traitor’. This has always been the case. We idolise a person so much that we forget they are human. That they have a life of their own, and problems of their own. Our obsessiveness leads to their downfall, and we expect them to be gracious about it? That’s really fucked up.

Yijin knows of Heedo’s distaste .It is the same she had when he found her in the middle of nowhere, fencing sword in had and tears in her eyes. I don’t know how this will hurt Baekdo, because both of them have good reasons.

Yurim trying to be gracious and asking Jiwoong to move on is such an angsty kdrama trope. good thing my boy doesn’t only shut it down, but also makes her heart flutter even more.

Heedo helping Yurim in escaping the reporters is so fun. I’m truly dreading the repercussions of Yurim losing.

The jajangmyeon owner is the prime example of the regular viewer. A stranger who knows nothing about the personal life of Yurim, but still feels entitled to give his opinion. I have nothing but praise on how yurim handled it. and the subsequent moment of vulnerability when she sobs into Heedo’s arms...let’s just say that dust flew into my eye. Honest. 

Also them sticking photos of each other onto their phones? Like ma’am you both are dating other people.(I would not be opposed to both of you dating tho)

Moon Jiwoong, my smooth af boy. Kiss ur gf so she doesn’t run away with Heedo. (also, i love his frosted tips)

Yijin breaking down in the tunnel with the word “KO YU RIM IS A TRAITOR” written behind? And Heedo arriving like some sort of saviour, armed with a paint bucket and a stepladder? Go Heedo! *tries to do a cheer formation and fails miserably*

The writers constantly have their foot upon our necks, don’t they? whAT DO YOU MEAN CONGRATS ON THE WEDDING YIJIN YOU BETTER BE MARRIED TO HER TF-

The preview eased my troubled soul a little. But come on. Ik the writer lives off  the tears of the watchers. So i’ll keep my angsty theories to myself.

Boo. Another week to wait to find out. And then my weekends will be void of kim taeri’s pretty face. ugh. sorry for the long review. But i swear to god if this ends up like Mr Queen (brilliant drama with a terrible ending), well.... you might release the psycho in the analyser. ;)

Signed,

Your resident psychoanalyser.

[stars-of-the-heart]

i know chungha is one of your biases but do you have any other female biases? btw, i hope your weekend is being pleasing and chill 😊✨

I am so sorry, this is so late but I wanted to take the time to make a small list! 😌 So the answer is yes, I do stan some girl groups and solo artists and I do have some bias!!! I’m probably forgetting some of them FJJGFHKGVJKHCVJ but here, here’s a list with some groups I stan, with bias or not!

Solo artists:

-Chungha

-Sunmi

-Hyuna

-Jimin Park (Jamie)

-Alexa

-BoA

-Taeyeon

-IU

-Jessi

-CL

-Probably more if I’m being honest BDCJXGJVCHJVHCJVHCJV

Girl groups (with bias):

-Everglow (E:U)

-EXID (Solji)

-XUM (Dayeon)

-Red Velvet (Yeri)

-Twice (Sana)

-Dreamcatcher (Gahyeon)

-3YE (Yurim)

-Itzy (Lia)

-Blackpink (Rosé)

Other groups without a bias:

-CLC

-GFRIEND

-WJSN

-Weki Meki

-2NE1

-DIA

-I*ZONE

-Lovelyz

-BVNDIT

-ANS

-Loona

-April

-Cherry Bullet

So here you go!!!! I’m probably forgetting a lot of groups but have this list of some of them! ☺️🌸💞

[triviuhtae]

the color of fate (01) | kth

━ pairing: taehyung x reader (referred to by nickname) ━ genre: prince!au | fluff, humor, just a little bit of angst  ━ word count: 6.9k ━ a/n: this is heavily inspired/based on the anime (snow white with the red hair) with a few changes here and there so please do not come for me      ━ warnings:  talk about death in a family, mistresses/concubines, family separation, minor injuries, curse words, poisoning  ━ summary: Running away from home is never easy, but maybe with Taehyung, it can be. Not according to him though. ━ excerpt: “I’m sure you’re so used to helping others, so I thought you’d let me help you.”

It grows darker inside of the small tavern as she assists a patient, her sister walking up to her with a small glass bottle in her hand. The elder woman takes the pharmacist’s hand in one of her own with a grateful smile as her other hand holds onto the cane that she uses to help her walk. “Thank you so much, dear.” The old lady tells her weakly as the younger female helps her to her feet.

“It’s no problem, Mihee.” She grins as the older individual lets go of her hand to stand up a bit straighter and she pulls her lips into a tight smile, wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes. Turning to look at her sister, she gives the bottle to the elder and motions for her to put it in her small leather bag that hung across her shoulder. “Remember to drink a sip of it twice a day for a week. The pain in your foot should be gone by then but if it’s not, come back and either Sooyun or I will make you something stronger.”

“Jangmi,” Her little sister calls her by her nickname, catching her attention as she looks away from Mihee. “Don’t forget to give her the leaves for her tea as well.” Jangmi raises her eyebrows, surprised at herself for not remembering, but mentally thanking her sister as she reaches another bottle on a nearby shelf.

After giving Mihee the leaves, she nods towards the sisters. “You know, your grandparents would be so proud of how you two have grown.” She suddenly states as Jangmi shyly looks to her sister and then to the ground, her long brown hair falling into her face before she lifts a nervous hand to push a strand behind her ear at the compliment.

It was no secret that they had been raised right by their grandparents when their parents left them behind as children. She was only five at the time, meaning that Sooyun was only one years old. The siblings work hard every day to live up to their grandparents’ names ever since their accident in a neighboring town just a year ago. The ancestors had set out on a search for a rare herb that would help with their medicines but were caught in a raid and killed by thieves. Jangmi was incredibly heartbroken at the news but, now that she was responsible for raising her little sister on her own, she quickly picked up her own set of gloves and started running the small pharmacy they owned in town.

Mihee leaves without another word, the bell above the door chiming as Jangmi takes a seat on a nearby chair. “Besides Billi, I think Mihee is my favorite customer.” Sooyun nonchalantly states as she props herself up onto the counter and looks down at her older sister with a playful smile. “She’s just so old and cute, reminds me of grandma.”

Huffing out in exhaustion as a response, Jangmi can’t stop the growing smile on her face. No matter how tired she was, she could never forget the feeling she felt when helping someone in need. She was especially happy to have her sister see how rewarding this line of work was in hopes that she will be able to run the business herself one day. “Listen, I need you to grab some ingredients from the market before it closes.” She tells her sibling as she gets up and pats her arm with a small grin. “I’ll close up.”

Sooyun groans slightly as she rolls her head back. “Do I have to? I’d rather be the one to close.” As she brings her head back up, she’s met with Jangmi’s beaded eyes and arms crossed over her chest. Raising her hands in surrender, Sooyun grunts. “Fine, I’ll go, but only because I love you. Give me your list.”

After handing her the paper with the ingredients written on it, Jangmi bids her sister farewell at the door and turns to face the shop with her hands on her hips. “What a mess.” She mutters to herself, taking a few steps forward as she picks up random rags here and there as well as rejected medicines and empty cups of tea.

The bell rings once more and Jangmi gets ready to tell her sister to hurry up before it gets dark outside. However, as she slowly turns around, she’s surprised to see one of the guards from the palace. “By order of Prince Yurim, we hand over this letter written by him himself.” They pass the scroll to Jangmi, who takes it with a shaky hand and knitted eyebrows.

She half expects the guard to leave but as he stands there with his eyes glued to her, she knows she will have no luck of making him go away unless she reads the letter right then and there. Quickly unfolding the piece of paper before Sooyun comes back to see the knight in their shop, Jangmi walks over to the counter and reads what Prince Yurim has to say to her.

To Choi Y/n,

Firstly, may I take this moment to appreciate your different colored eyes and long, rich chocolate brown hair. I’ve been watching you for quite some time now and I’d like to make a formal request. Please join me at my castle where you will be appointed as my concubine and personal pharmacist. I’d like to point out that this is not an option, but an order.

Can’t wait to see you,

Prince Yurim

“Is he serious?” She wonders out loud, forgetting that the guard is there as he takes a step forward and places his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I-I mean, this is all so sudden. Is he sure that this is what he wants?” She tries to question innocently, not wanting to stir up any trouble with a soldier as she knew it would be an immediate defeat on her part.

The guard removes his hand so that they’re both behind his back and he adjusts his footing on the uneven wood floor in attempt to not come off as intimidating as before. “Prince Yurim is very serious. He seems to have taken a liking to you, especially your rare eye colors.” At his comment, she instantly looks away and tries to avoid his gaze. Sensing the uncomfortableness, the soldier takes a gulp of air and sighs. “He expects you at the castle tomorrow morning as confirmation. I suggest you clean up and pack your belongings.” As he turns to walk out the door, Jangmi raises her head and glares at the back of his helmet. Suddenly, the guard stops at the threshold and looks over his shoulder at the commoner. “Oh, and don’t be late.”

As soon as the guard walks out of her store and is out of sight, Jangmi lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. She couldn’t fathom the thought of being Yurim’s mistress and living out the rest of her life in his castle. The idea fills her with so much disgust and rage that she crumbles up the letter in her hands, but before she can toss it into a corner of the room, the bell rings once more. “Jangmi, they were all out of Echinacea, but I got the last bit of Burdock.” She shoves the crumbled note into the pocket of her tunic as she whips her head around to be greeted by the sight of her sister waltzing towards the counter. Sooyun deposits the contents from the market onto the wood before finally looking up to meet her sibling’s eyes. “Hello? You there?”

Looking up from her back, Jangmi meets her sister’s eyes and nods her head. “Yes, sorry. Thank you.” She quickly responds before scurrying towards the materials to put them into their proper places. Sooyun furrows her eyebrows before turning to face her, catching Jangmi off guard. She stops what she’s doing and catches her gaze with a surprised expression. “What?”

“What’s wrong?” Sooyun inquires as she crosses her arms over her chest, Jangmi shrugging her shoulders and asking her what she means. “You’re acting odd.” She comments before her eyes goes wide and she rests her arms at her sides. “God, don’t tell me that bum came in and bothered you for alcohol again!”

“No! No, Sooyun, just relax. Nothing happened.” Jangmi quickly disregards with a shake of her head as she holds a hand out towards her to stop her from talking. Her heart is heavy as she holds herself back from telling Sooyun the truth. If she did, she would only be putting her sister in danger. After a substantial amount of silence followed her frazzled remark, Jangmi finally straightens her posture before clearing her throat. “There’s leftover dinner for you upstairs. I decided I’ll be working late, so you can go ahead without me.”

“We won’t be eating together?” Sooyun immediately responds with, watching in disappointment as Jangmi shakes her head no. Her younger sister bites her bottom lip quickly, as if coming up with a plan in her head before speaking it out loud. “I could bring dinner down and keep you company if you like.”

“It’s alright. I’m not hungry or tired yet. I’ll be preparing some medicines for our patients in the morning, so it’s not as busy as it was today.” A frown appears on her sister’s thin, pink lips, but she nods her head anyway. “I promise I’ll go to sleep soon. Go on.” Without time to react, Sooyun rushes forward to give Jangmi a hug. She’s shocked at first, but then Jangmi opens her arms to properly hold her sister. “Hey, guess how much I love you.” She commands but the sibling says nothing, causing Jangmi to whine. “Sooyunie!”

The fabric of her tunic moves as she feels Sooyun smile against it. “I love you right up to the moon and back.” She answers before pulling back and letting go. “We’re supposed to say it the other way around, Jangmi.” Jangmi knew very well that they had switched lines, because she had done it on purpose. She knew what she had to do, and it pained her as she looked into her sister’s bright blue eyes. Hiding the hurt that she felt, Jangmi grins and rolls her eyes at her sister before jolting her head in the direction of the staircase. “Good night!”

Once her sister was out of sight, the corner of her lips immediately drop into a frown and a heavy sigh leaves her lips. “I’m so sorry, Sooyun, but I can’t stay here.” She tells herself in a whisper before tightening the string of her apron as she starts to prepare the medicines their patients will need for at least the next month.

She’s up all night, the sky outside beginning to slowly brighten as she ties a string around the last bottle of medicine. Patting her hands against the black apron draped over her usual clothing, Jangmi smiles down at the alignment she’s created with a proud smile. In front of each bottle is a name and directions, all personalized with a special thank you at the end of the note.

Throwing off her apron to the side, she reaches for random herbs and medicines throughout her numerous bookshelves and shoves them into a satchel before throwing the strap over her shoulder. With all the candles blown out in the back of the store, the last remaining piece of wax sat in the front window as its flames welcomed her. She steps towards it in awe as a crunch sounds from beneath her. Removing her foot, she sees the note from Prince Yurim that she had put in her apron earlier that night. It must have fallen out when she tossed the linen moments ago. Unable to stop herself, she picks it up and opens the scroll to read it once more, the same anger swirling in the pit of her stomach from before now mixed with sorrow at the thought of her sister.

Instead of destroying the paper, Jangmi straightens out the crinkles and places it down beside the candle. Without a second thought, she reaches for a pair of scissors on the counter behind her and puts it up to her ponytail. Taking a deep breath in, the next thing Jangmi hears is the sound of the scissors cutting into her hair as she struggles to get it through to the other end as evenly as she can. Once the inches are departed from her head, she places it on the letter beside the candle and grins in satisfaction. Glancing at the counter behind her, her eyes land on a stack of paper with a writing utensil beside them.

An idea forms in her head as her mind reels back to her sibling. Maybe she could leave a note for her sister to find when she wakes up and sees that her Jangmi is nowhere to be found. It could be risky if Prince Yurim or the guards found it, but she could tell Sooyun to burn it afterwards. Quickly, she scribbles a short letter for her sibling to read in a few hours’ time.

Putting up the hood of her tunic to cover her, now botched and short, brown hair, she blows out the fire in one puff and exits the shop. Her boot covered feet walk along the dirt path for about an hour before she finally makes it out of the town, the sun rising just over the horizon as she gives the cluttered cottages one last nod before giving them her back. Hooves clacking against the ground come from behind as she moves over to the side of the road to allow a clear passage. However, as the man on the wagon sees her, he slows down the horse and waits for her to come up beside him again before saying something. “Excuse me, ma’am.” He calls sweetly, gaining Jangmi’s attention as she lifts her head to look at him from under her hood. “I’m not sure where you’re going but I’m headed to Sangdo in case you would like join.”

Glancing at the ground, then the horse, and then back at the old man, Jangmi clears her throat to speak. “I have no money.” She tells him honestly, her hand hovering over her satchel as she keeps it from moving forward.

“Ah,” He disregards with a wave of his hand before signalling for her to hop on. “No charge miss. I just hate to see you walk into the woods alone.” Jangmi grins before walking to the stacks of hay on the bed of the wagon as she grips onto a metal fencing and pulls herself onto it. She settles herself on top of a bulk of hay before giving the old man acknowledgement that she was all set to go. Pulling the reigns of his horse up and down harshly, the creature begins moving at a much faster pace than what Jangmi’s feet were doing moments ago. “Going somewhere important?”

Upon barely hearing his question due to the creaking of the wagon mixed with the wheels turning as well as the horse’s hooves, she calls over her shoulder without looking at him. “I hope so.” The man gives her a chuckle as a response. “I’ve decided I want to live my life my own way.”

For the most part, the ride is silent. A comment here and there slips from his mouth as he attempts to conduct casual conversation with her. Finally, at a fork in the road, he stops the wagon and turns in his seat as to meet her gaze. “Sangdo is in this direction if this is where you’re headed.” He announces, pointing to the right as her eyes follow his finger.

Collecting her items and making sure she had everything she left her town with, she hops off the back of the wagon and walks towards the front. “I’m going this way. Thank you again for the ride, it was very kind of you.” She gives him a slight bow before quickly pulling her hood tighter over her head to shield her hair and eyes from the stranger. The man nods in response, giving her a small ‘you’re welcome,’ before he whips the reigns on his horse and continues on his way into Sangdo.

Turning on her heel, Jangmi’s mismatching eyes land on the forest ahead of her. Putting one boot in front of the other, she steadily makes her way through the woods with no care in the world as she begins to whistle a tune out loud. Her hands are clasped together behind her back as her eyes travel over the greenery, taking in the sights of the trees that tower over her by at least one hundred feet. The sun shines through the leaves and glistens against the water droplets from the short rain shower that had occurred earlier that day.

As she walks, the sound of a branch breaks in the distance and catches her attention. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she walks in the direction of the noise with a cautious attitude. As she approaches an opening in the trees, she is shocked to find a small abandoned house sitting at two stories tall with a long stone wall on one side that protruded out to provide shading near the front door. Her once careful gestures were replaced with those of astonishment as her mouth slightly hangs open and she walks up to the front door.

One knock at first, and then two. Three more knocks before Jangmi sighs in frustration and bangs the bottom of her fist against the wood. “Hello! Is anyone here?” She yells, raising her voice as she tilts her head back to try and look through the second-floor windows. There was no movement and no sound, but, it was getting dark again and she knew she couldn’t stay in the woods. “Please! I need to stay the night if that’s alright!”

Still nothing. She huffs out in annoyance as she crosses her arms over her chest and furrows her eyebrows. She walks down the short steps made out of rock and takes a seat in the grass next to the front door and under the biggest window on the home’s exterior. Perhaps she could just wait until whoever owns the cottage comes home and then she will have a proper talk with them about spending the night before she heads off again the next morning.

As the sky gets darker, her eyelids become heavier with the threat of sleep. She blinks hard, attempting to stay up, but it’s no use as they flutter shut and she finds herself in a comfortable position with her satchel as a pillow on the ground beside her. It’s not long until she falls asleep, however, it’s also not long until she wakes up at the crack of dawn as a habit from her previously jampacked schedule in Busan.

Her eyes adjust to the light shining in her face as she lifts a hand to shield herself from the brightness. Squinting, she looks into the woods for any sign of the homeowner once again, although she soon notices that the grass at the edge of the forest still only has her own footprints from the day before. Standing to her full height, she cups her hands around her eyes and tries to look through the window she had slept under. It’s too dark, even with the sun shining down on the structure, so, she turns around and prepares herself to knock on the front door once again.

She gets about three steps away from the window before noises from the other side of the stone wall catch her attention. Her eyebrows knit together at the center of her forehead as she turns in the direction of the stone wall and moves about six inches closer. The sounds become louder and louder, her heart beating faster as she wonders what waits for her on the other side. Without much time to prepare for what was to come, she’s surprised as a boy jumps over the stone wall and flies in her direction.

Immediately, the boy sees her, and his eyes widen slightly in fear as he realizes he has nowhere to land, the panic rising in his throat as he tries to yell at her to get out of the way. Her feet are glued to the ground as her own eyes double in size and she holds up her arms to protect herself from the impact. The dark-haired boy falls onto her, the both of them hurtling to the ground as a sharp pain becomes prominent on her forehead and a sword sheath goes flying towards the house.

“Ow,” He speaks in a deep voice, squinting his eyes shut even harder than they already were as his arm aches with a burning sensation. Opening just one of his eyes, he looks beside him to see her body turned away from him. Quickly getting on his knees, he pokes her back just as the hood of her tunic falls to reveal her short, brown hair and he inhales sharply at the sight before finding the courage to speak. “Hey, are you okay?”

She groans as she uses her hands to push herself up, still facing away from him as she lifts a hand to her forehead. Pulling it back, her eyes settle on the red liquid draping her fore finger and middle finger. Slowly turning, she glances over her shoulder to meet his eyes as his lips part and his jaw drops at the sight. “Shit, you’re bleeding. Does it hurt?” She answers his question with a lie by shaking her head no and reaching for her satchel to find a medicine that will help ease the discomfort.

“Taehyung! Tae!” A man’s voice suddenly sounds, catching her off guard as she searches for the individual responsible for the bright voice. It made her head hurt as she whipped it back and forth before seeing two figures come out from behind the stone wall. They’re both noticeably shorter than the boy who flew into her and are not dressed as fancy. Their clothes almost seemed as if they were a uniform, and even if they were, she couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed by the rags she had thrown together to wear. One of the men lick their extremely plump lips as he takes in the sight of, who she assumed was, Taehyung. “Would you look at that? I guess you finally did fall for someone.”

“I was going to make that joke, Jimin.” Taehyung states in annoyance as he slowly rises from the ground and walks towards his sheath. She takes this opportunity to put her hood back on and crawls toward her spot under the window. “You always do that, you know. It’s not fair, especially when it’s a really good one.”

Jimin scoffs at him, removing his hands from behind his back as he loses his professional attitude. “Cry me a river, Taehyung.” He responds sarcastically with a slight exaggeration to his voice before he turns and looks at the other man, whose arms are crossed over his chest. “Can you believe this, Hobi?”

“Hoseok hyung, please.” Taehyung begs as he walks closer to all of them, his eyes trained on the two men before him. “Tell him he’s wrong and that I’m right. How many times have I made that joke before, but it wasn’t as funny?” Hoseok says nothing, his lips pulled into a thin line as dimples appear on each side. Tae groans and throws his head back. “It’s only funny now because I actually did run into someone.” His eyes suddenly widen before his head snaps to the right and his dark brown eyes land on her as she continues to crawl on all four in an attempt to make a break for it. “Wait, you’re injured.”

She mentally curses herself at his sharp memory. Her eyes move to his arm as she notices that he’s holding onto it as if it hurts him as well. “You’re injured, too.” She shoots back, still ignoring her own injury as she digs through her satchel once more. Taehyung steps closer to her but is careful to keep his distance as she pulls out a glass bottle. “I’m a pharmacist. I think I have something that can help.”

“No but thank you.” Taehyung instantly says, holding out his good hand with his long fingers spread out, simple silver rings wrapped around three of them. He lowers it as to rest his hand on his hip. “You’re a stranger to me. For all I know, you could be trying to poison me.”

Her attitude changes after his words. Though she’s already wounded, she reaches out and takes Taehyung’s sheath from his waist, the button easily coming undone. “Hey!” He yells out right before his eyes enlarge at the sight of her pushing the sheath down onto her arm at only half of her strength. Pain shoots up her forearm as she bites down on her bottom lip, regretting the action immediately but knowing that she needed to change Taehyung’s mindset about her. Looking back up, she meets Taehyung’s dumbfounded expression as she tries hard to keep her face calm.

Placing the sheath down in front of her, she uses the medicine she was going to give Tae and places some of it on her area of irritation to prove that it was, in fact, not poisonous. When she looks up again, she can see as Jimin smirks down at her from beside Tae before he elbows the boy. “She got you good, Taehyung.” Jimin is struggling to hold in his laughter, his composure slowly diminishing the more he looks at Tae’s surprised face. “You’re so cautious for nothing more than just a small girl in the woods.”

She couldn’t help but think that this was all a joke to the three of them. Even Hoseok, or as Jimin had called him, Hobi, couldn’t keep himself from letting out a slight chuckle. This only annoyed her more as she stands and collects her satchel before marching off into the forest without looking back at the three men.

She uses the inside of her hood to clean whatever blood had spilled from the cut above her left eyebrow before pressing it against her forehead firmly to stop the flow. “Wait up!” A voice calls out to her as she turns around to see Taehyung running toward her. Stepping out of the way, she watches as Taehyung slides to a stop beside her. She rolls her eyes and tries to walk away but Taehyung’s hand stops her as he places it on her shoulder. “I’d be an ignominy if I let a battered girl walk through the forest alone.”

“I’m perfectly fine on my own.” She counteracts with, pointing to the medicine bottle in her bag as she shrugs his hand off her shoulder and continues walking. “Have been my whole life.” Taehyung picks up his own pace to catch up with her before she turns her head to the right to see him attempting to match her strides. With a sigh, she shakes her head and looks ahead of them at an opening in the distance.

“You’re not from here.” Taehyung suddenly observes, bringing his dark, prominent brows to the center of his forehead from what she can see under his bangs as he stares at her. “I would’ve remembered your name if you were from here, especially with those different colored eyes. So, that begs the question,” The two of them stop for a moment as Tae warily pulls down her hood. “What brings you to Daegu?”  

She pretends to not hear Taehyung’s question as she continues to walk, her eyes milking in the sight of an open field surrounded by trees reaching beyond the sky as she decides to introduce herself. “My name is y/n. But everyone who knows me calls me Jangmi.” It’s not until he relentlessly repeats his inquiry and steps in front of to stop her form strolling through the forest, that she finally looks up to meet his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I’m searching for the good things in life.” She wholeheartedly states, momentarily thinking about her sister and wondering if Daegu would be the place where they could live out their lives in peace. After a second thought, she smiles up at the boy to lighten the conversation. “I thought it would be easier here.”

“Good things aren’t supposed to be easy. We have to fight for them. In Daegu, and in everywhere else too.” Taehyung instantly contends back just as she leans her back against the trunk of a tree and he stands in front of her with his eyebrows screwed together. It’s not that he didn’t want good things for her, he wanted good things for everyone. But, he knew from experience that good things were never just handed over. “I’m a strong believer in good things being worth fighting for in the end.”

She goes to walk off once more but something pulls her back, a pain shooting down the back of her head as her hand reaches up to discover that her hair is stuck to a piece of bark. She struggles a few seconds with it before realizing that she can’t get herself free. “Taehyung, can you please cut my hair for me?” The boy freezes at his name spilling from her lips, his eyes trained on her as if nothing else in this world mattered in that moment. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

He gets ready to unsheathe his sword, his fingers wrapping around the hilt before he tilts his head to one side and then releases the handle. “No.” He responds firmly, causing her lips to part in shock as he smirks down at her, his hair slightly covering his eyes. “Not until you tell me the real reason why you’re in Daegu.”

“Taehyung.” She slightly whines his name, dragging out the syllables but it’s no use as it only causes his grin to grow wider as she drops her hands to her sides and gives up. Taehyung stands his ground, attempting to hold a gaze with the pretty girl in front of him as she finally gives in. “It was my choice to leave.”

After she reveals some form of the truth, Taehyung decides to poke further as he closes the distance between them. “Leave from where? And why?” He inquires, his eyes grazing over her body. He’s unsure why he wants to know everything about the girl with the different colored eyes, but he just knows that he has to.

“I’m from Busan.” She admits to her origin, watching as Taehyung’s eyebrows raise with slight surprise. “My grandparents owned a pharmacy and I worked there with my sister all my life.” As she speaks about her family, she quickly takes the inside of her cheek between her teeth and gnaws on it softly before looking down at Taehyung’s sword. “The prince ordered me to be his concubine, so I ran away.”

The man in front of her exhales from his mouth loudly in dissatisfaction, causing her to glance up as she comes face to face with a very disgruntled Taehyung. “He wants you to be his mistress?” He scoffs. “What about your grandparents? And your sister? Did they do anything about it?” She quickly points to her hair with wide eyes, to which Taehyung chuckles a bit. “Oh, right.” He says before unsheathing his sword and holding it carefully at the back of her head.

The piece of hair is cut clean and she’s freed from the tree, Taehyung eyeing her as her hand reaches to the back of her head and she lets out a sad sigh. “My grandparents died a little over a year ago.” She informs him as he tries to immediately apologize. “No, no, it’s okay. As for my sister…” She trails off as her eyes prick with oncoming tears. “I left her behind with a note. I told her I would come back for her when I found a safe place.”

“That’s a lot to handle. I hope you can reunite with your sister soon.” Taehyung comments, the girl nodding in agreement without looking at him. “I can understand why you ran away now. Does your haircut have something to do with the story as well?”

Looking up from the spot of grass separating them, she plays with the hair at the nape of her neck and shakes her head yes. “The prince sent one of his guards with a letter stating that he loved my eyes and hair.” With the same hand, she runs her fingers through her hair and pushes her bangs out of her face. “I can’t change anything about my eyes, so I decided to cut my hair and leave it for him since he adored it so much.”

Taehyung puts a hand to his mouth, but not quickly enough as she sees a smile hiding behind his long and bony fingers. “You surely are something else, Jangmi.” He states while stifling a laugh, her nickname falling from his lips like honey before he puts his hands on his hips and regains his composure. “Don’t worry about the prince. I’ll protect you from him here, in Daegu.”

Taken aback by his sudden offer, she waves him off and begins to slowly step away from him.  “That’s not necessary, but I really appreciate it.” She begins to say, Taehyung quickly interrupting her to say that he insists on caring for her and her sister, regardless of her appreciation. Tilting her head to one side as she rests her arms under her breasts, she sends Taehyung a questionable glance. “Why me?”

It’s as if he has to think about it for a moment, eyes looking to the sky as he rests a finger on his lips and his eyebrows furrow in deep concentration. After a few seconds, he gazes at her and shrugs his shoulders. “To be honest, you’re the only one I’ve ever spent this much time and effort on.” He shamelessly discloses to her, a small blush growing on her cheeks as Taehyung grins at the sight. “I’m not sure why yet. Maybe you’ll just have to stick around to discover the true reason.”

At the sight of Taehyung’s smile, that seemed to resemble a box shape, the air left from her lungs. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt as if she was falling in love at first sight. Wait, no, love at second sight. She’s only just met Taehyung but there’s a warmth in her chest that tells her she’s going to fall in love with him. She doesn’t love him now, but it’s inevitable that she will.

Taehyung and Jangmi go back to the abandoned house to see that it’s not abandoned anymore. From the yard, they can see lights on through the front window, two bodies aimlessly walking around as they set up something on a table. Entering the home, they’re surprised to see Jimin and Hoseok sitting down with a game of chess set up between them. Jimin has a concentrated expression on his face while Hoseok sits back, smugly staring down at the piece of wood between them. With his hand taking hold of her elbow, Taehyung leads her to a loveseat in the living space and sits her down before walking away.

When he returns, Taehyung sits beside her and opens an emergency kit. “What’s all that for?” She inquires innocently, her eyebrows knitting together as she looks from the bandages to Taehyung’s deep brown eyes.

“Your head.” Taehyung responds simply, using his left hand to hold her bangs back as he uses the rag in his right hand to clean the wound. “I’m sure you’re so used to helping others, so I thought you’d let me help you.” She hisses when he hits a sensitive part of the skin and his face immediately drops. “Sorry. Maybe I should just stick to my day job.”

“It’s okay, it just aches a little. I should be fine though.” She watches intently as Taehyung grabs a bandage and some tape to protect the cut on her forehead. Once he’s done, she expects him to put away the materials, but instead, he holds out his own arm. Tilting her head to the side as she looks up at him through her lashes, he avoids her stare by turning his head towards the window. “Oh, now you want my medicine, huh?”

Taehyung struggles to hide the growing smile on his lips as he pushes his arms towards her some more. She rolls her eyes playfully and reaches into her satchel for the same medicine she used on her own arm earlier. After lathering a decent amount on his wound, she takes the same bandages from the kit and wraps it around his forearm. She’s careful to not tie it too tight but she also doesn’t want it to be loose enough to fall off. As she finishes, she begins to clean up the mess between them on the sofa and Taehyung finally turns his head back towards her. “Thank you.”

A loud screech echoes through the open concept of the house as the couple on the couch both turn their heads in the direction of Jimin and Hoseok with worried faces. Jimin is standing with his jaw dropped as he stares down at the chess pieces in shock. “How the hell do you beat me every time? I’m literally smarter than you!” He exasperates, lifting his arms before dropping them at his sides quickly. “Unbelievable.”

Hoseok grins mischievously, getting ready to fire back with a snarky comment before three hard knocks on the door startles all four of them. Taehyung immediately jumps to his feet and stands in front of Jangmi, blocking her view with his bottom and forcing her to look to her left where she sees Jimin and Hoseok take out their swords to point them towards the door. Slowly but surely, Hoseok walks forward and opens it deliberately.

She gets up and peers over Taehyung shoulders by standing on her toes, covering her mouth with her hand as an audible gasp leaves her throat. Tae’s head whips around as he looks down at her from over his shoulder with an arched eyebrow. “That’s the guard that gave me the letter from the prince.” She whispers to him while pointing at the man in the doorway.

Before any of the citizens inside the house can say anything, the guard holds out a basket with a blank expression. “This is a present for Miss Choi Jangmi of Busan.” They can’t see what’s hidden inside of the basket because a small blanket is draped over the items, her curiosity peaking as Taehyung takes her hand and pulls her towards the door.

Without saying anything toward the guard, Taehyung pulls a card off the basket and opens it low enough for her and him to read together. Her eyes scan the carefully written letters, her jaw dropping as the piece of paper begins to shake in Taehyung’s hands. “My sister…” She trails off, her voice hardly above a murmur as she looks to Tae.

“That damn prince.” He mutters in irritation, not caring about the look given by the guard as he takes the basket from him and slams the door closed. “First he causes you to run away from your home but now he’s threatening your sister’s life? What a scumbag.”

She watches as Taehyung sets the basket down on a small table in front of the loveseat they were sat in just moments ago. He throws the letter onto the cushions before pinching the blanket with his thumb and forefinger, slowly pulling it up as the gift beneath is revealed. Jimin and Hoseok put away their swords as they come up behind the others, peering over their shoulders as the blueberries and green grapes become visible to them as well.

The boy beside her exhales as he views the fruits with distaste, everyone else sending each other confused glances before he lifts his head to meet her eyes. “‘Blueberries and green grapes to represent the eyes that will soon be mine.’” He quotes the letter, sending chills down her spine as she reaches down to pick up a grape and prepares herself to eat it. Tae’s eyes widen slightly as he panics and takes the grape from her hand, shoving it into his mouth as he sends her a pained smile. “They taste rotten.”

Following his every gesture with her eyes, she notices as his body starts to sway a bit. “Tae?” She calls his name, only for him to respond with a small grunt as he leans towards her. “Taehyung!” Eyes enlarging in fear, she opens her arms to catch the boy, a loud groan spilling from her lips as Jimin hurries to help her drag him towards the couch. Looking up from his body, she looks to Jimin with worry clear in her discolored eyes. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Poison…” Catching her attention, she looks back down to see Tae reaching for her face. She kneels closer to his body, allowing his long bony fingers to caress her hot cheek as his eyelids continue to flutter. “The fruits are poison. Don’t eat them.” Her body shakes as his eyes finally close and his hand goes limp, his arm falling onto his chest as he turns his head and struggles to breathe peacefully. She knew deep in her heart that Taehyung was going to die, and it was all her fault.  

[tangerinewrites]

DAY 24-25: MINA!

11/24/2020-11/25/2020 

wc: 1275 + 767

note: i skipped day 24th but then got back on track today!! sorry i had homework and was very stressed out bc of college and work. still will!! so expect late updates

The night after the girls were told about their promotion schedules, Mina automatically went to Chungha for help and guidance. Sure, she could’ve gone to the other girls in the dorm as well. Hell, if anything, she could’ve gone to Yuzu for help, considering she’s her first “close” friend in HEARTZ that has promoted on a music show before. But, it was practically normal for Mina to go to the other for help and guidance with anything related to the project. So even if she isn’t involved with HEARTZ yyxy themselves, she was still someone Mina could go to when she was in need of an emergency.

“Mina, you’ll be fine,” she says with reassurement as she gives the other a tight hug. “You’re such a talented performer and you’re also super charming! If the whole country hasn’t fallen in love with you already the moment ‘One & Only’ came out, then they definitely will once they see you onstage!”

Mina whines. “What if I mess up, though?”

“Don’t think about the negatives! Thinking like that will only make you focus on the bad side of it all.” She gives a hug to comfort the other. “You’ll be fine, Mina. You’re going to do great with promoting this song. If anything, I think this song suits you the most out of the whole group.”

She tilts her head at the other. “Is it because of the fact that I’m the youngest?”

Chungha hesitates when asked the question. “…No…”

“It totally is,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not the only reason!” she says in her defense quickly. “You genuinely fit the concept of the song more. Sure, Heejin also had a bit of a cute concept for her song. But knowing you all individually and your performance styles, I feel like this subunit definitely has a benefit with you being apart of the lineup if this was going to be your debut song.”

Mina pouts and looks at the other with puppy eyes. “Aw! Are you saying that you think I’m yyxy’s secret weapon?” She gives the other a tight hug in response. “I love you! This is why you’re my favorite. You compliment me too much.”

“Anything for my mini me~” Chungha coos before she tugs on the other’s cheek. She looks out at their door before looking back at the other. “You think the others are going to call us to watch Yurim’s music video soon?”

Mina shrugs. “We can beat them to it and be the first two in the living room. Just so we can show them we’re superior.”

When she hears that suggestion coming from the younger’s mouth, she couldn’t help but snort. “This is one of the reasons why I’m glad you’re apart of this with me.”

Mina grins before she gets out of the other’s bunk bed, making her way towards the door. “Come on! We don’t want to look like losers! Let’s get a move on!”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says with a sigh before she follows the other’s actions. As soon as the other gets out of bed, Mina makes her way to living room immediately.

If Mina were to go back in time to tell herself one thing, she’d let the other know that she really shouldn’t have gotten as nervous as she did for her Sphere audition. Performing in front of her CEO and coaches is one thing, but in front of a live audience as well as a camera that would broadcast this on TV screens nationwide? Hell! She remembers having to watch music shows through streaming on the Internet! The whole world could be anticipating this performance from the subunit.

It’s obvious she looks a little nervous. She’s always been a bit of a perfectionist when it came to her performances, so messing up in the middle of this would definitely be hard for her. Her manager, the staff, and even the other members were very kind to offer her words of comfort and support during this time, but it still didn’t seem to help Mina’s nerves at all.

And then, it was time. They were given the cue to get themselves onto stage. They had a pre-recording for rehearsal first and Mina managed to do fine, but this was going to be live now. She was going to be performing in front of so many of HEARTZ’s fans as well as netizens and the public in general. The girls who have had their experience with online netizens (because of the MGAs) have told her to not pay too much attention to any mean comments they gave her. But even if she didn’t, she still knows that their image is on the line and first impressions were always important for any up and coming idol.

The girls get into their positions and prepare for their performance. As the music starts and everyone does their moves accordingly, Mina starts to feel herself loosen up as the song progressed. She tries her best to get each move perfectly, as it nearly muscle memory for her at this point. But she also made sure that she gave good facial expressions and that she tried her best with her lines as well. What she will say, though, was that the one motivator to having genuine fun on stage was hearing the fanchants from the excited fans that have prepared for it.

The performance ends quicker than she thought it would and as soon as the director announces that they can get off stage, all four girls bowed and made their way offstage with the back up dancers. Mina smiles as she runs up to Yurim with a big smile, tapping on her shoulder so that she could get her attention.

“We did it!” she says excitedly. “We got to debut together!”

Finally, the schedules that everyone in the group has been waiting for.

After yyxy’s promotions wrapped up, all twelve girls were immediately told to go to the studio to start recording for their debut album. With this finally happening for the twelve girls, it was no surprise that they were all excited for what would come of the future. They were all already familiar with the process, thanks to their individual experiences within their subunits, but now was the time in which they were able to use such experiences to use. This time, however, as their complete lineup.

Mina can say that, between all the girls, there was a mixed opinion on how to feel about their debut title “Hi High”. The song was definitely not something Mina expected for their debut, considering all the concepts that the girls have displayed in the last twelve months. She knows that a good chunk of everyone were disappointed with how it sounded, while the other chunk loved how energetic and cute the song sounded.

Mina was in the middle. She felt that if she listened to it more, she’d gradually learn to love it.

After recording all of her lines for the B-Sides (her favorite one being “Heat”) and for the title, Mina leaves the recording studio with a smile on her face. She’s trying her best to let it sit with her that this was officially happening. She’s sure the other girls felt the same as her, but she was still in shock over what was happening. She was going to be in a full group with such talented girls, some of which she had idolized in the past. She was going to be able to perform, after years of believing that having a career as an idol was impossible for her.

Holy shit! She’s going to debut!

Concept pictures were always one of Mina’s favorite things about the entire process of preparing an album. Not necessarily because of the fact that she thought modelling was fun (though, she does like to look at her pictures from the screens moments after they were taken), but because it gave her an opportunity to look pretty. With this album’s photoshoot, there were two concepts that the girls had to take pictures for: “uniforms” and cottagecore girls in the forest.

As expected, Mina liked the latter much more. It was a shame that the “uniform” aka a white button-up and a gray skirt had to be apart of their fashion for this comeback, as they were going to record a music video for a B-side of theirs. Was it “Heat”? No, unfortunately. But it was “favOrite”, which she thinks would’ve been more cooler had it not been for the outfits given to them.

Not like her opinions mattered for this anyway… for now.

Despite all her negative thoughts on that, she felt the most happiest when taking the group pictures with everyone else. Call her sappy, but she was glad to be able to finally have physical proof of them coming together as one. After the photoshoots ended, Mina asks their manager if they could take a quick group picture for her phone lock screen. With a smile, the manager takes her phone and Mina enthusiastically gathers everyone together for a picture.

“Everyone say ‘Mina is the best!’” Mina shouts with a big smile.

“No way~” the eleven girls tease her in response. After the manager snaps a couple pictures, they give a thumbs up signaling that they were finished. At that, Mina turns to face the others with both hands on her hips. “YAH! Why are you guys so mean to me!”

They all giggle at her and she can’t help but sigh and join in on the laughter. After working and living with them these past few months, even if they did like to tease her a lot, she knew they loved her deep down.

Compared to “Hi High”, she is confident in saying that she liked “favOrite”’s choreography better. Mainly because if she was still covering dances on YouTube, she’d want to cover this choreography for sure.

However, she didn’t like the place in which they were filming this choreography. With filming being in May, she could confidently say that she wasn’t too fond of how warm it was. That, mixed with their dancing, was not a combination Kang Mina was a fan of. Whenever they took breaks from recording the scenes, some of the girls (including her) would rush for their fans or cold water bottles to get a sip.

This music video recording was definitely not a vibe, but Sua, the leader that she was, continued to give them words of encouragement so that all twelve of them could finish with recordings strong. And towards the end of the day, they finally finished filming.

As soon as they got back home to their dorms, Mina went to her room and took a good nap. What an exhausting day.

Compared to “favOrite”, the recording of “Hi High” took longer than just one day. It’s expected, obviously, considering the fact that this is the main music video that everyone would be focusing on. And thankfully, the styling with this music video was much better than “favOrite”. There’s a variety now! Exactly what they needed.

After recording the cinematic scenes, in which Mina tried her best to give actress vibes in them, they got to the best part: the choreography. Compared to “favOrite”, the choreography of this dance was fast-paced, but more so in the cheerful aspect. And after the dreadful recording of “favOrite” from a few days ago, she feels confident in saying that she liked “Hi High”’s choreography now simply because of the positive association. Not to mention, her cutesy parts in the song were fun to verbalize now with the choreography accopanying it.

Their last dance scene would be recorded in front of a weird… architecture? She wasn’t sure how to describe it. But she did know that it was red and that the contrast with that vibrant color and their adorable denim outfits would be pleasing when she watched the music video. As soon as the song finished up and their did their ending poses, the director finally gave their last “Cut!” before wrapping it up with a smile and thanking everyone for taking part of this filming.

And with their words, the twelve girls all cheered in excitement.