#and my Japanese homework I guess >:(

[trenchcrows]

I need to be studying for my maths sac resit but I want to draw and I want to knit and I want to write and sew and redo that jumper and I want to read my books

[wonyology]

The Years Next Door (m!reader x Babymonster's ASA) - part III

part I - part II - part IV (done)

Summary: Enami Asa - one of, if not the most important person in your life - moved in next door a few years ago. You didn't know it back then. It started with an awkward first meeting, a shared family dinner and washing dishes together. Looking back now, you still remember it like it was yesterday. But when did things change between two of you? You don't know for sure - once things shifted, there was no going back for either of you.

tags(?): fluff, ups and downs, angst, you'll see when you read it

ASA x yourself/Original Male Character

Word count: ~17k - i didn't even know it was gonna be this long lol, umm maybe u guys can guess the ending while waiting for part IV? have fun~~ (also i took some inspirations from 'twinkling watermelon', you'll know the scene when u see it)

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

2020

That feeling - a little too comfortable, a little too complicated to explain. Neither you nor Asa ever brought it up, so life just kept moving. Walking to school together, sharing headphones, snacks, umbrellas… You two were like that one couple in a teenage romance that clearly liked each other but never got together, even at the end. Always orbiting, never colliding.

Spending time with her, however, was never boring. Asa usually spoke in Japanese whenever she was mad, or when she didn’t want you to understand something. Huh, that somehow made you fall for her even harder. Over time, you also started picking up on the patterns. You noticed how Asa always covered her mouth whenever she smiled or laughed really hard at your dumb jokes. You noticed how Asa always slipped into a trance when she was sketching, writing - like she was in her own world, brows almost touching each other like the sketchbook owed her something. She still denies it now, but you know, you always pay attention to her. Maybe too much, sometimes.

She was chasing her own ambitions, but she never forgot you were there. You’d moved to sit behind her, part of you missed sitting beside her - taking a glance at Asa whenever you wanted, her daydreaming in class, the way she looked at you whenever she came across a difficult question in an exam, or her nodding off during afternoon classes…

Cute.

But hey, sitting behind Asa also had its perks. Whispering dumb jokes, poking her with your pen just to get a reaction, talking about those dumb discussions on the Internet… The best part, you could play with her hair. With the other boys, Asa was friendly, nice but not one of them was ever this close to her. You were the only who she allowed, or maybe even encouraged to braid, twist or just fidget her hair in class. There was this one time, the teacher couldn’t make it to class. Your classroom was a war zone - noises, laughter, chaos everywhere. You were zoning out, probably thinking of something dumb while looking out the window, like whether people in Seoul would realistically survive if a zombie outbreak ever broke out? (Your guess: a big no no). Just then, Asa shook her head a few times, her long hair brushing against your hands. What was she trying to do? She turned around, lips slightly puckered, pretending to be annoyed. Then she playfully slapped your hands with her hair before turning back around, face slightly blushing.

Oh. My bad.

Right away, princess,

What about you? Well, aside from Asa and a few of your hobbies - it felt like all you did back then was chasing medals and taekwondo practice. Homework piled up. Training never seemed to stop. Your limbs ached more than usual. Maybe it was starting to get to you. Did you really enjoy taekwondo? Amidst all that, Asa always noticed whenever you were worn out. She would slip a note to you in class, with cute doodles saying: 

“힘내~” (Fighting~)

“괜찮아? ㅇㅅㅇ”  (Are you ok? ㅇㅅㅇ) 

“뭐생각행 ^^” (What are you thinking^^)

Those always cheered you up, even if you were too tired to show it. Walking to school and back home with her, still your favorite part of the day. 

And then… the world changed.

Covid hit.

At first, you all thought it was cool to have an unexpected break. Then school was postponed, online classes became the norm. It stopped being fun pretty fast. No more poking at her with your pen, or playing with her hair.

Both of your dads, being doctors at the same research center, knew how dangerous it was. They tried not to scare everyone, but the way they came home tired, quiet after work just showed. It even got to the point that they had to limit how often you and Asa could visit - even though you lived next door. Then one day, they didn’t come home at all. They had to be quarantined - staying at the research center for over 2 months, working day and night.

The world was harsh on everyone, on your families. But hey, you and Asa had each other. You talked through the window late at night, voices low, sometimes even scratchy through the glasses. Or you would wait until everyone is asleep, then slide the windows open just enough to hear each other. 

“Asa-ah?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, just bored.”

She laughed, quietly. “Me too.”

“Do you think our dads are okay?” she asked, the way a good daughter would - trying hard not to sound too worried.

“I think so. My dad just called my mom, she said she saw your dad sleeping on the floor in the background” you replied, just loud enough for her to hear.

“I hope they come home soon.”

Me too.

If it was hard to hear what each other said, you both got creative and turned into that guy and Taylor Swift in the “You belong to me” music video - holding up boards and writing what you wanted to say.  Sometimes, you two didn’t even know what to say. Just there to enjoy each other’s presence. Listening to the same night air. Just two windows apart. It was just about being there.

Late night movie watching was fun too. You both tried to start the movie at the same time - “Wait for me, okay? Three… two, ONE!” - sometimes through video calls, sometimes through your windows with screens glowing in the dark. It felt nice, looking over and seeing each other’s reaction from the window or on the corner of the video call. Other times, you’d watch her instead of the movie.

“Wi Ha Joon looks hot. I think he’d be a great boyfriend.” she commented, while you two were binging Squid Games one night. 

“Really? I mean, he looks good. Don’t know about the boyfriend part tho.” you replied, a hint of jealousy in your voice.

“Girls’ instinct. He’s handsome, 6 pack, and I watched his interviews too. You wouldn’t know.” she smirked.

Ouch. Excuse me, I’m not bad myself, I got girls chasing me too by the way. I do taekwondo so, duh.  And I treat you like a princess… Maybe even when we are just friends. Well… friends?

That night after finishing a few episodes, your windows went dark. Your phone suddenly lit up.

[김아사🌸]

yah…

you’re not mad at me or anything, right?

the wi ha joon thingy…

You left it on read, maybe for too long. You didn’t know how to reply right away. Not because you were mad. Just processing. She said he would be a great boyfriend just like that. Like you wouldn’t understand. Okay, maybe you were a bit salty? You had abs, thanks to taekwondo practice. You won competitions, girls liked you. She said it, like it meant nothing. 

[준혁선베🥋]

nah

not mad

[김아사🌸]

ㅜㅜ u only text short like this when ur mad

Gotcha. But what were you supposed to say?

[준혁선베🥋]

no im not mad

what are u saying ㅋㅋㅋ

[김아사🌸]

i was just joking 

i don’t mean it like that

i just say dumb things like that sometimes

You were in no position to be mad at her for something like this. Asa didn’t owe you anything. It just stung… Maybe just a little bit.

[준혁선베🥋]

what are u saying, kim asa?

i know you’re joking ㅎㅎ

i’m just a bit tired, math class fried my brain today

[김아사🌸]

ooh me tooo

but you’re good at math, i slept the whole class today ㅋㅋㅋ

You really hoped she didn’t know you were bluffing. Your brain weren’t fried from math class. Her voice was just in your head:

“I think he’d be a great boyfriend”. What about me?

[준혁선베🥋]

i should report u to ms. sieun

[김아사🌸]

try me, you big meanie

[준혁선베🥋]

sleep before i block u, dummy

i’m getting sleepy

[김아사🌸]

it’s still early ㅜㅜ

don’t leave me up alone

nooooo

You looked at the time on the top of your phone. 1:39AM. No, it wasn’t early. You two were now just used to staying late together.

[준혁선베🥋]

go to sleep asa-ah

we still have a lot time 

gnight 

[김아사🌸]

…

okay, good night

u meanie

*emoticon of a duck crying*

Heh, cute…

You then tossed the phone aside, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. It wasn’t really something that big. But tonight felt different. Why did one offhand comment just sit with you like this? You tried your best not to give it much thought, gaslighting yourself that it was just you being childish.

Throughout Covid and all those months at home, there wasn’t a single day that you and Asa didn’t talk, text or call each other. Even when things got a bit hectic, you both tried to take a break to just be there for each other. It had become a routine. Video calls showed you sides of her that she never showed to anyone - messy bun, oversized t-shirt, the way she hugged her pillow when she was half asleep, sketching without realizing she was biting the collar of her shirt again…

“Are you still up, Kim Asa? You look like you were just dozing off.”

“No, I’m not.” she said, eyes barely open.

“You look like a ghost right now.” you smiled.

“Maybe I am. Boo.”

“Ghosts don’t send me selfies with eye masks on.”

You loved those selfies of hers. She didn’t know, but you secretly saved every single one of those. 

“Want me to hang up?” you asked.

“No… Just talk. I’ll listen.”

She always did that. Staying on the call even when she was drifting, just to hear your voice.

Then came her birthday. The streets were still quiet. Your dads were still sleeping at the research center. So you did what you could. That night, you wrote on a board: “Happy birthday Kim Asa” in big, uneven bubble letters along with a few bunnies - which you tried to cut and decorated in the cutest way possible.

[준혁선베🥋]

look outside, birthday girl

A few minutes later, her curtains twitched. She peeked out. She squinted at the board, the broke into the softest laugh ever. A second later, she opened her window.

“Yah, your handwriting is so bad.” she called softly.

“Hehe, happy birthday. Guess who stayed up until 3AM to cut and decorate paper bunnies?”

“You didn’t have to…”

Then you held up something - a small pink box, clumsily wrapped.

“I’ll leave by your gate later. Don’t open ‘til I say it.”

“What is it?”

“I dunno. Wi Ha Joon’s number. Maybe, if you behave.”

She rolled her eyes at you, smile still lingered. That night, she sent you a photo of your gift, a hand-sewn felt keychain.

[김아사🌸] sent a photo.

[김아사🌸]

is this a fox? ㅋㅋㅋ

[준혁선베🥋]

excuse me? that’s a really cute rabbit, young lady

just a little mutated ㅎㅎ

still, made with my blood, sweet and tears

[김아사🌸]

ㅇㅅㅇ didn’t know you know how to sew

[준혁선베🥋]

mom taught me, sorry i didn’t get u anything meaningful

covid sucks

[김아사🌸]

noooo

i luv it ㅋㅋ

even if it’s a bit mutated lol

[준혁선베🥋]

look under its butt, there’s a piece of paper

You waited.

[김아사🌸] sent a photo.

It was a photo of a few coupons you made, a bit crumpled.

1 free snack from the school vending machine, 1 walk from home in silence (or full gossip, her choice), 1 emergency homework rescue, 1 ticket to the movies with the one and only Seo Joonhyuk. No expiration date btw.

 [김아사🌸]

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ who taught u all this

[준혁선베🥋]

use it whenever u want lol

happy birthday

[김아사🌸]

thanks for this

i really love it

really

i love it

Well done, Joonhyuk. Well done…

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Late 2020 - 2022

Things went by so fast. Online classes dragged on, until limited gatherings were permitted. Schools were partially opened, with lots of restrictions of course. Still, you were excited to see each other, in person - next to each other.

Asa seemed different. More confident. More outgoing. She started speaking more in class, becoming more active in club activities - but she was still Asa, your Asa. Still covered her laugh in that feminine, beautiful fashion, still muttered in Japanese whenever she was annoyed or shy.

And you? It felt like you got taller. Broader. Sports and taekwondo really helped. Your voice deeper, your laugh rougher. You didn’t think much of it, but Asa noticed. She was just a few centimeters shorter than you when you first met, now - she barely reached shoulder. You teased her once on the way home, calling her “pocket sized”. She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouths moved up in that way you always remembered.

People also started noticing. Your science teacher paused one day while handing out a quiz.

“Huh, the two of you have grown a lot… Seems closer, too.”

You just laughed it off, while Asa pretended to be busy zipping her pencil case. But she was smiling.

Your parents noticed too. One evening, you were getting something for your mom on the top shelf when dad squinted at you.

“Since when did you get taller?” 

“Really, dad? Is it that noticeable?”

“Nah, you’re still my boy.” dad grinned. “Just… over 180 now.” It surprised you too. Somewhere between all the calls, the practices, and walking home with Asa, you’d grown.

When the government finally lifted restrictions on public places, Asa wasted no time.

[김아사🌸]

joonhyuk

get dressed

we’re going out 

don’t forget to bring ur money too

It wasn’t exactly allowed. Your families would’ve scolded you both if they found out - dads being doctors, cases still high, staying inside, all that. But you’d been locked inside for what felt like decades now. Plus, being with Asa was never a bad thing. It was worth the risk. 

You secretly climbed over the wall in your backyard. She snuck out, with the help of her sisters (with much convincing). You two met each other at the corner of the block like it was a secret mission. Mask on, hoodies up, sanitizer ready in your pocket. You didn’t even ask her where you were going. But you were thinking about it in your head. 

During lockdown, Asa developed a habit. You two bombarded each other with dumb Tiktoks. But she had a pattern. Every few days, she’d send you those Tiktoks, sometimes suspicious, sometimes random. 

“Hidden cafe, ideal for couples in Apgujeong-dong”

“Up your game with these fits”

“Outfits that give K-drama main lead energy”

“Try to style your fits according to these rules”

When you asked, she said your style wasn’t bad - nice even, it just needed some upgrading. You watched every one of those and started to imagine being outside. With her.

She took you everywhere. The slightly over-priced stationary shop she called her “art heaven”. A quiet cafe with bear-shaped bottles. A tiny pop up gallery she said was “vibey but a bit underwhelming.” And then cloth shopping, for both you and her.

“Come on,” she grabbed arm before you could even protest.

“What now?”

“We need new clothes. Especially you, you’ve been dressing like a gym teacher ever since the lockdown.”

She took you to one of those small, really niche boutiques full of clothes for young people she saw on Tiktok in Seongsu-dong. Oversized shirts, clean wide pants, creative color palettes. Everything felt like they belonged on a K-drama set. As you two wandered around, she held up a beige jacket, turning it side to side before nodding to herself.

“Try this. You’re tall. This will look good.”

You just followed Asa. Didn’t argue. She picked a few more things and shoved them into your arms, rushing you into the dressing room.

You tried everything on. Stepping out, you felt like you were 7 again, trying out clothes with mom at the mall.

“See, I told you I know best.” she smiled while tilting her head.

Yeah, she really does know best.

She tried on some stuff too, taking her time picking everything out. She said she “wanted your opinion”. You didn’t mind tho, it was Asa who you were spending time with. Watching her browse through those racks with a smile on her face brought you 10 days worth of happiness.

“What do you think?” she walked out, spinning around with a blush on her cheeks to give you a show.

She was in a cropped blouse with soft plural patterns, hands nervously fiddling with her sleeves. Damn, you almost forgot how to breathe.

“Too big?” 

“No.” you said, too quickly. “Looks nice, suits you really well.”

You both paused. Then smiled, sneaking out with her was worth it.

When you left the store, Asa tried to carry her bags - like always, But you stopped her with a simple “Give it to me.”

You took everything from her without waiting for a reply. And for a second, Asa looked at you like she wanted to say something, but didn’t. And honestly, she didn’t need to. You thought it was the end of the trip, until she tugged at your arm.

“One more stop.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Your hair, it’s been like that since the start of lockdown - that upside down bowl on your head.”

“Not like I had the chance to go out and cut it.”

“Right, let’s solve it right now.”

You guys arrived at a quiet little salon, the sign was mostly in Japanese, soft instrumental playing inside - one of the hidden finds she’d probably bookmarked while staying up late. This place sure smelled citrus and hairspray. As you took your seat, she scrolled through her phone and showed the stylist a muted TikTok.

“Something like this really suits him.” She said, in Japanese.

The stylist squinted at the phone screen. She looked at you, then back at Asa with a smile.

“Oh yeah, I can see that. Are you taking your boyfriend out for a haircut?”

Asa smiled, hands waving.

“Ah, no–” she answered quickly, still in Japanese.

“Uhm, he’s my neighbor. We’re close friends.”

You looked at the stylist’s expression, she smiled, you didn’t speak Japanese but you knew she clearly didn’t buy whatever Asa said. No one really did when it came to the two of you. 

“Got it. So we’re doing a light trim, and soft side perm? Ivy League?”

“Yes please, Maybe keep some volume on top, uhmm… the top should be up a bit like this. Just like in the video.”

“Okay.”

What are they saying?

You’d always paid attention to your appearance ever since puberty hit, or more when Asa moved next door. Just that you always opted for that signature Korean two block cut, styling it for that wavy look every once in a while. You’d tried doing side perm in the past too, it was okay - it wasn’t your taste back then. It looked good on you, at least that was what your close friends said. You did mention wanting to try a buzz cut once. Once you told Asa that, she glared at you, threatening to end your friendship on the spot if you ever dared try it.

Trying something new today won’t hurt, I guess.  

Sensing your concern, the stylist smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you achieve that boyfriend material look today.”

While the stylist was working her magic, you just sat back and relaxed. Snippets of conversation here and there with her, it was comforting. Meanwhile, Asa was in the back, scrolling on her phone, pretending not to be watching your reflection the entire time. 10 minutes or haircut, 30 minutes of perming your back and sides - it was done. 

The stylist stepped aside, feeling so proud of her work.

“She wasn’t kidding when she said it would suit you.”

You caught Asa’s reflection in the mirror. Her lips pressed, cheeks lifted - trying not to smile. That smug little glow in her eyes.

“You owe me this one.”

You didn’t say it out loud, but… Damn, you were feeling yourself too. And the way she was looking at you? It made you feel even better.

On the way, you felt like she couldn’t stop stealing glances. You - carrying both your bags of new clothing, stationary items, rocking a new haircut, Asa on your side - were on cloud nine. That night, she posted a story on IG, a blurry street photo with the corner of your shoulder in frame, with Bolbbalgan4's ‘Galaxy’ playing in the background. You also posted a story on IG - a selfie with your new haircut, caption saying “New hair, same dummy”. 

See that? Comfort, peace… We were inches away from something else, something more. Almost there… Why wouldn’t either of us just say it already?

Asa didn’t stop at haircuts and clothing. That girl just kept sending you links - perfumes that smelled like “someone who reads”, sneakers that “match your vibe”, watches that scream “I’m a stylish guy, but not in a cocky way”. She really knew what suited you, better than yourself.

Also, what is this? Build-a-boyfriend?

Your mom started noticing too. 

“Asa has good taste” she said once while passing by you looking at a cologne Asa recommended.

“When did you start switching to Japanese products, Joonie?” 

You knew, mom.

-

Time went by. You continued to dominate your age group, too easily - some said. After that gold medal at Jamsil Student Gymnasium, as you won more and more - you were in the eyes of the taekwondo national team board. People were sent to your house - a bunch of yes men in clean suits trying their best to convince mom and dad to let you come to Suwon, go to a sports centralized school to focus on taekwondo. 

“You’ve got real potential. You will definitely represent our country.”

Props to them, they made it sound really easy.  Like it was your only path in life. After they left, the living room felt strange but your parents were clearly impressed. However, as your dad was flipping through the brochure they left behind, he finally said after a long pause.

“They weren’t wrong, Joonhyuk-ah. You’ve work so hard for this, but…”

“It’s your life. You’re still our son. Still my little boy” mom added, wrapping her hands around your head to hug you.

“We will support your choice, honey. Whatever it is.”

“We have always been proud of you, kiddo.”

You didn’t say anything right away. Just nodded, grateful. The decision was heavy, but at least it was yours.

That night, you didn’t sleep. Taekwondo, parents, the neighborhood, friends, high school… everything was running around in your head when your phone suddenly buzzed.

[김아사🌸]

guess what 

i saw a tiktok

now i made toast but i used soy sauce instead of syrup ㅜㅜㅜ

ahhh, is it too late to call an ambulance?

You smiled. Oh right, if you left for Suwon, you would have to leave Asa, too… Your thumbs hovering, then finally typed.

[준혁선베🥋]

why are u like this, kim asa ㅋㅋㅋ

[김아사🌸]

the tiktok said it would taste nice

[준혁선베🥋]

drink some water and rethink your life choices 

[김아사🌸]

rude

im dying from soy sauce poisoning and ur bullying??

*angry loopy emoticon*

i’ll haunt u

as soy sauce ghost

boo

You laughed, maybe a bit too loud in the dark, shoulders weren’t tenseed anymore. Somehow, her dumb messages were the only thing that kept you from overthinking everything. No… you couldn’t leave life in Seoul behind, especially if it involved this cute little soy sauce ghost.

The next morning, you told your parents about your decision to stay in Seoul. 

“Uhm… I’m staying. I’ll apply to the same academic highschool here. I think I can balance training and studying here.”

They didn’t say much - just exchanged glances with each other. Your dad then rubbed your head and said:

“Alright. Give it your best, son. Work hard and don’t regret it.”

Just before you leave for school, mom pulled you in for a quick hug.

“Thanks for staying with us, baby.” You smiled, too.

-

It was a late afternoon after school, the two of you sitting next to each other outside the convenience store, the same one where you first showed her around the neighborhood. Banana milk in her hands, snacks opened on yours. It was breezy, the sun had started dipping, casting that soft golden glow on her hair.

Still beautiful, just like that day I showed you around.

“Joonhyuk-ah? Do you think we’ll get in?” She suddenly asked.

“Highschool, I mean.”

You looked at the sky.

“Yeah. Should be fine. I’m applying to Seoul Jungang.”

“Me too.” She smiled softly. “Our grades are great, we should get in easily. I think I’ll focus on art there.”

You hesitated - the Suwon thing, you hadn’t told her yet.

Is this the right time?

“I got an offer from Suwon. For taekwondo.”

Her head snapped towards you. “What?”

“Uhm… sports highschool. They wanted me to move there. Full training, scholarship, too.”

She didn’t move, but the banana milk almost fell out of her hand. 

“You didn’t say anything to me…”

“Sorry… Didn’t think I needed to. I said no to them.” You didn’t dare to look her in the eyes.

“Why?”

“I just didn’t want to leave Seoul.” now turning to look at her, you said quickly.

“It didn’t feel right, I guess.”

Something in her eyes shifted, you could feel it. Anger? Disappointment? Sadness? You didn’t know. But it sure was scary to you.

“Do you know how big of an opportunity that is, Seo Joonhyuk?” Yeah, you’re in trouble. Full name now.

“You’ve trained your whole life for this.”

“For fuck’s sake, you’re not my mom.” Fuck… It came out of your mouth faster than you could think.

“I know what I did and what I trained for.” Asa knew you swore, just not around her - only with your other friend groups. Never around her. Never at her. Not like this.

Her lips parted, then closed again. She was clearly hurt by what you just said. Her brows now pulled together, like she was trying to hold herself back.

“So you’re staying here. For what, you dummy?” she asked, voice soft, stunned. “Because of me?”

You stayed silent.

“Joonhyuk-ah” she said again, voice now low.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me I’m not the reason you said no.”

“There were a lot of things that affected my decision, okay?”

“So you didn’t deny it either.” You let out a breath, just realizing how big of a mistake it is for telling her about your big decision like this. 

“Why does it matter? I’m happy with the decision, Asa-ah.”

She calmly set the banana milk on the table before taking a deep breath, adding to the tension between you two. 

“Because I don’t want to be the one to hold you back.” 

“What? You’re not…” you frowned.

“What if I am, huh? Then what?” her voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp. It wasn’t like the other times when she was mad at you. This was real. 

“What if later, when everything’s harder, you blame me for staying? What if you regret staying?”

You looked at her - something about the look in her eyes made your chest tighten.

“I promise. I won’t ever blame you.” you said. “You know what I think about you, Asa…”

The silence became too long, too heavy.

Asa stood up first, brushing off her skirt.

“Let’s just go home.” she mumbled. You nodded, following. But this time, she didn’t wait for you.

Watching her walk ahead did something to your heart. Every part of your body told you to fix things before it was too late. So you did. You ran up and reached out - not thinking, grabbing her hand. She stopped. Asa’s hand was small. Tense. Warm. This was your first time holding her hand. You’d never held it before. Not like this.

“Please don’t be mad at me.” you said, voice rough but filled with guilt.

“I’m sorry. For earlier. I got mad and swore at you… I didn’t mean it like that.’”

She turned around, not quite looking at you yet - but her fingers didn’t move.

“I… uh, I’ve never talked to you like that before. I don’t want to. Please don’t be mad at me.”

No response. You held her hand a bit tighter, afraid that she would pull away.

“I panicked… I didn’t want you to think that you were the reason I refused the offer. You’re not…” You swallowed.

“I mean, you mean something to me. I wanted to stay. Because Seoul matters. You matter.”

Asa just stood there, her face still ridden with hurt. Then, without looking at you, she turned around and just said:

“I’m tired. Let’s just go home.”

You really messed up. Big time. But as you slowly let go of her hand - she didn’t, for some reason. She held your hand, just for a bit longer, not squeezing, not pulling away either. 

-

The walk home was filled with tension, no words were said. Something between you two changed - something cracked. Even though you two were walking side by side again, it didn’t feel good, not like before. It was you and Asa’s first real fight - it exposed something unsaid between you two, while also hinting at how much harder things might get in the future.

The next morning, Asa acted like nothing ever happened.

You were waiting outside, like always - same routine, same backpack slung over one shoulder. Unsure if she’d even show up. Surprisingly, she did.

“Morning, dummy. Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Uh… nothing. Morning.”

She didn’t bring up the fight. Not the Suwon offer, not the apology, not you two’s first hand holding or the awkward silent walk home or the silence last night. It felt like she’d folded it all up and hid somewhere you couldn’t reach. 

“Did you sleep standing up last night?’ she grinned. “You look like a kicked puppy.”

“Huh?”

She slipped out her earbuds, popped it into her ear and tiptoed to reach yours, placing the other one in for you. Then, before getting fully down, her hands touched your cheeks…

What?

Baam.

Asa playfully slapped you, grinning. “Music, dummy. What’s wrong with you today? Wanna walk in silence like we’re strangers?”

You shook your head and started walking together. You two talked during the walk to school too. Her complaining about the school schedule, joking about how she was going to fake her height to look taller in the yearbook. Did she erase the whole thing overnight - that easy?

“Yah, Kim Asa. Wanna eat something together tonight? After the hakwon? I’ll pay. Government funding.” you asked, half joking, half trying to see if she really forgave, enough to eat together.

Her eyes lit up.

“Ooh, you still remember that thing, huh? Okay, only if you’re paying.”

There she was, your Asa was back, with that smile of hers, that playful tone. You were relieved, but kept sneaking glances, somehow this whole thing wasn’t really convincing just yet. No matter how normal she acted - something told you the fight from last night was still there. 

-

Time went by. Ever since that day outside the convenience store - since the fight, the apology - you couldn’t help but feel like something between the two of you had shifted. Not broken. Just bent. But Asa kept acting like nothing happened.

But you both got in. Results came out in January. That morning, you were still in bed, wearing nothing but shorts, hand trembling a bit as you clicked through the  website.

Accepted: Seoul Jungang High School

You stared at it for a moment, heart pounding. You didn’t even begin to type yet.

[김아사🌸]

im in. you?

You smiled, thumbs moving.

[준혁선베🥋]

ur stuck with me for the new few years btw

[김아사🌸]

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

told you we’d get in

[준혁선베🥋]

get ready

let’s get something to eat, my treat

[김아사🌸]

okayyyyy

10 minutes

At least, it felt peaceful. Even for now. You walked there together. Same old street. But the mood was suddenly lighter. You held the door open for her. She didn’t say thanks - just bumped your arms but hers and walked in.

Like usual, you were the one who grabbed the basket, trailing behind her as you both moved through the familiar aisles. Asa kept tossing things in. You, on the other hand, were spacing out. Eyes on her, but your mind was gone. The memories of that day came flooding back in. “What if I’m the one holding you back?”

You didn’t realize you’d spaced out until she hit your arm with a bag of chips.

“Yah, Seo Joonhyuk. Are you okay? That head of yours still broken or what?”

“Just… thinking.” you mumbled.

“Chocolate or latte?”

“Chocolate. Always?”

“Hah, you still have the taste buds of a 6 year old.” Asa said, laughing before tossing a bottle of chocolate milk into the basket.

Walking outside after everything was done, the cold air hit sharp again. You found the usual bench, side by side, food in hands, just chewing, sipping, watching people go about their days. For a while, neither of you said anything. Suddenly, Asa leaned against you - not too heavy, just enough that her head was rested on your shoulder.

“Hey” she said quietly. “Don’t overthink about that day.”

Your chest tightened. Before you could respond, she added:

“I already forgave you. Now I want my dummy back.”

It hit you harder than you thought it would. You didn’t know how long you’d been holding your breath until you finally let out:

“...Thanks. I’m sorry… I really didn’t mean it. What I said that day…”

For a second, you felt her shifted slightly by your side. She didn’t say anything yet - lips still sipping her banana milk. Then she reached up, her hands ruffled your hair gently.

“Yeah, you sounded like a jerk that day.”

You winced. “I know.”

“But…” her hands now moved down to the corner of your lips, finger moving it up,

“Still, you’re the only jerk I treasure. So you don’t get to disappear just because you mess up.”

Your eyes now really met her - and there it was. That smile, real, lovely, only for you.

“Next time,” she said. “Please don’t treat me like I’m someone who you have to hide things from.”

You smiled. “Okay.”

Then she held up her bottle of banana milk, shaking to signal you to hold up your chocolate milk.

“To getting into high school.” she said.

“And being forgiven by Kim Asa.” you added. The two bottles clinking against each other.

She grinned. It all felt better now. Thanks to her.

-

The first year of high school went by faster than you thought. That orientation day came with stiff collars, new sneakers, also way too many unfamiliar faces crammed into one school. You and Asa arrived together, like always - shoulder to shoulder, backpacks bumping as you walked side by side through the gates of Seoul Jungang High school for the first time. You’d seen her in that new uniform in the morning, sure - it hit even harder under the school sunlight. The blazer fit her so well, skirt pressed, hair pinned back for once. Asa looked good, way too good.

“Why are you staring at me, you dummy?” she muttered, eyes avoiding yours as blushes began to form on her cheeks.

“Nothing.. you look mature.” you replied.

“Well, you’re not too bad yourself.” she snorted, but there was a flicker of something in her smile. 

The two of you joined the crowd of first years crowding around the bulletin board, chaos by the way. Asa leaned in closer, scanning the list, maybe for the both of you.

“Class 1-4.” she read aloud. “Enami Asa… And, Seo Joonhyuk?”

Yessss, as you quietly celebrated in your head.

She turned to you slowly, eyes wide.

“No way.” you both said at the same time. 

She bursted out laughing, the laugh that always triggered something in your heart.

“I guess I really am stuck with you.”

You grinned. Well, I’m glad that’s the case.

“Excuse me, I do my fair share helping you back in middle school too, young lady.” you shot back.

She put her hands up, surrendering.

“Okay, okay, we’re even.”

Still, she didn’t stop smiling. Neither did you.

Class 1-4 was on the third floor. You walked together, slowly, with Asa half-dragging her feet, already complaining about the stairs.

“I miss middle school. Everything was closer.”

“Tired already?” you asked.

She huffed, dramatically. “I need a personal elevator.”

I could carry you on my back to class everyday, if you want.

When you two got to class, it was filled up already. Students hovered near the windows, some already claiming seats with their bags tossed onto chairs, while you two just stood there awkwardly. Everything was loud, new, and unfamiliar. Then the homeroom teacher walked in, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, everybody. Quiet, please.” she said.

“You can pick your seat for now. We’ll assign them officially next week.” 

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the room burst into motion. Bags shuffled. Screaming. Some kids rushed for the back like it was Black Friday, some weirdly calmly walked to the front. Then, Asa turned to you with that grin, “C’mon” she said -  reaching down and grabbing your hand. Just like that, no warning. Just enough to pull you along, like she did that a thousand times already.

She led you toward the second to last row by the windows - prime real estate, probably best seats ever - before throwing her backpack on the left seat and sliding into it. You followed, sitting next to her, still feeling the trace of her fingers on yours. 

A few glanced your way. Probably assuming, gossips forming in their minds. You notice it. So did Asa. But she didn’t care, already digging through her cute pencil case like it didn’t matter.

“You’re lucky, you know that?” she said, casually.

“I could’ve picked anyone. But I chose you.”

“Really?” you played along “Why didn’t you?”

She didn’t look at you this time, lips smiling at her notebook.

“Your high school years would be miserable without me.”

Yeah, she was right.

The class was slowly settling as some students found their seats. A few of them looked like they were ready to square up, fighting for the last good seats. You and Asa sat there - like it was already decided, like it was fate. A few minutes later, the homeroom teacher walked around, clipboard in her hands to check names and make notes. She stopped by your row, glancing at Asa, then you.

“Hmm, are you two close?” her eyes flickered, noticing how relaxed you guys looked next to each other.

You opened your mouth, but Asa beat you to it.

“We’re next door neighbors, Ms. Since middle school.” she said.

The teacher blinked, then smiled - just a quiet kind of understanding.

“Seo Joonhyuk… Hmm, you’re that special taekwondo kid the principal was talking about, right?”

The whole class turned to look at you. Your ears were already burning. 

“Uhm... I wanted to stay in Seoul.” you mumbled, still shy.

The teacher’s gaze stayed on you for a bit - curious, maybe amused - then she smiled. 

“Well, our school’s never had an athletic talent like you before, so... welcome, you two can sit next to each other.” she walked away - leaving behind a few whispers, glances and Asa was looking out the window like none of it fazed her. But her smile, it made your whole weekend.

Academically, the two of you kept pace - late night studying, in her room or yours, passing notes under the desk, sometimes competing to see who’d score higher - you’d purposely lose to her sometimes, just to see her smiling. That quiet competitiveness, it made you both better. The two of you worked well together, always had. You two weren’t loud, weren’t flashy. But somehow, it was easy to tell that the two of you… just clicked. The teachers noticed too.

Your math teacher always said that you two were like an old married couple. Ms. Taeha always smiled a little whenever she passed by your desks, watching you check Asa’s notes while she doodled hearts on them. 

“Cute couple, aren’t they?” she told the class once. You both pretended not to hear it. Maybe, the teachers were rooting for you and Asa, too.

You started making headlines, too. As you swept through national taekwondo competitions - gold after gold, your school was mentioned in articles, for the first time ever in that context. A taekwondo prodigy, coming out of an academic school? Never before. Interviews of you surfaced on social media, clips of you dominating matches on national TV. Of course people noticed. Especially the girls. They whispered in the schoolyard, eyes on your back in the hallway. Some even showed up to practices, holding banners with your name.

And Asa? She didn’t say much. But you noticed how her eyes shifted, gripping the water bottle tighter whenever someone called your name too sweetly. She wasn’t invisible either. She joined the dance club, and stood out, as expected. Her movements cleaned, graceful, confident - people had to stop and stare. Performances were posted online, soon enough, comments started showing up too.

“Who’s that girl in the front row?”

“Isn’t she the Japanese girl from 1-4?”

“Enami Asa… She’s gorgeous.” 

It didn’t take long before the sunbaes noticed her - those dicks. The kind who lingered after rehearsals with extra water bottles or excuses to “help” the club. Some waited by the gates afterschool. However, the moment they spotted you - whether walking beside or rambling about something dumb behind her - they scattered. A glance was enough. Sometimes, just a nod. You didn’t need to say a word, didn’t need to. Asa didn’t say a thing, or asked you to do it. But she never told you to stop either.

Most mornings, you two met outside like always. But now, there was always something in your arm - food, milk, her favorite snacks. You never made a big deal out of it. Just casually handed it over to her. Asa would take it with that same grin, then start unwrapping it before you hit the main street.

Eventually, your classmates started noticing. They noticed the way you pulled out her favorite banana milk and slipped it under her side of the desk before homeroom. The way she always saved half her snacks and nudged it over to you. Neither of you made a show of it, but you both expected it - like muscle memory. At first, there were whispers - then just nods, smirks, acceptance. By that time, everyone had figured it out - even if you two refused to admit it.

But… things weren’t exactly all smooth through high school. You two fought more often than you ever did in middle school - louder, sharper, sometimes over things that didn’t even make sense when the anger wore off. Maybe it was the pressure. Maybe you two were growing, but still super childish. Or you two cared for each other, just didn’t know how to express it.

-

Like when you forgot to print out a sheet for math class.

“You said you’d do it last night.” Asa snapped, arms crossed as you fumbled through your backpack.

“Uhm… I forgot. Sorry…”

“I reminded you. Twice.”

“Well, I already said I’m sorry, Asa-ah. What do you want me to do now? Pull it out of my magic pocket like Doraemon?”

She scoffed, turning away before muttering loud enough to make sure you heard her.

“Should’ve done it myself.”

You bit your tongue, then fired back.

“Yeah? Maybe you should’ve. Since this idiot can’t do anything right.”

The silence after was brutal. You sat next to each other but didn’t even exchange a single word. Even when she slid her sheet halfway across the desk for you to copy - you didn’t even peek, your pride was hurt. After that, no more glances at each other. Your eraser dropped on her side and she didn’t pick it up. Her pen ran out of ink and you didn’t offer yours. It was petty, neither of you wanted to lose first.

Later that day, on the way home from hakwon, you slipped her favorite pastry into her blazer - that potato thingy she swore she hated but devoured in just two bites. At the crosswalk, she finally spoke up.

“You’re childish.”

“We’re childish.” you corrected her.

Asa crinkle the wrapping in her hand, having her first bite.

“It was a bit dry…”

You smiled.

“Told you it’s not even that good.”

She glared at you, chewing slowly, then muttered.

“Still better than no apology.”

You looked ahead, hiding your grin.

“That’s the apology, dummy.”

The crosswalk light turned green, and you both stepped forward. You were good again. 

-

Like when you accidentally ate her last Chocopie during lunch.

“You seriously just ate my last one, you pig?”

“I didn’t know it was your last? I’m sorry.”

“Since when does ‘I’m saving it for later’ mean ‘Eat it now, traitor’?”

The rest of lunch was silent. The next day, you bought her two Chocopies, sliding them under her side of the desk. She ate it without looking at you. Victory for you.

-

Like when she tried something different with her hair, curled the ends a little, styling them, even wore one of those cute clips Chisa gave her. She showed up at the lamppost between yours and her house, waiting for you to say something. Your dumbass definitely didn’t notice anything, instead just yapping about how Spider-Man would be useless in Asia since there aren’t that many tall buildings.

Not when she tucked her hair behind her ear.

Not when she asked how cold the weather was while subtly tossing her head just enough to show her curls.

You just nodded and kept explaining your theory, Spider-Man would also really struggle in rural areas. By the time you two reached school, she ran out of patience. Feeling the tension, you leaned back to Yunah, who was sitting behind you and asked, quietly:

“Is it just me, or… is she a bit angry today?”

Yunah blinked at you like you were the densest creature alive.

“Look at her hair, idiot. Boys like you are hopeless.”

You squinted over your shoulder, then turned back to Asa, who was sitting next to you, arm crossed, lips pressed, clearly not in the mood. Oh… her hair. Those curls, the way she styled it, the lavender clip - the one you knew Chisa bought her during their sister outing, 

Right, she did all that hoping you’d noticed. But no, Spider-Man was swinging around in your mind.

“Uhm… nice hair, Asa-ah. Those curls look great.”

She didn’t even look your way.

“Wow. Look at Detective Conan over here.”

You winced.

“Is that the hair clip Chisa-noona bought you?”

She clicked her pen.

“Oh so now you remember my sister, too.”

You signed, sinking slowly in your chair. Yunah was right, you were hopeless.

That day, on the way home from hakwon - the air was crisp, your backpack heavy with regret, she finally spoke, arms swinging by her sides.

“You’re lucky Yunah helped you this morning.”

You glanced at her.

“Am I… forgiven?”

“No.” She looked up at you, smirking. “But I might forgive you tomorrow.” 

Fair enough, princess.

-

Sometimes around mid 2022, the offers came to you, quietly - just messages, emails from the national taekwondo association - asking if you could attend weekend practice at the national training center. Your coach told you later.

“They told me they’re watching you. They said you’re the best and youngest they’ve ever seen at this level. They want to put you through the grind - see how you handle it. If all goes well, they might call you up for upcoming Asian games, Olympics even.”

Asian Games? Olympics? Me? Really? For real?

It all happened so fast. You didn’t tell Asa yet. Not because you didn’t remember the Suwon rejection incident - but because it didn't feel real yet. So instead, you opted for something else, light and throwaway someday on the way home:

“Coach wanted to put more focus on training for the rest of the year. Like… weekend stuff.”

Asa blinked, lips still sipping that banana milk.

“More now? Aren’t your schedules, like packed now? School? Training? More training?”

You shrugged, not looking at her for too long.

“He said he wanted to see I how do. Testing the water.”

She didn’t press, but something about her eyes made you feel like she could already tell you weren’t telling her the truth. 

-

Months went by, training got hectic. You barely had time to breathe between school, hakwon and new national drills. You were exhausted - but didn’t want to complain. You didn’t want Asa to worry. But that meant you forgot. Her big rehearsal. She told you about it almost everyday that week. You promised her you’d come. You didn’t.

By the time you remembered, you were soaked in sweat. Hurrying to check your phone, 3 unread messages. Fuck…

[김아사🌸]

hey

it’s okay if you couldn’t make it

just wish you told me earlier

No… You messed up.

You ran with all your remaining stamina after training. When you got there, everybody was packing up and ready to leave. Asa was there, eyes tired, talking to her friends - when she finally spotted you. You didn’t dare to go inside, instead waiting for her outside.

Asa walked out, 10 minutes later, still in her rehearsal outfit - hair tied up messily. The moment your eyes met, she knew.

“You’re late…” she said, cold.

You stood there, forgetting how to breathe.

“I’m sorry. I really am. Training was crazy…”

She nodded slowly, lips pressed.

“You could’ve told me earlier.”

“I know. I should’ve, I’m sorry.”

Asa shifted her weight, gripping the straps of her bag tighter.

“You promised, Joonhyuk-ah. Either show up or don’t promise.”

“I’m busy. It wasn’t intentional. You think I want to let you down?” you defended yourself.

Her eyes were sharp - not teary, not soft. Angry. Tired. Hurt. All at once. 

“You. Already. Did.” she said, firmer this time. Then stepped closer, looking up straight at you in the eyes and jabbed her finger into your chest. 

“You keep saying you care. But when it actually matters, you forget. Do you know how embarrassing it was, waiting there while everyone else’s friends showed up?”

Poke.

You flinched at her words - ready to fire back before she poke you again.

“You don’t get to apologise and hope I forget it like it was nothing big, Joonhyuk-ah.”

Poke.

“I AM BUSY! You think I just, what - relaxed all weekend?”

“So you’re saying all this doesn’t matter? I don’t get tired too?” she snapped, stepping even closer now. “You’re not the only one with pressure on your shoulders.”

“That’s not what i said-”

“But that’s what it feels like!” she snapped again, chest raising, finger still pressed against your chest. “Like you’re carrying everything alone, and I’m just some side character you forget to tell things to.”

You swallowed, head down.

“... I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.” voice low.

Asa said, eyes still burning.

“Guess what? You just did it again, Seo Joonhyuk.”

Her friends could feel the tension, choosing to walk away. And with that - she walked home alone, not waiting for you, not looking back. Your shoulders dropped as you watched her walking away, too fed up with you. Your hands were now trembling - not from training. But from the words she said and the way she looked at you like she didn’t recognize you for a second. 

-

That night, you skipped dinner. The call came at about 7PM - your coach was on the other end: “They want you on the roster. For the upcoming Asian Games. They were afraid you were still young at first, but with it being postponed until 2023, you will have enough time. You’ll be training more with the seniors at the weekend. It’s real this time, Joonhyuk-ah. Hangzhou, China.” 

You should’ve felt proud, ecstatic. Instead, your mind went to Asa. Like muscle memory, you grabbed your hoodie and stepped outside. The light on her house gates was still bright. You hesitated for a moment before ringing the bell. The gates opened to Ms. Keiko, wearing her apron, maybe mid-dinner prep. She blinked at you, surprised.

“Oh, Joonhyuk-ah.”

You bowed politely, then asked in a low, nervous voice.

“Can I… Can I talk to Asa? I have something to tell her.”

Her eyes scanning your face for a second - something in your expression must’ve softened her.

“Asa-chan is in her room. Go on.” She smiled.

You nodded, slipping off your slippers before walking upstairs - familiar stairs, but they suddenly felt heavier than usual. Then, you stood at her door for a moment - gently knocking twice.

“Asa-ah, it’s me.” no answer.

“Can you open the door?” you knocked again.

You took a risk, opening the door anyway. As you pushed open the door, a familiar soft hum floated out - StayC’s ‘Stereotype’ - it had been trending on TikTok these days. Asa was sprawled out on her bed, earbuds in, legs kicking in the air, scrolling on her iPad. Her hair was in a messy bun, bangs slightly messy. She didn’t notice you at first - not before looking up, and screamed:

“AAHHH! What the -???”

She yanked one earbud out, almost dropping the iPad on her face.

“What are you doing in my room?! You can’t just barge in like- What if I was changing, you pervert?!”

You were surprised, too. Holding your hands up in the air, stepping back a bit.

“I did knock. Twice!!”

“I thought it was Chisa or Lisa!!”

“I called your name!”

“That doesn’t me you can just - ugh! You pervert!!” Asa grabbed one of her plushies and threw it right at you. You didn’t even dodge, letting it hit you in the face before falling on the floor.

She was still glaring, cheeks flushed pink, breathing a little heavy. “You’re unbelievable, you jerk.”

You took a deep breath and quietly stepped inside, not forgetting to gently close the door behind you. The soft click of the door made Asa raise an eyebrow, still perched on her bed in a defensive position, arms holding her pillows like it was her shield.

“Uhm.. Just listen to me, okay?” you said “I have to explain.”

Asa didn’t respond right away, but she didn’t tell you to leave either. Her head tilted slightly, watching you carefully - irritation was clearly still on her face, but curiosity quickly took over. You exhaled before speaking up;

“I didn’t want to tell you because I wasn’t sure it would happen. They said they were watching me, those weekend training sessions. If I told you and it didn’t go anywhere, it would’ve been just another broken promise and disappointment.”

You paused, looking at her.

“I just got the call. They picked me. I’m going to be on the roster for the Asian Games next year.”

Asa’s mouth opened, then closed again.

“I know I screwed up a lot recently. I’m not denying it. It’s just… I’m tired and distracted… I don’t want this to come between us, Asa-ah. I know I didn’t handle things right, but I care. I never wanted to shut you out. I…”

You sat down awkwardly on the floor in front of her. Trying to think of the right words to say:

“So… tomorrow night. Let’s ditch hakwon, go somewhere. Just you and me. No excuses this time. I’ll tell you everything you want. Just give me one chance.”

Asa’s expression didn’t shift at first - but her grips on the pillow loosened. Eyes softened a bit before saying:

“You didn’t think I’d be proud of you, you big dummy? How long have we been friends for?”

You let out a light breath.

“You could’ve just told me, you know. I would have understood.” she added, quietly.

You looked down, hands scratching the back of your neck, shame in your voice.

“I was scared…”

Asa sat up straighter, letting out a slow breath.

“I’m still mad tho.” she said plainly.

“Fair. I understand.” you replied.

“But… I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“That’s good enough for me.” you smiled.

As you stood up, brushing your palms nervously against your thighs, glancing at her.

“Uh, before I go,” you said “Can you… stand up?”

Asa narrowed her eyes a bit, “Why?”

“Just… please.”

She let out a skeptical sigh but slowly stood up anyways, stepping down from the bed, still clutching her pillows. Before she could say anything, you stepped forward and wrapped your hands around her. It wasn’t tight, more of a quiet, unsure hug. Like you were afraid Asa would push you away.

She stiffened slightly at first, caught off guard. But she didn’t move, standing still, breathing against your chest, her pillow now squished between you two.

“I’m sorry.” you murmured, “I really am.”

You hugged her for a little longer, before pulling back slowly, just enough to look at her face. Her eyes had now softened, brows were still furrowed. 

“You smelled like tiger balm.” she said softly.

You let out a breathy laugh.

“Yeah, not a bad smell tho.”

She didn’t smile - yet, but she didn’t pull away either.

“We’ll talk tomorrow.” she finally said, poking your shoulders lightly.

“Go home, dummy. Before I tell my mom you were perving on me.”

You froze at the door, turning back with a look of betrayal.

“I knocked. Like, TWICE!”

She raised her eyebrows, completely unfazed.

“And still came in without my permission. That’s suspicious behavior, dummy.”

You groaned.

“Right… Sorry. Good night, Asa.”

When you finally got out, from behind the door, her voice followed. “Congrats, Joonhyuk-ah.”

The next day came quickly. Neither of you said much during class. Your arms close enough to brush, though they didn’t. Asa spent most of the period tapping her pen mindlessly, probably daydreaming about something. You slipped her a note - a terrible drawing of the hakwon building exploding, dramatic smoke, stick figures running. She looked down, raised one of her eyebrows - clearly unimpressed, then scribbled underneath: “Lame.”

You smirked and nudged her knee under the desk. She didn’t move away. The day dragged on for so long, but when the bell rang, you moved first. Zipping up your backpack, you stood up casually and leaned down to whisper. “Let’s go.”

Asa then glanced at you - then nodded. No teasing, just trust. Down the staircase. Past the side gate. But not heading home this time, instead, you two walked to the bus stop near school. 

At the bus stop, you checked the schedule screen and pointed.

“Should be two stops. Then we walk a bit.”

Asa gave you a sidelong glance, a bit skeptical.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Probably taking you somewhere outside of Seoul, then dump you there.”

She didn’t press, lips now pouting before adjusting her backpack and folding her arms. 

“This better be worth it. My mom would kill me if she found out about this.”

You laughed. “You’re with me, remember?”

The bus came. You both climbed in. Sitting next to each other, like you always did since you two first met. The bus rocked gently as it made it through the late afternoon Seoul traffic - that classic bustling city traffic, stop and go every few meters. Outside, the peaceful vibe of Eungam-dong slowly disappeared, now replaced with dense clusters of tall buildings, packed intersections, and neon lights flickering before sunset. Delivery scooters weavering between cars, people rushing home like it was a sport, LED lights glowing above massive skin care stores and cafes. Everything felt like Seoul, felt like home.

Inside the bus, it was calmer. Just the soft hum of the engine, the low voice of people chatting. You snuck a glance at Asa, whose face was lit up by the city lights. One earbud, arms loosely folded, but her fingers were lightly tapping on her legs.

“...You should paint your nails again.”

She turned her head slightly, confused. “What?”

“Your nails, dummy.” you said “I was just thinking. It suits you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you even talking about right now?”

“Let me see your hand.”

She held out her hand, still confused but obliging.

“They’re literally just nails. Plus it would get me in trouble at school.”

You took her hand in yours, pretending to inspect it - brushing your fingers against her fingertips.

“See? You’d look cool with black polish or something. Or like… purple. No, pink.”

She giggled.

“What are you on right now, Joonhyuk-ah?”

But she didn’t take her hand back. So you got braver, risking it.

You slipped your fingers between hers - slow, easy, no big deal. But it was. You kept your eyes on your joined hands - waiting for something. She didn’t do anything, just surprised. Then, her fingers adjusted, tightened, slightly. You looked up.

“I’m still mad at you…” she muttered, eyes looking at you before turning back to the window, face unreadable.

Then, you shifted closer and without thinking, gently pulled her hands into your lap.

Smooth criminal.

Still casual, but careful - like it had always belonged there. Your thumb brushed softly along the outside of her hand, slow, back and forth, tracing her knuckles. Still no reaction. So you held it tighter - trying to keep it warm from the AC. Not possessive - just warm, reassuring. 

-

The bus stopped at a stop near the Ewha area. The bus door hissed open. You stood first, giving your still jointed hands a tug, signaling her to follow. 

As you two stepped down, the noise hit all at once. Cars honking, couples’ chatter… It was an area built for slow dates - bright stores decorated with cozy color palettes, cute dessert cafes, streets full of flower shops, music spilling out of every corner… You name it, they had it all. Everything here smelled like sugar, perfume - like love. Brighter. Alive. Especially at night.

Asa adjusted her backpack, looking around. You glanced down, looking at her hand in yours. Still there, still warm. You gave it a light squeeze.

“Let’s do what you want today, everything.” you said, gently,

“What?” she blinked.

“Anything.” you repeated. “You pick. I’ll follow. Anything you want. I pay.”

She looked at you for a moment - still trying to decide if the idiot in front of her was being serious.

“Really? It’s not cheap here, Joonhyuk-ah.”

“I got money from all those taekwondo competitions, a lot. My parents are serious about saving up - I won’t go broke.”

“Promise me you’re not going to complain halfway through?”

“Nope.” 

“Not even if I drag you into those stationary shops for two hours?”

“I’ll even hold your basket.” you said “Then judge your choices.” Asa cracked a smile. Small, but real. “...Okay then.”

Asa looked around, lips pressing like she was pretending to think really hard. 

“First stop, I want to look at pens.” she said.

“Lead the way. But only pens?”

“Yup, overpriced ones. Gel pens. Multicolored. Glitter.” she replied, testing you.

“Like I said, all on me.” you smiled.

She shot you a look, suspicious. “You’re weirdly agreeable today.”

And with that, she turned on her heels and led you straight into one of the nearby stationery stores, the bell ringing above as you rushed to open the door for her.

The place was like heaven to Asa - shelves organized by color, pens stretching for what felt like a mile, ailes of stickers, memo pads shaped like milk cartons… It smelled faintly of paper, sweet plastic, flowers… but in a really good way. Cozy. Cute. Just like Asa. First thing you did, grabbing a basket and followed her without hesitation. Asa immediately beelined for them pens, testing them like a military instructor evaluating weapons.

“This one is smooth.” she said.

“That one is cool.” you replied.

She dropped it into the basket anyway.

“Glad to hear your opinion. But… mine matters more.”

You kept close as she moved from pens to notebooks, flipping through one with a chubby cat on the cover. She didn’t say anything, just ran her finger along the edge before quietly adding them to the basket. You, just happy being there with her. Your eyes wandered a bit before stopping at a rack full of pencil pouches. Hey, a dinosaur with stubby arms, its face looked exactly like her when she sulked. Huh, cute. You slipped it into the basket. When she returned, she noticed it immediately and just rolled her eyes at you.

“You think this looks like me?” 

“...No.”

About 30 minutes later, you two arrived at the register. When the cashier handed the bag, you reached for it before Asa could reach for it.

“I’ll do it all today. Don’t worry about it.”

She didn’t say anything - just let her hand fall back to her side.

As you two stepped out into the street again, you glanced her way.

“Still mad?”

“Still deciding…”

Outside, the sky was starting to fade - golden, dreamy, straight out of a K-drama, episode 7, market date vibes. You two walked without any destination in mind. The street was buzzing. Then the smell hit: sweet, savory, a little spicy. 호떡, 떡볶이, 어묵국  steaming from skewers. (Hotteok, tteokbokki, eomuk broth). Asa’s eyes lingered at a stall, and you didn’t hesitate.

“Give me one second.” Then you returned with two skewers and a cup of warm soup.

“...Such a gentleman.”

“I’m not a monster, you know.” you smiled.

You both stood there, under a tree, side by side, quietly chewing as people passed by. 

“That dinosaur pencil pouch better not show up in my room. It looks dumb.” she nudged your arm. 

“Too late.” you grinned.

A few minutes later, you tossed your empty skewer into a bin as you both kept walking. Then, suddenly, you stopped. Asa turned:

“What?”

You were staring at a giant ad plastered on the side of a  building - Ryujin from ITZY, short hair, sharp gaze. Asa followed your gaze, then frowned. “Why are you staring at her?”

You tilted your head. “Not really.”

She looked at you, confused.

“I was just thinking… you’d look amazing with short hair.” 

Asa blinked. “Me?”

You nodded, still thinking.

“Yeah, like… you know, shoulder length. Or, what do they call it? Bob? Like short but also curly? Or wavy? I don’t know but… yeah, short hair would look great on you.”

She scoffed at you.

“You’re just saying that because she’s an idol.”

“No,” you said, now looking at her.

“I’m saying that because I think you can pull it off. Then again, you can pull any vibe off - cute, cool. Whatever you want.”

She opened her mouth a bit, before closing it again. Then she looked away - pretending to look at the shop across the street.

“Well… I’m not cutting my hair.”

You smiled.

“Didn’t say you have to, just complimenting.”

She crossed her arms, ears now slightly red.

“You’re still annoying.” she muttered.

And you love it.

Not long after, you passed a neon-lit building with a blinking sign, a coin noraebang. Asa glanced up.

“Wanna try?”

“Today’s your day.”

“Don’t get weird about it.”

Inside was cramped, but clean. Faded stickers on the mic, soft disco lights overhead. Asa picked first.

BLACKPINK. DDU DU DDU DU.

You raised an eyebrow. Then she rapped - like really rapped. Sharp, confident, nearly perfect, hand gestures, expressions and everything. You sat there, amazed, lowkey forgetting how to breathe. When the song ended, she looked at you and raised an eyebrow.

“You like that?”

“Didn’t know you had that in you.”

“I’d make a good rapper, at YG.” she just smirked and cued up another.

About ten songs later, your throat hurts, stomach ached from laughing, the room was warmer then it should’ve been. On the way out, you spotted one of those claw machines, with a cute medium sized bear in the middle. Asa on the other hand barely glanced at it. You didn’t say anything, just sliding a 500 won coin in and tried. Failed. Tried again.

“Joonhyuk-ah…” she spoke up,

“Nah, I got it…” you said.

One more try.

Okay, the claw now hooked the teddy bear, one ear flopped over.

C’mon now. Just a bit more…

Yes! It finally fell into the chute. You picked it up, brushing lint off its head and handing it to her without a word. 

“Still deciding, by the way…” she said, but hands still held it tight, in front of her.

The night now felt light, loose, like the kind you didn’t want to end. Asa slowed in front of a tiny Life4cuts, tucked between a convenience store and a run down shop. She looked at it, then you. 

“Wanna do it?”

“You want to?” you shrugged.

“Might as well. You’re already carrying my stuff.” 

Before you could answer, she grabbed your free hand and pulled you in. The curtain dropped behind you. The screen lit up as Asa took her time to choose the frame and her favorite filters.

“Heheh, this one is so silly. Get ready -”

3..2..1

First frame: she held up the teddy bear while you blinked, too slowly.

Second frame: you both puffed your cheeks, you pointing at hers, her pointing at yours.

Third frame: she leaned her head slightly against your shoulder, much closer than before. Neither of you said anything, but you could feel the heat rush to your ears.

Final one - you hesitated…

Then, as the screen flashed the countdown, you leaned in and kissed her cheek. It was just a quick kiss - soft, barely a second. Then the camera clicked.

Click.

Asa froze a beat, lips slightly parted. Hands still holding the bear. You looked forward, pretending nothing happened with burning ears. She didn’t say anything. 

She reached out to grab the printed photo strips as they slid out. Outside, Asa looked down at the photos on her hands, particularly the last frame - before handing you one and quietly slipping the remaining photo strips into her backpack. Still no words. But her fingers found yours again as you both started walking, other arm still wrapped around that bear.

-

Eungam-dong was quiet, like it usually was at this time of the night. No more traffic, only the soft whirr of scooters passing by, the hum of distant music leaking out from convenient stores, and occasional laughter from a group of students still hanging around. You glanced at the digital clock outside the familiar pharmacy near home, 9:42AM. Well, late but moms shouldn't be suspicious - hakwon sometimes ended even later.

You and Asa weren’t exactly talking. The silence between you two felt like a shared secret - not awkward anymore. She walked beside you, hugging the bear tightly against her chest, fingers clutched around the soft fabric like she didn’t know what to do with her hands. You looked over, the tip of her nose was a little pink from the cold. Without a word, you reached into your blazer pocket and pulled out two hot packs before slapping one gently against her arm.

She blinked.

“When did you even buy these?”

“Prepared. Thought ahead.” you shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

She took it without arguing, the warmth settling into her palm. “You’re weird today.”

“But you love it tho.” you grinned. Then, before she could walk too far ahead, you shifted closer and put your arm around her shoulders. She immediately froze. Just for a second. Then she dipped her head a little lower and stepped into your side - shoulder brushing against your chest. It was too quiet, too warm. Your heart was hammering, But, you were still feeling confident so you reached over and gently squished her cheeks.

Asa turned her face away instantly, but not fast enough. You caught the way her face was glowing red. “Your face is hot.” you teased.

She turned back with wide eyes. “Yours is even redder.”

You smirked, gently pressing your fingers to her other cheeks. “You’re burning right now, Asa-ah.”

“You kissed me first! Today!” she shot back, voice raising a few octave.

“So?”

“So!” she repeated, like that proved something. You tilted your head, watching her. Lips slightly pressed, eyes wide - not mad, just a bit overwhelmed. Still holding that teddy bear you got her like it was protecting her from your sudden burst of confidence. You leaned in closer, close enough to whisper:

“Should we kiss for real this time?”

Then, you weren’t sure who leaned in first. You? Her? Didn’t matter. But the space between you two was shrinking, her eyes flickering at yours and your lips, cheeks still flushed, breath caught somewhere in her throat. Your hands now grazing her shoulder, holding steady.

Here we go. just a few more seconds. Closer… closer….

And then - “Asa-chan?”

Well, that sounded familiar. Gentle. Neutral. But somehow it felt like an ice bucket was just dumped on your head. Asa’s mom? Was it her? You both froze and turned around.

Bingo! Standing a few feet away near the streetlamp, were your mothers - your mom with a grocery bag full of greens in her arms, and Ms. Keiko, holding a bag of frozen dumplings and something wrapped in newspaper. What are they doing out this late at night? Both staring, standing still, not yelling.

Asa’s body stiffened beside you. She took a few steps to get away from you, bear pressed to her chest again. You tried to open your mouth, but couldn’t speak up.

“I thought you had hakwon today, Joonie?” your mom asked.

“Or did you both… skip hakwon together?” Ms. Keiko tilted her head, she still had that warmth in her, it was just a bit terrifying this time.

-

Her house’s living room was too bright. Too quiet. You and Asa sat next to each other, looking like two puppies who were about to be yelled at for biting slippers - scared. Your moms sat across from you, arms folded, expressions perfectly neutral - way worse than yelling. 

“So, Asa-ah. You were about to kiss my son in public?” your mom asked, voice calm.

“Mom…’ you groaned.

“You don’t get to talk, mister.” mom said, pretending to be mad. “Is it your idea, Asa, or this dummy’s idea?”

Asa was horrified. “Uhm, Ms… I… We didn’t kiss yet…”

“Yet? So you were about to.” mom said, too quickly. A hint of tease in her voice.

Ms. Keiko added. “I’m trying to understand why you two perfectly good, responsible students - my daughter, my neighbor’s son, would skip hakwon like this. Together.”

Asa looked down, cheeks blazing. “We weren’t planning to… it just…”

Your mom leaned back. “It just…?”

“Can we not talk about this like we just robbed a bank, mom?” you said quietly, scared to look your mom in the eyes.

“No, no, I’m fascinated.” your mom said, “It’s not everyday that I find my son trying to kiss his girlfriend on the street.”

“We’re not dating…” you both said at the same time - too loud, too defensive. Both moms paused.

Ms. Keiko then glanced at her daughter, faking disappointment. “Asa-chan… you skipped hakwon. Almost kissed a boy. That’s almost 2 crimes in one night.”

She squeaked. “We didn’t do anything bad.”

Ms, Keiko then crossed her arms. “Okey. Tell us what you were doing.”

Asa hesitated, you gave her a wide-eyed look like: You tell them. We both die.

“... We went to the Ewha area.” she confessed, head down.

Both moms blinked.

“We got food, walked around, bought stuff…” you added, now surrendering. “Noraebang, then… got a bear.” Right then, you saw Asa hugging the bear tighter on the corner of your eyes.

“Anything else? Hmm, you two.” Ms. Keiko said, trying hard not to smile.

“And we took photos. That’s it.” Asa blurted out. Your eyes were now wide. Nooo, why would say that!!!

“Show us then.” your mom demanded. That tone. You knew it. The one she used when you used to hide your literature exam results in middle school - you hated it, never one to be writing stuff.

Asa froze, then slowly reached in her backpack like it was a death sentence. You leaned over, whispering, “You don’t have to…”

“Zip it, you little rascal. I’m not done with you yet.” your mom said.

Asa was already pulling out those tiny, glossy photo strips. She flipped through the first two ones - the safe ones. Then she stopped, stared at the third one. Oh shit.

The one with the last frame being her eyes wide, your lips on her cheek. The room felt like it dropped several degrees. For some reason, she passed them all to your mom. Your mom took them in complete silence, examined each frame then paused on the last one. Ms. Keiko also leaned in to see. It was followed by a beat of silence.

Then your mom cleared her throat. “So… you two…”

“You kissed my daughter in a photobooth?!” 

Your heart dropped. “It was just a cheek kiss, Ms. I…”

Ms. Keiko then raised an eyebrow. “Did you ask first?”

Asa intervened. “It wasn’t even that bad, mom…”

Your mom looked between the two of you, before handing the strips to Ms. Keiko. 

“Hmm, you two did look like me and your dad back then, Asa-chan. When we were young, rebellious, back in Japan.” Ms. Keiko said. “Mommm!” Asa wailed.

“Just saying.”

Your mom exhaled deeply, shaking her head - now smiling. “This idiot of mine. Skips hakwon, runs around Seoul, kisses a girl on the cheek, and even got photo proof.”

She then turned to you, eyes narrowing. “Did you pay for these, Joonie?”

You nodded, sitting up straighter. “Yes, mom. With my taekwondo prize money.”

“Hmm.” your moms both blinked.

“Uh… I wanted to buy them for her. Not just the photos. Everything today.” you said, quieter now.

Then, your mom smiled - for real this time. “Good. I raised you well.”

“So, we’re not in trouble?” you asked, raising your voice at the end, hoping for some miracle.

“Oh, you’re definitely in trouble.” mom said immediately. “Your dad is definitely seeing these photos tomorrow.” Then, she pulled out her phone to capture the evidence, looking way too proud.

Ms. Keiko gave Asa a soft look. “And you, Asa-chan. Next time, tell me. I wouldn’t have stopped you, I just want you to be safe. At least you were with Joonhyuk tonight.”

Asa pouted into the bear. “I’m sorry, mom…” she said in Japanese.

“Also, I’m putting this one on the fridge.” Ms. Keiko said, holding up the one where you kissed her cheek. Both of your faces were now blazing. 

“We’re not done yet. This whole thing smells like there’s more. What are you two hiding?” your mom asked.

Asa looked at you. You looked at Asa. And then, you took a breath.

“...I got called up. The national team. Uh, next year Asian Games.”

The whole room went silent. Dead silent. Your moms blinked. Ms. Keiko sat up a bit. For a few seconds, everything in the room stopped.

“What?” your mom asked, like she wasn’t sure what she heard was real or not.

“I just got the call yesterday,” you said, eyes now dropping to your knees. “They said they wanted me after all those weekend training sessions. It’s official… Uh, I might represent Korea.”

Asa stayed quiet by your side, watching everyone else's reaction. Your mom’s hand slowly reached to cover her mouth.

“You’re serious.”

You nodded. Then-

“Seo Joonhyuk!!” She stood abruptly. You flinched, fearing for your life. She pulled in, for a hug. Hard.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” she mumbled into your shoulder. “Do you know how proud I am?” 

“Uh… maybe?” you said, unsure.

“And Asa knew before me?!”she pulled back, mock-offended. “Unbelieved. Betrayed by my own son?!”

“I was going to tell you tonight, mom.” you muttered.

“You’re lucky I love you.” mom said, hands now moved to your shirt collar, shaking you around. “Because if I didn’t, you’d be walking home barefoot right now!”

Ms. Keiko gave you a gentle smile. “That’s great news, Joonhyuk-ah. You should be proud.”

You nodded, shy. “Thanks, Ms.” You then glanced at Asa, she was already looking at you, lips curled into a smile. The moms eventually let you two off with a final round of warnings - still teasing, but proud. Asa walked you to the gate, still hugging the bear, and she whispered, “Next time, tell me sooner.” Life hadn’t felt this exciting in a while. Also, the next day, Lisa and Chisa didn’t let Asa off the hook that easy, teasing her for an entire week.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

2023

It was great. But nothing official changed between you and Asa. Still sat next to each other, still walked home together whenever you could. Still stolen glances and dumb jokes in class. But something shifted - it wasn’t bad, at least not right away, just… a bit different. After the Asian Games news came out, you became a celebrity at school, not to your liking. Whispers followed you in the hallway. Kids at school asked for photos like it was normal. Girls from other classes, even sunbaes started lingering outside your homeroom. 

Asa noticed, of course she did. She didn’t do anything about it, though. Just kept her head down during lunch, kept waiting for you while you stopped to thank someone for what felt like the hundredth time, kept smiling when people said “You’re so lucky to sit next to Joonhyuk.”

Also, something also got to you. It was nothing new, started as background noise but slowly became more frequent. A comment here, whisper there.

“You two would make a good couple.”

“Seriously, just date already.”

“They’ve got it all - good-looking, talented, and basically act like a couple.”

At first, you brushed it off, like you always did. Dumbass. People said it even back then, right? But the more you heard it, the harder it became to ignore. Neither of you had confessed. No labels. No promises. You guys were close, too close - but technically still “friends”. 

One day, you weren’t expecting anyone. One of those rare weekends without training, thankfully. You’d just finished showering and were halfway drying your hair with a towel when the bell rang. You padded to the front door and opened it. It was Asa. Wearing her usual black shirt. Holding a small paper bag, maybe from Auntie Bomi’s snack stall. And-

Her hair. Gone. Not gone gone. But… short. Chin-length, neat and clean with soft layers that emphasized her features in a way that you’d never seen before. You just stared.

“...What?” she asked. “See something you like, dummy?”

You blinked. “You cut your hair…”

She raised her eyebrows. “Duh, obviously. Say something else.”

“...You look amazing.” you said.

Even though Asa tried to roll her eyes, you caught her lips curling into a smile.

“Of course, I do. I look good in everything, you said I’d look good with short hair, remember?”

You did. That day at Ewha. Staring at a huge poster of Ryujin. Hey, she really remembered.

“Yeah, you really do…” you added, quietly. “Like, a lot.”

She looked down for a second, then held up the paper bag. “Aren’t you gonna invite me in? I got your favourite right here.”

You stepped aside, Asa just walked in like she always had. She was toeing off her shoes in the entryway when your mom came around the corner with a basket of folded laundry in arms.

“Oh my - is that Asa?”  she said with her eyes wide opened, surprised. “Oh my, look at your hair, darling. You’re so beautiful!”

Asa straightened, greeting your mom. 

“Wow, you look so chic.” your mom said, putting the basket down instantly to get a better look. “Like a model. Or one of those magazine girls. Wahh-c’mon, Asa. Turn around, let me see properly.”

Asa shyly did a 360, slowly as your mom fawned over her with praises. You were about to save Asa when your dad’s voice echoed from the hallway.

“Who’s that? I heard Asa’s voice-”

He appeared next to your mom, one of his eyebrows raised.

“...Why did you cut your hair?” he asked, confused. “Did Joonhyuk break your heart?”

“Daddd.” you groaned from behind your towel, horrified.

Asa nearly choked on a laugh, hiding it behind her paper bag.

“I didn’t!” you said. “Nothing happened!”

You dad just nodded, still unconvinced. “Mmm, I know that look. Your mom cut her hair just like that when we broke up for a few months back then. I know that broken heart haircut.”

You two settled down on the couch, paper bag between you two, still warm with food. In the kitchen, your parents’ voices flowed through - your dad still going on about your mom’s short hair back when they broke up years ago while she was shushing him between laughter. Asa leaned in, shoulders brushing yours, and whispered:

“I didn’t cut it because of you… but I did kinda want to surprise you.”

Either way, you’re still beautiful.

You glanced sideways, forming a grin. “How am I supposed to play with your hair in class now?”

Asa rolled her eyes, but her smile suggested something else. “You already do that. Like, since middle school.”

“Exactly.” you said. “It de-stress me. What am I supposed to do in class with my fingers now?”

From the kitchen, your dad’s laugh boomed again, followed by your mom’s scolding whisper. For a second, this all felt stupidly perfect - making you forget about everything else.

-

One day, you were busy with extra training and sent Asa a quick message.

[준혁선베🥋]

extra training, can’t walk home with you today

sorry ㅠㅠㅠ

i’ll make up for u tomorrow

plss don’t be mad 

Asa understood. She didn’t want to be mad, she knew what you signed up for, she was just… lonely. The sun had dipped behind rooftops, Eungam-dong somehow felt weird today. Putting all her thoughts behind, Asa walked briskly, hands holding the straps of her backpack - she missed having someone, maybe you, by her side.

She cut through the narrow alley - the shortcut. Halfway through - she saw them. Those two guys, sunbaes, always loud, hovering near her desk during breaks with that fake friendliness, throwing out compliments that felt more like traps. But they never crossed the line, not when you were with her. Today, you weren’t. One of them noticed her first, then nudged the other. Their grins spread too fast.

“Oh, hey. Alone today?”

Asa kept her eyes forward. “Excuse me.” she said, trying to walk past like she didn’t hear them.

The tall one shifted to block her way. “Feisty, you talk to older guys like that?”

“Just let me go home.” she said quietly, not looking at them.

The shorter one leaned against the wall. “We’re not trouble. You think too low of us.”

“Also, don’t pretend you don't like the attention.” The taller one tilted to look at her, gaze sweeping from her face to her uniform.

“You’ve been acting stuck up lately. You and that boyfriend of yours.”

She met his eyes. “He’s not my boyfriend. And I’m not interested in talking with you two.”

That made something in his eyes flicker. A challenge. “Then why are you blushing?”

“I’m not. Get out of my way.” she moved, now blocked by the shorter guy.

“You’ve got a sharp tongue for someone so small.” his voice now playful, but meant everything he said. “Makes me wonder how long you’d keep that attitude if you weren’t with that taekwondo kid.”

He reached forward, trying to tuck her hair behind her ear or touch her face. She smacked his hand away, hard. 

“Don’t fucking touch me.” The air now shifted. Before she could say anything - 

Smack

The slap echoed too loud in the alleyway, her head was snapped to the side, cheek flaring hot. She stumbled to her side, breath hitched, frozen. Her hand flew to her face, palm shaking, pressing against the pain - the sting was unbearable, along with the helplessness. 

The taller one muttered, “Fuck, what the hell..”

“This bitch asked for it.” The other one said. 

“Let’s just go.” They walked off, muttering curses - not glancing back.

Asa’s knees felt so weak. Her chest was tight. Her vision blurred. The tears then came, sharp, unannounced - filling her eyes  before she could stop them. She sanked to the ground, fingers clenching her backpack straps tight. She cried, quietly - the kind of crying that hurt, that burned because you tried so hard to not cry. And all she could think about was: Where were you?

That night, no texts from her, nothing. You sensed something was off. The next day came, you showed up at her gate like always. She was already outside, blazer all buttoned up. You smiled and waved casually.

“Hey… I’m sorry for last night. Uh, you didn’t text me back.”

Asa nodded. “Sorry, I was just… tired.”

You didn’t think much of it at first. She did look tired, pale - not like her usual self. You tried teasing her a little on the way. She didn’t answer. Just nodded a few times. It bugged you. You slowed your pace to match hers, slower than usual. 

“Everything okay?” you nudged her shoulder.

“Just cold.” she nodded, again.

Then, as you neared the school, you glanced at her face closely - Is that make up? More than usual. Covering something? Her skin was always smooth, barely needed makeup. But today, something seemed off. Under her left eye, just barely visible beneath a thin layer of foundation, there was some discoloration. Something that shouldn’t have been there. You stopped walking. Reaching out, you gently tilted her chin. She flinched.

“Asa…” Your heart dropped.

“Don’t.” she pulled away.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s not nothing.” you were trying to keep your voice low. Calm. But your pulse was racing.

“Who did that to you?” you asked again, barely above a whisper. 

She paused for a long whisper. Then, softly said “Please, Joonhyuk-ah. I just want to forget about it.”

You clenched your jaw. Your whole body stiffened, trying not to explode right there. But you nodded. You wouldn’t press her now. But whoever did this? You weren’t letting them go.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

That day, you didn’t ask again. But you watched. Quietly. 

During break, you saw her flinching when one of those sunbaes passed too close behind her in the hallway. She didn’t say anything, but you sensed something was off. She didn’t laugh during lunch like she usually would, instead she kept checking over her shoulder. And then, you saw them.

Those two guys from the year above, leaning against the stairwell wall, eyes flickering to Asa as she passed. Whispering something. You didn’t do anything, not yet.

Later that day, you asked around - casually. Just a few questions to your friends, your sunbaes. One of them said he’d noticed them two trailing behind Asa these days, whenever you were off to practice. Hey, that was all you needed. When school ended, you already had their names. You sent Asa a message.

[준혁선배🥋]

more training, again

can u go home with yunah?

i asked her to walk you home

i don’t want anything bad happen to u again

You didn’t go home after school, opting to skip practice. You followed them. There they were - behind the neighborhood market, cutting through that empty lot near the old playground. Laughing they owned the world. You kept your distance, breathing calm. Waiting for your chance. When they stopped near the back alley of a fried chicken joint, about to light up a cigarette, you stepped out.

“Yah!”

They turned. Too late. In a flash, the taller one was slammed against the wall, the other shoved down by the collar, falling onto his knees with a grunt. You didn’t say anything, letting the silence take over and walked slowly to them. One tried to get up. You kicked the back of his knee. Hard. He dropped again. Then, you swung at the two of them. Hard. Both of them were now lying on the ground.

“Kneel. In front of me. Hands up in air.”

They tried to catch a breath, looking at each other.

“Hurry up before I fucking lose it.”

And they did, obediently. You took your left Jordan off, pointing at the two of them.

“What did you two shitheads do yesterday? Huh?”

No answers, that only fueled your anger even more. Just two motherfucking cowards, kneeling, hands in the air. Your jaws clenched - trying to stay calm, that didn’t seem to work. You slapped the sole of your sneaker against the first guy’s face.

Smack. He flinched, head turning with the blow.

“I fucking said-” Smack “What did you-” Smack “do to her?”

 “W-We didn’t do… She just…” The other guy spoke up, just before he could finish his sentence-

Smack. A hit to his temple.

“Don’t fucking lie to me.”

They look terrified now - not only from pain, also from the way your voice never cracked. You looked batshit crazy.

“Asa had a bruise on her cheek. I saw it. She covered it with makeup.” You stared them both down. “She even covered for the two of you and didn’t tell me anything. You know why, huh?”

Your chest rose and fell from adrenaline. Then  you asked - low and sharp:

“Which one of you?”

Still nothing. So you stepped forward, pressing your sneaker against the shoulder of the guy on the left - the taller one. He flinched.

“You? You laid your dirty hands on her?” 

“No-no… It wasn’t me. I swear!”

The other one tensed his shoulders, kept his head down. Dead silence. So it was you.

You moved fast - grabbing his jacket and yanking him up.

“You slapped her.” just barely a whisper, enough for him to hear.

“I didn’t mean to-” he whimpered. Then - your fist connected, he collapsed to the ground.

You didn’t remember how hard or how long it took. You did know your punch was hard and you made sure they landed in the right places - enough for them to regret this for the rest of their life. The other one flinched, you pointed at him.

“You, too. Get up.”

A few slaps to the face and kicks to the knee later, he joined his friend on the ground. You signaled for them to stand up, like a coach at practice, gazed cold.

“Up. Fifty push-ups. Now.”

They blinked at you, stunned.

“I fucking said- Fifty push-ups. Each, Go. I got all night.”

The two of them looked at each other, unsure if you were joking. You weren’t.

“One, two…” your hands now in your pockets. 

They dropped, hands on concrete. And you watched, sneaker tapping the ground slowly. Each time they groaned, you’d add, “That’s four extra. Keep going.”

Your voice now steady, a bit more calmer. Still, you had to make sure they’d never go near her again.

-

The next day, the weight of everything hung over the classroom like a thick fog. Whispers had already started before class, threading through desks and across notebooks like a storm no one could stop. Some looked at you, some didn’t. Some didn’t even bother hiding the way they stared at you and Asa when you two walked in. You sat down, opened your book, tapping the pen against it - calm, quiet, like you hadn’t just done what you did the night before. Asa didn’t sit close this time. She slid into her seat with her eyes down, hugging her backpack like a shield. No jokes, no teasing that morning, either. You didn’t blame her. But it stung, so hard.

First period. As the teacher began roll call, the tension never broke. Then, right in the middle of the first period, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by the gym teacher opening the door.

“Uhm, I need… Seo Joonhyuk, Enami Asa.” he said flatly, eyes unreadable. “Come with me. Principal room.” That was it. Everybody knew.

You stood up slowly, adjusting your blazer. Asa hesitated, confused - she gave you a weird look before following. As you walked, you could feel everything - eyes, thoughts, gossips behind you. Heavy. Curious. By the time the door closed behind you two, the room hadn’t dropped into silence yet.

“Alright, class. Focus. Focus!”

-

The principal’s office was already full when you and Asa stepped in. The two dickheads were seated, looking like they’ve aged ten years overnight, bruises on their faces, eyes avoiding yours - should be like that. Asa slowed behind you, her steps faltering just lightly. 

Your mom sat on one side of the room, next to Ms. Keiko. Neither of them looked angry - which was worse. Your mom’s eyes were cold, controlled but full of disappointment. Ms. Keiko’s arms were folded, face unreadable. Asa was scared, choosing to sit next to her mother, like she didn’t know where else to go. The atmosphere was stiff and silent. You felt like a loud breath could set everything off. Even the ticking of the clock above the principal desk felt loud. The principal stood behind his desk, his gaze swept across the room, landing on you last.

“Okay, now that you guys are all here. Let’s begin.” He started.

“I’ve heard everything. Several students witnessed the incident last night, and these two students have admitted to harassing Asa here repeatedly - for a long period, it seems.” He paused.

“And, uh… Joonhuk’s actions were violent, yes. I understand where it came from but this is still unacceptable behaviour for our school, our society.”

Asa’s eyes met yours. Shock, betrayal - like she couldn’t believe you, her Joonhyuk, the one who walked with her everyday for the past few years, had done that. You looked back at her, but she turned away, clutching her mother’s arm like she was holding herself together.

After a few phone calls, the principal talked to your moms. Your mom firm, Ms. Keiko calm but disappointed. You just held your head down, feeling like you had disappointed everyone once again. There was no yelling, just tired voices trying to make sense of what happened. The principal rested his hands on the desk, his voice calm and firm.

“The national taekwondo association was informed,” he began.

“They’re disappointed but, fortunately, they understood where your actions came from, Joonhyuk-ah. That doesn’t excuse it, but they’ve made it clear: they still want you at the upcoming Asian Games. You’re one of the best our country has ever seen, at seventeen.”

He then glanced back at the moms.

“Uhm, him along with Asa are bright students. Strong academic records, no prior incidents… Also, Joonhyuk is the youngest ever from an non-athletic school like ours to be selected to represent the nation. A really rare case. And because of that, they’ve requested a meeting with our school ethics board in the upcoming days to help mediate this.”

A pause. Then:

“Joonhyuk and his parents will have to be present. Pending review, we’re assigning Joonhyuk extended after school volunteer duties and weekend public service work. This has to stay within school records. I want you, Joonhyuk, to follow our instructions for now. And don’t make us regret this.” 

You tried to act normal, like nothing happened. But the room felt colder. And Asa’s silence? That was the worst part.

After everything, the two of you returned to class. No one said much, but everyone noticed. The seat felt further apart. Asa didn’t even look at you, once. You tried, everything. Tapping her side of the desk slightly, slipping her a note during break. No response. Even though you had every excuse, every reason, something about her silence just crushed you harder than the principal’s words ever could. When the last bell rang, you chased after her on the way home.

“Asa-”

She walked faster.

“Asa-ah, please. Wait for me.”

Nothing. Just the soft rhythms of her shoes on the pavement. 

“I’m sorry, okay? I just - I couldn’t let them get away with it. You were hurt and I wasn’t there.”

“You think that’s why I got mad?” she finally snapped, still not looking at you.

“You think I need you to do that just because they hit me?!”

Her voice was shaky.

You stepped closer, letting out a breath.

“Then why? Tell me. Please. I’ll do anything. Just don’t shut me out. I can’t take it.”

She stopped talking, finally turned around to face you.

“I was scared. Not of them. OF YOU. Of what you would do when you found out.”

You didn’t answer. 

“I needed you.” she continued, “But not like that. Not like some idiot who always resorts to violence.”

You tried to reach for her hand, but she pulled back.

“Please…”

Her eyes now wet, furious, but it wasn’t the anger that hurt. It was the look that said she didn’t know who you were anymore. She then muttered something in Japanese, like she always did when she didn’t want you to understand, like always did when she was mad. That… That made something twist in your chest.

“Again with that.” you exasperated. “Why do you always do that?”

She looked away, refusing to answer. 

“I’m trying here, Asa. I’m telling you how I feel. I know I’m not right but-”

She cut you off, more angry words again in Japanese. This time, colder, sharper. You had no idea what they meant, but they sounded cruel. Like she was purposely keeping you out. Then, something inside you snapped.

“Just goddamn say it, Asa-ah.” you said, voice raised, hands on your head out of frustration.

“Say it to my face. Don’t act all high and mighty like a princess one second and turn into an annoying bitch the next.”

Silence.

Oh, shit. Why did I say that?

“Asa… I didn’t-”

Smack.

Hard.

You blinked. The sting bloomed across your cheeks. You had taken all kinds of hits, but this, this was deeper. Asa’s eyes were wide, full of hurt and disbelief, already glassy with tears.

She took a step back. Shaking. “I knew it. You only see what you want.”

“Asa, wait-” you tried again, stepping forward.

“No.” her voice cracked. “You don’t get to hurt me and act like you’re the one who’s broken.”

She turned before you could say another word. Her shoes scraped the pavements as she rushed off, hands covering her face. She didn’t look back, once.

You stood there, frozen. 

You did it again.

You hurt her.

You broke your promise.

You might have just lost someone who you couldn’t win back.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Yayy, part III done. idk what to say lol. it's not the end yet. things might happen. good or bad? wait for part IV, i guesss? love u guys. thanks so much for supporting me.

[alexa-yukiyu]

Hi, hope you have a good year. Can i request for a whitebeard piratesx child,f!reader ff. So this is what if when the whitebeard found her when her parenst abounded her, she didnt do those bratty things or childish,things. Instead she becomes more stotic (emtionless if you want). So how would the whitebeard pirates help her?

Thanks

Abandoned Treasure (Whitebeard pirates x f!child!Reader)

Pt2

A/N Okay guys listen, listennn After I got sick I had to catch up with homework and packing and moving so I left you guys again 😭 I ‘m sorry. This is kind pf a flop I don’t know if I like it but but I am cooking another piece as we speak with characters I’ve never written before 🤭

Reader here is replaced by Dokucha which stands for reader in japanese

Dividers by @/saradika

“Pops, I’m worried about her. It’s been a few months already, and the most she has done is get up to walk away from us,” Thatch piped up after bringing his lunch to the Captain.

Whitebeard sighed, looking at the young girl still sitting on the ship’s bow, not shying away from the scorching sun that had been penetrating her skin for days.

He had found the girl on a small island they had passed on the way to their next destination. The island itself, if one could call it that, was but a patch of sand, a small mountain protruding from the vast ocean. He could only assume that she was abandoned there, seeing as she had no signs of wear you would expect from one at the mercy of the sea and its waves. After being brought on the Moby, she simply remained in the bow, her stare never straying away from the direction in which she was found.

Even as the storm hit the boat, she did not waver, having to be forcefully brought inside lest the waves took her away. Relieving herself and taking a few spoonfuls of food every few days was the only reason she would deviate from her scouting, waiting for what he guessed was her family to return. Any attempt the crew made to interact with her was promptly shut down as his sons simply found themselves making empty conversations with someone who would never answer; extended attempts at conversation or trying to get words out of her would only end in her walking away, placing herself in a different post and resuming her search.

“Marco,” he rumbled, glancing down at first mate, who let out a quiet hum in acknowledgment of the call as he continued to browse his father’s latest changes in health.

“How is she?”

This gets the Doctor’s attention as he moves from the papers in his hands to the girl sitting at the ship’s bow.

“Thatch, when did she eat last?”

“Ah, the last time I noticed something missing from the food I brought her was a week ago; it was less than a bite, though.”

Marco takes a minute to get the information and take in the child’s current state.

“If she keeps this up, she won’t make it another month; her body is barely hanging on as it is from the starvation, dehydration, and sun poisoning she has been taking. I would be surprised if she made it that long.”

“We have given her enough space and time; it’s time we talk whether she wants to or not,” he states, slowly standing up.

Dokucha is quick to notice the overwhelming presence of the Captain behind her.

“You have to stop, brat”

A single glance from the young girl was all the man got in response to his statement before she stood up to change her position, only to be stopped by Thatch.

“Sorry, not this time, sweets.”

She glared up at him at his words, ignoring the way he winced.

“Geez, ray of sunshine aren’tcha”

“Move.”

“you’re bossy for someone who Is stowing away in our ship,” Marco stated.

“I didn’t ask to be a stowaway; my parents are coming back.”

“No.”

“They are,” she voiced, looking up at the huge man.

“They aren’t coming; your parents are not coming back.”

“You are wrong.”

“I’m sorry; it has been over a month since your parents left you behind,” Izou stated, stepping closer to the girl.

“They didn’t.”

“Then why haven’t they come back?”

“They are restocking supplies; that’s why they are taking so long,” she reasoned, glaring at the gun user.

“Sweets...” Thatch trailed off, a frown on his face at her stubbornness

“You are all liars. I won’t fall for your lies; my parents are coming back.”

Whitebeard closes his eyes, sighing; they are unlikely to get anywhere with the way it was going. He has many sons, and none were free from pain and anguish. They often turned to denial to ground themselves from people’s cruelty, so he has become adept at reaching such people.

“Leave us,” he ordered, opening his eyes.

“Pops?

“Go to your posts.”

“Aye, aye, Sir”

Dokucha watched the commanders slowly retire from the bow, some lingering for a while longer until they finally gave in to their Captain’s orders and left the two alone.

Dokucha said nothing as she simply sat back down in her original spot, ignoring the presence of the yonko

“You already know they are not coming back,” he rumbled, looking down at her small figure.

“You’re wrong,” she repeated.

“There is nothing wrong with you.”

“What are you talking about, you old man?”

“You’re parents abandoned you because they are a bunch of bastards who can’t take responsibility. It’s not because there is something wrong with you.” He stated, raising a brow when she did not respond

“They are coming back,” she finally stated, continuing her words before Whitebeard had a chance to tell her off.

“I was good; I helped them find the best treasure. I had a hard time finding some for a while, but I’m really good at it, so they will come back,” she stated, a crack to her otherwise emotionless facade beginning to shine through.

“I’m useful, so they will come back. They have to,” she muttered, her voice filling with emotions the more she went on in her tangent.

“They won’t.”

“No..No, I can find the treasure, so you just need to find them again so I can tell them,” she replied, rubbing her eyes.

He frowned, kneeling down and taking hold of the girl.

“That’s enough.”

“No, I c-

“Enough,” he repeated louder.

“If your parents loved you only when you found treasure for them, then they only loved the treasure you found for them.”

“I don’t care! They praised me if I found treasure, which made me happy; they loved me if I found treasure, and that made me happy,” she cried.

“Let me go! Let me go!” she hollered, struggling against his half.

“Stop that,” he growled.

“Did she fall asleep?” Ace asked, approaching the two hours later

“Damn brat was screaming and crying for two hours before she finally gave in to exhaustion,” WHitebeard grumbled.

“Is she going to be okay?”

Whitebeard glanced at his youngest son, stopping for a minute to think.

“It will be a while before she is okay; just like all of you, she has to deal with her trauma slowly. Just hope she’s not like you and goes on assassination attempts.”

“Come on, Pops, stop bringing it up; it’s embarrassing,” the young man replied with a frown, this one only growing as his father just let out a massive laugh.

Okay I ‘ll give you a hint, this one is really general, maybe if you ask I can give another hint but they are marines, technically I have given you two hints, I have never written them before and they are marines any guesses?

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[missmadella]

Professional, My Ass (Atsumu x Reader)

Got a little carried away again—but I hope you enjoy it :3

Summary: When you're assigned as the translator for pro volleyball star Atsumu Miya during his international media tour, you expect long hours and short patience—not endless flirtation, elevator arguments, and a slow-burning tension that refuses to fade.

Words: 9558

The arrivals hall buzzed with noise—chatter in multiple languages, wheels clattering over tile, and the constant overhead drone of flight announcements. You stood just outside customs with a small placard that read "MSBY BLACK JACKALS – Translator", dressed sharply but casually—clean lines, black jeans, tucked-in tee, blazer. Hair pulled back, expression focused. You weren’t here to fangirl. You were here to do your job.

This was your third time working as a translator for an international sports team, but your first time with a Japanese volleyball team, and definitely your first time with a player like Miya Atsumu on the roster.

You’d done your homework—watched the press clips, read the interviews, even a few Twitter threads (regrettably). Everything pointed to the same conclusion: talented, cocky, and kind of a menace.

You were bracing for the worst.

Your earpiece buzzed as the team’s coordinator updated you.

“They’ve landed. Should be heading through customs in a few minutes.” “Got it,” you replied, already scanning the crowd with practiced calm.

As the wave of black tracksuits emerged from the gate, you spotted him instantly. Platinum-blond hair under a black cap, duffle slung over his shoulder, walking like the world owed him a trophy. Miya Atsumu—grinning, stretching like he owned the airport. Yeah. He looked exactly like the videos.

He walked right past you at first.

Then stopped. Reversed. Squinted at the sign you were holding.

“Yer the translator?” he asked, his Japanese sharp and casual, accented just enough to feel familiar.

You nodded. “Yes. I’m [Your Name]. I’ll be with the team during the tour. Language, logistics, media.”

“Ya don’t look like a translator.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” You raised an eyebrow.

He blinked. Then grinned. “Dunno yet. Guess I’ll find out.”

You didn’t blush. You never did. But you did silently reevaluate the situation. Charming—in a smug, trouble-magnet kind of way. The kind of guy who tried to push your buttons just to see what would happen.

You decided right then you weren’t going to let him win.

He glanced down at your sign again.

“Wait, lemme try somethin’,” he said, holding up a hand. “Been practicin’ a little.”

You watched him pause, think hard, then point to your sign and say—very slowly— “Can… I… touch… your grandmother?”

A beat of silence.

You blinked. “Excuse me?”

He frowned. “That ain’t right?”

You stifled a laugh—barely. “You meant to say ‘Can I ask your name,’ didn’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

You sighed, pulling your phone out to type a quick correction into his notes app. “We’re gonna need to work on that.”

He leaned a little closer than necessary to peek at your phone screen. “That your way of sayin’ I need ya?”

You turned to him, deadpan. “It’s my way of saying I don’t want to be responsible for you offending anyone’s grandma.”

That got a full-on laugh out of him. Loud and unfiltered. And just like that, the tension broke.

You didn’t say it out loud, but you were starting to get the feeling: this job wasn’t going to be boring.

___________________________________________________________________________

Outside the terminal, the city air was thick and warm, heavy with humidity and the scent of traffic and foreign soil. Cars zipped by in orderly chaos as you flagged down a taxi. Atsumu followed you, dragging his overpacked duffle behind him like a stubborn child. He was still grinning from his failed language attempt.

The cab pulled up with a low rumble, and you popped the trunk open smoothly, helping him load his things before sliding into the front passenger seat. He got in the back, and the driver glanced at you for the destination.

You fired off the hotel’s name and address in fluent, clipped local dialect, then turned back to check that Atsumu was buckled. He was sprawled across the seat already like he’d just finished a five-set match.

“Y’know,” he said, tapping the window as the cab pulled away, “this city’s kinda pretty. Not as pretty as you, though.”

You didn’t even blink.

“No flirting,” you said flatly, adjusting your seatbelt. “I’m here to help you navigate, not stroke your ego.”

He whistled low under his breath. “That was cold, translator-chan.”

You glanced back at him. “Do you want to get to the hotel or not?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, kicking his foot up against the opposite door. “Just sayin’. You’re not what I expected.”

“And you’re exactly what I expected.”

That made him snort, hand going to the back of his neck. “Aww, c’mon. I’m not that bad.”

“You’re a professional athlete who can’t order food, navigate street signs, or conduct a press interview without accidentally proposing marriage,” you said coolly. “Yet.”

He was silent for a moment, either offended or impressed—you couldn’t quite tell.

Then he leaned forward, resting his arms across the back of your seat.

“But you’ll be there when I need ya, right?”

His voice dipped just slightly lower, a little softer, a little too close to your ear.

You exhaled. Slowly.

“I’ll be there,” you said. “When. You. Need. Translation.”

You didn’t look at him. He sat back, laughing again, but this time quieter, maybe slightly sheepish. The cab rolled on in silence for a moment.

___________________________________________________________________________

When you finally arrived at the hotel, you stepped out first, scanning the entrance before he even opened the door.

The hotel was a sleek, modern tower in the heart of the city’s business district. Gleaming glass, uniformed staff, a lobby so polished it felt like a film set. As soon as you walked through the doors, the front desk staff approached with bright smiles—one of them already eyeing Atsumu like they knew who he was.

You gave your name and presented the booking confirmation on your tablet, switching languages fluidly. Atsumu stood beside you, smiling politely, until the receptionist addressed him directly—rapid-fire and enthusiastic.

He froze.

You glanced up. “Do you want me to—”

“Please,” he muttered, scratching his cheek.

You stepped in immediately, smoothing over the confusion with ease. The receptionist laughed, nodding, and handed over the room key.

“You’ll be on the twelfth floor,” you told Atsumu, passing him the card.

“Coulda handled that,” he grumbled.

“You were about to nod and agree to a wake-up call at 4 a.m.”

“...Fair.”

___________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, chaos officially began.

You were in the hotel’s small conference room by 9 a.m., sorting through a stack of printed schedules, athlete profiles, and local broadcast notes when the team PR rep dropped a bomb on you.

“Atsumu’s got a solo interview in thirty minutes. Live stream. One of the major broadcasters.”

You blinked. “Thirty minutes?”

“Yeah, sorry. It got moved up.”

“Does he know?”

The rep’s face said: not yet.

You sighed, grabbed your badge, and went on the hunt.

You found him in the hotel gym, tossing a volleyball in the air and hitting it against the wall while two hotel guests watched, enchanted.

“Atsumu,” you said sharply.

He turned. “Oh hey! You came to watch me work out?”

You tossed a rolled-up schedule at his chest. “Interview. Thirty minutes. Let’s go.”

He groaned. “Do I gotta wear somethin’ nice?”

“Preferably something that doesn’t scream ‘I slept in this.’”

“Yer scary when yer bossy.”

“You haven’t seen scary yet.”

___________________________________________________________________________

The media studio wasn’t far from the hotel—ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops—but in the backseat of the taxi with Atsumu Miya beside you, it felt like an eternity.

From the moment the doors closed, he was in full “entertainment mode.”

“Y’know,” he said, shifting in his seat so he was half-facing you, “I bet this city’s got a good dating scene.”

You didn’t even glance up from the itinerary in your hands. “Try experiencing the volleyball scene first.”

“But I’m a multitasker,” he said with a grin.

You inhaled slowly through your nose. “Atsumu. Please. For five minutes. Just… exist silently.”

He blinked. “Why, ‘cause yer scared you’ll fall for me if I keep talkin’?”

That made you actually lower your folder and stare at him.

“No,” you said, deadpan. “I’m scared I’ll throw you out of the moving vehicle.”

He laughed—loud, unbothered. Like your threats were flirting. Like everything was a game.

You turned your face toward the window, muttering, “You are such a pain in the ass.”

But you said it in your native language, sharp and low, making sure he wouldn’t understand.

“What was that?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Nothing,” you replied, eyes still fixed on the passing streetlights. “Just hoping we hit a red light… forever.”

By the time the cab pulled up to the curb, you were holding onto your professionalism by a thread.

“Finally,” you exhaled, pushing the door open before the car even came to a full stop. “We’re here.”

Atsumu slid out behind you, stretching his arms over his head and grinning like the trip had been the highlight of his day.

“You’re so tense,” he said casually. “Maybe after the interview, we grab lunch? Clear the air a little?”

You turned to him, arching a brow. “I don’t eat with my clients. I babysit them.”

He put a hand over his heart. “Ouch.”

“You’ll live.”

You were already walking toward the studio entrance when he jogged a few steps to catch up, still smiling. Still too tall. Still too loud.

“You’re kinda mean, translator-chan.”

You didn’t look at him, just held the door open with a polite smile and said, “Good. Maybe it’ll keep you in line for the next twenty minutes.”

He walked in first, and under your breath, you added, “God, I hope the mic cuts out.”

___________________________________________________________________________

The studio lobby was chilled with air conditioning and that faint scent of wires, dust, and too much coffee. A wall of glass separated the front room from the broadcasting space beyond, where crew members darted between lights, cameras, and tangled cords like ants before a storm.

You approached the check-in desk and introduced yourself in the local language, all crisp syllables and quiet confidence. The staff member behind the counter smiled, nodded, and gestured toward the waiting area.

“They’ll be ready for him in ten minutes,” she said brightly.

“Great. Thank you.” You turned to Atsumu. “Sit. Don’t wander. Don’t touch anything.”

Atsumu blinked at you like you’d just asked him not to breathe. “You make me sound like a kid.”

“I’ve worked with kids,” you said. “They’re easier.”

He let out a dramatic sigh and flopped into one of the sleek leather chairs, manspreading immediately. You sat beside him with your tablet, scrolling through the notes from the PR team.

After exactly two seconds of silence, he leaned toward you.

“So… what’s your sign?”

You didn’t even look up. “Stop talking.”

“But what if we’re astrologically compatible? That’s important.”

You finally glanced over. “Atsumu, I don’t care if the stars themselves came down from the sky and told me we were soulmates. I’d still run.”

He laughed, clearly delighted. “Yer killin’ me. Seriously. What do ya do when you’re not translating? Like… for fun?”

You considered lying and telling him you played with knives.

Instead: “I rest. And I try to avoid volleyball players who think they’re God’s gift to women.”

He smirked. “So you admit I’m a gift.”

You gave him a dead stare.

Before you could make him regret being born, a production assistant appeared at the door. “We’re ready for you, Miya-san.”

You stood immediately, voice switching languages effortlessly as you thanked her and gestured for Atsumu to follow.

Inside the studio, it was even colder, the kind of place designed to keep people sharp and sweat-free under pressure. Lights blazed down on the center stage—just a small round desk with two chairs, mics, and a modest backdrop featuring both the local league’s logo and Japan’s team emblem.

Atsumu was ushered to his seat. He glanced up at the overhead cameras, then at his reflection in a blackened monitor.

“D’you think I need more gel?” he asked, running a hand through his already-perfect hair.

“No,” you said flatly. “You need less ego.”

He smirked again but dropped it after you stepped behind the camera setup and put in your earpiece.

You double-checked the translation stream in your headset, confirming your mic would stay off-camera as you whispered cues to him during the live interview.

The host entered next, all polished confidence and perfect posture. He shook Atsumu’s hand and greeted him warmly—in fast, enthusiastic local dialect.

You leaned slightly toward Atsumu. “Smile. Nod. Don’t commit to anything.”

He nodded, flashed a winning grin, and said something like, “Yoroshiku,” in a way that made it sound vaguely flirtatious.

You resisted the urge to hit him with your clipboard.

Then the red light over the camera blinked on.

They were live.

You exhaled, bracing yourself.

Let the chaos begin.

__________________________________________________________________________

The cameras blinked on, signaling the start of the live broadcast.

The host gave a confident smile, his voice smooth as he welcomed the audience.

Host (in local language): "Welcome to today’s special coverage of the International Volleyball Tournament! We are honored to have one of Japan’s finest athletes, Miya Atsumu, with us today. Miya-san, how are you feeling?"

Atsumu was already grinning, his usual playful demeanor taking over as he leaned forward, looking straight into the camera.

“Feeling great!” He spoke slowly, probably to make sure the host and viewers understood him. “The team’s looking good, and I’m excited to show everyone what we’ve got.”

You gave him a quick glance from behind the camera, hand on your tablet, ready for the next cue.

Host (smiling): "And we’re sure they’ll be excited to see you in action. Now, tell us, how do you prepare mentally for a match? What’s your ritual?”

You leaned in, whispering the translation in Atsumu’s ear. “They’re asking about your pre-match routine.”

He nodded. “Ah, okay. I focus, get in the zone, maybe listen to some music, and just relax.”

You translated smoothly for the host, but Atsumu added his own flair, looking back at the camera with a smirk.

“But honestly, the real key is my teammates. I just let them do all the work while I score the winning point.” He winked at the camera.

You froze, blinking. “Atsumu. Don’t.”

But he was already on a roll.

Host (laughing): "Ah, Miya-san, always with the confidence! But we love that about you. Now, you’ve been in the spotlight for quite a while. How does it feel to be so famous, not just in Japan, but globally?"

You quickly translated, but you could already tell Atsumu wasn’t about to let this slide without his usual commentary.

“Well,” he began, leaning back, “It’s cool and all, but...”

He turned toward you, locking eyes with that trademark grin.

“I’d rather be known for my skills, ya know?” He pointed toward you, “Like my translator here—she’s the real MVP.”

You felt your face flush with an awkward half-smile. This guy…

The host chuckled, clearly entertained. “I see! Miss L/N, you must be doing something right to earn such praise.”

You: “I just make sure he doesn’t insult anyone too badly,” you said with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.

Atsumu raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. “So, you think I insult people?”

You gave him a look. “If you keep calling the crowd ‘pretty’ every time you see them, you’ll get arrested.”

He laughed. “Only if they’re not flattered.”

You winced internally. This was already spiraling. You couldn’t even keep up with his antics anymore.

Host: “So, Miya-san, we’ve heard some rumors about you being quite the ladies' man—what’s the truth in that?”

You glanced down at your tablet, keeping the translation flowing. This was going to be interesting.

Atsumu flashed another grin, turning to face the camera directly. “I mean, I’m just a humble guy, y’know? But hey, if a fan wants to grab coffee sometime, I’m not one to say no.”

You choked on your breath and shot him an incredulous look.

You whispered, “Atsumu—stop flirting with the entire city.”

He looked at you, genuinely surprised. “I thought I was just being friendly.”

You didn’t bother responding. Instead, you got straight to work.

“Maybe it’s time for a change of topic, yeah?” you said quickly, turning to the host. “How about the team dynamics? How do you work together as a unit?”

The host nodded, grateful for the smooth save, and tossed the question back to Atsumu. “Yes, tell us about how the team prepares to support each other, especially during crucial moments.”

You relaxed slightly. You knew this was something Atsumu could talk about seriously, and finally, he settled into the role.

Atsumu: “It’s all about trust. We’re a team, not just a group of guys trying to score points. Off the court, we hang out, we joke around, but when it’s game time, we’re all in it together. We push each other.”

This time, you translated without feeling the need to edit too much. It was genuine.

Host: “That’s wonderful to hear, Miya-san. Now, before we wrap up, can you share with us what you’re most looking forward to in this tournament?”

Atsumu smiled widely, sitting up straighter in his chair. “The fans,” he said, with a soft but serious tone. “I can’t wait to hear their energy. Volleyball’s not just about the game. It’s about how the crowd makes you feel alive. I wanna give them something to remember.”

You caught the sincerity in his words and translated it carefully. The host nodded, clearly moved.

_________________________________________________________________________

As the final questions rolled by, you found yourself silently thankful that the interview was almost over. Yet you couldn’t deny how effortlessly Atsumu switched from playful flirt to focused athlete.

When the light above the camera clicked off, signaling the end of the live broadcast, you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

_________________________________________________________________________

Host: “Thank you so much for your time, Miya-san. You’ve been a fantastic guest.”

Atsumu stood and bowed. “Thank you. It was a blast.” He shot you a look with that same mischievous grin. “Don’t worry, translator-chan, I’ll try to be good next time.”

You smiled politely, but the sarcasm in your eyes made it clear: you didn’t believe that for a second.

You quickly motioned for him to follow you out of the studio. “Let’s get this over with,” you muttered under your breath.

He stepped up beside you, nudging your shoulder playfully as you made your way out the door.

“See? That wasn’t so bad. You think the crowd liked me?”

You rolled your eyes. “Let’s just pray they liked your volleyball, not your… charming personality.”

He gave a mock pout, but then softened. “Alright, alright. Thanks for makin’ me sound better than I am.”

You didn’t say anything back. You just wished for one peaceful moment in the hotel room before his next “charming” idea popped up.

___________________________________________________________________________

The buzz of the studio fades as you and Atsumu exit into the hallway. The crew is still packing up, voices low in the distance, but it’s quieter here, away from the cameras.

Atsumu stretches out his arms, clearly relieved. You catch his gaze for a split second before you turn toward the elevator, already mentally preparing for the rest of the day.

“Well,” he says, voice lighter, “That wasn’t so bad, right? I think I nailed it.”

You keep your eyes ahead, already scanning your phone for the next set of details. “You didn’t ruin anything, so I’ll give you credit for that.”

“Damn, you really know how to make a guy feel special,” he says, though you can hear the hint of a smile in his voice.

There’s a beat of silence as you both step into the elevator. The doors close with a soft ding, and for a moment, you’re trapped together in the small, quiet space. His scent—a mix of cologne and something subtly woodsy—fills the air, almost too close. You turn your attention back to the tablet in your hands, pretending you don’t notice the way his eyes flicker over to you now and then.

Then, just as the elevator hums upward, he speaks again. This time, it’s quieter, softer, and a little more genuine.

“You know,” he says, voice uncharacteristically low, “I didn’t expect you to be so... tough on me.”

You glance at him, eyebrow raised. “What do you mean?”

He meets your gaze, his usual cocky grin softened, something more real there now. “You’re all business. Cold even.” He lets out a small laugh. “I thought you’d be, I dunno… more impressed by me. Or at least have some fun with it.”

You’re not sure what makes you do it, but you roll your eyes—slightly. Just enough to let him know you’re not falling for it. “You really think I’m impressed by your… charm?”

He shrugs, still smiling, but this time it’s not as confident. “I figured you might be one of the few people who could keep up with me.”

The words hang in the air for a moment, thick with something unspoken. You could’ve said something sharp to cut the tension. Could’ve thrown out another sarcastic quip.

But instead, you feel it. That flicker. Maybe it’s the quiet of the elevator. Or the way his eyes are just a little too focused on you.

You shift slightly, looking away as if the air got a little too thick. “I’m not here for your charm, Atsumu. I’m here to do a job.”

Your voice doesn’t waver. It’s still cool. Professional. But there’s something in the way you say it that feels... sharper.

He leans against the wall of the elevator, a strange seriousness in his expression. “I get it. You’re just doing your job. But, you know, you don’t always have to be so... cold.”

You don’t look at him this time, but the words settle somewhere unexpected inside you. You feel his gaze on you, but you don’t acknowledge it—just keep your face neutral.

Finally, the elevator reaches your floor with a soft ding.

You step out first, trying to shake off the sudden shift in the air between you two.

You’re almost out of the elevator when Atsumu catches up to you, this time his voice lighter, almost teasing again.

“But hey,” he calls, with a smirk you can almost hear. “If you ever do wanna have some fun...”

You stop in your tracks and glance at him over your shoulder.

“Don’t.” Your voice is firm, but you’re not angry—just unamused.

Atsumu grins, that mischievous glint back in his eyes. He raises his hands in mock surrender, looking almost innocent. “Alright, alright. But you can’t say I didn’t try.”

You just shake your head, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of your lips—only for a moment, before you return to your usual cold demeanor.

It’s just another day.

And maybe that’s exactly how you want it.

___________________________________________________________________________

The hotel lobby was unusually quiet for a busy morning, the soft hum of a few guests chatting in the distance. You sat near the large windows with your coffee, catching up on your emails and glancing at the schedule for the day. The warm sunlight bathed the space, and for a moment, it felt like you could forget the chaos of the previous day.

That is, until you noticed someone else in the lobby—one of the local press members. Tall, dark-haired, with sharp features, and a smile that seemed just a little too eager. You couldn’t remember his name, but you definitely remembered the way he looked at you during the press conference.

He approached you with a casual step, his smile already in place as he glanced down at your coffee.

“Hey, good morning,” he greeted, his tone warm, almost too familiar for a first meeting.

You didn’t look up immediately, trying to give off a disinterested vibe. “Morning.”

But he wasn’t deterred. He stood by your table, glancing at the empty chair across from you.

“Mind if I join you? You look like you could use some company.”

You gave him a tight smile, hoping to brush him off. “I’m actually fine. Just trying to catch up on some work.”

But he didn’t move. Instead, he pulled the chair out and sat down anyway. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you since yesterday’s interview. I thought you did a great job translating. Not easy work, I bet.”

You gave a polite nod, but you didn’t want to encourage him any further. “Thanks, but I really do need to get some work done.”

The guy ignored your hint and leaned in slightly, his voice dropping lower in an attempt to seem more intimate. “You know, you seem different from the other people here. So serious, focused… I like that in a woman.”

You clenched your jaw, annoyed. He was crossing the line, but you weren’t sure how to get rid of him without making a scene.

Just as you were about to give him a polite but firm “I’m not interested,” you heard a familiar voice behind you.

“Is everything alright here?”

You turned your head slightly, and to your surprise, it was Atsumu. He stood in the lobby doorway, his hotel robe hanging loosely over his shoulders, freshly showered and looking effortlessly handsome.

For a moment, you felt a strange sense of relief, like a wave of cool air had swept through the space. But you didn’t show it.

The local guy seemed to hesitate for a second, his eyes darting between you and Atsumu. His smile faltered slightly as he stood up from the table.

“Oh, no problem,” he said quickly, offering a halfhearted smile. “Just wanted to chat with her for a bit.”

Atsumu stepped closer, his presence larger than life. “You sure about that? Looks like she was pretty busy.”

You watched the exchange, your fingers gripping your coffee cup tighter. You hadn’t expected Atsumu to step in like this—but the guy wasn’t giving up so easily.

The local guy finally raised his hands in mock surrender, not wanting to escalate things. “Alright, alright. No need to get defensive.” He flashed you one last look before walking away, a little annoyed that his charm hadn’t worked.

Atsumu stood there for a moment, watching him leave with a knowing smirk, before turning to face you.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his tone casual, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes. He wasn’t just playing the role of the protector; there was a certain edge to the way he asked it. Jealousy?

You took a slow breath, still feeling the weight of the encounter. “I’m fine. Just didn’t realize some people couldn’t take a hint.”

Atsumu leaned against the table, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes scanning you with a glint of something unspoken. “Yeah, he didn’t seem to get that. Guys like him think they can just talk to you like that without knowing a thing about you.”

You looked up at him, slightly confused. “And you think you’re any different?”

Atsumu didn’t miss a beat. “I’m just a guy trying to make sure you don’t get annoyed by random people who don’t know how to back off.”

You felt the subtle tension building, but you didn’t want to let him see you react to his words. Instead, you straightened up, trying to keep things neutral.

“Well, it’s not like you’re doing this because you care, right?” You kept your voice even, not giving too much away. “You’re just doing it because it’s your job to make sure I don’t get distracted by ‘random guys.’”

He didn’t immediately respond. There was a pause as he looked at you, the playful edge in his eyes dulling slightly. It wasn’t his usual cocky grin, but something closer to a quiet acknowledgment.

“You’re right,” he finally said, his voice softer than you expected. “It’s part of the job. But, I mean... I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t have to deal with guys like that every day. It’s annoying.”

You shifted in your seat, feeling an unexpected warmth creeping up your neck. “I’m fine, really. He wasn’t that bad.”

Atsumu raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? I saw the way you looked at him. Not impressed at all.”

You shot him a look, half-amused, half-exasperated. “I wasn’t impressed because I’m not interested. He just doesn’t get that.”

His eyes lingered on you for a second longer than usual. His smirk returned, but it was tempered by something deeper—something real.

“Well,” he said, standing up straight again, “I’ll just be here making sure no more guys try to talk to you. Just in case.” His tone was light again, but you could see the shift in the way he moved now. He wasn’t just being a cocky teammate; there was something more to it.

You couldn’t quite place it, but it left a flicker of something in your chest.

“Thanks,” you said, standing up as well, your tone still cool. “But you don’t have to—”

Before you could finish, Atsumu was already walking away, a little smirk tugging at his lips. “I know. But I want to.”

As he walked off toward the elevator, you couldn’t help but feel the faintest buzz of confusion running through you. What was that?

__________________________________________________________________________

The following day, things were a little different. Atsumu had been quieter than usual, his attention shifting from one thing to another, though his eyes would often linger on you, a strange sort of nervous energy hovering around him.

You were sitting in the hotel lobby again, sipping your coffee—alone this time, as you’d gotten there early—and glancing over your notes for the upcoming press conference. Atsumu, after all, wasn’t exactly the best at staying on schedule.

Suddenly, he appeared in front of you, this time without his usual cocky swagger. Instead, he seemed almost... unsure?

“Hey,” he said, his voice strangely soft. “I’ve been thinking...”

You raised an eyebrow, setting your coffee down. “What about?”

He shifted on his feet, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Well, I figured maybe I should step up a little.” He gave you a hesitant smile, as if trying to seem casual. “Maybe I should learn a bit of the local language, y’know? That way I can talk to you without needing you to translate everything.”

You were taken aback, not expecting him to care about this at all. "Atsumu, you don't need to do that."

But Atsumu was insistent. “I want to. I’ve got this, uh... friend, who’s teaching me. So… I learned something.” His face flushed, a little unsure of himself as he pulled out his phone, tapping something quickly. “You’re gonna like this.”

You raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What is it?”

Atsumu cleared his throat, a bit of determination in his voice. “I like you,” he said, trying to sound confident, but his words were strained. He said it in the local language, but his pronunciation was... off.

It came out as something closer to “Ai… lke... yu” instead of anything even remotely coherent.

You stared at him, blinking in disbelief. The moment was awkward, and his face turned an even deeper shade of red as he realized how badly he’d messed up.

“Oh God, I... I didn’t mean to—” Atsumu stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I was trying to say it properly... but, uh... guess I didn’t really nail it, huh?”

You couldn’t help but laugh, a real laugh this time, as you placed a hand on your forehead. “Atsumu… You really butchered that.”

He sighed, looking absolutely mortified. “Well, I tried. You know, I thought it would be a nice gesture...”

You smiled, a little softer now, but you were still amused. “Maybe next time, you could leave the language lessons to me.”

He scratched his head sheepishly. “Yeah… I’ll stick to the basics. Like ‘hello’ and ‘thank you.’”

“You know,” you teased, “That might be for the best.”

Atsumu chuckled nervously, his usual cocky grin returning, but now with a little more sincerity behind it. “Guess I’ll just have to earn the real words, huh?”

The playful energy between you two shifted, but in a way that felt more comfortable, more real. Atsumu wasn’t perfect—but it seemed like he was trying. And maybe that was all that mattered.

__________________________________________________________________________

The next day, the press events and interviews were already in full swing. It had been a busy morning, and you were grateful to have a brief moment of peace to collect your thoughts in a quieter corner of the hotel lobby. The day before had felt weird—and not just because of Atsumu’s botched attempt to speak the local language. Something about him helping you with that annoying guy felt... different.

You still couldn’t shake the feeling of his presence, his voice defending you in a way that was... well, not what you expected. Normally, you’d brush off any form of attention like that, especially from someone like him. But there was a quiet satisfaction in the way he’d just swooped in and handled the situation. It felt good. Too good.

You sat down, trying to focus on the papers in front of you, but your mind kept wandering back to that moment—how his words had softened ever so slightly when he asked if you were okay, how he hadn’t hesitated to step in and handle things with that guy.

Stop it, you told yourself firmly. You can’t let yourself get all worked up over something so... stupid.

But the truth was, you were secretly pleased that he’d done it. That’s what you get for letting your guard down, you thought. You wanted to blame it on the fact that you’d been working nonstop, and maybe you were just exhausted, but it was hard to ignore how your heart had skipped just a little when he had defended you.

Before you could dwell on it further, you saw him.

Atsumu walked into the lobby from the elevator, his usual loud footsteps echoing in the otherwise quiet space. He was wearing his hoodie, headphones around his neck, a half-smile already on his face as he caught your eye. His usual cocky air was back, but there was something in the way he looked at you that made your chest tighten just a bit.

“Hey,” he greeted casually, sitting down across from you, his eyes scanning the paperwork in front of you.

You gave him a small, neutral smile. “Hey.”

“Busy?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. He had that relaxed, easy-going vibe, as if he’d just come from a relaxing morning, when in reality, you both knew he’d probably just woken up.

“A little,” you muttered, avoiding his gaze. You didn’t want him to think you were distracted, even though part of you felt strangely aware of how close he was.

Atsumu leaned forward, the playful grin on his face as he shifted the conversation. “You’re staring at that paper like it’s the most complicated thing in the world. You’ve been doing this long enough to know what’s going on.”

You shot him a pointed look, raising an eyebrow. “I’m just organizing things for the next press event. Not everything is as easy as you think.”

His smirk never left. “Easy? Nah, I don’t think I’ve ever thought that about anything you do. You’re pretty damn good at what you do.”

You didn’t know why, but hearing him say that made your heart skip a beat, and you immediately looked away, trying to focus on your work again. Stop it, stop it, stop it.

Atsumu, ever the persistent one, leaned closer and nudged your foot with his. “I don’t get it,” he said lightly. “Why are you always so... cold toward me? What did I do, huh?”

You met his gaze again, biting back the words that almost slipped out. Because you're a pain in the ass, Atsumu.

But instead, you kept it professional, brushing him off. “I’m not cold. I’m just busy.”

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “Uh-huh. So, if I were to tell you I helped you out yesterday because I’m just really good at helping people, you wouldn’t be... thankful?”

You froze. He did notice, huh?

You avoided his gaze again, trying to act nonchalant. “You didn’t have to step in, you know. I could’ve handled it.”

Atsumu smirked, clearly not buying it. “Oh, really? Because you didn’t seem like you were handling it too well, babe.” His voice softened just a little, teasing but with a hint of something... different. “You looked like you could’ve used a little help. Glad I was around to give it.”

Your stomach did a little flip, and you fought to keep your expression neutral. “Well, I guess I owe you one. But don’t get used to it.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m not asking for anything. Just saying, you can relax a little. Not everyone’s out to get you.”

For a split second, you thought you saw something else in his eyes—something a little deeper than his usual teasing. But before you could analyze it, Atsumu leaned back in his chair again, arms behind his head like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Still, you couldn’t shake the feeling that things between you two had shifted ever so slightly. His attention, the way he had stepped in to help, even the way he was acting now—it was different. You weren’t sure what it meant, but it was clear that the boundaries between you and Atsumu were getting a little blurry.

The conversation carried on, but you couldn’t fully focus. Every now and then, you’d catch yourself thinking about how he had helped you, how he’d actually cared about how you were feeling. And when you caught him glancing at you from across the room or making a little joke to try to make you smile, you couldn’t help but feel that flutter again.

Maybe you don’t hate him as much as you think...

As you walked off to get ready for the next event, you felt that familiar heat rise in your cheeks. The thing was, Atsumu might be a pain in the ass, but somehow, he was also making you feel... something that was hard to ignore.

___________________________________________________________________________

The press conference was almost over, and you were ready to escape the suffocating spotlight. You’d been translating for Atsumu all morning, fielding questions, managing his sometimes ridiculous answers, and making sure the journalists understood him. Honestly, you were a little worn out, but the day was almost done.

But just when you thought you’d get to breathe easy, a reporter raised their hand and threw a question that made the whole room quiet.

“So, Atsumu,” the reporter began, looking over her notes, “We’ve heard a lot about your career and your international success. But fans are curious... Do you have a girlfriend? Or is there someone you’re interested in right now?”

You froze. You’d been expecting questions about his game, his training, his strategies—but this? Even though you did not wanted to translate you quietly translated it to him.

This was personal. How dare he to ask such a stupid question. And why where you so worked up about it? Atsumu, on the other hand, didn’t seem to flinch. He leaned back in his chair, flashing his signature cocky smile. But just as he was about to answer, he glanced over at you.

It was quick—barely a second—but it was enough to make your heart race.

You were still processing the fleeting moment when Atsumu responded, his voice smooth and confident. “Nah, no girlfriend. I’m focused on my career right now.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair casually. “I’ll let the ladies come to me when I’m ready.”

You couldn’t help but feel a little sting at the way he’d answered so dismissively. Was it because of the quick glance he’d thrown at you? Did it mean something? Or was he just being his usual cocky self?

You quickly turned your attention back to the room, your mind racing. Was it jealousy? Or just the sudden reminder that Atsumu wasn’t going to be tied down to anyone anytime soon?

After a few more questions, the press conference wrapped up, and you all stood up to leave. Atsumu’s usual carefree swagger returned, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted. Maybe it was the look he’d given you. Maybe it was the thought of him not seeing you as someone special enough to mention, even if it was just a passing glance.

___________________________________________________________________________

The press conference was finally over, and you were just trying to make it through the rest of the day. You’d spent hours translating, dealing with the press, managing Atsumu’s antics, and now all you wanted was a few minutes of peace.

But the ride up in the elevator was anything but peaceful.

The moment the doors closed, the air between you and Atsumu was thick with tension. He was quiet, unusually so, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes staring at the floor. You could tell something had shifted after the press conference—the way he'd glanced at you before answering that question about his relationship status, the way he kept his distance now. It made you feel… unsettled.

Unable to hold it in any longer, you broke the silence. “You know, you didn’t have to answer that question like that.”

Atsumu’s eyes flicked up to meet yours, and for a moment, you saw a flicker of something behind his usual cocky gaze. He didn’t respond immediately, but you could tell he was thinking about it.

“Why, you think I should’ve said I’ve got a girlfriend?” he shot back, his voice cool but with an edge you didn’t like.

You could feel yourself getting frustrated, the walls of your professionalism starting to crack. “No, I think you were being a jerk. And you looked at me right before you answered. What was that about?”

Atsumu’s lips curled into that all-too-familiar smirk, but there was something different about it this time. “What? You think I should’ve said I like someone? You want me to talk about my feelings?”

You could feel your heart racing, the anger and confusion bubbling to the surface. “I’m not asking for your feelings, Atsumu. I’m just saying, I don’t get why you had to make it so... dismissive.”

His smirk faltered for a second, and you could see the defensiveness in his posture. “I’m not being dismissive. I just don’t need to explain my personal life to everyone.”

The elevator slowed as it approached your floor, but neither of you moved. The tension was thick, crackling in the air between you two. Every word you spoke seemed to make the space between you smaller, and you could feel the pull in the pit of your stomach.

You took a step closer, your eyes narrowing in frustration. “Well, maybe you should learn how to answer like a grown-up then.”

Atsumu’s eyes darkened, and his jaw clenched. He was getting frustrated too. His next words were sharp. “You think you know me that well? Maybe you don’t understand how I answer to anyone.”

You both stood there, caught in a staring contest, the space between you shrinking. Your chest was tight, heart hammering as the seconds dragged on. Everything about this moment felt wrong—but you couldn’t stop it.

And then, without warning, everything exploded.

Atsumu moved fast, his hand gripping the back of your neck and pulling you toward him. There was no slow approach, no hesitation—his lips crashed into yours in a fierce, desperate kiss. The suddenness of it knocked the breath from your lungs, but you didn’t pull away. You couldn’t.

His mouth was demanding, as if he’d been holding this back for way too long. His lips pressed against yours with a force that spoke volumes—words that he hadn’t said out loud, feelings that were tangled up in that heated kiss.

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, your hands finding their way to his chest, gripping the fabric of his hoodie as if it grounded you in the chaos of the moment. His tongue gently brushed against yours, and you responded without thinking, the kiss growing deeper, more urgent, as if everything you’d been holding back was suddenly pouring out in this one instant.

The elevator pinged, but neither of you moved, lost in the rush of emotions you hadn’t expected to feel. The kiss went on longer than either of you had intended, and when you finally pulled back, gasping for air, your foreheads rested against each other.

You were both breathless, eyes wide, as if trying to process what had just happened—what it meant.

Atsumu was the first to speak, his voice low and ragged, barely a whisper. “Tell me to stop.”

The words hung heavy in the air, trembling between a plea and a challenge. His hands were still warm against your skin, fingertips barely grazing your jaw now, but the tension in him was unmistakable—like he was holding himself back with every ounce of self-control he had.

You didn’t answer right away. Your thoughts were a mess. Your heart was a mess. But the look in his eyes wasn’t teasing for once. There was no cocky smirk. No smug arrogance. Just raw, vulnerable sincerity.

You swallowed. “Why?”

He blinked, surprised at your question. “Because if you don’t, I’ll kiss you again. And this time, I won’t be able to pretend it doesn’t mean something.”

You opened your mouth—maybe to tell him this was too fast, too reckless, too something. But nothing came out. Because somewhere in the back of your mind, despite all your earlier resistance, despite telling yourself he was a pain in the ass, that you wanted this job to be over quickly—you hadn’t moved.

You were still here. Still close. Still wanting.

So instead of answering, you leaned in again—just slightly. Barely an inch.

Atsumu didn’t wait for a clearer sign. His lips were on yours again, firmer this time, less chaotic, but still laced with that fire you hadn’t realized had been building for days. Weeks, maybe. His hand slipped behind your neck again, tilting your head to deepen the kiss, and your hands clenched the fabric of his jacket like you couldn’t stand the idea of him pulling away.

There were no thoughts now. No logical explanations. Just the feel of his mouth on yours, the way his breath caught when you nipped his bottom lip, the way he groaned low in his throat when you pressed your body closer to his.

He kissed you like he was memorizing it. Like he’d wanted to do this from the moment you first rolled your eyes at him.

When you finally broke apart again, this time it was slower. Less breathless, but just as charged. You didn’t rest your forehead against his—this time you stepped back, just slightly, enough to make space to think.

Atsumu looked down at you, his lips still parted, his chest rising and falling like he’d just run a sprint. “Well…” he muttered, voice hoarse and uneven, “that didn’t exactly help keep things professional, did it?”

You gave a quiet laugh under your breath—more like a sharp exhale than real amusement. “No. Definitely didn’t.”

A beat of silence stretched between you. The elevator doors were still open, but the hallway was thankfully empty.

You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, your eyes avoiding his. “This doesn’t change anything about the job,” you said, forcing the words out carefully. “We still have two more weeks of interviews. Events. Media stuff. We have to stay focused.”

Atsumu nodded slowly, licking his lips like he was still trying to taste the moment. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

Then he glanced at you with a softer version of that familiar grin. “But it’s gonna be really hard not to kiss you again.”

You shot him a look—half warning, half flustered—and stepped out of the elevator, trying to collect what was left of your composure. He followed behind a second later, hands in his pockets, lips still twitching at the corners.

Neither of you said anything as you walked down the hall. But the air between you was buzzing. Changed.

__________________________________________________________________________

The door clicked shut behind you, the soft snick of the lock echoing in the dim quiet of Atsumu’s hotel room.

You weren’t even sure how it happened. One second you were both standing in the hallway, silent, charged with unspoken things… and the next, you were being pulled inside by the collar of your jacket, your back pressing into the wall beside the door as his mouth found yours again.

This kiss was different. Still hungry—but not rushed. It was like he was finally letting himself feel what he’d been holding back, and it poured out of him like it couldn’t wait a second longer.

His hands framed your face as he kissed you, thumbs brushing over your cheeks. You melted into him, letting your fingers twist in the hem of his shirt, tugging him impossibly closer.

He pulled away just far enough to breathe against your lips. “I’ve been thinking about you,” he murmured, voice low and breathless. His eyes searched yours, and even though he looked wrecked from the kiss, there was honesty swimming in his gaze. “Way too much.”

You barely had time to react before he kissed you again—deeper this time. His tongue slid against yours, and you let out a quiet sound, your hand curling into his chest as he pressed you more firmly into the wall.

“I thought it was just ‘cause you were around all the time,” he whispered against your mouth, catching his breath between kisses. “But it’s not. It’s not that at all.”

You shivered at the rawness in his voice. At the way he kissed you like he needed to, like it was the only way he could get the words out.

His hands dropped to your waist, strong fingers gripping you just tight enough to make your breath catch. And then, without warning, he lifted you—effortlessly—making you wrap your legs around his waist as he carried you deeper into the room, lips never leaving yours.

He laid you down onto the edge of the bed with a soft thump, hovering over you, one arm braced beside your head, the other still holding your waist.

You looked up at him, a little breathless, flushed, your lips swollen from his kisses. “You’re not usually this... serious,” you murmured.

He let out a short laugh, kissing you again, slower this time, like he wanted to memorize the shape of your mouth. “Yeah, well,” he said, barely pulling away, “I wasn’t planning on liking my translator.”

You rolled your eyes, but you didn’t stop kissing him.

Atsumu growled low in his throat, deep and hoarse, as his mouth moved to your jaw, then your neck, lips trailing heat against your skin. “And that guy yesterday?” he muttered, voice darker now, breath hot against your collarbone. “The one who couldn’t take a hint?”

You tensed slightly, remembering the uncomfortable encounter in the lobby. But Atsumu only kissed you harder. “He looked at you way to wanting,” he murmured. “His eyes on you like he had the right. Like you were his to bother.”

He pulled back, just barely—his eyes now sharp with that cocky edge you’d come to know, but there was a possessive gleam there that made your stomach twist.

“That made me so fuckin’ mad,” he admitted. “How dare he be close to what’s mine.”

Your breath hitched, heat flooding your chest. “Yours?”

Atsumu smirked, but it wasn’t playful. It was something darker. Deeper. “You think I’d learn how to say ‘I like you’ in your language if I didn’t mean it?”

You blinked, stunned—but before you could say anything, he was kissing you again, stealing your words, swallowing your breath. His hands slid beneath your shirt now, fingers grazing your bare skin, but not rushing—just touching like he couldn’t stop himself.

You moaned softly against his mouth, your arms tightening around his shoulders, anchoring yourself to the moment as he leaned in closer, settling his weight over you, hips pressing flush against yours.

“I meant it,” he whispered into your skin, trailing kisses down your throat. “I like you. You drive me crazy. But I like you.”

You were dizzy from the heat of it all—from his kisses, from his voice in your ear, from the way his hands held you like he couldn’t bear to let go.

And in that moment, you didn’t want him to.

You pulled him down again, lips colliding in another deep, lingering kiss that said everything you couldn’t. The walls you’d tried to keep up were already crumbling—and maybe, just maybe, you didn’t mind anymore.

___________________________________________________________________________

Years later:

The room was buzzing—cameras clicking, reporters murmuring, flashes of light blinking in intervals as Atsumu adjusted the mic in front of him. His hair was slightly longer now, styled with less care than he used to bother with. His face had the sharpened edge of a man who’d grown out of the boyish charm—but not lost it entirely.

He smiled easily as the press fired off questions, toggling between serious and lighthearted topics. It was a domestic press event for Japan’s national team, and he was still very much a fan favorite.

Then someone raised their hand and spoke with a bit more curiosity than formality.

“Miya-san, this one’s a little off-topic—but the fans would kill us if we didn’t ask.”

He tilted his head. “Hmm? Hit me with it.”

“How did you meet your wife?”

The room chuckled softly. Everyone knew Atsumu had married a foreigner—pictures of the two of you had circled the internet after the wedding. Elegant and lowkey. A mix of cultures. Him in a sharp, dark suit, and you glowing beside him.

He leaned back in his chair, grinning in that way that said ah, this one’s gonna get me soft.

“Damn. You’re gonna make me say it out loud, huh?”

Laughter again. He scratched the back of his neck.

“Well,” he began, eyes glinting with nostalgia. “It started on a tour overseas—back when I was still cocky as hell. I mean, I still am, but it was worse then.”

More chuckles. He glanced down at the table for a second, smile softening.

“She was my translator. I was doing an international media tour, lots of press, lots of interviews... and there she was. Completely unimpressed with me. Like, zero interest.” He laughed quietly, remembering. “Everyone else wanted autographs and selfies, and she just wanted me to shut up and behave.”

A reporter leaned in. “So it wasn’t love at first sight?”

Atsumu scoffed. “For her? Absolutely not.” He grinned wider now. “For me? Maybe. She had this way of looking at me like I was the biggest pain in the ass she’d ever met—and I kinda loved it.”

The reporters laughed again, and Atsumu shook his head, thoughtful now.

“I tried flirting with her. It didn’t work. I tried annoying her. That definitely worked. But somewhere between the interviews and the chaos, I realized I was... thinking about her a lot. Too much.” He paused, then added more quietly, “She made me want to speak her language better—so I could tell her I liked her without subtitles.”

A quiet murmur ran through the room, a few audible awws slipping out.

“And one day,” he said, eyes distant, “I just kissed her in an elevator. No warning. We were fighting—because of course we were—and I couldn’t hold it back anymore.”

“Did she slap you?” someone joked.

Atsumu laughed, head thrown back. “Nah. She kissed me back. Hard. I think that was the moment I knew I was in real trouble.”

The room was quiet for a beat too long, everyone just soaking in the way he spoke about you.

“Was it hard, being long distance at first?” another asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. But she didn’t make it feel far. She flew out to Japan when she could. I stayed behind in her country after my matches ended just to see her for one more day. And when it got too hard, we made a decision.”

“You proposed?”

“No,” he said, grinning. “She proposed.”

That got a collective gasp from the room.

“Swear to God. At a stupid coffee shop. Told me if I wanted to keep kissing her, I better marry her. I said yes before she could change her mind.”

He laughed again, fond and full. Then he glanced at the camera like he knew you were watching from somewhere.

“She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. And she still tells me I’m a pain in the ass.”

He smirked.

“And she’s still right.”

[urlocalloser10191]

note post i suppose because i have things to get done

1 note: i finish my geometry homework(literally due today help me)

5 notes: i work on finishing my presentation but it's a group project so :/(i completed my slides, the slides for lal 3 of us, so now it's just the conclusion left)

10 notes: i finish the mobile for my friends' gift(need it to dry then i can finish it tn)

15 notes: i change my budgeting document because i have to

30 notes: i clean my room

40 notes: i finish spray painting my cardboard

60 notes: i start building the cardboard box hut thingy

65 notes: ill set up a schedule for learning japanese

70 notes: ill start on one of my ny resolutions

75 notes: i start + finish my project for my friend

80 notes: i'll start my air dry clay project for my friend

83 notes: i finish a keychain for a friend + finish a fortune teller for a friend

85: i finish a craft

100 notes: i start on the coloring books i have to make

110 notes: i finish my intro for this blog

red=not done

blue=started

purple=done

limit is i guess 10 notes decided to tag 1 person : @aesthetic-writer18

[okkotsuus]

crawlin' back to you (rensuke k.) !

features: rensuke k.

contents: established relationship. spoilers (second selection). a smidge of comfort. cliff hanger because i hate you <3

notes: hey lol, kinda bad because i have to get back into my flow state iykyk

The Blue Lock program: a selection meant to hone 300 high school kids down to 1 legendary striker.

When you sent off Rensuke with a kiss and soft murmurs of your certainty of his success, you never thought that it would end you up here. Sitting on your couch, doing some calculus homework while watching the U-20 v. Blue Lock exhibition match.

It stirred a strange feeling in you when you didn't see that familiar head of tousled orange hair even once on the plasma screen in front of you.

Maybe he was just sick? Or he was temporarily injured, so he couldn't play.

Surely.

But, even then...

Wouldn't he have at least been on the bench?

It sent a wave of unease through you, at the thought that something could have happened to divert his lifelong dream. But thinking that way wouldn't solve anything, that was something Rensuke taught you himself: positivity is key.

So, you blindly cheered for Blue Lock, even running laps around the kitchen when they ended up pulling off a win. Those boys were talented, so knowing that Ren was chosen to be with them made you all the more sure of his success.

The program went nearly radio silent for a two week period following the match.

Still no sign of your ginger striker.

Days were long, all your classes felt so much more droning without him sitting at your side. It was beginning to wear on you.

Then, it came as a sudden announcement. The 'Blue Lock: Neo-Egoist League' would be premiering tonight at 3pm JST. All plans were canceled, you were firmly planted on the couch, shooing away your siblings as you clicked onto the waiting screen.

It started with a click, showing all the players gathering into a room with the former Japanese U-20 Team. No Rensuke.

They featured different players as they explained the different stratum they could choose. The five European leagues that dominated the modern soccer world: France, Spain, England, Italy, and Germany.

Watching all the players debate where they wanted to be, the uncertainty of the U-20 Match prodigy: Yoichi Isagi. You were forced on the edge of your seat, knee bouncing idly as you hoped and prayed desperately to see the face of the boy you really needed to see.

Even as they all went their separate ways, still nothing. You were beginning to lose hope. Slowly, your focus began to fade away, half-way actually watching the broadcast.

"Now enter! The lone survivor of the Wild Card program..." Now that, that had your attention. "The last dark horse..."

It couldn't be...

"Rensuke Kunigami!"

There. That's him.

Even under that ruffled, grown-out, carrot top. Even with those darkened, hollow amber eyes. Even with a change in his physique, his gait. You would recognize him in any and every form.

Your Ren, in the flesh.

Tears welled in your eyes as your ears rang, unable to hear anything as you watched his mouth move a few times back and forth with Isagi. Then, they cut to a training exercise.

Something happened to die out the light in his eyes. And guessing by the way Ego introduced him, he was probably intended to have lost and left the program; but he won his way back.

No wonder you hadn't seen him in the exhibition match.

He was suffering trying to claw his way back to his dream, while you were just sitting here moping. Pathetic.

It lit a spark in you. You had to see him, as soon as possible.

Great minds think alike, ego attracts ego; even if it is at the subconscious level.

It took a lot of calls, letters, and video chats. But, within ten days, you were permitted to enter Blue Lock to observe a match between Bastard Munchen and FC Barcha: the first game of the League, under the guise of enhancing Kunigami's morale.

Ego agreed to this deal on the main term that you would not be able to watch the match, nor take any sort of electronic device on your person past the facility doors. Likely, to prevent copyright infringement.

You didn't have to think before agreeing.

In a cold room, surrounded by metal walls, you waited. The game lasted nearly 70 minutes, with which you had nothing to occupy yourself with other than your own mind.

It was another 20 before the doors slid open, the familiar figure of a face you'd come to know as Anri Teieri leading an even more striking form. "In here, Kunigami-san. You have as much time as you need."

You were on your feet in an instant, it was actually him. God, he reeked of sweat and spice. That damned door clicked behind the JFU associate, amber eyes staring stone cold down at you.

"Rensuke, congratulations on your victory." The words spilled from your lips. Yes, you knew him well, that look in his eyes, it was not forlorn in the way you knew he felt after a loss.

"Why are you here."

His words were flat, but it was all a facade. No one in this word knew Rensuke Kunigami quite like you, and no one ever would. "I'm so incredibly proud of you, my hero."

And just this once, for the first time since he walked into that Wild Card door, those broad shoulders of his relaxed.

"Yeah... Yeah, I know you are, sunshine."

© okkotsuus 24 – do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate any of my works to any other platforms.

[tokidokitokyo]

Cool Kanji Party Tricks

Or “How I Use Kanji to Impress My Friends”

Learning kanji can be daunting, especially for those just starting out in their Japanese studies. There are two thousand standard kanji needed to read a newspaper, but Japanese people know and use many thousands more. There are several methods available to self study kanji (just do a quick Google search to find the most popular), but any serious study of kanji takes time. Lots of time. It can feel like studying kanji over and over is a waste of time, especially since you have the internet at your fingertips to look things up at any time. However, I really believe that having a good foundation in kanji is essential to mastering Japanese, and I wanted to share what I call "cool party tricks" to encourage you in your kanji studies.

What are "cool kanji party tricks"? This is just a list of things I have noticed that having a solid understanding of kanji will allow you to do. I have been studying Japanese for more than 10 years, and most of these things I just noticed one day in an a-ha moment, and even though someone had told me for years that learning and practicing kanji is important, it took several realizations for me to truly grasp what that meant. I would say that many of these require an intermediate grasp of the language to be able to use consistently, but I think that you can start doing any of these after achieving a basic foundation in the Japanese language.

So when your hand is cramped from writing the same kanji for hours, when on'yomi and kun'yomi have become swear words, and when you lost that one little point on the exam because the kanji you were supposed to use was only off by one stroke from the kanji you actually used... I hope you will remember this post and feel a little bit encouraged.

Find the appropriate kanji to use when typing in the romaji/hiragana on a computer/phone

Since I started my Japanese studies during high school, the formal classes I was taking had me writing out kanji for homework in order to remember it and to be able to pass the quizzes and exams. So I spent many hours writing out kanji only to end up with hand cramps and ugly looking written characters. It took ages and the stream of kanji that I had to learn seemed endless. However, one benefit I quickly saw was that I was able to quickly adapt to typing in Japanese on a computer/phone because I was able to correctly identify the kanji that I had practiced, and knew which one to select when several choices came up.

In Japanese, many words have the same sounds but different kanji and meanings (these are called homophones). So when you type in the hiragana or romaji for a word into the keyboard, it will prompt you with a list of kanji to choose from. Being able to correctly select the right one is something I suddenly realized I could do one day, even if I hadn't used the word often. I knew and could recall a larger number of kanji than I thought, and I could eliminate any incorrect kanji for the word I was trying to use. Having a good solid foundation in kanji characters means that you don't have to go look up every word in the dictionary to check that you have the right kanji, and you also don't have to leave the word in kana because you can't guess the right kanji, but rather you are confident enough to pick the correct kanji for the word on your own. This makes typing more efficient and saves time!

Understand the meaning of a word just by looking at the kanji

When you know a significant amount of kanji and what they mean, sometimes when you encounter new compound words you can guess at what they mean. Or if you are like me and sometimes forget how to read words you are already supposed to know, you can magically relearn them by looking at the kanji and interpreting the meaning. So sometimes when I am reading text in Japanese and I see a compound I don't know, I can interpret the meaning from context and from my understanding of the individual kanji, and continue through the text without stopping to look up the word. This helps you to get the gist of a text without having to look up all the words, and is how you can start reading more advanced books or manga.

Guess at the pronunciation of a word from the kanji

On the flip side of the previous cool party trick is being able to guess how to pronounce a word by knowing the on'yomi and kun'yomi of the kanji, and therefore being able to guess at the pronunciation of a word. Unless the word has 人 or 生 in it. This helps most when reading out loud in class or to another person. It will also help you to feel smug about yourself while reading a book that is of a more advanced level and being able to determine the reading of several compound words in a row.

Understanding a new word using kanji clues

As an extension of the previous cool party tricks, I eventually reached the point where I could hear a word in conversation that I had never heard before, and figure out the meaning using kanji clues.

For example, not all Japanese people know English (shocking, right?), and busting out your phone to look up every single word you don't know can become burdensome in continuing the flow of a conversation. So, if I hear a word that I don't know during a conversation (and the continuation or flow of the conversation hinges on my understanding of the word), I will stop the person and either ask what kanji the word is written with, or if I have a guess I will ask "is this using the kanji for X?" This way I can gain clues to the key word without stopping the flow of conversation too much. (It's also a fun way to show off to Japanese speakers.)

For example, if you hear the word jishin (じしん) in conversation, and you aren't sure which meaning the speaker intended:

自信 self-confidence

自身 one's self

You can ask:

"Did you mean 自信 (jishin) with the "shin" from 信用 (shin'you) or did you mean 自身 (jishin) with the "mi" (another pronunciation of 身) as in one's body?"

Then the person can respond:

"Oh, I mean 身 (mi)! As in, 自分自身 (jibun jishin), or one's self."

Then, you can continue the conversation, having an understanding of what the speaker is saying and not having to take out your phone to translate as often. This also can give the person you are speaking to a better sense of your level and help them to tailor the conversation to you.

[I hope this conveys what I am trying to illustrate ^.^]

TL;DR: Kanji is Fun

Honestly, when kanji clicks and you can read words or understand their meanings, it's like deciphering a secret code, and this is one of the things I find so cool about Japanese, and why I have studied it for so long. So if you are just starting out and are daunted by kanji - don't worry. I am still daunted by kanji, but I also find it a useful tool to improve my knowledge of Japanese and to communicate in a way many people cannot. I hope this information was useful and inspires you to suffer through learn more kanji.

[parasolladyansy]

hello! i've liked ansy's adventure for a while, and i noticed how you play on japanese names for the pokemon, especially for mizumi's and sasmu's. what do you think of the languages in the pokemon world? i can guess hisuian equals japanese, but does sinnohan/kantonese also translate into japanese? or the four japanese-based regions are adapted into english ( or unovan?) i don't know if i'm explaining myself, but how do you view the pkmn languages and their equivalents in our world?

こんばんは! Good evening! Thank you for following along ^o^/

Class is in session lol! Professor Laventon seems to be most comfortable writing in his native Galarian, though he also has various notes in traditional “Japanese”, written vertically & read right to left.

So, language is a very interesting thing in fiction, & the Pokeverse is no exception! Through the games (& especially the latest ones, Scarlet / Violet) we’ve had a number of characters who spoke in different languages. I remember a couple of NPC’s in BW Unova, there’s Fantina in Sinnoh who peppers her speech with Kalosian (French), & a Hiker on Galar’s Route 6 who spoke what I’m guessing was Paldean (Spanish) rather than Galarian (English). Then in SV, we have Mr. Salvatore who teaches (& uses) many languages (off the top of my head, I remember him teaching how to say “thank you” in Spanish, French, Chinese, & German).

It does get tricky when it comes to the “Japanese” regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh / Hisui, & Kitakami, as those regions otherwise make up one country in our world, but this has yet to have been canonically established (which is why I always put “Japan” / “Japanese” in quotes, as there currently isn’t a name for that one country, same with “America”). I do believe they share the same language - at the very least Hisui & Kitakami have the same written script, & I feel pretty confident that if they were to retcon it, they would have the other “Japanese” regions use it, too (before Legends Arceus, they just used random shapes that didn’t seem to spell anything, which I interpreted to just be placeholder characters).

If there is a common language in their world (& I think is, from characters from different regions being able to talk to each other no problem), I personally would guess it to be “Japanese” - as we look at the other regions, we can see a sort of Japanese flavor that would otherwise not be there (though they clearly did their homework on the various parts of the world these regions reflect!). Of course, Pokémon is from Japan, so it would make sense that they would add some of their own culture to this world they created. For a possible in-universe explanation, the Pokeverse seemed to have started in Japan (specifically in Sinnoh as we learned in Legends Arceus, so I guess their universe actually is geocentric like old astronomers used to think ours was?).

I think that’s about it. In DxP REWRITE, while my own language is American-English (& beginner-level Japanese lol) so I read the characters to be speaking American-English, they are actually speaking “Japanese” while in Sinnoh (which is why I haven’t really been peppering Ansy’s dialogue with Japanese). I have tried to write in the “Japanese” or Galarian scripts for signs & things a couple times:

The sign just says “Gear Station”

Here I (tried to lol) translate Mizumi’s letter to Japanese then wrote it out in in-game characters (in the modern horizontal, as Mizumi is from the modern era writing to someone in the modern era).

Thanks for reading yet another post of me geeking out lol. Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments! じゃあ、またね! Until next time! ^o^/

—

PS: For funsies, here’s the (non-canonical, as these were made by fans) references I’ve been using when writing in either Galarian or “Japanese” in DxP REWRITE:

I personally was confused by the “Japanese” script also being alphabetical rather than phonetic like hiragana / katakana (two common scripts in Japan, the first being mostly used to spell Japanese words while katakana is used to spell foreign words - the third script, kanji, is used to write whole words). If that is the case (which is how I wrote it in Mizumi’s letter), “Japanese” is written in what’s called “romanji”, where they write out words in the Latin (aka Roman) alphabet rather than phonetically: “ありがとうございます” becomes “arigatō-gozaimasu” (“thank you very much”).

Whether it is actually written out that way in game though…? At a glance of the signs I saw in Hisui & Kitakami, it does look like it’s more like hiragana & kanji instead, but this chart is all I got for now. Any Japanese folks or fluent Japanese-readers who can tell me if there’s anything out there in the Japanese fandom about this, please lemme know so I can do right by it into future - as of writing this, I haven’t seen much else among the English-speaking fandom 8u8;

As for the Galarian script, it’s clearly based on the Latin alphabet that much of the Western world uses for our various languages - we see it in Paldea as well as Galar, & according to the trailer in Pokemon ZA, they retconned it to be used in Kalos as well. In universe, I wonder if they were at all influenced by the Unown, being based on the Latin alphabet themselves. Again, who knows? (though I question the accuracy of this particular font / chart: if it is, the first thing Laventon’s chalkboard says “REXBOQ” lol XD)

[rwbypro]

Mahiru Shirota's Profile

Age - 15 (16 post time skip)

Birthday - July 7th

Zodiac - Cancer

Blood Type - A

Height - 165 cm

Job - 1st year highschool

Fav Food - Hamburger steak with grated daikon radish

Fav Drink - Barley tea and orange juice

Fav Snack - Simple butter cookies

Hates - Rain (can't hang laundry to dry)

Hobby - Housework

Strong Subjects - Home ec. Physical education, Japanese

Weak Subjects - English

Clubs - Track and field (Junior high)

Family - Uncle

Motto - "Simple is best!"

Respects - Uncle Tooru

Fav Animal - A cat I guess?

Fave Type - Someone I can share a meal with

Fave Place - A nice warm freshly dried futon

Routine - Opening the window and enjoying the sun

Convenience Store - Meat buns

Holidays - Cleaning the house and laundry

Happy to Hear - "You can rely on me!"

Dream - Travel overseas

------------------------

Mahiru Touma's Profile

Age - 15

Birthday - July 7th

Zodiac - Cancer

Blood Type - A

Height - 165 cm

Job - Ichinose Academy 1st year

Fav Drink - Ginger ale

Fav Food - Omurice (Melty rice omelette)

Fav Snack - Pancakes (with icecream on top)

Hates - Homework

Hobby - Running

Clubs - Track and Field

Strong Subjects - Physical education, Japanese

Weak Subjects - Home ec. English

Motto - "Simple is best"

Family - Dad

Respects - My dad... I guess?

Fav Animal - Pomeranian (interesting)

Fave Type - A kind person

Fave Place - The living room

Routine - Early morning run

Convenience Store - Snacks

Holidays - Hanging out with friends

Dream - Participate in an Inter High school tournament

Happy to Hear - "Have you grown taller?"

[taffybear]

random list of my bay Leo headcanons ❤

working on Raph next! let's see how many ideas i get lol

also opening my inbox for writing (and perhaps even drawing) requests! feel free to drop me an ask <3

literally loves mitski and mac demarco. he likes very indie hopeless romantic type music, it's literally hilarious to catch him just vibing in his feels

SECRETLY HAS PINTEREST BAHAHAHAHA but just for finding poetry and looking at bonsai trees. Mikey found out (like he doesn't have pinterest too??) and they all ended up making fun of him for it to the point where Leo debated deleting the app but ended up forgetting about it.

very specific but he has this unique type of love language where he'll ask you something and without any further questions he will go get or accomplish whatever he hinted at. for example, y'all will just be hanging out, and he'll go, "are you hungry?" and if you just as much nod your head hesitantly he will run to the kitchen and make you a 3 course meal. or, he'll just ask you if you're cold, and if you say yes he brings you a heater and a blanket. he doesn't ask things like, "can i get you a water?" he'll just ask if you're thirsty and go from there.

has the most gorgeous handwriting on the planet. this beautiful cursive print that is lowkey unreadable but so aesthetically pleasing. at first you were shocked but as you got to know him it made lots of sense, literally probably his biggest hobby is just remembering some random thing and then spending weeks straight perfecting it until it's natural for him. he loves to challenge himself to be perfect at literally anything, and his hand writing is one of those instances.

HE'S LITERALLY A VIRGO GUYS HE IS THE DEFINITION OF A VIRGO OH MY GOD

speaks fluent japanese OF COURSE but his brothers don't know it as well as he does (they all know a little at least) and he'll curse them out quietly in japanese behind their backs.

Leo wouldn't say he had a favorite brother of course but he definitely prefers Don's presense over the others. they always go to each other first when they have a problem or just want to rant, and they have a bunch of inside jokes.

after Donnie, Leo's the biggest insomniac. he gets nightmares a lot unfortunately, and most times when he wakes up he physically can't go back to sleep. literally Mikey will get up for a glass of water at 4:37 in the morning and Leo is up doing flips.

very random, but Leo is AWFUL at math. he meant to learn at some point but the time passed and he missed the boat. ofc math is Don's second language and Mikey and Raph couldn't care less (but somehow Mikey always guesses the right answers without doing the correct work??) but Leo is lowkey embarrassed that he struggles with it so much. he can do basic math and most things that come up in daily life like practical equations, but anything past times tables and division he cannot understand. if you come over and need help on your math homework he will try his HARDEST to help you but ultimately he's completely clueless.

always takes bugs outside. if the creepy crawly is creepy enough or makes you screech, he'll whip it with his katana but normally he'll take the time to scoop it up in his hands (literally no fear) and walk it outside calmly.

literally LOVES doing chores. it's like a form of self care for him. folding laundry, sweeping, mopping, washing the dishes, organizing the dojo, he'll literally put on some music and go to town. when he visits you he will literally just start straightening things up and picking things off of the floor. he hates having nothing to do so he'll just ask for something he can clean while y'all chit chat.

incredibly flexible. he can bend every which way, sit comfortably in a split for hours, can bend over IN HALF and grab the back of his legs--he's literally maxed out on flexibility. but splits training is his private time so unless you sneak you won't catch a glance. but when you do, in between of sliding dojo doors, it is... something. like excuse me sir how tf doesn't that hurt your bAWLLS

smells like lavender. dead serious his signature scent is lavender. it's not like he wears cologne or anything, he just lights a lot of lavender incense and candles to the point where if someone even steps foot in his room they walk out aroma-fied.

everyone in the fandom has their personal opinion of who's the best cook and who's the worst cook of the four, and it is finally time for my hot take of the century. i think Leo is by far the best chef, and Raph is the one who can't even make toast right (BUT he can grill i will admit the man can grill!). a lot of people say Mikey is the chef of the family, which i agree with, he enjoys cooking and baking very much, but this doesn't mean the food he makes is good 💀💀💀 he trusts himself over any recipe and so he just throws in whatever he feels like. Leo can't stand being in the kitchen while Mikey is cooking, his ocd can't stand it. this said, you'd think this would mean the guys prefer Leo's cooking over Mikey's but fact is Leo is such a perfectionist he will spend hours working on a meal it's past 11 by the time he's done. and he doesn't take requests, he only makes what he wants and then on top of that the healthnut version. he makes sushi a lot and goes crazy when you bring him salmon.

IS SUCH A DORK BAHAHAHA if you even so much MENTION a book or a show he likes he will blabber for HOURS about it. he knows every single fact there is to know about star trek it is insane. you amuse him not because you're interested of course but he is just so damn adorable when he's talking about something he enjoys (which he rarely gets the chance to without being made fun of LMAO)

[otherbug]

okay. some of my thoughts. on the 2017 Death Note Netflix movie. (spoiler warning for both the movie and the manga/anime. and also. long)

bold/italicized is direct comparisons to manga/anime/misc reference material. Netflix!Light will be referred to as Turner and manga/anime!Light as Yagami. Mostly in chronological order? I think??? I don't know and I don't care.

Light Turner. Doing other kid's homework and getting punched and then ending up in detention for doing other kid's homework? Wouldn't the other kids be the ones in trouble??

WHY IS RYUK TEARING UP THE PLACE. Also Turner screaming is so funny.

Mia. Oh my gosh. I do not care. EXCEPT WHAT? I don't even know.

Immediately killing the guy who punched you at school? DECAPITATED WITH A LADDER??? The excessive gory deaths kind of defeat the point of the Death Note being like this quiet and detached way of killing. Light Yagami separates himself so much from Kira/convinces himself he is in the right partially because he doesn't see these kinds of deaths. He thinks of himself as silently erasing evil people, hence his usage of heart attacks specifically. And one of his first thoughts having the Death Note was to not kill anyone he knew personally.

Ryuk is just telling him all the rules he needs to know? Yagami is able to piece together different rules by what Ryuk casually drops and that's how he's able to carry out the bus hijacking. He doesn't need him spelling it out for him.

Also I guess it's implied that the Death Note *needs* to be owned by a human at all times? And Ryuk is just the carrier of it? And he's threatening to give it to someone worse than Turner? Why is Ryuk this menacing force to move the plot? The most he does in the manga/anime is tell Yagami he is being followed by Raye Penber. And he has no real reason for dropping the Death Note other than he was bored and wanted to see what would happen, there was no obligation. For some reason, they tried really hard to make Turner into this more sympathetic main character. Yagami is initially very disturbed by his killings, but chooses to make HIMSELF obligated to continue killing with it for the sake of his new world that he believes only HE is capable of creating.

"Hi Mia! My name is Light Turner. Here's my Death Note and here's how it works, wanna make out and eat popcorn and kill people? I love you girlfriend! Mwah!"

Only the owner of the notebook can see Ryuk? Anyone can touch it without being aware of the shinigami?

THE PAGE TEARING. MY GOODNESS. Being able to tear out and destroy one page in order to save someone's life has the same, if not more ridiculous, kind of issue the death eraser had in the pilot chapter. This weird hyper-specific rule allowing a person to be saved defeats the theme of the Death Note's permanence and the decisions made with it. Once you kill someone, they are dead. No going back. That is one of the main points of Death Note.

Turner has an Alienware laptop. Also he flips out on his dad for no reason and I headcanon he was mean to his mom when she was alive as well. AND SAYU DOES NOT EXIST.

He named HIMSELF Kira. That's for real his edgy oc. "It means 'light' in Russian and Celtic 😏.... and also kinda sounds like killer in Japanese... just to throw them off!" KIRA DOES NOT MEAN LIGHT IN RUSSIAN OR CELTIC? At least from my research, if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know!

Making an inmate in every continent write something about Kira being god in "perfect Japanese". It's highly unlikely these people specifically know perfect Japanese, and Turner has no way of knowing if they do? Yagami literally tests this and proves that a person whose name is written in the Death Note cannot share information they personally don't know.

I don't even know what's going on. How does L know Kira has connections to the police? Wouldn't one of the first deaths being the guy who killed his mom be a lot more of a clue than making 12 agents all walk off a building together in unison? AND TURNER DID NOT EVEN DO THIS. RYUK WROTE THEIR NAMES. Originally, Ryuk is almost in the position of the viewer, a passive spectator with little influence on Yagami's actions, but with access to the thoughts and plans he shares with him. Ryuk was not the driving force of Death Note, Yagami was.

Watari sings to L? Okay. And his one character trait is that sleep is important. Okay. I guess someone read the One Day oneshot?? With the emphasis of Watari knowing how many hours L has slept.

After Turner's dad appears on TV, giving away his face and name and speaking against Kira, MIA is the one to try to kill him? And Turner is the one to stop her? One of Yagami's first considerations being Kira and using the Death Note is that he may have to kill his own family. He gets his father killed and nearly decides to kill his own sister. Wouldn't it make more sense for Turner to initially go to kill his dad, but have Mia stop him to try to remind him of his own morals?

Mia. She reminds me of Misa from the Love Note parody. I understand wanting to try to undo some of the misogynistic writing of the original story, but her and Turner's dynamic just feels so unbalanced and messy?? They try to present Turner as being this super smart but cool kid, but Mia is this almost Disney character level of "stereotypical cool girl".

Every other line of dialogue has some variation of the f word in it (the swear not the slur lol). It just feels so unserious. Have you heard of the game Forspoken? This is like if you Forspoke Death Note (I know Forspoken came out 6 years after this film, but this kind of writing has only become more prevalent I think.)

WATARI IS NOT HIS NAME. IT'S NOT EVEN A FULL NAME. WRITING WATARI IN THE DEATH NOTE WOULD DO NOTHING.

Why does Wammy's House look like it's 500 years old?? Why are there fun house looking torture rooms? I know Turner is controlling Watari into giving him this information, but really?? The original purpose of Wammy's House was not to pump out detective orphans. It was a school for gifted children until L came along and then it was changed to create successors to him, at least that's my understanding. I know it's slightly different across the LABB and Change the WorLd.

If you don't write a cause of death Ryuk just gets to decide?? What is going on. What happened to the heart attacks?

L is SO emotional. Not in a somber, introspective, Change The WorLd way, in a very loud and overt way. Also he just appears in the Turners' house out of nowhere? Lol.

Turner's dad freaks and puts L in a poorly done headlock? L knows capoeira and Mr Turner is about the same size as him. I get that he's distraught over Watari's disappearance but Mr Turner would probably be on the floor before he could get his arm around him.

On that note, Turner's dad being so defensive of him. Does this guy really think there is not even a possibility of being kira? Yagami and his dad have a much more complex relationship than the turners. Yagami would not snap and yell at his dad and then have his dad turn around and violently defend him. In the manga, Yagami's dad specifically defends Sayu, but not Yagami. His dad goes back and forth, between accepting his son could be Kira and desperately hoping he's not.

"It's not black and white.... sometimes we have to choose the lesser of two evils...." Turner keeps going back and forth between his Kira ego trip and "oh nooo.... Ryuk is so evil.... I need to protect the world from someone worse than me!" LIGHT YOU ARE THE WORSE EVIL. Maybe I am misunderstanding the point. But that... does not feel like the point of Death Note.

The prom??? Mia stole the Death Note and is going to disguise Turner with a goofy top hat? bro got decked trying to break up a fight in the first five minutes, but no one is going to even point out his Lincoln hat?

The shinigami eyes just do not exist I guess. okay.

Turner and L's meeting and the chase scene is just so funny. Let's take the multiple layers of mind games and mental gymnastics between L and Yagami and turn it inside out. A quiet meeting in the corner of a cafe, a psychological battle disguised as a casual meeting after a tennis match, is now whatever this is. A loud argument in which Turner basically outs himself as being Kira under the threat of Ryuk giving the Death Note to someone worse than him. Now L is just running after Turner with a gun and they're slamming stuff around and running into traffic and people. it's just... messy? It's messy. These guys are just making a mess.

Let's go to the ferris wheel! Also, Light Turner is going to die at midnight.

RYUK IS CHEWING ON THE CABLES LIKE A HAMSTER. THIS WHEEL IS GOING DOWN! and Mia wrote Turner's name! So he wrote her name! This feels like if the Kiras had a stupid content creator drama. They're so mad at each other but ooohhhh they love each other whaaaa.... they're gonna fall and die noooo!!!!!

Mia has an Ophelia Hamlet moment. and Turner lives by the world's most logical logic (/sarcasm). His page was burned before he could be killed! Where did the fire come from? But they fell into the water??? I don't know anymore.

Who returned Turner's notebook? Was it his dad? Was it anyone relevant to the plot? WRONG! IT'S SOME MAILMAN! The most logical logic, everyone.

"Sometimes we have to choose the lesser of two evils...." Okay. I don't think that's the point here. Turner's dad is bent on catching this murderer until he finds out it's his son, who just flat out tells him his whole plan and how he ended up here. Like that's all you have to say to that? What?

THAT'S THE END? WHAT JUST HAPPENED? HELLO? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?

the three things I liked about this film:

Ryuk's line "My name has four letters in it, closest anyone's ever gotten was two." (Cool sounding, but also shinigami cannot be killed by the Death Note, so why would it matter if his name was written in it?)

Watari giving Mr Turner an ice cream, directly referencing a scene in the anime. I just think it's nice. The ice cream does just disappear immediately as the scene continues though. I don't even know.

Light's dad appearing on TV and speaking out against Kira instead of the Lind L. Tailor thing. (I actually think that was a good idea, similar to Mello kidnapping Sayu to prove Kira's connection to the Yagamis, but without the use of traumatizing women to move the plot along.)

if I had to describe this in one word: messy.

if I had to describe this in a lot of words: I understand if you want to make a complete rewrite/retelling of the story and the world. New/different characters, new/different rules. But it's just written so weirdly. You're first watching or reading of Death Note may be confusing because of the character's different hidden plans and motivations. You might have to go back to certain points to clear things up. This film is confusing not for the 4dimensional mind chess but because there is none of that here. It is just confusing because it's written poorly. You could rewatch this a dozen times and still not be able to make sense of things. This is a funny alternate universe fanfiction that was written by Matsuda to try to make Ryuk the villain and Light the real misunderstood hero. I don't know.

If you read this all the way through, thanks. or sorry. Depending on how much psychic damage this has caused you.

[agendabymooner]

live tweets, japan and all that romance fiasco ! oscar p. x ofc (filo!gen z!ofc)

summary: paloma san pedro was a papaya amongst the prancing horses. OR how everybody found out that oscar piastri managed to win over the crush that he hard launched. spoilers to the 2023 japanese grand prix.

content warning: 2023 japanese gp spoilers, use of explicit language, hard launch, oscar and ofc stay simping 😅, mclaren admin being besties with ofc, oscar is canonically obsessed with jollibee, crackfic basically, carlos’ in-law (briefly mentioned)

note: i can work fast when it comes to smau but never on my homework 🫠🤡 enjoy xx

masterlist

JAPANESE GP — QUALI DAY

JAPANESE GP — RACE DAY

tagged oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, carlossainzjr, mclarenf1

mclarenf1 wombat bf for p3 ❤️🧡 liked by lomisanpedro

user1 admin ships them soooo bad 🤣

mclarenf1 we goaded oscar into making it official with her that’s why

landonorris not a congrats for me ? 🫣

lomisanpedro are you my bf? (congrats landoooo)

landonorris fair enough (thank u lomiiii)

logansargeant soooo like… what do i get for compensation for being traumatized by your awkward encounters

lomisanpedro a better personality asides from being american???

logansargeant ouch but okay 🤧

arthur_leclerc wombat bf 🧡 liked by lomisanpedro

lomisanpedro wombat bf ✨❤️

oscarpiastri i guess my new name is now wombat bf 😅 liked and pinned by lomisanpedro

lomisanpedro if it makes u feel better, niño declared me as your bee 😭

oscarpiastri no that was all me. i said you’re my bee because you make me jolli all the time 🐝😊

mclarenf1 oh my god, piastrizz and his jollirizz are at it again 🤭🤭 jollibee

user2 too many filo rizz coming from our favourite aussie on the grid 😭✨🐝 you can’t make this shit up, philippines 🇵🇭

[petitelepus]

Melody event! Here the song for my request https://youtu.be/yD7tXEo19cM?si=QXeKW4je8OIIa1fR

Genya x Foreign reader! It all takes place in the school AU

Summary: Genya befriends a new foreign student, you, and you two end up one day sharing an umbrella...

Warnings: None

A/N: Female Reader, Genya Shinazugawa, Kimetsu Academy

Genya was on his way to school. He was a good diligent student and never late… Even if he did stop to help an elder woman to cross the busy road.

As he carried the woman over to the other side of the road, he didn't realize that someone was watching. After the woman thanked Genya for his help, he was on his way again…

"Excuse me?"

Genya stilled when he heard someone talking to him and he turned to see the cutest girl he had ever seen. You.

The young man's eyes widened as he looked at you and his face turned red quickly.

"Y- Yes?"

"I'm lost," You spoke with a thick accent, "I need to find Kimetsu Academy… You and I have the same uniform? Can you help me?"

"Y- Yes!" Genya replied quickly, "J- Just follow me!"

"Thank you!" You smiled, glad that you had found someone to help you. Genya led you to the school and once you made it, you cheered and smiled at him, "Thank you so much!"

"Y- You're welcome…" He tried not to stare at you too much. You grinned as you introduced yourself to the young man, "What's your name?"

"Genya… Genya Shinazugawa…"

"Thank you, Genya for your help! Hopefully, we meet again!" You waved as you rushed to the school building and the young man snapped out of his trance and headed to his class.

That day, he learned that the Citrus class would get a new foreign student and Genya couldn't believe his ears. His mind immediately manifested an image of you and just like that, you stepped through the door and greeted all the students who would be your classmates.

You told them who you were, where you came from, your hopes and dreams, and so on.

As you looked around, your eyes fell on Genya, who flinched and quickly looked away… Only to realize that the empty seat next to him was most likely-!

"Hi there Genya!" You smiled as you sat next to him and made the seat your own.

"H- Hello…"

"What good luck that we are both in Citrus class!" You said cheerfully and he nodded quietly, blushing as you talked with him. Who would have thought that it was the start of your new friendship?

So you started your studies in Kimetsu Academy and it was clear that you were a foreigner as your Japanese had this accent… But it was awfully cute and Genya wasn't the only one who thought so.

Even that brat from the other class, Zenitsu, thought you were cute as heck and there were other boys around the school who thought so also, and girls like you also.

Only you seemed totally unaware of your popularity.

Yet, you and Genya had a deeper connection than you had with any other guy. You trusted him and he wanted to be worth that trust. You met so often on your way to school that you started to head there together and sometimes home also.

Genya really liked you, he really did… Maybe even more than as a acquaintance or friend… But he had no idea about dating, and even less about what to talk to girls about to get their attention!

Either way, he would still aid you whenever you needed him to!

That brings us to this day.

Genya sighed as he stared at the pouring Spring rain. It was really raining cats and dogs and he hadn't realized earlier that morning that he would need an umbrella later that day.

The young man sighed as he tried to figure out what to do. Should he wait in school for the rain to stop or make a run for it and risk getting wet and sick?

He wondered if you had already gone home?

"Damn… I guess I'll just do my homework to pass the time," He thought to himself and turned to return back inside the building when he-!

"Genya!"

The young man looked up and saw you running at him. You stopped in front of him and smiled happily, "I thought you went home already?"

"No, I didn't realize to bring an umbrella with me," He replied as he looked at you and noted that you didn't have one either, "Don't you have an umbrella either?"

"Oh, no, I have one!" You smiled as you pulled one of those compact umbrellas from your bag and grinned as you opened it, "Tadaa!"

"Nice," He nodded and you nodded proudly back at him, "Well?"

"What?"

"Are you coming?" You asked and Genya blinked. What did you mean? He was about to ask when the realization hit him and he blushed.

You wanted to share an umbrella with him!?

Wait, you weren't Japanese! You must not have been aware of the meaning behind the shared umbrella!

"I- I-!"

"Is there something wrong?"

"N- No, nothing!"

"Then shall we go?"

"A- Alright…" Genya gave in as he joined you under the umbrella… And he immediately noticed that you were holding the umbrella higher so he could fit under it comfortably.

"H- Here, let me…" He said as he gently took your umbrella from you and held it above the two of you so you didn't need to strain your hand.

"Thank you, Genya!" You smiled and he nodded as the two of you headed home.

Poor young man was blushing like crazy as you walked together. He could feel people looking at the two of you, and it made him nervous. He even heard some elders chuckling about young love, but they were far away enough that you didn't hear them.

"Genya!" You suddenly cried out and he flinched, "Wh- What?"

"Your shoulder!" You pointed at his shoulder and Genya realized that his other shoulder was getting wet as you both didn't fully fit under the compact umbrella.

"Oh, this? This is nothing-!"

"Here!" You grabbed him by the arm that was holding the umbrella between you guys and pulled him closer to you so your sides were pressed against each other-!

"A- Ah-!" The young man's face went from pink to red as a cherry, but you smiled as his shoulder wasn't under the rain anymore.

"There! Now you won't get wet!" You grinned as you started walking, though, Genya felt like a wooden doll, his movements stiff due to his nerves getting the best of him.

…But as you walked, it started to feel more and more fluid, natural, for the two of you to walk down the street in the rain that started to calm down with each step you took.

The world around you two seemed to disappear and it was just Genya and you. It was almost calming… Harmonic even.

He glanced at you from the corner of his eye and he couldn't believe how beautiful you were. If only he had the courage he needed to speak up his mind…

"Genya?"

"Y- Yes?" He flinched, fearing that you caught him staring at you, but you just smiled and held his hand tighter.

"I know this isn't the best time… But we are sharing an umbrella and I…" You blushed a little, "I like you… I like you a lot Genya."

"Oh.... W- Wait!" He blushed as he stopped walking so he could look at you better, "Y- You like me?"

"I do," You nodded as you looked up at him from under your long eyelashes, "Really much."

"H- How-When!?" He didn't even realize what he was asking, his mouth just went on and on.

"I've liked you ever since the day you helped that older woman and me, and my feelings for you have only grown day by day since that day."

"I- I-!"

"You don't need to reply if you don't want to," You nodded, "We can just be friends if you prefer that, but I still will like you most-!"

"I- I-!" Genya swallowed as he collected all the courage he had and nodded before exclaiming, "I- I also like you!"

And just like that, the time slowed down around you again and it was just you and Genya. You stared at each other until you smiled and carefully leaned up and pecked his cheek quickly.

"That makes me happy!" You laughed happily and Genya's face turned so red again that he feared that he might faint on the spot. That was the first kiss he had ever gotten!

"I- I'm-!"

"If you like, would you like to go out with me someday?" You asked and he nodded quicker than he had ever nodded. You giggled and the two of you kept walking and throwing around ideas about where the two of you could go on a date... And Genya felt happy.

The next day in school, during the lunch break, you and Genya were talking and enjoying your bentos together when he realized something.

"Wait, hold on..." He frowned, "You knew all this time what sharing an umbrella meant!?"

"Of course!" You grinned, "I've seen anime and read some manga after all!"

You were far less innocent than you appeared...!

"Are you mad at me?" You cast your eyes down, "I'm sorry if I made you mad..."

"I- I'm not mad!" He said a little louder than he wished, but he had to fix this misunderstanding before it got out of hand, "I- I really liked it! Sharing umbrella, holding your hand- I really liked those things!"

You looked at him for a second and then smiled, thinking and loving how honest and cute your dear Genya was.

[th34rs0n1st]

Late Night Memories

denki kaminari x english! reader

after a late night finishing homework, denki asks you about your life before UA

author note: my first fanfic in a very very long time!! hope you all enjoy :)

word count: 544

== ♡ == ♡ ==

You check the time: 2.18am. You and Denki had just finished the weeks homework from Aizawa when you collapse on the bed together

“That was so boring!” he says, sighing loudly. “I know!! I’m so ready to sleep now” you respond, snuggling into his shoulder. You lay in silence for a while, taking in the musky smell of his aftershave, when Denki speaks up again

“You know how you grew up in England?”, the random question threw you off a bit. “What??” you reply, sitting up to look at his face. “You lived in England before UA, right?” He repeats his question. You’re left confused but say “Yes, why?” 

“Well,” he continues “I wanted to know what it was like over there. Like, is there anything you miss, anything you wish you had here?” You giggle at his genuine concern for your comfort “Baby, where did this come from?” you ask, not because you’re avoiding his question, but because you can’t fathom how his brain got to this place. “Well… you were talking to your family earlier and I was curious” his voice gets quieter towards the end of his sentence, clearly becoming self conscious of his question now. “Awe love, well there’s definitely some things I miss but I love being here. I met all of our friends, I met you. You’re probably the best thing that ever happened to me” he blushes, turning his face away from you to try and hide. “You didn’t answer my question though. What do you miss?”

“Uhhhh…” you think for a few minutes, mulling over your memories from before UA. You love your home, there were so many things you miss, but one thing came to mind first “Waterstones, specifically the giant one in Piccadilly” you respond. “What is Waterstones?” he asks. You gasp dramatically, mouth agape “How can you call yourself my boyfriend without knowing Waterstones?? It’s only the best book shop in the country” you rant, ending with a giggle “Oh I’m so sorry princess I deeply apologise for my misdeeds” he jokes as you both fall into a pile of laughs on the bed until you can’t breathe.

“Anyways, another thing I miss, although I love Japanese food, is British cuisine” you continue “like fish and chips and a full English breakfast” He looks at you with a confused look on his face “Wait… that’s actually a thing? Not just a stereotype?” you laugh again “Nope people love having that food. We would always get food from the fish and chip shop when we were on holiday by the sea and my dad would cook a full english for dinner at least a couple times a month, it was amazing” you gushed, drooling over the thought of the food you were talking about. “Well I guess we’ll have to have some of these foods so I can try them” Denki says, turning to face you. “Really?” you gasp, then yawn, remembering how late it is. “Maybe we could even get the entire class to try it too” he says, pulling you closer as your eyes start drooping from tiredness. “Yeah I like that idea” you respond, letting your eyes fall close as Denki kisses you on the forehead “Goodnight sweetheart” 

“Goodnight Denki”

Thank you for reading :)

stay safe stay kind <3

[jommycham]

Spirit Hunter NG Radio Drama Bonus CD [Ultra Rough Translation]

[Spirit Doctor Yashiki Kazuo's Consultation Room]

An honest attempt at a translation of the bonus drama CD that came with the purchase of NG: Extreme Kaidanchi. Beware of some minor spoilers if you have not played through all the Spirit Hunter games.

Note: Only did this for fun, and I am not fluent in Japanese, so inaccuracies are expected.

Disclaimers:

This bonus CD is an edited version of Yashiki's Consultation Room that was originally broadcasted on the EXP channel. Some questions sent in by viewers have been altered. What occurs in the Consultation Room should be treated as a parallel universe to the main storyline— therefore all comments made in these sessions are NOT canon.

(btw, Yashiki's title here is "Kai Ika" (怪医家)— or literally "Strange Doctor," which is probably where the "Spirit Doctor" came from.)

✄--------------------------------------------

I did my best with my (admittedly) shoddy translation, and cleaned it up a bit to have it sound more coherent. Again, I do not speak or understand much Japanese, so despite my best attempts, portions can be wrong (though most of it should be reasonably correct). I will highlight those unsure sections accordingly. There are also very small parts I've omitted, either due to it being too difficult to understand (for me) or to smooth the flow of the translation. 🙇‍♀️Thank you very much for your understanding and putting up with my impulsive DM brain rot.

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This CD features Yashiki and Mashita answering the audience's concerns/worries. Yashiki receives these burning questions through occult magazines. This time, however, Yashiki specifically calls Mashita in due to a request from OOPArts, much to Mashita's chagrin.

☕︎ Late for School Reader: This question is basically taken from EXP 4th Season #3 Voice Drama (where it's Yashiki, Moe, and Mashita) regarding the viewer who couldn't get up early.

Yashiki: Moe has answered this before, and I suggest rather than buying a cat, to take supplements, don't accumulate stress, go to bed early, get plenty of sleep, and have yourself plenty of coffee and sugar as soon as you wake up.

Mashita: Well, I guess that's the sort of advice you'd give. At my previous job, I'd take a shower or wash my face with cold water.

Yashiki: Even if someone else wakes me up, I still have to put in majority of the effort through the rest of the process.

➥The answers to this question are a lot more fleshed out in the actual livestream VD, such as the cat thing, the supplements being part of Mashita's answer, and Saya mention for the "someone else."

☕︎ Bug Hater Reader: Also a question taken from the above mentioned Voice Drama about a reader asking about how to handle cleaning the house while bugs are roaming during the summer.

Mashita: You're the type of person who doesn't hesitate to pick things up and put it in your bag. You (the reader) can also try hiring someone or contacting a cleaning company.

[Yashiki is concerned that Mashita also doesn't really like touching gross things and asks if he's okay.]

[Mashita explains that both of them are basically in the same line of work, so it's not like he hesitates either to touch things.]

Yashiki: That's true.

☕︎ Summer vacation is almost over, but my eldest daughter hasn't finished her homework. What should I do, Mr. Yashiki? What did you do with your homework during summer vacation?

Yashiki: The Kujo Family already finished their homework early into summer vacation. How about you, Mashita?

Mashita: Well, it's kind of a hassle, so I tried to finish it early. But I always remember not being able to finish my literature essay/book review until the last moment. It was the only part I didn't fully understand.

*TERROR SOUND EFFECT*

Yashiki: I loved reading books and I don't remember having difficulties with them. Shou doesn't do his in the first place. Moe and Tsukasa seem to be the types who get it done first thing. Suzu seems like she'd get it done unexpectedly early. Eita probably does it early, too. Ai seems the type to get it done and put the rest of her energy into her hobbies.

Mashita: If your parents are willing to help you, it might not be a bad idea to plan your hobbies and leisure activities for the latter half of your summer vacation and finish the homework by then.

Yashiki: And if you don't finish your homework...

*dramatic sound effect*

Yashiki: ... you'll die at dawn. Well, if you can imagine a curse like that/wouldn't be surprising if there was a curse like that.

Mashita: Tch, I wouldn't want that.

➥ The term Mashita uses here is "Dokusho Kanshoubun," and I am not familiar with the specifics of what summer homework consists of, so the closest thing I went with was a book review of sorts.

➥ I got kind of lost on his descriptions, so I honestly wasn't sure who was being described, so the details may be mixed up.

☕︎ I'm waking up in the middle of the night with the need to go to the bathroom. But there are times where I get scared and don't want to go. What should I do in times like these? If you have any tips or advice, please let me know!

Yashiki: Actually, come to think of it...

Mashita: Wait. Just turn on the lights, that's the answer.

Yashiki: What's the hurry, Mashita? I was just trying to...

Mashita: I'm trying to keep you from making an ill-advised comment.

Yashiki: Was it going to be that terrible?

Mashita: No doubt. With this, we're done with the question.

Mashita: Tch, who was the one who chose this question? Maybe they were half-asleep at the time. Well, off to the next one.

➥ I could not tell if Yashiki was asking if his answer was going to be that awful or he was saying "that's terrible (coming from Mashita)." I went with the former to be safe.

☕︎ One afternoon, I was taking the bus to the hospital, and the bus stopped at a bus stop. It was on a main street with only cars and a few pedestrians passing by, making it look quite deserted. The bus driver opened the doors and stared outside. I watched from the back seat as the driver repeatedly, with an impatient tone, asked someone if they were getting on or not. The driver gave up on asking and started driving off. As the bus drove away, I kept looking outside, but didn't see anyone at the bus stop or on the sidewalk of the main street. I wondered who the driver was talking to, or if he had talked to anyone in the first place.

I suddenly remembered this recently— what exactly happened, and how would you interpret it, Mr. Yashiki?

There's a section where Mashita goes into a short explanation in regards to this particular question. I am not sure if he is talking about the reader's question or their reply— but basically either this question has been submitted before (didn't make it into the actual Consultation segment) or it has been replied to, but the reply was not published. Therefore, the editorial department has requested this question be submitted/replied to again.

Yashiki: I remember this question. My original reply was that since it was the driver's actions, it's technically not a paranormal phenomenon.

Mashita: Well, if we can't be sure, we still need to interpret it from that angle (?). What do you think about the situation?

Yashiki: I think it might be someone from the future who came to your rescue, and thanks to them delaying the bus' departure, a major accident was avoided.

Mashita: You're still naive as ever, but worse. No matter who that person was, in the end, you're the one who created that anxiety. You shouldn't willingly go with their plans.

Yashiki: By interpreting the situation in a way that doesn't make me anxious, it allows me to avoid getting swallowed up by fear.

➥ The specific phrase Mashita uses is "お花畑," or "ohanabatake," which means a field of flowers. It seems to be used to describe someone who is carefree or blind.

➥ The answer sort of starts leaning into the more philosophical side towards the end? At least on the basis where my interpretation of "that person" is the imagined time traveler of Yashiki's explanation. If not, I'm terribly sorry.

☕︎ At my previous workplace, there was a tree (?) that always made a ringing noise at night. It was close to a residential area, with an apartment building and a small community center in its parking lot. For some reason, it doesn't bother me on my way to work, and I only hear it on the way home. It also doesn't bother me during early shifts, so I assume the noise only occurs at night. The sound is different every time, ranging from the metallic sound like that of gold or a sandstorm. On bad days the ringing in my ears causes headaches and anemia. I had heard from a friend that the place was haunted/visited by spirits; so I started wondering if it was a paranormal experience.

Yashiki: I answered this question at the time it was originally submitted, but it remains the same. I can't deny the possibility [of it being a paranormal event]. I'm pretty sure the advice given to you was to sing a song. There's also the option of keeping an omamori and listening to your favorite music through earphones. I don't know how effective it is, but as I have said previously— try to avoid feeling anxious as much as possible.

☕︎ I'm an idol who loves the occult, and I love reading about them. I want to consult Mr. Yashiki, as there have been many instances of paranormal sightings in H City. There are also rumors of new sightings circulating on message boards as of late. I'm a bit nervous about investigating it by myself, so can you please help me out? I wonder if the rumors are true or not...

Yashiki: I don't recommend investigating it, because there's a chance you could die.

Mashita: But I guess they can't just leave it be.

Yashiki: This is a difficult question...

Mashita: In any case, I would like to have some more information so I can do some research on this.

Yashiki: I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate it if you could send what you know to the editorial department. I recommend you never investigate matters like these alone.

Afterword

Yashiki: Alright.

Mashita: I think this is enough, about 10 minutes.

Yashiki: I’ll hand the audio recording to Moe later today.

Mashita: I'll leave it to you.

Yashiki: I hope this helps someone with their troubles.

Mashita: Perhaps.

Yashiki: Will you be willing to help out next time?

[Pause]

Mashita: ... Tch. Hm.

Yashiki: Please look after me./Thank you in advance.

➥ The phrase is "yoroshiku tanomu yo," which I've seen can be translated into "please look after —" or just used generally for requesting a favor. I was debating using "I'm counting on you" since it sort of made better sense in this context, but Yashiki ended it with "よ" which is much more casual/polite than "ぜ." I ended up opting for a more... gentler way of phrasing this? I genuinely didn’t know how to write it in a way that conveys how he spoke other than this ( ´_ゝ`).

Spirit Doctor Yashiki's Consultation Room: In addition to our regular consultations, we are also accepting everyday troubles. Please contact us here.

Thank you very much for sticking til the end here. ヾ(´ー`)ﾉ゛ I've been going through some pretty severe rot and this helped to alleviate it somewhat (despite how piss poor my efforts are). It's interesting to see different sides to characters even if it's not entirely canon.

As a lil bonus, I want to show those of you who haven't watched Nezuka Ryo's voice over for the entirety of DM1— Kawabata Yoshiaki's (Mashita's VA) introduction! The gap is... actually really cute in a way???

[ever-4sunlight]

Blood red moon ||Uppermoons x modern gender neutral reader

Prologue

after a long day at school you go home happy instead of doing your homework you want to change and then sleep tomorrow is the weekend so you don't have to do anything great you run up the stairs to your room it's not tidy as usual but that doesn't matter

you too tired right now, you drop onto your bed and watch a bit more demonslayer on your mobile "oh how nice that would be if it's real"

you say to yourself a few hours have passed and you finally go to sleep you slept really well when you wake up you get it directly Headache cause the sunlight is right in your face

,,fuck that shit’‘

while you keep getting upset you hear something downstairs

,,i guess my roommate is back let's see how drunk they are today’‘ you go out of your room and scoot over the banister but instead of seeing your roommate you see a stranger trying like an idiot to block the sun's rays

you reach for the baseball bat that's always by your door ,,who are you and why are you wearing a douma cosplay‘‘

the stranger turns to you his rainbow-colored eyes stare into yours

,,tell me what is a pretty human like you doing alone here‘‘ the stranger asks

is he speaking Japanese?! uff he takes his role really too serious’‘ you mumble

,,but maybe it’s just a friend you want to make a little joke to scare me’‘ you take the bat on yours shoulder where you look really cool with your shirt and pants

you go down the stairs with the bat on your shoulder and are now standing right in front of the stranger ,,get out of here‘‘

you swing the bat but you didn't hit anything there was nothing in front of you

You notice something cold on your ladle behind you as you carefully look down a bit to see what it is

a golden fan aimed at your puls vein ,,you look really delicious you know"

ok, now it's really getting serious he's exaggerating

,,let go of the human douma’‘ another person comes into the hallway he has pink hair light gray skin and conspicuous blue paint on his skin

 while the two are arguing you loosen yourself from the grip of the person with the fans

'i'm hallucinating but there's something the fuck going on here' you mumble to yourself

you go confused into the kitchen to make yourself some tea you get a cup from the bar turn on the kettle and wait until the water is ready during which you wonder if you took any drug yesterday or drank alcohol but you were sure that you were sober

the water was ready and you prepare yourself a tea you take the hot cup and walk past the arguing men to sit down on the sofa 

as you sit down you remind yourself that today is lunar eclipse you take a sip of your tea and look at your cell phone while the argument is still going on in the background

,,are they ignoring us?’‘ Akaza asked

,,just get the hell out of my house damn it’‘ you said not really friendly

,,what did she say‘‘ Akaza asked

,,oh akaza you don't speak english if you want i'll translate for you‘‘

,,She says we should make ourselves at home and that she's ok that we're here‘‘Douma said

,,we should report to the master that someone lives here‘‘ Akaza said

,,your completely right now go on’‘

douma answered with a big smile

,,what I’m not gonna do it I just said we maybe should report It‘‘ Akaza said worried

,,ok I’m gonna do it see you soon‘‘ douma went away and akaza and you are alone now you still sip your tea with a smile and stare at your phone

,,should i start a conversation I mean it’s stupid just standing there and doing nothing but she doesn’t talk Japanese‘‘ Akaza mumbled to himself

,,Akaza where is Douma and why is there a human‘‘