#baekhyun fem

[marshmallow-phd]

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won't let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

Lightning lit up the thin curtains covering the two small windows on either side of the carriage. Thunder rumbled and you felt it deep within your chest. Tugging your silk cloak closer, you closed your eyes and prayed that the driver would get you through the storm. There was no one to comfort you, to reassure you that a little rain and noisy sky wouldn't delay your journey.

Your father had insisted you take your sister or even a friend, but the two day’s journey didn’t  seem consequential enough to need a companion. Besides, what would they have done once you arrived? Your elderly aunt had only asked for you. From what you could decipher from her letter, she needed you to be a companion as she traveled to the southernmost coastal town. Apparently, it was now the ultimate fashion to travel to for the summer. Just the idea of rolling waves made your stomach churn. But what was worse was who else would be there–

The carriage jolted to the right. You spread out your arms, only barely catching yourself from falling to the floor. No sane person would have endured such dangerous weather. This storm had come from nowhere. Skies blue and cloudless as you had ever seen bid you farewell in the late morning. Most of the day's journey had been uneventful. Then the joyful light faded. Thunder shook the walls of the carriage. Rain pounded on the roof. When would you reach the inn? Bile rose up in your throat, burning the sensitive tissue as the carriage continued to rock violently. The horses neighed over the sounds of the storm. 

The carriage shifted hard to the left. And kept falling. You slammed into the door, nearly opening it with the force. You didn't know what was happening. The floor was now the wall and the wall the floor. A downward momentum made it impossible to stand. Screams ripped at your throat.

Then it stopped. 

The rain continued to pour and the thunder roared on but the carriage was still. Your legs wobbled as you slowly stood. With your palms, you pushed open the door. The thin wooden panel clapped against the outside of the carriage. Immediately you were pounded by the storm. Large drops pelted your face, obscuring your vision. It was dark. You could tell that much. And there were trees. In every direction. 

You climbed out of the carriage, calling for the driver. Your feet slipped in the mud, but you managed to keep your balance–for now. The mud was thick and sticky as you trudged to the front of the carriage.

 No. No, no, no. Both of the horses were gone. And so was the driver. Somehow, the carriage had fallen down a hill or ravine. With a storm this terrible, you needed to get to higher ground or risk possibly being carried away–or drowning. Clawing and digging your hands and feet into the soaked dirt, you climbed the hard incline back to the road. 

Once you could make out the road, you called for the driver again. No answer. He was nowhere to be found. You needed to find shelter. The storm gave no promise of letting up. You wouldn't survive the night in this forest, even if you went back into the carriage. The only choice was to find sanctuary. You stared in the direction you believed you came from. Nothing but trees and darkness. You turned to the other choice. All the same–wait. 

There was something... when lightning brightened up the sky. Your heart began banging in your ears. Spires, towers. Not trees. It was some distance away, but it was shelter nonetheless. 

With near tears in your eyes, you picked up your skirts–your fingers numb from the cold–and hurried towards the castle that could be your saving grace. 

*****

The manor was calm tonight. Odd, considering the amount of bodies roaming around these haunted halls. Only the beautiful storm outside and Chanyeol's sorrowful melody from the piano broke the silence. Jongin had draped himself over one of the arm chairs as he inspected the wine mixture within his goblet. The taste was… adequate. The cellar would need replenishing soon.

In the corner, a rather lax game of cards covered the small, round table. Minseok smirked at his winning hand. The faded wooden chips with bits of white painted around the edges were piling up in front of Yixing, who leaned back carelessly, sure of his next win. Little did either of them know that the youngest among them had a little... trick his sleeve. As the quickest, Sehun had perfected sleight of hand long ago. None had caught him yet.

A fire roared, coaling the usually gray and brown room in flickering orange. With how close he stood near the fireplace, Kyungsoo's silhouette was visible through his loose shirt. He leaned his palms on the mantel and let the warmth of the flames engulf him. Warmth was all they could feel after all these years. It could be an addiction so strong it was tempting to throw himself into the fire. 

Junmyeon joined him at the fireplace, leaning his shoulders against the brick. The bite of the edge hardly registered in his mind. Pain of that measure... it was only a ghost that had nearly crossed over. 

“Such strong thoughts for a night like this.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look from the fire, but raised a questioning eyebrow in response. 

Junmyeon shrugged a single shoulder. “I can’t read minds, but it's obvious you're turning something over more times than a praying rock.”

“It's the same thoughts,” Kyungsoo murmured in his strange, monotone voice. “Always the same thoughts.”

“One day you will have to let it go,” Junmyeon sighed. “This is our existence now. And forever will be.”

“Acceptance of the present doesn’t erase the past.”

“But it does make the present more enjoyable.” The red liquid sloshed against the rim of the goblet as Jongin draped an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. He wore a mischievous smile. A clear indicator of his true intention. 

Junmyeon shook his head. “We’re not going out tonight. There’s nothing out and about in this storm.” Hunting in these conditions would wield no trophies. Tomorrow would be a better night. 

“Jun’s no fun tonight,” Jongdae teased as he and Baekhyun emerged from the hallway. 

“If you want to go out in this mess,” Junmyeon waved towards the front door. “Be my guest. Just don’t you dare get mud on the rug–”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Help! Please! Help!”

Nine pairs of eyes snapped to the echoing sound. None moved. 

Bang! Bang! 

BANG!

One of the double doors burst open and a figure fell to the floor, landing on its knees and palms. It looked up. A flash of lightning illuminated the face.

The face of a beautiful young girl. 

*****

Your knees vibrated when they hit the wooden floor. Water fell from your loose hair that clung to your cheeks. The chances of  the door opening when you pushed on the handle had been low–yet the barrier that kept you victim to the storm fell open and you crashed downward with it. 

Greeting you in this strange hall were several men, their jaws hanging open in a mirror of your own surprise. More men appeared from a side parlor, curious as to who dared intrude on their evening. One, two, three–you counted nine total. Nine men. This was not ideal–a bit terrifying, really–but you didn't have a choice. The storm raged outside.

"P-please," you stammered past chattering teeth "The st-storm overturn-overturned the carriage.” 

The men stayed silent as they exchanged unreadable glances. One raised a questionable brow. 

"Jongdae, go run a bath," ordered the man closest to you. One of the shorter residents nodded and disappeared into the darkness that led into the rest of the manor. 

That's what this place was. A grand old manor, not a castle. Isolated. When you'd first run through the rusted iron gate, you'd feared it abandoned. A long dormant instinct whispered that you might have been better off if it had been. 

The first man approached, each motion slow, deliberate, and hauntingly graceful. He crouched down in front of you and captured your frightened stare. The fear in you began to melt away. He was… beautiful. Obsidian fell over his forehead in gentle waves. His tunic was of a fashion your grandfather would have worn. There was something strange about this man–all of these men. Something... different. 

"Let's get you warmed up." He held his hand out and you were up on your feet before you even realized your fingers were resting on his. "Don't worry," he murmured. "You're safe here. My name is Junmyeon." 

You nodded, somehow believing him, but unsure if you should. Through your violent chattering, you managed to stammer out your name in response. 

Bang! 

You jumped at the sudden noise. One of the other men had somehow appeared behind you to shut the door you'd fallen through. 

"Thank you, Yixing," the man beside you said. The one named Yixing nodded and then shifted his eyes to you. “Come.” A hand pressed into the space between your shoulder blades and guided you down the hall, leaving a trail of mud in your wake.

The man led you down several halls until you reached an unoccupied bedroom. Red blankets draped the oversized bed. Matching curtains hung limply from the canopy. All of the wood was a dark sort, rich in color but not quite welcoming like other, brighter woods. 

Jongdae emerged from another door on the other side of the bedroom. Steam rolled out after him as if it were following him for its next set of orders. “Anything else?” he asked drily. 

“No, thank you.”

Jongdae strolled the from the room without a glance either of you and closed the door behind him. Your breath hitched in your throat. The two of you were… alone. It wasn’t appropriate. It was…

You looked to the man still with you, fear causing your heart to pound painful against your chest. You tugged your cloak closer to you, but it was soaked from the rain. Shivers violently raced down your arms and spine. The man didn’t seem to notice as he walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a long white cloth. 

“These should suffice for tonight.” He held up the cloth for you to see. A nightgown. An old one by the cut of it, though thankfully it hadn’t been devoured by moths or mice. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”

You nodded. “Thank you.” 

He visibly suppressed a laugh at your small voice and waved you into the adjoining bathroom. Taking the nightgown, you tried your best to avoid his gaze. You scurried inside and shut the door. 

*****

Junmyeon smirked at your mousy state. It was understandable why you were so frightened. The women of this period were warned of being alone with a man. And now you were alone with nine. 

Nine very dangerous men. 

The proper action for him to take was to leave your room now that you were safe inside the bathroom, but his feet didn’t move. Somehow, the storm had stranded you in their forest. What had happened to the driver, he wondered. Surely a gentlewoman such as yourself was not controlling the carriage. And yet, you were all alone. Circumstances were… ideal.

A small hiss echoed in the bathroom. It stretched out, along with the sound of sloshing water. Junmyeon frowned. 

Hm.

He stood there for a few minutes more, listening to you sigh as your skin grew used to the scalding water. The sound of soap scraping against skin reached his ears, followed by more sloshing water. Soon, you would be getting out of the tub. Time to leave. 

He emerged from the bedroom, careful to close the door as quietly as possible. Everyone had gathered out in the hallway since they were too curious about their visitor to go about their night. Junmyeon found Jongdae blending in with the cluster. He glared at him as he hissed, "The water was too hot." 

Jongdae merely shrugged. Why would he care about water possibly being too hot? It would never hurt him. 

On the opposite end of the group, Yixing cleared his throat. "What are we going to do with her?"

Junmyeon glanced at the door behind him. There was only one best option, for all their sakes. "Tomorrow morning, we will send her on her way." 

The eruption was instant. 

“Enough!”

In an instant, the hissing ceased. 

Baekhyun huffed and folded his arms against his chest, collapsing against the wall. Jongin scoffed. "Such a waste." 

“A waste that will keep this household from tearing itself apart,” Junmyeoun countered. It was an outcome none of them wanted. No one wanted to cause a fight, but resisting was difficult. The temptation was great. The quicker you left, the better off they would all be. 

"Do you really think it’ll end so well?" Minseok’s mocking comment hung in the air. Silent agreements rippled through the air. 

Junmyeon looked to Kyungsoo, whose answer was to look away. "No one touches her," he ordered. They all would try, he knew. But their strength would only get them so far. He stared down a few of them especially, so they knew he meant it.

Sehun pushed off the wall with a roll of his eyes. "Just get her out of here so I can get some peace." 

Junmyeon started to call after him but was interrupted by a soft thud from the room behind him. Confused, he opened the door to find you lying on the floor.

[xotaemintol]

SUB!BAEKHYUN x (fem) READER: SUBBY SEPTEMBER DAY 2

“I fall to pieces when I'm with you.”

PRONOUNS USED: NONE (fem implied/mommy)

TWS: Sex toys, BDSM, Sub!idol, dom!reader, mommy kink, gagging, and hair pulling.

WORD COUNT: 568

It was simple, all he had to do was stay quiet and sit still for five minutes while you were on the phone, Baekhyun swore that he could do it too and was so confident in himself, but not even two minutes into the call he had snuck up behind you and screamed, causing you to scream into the customer's ear and lose another sell. He hadn’t even realized what he did until you politely apologized, as soon as it hit him what he had done he covered his mouth and looked at you with wide eyes, silently praying that you wouldn’t be too mad at him. But after ending the call it became clear that you were more than just mad, it didn’t take rocket science to figure that out either, the way you pulled his hair and forced him on his knees was enough to tell him that you were beyond pissed.

“Why are you always so disobedient?” You asked, with his face scrunched up in pain Baekhyun laughed a little, his playful demeanor telling you that he still thought he’d be able to get out of this easily, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize that I was- ow!” He whimpered in pain as you pulled his hair even harder, “You didn’t realize?” You leaned down to him so you could be at eye level and pushed him down on his back. Baekhyun tried his best to get you to calm down, flashing you a cheeky smile and laughing nervously as you stood over him, but it was no use. In a matter of minutes his hands were tied behind his back, you had quickly stripped him and gotten a vibrating cock ring a bit too small for his liking out of the closet. Still, he tried his best to plead with you as he dropped his bratty tone and leaned forward with a desperate expression, saying in a shaky voice: “Mommy please, I really didn’t mean to, I swear! If you untie me I promise I’ll stay quiet while you work.”

He expected this to work since it had gotten him out of trouble once or twice, but there wasn’t anything he could say that would save him now. All he could do was endure the pleasurable torture, helplessly moaning against the gag in his mouth as he sat on the small sofa behind your work desk, you could tell by the sounds of his muffled moans that he was right on that edge of feeling amazing and feeling pitiful. It’s exactly where you wanted him. But after just two minutes of you taunting him and poking at him for being bratty, Baekhyun was already whimpering and trying his hardest to convey how badly he wanted you, breathing heavily as he whimpered against the gag and squirming every time you changed the pacs of the vibrator around his cock.

“Be a good boy and maybe I’ll ride you when I finish up,” You said as you put your hand on his shoulder, Baekhyun looked up at you, already it looked like he could hardly contain himself, but you didn’t care, he could cum all he wanted, but he wouldn’t be released until you made another sell. “So don’t be too loud, or I’ll leave you like this all night,” As you said this you turned the vibrator up to his least favorite setting, knowing that it would only make it harder for him to keep his voice down even while being gagged. Baekhyun closed his eyes, gently leaning his head back as he let out muffled moans, you could hear a soft ‘Please’ as he opened his eyes and looked up at you, now begging with his eyes as his hips shuttered and his body tensed up, he was praying that you'd let him off the hook since he knows just how far you'll go to teach him a lesson. But the feeling of you once again changing the pace told him that there was no chance that you'd go easy on him today. “Shh, mommy has work to do.” You grinned and kissed him over the gag, Baekhyun whined and wiggled around, becoming desperate for your touch.

[aces-parrows]

library sweethearts | baekhyun

pairing: baekhyun x fem!reader word count: 670 genre: fluff, college!au warning(s): not proofread summary: sharing a candy cane in the library while studying for finals

hushed conversations, pencils dancing between the lines in notebooks, keyboards clicking and tapping, and the smell of textbooks both new and old. the dim lights create a calm, studious atmosphere for the students coming to read, study, or simply hang out. an occasional sound of a chair creaking, a zipper gliding across a backpack, and footsteps showed majority came to get through finals. whether to study or research a project, something needed to be done. what better place than the library?

in one corner of the library, baekhyun could be found studying for his classes. his notebook filled with different music notes, songs, and notations. although that's what was opened on his spread, he had turned his attention to ethnomusicology. his headphones played a recording of music from mexico, his attention to focusing on the music and what aspects of it make it unique from other countries, his thoughts scribbled onto a scrap piece of paper in front of him.

with a stack of books in hand and a determination to succeed, y/n enters the busy library and looks for a spot to study. scanning the room for an available spot, y/n spots a seat besides baekhyun. while the two have seen each other in the library and exchanged friendly smiles, their interactions at most were brief nods of acknowledgement, a silent understanding of why the two were here. carefully approaching the man who seemed to be very focused on whatever it was he was studying, y/n softly speaks, hoping to get his attention.

"is it alright if i sit here?" y/n asks nervously, hoping the other was able to hear her. her heart races as her social anxiety begins to make her worried she may have to speak up and disrupt the others here to focus on their own challenges of finals week. thankfully, baekhyun did in fact hear her and smiled softly, clearing space for her stuff. y/n silently thanks baekhyun, placing her books down before setting her bag down to take a seat.

the two study in silence for a bit, time flying by, the sun begins to set. students clear from the library in a rush to get back to their dorms or apartments before the streetlights are the only things lighting up the streets. though most of the library's occupants have left, few stayed behind. this included baekhyun and y/n.

as baekhyun decided now was time for a much needed break from his studies, he stretches before reaching into his bag pulled out a festive candy cane. the smell of peppermint filled the air around him as he tore part of the plastic wrap off of it. a mischievous glint in his, he offers one to y/n, catching her off guard. "come on, you've been studying a while." baekhyun said softly, "have a break and eat this."

"thank you." y/n shyly took the treat. as she carefully opened it and began eating the candy cane, she smiled softly, looking back at baekhyun. "it's good, isn't it?" he asked excitedly. she nods in agreement, now realizing how much she needed to take her eyes off all the numbers and formulas she had been staring at. god, her eyes were aching a bit from the torture of staring at her study guide, a silent cry to the universe for her to absorb the information enough to pass the upcoming math final.

realizing the library would be closed soon, the two closed their respective textbooks and notebooks as the final chords of their day came to an end. exchanging smiles and they prepared to leave, a connection could be felt between the two, formed by the shared love of a candy cane amidst the stress inducing thoughts and pressure that came with finals and last week of classes. however, this relationship was going beyond their books, the two bid farewell, a silent agreement was made to try and find each other again for another study session in the nearby future.

[chenlesfavorite]

MATCH OUR HEARTS! huang renjun

being a love consultant is definitely a one of a kind job, but hey, all that matters is that you like it! even if that means hearing all sorts of stuff from your clients…

renjun, on the other hand, is a peaceful bakery owner… well, he was peaceful until he fell in love with this girl that visits the bakery almost every day! he’s liked her for a while but he can’t bring himself to confess and he doesn’t have the slightest clue about love… so his friends come up with the genius idea that he should go to a love consultant.

but falling for the love consultant was not on his list when he requested your help.

────────────

— pairing: bakery owner!renjun x fem!reader

— genres: social media au (smau), written, friends to lovers, brother’s best friend, fluff, a lil bit of angst

— extra: renjun falls first, haechan is protective over y/n, renjun has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to flirting or love, renjun does embarrassing shit by accident, y/n and haechan r freaky asl (personality wise), renjun kinda hates y/n at the start

— warnings: death jokes, sex jokes, profanity, suggestive?

— playlist: Love Theory - TAEYONG, Wonstein | Bambi - BAEKHYUN | Psychic - LAY | New Ride - WayV | Perfect - One Direction | By My Side - JUNNY | Polaroid Love - ENHYPEN

— author's note: my 3rd smau wowowow guys… 😭 i don’t have many words to share but this will be a very cute smau… also i got inspired by the sims 4 love struck expansion pack + love theory by taeyong for this smau LMAO

— status: ongoing

— taglist: open!

────────────

profiles 1 | profiles 2 | profiles 3

1. 5 pleasurable specimens and the edging club

2. haechan public execution when

3. woman repellent

4. imma follow u home

5. the hallucinations at 11:07pm

— to be continued…

[tyonfs]

stargirl interlude

PAIRING ▸ na jaemin x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ smut, influencer au, strangers to lovers

WARNINGS ▸ profanity, mc and her friends are a little shallow, tbh i wrote this because of jaemin’s tits, dirty talk, sexual content, unprotected sex (wrap before you tap), kitchen sex, oral (m. receiving), oral (f. receiving), lowkey dumbification, body worship, ft. one night stand with jeno 

SUMMARY ▸ and i shouldn't cry, but I love it, starboy / i just wanna see you shine 'cause i know you are a stargirl

PLAYLIST ▸ stargirl interlude by the weeknd, lana del rey • alien superstar by beyoncé

WORD COUNT ▸ 5.9k words

TAG LIST ▸ @leeknowsredeyeliner​ @geniejunn​ @sehunniepot​ @jjaeyoonoh​ @subhyuck​ @jenoluuvvs​ @jaemboi64​ @otchae​ @n0hyuck​ @hyuckinx​ @domhyuckie​ @justhereforimagines​ @daegalfangirl​ @soobin-chois​ @lmkworld​ @baekhyuns-lipchain​ @its-taeil-time​ @produmads​ @kaislinging-slasher01​ @neomorning​ @learnthisfeeling​ @glitching-wren​ @carelessshootanonymous​ @thiccfullsun​  

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ jaemin is finally not an asshole. everybody say congrats jaemin.

THE WALK OF SHAME.

The distance from Lee Jeno’s apartment to yours was approximately 0.6 miles. If you walked fast enough, it would take you around ten minutes to get back home. Meaning, that was ten minutes spent doing the Walk of Shame at nearly three in the morning.

Of course, the whole point of being an e-girl was to keep up an unattainable internet persona. You wanted to be a star, and what better way than to weaponize your good looks? Your entire brand was posting revealing pictures of yourself on Instagram and Twitter, maintaining a “gamer girl” image. Sort of like Belle Delphine, but you hadn’t stooped low enough to start selling your bathwater to strangers on the internet. You were a lone flower on the edge of a cliff—so high up that no one could reach for your stem.

Except Jeno, apparently, after you caved and met him in person tonight.

You and Jeno followed each other on Twitter a few months ago. Despite attending the same college, you two hadn’t ever met in person before. He was a popular YouTuber, so there had been rumors flying around about his sudden interactions with you. Your influencer friends were trying to grill you for more information, but you sincerely had no idea where Jeno’s sudden interest in you came from. After you posted a picture of you in pink lace lingerie complete with Hello Kitty clips and pigtails, Jeno had finally slid into your DMs.

jeno: i’d rather spend the night with you

(In response to the caption on your post: spend the day with me?)

As one would expect, things escalated from there. Jeno was hot, you were horny, and he conveniently lived 0.6 miles away from you.

In short, you got good dick. Jeno started with one hand wrapped around your neck and the other snaking its way between your legs. You were satisfied, especially because the streamer didn’t try to dap you up after railing you on his gaming chair, the wall, and then his bed. You two made some small talk afterward, and then you headed home. Prince Charming could not be fucked to give you a generous ride back to your apartment.

You pulled out your phone to look at your face in the camera app. As expected, you were a mess, but you touched up your lipstick and blush with the few makeup products you stuffed in your purse. Then, you called your best friend, Lee Donghyuck, who had been flooding your friend group’s group chat with messages for the past hour.

“Dude,” you started as soon as he picked up. Donghyuck was in the middle of taking his headphones off to put his AirPods in, running a hand through his tousled hair. “Jeno walked me to the door and made me walk home by myself.”

“No fucking way.” Donghyuck laughed. “That’s what you get for hooking up with a guy who plays Val.”

Ah, yes. Featured on Jeno’s YouTube: streams of Valorant, League of Legends, and Overwatch. There were the occasional indie games he was requested to play, too. The only one you semi-watched and commented on was Little Nightmares.

“The dick was incredible,” you told your best friend, “but he’s not cuffing material.”

“Not like you care about cuffing anyone.”

“Yes, I do!” you objected. “I’m boyfriend-hunting, Hyuck. Think about how much attention I’d get if I started dating a hotshot influencer.”

“You should date Mark Lee, then. Everyone’s thirsting over those e-boy TikTokers now. Or maybe Liu YangYang. Heard his body count’s high as fuck.”

You rolled your eyes. “His body count’s high because no one goes back a second time. Plus, I think YangYang’s finally in the talking stage with someone.”

“Good for him.” Donghyuck yawned. “Anyway, I’m going to bed soon since I finished editing my Maldives vlog. I’m still pissed you didn’t come with us.”

You rolled your eyes. Donghyuck, Yoo Jimin, Choi Beomgyu, and Uchinaga Aeri had been giving you shit for backing out on the trip the five of you had been discussing for a few months. There were just too many things going on in your life at the time, so you told them you wouldn’t be able to make it before tickets were purchased. Of course, your absence made several of your followers question if your friend group had a falling out, but you all decided not to address pointless rumors.

“I’ll come along next time when I’m not broke,” you assured. “I’m at my apartment now, so I’ll talk to you later. Bye-bye, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck threw up a peace sign before hanging up. You tucked your phone in your back pocket as you tried to fish out your key card from your purse.

However, there was a problem: it was missing.

“Fuck,” you muttered to yourself, sitting down at one of the benches outside to dig through your purse. You swore you hadn’t taken it out, so it definitely wasn’t at Jeno’s place. The only possible explanation was that you dropped it on the way or left it inside your apartment.

Screw these auto-locking doors.

You were royally screwed.

Fast-forward to twenty minutes later. You were still sitting at the same bench. This time, your head was in your hands and you were shivering like a chihuahua. It was dark, save for the flickering streetlight above you. You had even resorted to texting Jeno, asking him if you could go back to his place and spend the night. It was downright embarrassing, but it was your last resort. Jeno, however, seemed to have been asleep due to his lack of response.

A guardian angel was sent your way, though, in the form of a cute but tired-looking college student with a bag of groceries in hand. Kind eyes, but he looked far too exhausted to smile genuinely.

“Do you need to be let in?” the boy asked, gesturing toward the apartment entrance. He had his key card in hand, and you nearly jumped to your feet.

“Uh, yeah, but…” you trailed off. Even if you accepted his offer, you wouldn’t be able to get into your own room.

He handed you his brown Essentials hoodie he had draped around across his shoulders. “Cold?”

You wondered if your shivering or hard nipples gave it away. Surely, it had to be your nipples showing through the skimpy one-piece you had on. You never would have dressed like this if you knew Jeno was going to make you walk home yourself.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, taking the hoodie from him and slipping it on. It fell past your thigh and smelled good—a non-offending mix of pine and detergent. “Uh, but even if you let me in, I can’t get into my room. I lost my key.”

“Oh.”

You folded your arms across your chest. The boy beside you ruffled his fluffy brown hair, and you were wondering why he hadn’t gone inside the building yet. Maybe he was waiting for you to find some other place to go, or maybe he wanted his hoodie back.

“Have you tried asking the RA?” he asked.

“I can only get a card replacement in the morning.”

“Can your roommate open the door?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Got a friend who’ll let you stay at their place?”

“Asleep.”

“Significant other?”

“I’m single and my dick appointment made me walk home alone.”

You didn’t realize how bitter you sounded until you saw the shocked look drawn across the boy’s face. You felt sorry for dumping that on him, but you were getting way too frustrated about your lack of options. You didn’t even have a roommate you could call for help since you opted for a single.

He cleared his throat before shyly offering, “Uh… I guess you could stay at my place for the night, if you want. I can sleep on the couch.”

Your cheeks heated up. You were no stranger to random kindness from men, but perhaps you were just grateful for his proposition since you were running low on options.

“That’d be great,” you said. “Thanks.”

You followed the boy into the apartment building. He introduced himself as Na Jaemin, an animal science major in your same year who was president of a club that raised guide dogs for blind people. It was comforting to hear, so your anxiousness over this stranger luring you in to murder you in cold blood was slowly letting up.

He unlocked the door for you, letting you into his apartment first. You looked around to see a quite ordinary looking living space with a few posters and polaroids hung up on the walls. There was a border collie curled up in a dog bed in the corner of the living room, and Jaemin was being extra careful to make sure he didn’t accidentally wake him up.

He set the plastic bag down, which you found out was dog food that he picked up from a friend. It definitely made a lot more sense than him shopping for groceries at three in the morning.

“You live alone?” you asked for the sake of making small talk.

“My roommate graduated a semester early,” he replied. “I’ve been living on my own, just like you.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

He turned the question back to you, asking, “Do you get lonely?”

You shrugged as you sat down on his couch, sitting stiffly at the edge of the cushion. “When you get so much attention online, you kind of need the privacy.”

“Oh, I see.”

No more questions asked.

Jaemin retreated into his room for a moment before returning with a pillow and blanket in hand. He tossed them beside you on the couch and met your gaze.

“Bed’s ready for you whenever,” he said. “The bathroom’s inside my room, if you need to use the shower or anything. Let me know if you need any clothes to sleep in.”

Your face was heating up like a furnace, but you were glad he couldn’t see how his words were affecting you. You flushed with embarrassment when you noticed Jaemin’s eyes flicker past your neck. He probably thought his gaze went undetected, but you noticed. Suddenly, all you wanted to do was pull his hoodie high enough so that the hood hid the hickies Jeno left across your skin.

“I can just use your hoodie,” you replied. “Thanks.”

Jaemin managed a small, tired smile. You took that as your cue to get out of the living room so that he could pass out in peace. So, you headed into his bedroom and stared at his tidy bed, wondering if he had frantically fixed his sheets for you.

Since you already felt like you had asked for too much, you decided to skip your nightly shower and head straight to bed. It was hard to sleep in a stranger’s bed, though—no matter how pretty he was.

You were used to kindness. It normally came in a package deal with being attractive. Bees flocked to honey; humans flocked to beauty.

This feeling, however, wasn’t something you were used to. Genuine kindness with no ulterior motive was almost foreign, which was upsetting to admit. You weren’t sure how to sort out your feelings, but all you knew was that Jaemin’s eyes had stars in them, and you were tempted to lose yourself in them.

You woke up to an empty house.

Even the dog had abandoned you.

To be fair, you weren’t exactly an early bird. You woke up at around 10:30 a.m. naturally, and then spent an extra thirty minutes trying to muster up the willpower to get out of bed. Of course, you spent that time updating your group chat on your whereabouts.

gigi: 15k isn’t that insane?

gyu: holy shit gyu: you have to do it

karibear: gigi i will literally kill you and then resurrect you to kill you again if you don’t

gigi: check out the deliverables tho gigi: [File Attachment]

hyuck: instagram story highlight? the fuck? hyuck: a tiktok should be enough. more people check tiktok than ig now anyways lol

gigi: right???

karibear: OK BUT FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS

y/n: just caught up. I think you should do it for the $$ gigi

gigi: GIRL where have u been

gyu: i told you she probably overslept

gigi: BUT I SEE HER LOCATION ON FINDMYFRIENDS gigi: SHE IS NOT HOME

y/n: i may or may not be in a cute guy’s apartment

karibear: shut the fuck up

y/n: stop he’s REALLY cute y/n: dare i say cuter than jeno

hyuck: stfu ur kidding

gyu: well?? did you sleep with him? gyu: give us all the details

y/n: no i couldn’t find my key after coming back from jeno’s and was locked out of my apartment y/n: so this “na jaemin” appears and lets me sleep over at his place for the night  y/n: he took the couch AND let me sleep on his bed y/n: jeno could never

gyu: aww that’s actually rlly sweet

gigi: can’t find him on ig ://

karibear: no social media presence?? karibear: idk if that’s hot or a red flag

hyuck: probably both 💀

y/n: um good thing red’s my favorite color

karibear: omfg karibear: do u actually wanna fuck him karibear: send us a picture of what he looks like

y/n: idk if he’s even interested in me like that y/n: but idk i also want my internet famous trophy boyfriend :( y/n: idk if this guy even has a social media presence  y/n: still a starboy in my heart tho <3

hyuck: keep your eye on the prize bbyg hyuck: fame is fleeting so milk it while you can

You figured Donghyuck had a point. You were an internet celebrity (to some extent), so, in terms of marketing, it would be wise to push the “unattainable” image you cemented. Dating someone equally as unattainable would make you look even more desirable.

However, you were starting to lose all rhyme and reason when you walked out of the bedroom to see a plate of eggs and toast waiting for you on the kitchen counter.

A post-it note was right next to it, reading: I’m out walking the dog. I made you some breakfast if you’re hungry but you don’t have to eat it. Door auto locks so just make sure you close it whenever you leave. Here’s my phone number if you need anything. +82 x-xxxx-xxxx - Jaemin

You decided to update your group chat.

y/n: change of plans y/n: i’m making starboy mine

When Jaemin returned home shortly after you discovered his note, you were sitting on his couch, knees tucked to your chest as you forked down the waffles he made. Before you even looked up to greet him, you heard his dog yapping excitedly, hurrying over to sniff you.

“Oh, you’re still here.” He looked genuinely surprised, though he didn’t object. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, really well,” you admitted. Curious, you tilted your head and let your lips curl into a knowing smile. “Are you high?”

Jaemin stiffened up. “Uh, a little. Is it that obvious?”

“I just noticed your eyes look sort of dazed.”

You hadn’t expected it, but he almost sounded embarrassed to be caught. “I’m not like a… a full-on stoner or anything.”

“Hey, no judgment,” you replied, holding up your hands in surrender. “I was just gonna ask if I could get high with you, too.”

After visibly relaxing, a more confident grin dawned on Jaemin’s face as he handed you his pen. You couldn’t help but feel smug as you accepted it gingerly.

About a couple hours later, you and Jaemin were blazed out of your minds. He had offered you an edible shortly after you took a hit from his pen, and it kicked in an hour later for you and Jaemin. There were no words exchanged for a while, but then you two started to converse, although you couldn’t trust that anything you were saying made sense.

You weren’t big on flirting. It was a skill you only put to use when absolutely needed, and this was one of those instances. You figured this was the perfect opportunity to get close to Jaemin. Even though you could tell he was a really, really great guy, and you didn’t want to rush things with Jaemin, there were a few factors that were making you throw your morals to the wind.

For one, you were high and getting incredibly horny.

The other factor was that Jaemin was the hottest man you had ever seen (and you had encountered a lot of attractive men).

“So,” he started, “you’re, like, an internet celebrity? Like a TikToker?”

“I started on Twitter,” you explained, “but, yeah, I’m famous on TikTok, too. But there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of me.”

“Really? Why?”

“I’m known for more, uh”—you let out a nervous giggle—“risqué stuff, if you wanna see.” When he nodded eagerly, you took out your phone and opened Twitter to show Jaemin your account. Right off the bat, there was a mirror selfie of you in lingerie and cat ears. Because you were feeling bold, you added, “And the guy who made me walk home alone? He’s a famous YouTuber named Jeno.”

Something seemed to click for Jaemin when you mentioned Jeno’s name because it was the only thing that snapped him out of whatever trance he was in. He had been looking at the photo of you so intently that you were wondering if he was checking you out or spacing out.

“I think I’ve watched some of his gaming videos,” he said before handing your phone back to you. “He just… kicked you out?”

“Pretty much. At least he made me cum once.”

“Just once?”

You held your breath for a moment. With those two words, Jaemin made the atmosphere all the more tense, and you felt like you two were suspended in time. Although you weren’t sure if he said that to challenge Jeno or not, there was still a strange implication in his words. It left you wondering if Jaemin could treat you better.

“Yeah,” you replied in a quieter voice. “Just once. With my help, too.”

“That’s fucked.” Jaemin reached for his pen to take a long, slow drag. He held it in his lungs for a moment before he parted his lips to blow the smoke out. “And you dressed up so pretty for him.”

Either Jaemin was a secret dark horse when it came to smooth talking or the weed was making him horny, too. Whatever it was, his comments made your cheeks burn.

“I bet he’d be pissed if he found out I ended up in your bed after.”

The animal science major flushed at your words, growing even more shy when you giggled at his reaction. “I mean, I guess so, but we didn’t, like… I mean, we—���

“I was kidding,” you assured. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t say that unless something actually happened.”

Jaemin nodded quietly, falling back into silence for a while. You were worried that you had made the conversation awkward, so you sunk back against the couch and willed yourself to come down from your high. Maybe the weed was a bad idea. Maybe you were just getting ahead of—

“So, you wouldn’t be opposed if something were to happen?”

The question took you off-guard, and you had to process Jaemin’s words for a few moments before you sat up to look at him. There was no shame or shyness drawn across his face this time. Just pure curiosity. (And perhaps a hint of longing which was most likely brought on by the weed.)

You shook your head with a hum. “No, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think you’re cute. You seem really sweet, too, like letting me sleep over and making me breakfast.”

Jaemin smiled brightly, beaming ear to ear before he ducked his head shyly. You were surprised that he was so sheepish given his godsent looks. He had to have heard these compliments about a million times now. There was no way you were the first person to recognize his looks.

“I’m not good at this,” he admitted.

“Good at what?”

“Um, hitting on girls,” Jaemin said. His hand flew to rub the back of his neck as he added, “Cute girls.” After another beat, he let his head hang and then let out a groan. “Sorry, I don’t have a filter when I’m high.”

“Jaemin,” you cooed, scooting close enough so that your knees were touching. You placed your hand on his thigh, which made him finally look you in the eyes. “I’m pretty bad at flirting, too, so I hope this is working.”

The corner of his lip hitched up, amused. “Yeah,” Jaemin murmured, his eyes unfocusing as he leaned in close, “it’s definitely working.”

Your nose brushed against his experimentally before Jaemin pressed his lips to yours. It was gentle and innocent, but then Jaemin turned his body to face yours, and his hands started roaming your body. Your waist, your back, your hips—not an inch was neglected while he felt you up. You let slip a hum of delight, and that encouraged Jaemin to slip his tongue past your lips.

He didn’t use too much tongue, which you appreciated. There was something too sloppy about guys who used too much tongue, but Jaemin had an excellent balance between precise and hasty. And he did this thing where he would pause to suck on your tongue and then your bottom lip, which you really appreciated.

You let a whine slip, and Jaemin gripped your waist tighter. You figured he wanted you on his lap, so you threw one leg over his thigh and straddled him. It was like you were in a trance with how receptive you were, and you only wanted more when Jaemin pulled away to kiss down your neck. After minutes of nipping, sucking, and relishing your whimpers, he was satisfied with the bruises littered across your skin.

Jaemin seemed frustrated by how big his hoodie was on you, so he tugged at it until you pulled it up and over your head. After discarding it to the side, his lips found yours immediately after. The pads of his fingers slipped past the hem of your shirt to dig into your skin, pulling you flush against his body.

You were sure you could kiss him for hours, but your attention was slipping away when you felt his boner underneath you. The very least you could do was offer to help him out.

You pulled away to catch your breath, and your voice was no louder than a breath when you offered, “Let me suck you off.”

Jaemin blushed a little, and you bit back a smile because how could someone be so forward and cute? He was not innocent in the slightest, but he somehow got flustered so easily.

His voice came out strangled when he said, “Please.”

You carefully peeled off Jaemin’s shirt, admiring his muscles as you revealed his bare skin. He had to work out regularly to get a build this good, but you didn’t expect him to be this ripped. It was almost second nature when you started kissing down his chest, smiling when you heard his happy sigh.

When your kisses reached his stomach, you started tugging at the band of his sweatpants. Jaemin carded his fingers through your hair to keep you where he wanted to, and you were pretty sure all his blood was rushing to his cock with how much bigger he got. You tugged his sweatpants down to his knees and kissed up his strong thigh, looking up at him through your lashes. You wanted Jaemin to know just how drunk you were on his body.

Jaemin helped you tug down his boxers, too, and you swallowed hard when you saw how huge he was. His cock sprung up, and you were almost worried that you wouldn’t be able to take all of him in. While you were tying up your hair, Jaemin gave his shaft a few pumps, rubbing his thumb across the precum that beaded his slit.

A few strands of your hair got in your face, so Jaemin brushed them back and held your hair in his fist, undoing your ponytail so that he could tie back your hair properly. He looked down at you expectantly, cradling your jaw while you were mentally preparing yourself to take him. You flattened your tongue and ran it along the side of his cock, licking right where his vein was. Jaemin let out a groan almost instantly, and you looked up to see his eyes burning molten hot with desire.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he growled, gripping the back of your head.

His cock was throbbing, aching for you to take more of him in. So you slid your tongue over his head before hollowing your cheeks to suck him in. Jaemin gritted his teeth and tilted his head back, muttering some profanity that only encouraged you further.

You went slow at first, drawing out each bob of your head so that you got used to his size. You couldn’t go all the way down on him without his head hitting the back of your throat, making you gag a little before you started to properly take him down your throat. Jaemin started thrusting his hips into your mouth, urging you to go faster. You weren’t sure if that meant he was going to cum soon, but you sped up regardless.

“Fuck,” Jaemin rasped out, watching you with absolute admiration in his blown-out eyes, “I’m gonna cum.”

His grip on your hair loosened, as if he was ready to let you pull off of him, but you looked up at him with a mischievous glint in your eyes while you sucked harder. You wanted him to cum in your mouth, and he seemed to get the message because his moan was cut off by his orgasm.

You continued to suck on his cock while he came, swallowing without hesitation. Jaemin thrusted shallowly inside your mouth, his husky moans making you pull off him to lick a long stripe down his length.

The two of you just stared at each other for a moment, catching your breaths and watching each other’s chest rise and fall. Then, Jaemin leaned in to cup your cheek and kiss you once more. He didn’t even care that he was tasting himself on your lips, but he just needed more of you.

“Let me return the favor,” he said once he pulled away. Before you could respond, Jaemin scooped you up in his strong arms. You held onto his biceps, gasping when he held your bottom firmly. “I promise I’ll make you feel really good.”

Jaemin set you on the cool granite surface of the kitchen counter, and you were glad that he kept the place clean. You would have felt gross if it was any other man, like Jeno’s grimey kitchen counter littered with dirty dishes, but you were too wrapped up in your own lust to care about moving to Jaemin’s bed.

Being high made you so sensitive that every touch from Jaemin left you trembling. As he undressed you, you couldn’t help but shudder and gasp whenever his fingers brushed over a sensitive area. He seemed to take notice, which you observed by his small smirk. As soon as Jaemin got rid of your garments, leaving you naked, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Gorgeous,” he praised, leaning forward to take your nipple in his mouth. He sucked on the supple skin eagerly, making you moan and grab at his shoulder.

You let out a gasp when Jaemin grabbed your other breast in his hand, squeezing firmly and running his thumb along the nipple. After he decided he showed your chest enough attention, Jaemin started kissing down your stomach until he reached the apex of your thighs. He trailed kisses along your pelvis, peppering more along the top of your thighs, and you used your elbows to balance your weight on the counter. You were surely going to collapse if he kept going.

“Jaem,” you whined, “don’t tease.”

He smirked as he parted your legs even further, humming inquisitively at the sight of your soaked cunt. He lifted both of your legs and settled them on each of his shoulders, and you sucked in a sharp breath to prepare yourself.

Jaemin dipped his head and ran his flattened tongue along your folds, and god, you were floating high up in the clouds.

After some strokes of his tongue, Jaemin stiffened his tongue to lick deeper, parting your slit so that he could ravage your cunt. You couldn’t do anything but cry out his name, begging for more and more. Your engorged clit was soon aching for attention, and you became a complete mess as soon as Jaemin’s lips found your little ball of nerves.

Soon, Jaemin was holding your hips down as he ate you out like a man starved. You had never experienced pleasure so intense, and you were finding it hard to believe that the meek boy you met last night was this bold. Your fingers were tangled in his hair, pulling him impossibly closer even though his face was practically wet with your arousal.

“I-I’m close,” you breathed out, and your hips were struggling to grind down to meet Jaemin’s tongue. You wanted more—no, you needed more.

“I know,” he whispered against your thigh, and before you could beg, he snaked his tongue in your entrance, allowing your walls to clench and unclench around his hot muscle.

He used his fingers to rub your clit in small, tight circles, all the while eating you out so vigorously that you couldn’t even think about anything except Jaemin. How good he made you feel. How lucky you were to be under him.

You were drowning soon after—drowning in utmost bliss. A toe-curling orgasm shook your body, leaving your back arching against the kitchen counter. You couldn’t even process how loud your moan was until Jaemin was shushing you gently, abusing your clit throughout your orgasm while his other hand was clamped over your mouth.

“Shh,” he cooed, almost mocking you. “The walls are thin, doll.”

You nodded, looking up at him with glazed-over eyes. You just needed to focus on anything to keep you at bay, to keep you from being pulled under the current of your climax.

“Gonna carry you to the bed, okay?” he told you, and you nodded without a second thought, letting him princess carry you to his bedroom.

As soon as he laid you down gently, Jaemin leveled his cock at your entrance, running his head along the folds of your cunt. You were already exhausted from your previous orgasm, but you were still eager to feel Jaemin inside of you.

“I’ll go slow,” he assured, teasing the tip of his cock inside you so gently that you were about to fall apart. You had no more than an inch inside of you, and your walls were already clenching hard around him.

Your eyes rolled back when he pushed deeper inside you, and then soon he was bottoming out, and you could feel his thighs pressed against yours. The cry that left your lips and the groan that escaped his nearly sounded like a melody in your eyes. Each wave of pleasure made you feel like you were traveling light years past several galaxies. Stars pinpricked your vision, but you could make out Jaemin’s face among the collisions of supernovas.  

“I can’t,” you whimpered, unable to form proper, coherent sentences. “Fast—go faster.”

Something primal glinted in Jaemin’s dark eyes, and started ramming into you while holding your hips tight. His head dipped to ravage your neck, kissing and sucking as he pleased while his cock hit that perfect spot that made you see white spots in your vision. You felt a ripple of pleasure shoot under your skin.

And something else must have snapped in Jaemin because he started spewing absolute filth in your ears, and lord, was it making you lose your mind.

“I’m the best you’ve had, aren’t I?” he asked with brimming confidence, opting for sharp and precise thrusts.

You half-nodded, your cheek pressing against the pillow as your nails raked down Jaemin’s back. But Jaemin didn’t appreciate your lack of words.

“Come on, Y/N,” he pressed, “say it.” He pressed his lips to your ear and nibbled on the shell. You squirmed when you felt his hot breath fan your neck. “C’mon, I haven’t fucked you dumb already, right?”

You managed to cry out, “Y-yes, Jaemin! I’ve… I’ve never felt this good.”

He cupped your cheek and rubbed gently with his thumb, smiling down at you so kindly that it felt condescending. “Yeah? You gonna cum for me, then?”

You felt those ripples of pleasure intensify, and soon they were rising to a crescendo. You felt like you were being split apart on Jaemin’s cock, and it didn’t help that he refused to slow down before you orgasmed. You bucked your hips against him, eager to chase the pleasure that was just in your reach.

And, after Jaemin pressed his lips against yours, all of the stars in the night sky collided and exploded into nothingness.

You felt your orgasm tear through you, immobilizing you with blinding pleasure. You gasped and gripped the sheets tightly, praying that you could hold on for dear life. Jaemin slowly fucked you through your orgasm, your clenching walls bringing him to pull out of you and let his cum spill onto your stomach.

Jaemin let out a shaky sigh of contentment, and he quickly returned to your side without giving himself time to recover. Instead of basking in post orgasm glow, Jaemin aided your ongoing climax by rubbing your clit in slow, torturous circles.

“I got you,” he crooned, pressing gentle kisses to your cheeks. “I got you, doll.”

You were a whimpering, moaning mess underneath him, and you couldn’t think of anything but Jaemin as you writhed. After a few more aftershocks of pleasure (all thanks to Jaemin, of course), you finally started returning to your senses. It was possible that Jaemin had actually fucked you dumb.

He hurried to his feet to clean you up. It was a stark contrast from how he acted in bed, but your heart melted when he made sure you got enough water before he tucked you in bed. No guy had ever taken his time with aftercare for you, so you were starting to feel like being kicked out of Jeno’s apartment was a stroke of luck.

Later, he moved to lay down next to you, kissing the top of your head as he slid in. You wrapped your arm around him and you two were eventually a mess of tangled limbs.

“Can I stay?” you asked, somewhat nervous that he would ask you to leave soon.

“Of course,” he replied, easing your nerves with a gentle smile, “you can stay for as long as you want.” You cuddled close to him, burying your face into his chest, and then you heard him ask, “How do you feel?”

You smiled. “Like a star.”

[jaeyunluvr]

BAMBI (l.hs)

lee heeseung x fem!reader. fluff (?) drabble. 928 words. inspired by bambi (baekhyun). detective! heeseung. mafia boss!reader.

for :: @okwonyo 's CELESTIAL BALLET event

warnings :: mentions of a gun, death, drugs, illegal activities, smoking etc.

!! please remember that this is a work of fiction, nothing is to be practiced or represents anyone in reality.

( FEEL IT LIKE TIMELY RAIN THAT SEEPS INTO MY DRY HEART )

walking through the dark alleys of the streets of his beloved country, lee heeseung, the only detective who carried out one man missions, was looking for a highly wanted drug dealer of the underworld.

information had it that the deal was about to happen in an abandoned railway tunnel, and so he reached the entrance of it. the tunnel was definitely not used since a long time, and it was absolutely stinky, a little damp even because of the pipeline running over it. the country's civil engineers were quite something.

he walked slowly, not to cause any trouble. there was nobody inside the tunnel, but he could sense an uninviting presence. there was nobody inside the tunnel, but he was careful not to make his presence known.

he approached a pillar which had '32' written on it, placing his black suitcase on the floor as it leaned onto the pillar. he adjusted his hat and leaned against the cold cement wall, pulling out a cigar.

he knew the smell of the smoke would cause trouble, but he couldn't care less. he had to face them in a few minutes anyway.

as he let out a puff of smoke, he heard shuffling at one corner of the tunnel. he dropped the cigar onto the muddy floor and crushed it dead with his shoe and he stepped towards the sound, slowly.

unconsciously, his hand reached to the back of his belt, wrapping his fingers around the grip of the pistol, his index curling onto the trigger.

he could hear incoherent sounds of a conversation, and could confirm that there were two parties involved, as he neared them.

they stood right behind a cement partition, against which he pressed himself, to get a clear hearing of what they were speaking about. eavesdropping wasn't a good thing but he had to do it.

there was a light emitting, from which he guessed was torch due to the rectilinear light path. it had a hint of red. strange, heeseung thought.

"what's with the torch? does little princess not have a phone to use a flashlight?" a low voice spoke, sounding sarcastic. princess?

"oh? didn't think you were such an imbecile to not know phones can be tracked." a female?

never in his lifetime heeseung thought he'd cross paths with a female drug dealer. who was she anyways?

his head pondered over multiple questions, sidetracking him from their conversation until he heard a gunshot ringing through his ears due to the close proximity of where he was standing.

lee heeseung was bewildered so as to the details of the attack. he heard hurried footsteps, but they weren't panicked ones. it seemed like a getaway shuffle.

he felt the woman walk towards him and he instantly pressed himself against the wall with all his might and he held his breath to go unnoticed.

however, the lady swiftly walked past him. she was wearing a red dress and her pretty feet mounted on pointed heels, a gun holster gracing her thigh, visible through the slit of her dress.

heeseung was taken aback by her presence, nevertheless he quietly looked behind the wall and found the limp, cold body of a man in his thirties.

taking a mental note of his features, heeseung followed the lady to the edge of the tunnel, as quietly as possible.

as he neared the end of it, he could hear the drizzle and could sense the petrichor. the lady tapped her ear, speaking into the bluetooth device which he didn't notice until now.

a motorbike pulled up right next to the track, she immediately stepped into the rain, taking a moment to inhale the fresh surroundings.

her red dress was starting to get tainted by droplets of water, turning it into a darker shade, her loose hair sticking to her bare shoulders.

she exhaled and turned around. and lee heeseung felt his world stop. he has never seen someone so beautiful. maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the red dress. maybe it was just her.

the raindrops sinked into her eyelashes, dripping past her cheeks and dropping on her collarbones. water slipped past her soft, red tinted lips, it made her smile.

lee heeseung was staring in awe. staring for too long that no secret detective should be staring at his target. no human in their proper senses would be staring at a murderer.

the gun holster at her thigh, contrasted her whole aura, if he ignored the fact that she had just killed someone. she looked too pleasant to be a part of the underworld.

she exhaled once again and turned around, hopping on the vehicle. and lee heeseung's breath paused as she turned her head around and met his eyes.

he held eye contact with her, not sure if he was challenging her or getting lost in her eyes.

her lips curled into a sinister smirk, which he didn't expect would form on such a pretty face, sending chills down his spine. she grabbed the helmet her driver handed to her, pulled it over her head. giving him one last look, she shut the tinted shield and the machine drove off, leaving heeseung in a swirling mixture of emotions.

did he just find love? or did he face his enemy? nevertheless, she smirked like she knew him inside out, like he would snap into nothing in her presence and like he had nothing over her.

but lee heeseung, was captivated and allured by her, in every way possible and was already dying to see her again.

perm taglist :: @pockettwinzz <3

[rrxnjun]

TAKE THE STAIRS ✲ n. jaemin

pairing. na jaemin x fem! reader starring. na jaemin, ning yizhuo genre. college au, strangers to lovers. fluff, comedy, suggestive. warnings. alcohol consumption, throwing up, swearing word count. 18k (18.666) a/n. thank you all so much for 1k followers! consider this fic a small gift of celebration

playlist. candy - baekhyun ; honey - l'arc en ciel ; take the stairs - coin ; cutie - coin ; rose-colored boy - paramore ; don't go yet - camila cabello ; hot crush lover - blu detiger ; teenage dream - 5sos (cover)

after having an unexpected guest witness the neverending quarrels with your roommate, na jaemin starts to practically live at your place— or— where yizhuo's flegmatic project partner starts to put a suspicious amout of effort into their assignment.

✲ PART 2 OF THE SIMPLIFY ROMANCE SERIES ✲

Hot droplets of water wash over you like raindrops during a heavy storm, the mirror fogging up at the hot temperature you always choose to shower your body in, fingers trailing through your hair making you finally relax after a long day at college. You spent the day presenting your project and having a test from Physics, so you only deserve a good shower. You would even consider taking a bath, but your small apartment doesn’t have a bathroom big enough to contain a bathtub, so a good, scorching hot shower will have to suffice. 

Now, you are a hard worker– however, you also like to wait until the last reasonable time to start working on your project. And while you’re best friends with procrastination, stress also decided to visit you for the time being; since, again, there was not much time for you to finish your project, and so in the whole process of working on it and doing extensive research about a topic you weren’t really that interested in in the first place, you forgot to take care of yourself. You wouldn’t even notice at first– not until one day when Yizhuo glared at you with questions in her eyes from the couch, seeing you go to the convenience store at 10pm with your home slippers still on because of your distracted mind– but when you looked at yourself in the mirror after arriving from school today, the image of your sweaty face and hair so oily you could probably fry a schnitzel on the extraction of the liquid from your follicles, you must admit that you’ve been neglecting your appearance for quite some time now, and so a well deserved annual everything-shower is the only thing on your mind right now.

Reaching over to the side of the shower that has various shelves installed, taking your hair conditioner into your palms and opening up the bottle, you get ready for the familiar smell of citrus that always hits your nose and makes you smile in satisfaction; yet, no matter how hard you try, the pleasant scent doesn’t come– and neither does the actual conditioner.

Huffing, even slapping the bottom of the bottle a few times, squeezing the tube as hard as you can– you tried everything, but to no use. Thinking back to the last few weeks, you try to remember when you bought the conditioner– because you swear it hasn’t been that long. There’s no way you already ran out, you think, as your eyes scan over the various bottles of other products in your shower, opting to use something your roommate has in stash– when you notice that there is no other hair conditioner in the shower, which makes the gears in your brain click in realization.

Sighing, you finish showering as you prepare your mental tangent in your brain. Drying off your body and slipping into your underwear, you put on the largest T-shirt you more often than not sleep in, not even bothering to put your hair up as you roughly scrunch it with your towel to get most of the water out, opting to leave the strands lay on your shoulders instead, in their full wet, naked mole rat glory. 

Swinging the door to the bathroom open, you yell out the first sentence that comes to your mind– despite planning your outburst in your head beforehand. 

“Ning Yizhuo! You used up all of my fucking hair conditioner again!” you scream into the apartment, knowing damn well that the walls are thin and she can hear you. “You promised you won’t use it after the last time! That shit is fucking expensive, y’know,” you mutter, voice still raised so your roommate can hear you.

“I’ll buy you a new one, chill out,” Yizhuo finally replies, her voice coming out of your living room. Your head snaps that way, feet dangling closer into the doorway.

“Yeah, well, maybe consider buying your own conditioner so you don’t have to replace mine every other week,” you spit, rolling your eyes in annoyance, “or at least buy a new one when it runs out, so I can actually use– oh.”

Stopping mid-sentence, your sudden outburst of anger is cut short as you notice another presence in the living room. There’s a man sitting on your sofa, his head turned towards you, flashing you an amused grin, and when his eyes scan you from head to toe, you’re suddenly painfully aware of your current state– only in your panties, with your hair wet, appearing as a chicken left outside in the rain, the wetness of your locks most likely dampening the thin fabric of your shirt to the point that it’s basically see through, revealing more to the stranger than you’d like. Crossing your arms at your chest, alert, you feel heat rising to your cheeks as your eyes jump from your roommate to the stranger in your living room, textbooks and an opened laptop scattered across the coffee table, making you believe it must be your roommate’s classmate of some sort. 

“Okay, I’m sorry,” she sighs and rolls her eyes, looking at you with amusement when she notices your distressed state, “this is Jaemin, by the way. We’re doing a project together.”

Humming, you look at the man again, taking a notice of his casual, yet attractive demeanor. Black bangs falling into his eyes and Adidas joggers hugging his legs, you press your lips into a thin line– somewhat resembling an embarrassed smile, before you slowly walk out of the room for the sake of their privacy and also your dignity. “Nice to meet you,” you mumble on your way out, “I’m Y/N.”

And before you’re out of the door, you turn your head towards your roommate again, biting back an ironic smile. “How nice of you to notify me that we’ll have guests over!” 

With that, you’re out.

You guess that embarrassing yourself in front of Na Jaemin is how life is going to go now. Don’t get me wrong– the next time it happened, you were notified of his visit; after screaming at Yizhuo about how she handled it the last time around– and you even put some effort into your appearance, as if to balance the absolute atrocity he had to deal with the first time he laid his eyes on you. Not that you really care about his opinion, or that you want him to think you’re at least a little bit attractive, of course. You’d say this is just the basic human need to look presentable in front of people you don’t even know that well.

While you were notified about the fact that he would come over in the afternoon to work on the project, you still didn’t have it in you to just casually walk over to the living room and hang out with them, though. On top of that, they were doing a project in Neurophysiology together– and no matter how much laughter and noise you heard from the living room, where the two crashed for the time being, you still didn’t think it was okay for you to intrude to say hi to the man, or find enough courage to just hang out in the room with them, enjoying their talks and quarrel. It wasn’t the same as when you were doing a project with Minjeong from your Biology class or when Yizhuo had a few assignments to do with your mutual friend Jimin, the three of you working on your own stuff in your spacious living room, while also talking gossip and laughing about the latest fashion trends on Tiktok together. 

But sitting in your room on a Wednesday evening, completely alone; because your roommate was busy working on a project and none of your other friends– not even the online ones– were there to entertain you with their talks, you had nothing to do. The only thing you could come up with while trying to entertain yourself was to watch the latest season of The Great British Bake Off, your legs swiftly moving you towards your table, where your laptop lay untouched, opening it and turning on the show. 

Everyone knows that feeling of desiring something they see on the screen of the show they’re currently watching, right? The feeling only intensifies when it comes to food– delicious food, on top of that– and suddenly, you’re no stranger to the cravings in your stomach as you watch the contestants cut slices of cakes and taste the sweet, tasty pastries and doughs. Maybe you could look around your room and find something to eat to satisfy those needs, but something is telling you that the secret stash of M&M’s you had hidden in your room, away from the eyes of Ning Yizhuo– the resident M&M lover– was now long empty, the image of the packaging thrown in the trash can now vivid in your brain. 

But the more you keep watching, the more you crave something sweet, and you know that if you don’t stand up from your place at the table and walk over to the snack cupboard in the kitchen, you’ll go insane. And with this knowledge, you take a deep breath in and out, trying to find some courage in you to show your face to your roommate and her new friend; your hand is soon on the door click and you almost watch yourself from the third perspective as your socked feet stumble out of the safety of your own room, bringing you towards the living room where the two of them have been sitting, intending to pass by them and silently take some sweets from the kitchen.

“Hi Y/N!” the man greets you, almost making you jump up and bump into the TV on the right side of the living room. Na Jaemin has a contagious smile on his face, and while you vividly remember greeting him when he arrived, just seconds before closing the door to your room, you still greet him again, trying hard to maintain the same amount of enthusiasm as him.

The conversation doesn’t progress much from that, the two of them too busy reading some article on Yizhuo’s laptop that’s currently sitting on one of each of their thighs, rimmed glasses adoring your roommate’s face, and you allow yourself to complete your mission as you walk over to the kitchen that connects to the room. 

Reaching over to the kitchen cabinet that is designated to hold all sorts of various snacks both you and your roommate love to eat and share on movie nights, you search over the stash and try to find something that fits your cravings perfectly. Eyes scanning over Skittles, some chocolate bars and even a bag of chips, you decide to take all of them– because you never know, sometimes you have the strange desire to chase down the sweetness with some salt– and also look over the room for a drink you could take with you, since you’ve gotten a bit thirsty over the course of the last few hours you spent camping in your room.

Holding all of the items in your arms, looking as if you’ve just done a grocery run and forgot to take a bag with you, you almost don’t see the floor below your feet as you walk– no, scratch that– you literally do not see the ground below your feet at all. 

We mentioned you embarrassing yourself in front of Na Jaemin again at the very beginning of this scene. You may be wondering where that part comes to play– and let me tell you, the moment is now, and it has correlation with the sheer fact that you can’t see where you’re walking and you’re also rushing to get back to your room quickly, hide yourself away from their eyes and finish the episode of bake-off while munching on the party mix of snacks you’re planning on creating.

In your true fashion, considering all the variables of the situation you found yourself in right now, the ground is suddenly swept from beneath your feet as you trip over the door sill that separates the kitchen from the living room, your body falling to the ground with all the snacks in your hands and the bottle of Diet coke secured under your shoulder.

Desperate to keep the snacks intact, you don’t even drop the bag of chips to the floor before you fall to make some room in your palms to try to soften the fall. No, you fall down like a rag doll, face first to the laminated floor, the sound of your body hitting the ground resonating through both your brain and the whole apartment. A few seconds later, the sound of a bottle rolling across the length of the living room fills your ears and you feel a sharp pain in your side, the humiliation and growing stinginess in your knees fully hitting now, when the shock is gone.

A few seconds pass, with your body lying limp on the ground– not even from the pain, just from the sheer embarrassment of the thought of facing Na Jaemin again after this– and a sound of your roommate trying to bite back her laughter fills your ears when you finally wake up and wiggle a little on the floor, trying to get up. At least the bag of chips stayed intact, you think– all of the effort was worth it in the end… or at least you hope.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” the now familiar voice of Na Jaemin fills your ears, and while he does sound a little concerned, laughter fills his voice when the touch of his hand lands on your elbow, trying to help you stand up from your fatal position.

“I’m perfectly fine, yeah,” you nod as you suppress back a scowl, the amused look that meets your eyes once you turn your head to face your visitor that took it upon himself to help you up making you feel all sorts of emotions– humiliation, however, is winning by a mile. 

“Are you hurt?” he giggles out, and the question almost sounds mocking with how his face breaks out into a pained scowl, seemingly trying to hide the clear grin wanting to settle on his handsome face.

“No,” you shake your head vigorously, tears rimming your eyes from the mix of embarrassment and the sharp stinginess in your knees– you’re sure there’s gonna be a big, purple bruise forming on your legs by tomorrow morning. “I’m okay.”

In that very moment, Yizhuo finally breaks out into laughter– as if she was really waiting for you to stand up, in case you fell dead and she would then have to feel guilty for laughing at your falling corpse– and the absurdity of it all makes you join them, the caring man no longer trying to bite back his amusement either as he softly brushes his hand over your arm before he leans down and picks up the bottle of coke that rolled all the way to the corner of the room and the pack of Skittles that managed to fall from your strong grasp. 

“Here you go,” he says, shaking his head at you when he sees you still holding the bag of chips to your chest. “Damn, you guarded those chips with your whole life, didn’t you?”

Nodding, you snicker. “I put my whole life on the line for these.”

Accompanied by their amused giggles, alongside with Yizhuo’s pained sigh as she wipes her cheeks from the stray tears you caused with your comedic fall, you take the snacks Jaemin’s offering you, thanking him for the help as you escape the room with a final bow to end your performance.

“I was glad to be your fun little commercial break, but I’ll get going now,” you say, “good luck with the project!”

And with that, you disappear back into your room, setting your mind to never ever show your face in front of Na Jaemin again.

While you thought your resolution of never ever wanting to see Na Jaemin again out of the embarrassment your first and second encounter cost you, it seems to be that it’s easier said than done when you end up in Liu Yangyang’s basement, the whole place smelling of weed and cheap alcohol, standing right opposite of the man that haunts you in your darkest nightmares only a few days after the initial meeting. 

There is a reflex in you that makes you want to turn on your heel and hide, maybe even bury yourself alive as you recognise the raven-haired boy, his bright grin making your stomach twist uncontrollably as he comes up to you and Yizhuo, a red single cup in his hand and a leather jacket adorning his shoulders. Something inside of you is telling you to get ready for the worst possible outcome of this situation, and you don’t know why your fight or flight instinct is so alert today, but you presume that Na Jaemin just has that effect on people as your roommate hides behind you and tries to get out of her project partner’s sight.

“Hello, ladies!” the man greets you as soon as he reaches you two– with Yizhuo still tugging herself behind your figure. “Didn’t expect to see you two here!”

Smiling, although a little tight-lipped, you turn around to finally reveal your roommate– the only reason why you’re in this disgustingly-smelling basement in the first place. It’s not like you don’t have friends– you do, it’s just that most of them aren’t actually your friends. They are Yizhuo’s friends, who just happen to be your friends, because your roommate decided that because you two are best friends, she needs to drag you everywhere with her– her love language, it seems– and that’s how you always end up in the same social circles. 

Her dragging you around to places also applies to her weird first meetings with guys. And while you agree with the fact that she needs to be careful around new people– men, especially– so she doesn’t get stolen for human trafficking, you’ve been to enough cringey first dates with her to know that you should start saying no to her more often. Maybe tonight was the day you should’ve started, you think– as she asked you if you wanted to go to a party with her, since Jung Sungchan invited her– and while you could argue that a party in Liu Yangyang’s basement isn’t the best place for a first date, or that there’s no use in you being there in the first place, since other people are present, you agreed; because frankly speaking, everything’s better than sitting home alone and watching Netflix. Besides, you promised Yizhuo you wouldn’t watch the new episodes of Blue lock without her, and if you were left unsupervised, you know you’d break that plea– so here you are. Even though at this very moment, you deeply wish you weren’t.

“Yeah, me neither,” you mumble as your roommate, seemingly embarrassed to be caught hanging out with Na Jaemin’s acquaintance, slowly comes up from behind you, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Yizhuo here has a date with someone, so I was forced to third-wheel,” you muse, earning yourself a slap to your shoulder from the subject of the sentence.

Jaemin’s eyes widen to twice of their original size– a shock very evident in his features– and you wish you didn’t see him so taken aback at the fact that your insanely beautiful roommate was getting invited to dates left and right, because something about it makes your stomach acid boil in a weird way. “A date with who?”

“Whom,” you mumble, nit-picky at the correct grammar. 

“Huh?”

“With whom,” you repeat yourself, seeing as Jaemin shakes his head in disbelief and chuckles.

“Okay, literature major,” he rolls his eyes and averts his attention back to your roommate, the comment making you furrow your brows for two things– one, correct grammar has nothing to do with literature and two, how the fuck does he even know your major in the first place, “you have a date with whom? Because I hope it’s not Beomgyu. He lies about his age.”

Hearing a sigh escape your roommate’s lips, you watch the interaction with uttermost interest. “No,” she mumbles, “it’s Sungchan, actually.”

“You’re having a date… at a frat party?”

You chuckle at the comment. At least someone has common sense here.

“Unfortunately, yeah,” Yizhuo notes, seeing as Jaemin empathetically nods at her and smoothes a hand down her back before he nudges her in the direction of the tall boy. Watching her leave, you mentally pray for her to come back and never leave you alone at a party where Na Jaemin is present– because quite frankly, you are very much okay with looking awkward in front of anyone else; be it strangers or the acquaintances slash distant friends you’ve made along the way on these gatherings– but when it’s Na Jaemin, the idea of him seeing you aimlessly walk around and try to invite yourself to conversations with people you distantly know makes you want to crawl out of your own skin and set it on fire.

Sighing purposelessly, looking around to see if you recognise anyone that you could find a safe harbor in at least for a couple of hours before you look for Yizhuo again and drag her home, you notice the boy not leaving your side. Locking your eyes with him, you hear him clear his throat before speaking up again. 

“It’s actually so good to see you here, because we were about to play beer pong and you’re just the person I need for my team,” he says, offering you his signature grin. 

Finding the last bits of your sanity, you shake your head. “Oh, you don’t want to play beer pong with me.”

“Why?”

“I’m no good,” you admit, scratching the back of your neck, “I’m like, the least athletic person in this room. And I also can’t handle my liquor well.”

Jaemin only rolls his eyes in annoyance at your comments, gently shoving you towards the direction of a large ping-pong table in one of the corners of the spacious basement. The game is already prepared, a pair consisting of a tall, ripped man with an adorable eye-smile and a person that gets introduced to you as his best friend waiting for someone to join them. 

“Come on, I bet you can outdrink me,” Jaemin jokes, basically forcing you to the game as he hosts a ping-pong ball into your hold, looking at you with expecting eyes. 

This evening is the moment where you learn that Na Jaemin is a man of many talents; the first one you find is his irresistible puppy look that makes you comply with everything he says. You don’t know how people have it in them to say no to him, but when he’s ushering you to take the first shoot towards the cups on the other side of the table, you only nod and sigh in the image of what’s gonna be your hangover in the morning.

Leaning back a little, feeling like a true Lebron James about to take his winning score, you aim for the plastic cups and throw the little white ball into space. You haven’t even taken a drink yet, but the ball goes where it wants and not where you want it to go, the small object hitting the floor instead, making your companion shake his head at you and click his tongue.

“I told you I’m bad,” you defend yourself, throwing your hands into the air in a defensive position.

“All good with me,” Jaemin grins, “I’m like, the least competitive person in this room. So as long as neither of us end up throwing up in Liu Yangyang’s backyard, I’m okay with losing this game.”

Rolling your eyes at his nature, refusing to relax even after his roommate Jeno– the boy on the other side of the table– scores and hits two cups in a row, each one of you drinking one, the bitter taste of beer falling down your throat, you find the second of Na Jaemin’s many talents. It’s playing beer pong– and even though he almost never misses, your opponent’s side is much quicker with their game and you end up drinking most of the cups in an apology for being so shitty at the game.

“Come on! You can do it,” you hear Jaemin cheer for you from beside you, your glossy eyes scanning over his figure. You’ve drunk quite a lot now, your distance-assuming abilities thrown out of the window as you reach back to throw the last shoot, body getting out of balance and threatening to meet the ground in the laws of gravity. 

Jaemin’s hands quickly shoot up to steady you, a hesitant hand reaching to your waist as he giggles in your ear, and suddenly, you wonder if it’s been this hot in the room the whole time, when your hand lets go and the ball falls carelessly to the middle of the table.

And when you take at least two shots with Jaemin and his roommate, the game long forgotten as you two lost, you find yourself in Liu Yangyang’s backyard, Na Jaemin’s talent of being an absolute gentleman shining through as he holds your hair back for you when you throw up into the bushes.

“Okay, so… you can’t outdrink me. Noted,” the man hums, a gentle pat to your back sending shivers down your spine.

And with that, you swear you’re never going to show your face in front of Na Jaemin ever again. For the third time, yes. 

At least the third time’s the charm…?

The sun greets you in the morning with an aggressive shine to your eyes, reminding you of the actions of yesterday evening slash very late night. There’s only one reason why your blinds aren’t shut in the morning, since you hate waking up to the hot beams of sunlight in your eyes– they always make you sweat and don’t let you continue in your quiet somber– and the reason is that you must’ve been too drunk yesterday to remember to close them. 

And sure enough, once you open your eyes with a grunt and tumble in your sheets, the memories of yesterday evening flood into your brain the same way water did to your room when your ex-roommate Yeri forgot to turn off the water in the bathtub in your Freshman year. You decided to not live with the girl since, and you also quite loved the idea of not having a bathtub in your new place with Yizhuo; at least it meant that the chance of your roommate forgetting to turn the faucet off and flooding the apartment was significantly lower– you could say this experience gave you some sort of PTSD.

When the sunlight gets too hot on your back that you can’t handle it anymore, you open the window to let some fresh air in and stumble into the kitchen, ready to drink a glass of water and forget about the last night’s party. You don’t usually drink that much– because god knows you don’t need a lot to get tipsy– but getting caught up in a drinking game was definitely your first, and while you found it quite fun at first, you would’ve never allowed yourself to play if it wasn’t for Na Jaemin, your roommate’s project partner, dragging you into this mess. 

At least Yizhuo is a good drinker, for the most part. She gets drunk, but stays responsible. You don’t know how you’d get home safe if it wasn’t for the responsible girl by your side.

The sight that meets your eye in the kitchen is one you would not want to see after a night out. The sink is full of dirty dishes– because your small apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher– and when you open the cupboard for an empty glass to fill with water, you find it empty, all of them used and unwashed in the silver basin.

Heaving out a sigh, you shake your head in disappointment and get mentally prepared to do the dishes. Reminded by the fact that it was you who cooked dinner last night before heading out to the party, it was Yizhuo’s turn to wash up– you two agreed on this arrangement to make sure everyone puts a hand in when it comes to household chores. If one of you is cooking a shared meal, the other one cleans up. It was a good deal, you got used to it fairly quickly, but still, your roommate has her flaws, and sticking to the rules you two made up together is surely one of them. 

“Yizhuo! It was your turn to wash the dishes last night!” you yell out, not really caring that she’s most likely still asleep, as you turn on the faucet and get to work. While it was your roommate’s turn to clean up, you’re also not willing to wait for her until she gets up from bed and decides it’s a good time to complete the task, because truth be told, you really need some coffee right now and you only have two mugs in the whole apartment– both of them sitting at the bottom of the sink, dirty with last night’s tea. 

“I know we were in a rush to get to the party, but for god’s sake, if you had the audacity to be all up in my ear about how I’m taking too long to get ready, you could’ve used up that time to wash the fucking dishes, man!” you continue your small tangent, your slight anger issues getting the best out of you as you scrub the oily pan. “Now the food’s stuck on the plates and it won’t come off! I’ll quit cooking for you if you don’t clean up, I swear to god!” 

Sighing a little, you turn the water on and finally get to washing off the dish soap, shaking your head a little in both disbelief and unpleasant emotions filling your insides. This is not how you imagined your day to go, and soon enough, your stomach is growling with the need of food– you two have slept in until lunchtime– and you still don’t have either the energy to cook something again, or the appliances to do so. Hearing footsteps fill the small room, not bothering to even look at the source of them, you decide to continue your little rant with the premise of your roommate finally listening to it now that she’s present in the room.

“Fancy seeing you here, dear Yizhuo,” you mutter under your nose, irony filling your voice, “good to finally see you in the kitchen, now that I’m done with the dishes,” you grunt, turning the water off and wiping your hands on the kitchen towel that’s been hanging off the counter.

“Man, living with you must really suck, Ning,” you hear a male voice joke, the familiarity of it making you jump in your place as you look at the source of it, a little bit panicked.

His face looks fresh and lively– not a sign of last night’s drinking in his features– and his hands are full with two bags of takeout that he swiftly sits on the table, his figure now awkwardly standing in the corner of the room. Yizhuo is leaning on one of the chairs, eyes a little empty and tired, as if she has just woken up from deep sleep, her hair a mess on the top of her head and her pajamas still on. God knows neither of you look ready for a visitor– a male one, on top of that– and yet, there is still one standing in your kitchen right now, voice sing-songy and body dressed in athleisure, as if he’s just came out of his morning gym session. 

Which he probably has. He seems like the type.

“What are you doing here?” Yizhuo beats you to the question, your eyes jumping from her figure to your morning– well, lunch time– visitor.

“What do you mean, what am I doing here? We’re working on our project today, Yizhuo, that’s what I’m doing here,” the man complains with an offended pout, almost a scolding tone to his voice that makes you look at your roommate with shock in her eyes. She knew she’d be hungover today and still chose to work on the project? Is she truly out of her mind?

“I swear we didn’t have it scheduled for today, Jaemin-” she sighs as she straightens her back and looks at the male with irritation and a hint of exhaustion before he jumps in and shakes his head in disapproval.

“We did, I swear to god! You just forgot,” he shakes his head, satisfied when the girl is left speechless in the kitchen, his eyes drifting to you before he smiles and moves closer to the kitchen table, opening up the boxes of takeout and offering you a proud nod. “I knew you two  would be tired today, so I brought some chinese with me! We can have lunch and then get right to working!”

The enthusiasm spreading off his features is almost contagious– you swear it would be, if it wasn’t for the fact that your head was severely aching and you still haven't had a single sip of water since you’ve woken up. Jaemin scrambles through your kitchen, totally uninvited, but also unstopped, until he finds some chopsticks and cutlery in one of the drawers and then puts them all in the middle of the dining table, acting as if he was at his own house, and not in a place he’s been to three times, including this one. 

“Well? What are you waiting for? It’s gonna get cold,” he chirps as he sits at the table and dives in one of the boxes, humming in satisfaction as the food hits his tongue.

Staring at the male, still not quite believing your eyes, but no longer feeling as humiliated in front of him when you realize that you embarrassing yourself in front of him is your habit by now, you only opt to a sigh as you sit at the table and taste the chinese, the noodles falling down your throat finally providing some comfort to your upset stomach. Jaemin smiles at you– the kind of smile where his eyes crinkle up into small moon crescents– with his full cheeks on display when you meet his eye, seemingly satisfied with his mission.

“Fucking hell,” you hear your roommate mutter as she escapes the room, seemingly to put some more presentable clothes on. Jaemin pays it no attention as he brightens up a little, pointing one of his chopsticks your way after he swallows and speaks up again.

“And hey! Thanks to me, you don’t even have to do the dishes now!” he exclaims, his proud face on full display making you stop in your tracks when you go to tell him that’s not true, since you still have to wash the reusable chopsticks you’re both holding in your hands, afraid of bursting his bubble as you only fakely smile at the male, nodding.

“That’s… great, Jaemin. Really nice.”

Walking across the school building, you find your stomach growling once again, the relief only spreading more on your insides when you realize that the last class of the day just ended and you are headed to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. Noting that it’s Tuesday and your schedules match with your best-friend-and-roommate-in-one’s today, you swiftly walk towards the crowded space and get the lunch with your school ID card, the cafeteria lady looking at you with a wobbly side-smile you only recognise to be her customer service demeanor washing off after the long day. Thanking her and scanning the room with your eyes, you quickly find your roommate waving at you from the corner of the room, calling you over with the motion of her hand. You’re actually excited to see her, until you notice another figure sitting right next to her– the figure being none other than the intruder of your home peace for the last few weeks. 

You’re seeing Na Jaemin quite a lot lately, you realize, and it’s not even your project partner to begin with. Not that you mind, of course; he’s a nice guy, a good-looking one as well, to say the least, but there’s just something about his constant close proximity to your roommate that makes your stomach drop whenever you see him in her presence. This feeling has been there for a while now, and if you recognised it in you, you never paid it much attention, but with him sticking to her like glue even outside of the premises of your apartment, it almost makes you turn on your heel and walk out of the cafeteria to eat your lunch alone– daring to even say it’s the better choice, for you think you could throw up any second at the image of their enthusiastic smiles. You can’t really put your finger on the feeling– you’re not really sure how to name it, or what to think of it. You just know that the strange annoyance bubbling inside of you whenever it comes is one of the most frustrating things you’ve ever dealt with your whole, entire life.

But it’s too late to walk out of the cafeteria now, and so you choose to put up a smile and walk over to the two, sitting at the vacant spot opposite of them and get to eating. 

“Hello,” Jaemin greets you, voice cheerful– does he ever feel down? –when you sit down with your tray and smile at the two. 

“Hi,” you nod, “what’s up?” 

“We were just talking about this thing on Friday,” he jumps in, looking at you from above his finished plate, Yizhuo nodding along to his conversation. She keeps chewing on her lunch as the man continues his speech. “My friend Taeyong’s in a band and they have a gig at the Neo bar, you know, the one in the center of the city…” 

You find yourself humming in interest, nodding along to the new information. You don’t think you’ve heard about Taeyong or his band before, but you only imagine it could be fun. “Are you going?” you ask, eyes jumping from your roommate to your new acquaintance slash friend, anticipating his response.

“Yeah,” he nods, averting his gaze from you for a moment, looking to his feet for a second as he clears his throat, “you should come too,” he adds when his eyes meet yours again, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

Halting a little in your movement, you look at your roommate again. See, Yizhuo is just the perfect girl you’d invite to see your friend’s band. She’s outgoing, loud, the life of the party, and also has an amazing alcohol tolerance– perfect to match the boy in front of you. There’s no reason for Na Jaemin to be inviting you as well, and you presume it’s the way his personality naturally is– considerate and warm– that it doesn’t let him just leave you out of the conversation and let you stay home. He’d probably feel too bad if he didn’t invite you, that’s all.

But the more you stare at the two, noticing the familiar way Jaemin’s body leans into your roommate’s for support, the two of them growing quite close in the process of working on the project– she even trailed into his apartment a few times to work there instead, because you had exams to study for and she wanted to leave the apartment silent for you to focus better– and the more you feel the familiar feeling deep within your chest, bugging you with thoughts resonating through your brain that tell you that you’ll just be a burden if you go and that the two of them will have much more fun together if they’re alone anyways, since Jaemin is clearly interested in your roommate. The voice in your head doesn’t leave, and you get so caught up in listening to it that you zone out, only to be woken up from your state of autopilot with a soft nudge to your shin under the table.

“So? What do you say?” he asks again, raising his eyebrows at you in question, eyes wide with anticipation.

“Oh,” you let out, hesitant as you poke your fork into the slice of meat on your plate, “I’m good, thanks. I wouldn’t wanna… you know… intrude? Or something?” you say, nodding to yourself as you’re afraid to meet his eye, opting to stare into your meal instead.

“What are you talking about? Of course you won’t intrude, I’m the one who invited you,” he mutters under his nose, tone of voice close to a mother’s scolding, insistent on his words. “Come on, it will be fun!”

“Really, I-” you open your mouth to decline again, when the male sulks in his seat and turns to your roommate for help.

“Yizhuo, help me, would you?” he grunts. “Tell your roommate this is the best idea you’ve ever heard, maybe she’ll listen to you, since she clearly doesn’t trust me.”

Snickering at his offended pout, you roll your eyes in mock annoyance when your best friend finally speaks up for the first time since you sat at the table, now finished with her lunch and free to talk to you both. “I think it would be nice, Y/N,” she says casually, nodding, “besides, I bet the band guys will be hot. Maybe Jaem can hook us up with one of them, what do you say?” she says, looking at him with a teasing glint in her eye, dismissed by the male with a scoff and a wave of his hand.

“You wouldn’t want that,” he mumbles, “not saying they’re not hot, but they’re insufferable. And a little bit stupid.”

“You say that about your friends?” you grin, seeing as the male shrugs to himself.

“Yeah,” he agrees, “hanging out with them makes me feel better about myself.” 

Giggling at the remark, you finish your food and stare at him with dumbfoundance in your eyes. “You’re unbelievable, Na Jaemin.” 

“Mhm, whatever,” he hums, grinning, before he looks at the screen of his phone and his face scrunches up in horror. His figure stands up in hurry, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before he looks at the both of you, eyes drifting from your roommate to you in a sharp 0.2 second interval, pointing a finger at your sitting body. “I take it as I’ll see you there. I have a class in literally 5-” he says as he looks at his phone again, “no, 4 minutes, so I better get going. I’ll text the address to Yizhuo in case you two can’t find it, and don’t even think of not showing up, okay?”

Sighing in fake annoyance, you shake your head in disbelief as the man strides off, black hair flowing in the breeze as his figure jogs out of the crowded cafeteria. 

You’re starting to think that Na Jaemin is actually the insufferable one. But as he made it clear that he might get mad at you if you don’t go, even though it might make the annoying voice in your head only scream at you louder if you see him and your roommate sway in the cigarette smoke, dancing together in the local bar, you take a mental note to check your journal and see if you have any plans on Friday, and if you do, to quickly cancel them.

The mental image you had of the concert in your head was mostly right. When you arrive at the local bar at 9 in the evening, the whole place is filled with cigarette smoke and the loud noise of guitars is making your ears ring a little when you try to listen to the lyrics. It’s not really your cup of tea, but the lead singer looks nice– you heard some girls in the front screaming his name; Yuta, if you weren’t wrong– and you find yourself dancing along to the beat of songs you’ve never even heard before. 

Everything’s just like you imagined– smiley, flushed faces in the crowd, sweaty bodies pressed against each other in the small space that the bar provides, everything just perfect to scare a person with claustrophobic tendencies. Everything except from the small voice in your head telling you that you’ll be the third wheel tonight was right, and you find yourself thanking whatever inner motives that lead you to agree with Na Jaemin’s invitation, because when the small break the band had ends and you down the beer he bought for you and Yizhuo, the male is, to your surprise, tugging you to the dance floor. This is not really second female lead of you, you think as you sway under the neon lights of the bar; and you can’t say you hate it.

“Please tell your roommate to not get on with the boy she’s currently dancing with when you two get home,” Jaemin mutters into your ear through the music, and suddenly, the illusion’s over. Of course his eyes would be on your breathtaking, wonderful roommate– there was no way you’d have his full attention while he dances with you, no matter how much effort you put into your appearance tonight. You don’t know what it is that makes you finally admit to yourself that you’re endlessly yearning for male attention and validation– especially Na Jaemin’s, the casual heartthrob’s– but you’re willing to say it’s the effect of alcohol as you furrow your brows at him and lean closer to his face to hear him better as you two talk over the loud set.

“Why?”

“He’s insanely stupid,” he says, snickering, “and I also think he’d love to move into your apartment the first chance he gets. I’m pretty sure his roommate kicked him out last month because he wasn’t paying rent.”

“Well, aren’t you at our apartment all the time as well?” you squint at him, seeing as the male rolls his eyes at you in mock annoyance, the teasing getting to him. 

“That’s because I have to,” he insists, grinning under the blue light shading his features, the hue making him look like he was cut out of a teenage movie.

Shaking your head in disbelief at the gossip, you find yourself yelling over the music again. “How do you even know all of that?” you ask, desperate to know the source of all information there is about the men on your campus.

“His roommate told me himself,” Jaemin says, “I used to play soccer with him in high school.”

“You have too many contacts,” you mutter, seeing as the male shrugs at you, taking your hand in his as he twirls you in your place, the music blending into a slower rhythm, the melody more solemn and relaxed. 

“What can I say,” he grins, “I’m irresistible. Everyone wants to be my friend.”

Not even having a chance to reply a snarky comment back to him, the male suddenly brings you closer to him, taking all air out of your lungs. His strong arms are now pressed around your middle, causing you to almost automatically sneak your arms around his neck– you truly don’t know what brought you to these actions, you think it’s you working on auto-pilot after doing competitive dancing for 5 years when you were little that makes you get into position almost immediately in fear of your instructor screaming at you– and the neon lights now start slowly flashing through various colors, reminding you of disco balls you have at middle school formals. The lead singer sings a romantic song, his raspy, yet unique voice cutting through the speakers right into your poor, fragile heart, and Jaemin steps with you into a loose dance, just two bodies swinging to the music, catching their breath after jumping around to the rhythmic beats for so long. 

In a moment full of embarrassing self-indulgence, you look at the boy with long eyelashes staring down at you, and you wonder if he finds joy in your company. He is that type of guy you’d naturally gravitate towards– charming and nonchalant, extremely charismatic– but you, you are the exact opposite of those qualities. Socially awkward and embarrassing with your antics, thinking too much of words to say before you speak to someone, tense shoulders giving you in as you look nervous with every new person you meet. You’re not the type of person Na Jaemin would voluntarily want to hang out with– your roommate is the one he should be dancing with right now, swaying to the slow beat. 

And maybe he would be, if that other guy wasn’t faster than him at earning her attention.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asks, leaning in closer to your ear, because even though the song is slower, it’s still as loud as the previous ones. Shivers run down your spine when his breath fans your heated skin, and you find yourself nodding in response. 

“It’s fun,” you mumble, seeing him grin.

“See? Told you,” he sighs, “and you didn’t want to go!”

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, that’s all,” you say, smiling at his warm eyes. The thing about Na Jaemin is that he looks at everyone with eyes reminding you of pools of warm honey– with such a welcoming gaze it makes your knees buckle from the sweetness. He looks at everyone with such care it makes them think they perhaps mean the whole entire world to him, and that’s why you can’t bring yourself to think something more of the situation when his eyes meet yours and your eye contact is a battle of symphony. Because he looks at everyone like that. He looks at Yizhuo like that, that’s for sure. 

The man gently leads you into another turn, an amused giggle escaping his lips when you clumsily get back to his arms. You open your mouth to talk back to him, but before you manage to find words worthy of a good jab, the tempo of the song gets faster again and the drums once again ring loudly in your ears, the last tune of the set bringing an enthusiastic, energetic atmosphere into the small bar.

The rest of the evening comes by like a blur– you remember Jaemin ordering you a few more beers and introducing you to the band, the lead singer flashing you a grin you can’t quite decipher in your drunken haze. Your roommate hangs from the shoulder of the man Na Jaemin warned you about, and you find yourself despising the male even though you’ve never spoken to him– something inside of you trusts Jaemin’s judgment of men, it seems (he is one of them, after all. He knows what he’s talking about). 

You almost get mad at yourself for letting yourself drink too much again. It’s like once you start, you don’t know when to stop, and after all, who are you to say no when you’re not even the one paying for all the shots of alcohol? That wouldn’t be very smart of you, as a broke college student. You have to take everything that’s free, no matter how harmful to your health it might be.

Well, except from drugs. You wouldn’t take free crack cocaine even if you were offered.

But when you drink, you find Jaemin’s attention more on you– his caring eyes watching your steps when you walk, making sure you don’t trip over your feet and fall. His arms put his jacket around your shoulders when you stand outside of the club with the band, the raven haired lead singer offering you a cigarette your companion denies for you before you even have a chance to open your mouth, and his smiley face beams at you when he holds your face in his palms and asks you if you want to go home. And you can’t lie, you’re enjoying all the attention– even though it might be coming solely from the fact that he has to look after you like you’re a baby, because you pretty much turn into one when you’ve had something to drink, but still, you can’t find it in yourself to compose yourself and tune down the drinks. 

You’ll worry about the guilt when you wake up in the morning. Now is not the time. 

You nod to his question, though, because you must admit that you’re getting a little sleepy in your night adventures. Following him like a lost puppy, you watch him as he gathers your roommate from the bar, the three of you now walking down the street towards your block, Jaemin taking the side of the sidewalk that’s closer to the road, his careful eyes watching over your every step making you even more surprised by the fact that he doesn’t have an older sister in his family that would shape him into such a gentleman.

“Everyone, did you have fun tonight?” he asks like a kindergarten teacher somewhere towards the end of the seemingly never ending walk home.

“Yes!” you chant along with Yizhuo, giggles erupting along the neighborhood.

“And what did we learn tonight?” he asks again, making your roommate frown at the question.

“That soccer guys suck!”

“That I can’t handle my alcohol!” 

You both chime at the same time, making your companion nod, satisfied by both of your answers. Something about his sweet, scolding, yet patient tone makes your cheeks hurt from smiling when you two open up the front door to your apartment, your brain focused on listening to his small pep talk. “I hope you two take this as a learning experience and never make the same mistakes again! Alcohol is bad for your liver and broke soccer guys are bad for your wallet, but don’t you worry, I’m always here to remind you of such things when you forget.” 

“Yes, Mr Na– oh no the lift’s broken again!” Yizhuo whines when she walks up to the elevator, scowling at the button that doesn’t light up when she presses it, the platform stuck somewhere between the second and the third floor. Normally, you wouldn’t mind such inconvenience– you don’t go to the gym often and every time you carry your groceries upstairs, you think of it as a little workout, trying to train your brain into thinking how good your ass would look only if you took the stairs every day, but failing as you go for the lift every time it works– but tonight, drunk, dizzy and a little tired, you’re glad you don’t break into loud cries at the newly found information.

“No!” you yell out, almost falling to your knees when your roommate presses a hand over your mouth to keep you quiet– although tipsy, Yizhuo still shows much care about your neighbors, it seems. Crouching in front of the unresponding device, you shake your head in disapproval at the whole situation, suddenly feeling like the whole world is against you just because you’re drunk and have to walk up to the seventh floor.

“Come on, ladies,” Jaemin says, patiently waiting at the first step of many.

“Oh, I’m not going,” you shake your head, a pout sitting on your lips as you rest your head on the wall, “I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“Y/N, stop being ridiculous,” the man sighs, walking closer to you, but seeing as you don’t budge, he only crouches down to your level and pokes your cheek with his pointer finger, seemingly regretting inviting you to the bar tonight, “want to get on my back, then? I’ll carry you upstairs,” he asks, gentle parenting you in the process of getting you home.

And see, if you were sober and completely in tune with your emotions and thought process, you’d say no and just walk up the stairs by yourself. But that’s not your situation right now, when you’re drunk and kind of falling for your roommate’s project partner, and so you only nod at him with bright eyes and securely jump to his back, nuzzling your face into the crook of his shoulder as he walks up the stairs to the sixth floor with both of you, patient with your drunken stubbornness.

“See, girls, sometimes things don’t go as you plan. But in those situations, you have to make a new solution and try to come up with something that is going to work. Life’s a bitch and there will be many things in your way, but you always gotta find a way around your obstacles,” he mumbles somewhere between the third and the fourth floor, “the bus is late? You run to the class. You get a stain on your shirt? You tell everyone it’s supposed to be there and that it’s a fashion statement. Your friend doesn’t wanna go out with you? You bribe her with sexy band guys.” 

“And sometimes,” he says again, his tone of voice slowly lulling you to sleep, “the route you have to take might be harder than the one that failed. But that’s okay, because the end goal will be worth the trouble. The lift broke? Take the stairs, because at the end, there is a warm bed waiting for you in your apartment.”

You’re not sure where all of this wisdom is coming from, or how the hell his words are still coherent after so much physical exercise and also the amount of beers he had with his friends at the bar. You’re also not sure why he’s waffling so much– you bet it’s to pass time until he walks up to the seventh floor with your body on his back,

but you bet there’s a life lesson hidden somewhere in there.

The ringing of a doorbell is an unusual sound to your ears. You never have anyone use it, because frankly, you don’t even have that many friends in the first place, and the ones that do exist and come to hang out with you in your apartment always text you that they’re in front of the door instead, like everyone in the 21st century does nowadays. You don’t recognise this as the more practical method, but it’s the one that they all use, so you’ve gotten used to the fact over the time. The only people that use the doorbell are your landlord– because he loves to come check up on your apartment from time to time and then passively aggressively mention how there's a mess in your living room– and then Yizhuo’s friend Mark Lee that she met at the bistro she works at. They started hanging out and he’s the only one that actually picks her up at the door– as opposed to all of her other guy friends and dates that wait for her in the car. You think it’s sweet; the boy always wears a shy blush on his cheeks and nervously scratches his neck when you open the front door instead of your roommate and scream at Yizhuo that her date is here– to which she tells you that they’re not dating every single time, but you actually think you’re rooting for the adorable canadian, because after the men she chose to date before, you think she’s finally getting some sense into her head.

And so when the doorbell rings again, you get mentally prepared for either of those two outcomes. You don’t think it’s gonna be Mark Lee, because he always texts Yizhuo before hanging out with her and your temperamental roommate isn’t home yet– so the only reasonable option is your landlord Jinyoung, which makes shivers run down your spine as you pick up the mess scattered all around the floor in the entry hall and throw the stuff into the big closet at the right side of the wall, making sure it’s out of his sight.

Taking a deep breath in to collect yourself before the terror starts, you open the front door and put on your best fake smile, ready to face the wrinkled face of a middle aged man in a weird tracksuit– but to your surprise, there is one more person that can still use the ringbell on the door, and it’s none other than Na Jaemin. 

“Hi!” he smiles, a wide grin sitting at his face. He’s once again in his usual attire that consists of Adidas sweatpants and a mint green hoodie, the clothing acting like his default skin in the game of life, and you can’t help but let out a satisfied sigh at the fact that it’s not your landlord that you have to talk to today; although speaking to Na Jaemin after the last time you met him isn’t much easier than sparking up a conversation about the state of your rented place.

“Hello,” you drag out, humming to yourself as you press your lips into a thin line, “Yizhuo’s not here yet,” you say, trying your hardest to not meet his warm eyes. 

“Oh, I know! She texted me she’ll be late, but I was already on my way, so I figured I’ll just wait for her here,” he explains, naturally walking into your apartment as if he owned the place. And you don’t stop him– because frankly enough, you don’t have it in you to do anything else. And what would you even do? Let him stand outside?

And so, even though you weren’t prepared for a visitor today– because Yizhuo still hasn’t learned how to tell you that she’ll have people over– you walk along with him to the living room and see him invite himself to sit on the couch, body sprawled out all across the soft cushions. He seems like he lives here and not you– with how awkwardly you situate yourself on the other side of the sofa (he took your side– the one you picked the first day you moved in. Neither you nor Yizhuo ever sat on the other side ever since, it was an unwritten rule) and watch as he turns on the TV and scrolls through the channels. If this was anyone else, you’d find it inappropriate, rude even, but come on… it’s Na Jaemin we’re talking about. If he walks inside of your apartment and acts like he owns the place, who are you to tell him he doesn’t?

“You must really enjoy working on the project, if you’re around so often,” you mumble out, burdened by the fact that the silence between the two of you is slowly suffocating you out of the awkwardness of it all. One would say you wouldn’t know what awkwardness and shame is after embarrassing yourself in front of the man so much, but it’s quite the opposite, actually– as if the weight of it all was just packing on to each other, creating a big, heavy mess sitting on your shoulders, not letting you breathe.

“Oh, not really,” he says, turning his whole body and attention to you, eyes perking up at the sound of your voice, “I actually find it quite boring, if I’m being honest.”

Humming in response, you suddenly start to find the whole thing a little weird. Because if Jaemin doesn’t enjoy the project– and Yizhuo absolutely despises it too, or at least she told you she did– who in them has that much enthusiasm to meet up after school so often to work on it? If you were in their place, you’d just do it all in the span of a week. Projects you don’t like get lost somewhere in the back of your brain and you only remember them a few days before the due date, quickly scattering something and putting it on paper just so you don’t fail. Jaemin and Yizhuo, however, have worked on the project multiple times a week for the last two months, which is contradicting to the nature of your roommate in particular, because you know just how much she enjoys the art of procrastination as well.

“You must be really responsible, then,” you say, thinking this is the only possible solution– Na Jaemin doesn’t like the project, but he also doesn’t want to get a bad grade in it. That’s why he’s over at your flat multiple times a month, giggling with your roommate in the living room and working on the Neurophysiology essay that requires thorough research. That’s it– it must be.

“Well, I dunno about that,” Jaemin snickers, “this is my second time taking the class, actually. I failed it last year,” he grins, leaving you to stare at him with an opened mouth out of shock, the thoughts in your brain sprinting around like an itch you can’t really get to, making you shake your head in disbelief. This doesn’t sound like the words of someone who strives to get good grades in a subject– because if you had to retake a class, you’d be glad to just pass. Getting a good grade and putting in a lot of effort would be the last of your interests, especially after failing once– you’d have so much resentment for the subject you’d actually do the bare minimum, just to spite no one in particular but yourself.

You hum at that, at a loss for words. 

“Do you not like having me around?” Jaemin asks, suddenly, catching you off guard. Looking up at him, sharply turning your head, your wide eyes must have betrayed you, since your companion lets out an amused laugh. 

“That’s not it,” you try to save your skin, sighing, “I’m just wondering, that’s all.”

“So you don’t like having me around.”

“That’s not what I said!” you mourn out, suddenly scared of somehow offending the boy sitting in your living room. Being completely alone with him has been an emotional tsunami so far, having you praying and manifesting for your roommate to come back soon so you don’t have to deal with the pressure anymore. One moment, he has you all curious and guessing, the other one, he has you aimlessly trying to maintain an image you already lost the first second he saw you only dressed in a thin shirt with your wet hair staining the fabric, walking out the shower the first day he met you.

“Okay, so you’re saying you do like having me around?” he grins, the teasing glint in his smile driving you crazy, the weird turmoil on your insides almost making you stand up from your place on the sofa and running up against the wall. You bet that would bring you less pain and discomfort than having a conversation with him.

“Na Jaemin, you make me want to kill myself,” you mourn, draging your hands across your face in despair. Who would’ve thought that speaking to him all alone in your apartment could’ve been so much trouble? This is not at all how it went the night of the concert, but you’re willing to say that it was the effect of alcohol that made you get through the night. You can’t drink right now, in broad daylight, though– because that would legally make you an alcoholic.

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I wouldn’t be hanging around at your apartment so much if I didn’t like being around a certain someone that lives here either,” he says, matter-of-factly, as if the information didn’t just take all breath out of your lungs at the suggestion of something you pray your brain isn’t just misinterpreting in this very moment. Opening your mouth and closing it in a second, looking like a fish that’s been thrown out of the ocean and flapping around in the sand, you gape at the boy and furrow your brows, creating an ugly crease on your forehead that Yizhuo screamed at you about (she told you to stop making that face so often, because ‘it’s gonna ruin your skin and you’re gonna look old’. Like you can help it…).

“What do you even mean by tha–” you start, desperate for more explanation, when the door opens with a loud bang and your dear roommate finally marches up to the apartment with bangs sticking to her oily forehead and a frustrated frown on her face– choosing just the right moment to finally arrive, as if you haven’t been praying for this very moment for the last few minutes. 

“I’m never going back to that fucking bistro ever again. Can you believe it? Lee Jeno decided to take a day off and tell everyone twenty minutes before the end of my shift, so I had to work for two more hours before somebody could come to cover him. Who even does that? Is everything okay in his brain?” she screams, throwing her bag to the floor as she walks up into the living room, finding you two there. “Why am I even asking? Fuck, of course he’s not mentally okay. And then a rush hour began and I had to serve the rudest customer I’ve ever encountered, and don’t even let me started on that fucking grandpa that complained about the fries being cold when I just got them out of the frier!” 

Watching her little tantrum, you can’t help but giggle at your roommate. It’s an usual sight to you ever since she started working at the bistro, but Jaemin seems to be surprised at her temperamental outburst as he laughs at her like a maniac, watching her with mouth wide open and eyes twice their usual size, almost bursting out of their sockets.

“Don’t even try to start something today, Na Jaemin, or I’ll literally take a kitchen knife and slice your throat in half. Let’s get to this shit so I can shower,” Yizhuo says as she falls to the sofa with a loud thud, not even greeting neither of you before she kicks her hoodie off her body with an annoyed squeak.

You take this as your cue to leave– because if there is anyone else in the apartment that could be the person she can take it out on, you’re not willingly going to sit there and take her attention from them, sparing yourself for tonight. 

Jaemin’s words resonate in your brain as you stumble into your room. There’s a certain someone he enjoys being around in this apartment, and when you look over your shoulder and see him with Yizhuo’s sweaty hoodie hanging off his head– you don’t dare to ask how it got there or why it was there in the first place, hearing his hearty laugh– you feel a ping close to your heart. 

You don’t think you need an answer to the question anymore. How foolish of you to think it could be you.

When you went to college, you didn’t think you’d become the epitome of an average college student you see in movies and read about in Choi Minho fanfiction. Somewhere along the way, while keeping your assignments to the last possible day, living with a roommate that both gets on your nerves and makes you think you wouldn’t be able to survive without her by your side and going to more parties in a single semester than your whole entire life, you find yourself fitting all the criteria as you hang around your bedroom and get ready for what seems to be the biggest party you’ve ever set your foot in.

Your roommate is long gone now, and while you’d be frustrated by the fact that you were supposed to get to the party on your own, you don’t find yourself filled with rage when you remind yourself of the fact that this party is hosted by her cousin, Zhong Chenle, who took it upon himself to host the biggest birthday party of the century for his childhood best friend Park Jisung. Yizhuo was dragged to the big mansion to help with all the preparations, and while you sat around in class the whole morning, she spent the time with spamming you pictures of the place, coming from half-decorated to a fully, over-the-top, red solo cup crammed and loud music bearing building. The party starts at 8 and you’re set to leave in a bit, but there’s one issue that’s keeping you from hopping into the uber you’ve called for yourself– your dear roommate still hasn’t texted you the address, and with how fast the time is going and how she hasn’t replied to any of your messages since 6:25, you don’t think you’re getting a response any time soon.

And speaking honestly, you’ve made a list of rules for yourself. And you also set yourself to making sure you don’t break any of them. 

Rule number one was to not get home later than 2 in the morning. Every time you do, you hate yourself for it the next morning. Rule number two closely ties with the first one, stating that you’re not allowed to get hammered. With the amount of partying you’ve been getting yourself into, you think it’s better to save your liver before it’s too late. And rule number three– however embarrassing it must sound– is that you’re not allowed to embarrass yourself in front of Na Jaemin again. Not after he had to see you half naked, collect your broken body from the ground and carry you upstairs on his back. 

With how your evening’s going and you’re not not getting replies from the main organizator of the party herself, you don’t think you need the rule list at all, since it seems that you won’t even get to the party itself in the first place.

After many minutes of aimlessly scrolling through social media, dressed in the outfit you picked out yesterday, you are brought out of your dissociative episode with a ring on the doorbell. Cursing under your breath at the unwanted visitor, you open the door without much thought, the adrenaline in your veins caused by the fact that you might miss the party of the century making you not contemplate on the motion too much before you’re standing in front of Na Jaemin, unprepared and shocked to your core.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” you ask, the words rolling off your tongue without much thought. 

“Good to see you too!” he chants, words dipped in irony, furrowing his brows in confusion before smiling in hesitance. “Yizhuo sent me to get you to the party.”

Blinking at him a few times, the situation downing on you, a shake of your head is performed to clear your mind. “She did what?”

“Yeah, it got a bit hectic over there and she didn’t have time to text you the address, so she told me to just come pick you up. Don’t worry, I haven’t drunk yet,” he says, the explanation making you huff out at the irresponsible nature of your roommate– because truly, how much time can a simple text take– before you put on your shoes and take the bag prepared on the ground close to the door, following the man out of the building and into his car.

Sliding into the silver Toyota Auris, only a few minutes pass before you’re strangled with the reality of being alone with Na Jaemin again, and even though this is not the first time, it still gives you just the slightest kick of adrenaline. Keeping up with conversation is harder for you than you would’ve imagined, and suddenly you’re regretting the fact that you don’t have at least a tiny bit of alcohol in you to kick some courage into your skull, but as the low melody of the radio hits your ears and your driver starts to singing along with the lyrics, using a silly voice that makes you crack up, you realize that maybe, after embarrassing yourself in front of him so much, you don’t even have to feel tense anymore. Because realistically, it can’t get much worse than this.

“You look really nice, by the way,” Jaemin smiles, making your heart run miles around your ribcage. Admittedly, you did spend a few hours picking out the perfect outfit in hopes of being recognized by someone– maybe even Jaemin himself, okay, you’ll admit that as well– but the accomplishment of actually hearing him compliment you still surprises you with great measures.

“Thanks,” you clear your throat, “you- you do too.”

“Oh, thank god,” he mumbles, sighing dramatically, “I actually had to buy some new clothes, because Jeno said I can’t attend this super fancy party in a tracksuit, but you know how it goes, shit’s expensive nowadays, and this was the only thing on sale, so I grabbed it,” he explains, going on a tangent, this mannerism of his making you break into a smile, “and I can’t lie, I think I kinda rock the style and I was hoping for a compliment of two from the ladies tonight, so I’m glad to hear this from yours truly first.”

Chuckling at his rambling, you shake your head in disbelief. “I think you’d look good in anything, Na Jaemin,” you tsk, “you have that kind of face that everyone likes.”

“Oh really?” he asks, the tone of his voice teasing. “So that means you like my face?”

“I’m not everyone, you know,” you bite back despite feeling heat rising to your cheeks, wanting to take back all the words that have come out of your mouth in the span of the last few seconds. 

“Now that’s hurting my feelings.”

“You care about my opinion that much?” 

“Of course,” he grunts, looking at you for a split second before he parks the car in front of a big house, already popping with people to its seams, loud music overbearing the beat of the music playing in the car. The ride wasn’t even that long– you live 15 minutes away from the wealthy neighborhood, it seems– but it's still good that you got a ride, because you don’t know how long you’re gonna last in those heels you’re wearing. “I can’t trust Yizhuo when it comes to these things. I’m convinced she hates me a little.”

“Why would she hate you?” you ask, amused.

“She always looks annoyed whenever I open my mouth,” he snickers.

“She’s like that with everyone,” you mutter, even though you remember your roommate complaining about the amount of words that Jaemin can spit in a minute just about yesterday, “it’s just her resting bitch face.”

The engine turns off and you turn around in the passenger seat to gather your bag from the back seat, where you carelessly threw it in the rush of getting to the party as soon as possible. Quickly looking through its contains– because your anxiety tells you to, just in case you somehow magically decided to leave your wallet and your keys back home, despite checking and making sure they’re there at least 8 times already– you turn back towards the front, ready to get out of the vehicle when you’re met with the sight of Na Jaemin opening the door for you like a gentleman, waiting for you to walk down the imaginary red carpet, completely ignoring the nature of the party going on just a few meters away from you.

Bashfully escaping his car and thanking him on your way, you watch him lock the car and catch up with you on the sidewalk, leading the both of you to the expensive-looking building. 

The song accompanying your arrival is now Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! by Vengaboys, and although you can’t deny the lyrics may be a little bit relatable to your current state right now, you can’t say the whole scene doesn’t look like a circus in your eyes. It’s Park Jisung’s birthday party, though, so you can’t say it doesn’t have to be a bit comedic, at least– the boy is quite known around these parts of the town. The whole place is filled with people you hardly know, and with the amount of teenagers and college students roaming around, you’re reminded a little of the fair– the only thing missing is a bouncy castle, in which you could clearly imagine Zhong Chenle with his best friend, hollering like the kids they still are, no matter how hard they’re trying to deny it.

Upon walking through the front door, you are met with the realization that Na Jaemin was abducted by a tall man with a puppy-like smile and another one, a little shorter one with brown, longer hair and a leather jacket adorning his figure. His face is screaming in despair, and although you find the expression funny, you let him be with his roommate and who seems to be his friend (you swear you saw the other guy in Yangyang’s basement, rolling a blunt with the boy somewhere in the middle of the night), deciding on finding your dear roommate so you can scream at her for being so irresponsible with your arrival to the party of the century. It takes you no longer than 15 minutes before you’re met with her strawberry blonde locks tied up in her signature bun, low-waisted jeans and a white crop-top adorning her figure that’s currently turned to you with her back, and before you can stop yourself, you approach her from behind, intending to scare her out of spite and also humor.

Shaking her by her shoulders, the girl turns to you with a sudden yelp before she bursts into laughter at seeing your face. “I thought you were that fucker Johnny! I almost threw this drink into your face, you know?”

“Oh, you’d regret that very soon if you did that,” you threaten, pointing a warning finger towards her face.

“Trust me, I know,” she giggles, shaking her head, “anyways, you got here!”

“Yeah, Jaemin picked me up,” you say, showing her a tight-lipped smile. 

“He… he did?” the girl asks, furrowing her eyebrows at you, confusion very clearly written on her face.

“You told him to…?” 

“No, I didn’t,” she shakes her head, snickering to herself. “I just told him to text you the address, because I was busy pouring all the drinks in the kitchen and making the speakers in the living room work…” she explains, the more words come out of her mouth, the more she breaks into a sly grin, the expression making you sigh in terror, knowing the amount of teasing that will come next.

“Why are you grinning like that? Stop it.”

“Na Jaemin likes youuuu,” she sing-songs, pointing a finger towards your forehead and digging into your skin with the sharp edge of her stiletto nail. Wincing away from her touch, you shake your head at her with a huff of frustration, wondering if she’s had enough to drink for it to cause all of this.

“He doesn’t, and we both know it.”

“Yeah, that’s why he picked you up,” she nods, before she takes a deep breath in, preparing herself for the long sentence that’s about to come out of her mouth, “and that’s why he insists on hanging out strictly over at our apartment, why he carried you up the stairs on his motherfucking back, why he bribed me just to get you to go to the concert with him, and why he won’t shut up about you literally every second the two of us are alone–”

“You know the same thing could suggest that he likes you?” you huff, roaming your hand through your hair in an attempt to soothe the weird bundle of nerves growing in your stomach. “He hangs out with you all the time, not me, you know…”

“That’s ‘cause you keep hiding in your room like a raccoon, you know.”

“That’s not true at all–”

“Okay, whatever you say. He’s coming towards us right now– so don’t look around or you’ll be too obvious– and I bet 100 pounds that he’s gonna drag you away from me and suggest you two play beer pong again, or whatever.”

“Yizhuo, I need you to shut the fuck–”

But before you’re able to finish your sentence, you feel a hand land on your shoulder, your whole figure spinning towards the source of the contact, finding a grinning Na Jaemin in your rear point of view– how unexpected, really– his body seemingly full of adrenaline as he jumps in his place, looking like a squirrel high on caffeine, his next sentence making your brain short-circuit as you hear Yizhuo snicker in your right ear, a bump on your shoulder and a shove into the male’s figure encouraging you in your movements out the room.

“Normally, I’d drag you to play beer pong with me again, but if I come back to the events that occurred the last time you got drunk, I have a suggestion that’s more considerate to your liver– wanna sing karaoke with me? You’re not allowed to say no, by the way,” and before you’re able to register what’s going on in this very moment, the conversation you two had with Yizhuo keeps repeating over and over in your brain the whole time you’re by Jaemin’s side.

Curse Ning Yizhuo for making you think he could like you at least a little– because even though he sang a corny love song with you at the karaoke machine and introduced you to his friends, along with taking you off your feet in an enthusiastic hug when you two won against his roommate and his best friend at a make-shift karaoke battle (you two got a 98 point score, just saying…), there’s a simple man called insecurity sitting soundly in the corner of your brain not letting you contemplate the fact and take it seriously, no matter how hard you try.

jaem [10:21]: hi how are you feeling!!! jaem [10:21]: was wondering if u wanted to get lunch :p jaem [10:21]:not that im assuming u have a hangover bc u hardly drank yesterday but yknow would be nice idk jaem [10:22]: theres this new pancake place in town :OO 

“You don’t look as bad as I expected!” Jaemin greets you as you two walk inside of the new bistro that opened not a long time ago– you only knew about it because Yizhuo hoped and prayed that the fact that there’s a new place in town will mean that less customers were going to show up at the one she’s working at, and you can’t say you don’t hate that logic. After hearing her stories about rude customers, you believe your roommate deserves a break. Working with people is hard– and as she said, you only realize just how stupid some of them can be when you truly start working in customer service.

“Ouch!” you utter out, your ego suddenly falling at the backhanded compliment.

“Not that you look bad, like, ever, I just– you usually look way worse after a party, you know,” he explains while opening the door for you and leading you towards one of the booths, the red sofas making the whole place look like a retro motorest you’d find somewhere on your way through the middle of nowhere. The polka dot walls only beg you to order a milkshake with your pancakes, and you do exactly that, feeling unapologetic in your actions. It’s not your fault– and you guess that you deserve to treat yourself to a nice chocolate swirl once in a while. 

“I didn’t drink as much last night, you know,” you snicker, remembering the fact that you actually pretty much managed to stick to your rules the whole time you were enjoying yourself at Park Jisung’s birthday party.

“Should’ve dragged you to one more game of beer pong, then.”

“So you do want me to suffer, huh?” you roll your eyes at him, resting your back at the flashy red booth to get a better look at his shifting expressions.

“It’s fun to see you embarrassed when you recollect your memory, that’s all,” he admits, kicking your leg under the table in a teasing manner.

Snickering at his comment, you hide your face in your hands at the growing embarrassment. Taking a deep breath in to hide your hesitance, you look outside your window for a short moment before you turn back to him, continuing on with the conversation before the moment gets too awkward for you to bear. “Yizhuo’s still asleep, by the way. She drank too much because Chenle got a bet with her and she was sure she could outdrink him and then the Mark guy had to carry her limp body to our house last night,” you explain, “she’s the one with a massive hangover right now, that’s why she’s not joining.”

“I see you two like princess treatment,” Jaemin teases, referring to the time he had to collect you and bring you home on his back, “besides, I invited you, not her. If she was here, she wouldn’t stop complaining about her headache, and I really don’t need that energy in my life right now.”

Laughing, you move your hands away from the table as a server brings you two your plates, filled to the brim with pancakes smothered in syrup and chocolate topping. A shiny cherry is adorning the serving, and you can already feel yourself salivating at the sight, the sweet smell filling your senses as you dig in, feeling hypnotized by the food in front of you. You are a sweets lover, and while you don’t know how Jaemin managed to do that, he hit the right spot with making you join him for a sweet lunch– making you adore the man even more, if that was even possible.

“Does it taste good?” Jaemin asks, watching as you nod to him with your mouth filled– as if the sight wasn’t enough of a confirmation to him– a hum of satisfaction slipping out of your vocal cords.

“It’s so good,” you mumble when you swallow, wiping your mouth with the napkin you found at the corner of the table. “Just what I needed right now.”

Jaemin finally digs into his own plate, a bright smile sitting at his face, and as you eat, you find yourself glancing his way from time to time. After all this time, you’re finally starting to realize just how relaxed you’re truly feeling right in this moment, despite having oily hair that’s tugged out of your way with a headband and only wearing your casual clothes, being too lazy to change your sweatpants for jeans and your hoodie for a fancier top. Jaemin just has something about him that once kept you on your toes, nerves tingling all in your insides, the same thing now making you calm and appreciative of his presence. Who would’ve thought that it would only take you two hanging out together the whole time of Park Jisung’s birthday party to finally feel relaxed and natural around each other?

Watching him as he takes a sip of his milkshake, you get surprised at his disgusted face. “What’s up?”

“I forgot I hate strawberries,” he notes, scratching the back of his neck as he battles the face of discomfort spreading over his features.

“And you ordered a strawberry milkshake… because you hate strawberries?” you snicker, laughing at his face.

“Well, I ordered it for the aesthetic, I suppose, but the fact that it’s actually gonna taste like strawberries kind of… escaped my brain for a sec,” he explains, making you shake your head in disbelief at him, offering the boy your own milkshake that you have yet to take a sip of.

“Want mine? It’s a banana one. I don’t mind strawberries,” you say, smiling at him encouragingly when he hesitantly eyes the tall glass.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course,” you say, nudging the milkshake towards him, seeing as he exchanges the straws and sets the pink drink in front of you with a grin full of gratitude. The man takes a sip out of your drink, his eyes instantly growing wide at the taste, nodding his head and closing his eyes in pure bliss.

“Now, this is perfect.”

Giggling at his expression, you finish your plate and sit in a comfortable silence as the boy in front of you does the same. Seeing as he’s done with his serving as well, both of your stomachs full of the delicious meal, you watch him as he clears his throat before speaking up again. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“You know, the usual,” you shrug, “check up on my roommate to see if she hasn’t died in her sleep, maybe try to wake her up in a way that doesn’t get me killed… Do the chores she was supposed to do because now she won’t stop complaining about her headache, and then watch the Spiderman movies, because I saw Tom Holland on my TikTok for you page the other day and suddenly got obsessed,” you explain, chuckling to yourself.

“No way!”

“What?” 

“I wanted to watch those too!” Jaemin exclaims, expression full of surprise and excitement, his face lighting up something inside of you that makes you speak before you even get a chance to contemplate your decision.

“Let’s watch it together, then!”

His face falls into disappointment, pursing his lips as he shakes his head, full of disappointment. “I can’t today, I promised Jeno to drive him to his grandma’s in the afternoon.”

“That’s okay, let’s just watch it some other day. I’ll wait with it for you,” you say, finishing the last of your milkshake, seeing as the boy’s eyes light up at your suggestion. 

“But what about your plans?”

“I can watch something else today,” you say, “maybe I’ll watch something with Yizhuo, so she forgets about her grumpy mood, you know.”

And with that, the plans are arranged. It all happens so quickly and spontaneously you can’t even let yourself process your actions, your brain only waking up when Jaemin pays for you at the counter despite your protests, deep voice full of teasing telling you that it’s okay and that it’s for all the snacks he’s eaten and will further eat while he’s over at your place.

“What do you mean it’s not on Netflix?” you hush, scrolling through the app popped up on the TV, clearly not showing any signs of the Spiderman movies. You could’ve sworn you’ve seen the movies on there when you were randomly scrolling through the service one day, not really interested in seeing them, but when it’s the time for you to actually watch the series, it’s nowhere to be seen, vanished from the face of the earth. It happens quite a lot with Netflix, actually– and while google may say the movie is available, when you open up the app yourself, it’s like you’re banned from seeing everything that’s there for the rest of the world to see.

“Well, we can just watch something else, then–”

“I am not watching anything else, Jaemin, we came here to watch Spiderman, so that’s what we’re doing,” you announce, rolling your eyes in annoyance. It’s not his fault– of course it isn’t– but the way he’s willing to give up on the movie so easily is making your blood boil. You’re no quitter when it comes to movies– either you get it on Netflix, or you do some digging (doesn’t matter if it takes you more time than the actual running time of the movie itself) and pirate it online. A few ads about hot singles in your area could never stop you when you’re about to watch something your soul has been searching for the last few weeks.

“We don’t have Disney plus, though,” the man squints, seemingly at the end with his solutions.

“We don’t need those paid streaming services,” you roll your eyes, shutting the TV off and getting your laptop from the bottom shelf of your coffee table, “let’s just find it online.”

Typing in your password and opening up the browser, a few searches of Spiderman online for free later, you’re able to find at least five sites with your desired movie in it. The only thing left for you to do is to check if it has subtitles– because when you watch a movie, all your listening comprehension abilities fly out of the window, no matter how fluent in the language you are– and see which one has the best quality. Settling on an ugly looking site with three ads covering the video window and another five around the corners, you smile to yourself, noticing as your companion only stares at you in awe. The look makes you feel like you just hacked the FBI site, and judging from his eyes, he’s admiring you as if you really did just show him the doings of Anonymous, but you only roll your eyes at him and snicker as you point towards your screen.

“Now we just click through 25 ads and pop-up windows and we’re there,” you nod, motioning towards the laptop, before a sound of the front door opening makes you jump up in surprise and halt in your movements.

Seeing as your roommate gets into the hall, seemingly out of breath and red in her face, carrying her tote bag scrunched up in the palm of her hand like a sack full of dog shit instead of the fashion statement it is, Yizhuo looks at you with furrowed eyebrows and a lost look on her face. “What’s Jaemin doing here?” 

The boy next to you huffs in offense, opening his mouth and chiming in his defense. “And what are you doing here? Did the three meters from the elevator to the front door tire you this much?”

“I live here!” she exclaims, throwing her arms up in the air. “And the lift is broken again, so I had to take the stairs. I don’t think we had a hangout scheduled today?” she asks, pointing towards her project partner with a lost look, seemingly annoyed at herself just in case she forgot about the study session and made other plans instead.

“No,” Jaemin gets out, shaking his head, “we didn’t.”

“Oh,” Yizhuo says, eyes drifting from him back to you and then from you back to him, before realization settles onto her face as she nods. “Oh,” she repeats, more exaggerated now, “I see how it is. Inviting Na Jaemin over when I’m not around…”

Heat rising to your cheeks, you speak up for the first time, completely ready to shield yourself from her slandering words. “Yeah, speaking of that, weren’t you supposed to be on your date with Mark?”

The girl smiles at you in irony, noting the choice of words, before she runs into her room and comes out with a purse instead, dropping her things into the new bag. Before she’s out of the flat again, she pops a head back into the living room, waving at you with one last goodbye. “I just had to take a different bag, since this kept falling off my shoulder. I’ll see you guys in the evening, and please, out of all places, don’t shag at the kitchen counter, at least–”

“Your date is waiting.”

“At least I admit that it’s a date, sweetie, so in your place, I’d shut my mouth,” she recites, tone laced with bitterness, “okay, bye, kiss kiss!” she says before the sound of the door loudly shutting pierces through your ears, leaving the two of you in complete silence.

Clearing your throat, deciding to not go back to the things that have come out of your roommate's mouth, you shift your focus back onto the laptop, awkwardly scratching your neck before speaking up. “Now that’s out of the way…” you mumble, “can you please try to get the movie playing? There will be about 75 ads popping up, you just need to patiently close each and every one of them and not play the porn games, okay?”

“Why would I–”

“I’m gonna make some popcorn in the meantime, since I imagine it’s gonna take a while. Oh and also, you can’t pause the movie, because that makes the whole process repeat and we’ll have to close all of the ads again, so when it’s done, just call me and I’ll be quick,” you finish explaining before disappearing into the kitchen area.

Rummaging through the cupboards, you finally acquire the popcorn you’ve been searching for. Plopping it into the microwave and setting the timer to approximately 3 minutes, you go on a search for more snacks– sweet ones this time, since chasing down the saltiness with a chocolate bar is your favorite activity to do after eating popcorn– and getting out some bowls to put everything into, preparing the things onto the kitchen counter.

Too absorbed in the noise of the corn popping in the microwave, you don’t notice footsteps approaching you in the small room, the voice of Na Jaemin scaring you to death. 

“I love these!” he exclaims, motioning to the M&M’s you just opened and poured into a bowl. His voice makes you turn back to him in surprise, adrenaline in your veins only heightening  when your face almost meets his chest, his body so close to your figure you can almost feel the heat radiating off his figure. Gasping at the close proximity, you react automatically and try to take a step back from him, but your back only meets the counter that somehow does nothing to support your frame as you back up to it, making you lose your balance and almost crash into the hard surface.

Jaemin’s arms shoot up quickly to steady you, one hand landing on your hip and another one gently catching the back of your head into his palm so you don’t meet with the upper drawers of the kitchen counter in a painful thud, the soft gesture making pools of honey gather in your stomach at the action. “Careful,” he snickers at your taken-aback posture, your hands aimlessly clutching the edge of the countertop.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t appear out of nowhere, I wouldn’t almost smash my head open out of surprise,” you mumble, eyes shifting from his face towards his chest instead, the so well-known feeling of curiosity and nerves you thought was long gone whenever you are around Jaemin approaching you again in great measures, keeping you up on your toes.

He only shrugs at your expression, not really offering you any more words, a chuckle escaping past his lips almost driving you to insanity. 

One of his arms– the one cradling the crown of your head– comes down around you and reaches into the sweets bowl, taking a few into his hold and dropping them onto his tongue. Chewing, with an overly-exaggerated hum of satisfaction, the man offers you the sweets and feeds you off his palm, the sugar melting on your tongue somehow reminding you of the man standing in front of you, the tension growing big in your stomach.

“You’re standing very close,” you mutter under your nose when you notice his and your thighs touching, hearing as he hums at your remark.

“Do you not like it?”

“I–” you stutter, cheeks only further heatening at the question, “that’s not what I said.”

“See,”  he snickers, “I’m standing in perfect proximity, then.”

Eyes hesitantly jumping to his face, seeing him looking down at you with warm eyes and a teasing glint in his smile, your heartbeat quickens even more, slowly starting to match the rhythm of the corn popping in the microwave. His hand still on your hip, the contact of it with your clothed skin burning, you’re suddenly finding it really hard to keep your nerves down, swallowing harshly before you open your mouth to speak up or else you’re going to go crazy.

“Jaemin–”

“Can you admit that to yourself?” he cuts you off, suddenly, face curious and a little more hesitant than before. Looking at him with confusion in your eyes, he repeats the question. “That this is a date. Can you… can you admit that to yourself, Y/N?”

Blinking a few times at the strange inquiry, you stutter again, your thoughts running back and forth in your brain too fastly for you to catch up with them. “I– well, I–”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jaemin snickers again. “I was told that you’re a bit oblivious, and that I should probably be more direct with my actions, because of… obvious reasons…” he chuckles, “so if you needed confirmation, I’d think of this as a date. And the lunch we had together before as well, if that wasn’t clear enough… I originally wanted to play it more subtly, but I realized that I should maybe change my ways for you to get me, so…  if you don’t want this to be a date, just tell me. I just thought I should tell you.”

Gasping at his words, you shake your head in clear disapproval, suddenly too worried about him getting the wrong message. “It’s– I was hoping… this was a date? I– I mean–”

The man in front of you visibly relaxes, giggling at your reaction. His heartfelt laughter makes the mood lighter again– the knot in your stomach loosening a little only for a bit, before the man catches you off guard with another question, his face inching dangerously close to you.

“Do you do kisses on first dates, then?”

Breath shaking, eyes shifting from his deep eyes to the plush skin of his lips, you mumble out a reply. “I mean… by what you just said, this is not really a first date, so…”

“Does that mean I can kiss you?” 

Gaping into his face, you nod– barely visible, but it’s there and it’s enough of a confirmation– before your eyes are shut in expectation and his soft lips land on yours, the sweetness of candy mixing in with the saccharine nature of his personality, gentle presses to your parted mouth making your knees week with bliss. Your hands hesitantly find their place on his neck, bringing him closer when he tries to pull away, earning yourself a smile from the male that you can feel in the kiss, the knot in your stomach fully disappearing and morphing into lightness and gentle fluttering. 

Feeling the man sucking on your bottom lip and gently pinching the skin of your hip that he’s still kneading in between his fingers, you squeal into the contact as he gently hosts you up onto the kitchen counter, lips attacking yours only breaking apart when the microwave goes off and you try to catch your breath in between hungry kisses. 

“Jaemin–”

“Hm?” he hums as his lips occupy themselves with your jaw instead, seeing as you’re meaning to talk right now and he’s a gentleman– he doesn’t want to break your words.

“The popcorn’s done,” you sigh, his lips only reaching further down your neck, not really paying attention to anything you’re saying, only responding with a content hum of acknowledgment. Seeing as he doesn’t really care– and neither do you, honestly, with his lips so magically attached to your skin– you let yourself indulge in the action again, tugging him back towards your face by his chin and connecting your lips once again, firm kisses exchanged between the two of you as his hands stay secure on the curve of your hips.

Fingers threading into the hair on his nape, you chuckle into the kiss when he talks in between, annoying you and amusing you at the same time– since you can’t get enough of his mouth, but still find his words kind of funny. “Oh look, it only took this long for you to realize I have a crush on you…”

Tired of his teasing, you shake your head in disbelief as you decide to move your lips away from his mouth, but rather pressing them along his jaw, just the way he did only a few seconds ago, shyly, yet determinately attaching yourself to his neck, pressing soft kisses steadily in between more hungrier ones, admiring the redness of his skin when you part away from him and see the wet spots you just attacked. “Can’t say it wasn’t worth it, though,” he hums as you seemingly find his soft spot, his whole body reacting as he squirms under you and moves you so you’re back against his lips, the contact more heated and rushed.

His hand slowly teases the edge of your shirt, cold fingertips drumming across your belly, and the further up he moves, the more goosebumps appear all over your back, pressing yourself closer to him on the uncomfortable kitchen counter.

“I know Yizhuo said no shagging on the kitchen counter, but I mean…” he hums as his hand reaches the hem of your bra, “what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, am I right?” 

Giggling at his comment, you momentarily contemplate to giving in to the temptation, but a loud noise coming from the living room is enough to wake you up back to your senses, the sound of the movie acting as a wake up call, causing your whole body to jump and shrug Jaemin’s hands off you; his swollen lips and flushed cheeks on your full display when you gape at him.

“The movie’s playing?” you ask.

“Yeah,” he nods, “forgot to tell you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me! I explained that you can’t pause it, now we have to load it again because rewinding it does the same,” you mourn, pushing him a little further away from you so you can jump off the counter and chime into the living room, his footsteps following you.

“I mean, I thought this was much more entertaining than the movie, but okay,” he says, causing you to playfully swat him on the shoulder before you close the tab and reopen it again, shoving him towards the kitchen instead.

“Go and get the popcorn out. I’ll load it back up, since you’re totally useless at the art of pirating,” you chime, rolling his eyes at him, battling back the grin that’s threatening to settle onto your features all while you’re trying to calm down the erratic beating of your heart.

And when the movie finally plays and you let yourself settle against Jaemin’s figure on the sofa, content with his arms around your middle and the occasional comments he lets out at the scenes rolling on the screen, you find yourself wondering how after all of this, this is the way you end up with him– spontaneously and totally unprepared.

A scene of Peter Parker appears on your laptop, the man in the red spider suit shooting webs to the top of the building to get MJ into safety, making a bubbly laugh heave out of Jaemin’s throat. “I wish I had those when I had to carry you drunk to the top floor,” he teases.

“Oh shut up, you did that to yourself,” you roll your eyes, reminding yourself of the day with much despair in your memory.

“And what was I supposed to do, leave you there?” he chuckles. “Besides, I quite liked the journey. Didn’t even mind that it took so long… it made the top floor feel like a big reward, you know,” he says, and when he looks at you from the corner of his eye, his orbs warming up like hot chocolate,

you swear there’s a metaphor– hell, a life lesson– somewhere in there.

[bittersweet-folder]

Lipstick stains for his pretty face ♡ (part 1?)

Pairing: Wen Junhui × fem reader (honestly this can be counted as a Wen Junhui × gender neutral reader too but there's a mention that reader is wearing a dress which some may not prefer but still letting y'all know)

Warning: nothing much just lots of kissing and little bit suggestive at the end.

I did proofread twice but if there's any grammatical errors lemme know!

Genre: fluff, a little suggestive at the end. | Song rec: Bambi by Baekhyun . | MASTERLIST

Word count: 798 | Let me know if y'all want a part 2🎀.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The date went well.

Jun unlocked the entrance door of the apartment you both shared.

"You go in first, madam" he said. A smirk laced on his lips afterwards. He couldn't take eyes off of you tonight. You looked exquisite clad in that black silky dress with that light makeup painted on your face. But now you also had his leather jacket on your shoulder. As soon as you entered the apartment which you both shared, he followed after you and locked the door. That followed his much awaited, impatient confession with him pinning you against the wall. Your eyes meet his.

"Can I kiss you? Please. You looked so gorgeous tonight, sweetheart" he had that sense of urgency laced in his voice while saying that.

"Yes. Of course" You smiled.

His hand touched and caressed your cheek making its way on the nape of your neck. Slowly, he closed the gap between your lips and his. His other arm went around your waist, closing the distance between your bodies. With your hands around his shoulders, your fingers find their way running through his hair. His lips were soft. He could slightly taste your lipstick. It was a pretty dark berry red shade which adorned your lips tonight. Your lips were moving in a perfect rhythm with his lips. You both were lost in the bliss of it as if it was not enough and you both craved more. The jacket dropped on the floor which made you both pull away from the kiss.

"Umm I think we should take this to the bedroom?" he asked.

You noticed the lipstick stain on his lips. Color smudging over his lip line a little bit. That's when something popped up in your head.

"Jun is it okay… if you take me to the bedroom and we do something I saw on YouTube a few days back" you hesitated at first but then said everything in one breath.

He let out a chuckle. "Of course we can my lady"

You let out a yelp in surprise when he lifted you up, proceeding towards the bedroom.

He made you straddle on his lap.

"So what is it?"

"Basically…" you kept your purse aside and searched up the video and showed it to him "this.. was what I was talking about.. can i do it? Pretty please Junhii" you said dragging on the last syllable.

"That's something new not gonna lie but yeah of course baby you can do that" his hands pulled you closer by your waist.

"Okay!" you grinned and took your lipstick out of your purse. After applying a fair amount of lipstick on your lips you kept your lipstick on the side. At first, he felt your soft, supple lips pressed on the corner of his lips, then it found its place on his cheek. Too many for the cheek because they look so plumped and adorable when he smiles. Then another one on the nose which made him giggle. Slowly you moved a bit below, now pressing kisses on his neck. Then you stopped to take a look at his face, which was now littered with plenty of red lip stains with a smirk laced on his lips.

"You look soo adorable" you said squealing.

"You've got lipstick on your nose" Jun smiled.

"You've got lip prints all over your pretty face" and then added "made by me" you said feeling content with the deed you did.

"So my face is pretty with the lip print or it's prettier without the lip print?"

You groaned "yahhh you're pretty either way!!"

"And you're my pretty," he moved dangerously close to your left ear and said in a lower voice "pretty girl" he said while moving one of his hands on your back, fiddling with the zipper of your dress. It felt warm yet ticklish when he whispered in your left ear and then you let out a breathy sigh.

"But wait-" You pulled away and then continued "we need to take a picture and then remove this off of your face I don't want you to have any kinda skin infection now" you said.

"Alright then! we're taking this to the shower baby!" Jun said as he lifted you up and walked towards the bathroom. "I hope you won't mind getting a little more wet than usual honey" he said, yet again, in a lower, deeper voice.

"I- I would honestly love it- a lot.." you stuttered. Your cheeks started burning up.

"Cat got your tongue now" Jun said, placing you on the countertop beside the sink, hands still placed on your waist now slowly moving to your lower back, massaging that area lightly.

It's gonna be a long night.

🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

A/n: hello everyone, it's been a while since I posted anything let alone write something. I just didn't wanted to force myself to write something. A lot has be going on and I gotta study too because my exams are coming up.

Thank you for your support🎀✨❤

Also I ain't tagging anyone here. This was literally a part of the performance unit imagine I was writing but then I thought of writing it as a separate fic. Next part would ofc be a smut fic☺🫣🫶 lemme know if y'all wanna be in the tag list for that.

[skzfairyyydreamz]

“DESERVED!”

Genre: Head cannon, Jealous girlfriend , crack/humor, NOT smut but suggestive.

Pairing: Bf!Chan x Fem! Reader

Synopsis: A night out with your boyfriend and friend group turns into a power trip in front of the entire club

© Skzfairyyydreamz - Plagiarism is a crime. Do not repost, alter, translate or copy without my consent.

it had to be 5 minutes max that you left Chris sitting alone just to go to the bathroom.. and yet within that short amount of time there was already some thirst bucket trying to push up on your man. Anyone could just glance and clearly see the uncomfortable aura oozing off him as he slowly but surely Scooted further and further to the other end of the club sofa. yet the pushy blonde woman fought to hold conversation with him.

Luckily for you though the bathroom was directly behind the section of the club you guys were sitting in and you walked out just in time to see more than enough for yourself.

“oh just look at this hot shit!?? … ugh pitiful ” you scoffed to yourself

you stood there for a second arms folded across your chest as you watched in disgust and disbelief at the fact that she clearly couldn’t take a hint. you knew your boyfriend was fine as hell but goddamn was she shameless?!

you decided it had been enough when you seen Chris scoot away from this woman for a third time letting out a very dry yet loud and awkward laugh as a distraction from her trying to put her hand on his thigh.

you knew Chris didn’t have a single mean bone in his body and you hated when these types of things happened because you were the one that always had to set people straight when you two went out. Even when it was the other way around and you were the one getting hit on by some weird guy, he ofc would step in and get all wolf gang alpha male if another man tried to get touchy with you but you always picked up on it before he did. you just were sharper than him when it came to these types of things in social settings.

you hated that Chris didn’t have the heart to flat out tell her to fuck off but..

“fuck it… i’ll do it myself” you rolled your eyes

damn near stomping in your heels you walked up at the speed of light behind your boyfriend and the woman who had been throwing herself at him. Timing was perfect. just as Chris tried to scoot away from her YET AGAIN you leaned your upper body over the back of the sofa forcing space between them two your hands eager to touch what (who) was yours . acrylic nails grazing his scalp as you grabbed a handful of hair at the base of his head and pulled back just the way you knew he liked it. just the way you knew would send a million shivers down his spine.

he knew it was you immediately from the familiar sent of your perfume causing him to relax into your touch on contact. Without even looking he allowed you to yank his head back as his eyes fluttered a bit with the tiniest gasp escaping his lips.

Never letting go of the grip you had on his hair you reached over with your free hand pulling his lollipop from his mouth to kiss him. And this was no ordinary kiss it was more like a filthy pornographic make out session. i’m talking real slow, wet and nasty open mouth kisses. Straight tonguing him DOWN right in front of the desperate woman.

she sat there jaw open, gawking in utter shock as you and your boyfriend locked lips right in front of her. completely ignoring her existence and in no rush at all, you took your time showing the woman and the entire club who Chris belonged to.

noticing how she continued to sit and stare, dumbfounded instead of immediately dismissing herself you decided to play along a bit more hiding the fact that your blood was boiling at this point.

Slowly pulling away from him with a smirk and a soft nibble to his bottom lip. Taking the hand that was previously in his hair dragging it down the side of his body to grab his hand slowly bringing it to your lips and kissing his knuckles while holding direct eye contact. Chris was a goner. Completely loosing his shit at how hot you were in that moment. (and always) You knew that he loved when you confidently asserted your dominance. it was your super power that had him wrapped around your finger and it was something that you used to your advantage pretty often. Chris always gave dom energy but he loved to see you take control more than anything. (chris is such a switch and i will DIE on this hill !!!)

you had this man down BAD.

the dom energy that was oozing off of you did more for him than that mini skirt you wore ever could. he was stunned almost speechless with butterflies doing backflips in his tummy..

“Yooo … ” he chuckled in a low almost seductive tone “behave yourself mama” he smirked

the look in his eyes held nothing but pure lust and admiration for you and never once did he look away or even blink as he watched you walk from around the sofa.

“don’t tell me what to do, i make the rules” you smirk with your sassy reply as you then put his lollipop in your own mouth.

“mmm” he looked at you exactly like this licking his lips bringing the bottom one in between his teeth as he grabbed your hand to pull you into his lap.

“anyways so who’s this babe??” you say turning to the woman giving her a fake stiff smile

Chris knew exactly what you were doing and he just sat there and left the cards to unfold while trying to hide behind you to conceal the laugh he was holding in.

the blonde woman was pissed but embarrassed more than anything. “get a fucking room why don’t you” she rolled her eyes.

“learn to take a hint and stop hitting on taken men why dont you??” you bite back with a wink.

“fuck you!!”

“fuck OFF whore!!” you shooed her away as she stormed off

Chris finally letting go of the laughter he was holding in while letting you and the other woman hash out your rude remarks to each other. “babe you didn’t have to call her a whore tho”

“Deserved!” you sat back arms crossed with a pout making Chris laugh even harder at your jealous antics.

“yes ma’am i know that’s motherfuckin right!” yeji sat down snapping her fingers as if she was at a jazz club

“10’s across the board! cleared that bitch!” Ryujin cackled falling onto the sofa clapping her hands in pure amusement.

“that was intense asf y/n !! i thought yall was bout to get it crackin right here in front of the whole damn club” Hyunjin added while setting down a tray of drinks on the table.

“let em know bookie keep these hoes off our man!”

“jisung…” you pointed at him raising your eyebrows while holding back your laughter “don’t start with me”

“So you all collectively watched my suffering and none of you fuckers came to my rescue!?” chris yelled at your friends

“Hey hey hey i went to get my vape from the car!” jisung defended himself putting his hands up.

“crackhead” you replied under your breath but ofc he somehow still heard it over the loud music. he responded with a mocking “glare” as he gave you the finger🖕🏼

“dont even look at me i was getting drinks!” Said hyunjin

“WE we’re getting drinks.” Yeji chimmed in

Ryujin sipping said drink in her own world before realizing Chris was looking at her waiting for an answer

“….. i’m just a girl” raising her free hand in defense

“fuck you all actually” chris gave up as everyone burst into laughter as the night continued.

~~~~

taglist: @hanniemylovelyquokka @milknhoneyracha @tinyelfperson @jiisungllvr @imastraykidsfan @simpracha @turtledove824 @laylasbunbunny @armystay89 @eclipsemina @4ln-stay8

[paintingwhiteceilings]

can you make exo members as your childhood best friend? and with fem reader please! love your writing <3

❃EXO members as your childhood best friend❃

A/N: Hiii thank you so much for this ask! I am so sorry that it has taken me months to finally respond to it :’)  I spent the last few months birthing a 35.000-word, 65-page thesis so I didn’t have any time/energy left to do any creative writing. Regardless, thank you for this cute ask! It was fun reminiscing over my memories with my childhood friend that I have known since I was four months old. Thank you for being so patient with me the very long wait, hopefully, this makes up for it!

Xiumin/Minseok:

✾ Xiumin and you became friends during recess in primary school. He noticed your classmates constantly picked you last whenever you played a game together during recess. Thus, whenever he was chosen to be a team captain, he made sure to pick you first, resulting in you two becoming close friends.

✾ Your mom adores him; heck, she prefers him over you. Xiumin has always been the perfect son; he got perfect grades, is polite, is handsome, cleans up after himself, etc. Whenever you call her, she asks whether you can pass the phone to him so she can ask her favourite child how he is doing.

✾ He is a very consistent friend. Regardless of how busy his schedule is, he makes sure to drop by your place regularly. If he can't visit you in person, he will have a four-hour phone call with you instead, where you two talk about everything and anything happening in your lives.

✾ At some point during your friendship, he had a massive crush on you. He never told you -and you might not have noticed it- but it was incredibly obvious to everyone around you as they watched him follow you with puppy dog eyes. Your mother still holds out hope that you will end up together.

Suho/Junmyeon:

✾ You guys became friends all the way back in pre-school when Suho noticed you were having trouble learning how to tie your shoelaces. Five-year-old Suho wasted no time and offered to help you out, patiently teaching you how to do it. You have stuck together ever since, remaining close throughout your teenage years.

✾ Suho dragged you through secondary school; if it hadn't been for him functioning as your tutor throughout your educational career, you would not have had the grades you ended up graduating with. Nowadays, he mostly gives you advice on work and will look over contract details with you when needed.

✾ He was 1000% your wealthy, rich best friend growing up. His childhood birthday parties were incredibly lavish; he would take all his friends to theme parks when he was younger, his parents paying for every expense. Even nowadays, he never misses a chance to spoil you rotten, taking you on already-paid-for trips whenever he is able to.

✾ You guys have stayed at each other's places so often that you call each other's parents mom and dad. It is not unusual for one of you to have dinner with the other's parents without the other present.  

✾ Compared to the other members, he is less consistent with meetups, not minding it too much when a lot of time passes between phone calls. You can go months without talking to each other before sending the other a random TikTok or stopping by each other's place unannounced.

Baekhyun:

✾ The two of you have a crazy story of how you met. You met Baekyhun shortly after moving into the same street. At the time, you were convinced mermaids were real, so you decided it was perfectly reasonable to dive into the river running next to your house to introduce yourself to them without actually being able to swim. Luckily for you, Baekyhun happened to be playing nearby and jumped in after you without a second thought, rescuing you from drowning. He still holds it over you whenever he needs a favour.  

✾ You have so many weird stories of when you were growing up together. You two would constantly get into trouble, most of it initiated by Baekyhun. It got to the point where your teachers decided to put you in different classes to prevent you two from pulling pranks during class.

✾ Your place is his place, and vice versa. On one occasion, you accidentally switched apartments; Baekyhun had gone over to yours whilst you had visited him. You still complain that he should cover your grocery bills as he tends to eat most of the food in your fridge whenever he is over.

✾ Baekyhun is such a loyal friend; he will always have your back and drop everything to come running when you tell him you need him. Baekyhun has friends he has known for over 20 years; he is a friend for life.

Chen/Jongdae:

✾ Your dad and his dad were best friends, introducing you to one another when you were two years old in the hopes you would become best friends, too. At first, you two were painfully shy, hiding behind your fathers to stare at the other strange kid, but after leaving you two alone for an hour, you two became quick friends.

✾ He acts very much like a brother. Chen can be super annoying, teasing you whenever he gets a chance, but he will drop everything and anything when you call him. He will not let anyone else -not even his members- tease you; it is only okay if he does it.

✾ You two give each other the best advice. You guys regularly call each other to talk about whatever problems and hardships you are going through. 

✾ Chen wasted no time in asking you to be one of the bridesmaids at his wedding. God knows how much you contributed to the two getting together and how much time you spent helping Chen plan the proposal. 

✾ Chen and his wife immediately called you to ask whether you wanted to be the godmother the moment they discovered she was pregnant. He cannot wait for you to have a child of your own so they can become best friends, too.

Chanyeol:

✾ You two met in primary school when you were six, and your teacher decided to have you sit together. Chanyeol got super competitive when he discovered you had gotten a higher grade than him on a spelling test, resulting in a friendly rivalry. To this day, you two get along perfectly well, but the moment that grades or board games are involved, a war will break out.

✾ He 1000% bullied you into playing video games with him. Chanyeol even bought you a gaming laptop, trying to convince you to join him. Regardless of his schedule or location, you have a regular game night where you play random multiplayer games, affectionately yelling at each other.

✾ You developed a tiny crush on Chanyeol when you first saw him after he got his growth spurt. It did not last very long, however; you remembered he was the same Chayeol who once ate a crayon on a dare and puked the contents of his stomach all over your shoes.

✾ Chanyeol is the worst wingman. He is very protective over you, and, according to his opinion, nobody is good enough to date you. Whenever you go out drinking, he will lurk behind you, attempting to intimidate whoever dares to come up to you. This man might be secretly in love with you and absolutely in denial about his feelings.

✾ Chanyeol once wrote a song about your friendship, but he has not yet made up his mind on whether he wants to release it. Part of him feels he should save it for a solo album.

D.O./Kyungsoo:

✾ You met Kyungsoo as he is the son of your mother's best friend. His mother had asked yours to introduce you two as Kyungsoo was a painfully shy child, and she wanted him to have more friends his age. Initially, he was quiet around you, hiding behind his mother whenever she brought him over. However, he slowly came out of his shell the more you played together.  

✾ You two didn’t attend the same schools but remained good friends nonetheless. Whenever school would end, you would rush to meet up underneath a big old tree in the park near your house. You would sit there for hours, talking about your day or doing your homework together, until it got dark.

✾ Kyungsoo never told you, but you were the main reason why he pursued a career in acting and singing. You never failed to hype him up, giving him the confidence to put himself out there. He fondly remembers the countless karaoke nights where you would be his biggest fan, praising his skills when the song would end.

✾ He definitely developed a crush on you somewhere during your teenage years. Kyungsoo never felt the need to act on it, finding your friendship too precious to risk anything. His friends were very aware of it, though, teasing him whenever he would rush out the moment school ended to meet up with you.

Kai/Jongin:

✾ You two met on a playground when you were three years old. Someone had pushed you off the wigwam, and Kai, seeing you cry, stood up for you as much as a three-year-old can stand up for someone else. He refused to leave your side after, playing with you until it was time to go home. You two have been close friends ever since.

✾ He insisted on you taking dance classes with him, thinking it was fun to have something to do together. It became your regular weekly meetup point, enabling you to stay connected even when you went to different schools. You would show up an hour before class would start, just so you could talk without being scolded by the teacher, and would take your sweet time walking home, squeezing out as much time as you could.  

✾ You recognize that Kai is incredibly handsome whenever you see him perform, but all you are able to see when he thrusts his hips is the same kid who once fell into a pond when he was collecting a bunch of rocks because he thought they were pretty and cried over a feather because he felt bad for the bird that lost it. Having so many embarrassing childhood memories of him is why you are still sane and not drooling over him.

✾ Kai bombards you with messages throughout the day; you once had over fifty notifications from him as he sent you every video and photo of a dog or cat he stumbled upon.

Sehun:

✾ You and Sehun met during daycare and initially did not get along whatsoever. You two got into a fight when Sehun stole the stuffed animal you were playing with, resulting in the caretaker putting the both of you in time-out. Weirdly enough, you bonded over your time in toddler jail, becoming inseparable after you were set free.

✾ Sehun and you constantly bicker with one another, having no problem calling the other one out or, as you like to put it, keeping the other person humble. To those who know you well, they liken your dynamic to that of an old married couple. However, people who do not know your friendship tend to assume you hate each other.

✾ Sehun gets insanely jealous when you hang out with his members or other friends of his. You are his friend, and as much as he likes his friends getting along, the bratty part of him hates when you do not have time for him. He will become incredibly whiny when too much time has passed between meetups and when he feels like you are ditching him for your friends.

✾ Sehun is your favourite gossip buddy. He will randomly call you to tell you whatever drama he witnessed or caught wind of. If calling is not an option, he will instead send you a thirty-minute voice note explaining the situation in full detail. Your chat is basically a podcast where you update one another about people you do not know and drama that does not concern you.

Masterlist

[marshmallow-phd]

A Manor of Shadow and Blood

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won’t let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

The grand hall was lit as bright as midday. Every surface was polished to perfection, reflecting the candlelight at a greater force. Brilliant brass and gold surrounded you as you made your way through the dancing couples, their movements in perfect sync. Wrapped in each other's arms, they spin around without a care for your wandering presence. 

While all who surrounded you were decorated in blacks and whites, your own dress was the color of freshly spilled blood. The heavy skirts that hug from your waist made it difficult to navigate the ballroom. Their fullness was of an older fashion, one that maybe your grandmother would have worn in her youth. The dropped shoulders left you exposed, your skin chilled despite the amount of bodies in here. 

You kept navigating the dance floor, on the look out for something, though you didn’t know what. Then you felt the familiar burn of eyes boring into your back, which sent a shiver down your spine. You whirled around to find the source, the dress brushing at your feet with the sudden motion. Through the crowd, you spotted Baekhyun leaning against the wall. With a single finger, he beckoned you over. And you obeyed. 

Breaking through the sea of dancers, you took in his elegant suit, the hems lined with gold thread that shimmered against black velvet. 

"You shouldn't dance alone," he purred. Arms crossed over his chest, he smirked at you with a grin even the devil wouldn't wear.

"I have no partner," you retorted. He held out a lazy hard. Hardly the romantic gesture. "No, thank you." 

"How about me?" asked a sweet voice in your ear. 

You turned your head to find Junmyeon at your back. He laid a soft hand on your hip to keep you from escaping out of propriety. When you didn’t shove him away, the hand slyly moved to your stomach, pulling your bare shoulder blades into his chest. With the fingers of his left hand, he tilted your chin towards him. 

"Am I a suitable partner?" 

No answer passed your lips. You could think of nothing to say. The thought of him twirling you around the dance floor was not… unpleasant. 

Junmyeon neither needed nor cared for a reply. He dipped his head to your shoulder and pressed a kiss to the skin. A small gasp passed your lips. And then he pressed another. More and more as he climbed up the curve of your neck. Heat rose from every inch of you as you sighed into the affectionate touches. You relaxed into his touch, welcoming each new contact of his lips. 

"It's rude not to share, Junmyeon.”

Your attention snapped back to Baekhyun, who you had forgotten was there. He pushed himself off the wall and stepped closer to you so he stood in front of the minor. 

No, not a mirror. There was no reflection. 

Except… there was. The mirror reflected the floor, the ceiling, the candlelight. You. 

But not Baekhyun. Not Junmyeon. And not the dancers still spinning behind you. 

Fingers snaked through your hair and pulled your head back, your vulnerable neck exposed. From the gallery above, Kyungsoo watched as elongated fangs flashed behind Junmyeon’s lips and plunged into your neck. 

*****

You woke with a start, the blanket flying off of you as you sat up in a fury. Sweet drenched every pore of your skin. Your day old dress clung to your skin in a way that felt suffocating. Each breath was a struggle for your lungs. 

Vampires. The nightmarish tale that had kept you up as a child until you were convinced they weren't real turned out to be true. But how could they be real? 

Creatures of the night. Blood drinkers. Horror stories meant to keep children from wandering about after dark. 

Curling your legs to your chest and encasing them in your arms, you tried to think of a way out. To escape. With what strength you possessed, you slid off the bed and walked over to the window. The sun, so bright and full of life, was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. Night–their domain–was hours away. If the legends were true, then they would all be asleep at this moment. Any risk that was to be taken had to be taken now. 

After changing into a sturdier dress, you retrieved your still mud-covered boots and, keeping them in one hand, you carefully pushed away the pathetic barrier and snuck out of the room. 

Each step was taken with unmatched caution. You tested every board with your foot before fully committing. Any squeak of a floor or stumble down a stair could alert them to your escape. But by the grace of a miracle, you made it to the front door. Fingers trembling, you pulled on the boots and tied up the laces before opening the door only wide enough for you to slink through. 

The next breath taken outside was like the first breath of life. But there was no time to take it in. 

Gathering your skirts in your grip, you took off into the trees. The dirt was dry and sturdy under your feet. Branches and leaves crunched with the weight of your boots. A lady’s delicacy was out of the question as you ran without abandon. You didn't know what direction you were running. But vampires needed blood to survive and they weren’t drinking yours. And Jongdae had brought those buns from a bakery, not their own kitchen. You doubted any of them knew how to cook. That meant a village or town had to be nearby. Junmyeon had lied about the isolation of the manor. If you just kept going, you could find freedom. 

However, your stamina was running out. This was never your preferred activity. Your lungs and throat burned in an unfamiliar way. The sun still shined above. A short respite could be spared. 

You leaned against a tree trunk for support. In your boots your feet pulsed. Only now did you realize that you had run away without food or water. Not knowing where the kitchen was located, you didn't have time to waste on it. You could survive, you told yourself. Just a little farther. The town couldn’t be too far. Unless you were headed in the wrong direction. 

A rustling rippled through the silent forest. You snapped to attention, trying to find the source. 

“The wind,” you gasped between ragged breaths. “It had to be the wind.” 

A low, rumbling growl said it wasn't wind. 

In the distance, large silhouettes emerged. Wolves. Nearly a dozen of them. 

You ran as fast as your crying legs could take you. With their superior nature built for the hunt, the wolves caught up to you within seconds. Their growls and howls grew louder and more threatening behind you. Running from the manor had been easy. Running from the wolves was to be your end. 

Powerful paws slammed into your back. You were thrown to the ground, rolling across the ground as a scream ripped at your throat. The momentum stopped you on your stomach. Hair covered your face, but you could still see your death through the strands. 

Wolves of gray and black gathered in a half moon circle. They had their prey in perfect position. The middle wolf pounced. All you had time to do was throw up your arms to protect your face. Claws raked across your forearm. Another scream echoed through the merciless trees. The wolf landed on the other side of you with pride. Now you were surrounded. A second wolf leapt. 

A blur appeared in front of you and collided with the wolf midair. The two bodies tumbled across the forest floor. A human and the wolf. 

Not a human. 

Chanyeol. The wolf trapped within his grasp, Chanyeol tightened his grip–

Crack. 

The wolf fell limply to the ground, its tongue hanging from its jaw. 

The others appeared seconds later. Not understanding what they were up against, the wolves let you go to attack the newest threat. 

"Are you alright?" Junmyeon knelt down in front of you. His hands were outstretched as if you were the wild animal on the verge of attack. Behind him, snarls and whimpers told of the fight–and who was winning. Despite not answering him, he caught sight of your bleeding arm. "We need to get back to the manor." 

He didn't ask permission before picking you up into his arms and sprinting through the forest. Everything blurred past you, your loose hair whipping at your face. He burst through the manor doors and didn't stop until he was able to set you down in the largest chair. Once you were safe, he fell to his knees, only his palms keeping him upright. The others soon stumbled in behind him, heaving and collapsing onto the floor. Only then did you notice the smoke floating up from each of their backs. Patches of burnt, red skin sizzled on their knuckles and faces. Anything that had been exposed to the sun. 

"Baekhyun," Junmyeon gasped. 

"I already have it." Kyungsoo came into the parlor with bottles stacked in his arms. He quickly passed them around, waiting until the others were quenching their thirst before pulling the cork out of his own bottle and chugging the contents. 

With his bottle empty, Junmyeon tossed it to the side and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Red smears stained the ivory fabric. You shrank back in the chair as he turned towards you. 

"What hell were you thinking!" He growled. "I warned you about the wolves!" 

"Junmyeon, she's shaken up enough," Jongdae defended. Before your eyes, his burnt skin healed to be like new.

"She could have been killed!" 

Your head was pounding. He was… concerned about your life? The legends said that the sun was a vampire's deadliest enemy. It was why they thrived in the darkness. But they had all risked a final death to come after you. 

"Did you hear me scream?" you whispered. You could barely feel your own lips moving. All heads tuned to you. 

Yixing was the one to answer. "Yes. We all heard you." 

"Why were you out there?" Sehun asked aggressively.

You sucked in a sharp breath. There was no escaping the truth now. You stared at Jongdae. "I figured it out.” 

Baekhyun laughed. "At least we don't have to walk around delicately anymore." 

"When exactly did you do so?" Minseok mocked.

"Then you should remember what I said to you before was true. Harm would not come to you within these walls." Junmyeon crouched down next to the chair. His eyes... there was something behind the darkness that tugged at your still wildly beating heart. "I know you were running away. And if you're desperate to get away enough to get yourself killed, then the choice can be yours. We can send you on your way with every provision. Or," he cleared his throat, "you stay here. With us." 

A choice? He was giving you a choice?

Your gaze drifted over the faces that stared back at you. Even Kyungsoo refused to look away while he waited. There was almost a plea in his expression, a subtle beg. But was it to stay? Or for you to run as far away as possible? 

Junmeyon took your attention away when he picked up your wounded arm with delicate fingers. His pleading was much more clear. 

To leave would be the better choice. The more sane choice. But what would happen afterwards? You could claim being lost in the woods. With evidence of the carriage and the missing driver, what else could they believe? After a few days on bed rest, you would be back by your aunt's side, following her every whim. Including indulging her on a "perfectly adequate" suitor because you had no other option, no other path. That suitor who would then become your future. But you didn't want it. You refused to give in to it. 

Already within these few days, you were… changed in a way. They might not be human, but these men would forever be burned into your memory. Who could move you with music the way Chanyeol had? What silent strength could match the aura of Junmyeon? You had been promised that none of them would harm you. The chance for something extraordinary was right in front of you. The kind of chance you had only read about. It just had to be taken.

"I think… I think I want to stay."

*****

The moon became an ever changing friend. You hardly saw the sun anymore. Like the men you had given yourself over to, you lived under the stars. It was oddly beautiful. This time was often forgotten about by you and many others. The night was only a background to your time within your dreams. But now it was your entire world. 

Every evening, you awoke to the dying orange light of the day. Breakfast always waited for you outside the door. It was the rule that no one broke; none could enter your room without explicit permission from you. Those walls remained your safe haven when things grew too overwhelming. 

Despite your decision to stay, discovering that other creatures walked the earth required a step away once in a while. Especially now, with you aware of their true nature, the men were refusing to hold back. 

Dropping from the roof, running around with spectacular speed, and lifting objects that ten men couldn't hold. It was remarkable. Except for the diet and inability to walk in the sun, the… condition seemed more like a blessing.

"You're rather thoughtful this evening,” Jongdae commented. He walked beside you like he did every twilight. 

After you finished your breakfast, you met Jongae at the front doors to go on a walk around the manor grounds. Often others would join you as well. Junmyeon was the most frequent, though Yixing, Changed, and Jongin made many appearances over the past week and a half. Boundaries were constantly tested, but one word from you and they retreated.

"I guess you could say I am thoughtful tonight," you finally sighed. You hadn’t realized that you were being so obviously quiet. Funny, since you would have thought Jongdae would enjoy the silence. You typically had many questions or comments of your own to make. 

"Should I go steal a penny from Sehun?" 

You laughed. "I'd like to think my thoughts are worth more than a single penny.”

"They must be if you've become so skilled in deflecting from them." He crossed over to block your path. Gaze narrowed, he studied your carefully guarded expression. "What are you thinking about so hard? Regretting your decision to stay already?" 

"No," you insisted. "Not at all."

He raised an eyebrow that simply asked, "Then what?" 

"Do you always stay here?" you countered. "At the manor, I mean." 

"We travel," Jongdae answered with a nod. "Not too often. It’s a bit difficult, you see."

"But we like traveling north.” Minseok dropped from who-knew-where, landing with barely bent knees and hands folded behind his back. "In the winter, the night lasts longer. Junmyeon has a small hunting lodge up there. 

A hunting lodge? "Then why do you stay here?" 

Minsoek shrugged. "This manor is bigger." 

"Having nine of us in one household can be a bit volatile,” Jongdae added. He stepped aside to continue the stroll. "We need the room to separate so we don't level a building." 

Your foot caught on an invisible lump in the grass. "You could destroy a building while fighting?" 

Minseok snickered as he caught your stumble and helped steady your stance. His hand lingered at your waist until your sharpened glare made him remove it. "We haven’t crumbled a wall in a few years."

You scoffed at the casual tone. "What sort of fight caused that?" 

"I can't remember." Minseok leaned forward slightly to look at Jongdae for help. But he didn't seem to recall either. 

"Who knows what started it between Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.”

Your mouth dropped open in shock. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had fought over something to the point of destroying a wall to crumble? It didn't feel plausible. Neither seemed like the hot-headed sort. You wanted to know the igniting incident so desperately. 

Both Jongdae and Minseok suddenly whipped their heads towards the front of the manor. 

"What is it?" you asked when neither offered an explanation. 

"Junmyeon's calling for us." Jongdae scooped you up into his arms without warning. At your confused expression, he explained, "We're not leaving you alone out here." Remember your last adventure in the woods lingered in the silence.

The short lived wind whipped at your hair that you still wore loose to cover your neck. As soon as he stopped running, you wiggled out of his arms to be back on your feet. Everyone else was already gathered just outside the door. Several eyed you and Jongdae with suspicious and annoyed glares. You took a step away from him for some separation. 

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon called everyone to attention. "We have to go hunting–real hunting. Now, normally, we all go together, but now that we have our guest," he nodded towards you, "some will have to stay behind with her until the first party… comes back." 

"If you all need to go,” you couldn't quite speak the word feed, "then I'll be alright. For a few hours, at least." You weren't sure how long this excursion would take.

Junmyeon's features softened. "No. We'll go in groups. Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Minseok and I will go first. We shouldn't be gone long." He reached out and patted the top of your head before disappearing into the trees. Kyungsoo gave no goodbye as he followed suit. The last two playfully shoved each other while taking off. 

"Come." Yixing took hold of your hand and started pulling you inside. "I want to show you something."

"But–" You had wanted to ask Jongdae a question, but the traitor was already gone, off somewhere to do something he would never tell you about. So, you let Yixing take you into the manor and up the main staircase at the end of the hallway. At least he let you stay on your own feet instead of insisting on going at his speed. 

Going down an unfamiliar hallway, you were reminded how big this place was and how much you still had to explore. The men occupied most of your time, vying for your attention and pulling you this way and that so you didn’t have much time on your own. It was odd and overwhelming at times. 

During your seasons in town, you were hardly a well-sought after prize. There were prettier girls with grander dowries. You had accepted that fact. Now you were the center of a courting dance to which you knew none of the steps and possessed endless partners. 

Yixing paused in front of a door that looked identical to all the others. He kept his fingers tight around yours as he slowly turned the knob with his free hand. The door swung open. 

The gasp inhaled through your parted lips wasn't enough to convey your awe. 

Maps of all the places you'd heard of and dozens more you hadn't covered the walls like homemade wallpaper. Slipping out of Yixing's grip, you walked further into the study, spinning slowly around to take it all in. The maps were varying degrees of tan, some as light as his skin, others as dark as animal leather. 

Instead of bookshelves, doorless cabinets waist high lined three of the walls. Their squared shelves were stuffed full of parchment and ink and quills. A lone sketcher's desk sat in the middle, an unfinished drawing laying against the tilted surface. 

"What is this place?"

"It's my personal study," Yixing answered as he laid a hand on the edge of the desk. "Kyungsoo gave it to me after I had accidentally taken over one of the parlors." 

Your awe increased ten-fold. Your initial assumption was that he was a collector, not the original artist. "You drew all of these?" 

He nodded almost... shyly. "I did. I was a cartographer. Before." 

"Before?" You understood what he meant, but you didn't know how to ask for the story. 

Turning his eyes to the parchment, he pinched it between his fingers. "I didn't just love traveling. I loved capturing it on paper. I wanted to make these places into art, but not like every other painting. I wanted them to be perfect. Exact replicas as if you were staying at them from God’s point of view. And I wanted to be the best. I couldn't be, though. I wasn’t good enough." 

You moved closer to him, entranced in the story. "What happened?"

A rueful smile tightened at his lips. "I was given a chance to become perfect. What I didn't know was that I traded everyone knowing my maps for the talent to make it happen." Sorrow rolled from him like the tide warning of an oncoming storm. 

Feeling the pull to comfort him, you reached out and covered his fidgeting hand with your own steady fingers.

"People will be able to know your work some day," you whispered. "I’m sure of it." 

Perhaps you had been a bit too forward, a bit too open. 

Yixing moved gracefully forward to eliminate most of the space between you. A smooth thumb that once must have been calloused when it was human caressed the edge of your jaw. His flickering eyes made intentions obvious. 

Clearing your throat, you stepped out of the touch. "Why isn't this one finished?" You pointed to the drawing on the desk. It was an aerial view of the manor, with the top half of the parchment containing the beginning edges of the garden hedges. Disappointed, Yixing sighed and went along with your distraction. 

"I'm still working out the maze. It is intricate. Much more than I was prepared for." 

"Goodness." You were thankful that you hadn't wandered in there yet, especially on your own.

"Yixing.” 

Both of you turned towards the door to find Sehun standing under the frame. 

"Yes, Sehun?" Yixing said through somewhat gritted teeth. The young vampire wasn't phased. 

"I need to speak with you." 

"Fine." None of you moved. 

Sehun looked at you with a pointed glare.

You received the hint loud and clear. "I'll leave you, then.” 

With more relief than you cared to admit, you scurried out of the room and down the hallway. 

Around the corner, you pressed your back against the wall and forced yourself to take deep breaths that filled your lungs to capacity. Panic had been the response at Yixing's closeness. You didn't mean for that to be the response. You didn't want to be closed off to any of them. But you couldn't help it. Maybe it was merely the closeness of the situation. 

Giving yourself a small amount of grace, you pushed off the wall and made your way downstairs. So used to your time being absorbed by the men that you weren't sure what to do with yourself. Two of the ones that remained behind were currently occupied. As for the three others, they could have been anywhere. 

You wandered around the main floor with a fleeting hope that one would come to find you. Then you saw them. A row of grand doors evenly spaced along the north wall called you forward.

The grand ballroom took your breath away. Not so dissimilar to the one in your dream, though this one’s lack of warmth and light left you heartbroken. Memories of dancing figures and lively music haunted these walls. In the corner, you could imagine a small orchestra strumming their instruments in delight. 

You walked to the center where dozens of pairs used to twirl and bow and embrace each other in time with the melody. Ghostly laughter echoed in your ears. What had once been  bright and golden and full of life was dull, dark, and covered in cobwebs that swayed in the breeze of unknown origin. 

Glancing around, you confirmed that you were truly alone before closing your eyes, lifting your arms, and began a soft hum. 

You danced with an invisible partner in the fashion that your grandfather had taught you as a small child. It was more intimate than the choreographed dances currently popularized. You had always imagined your first ball like this, instead of the disappointment you really experienced. You had pictured a boy you didn’t know catching your eye. As the music was struck up, he laid a hand on your waist.

Just like now. 

Hm. Your imagination was running wild, even pretending the weight of a palm was there on your lower back. And now in your lifted left hand. 

No. That wasn’t your imagination. 

Your eyes snapped open. 

Jongin had taken the place of your imagined partner. He smiled down at you with a feline smirk as his hands tightened around you, refusing to let you slip away. There was no choice in leaving this musicless dance. You had stopped humming but he continued to whirl you around the marble floor. He controlled the dance, in charge of every step. He led with an expertise he shouldn’t have possessed–if he were a man of this age. 

In one final move, he slipped his arm fully around your waist, pulling you so close that no room remained between you. Without breaking the spin, he lifted you from the floor as if you were no more than a kitten and whirled you around like the heroine from your favorite novel.

When the spin came to a close, he set you back on your feet, but didn’t let go. Your lungs heaved from the exercise–and from the way your bodies pressed together. Each rise of your chest brought you even closer to Jongin. He kept your gaze like a stablehand trying to calm a wild horse. His right hand slipped from your fingers, softly tracing the delicate inside of your arm. The touch left behind a fire you couldn’t explain. A cold, simmering fire.

He cupped your jaw as his eyes drifted down to your lips. This was a different reaction to Yixing’s wandering gaze. Not panic, but something similar. 

Jongin held you in place as he leaned down, his lips pressing gently into the corner of yours. The thin breath in your lungs hitched. He lifted his lips only to find a new patch of skin. The delicate skin covering your pulse. Every muscle in your body froze. He kissed the skin softly. Surely, he could feel the race of your blood. 

“Whenever you need a partner,” he said in a hush against your neck, “just whisper my name.”

And then, he was gone. 

You stared off at the empty path left behind Jongin. The sheer hubris.

His name lingered on your lips, wondering if he would really come back like he said. But you kept the whisper inside and left the ballroom just the same. 

[xotaemintol]

Hi! Can you write a newly married baekhyun and his wife? She noticed she is pregnant but she is not ready and scared. She is happy and anxious. Baekhyun trying to help her. Thank you. ❤

SORRY FOR THE WAIT I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!! I’m a little rusty with fluff and exo fics but it’ll get better so bare with me plz 😭

“Love Is So Nice”

Word count: 1871

When you first missed your period you thought nothing of it, you were freshly married and too excited about your new life to come to worry yourself about anything too serious, so you just assumed that it could be because you were so stressed during the time leading up to your wedding. But then soon after your breasts began to feel strangely tender, every time you brushed against something or when Baekhyun would playfully come behind you and cheekily slip his hands up your shirt, you'd find yourself flinching at the contact. Baekhyun noticed the change and asked if you were okay but since you still had no worries, you just smiled happily and said: "I'm fine, my period must be coming soon," And it was easy for him to brush it off too since it’s not impossible for something like that to naturally happen.

But then you began to feel light head so easily, every time you'd stand you'd stumble a little, you'd complain about it being hotter than usual, and you couldn't go more than three hours without having to pee. The final straw was when you woke up early in the morning from a burning in the back of your throat, you rushed to the bathroom and threw up immediately, leaning against the toilet as you panted and your eyes welled with tears. Unfortunately, since Baekhyun was busy with his comeback with EXO, he had left earlier in the day so he wasn't there to pat your back as you dry heaved into the toilet. After another week of this and a slight weight gain that only you seemed to notice, you decided that you'd go to the hospital to see what was wrong, you thought that it would be best to go when he was busy so you didn't worry him too much since you were sure that you could've just got a stomach bug from something you may have eaten and the next day when he left for a photo shoot you were off to the ER.

Sitting in the waiting room you were nervously gripping your purse as you waited for them to call your name, every second passing had you sweating bullets and the second they called your name your heart began to pound. You stood up and quickly entered the room hoping that you'd be in and out fast enough to beat him home since he told you that he'd only be gone for a few hours, but when you told the nurse your symptoms and he gave you a look of concern so you could tell that you'd be there for a while. You didn't realize why until you were asked to take a pregnancy test though, as soon as you heard that your eyes went wide and you stared at the nurse in disbelief.

"Pregnancy?" You held it in your hand with mouth slightly agape, "I...I'm sure I’m just sick, are you sure this is necessary?" He nodded and smiled at you kindly, you didn't fight with him though, instead, you went into the restroom and nervously took the test. As you stood there waiting for something to appear you stare at the ceiling feeling embarrassed that you didn't think of this yourself, you knew that something was off when you missed your period, and you were upset that it didn't hit you sooner to take a pregnancy test. It only took ten minutes for it to appear, those two lines that confirmed the nurse's suspicions and made you feel weak in the knees. After running a few tests and making sure that you were healthy and setting up an appointment for next week, you were on your way home.

The entire ride back your mind was racing, you didn't know what you'd do or what you'd tell Baekhyun, you knew that you had to tell him but you just didn't know how or when. Immediately you began to wonder if he even wanted kids, asking yourself if he'd be upset that you weren't more concerned and if he'd be happy about having kids right after getting married. In your mind there was no way he'd be excited about having kids so soon, not even a whole year away from the wedding let alone three months, you felt like this would either make or break your new marriage, but decided to tell him as soon as he got back home. When you pulled up though, his car was already parked there, seeing that he was already home made you second guess your decision and as you got on the elevator your eyes began to water.

"What am I going to do?" You muttered to yourself as you quickly wiped your tears, "What am I supposed to do?" Your lip quivered and you felt lightheaded and sleepy again, but you didn't want him to notice that anything was wrong, so as you stood outside the door you mentally prepared yourself and took a deep breath before opening it. Right away you could hear him laughing along with the sound of the tv on, as you brace yourself you can feel your eyes begin to water again. Worried that he’d react negatively or hide how he truly feels and pretend to be happy you begin to overthink, you can hear him in your head pretending to be happy and see him a year from now leaving you and saying that he never wanted to have kids so soon, but the sound of his concerned voice brings you out of your overwhelming thoughts. “Y/N?” He said coming to the door to greet you, “Are you okay? I called your name twice now.”

As you looked at him with teary eyes your lip quivered, and your knees go weak as you realize how silly it was for you to worry about him loving you less or leaving you, from the moment you began dating Baekhyun has loved you dearly, he’s supported you through all of your problems in life and has been by your side through thick and thin, of course, he wouldn’t get upset.

“Aw baby,” He coo’s as he opens his arms he motions for you to come to him, and you do, finally letting yourself cry as he wraps his warm arms around your body. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He asked becoming worried as you sob into his chest, for a while you don’t say anything. You feel too overwhelmed by emotions to begin to explain and even though you know that it’ll be fine if you tell him, you still feel so afraid it’s such a new experience and you didn’t even get the chance to decide if you were ready for it yourself. “Do you wanna come sit down at least?” He asks as he rubs your back lovingly, you nod and slowly peel yourself from his chest and walk over to the couch with him behind you. As you both sit down neither of you says anything, it was starting to become obvious that something was seriously wrong and he didn’t want to pressure you into saying something, so he just lets you collect your thoughts.

“I went to the ER today…” You said as you said this Baekhyun could feel his hands begin to sweat, a nervous feeling creeps up on him after you say this as he immediately begins to wonder why. Were you sick? He did notice how often you’ve been saying that you feel hot, he’s noticed how often you have to excuse yourself to the bathroom, how you’ve been sleeping a little more than usual, could he have been too busy to even notice that something was seriously wrong? As he waited for what you had to say next he silently prayed that you were seriously ill and that he hadn’t ignored the signs, “And…I’m pregnant.” That was it, he couldn’t hold it in anymore, with the worry of you being seriously ill taking over he dramatically fell to his knees and let out a loud cry as if he was in pain. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t even notice that you were sick!” He said, getting in front of you on his knees his eyes begin to water as he holds your hands for dear life, “How bad is it?! Are you gonna be okay?! Should I…” He stops as he looks at you, realizing what you had said.

“Wait…you’re pregnant?” You stare at him feeling slightly confused by his reaction as you nod slowly, “Oh thank god!” He sighed with relief and wiped his teary eyes before standing up, “I thought you were dying, don’t do that to me” He said as he laughed, still confused by his reaction you sit with a slight smile, it hadn’t hit him yet, but you were just going to let it sink in and as soon as he did his smile faded, “Oh my god…you’re pregnant!” He once again smiles and grabs your hands, “I’m gonna be a dad?!” He pulls you off your feet and hugs you tightly, “I can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad!” As he holds you tightly and takes in what you said your eyes water again, “So you aren’t angry?” You asked, “Angry?!” He responded, letting go of you he held your arms and looked you in your eyes, “Baby, why would I be angry? If anything I’m upset that I didn’t notice sooner, but I’m happy that we get to start a family together so soon.”

As he wiped your tears away he pecked you on the lips, “So you won’t leave me?” You asked with an adorable pout, Baekhyun laughed and playfully mocked you, “Why would I? Don’t be silly,” he said, “I love you, I have no reason to leave you, no matter what I’ll be right here to love you and take care of you and our baby.”

As time passed you were regularly getting checkups at the hospital, dealing with constant morning sickness, swelling feet, sensitive breasts, mood swings, headaches, and so much more, at times you felt that it was too much, and with every month passing you became more afraid but Baekhyun was always there by your side to help. Every morning he’d be there to pat your back as you dry heaved into the toilet, holding your hair back and getting you a bottle of water to soothe your throat, he’d make sure to keep a pair of fresh underwear for you since you’d have to go the bathroom so often and would occasionally make it a little later than what you’d like, he makes sure to keep a stash of your cravings in a bag along with a pair of soft house shoes you could wear, a blanket, and a pillow so that you could nap while out since now instead of you staying home you like to leave with him no matter where he’s going, and he’s happy to take you and is more than happy to leave early if you get upset. He also makes time to go to every one of your appointments and has even gotten close to your doctor.

[chogiwass]

In between

pairing: dom!chanyeol x baekhyun x fem reader

a threesome between chanyeol, baekhyun and reader. thank you anon for making the request, i hope you like it!

Baekhyun had thrown the comment in the air some other night, claiming “a threesome would be fun” as you, him and Chanyeol sat in the living room of their shared apartment. You brushed it of as a joke, scoffing at him and telling him to “dream on”. But since that night it’s been playing on your mind, every day, every night when you go to sleep, imagining what it would be like to have two people pleasuring you. Obviously you had the idea of who those two people would be. Admitting who were the ones in your mind was inevitable never going to happen, that would be way to weird. How the hell were you going to pretend as you weren't thinking about your two best friends fucking the shit out of you.

It was a friday night, normally on fridays you and the boys would hang out with each other. You usually stayed in and watched a movie or smth. You were all sat together on the sofa and at a specific moment you found yourself sat across Chanyeols lap. You’ve been close other times too, but this time was different. If only he knew what went through your mind.  You felt guilty for the way your mind was working but god he looked gorgeous, those plump lips, his twinkling brown eyes, his body.

“You enjoying the view?” Chanyeol smirks as you jump at his voice, too caught up in staring at him, slightly embarrassed as Baekhyun chuckles next to you, and your ripping your eyes from Chanyeols face to the screen as you hear the volume of the TV, looking to the screen to see a sex scene flash before your eyes, just typical. The actress letting out breathy moans as he grips onto you a bit stronger, watching the man and women getting it on as you tried to concentrate on anything other than the thought of the two boys next to you.

“what you thinking bout y/n?” Baekhyun smirks as you nearly choke on your own breath, looking at him as he has a shit eating grin on his face. Chanyeol let out a breathy chuckle next to you as your lost for words, not sure where that comment came from. “Um, what?” you’re trying not to stutter as you try to force you pulse to return to normal. “I know you been thinking about what I said the other day baby” Baekhyun said while Chanyeol is smirking as he pulls you close. His movements harsh but soothing at the same time. “And I know you wanna try it” he’s smirking as he flits his head in Chanyeols’s direction as other licks his lips, back straightening as he shuffles to the edge of the sofa. “What? What are on you about?” your asking quietly, blush growing as both the boys watch you intently.

“Don’t act as if you aren’t dreaming of us three having sex” Baekhyun pipes up as your jaw drops. Your eyes meet with Chanyeol’s at a loss of words, not exactly knowing how to reply, “Don’t lie- you’ve thought about it baby” he’s whispering as you find yourself nodding, pushing your body against Chanyeol and melting into a kiss as you straddle his waist. His arms wrapping around your body firmly. Kissing you like he has waited his whole life for this. His hands wrap up and down your arms, your waist, your ass and brush past your boobs. He breakes the kiss and hold your chin in his fingers, making you look him in the eyes. Then he goes down to kissinh your jaw and neck. Too concentrated on Chanyeol you startle when you feel Baekhyuns hands touching your back.

“Take this off baby” he’s mumbling against your ear and as you move to take it off by yourself Chanyeol rips it off of you in one swift move. He gets up with one of his arms still wrapped around you and guides you to the bedroom. As soon as you enter the bedroom he sits down on the bed, pulling you to his lap, your back facing his chest. Your ass in direct contact with his hardening member. He grabs your waist and pulls you down on him harder, while Baekhyun comes up in front of you and starts caressing your bra covered boobs, kissing you softly. “how about we take this of darling” chanyeol is whispering into your ear referring to your shorts as he kisses the back of your neck, your body twisting as you pull your them off.

“On your back love” Chanyeol groans into your neck mouth as you climb off his lap, laying down on the bed as you look up at both of the boys admiring you in your underwear. “You want us to take care of you huh?” Chanyeol is cooing at you as he spreads your legs and rubs them up and down. Rubs you over your panties rips wetness now completely visible. “look at her, shes so wet” “yeah baby, all for us right” you cant seem to form an answer as you feel chanyeols skilled fingers make their way inside your panties. Baekhyun comes up and plays with your breasts “tell us baby, who are you this wet for?” your answer comes out breathy and chanyeol kisses your thight “good girl”. He starts rubbing your entrance and teasing you. “please” “please what baby? Tell me what you want” “your fingers please”. With that he starts fingering you so slowly, one finger at a time, until he has three of them in, Baekhyun rubbing your clit, kissing and sucking your chest. You feel that knot tighten in your stomach and clench around chanyeols fingers, he seems to notice and pulls them out. “you can’t cum until we allow you to babe” baekhyun pulls you up as you whine, holding yourself steady into his arms.

“get on your knees” Chanyeol orders and positions you on your knees in front of him as baekhyun lays down behind you. Baekhyun grabs your hips and starts rubbing your ass and pussy. Chanyeol takes your hand and guides it to his crotch, you take the hint and start palming him. When he has had enough of your little moves he takes of his shorts, grabs his dick with one hand and the back of your neck with the other. You drool at the sight, his dick is hard, throbbing and dripping precum. “open your mouth wide baby” you open your mouth and he puts his whole length inside your mouth with one move. Hitting the back of your throat making you gag and drool down his shaft. He lets out some groans and starts fucking your mouth, his hand gripping your hair. At that moment you feel baekhyun fingering you again, your juices dripping down his hand. He was teasing you, giving you nor to little or to much, enough to drive you crazy and make you whine on chanyeols cock. He decides he has had enough and removes his hand from your hips. He takes of his bottoms and takes out his dick, hard and leaking. Rubs it a few times and grabs your hips, making you straighten you back so your hole is in level with his dick. “I wanna feel your tight pussy around my dick baby”. He pushes his head into you, teasing you and then with a strong thrust of chanyeol forward you fall completely on his dick. Feeling him stretch you out you want to moan loudly, but chanyeols cock on your mouth doesn’t allow you too. Baekhyun grabs your ass and slams you on his cock repeatedly, while chanyeol grabs your boobs. “look at her, taking my dick while sucking yours” “she is making me cum” the boys exchange a few glances and they suddenly stop. Chanyeol remove his dick from you and pulls you up from baekhyun lap. “get on all fours baby, wanna fuck you open while baekhyun fucks that little mouth of yours”

Chanyeol gets behind you and grabs your ass, spreading your cheeks apart. He takes his cock in one hand, rubs it up and down your pussy and pushes into you without warning. He was thicker than baekhyun, stretching you fully and touching that spot deep inside. He started fucking you hard while baekhyun grabbed your head and pushed his cock into your open mouth while you were moaning. Chanyeol is growling as he pumps his cock inside you at an unbelievable pace, Baekhyun enjoying the view of your pussy being fucked raw as his cock down your throat causes your eyes to water, spit dribbling down your chin as you look up at him with the most innocent eyes.

You were a mess, chanyeol fucking you from behind and slapping your ass, groping your boobs, whispering the dirtiest things ever while baekhyun fucked your throat, pulling his dick out from time to time to let you catch a breath. “youre so tight and wet, you like having two cocks fucking you don’t you?” chanyeol says as he gives your ass a few slaps. “m’gonna cum baby, can I cum in your mouth huh?” baekhyun pulls his dick out of your mouth jerking it of a few times “open your mouth wide baby” your hand comes up to play with his balls and after a few jerks he cums hard. Some of it gets in your mouth, some in your face and some in your chest cause chanyeol grabs your arms and lifts you up. At this angle you feel him hitting that specific spot directly after some thrusts, bakehyuns hands rubbing you clit and nipples you start shaking and clenching around chanyeols dick. “cum on his cock baby” that’s all it takes and you cum hard on chanyeols cock, feeling a rush over your body, fluids dripping and you become more sensitive to the thrust of his cock, while he fucks you throught your orgasm. chanyeol thrusts become sloppier and he pull out and cums over your ass while groaning and moaning.

you fall on the bed, covered in cum while both of them lay on either side of you. Caressing your body softly and catching their breaths. “that was amazing” you say while snuggling closer to Chanyeol, facing Baekhyun. Chanyeol lets out a deep chuckle as Baekhyun smirks “we should do this again”

[lomlhwa]

you're so sweet (j.b)

pairing: highly experienced!jacob x virgin!reader

preview: you've been dating jacob for almost a year. he decides that for your one year, he wants to give you the best first time you could possibly ask for.

warnings/tags: fem reader, slight corruption kink on jacob's part, lots of pet names (baby, my love, pretty girl), taking of reader's virginity, jacob the king of consent, multiple orgasms, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected penetration (wrap it before you tap it), implied big dick!jacob, creampie

trigger warnings: n/a

wc: 2.8k

song recs for this fic: reason by kai, bambi by baekhyun, prism by the boyz (heavy on this one), love by dean

a/n: i've never written smut before so i hope this goes okay lmfao.

“soooo” jacob says as he walks into the living room of your shared apartment. he plops down on the couch across from you. “tomorrow’s our one year.”

you gulp. of course you remember that that’s tomorrow. not only is it a big milestone, but it will also be the culmination of everything sexual jacob had been promising you for the past week. just his words had been enough to have your thighs clenching.

when you told him you were a virgin, his eyes just about fell out of his head. his beautiful, irresistible girlfriend was a virgin? he couldn’t believe it. he thought you were lying to him. but when he found out you were serious, he realized that just meant more fun for him.

“yes, it is” you nod, giving him an awkward smile. he scans your face for discomfort or nerves. he definitely finds nerves. he gives you a small, reassuring smile.

“are you sure you still want to sleep with me for our one year anniversary, y/n?” he moves closer to you on the couch, grasping your hand. he gives it a little squeeze as if to say ‘you’re allowed to say no.’

“yes, i’m sure cobie” you give his hand a squeeze back. you trust your boyfriend to give you an unforgettable first time. he had done nothing but make you feel good about yourself since you started dating which made you all the more confident in his abilities to make you feel the same in bed.

“okay, good. i’ve been thinking about it all week” he sighs out of relief. as if you didn’t know he’d been thinking about it. you roll your eyes, removing your hand from his. 

“i have one question that you need to answer right now so i can finalize my plans” he says, giving you his biggest and best-est puppy dog eyes. “what is it?” you give him a weird look. what could he be asking you that required his puppy eyes?

his eyes turn dark and he smirks a little. “baby…” he pauses, mostly just for effect. “condom or no condom?”

your face immediately burns bright red. you fan yourself, turning away from him. like, props to him for being less vulgar about asking but if he had straight up asked you if wanted it raw, you would’ve had this exact reaction. 

“i uh, um. n-no condom?” of course you had to stutter through your words. you hear your boyfriend curse under his breath. it was so breathy and low that you could feel your thighs aching to press together.

“okay, thank you, baby” he gets up and walks away. he leaves you flustered and aching. unfortunately for you, that’s exactly what he wanted. building up the tension and excitement for tomorrow was his plan from the moment he walked in. 

the next night…

jacob had bribed your friend to take you shopping for the day so he could prepare the perfect environment in your apartment. he had even given you his card to spend his money. 

well, your shopping spree had come to end and now here you were. standing outside the door of your apartment. nerves had taken you over when you got in the elevator. it’s not that you didn’t want to sleep with him, you do. but having zero experience compared to your ex-fuckboy boyfriend scared you. 

you debated turning around and putting it off a little longer but the voice in your head told you to just trust him. if anything, him having so much experience might just be better.

you knock on the door as he had instructed you to do this morning. you heard some shuffling and what you assumed, based on his pained groan, was your beloved boyfriend running into something. 

your heart beats loudly in your ears as you hear the lock open and see the knob twist. you’re met with your impossibly beautiful boyfriend greeting you. he’s wearing a white dress shirt that’s slightly wet from what you assume is baby oil based on its glistening sheen. his black dress pants hang low on his hips, his belt having been long discarded. his brown hair is disheveled as clear evidence of his hard work through the day. 

he stands in the door, taking in your nervous frame. your friend had managed to borderline manipulate you into buying and wearing a dress that barely left anything to the imagination. you could feel his eyes undressing you. 

“h-hi” you say, your voice barely above a whisper. “c-can i come i-in?” your arms are aching from all of your bags filled with your many unnecessary purchases from the mall. he moves out of the way, gesturing for you to come inside. 

you place your bags down on the floor, leaning down to take your heels off at the same time. you turn back around to face your boyfriend. the air around you feels impossibly heavy as you look up at him. 

you just stand and stare at each other for a moment before jacob says his first words to you since you got here. “are you ready, baby?” his eyes scan up and down your body for the millionth time.

“yes, i am ready” you nod. at that verbal and physical confirmation, jacob’s self restraints immediately fall away. 

he grabs you by the waist, pulling you flush against him. he ghosts his lips over yours. his tongue licks over your top lip teasingly. he only teases you for a short time before pulling you further into your home. 

“i’m going to cover your eyes and help you walk. there’s one last surprise” he says as his hands obscure your vision completely. he helps you walk carefully towards your bedroom, kicking the door open from behind you. 

you hear the door click shut as he gets you fully into the room. his hands fall away and you open your eyes slowly.

your bedroom is decorated beautifully. fairy lights of different sizes hang on the wall, all on their red light setting. jacob had bought brand new, maroon colored bed sheets for tonight and they are gorgeous. he has towels on the side table just in case. unbeknownst to you, he also has a stash of condoms just in case you change your mind about him going in unprotected. a couple candles rest on your shared dresser. as your nose fills with their aroma, you find out they’re all cherry blossom scented. 

jacob’s hands come up to rest on your hips. his mouth hovers next to your ear, making you shiver. 

“i’m gonna ask once more before we start” he blows lightly on your ear before placing a small kiss on the lobe. “are you ready?”

a chill runs up your spine as he squeezes your waist. are you ready? are you really? you contemplate one last time before giving your final answer. 

"yes."

jacob spins you around and attaches your lips to his for real this time. you’ve kissed him many times before but something about this one felt… different.

 the way his fingers drew small shapes on the small of your back made you feel tingly. 

he slowly backs you up towards your bed until he could safely lay you down. you shuffle your way all the way onto the bed, jacob’s lips chasing yours as he hovers above you. he does nothing but smash your lips together for a few moments.

when he finally pulls away, a string of saliva remains, leaving you connected. he takes in your appearance. your hair messed up from shuffling around, your lips swollen from kissing him so harshly, your dress riding up in the most delicious way. 

“can i take this off?” his fingertips graze the hem of your short dress. huffing out a deep breath, you nod. “yes, you can.” 

he pulls the hem towards your head. you sit up slightly so he can slide it all the way off your body. you mentally thank your manipulative best friend for getting you to buy lingerie to wear under such an already sexy dress.

when jacob’s eyes meet with your lace-y, deep red bralette, he just about drools. his girlfriend had really gone through all this trouble to get all dolled up. for him. 

the tent in his pants grows every second he stares at you. you squirm under his lustful gaze, a silent beg for him to do something. anything. 

“cobie, please” you whine out. he gives you a fake pout in response.

“please what, my love?” he ghosts his fingers down your sides, leaving goosebumps in his wake. “you have to use your words.”

you shift around, trying to move enough to close your legs for some friction. jacob stops you, however. he grabs your legs and pulls you back against him, pressing into your clothed core.

“touch me, please” you whine again, your hips lifting to grind against him. your sudden movement shocks him, a low groan slipping from his lips. the sound goes straight between your legs, making your panties stick to you uncomfortably. 

his hands slide down to the safety shorts you’d worn under your dress. his fingertips dip under the waistband. he looks up at you for permission. you nod, licking your suddenly dry lips. he slides the shorts down and all the way off your body. 

his eyes immediately fall to your panties which match your bralette. he shifts uncomfortably, cursing his choice of pants. he really just wants to rip the rest of your clothes off and take you immediately, but he reminds himself to take it slow. 

your hands come up and fumble with the buttons on his shirt, being too shaky to actually undo any of them. he gently moves your hands away and gives you a questioning look, knowing exactly what you want but wanting you to say it out loud. 

“off, please” he giggles at your cuteness. he undoes all the buttons and slides the shirt off, dropping it onto the floor. you slide your hands over his toned torso, taking in his figure. you were right about the sheen on his shirt being baby oil. his skin has a slippery feeling. you’ve seen him shirtless many times, but this time it’s different.

“my love…” his voice is breathy and sexy, a whisper in your ear. you sigh as he presses kisses onto your neck, just under your ear. “won’t you let me taste you?” 

your back instinctively arches at the thought. he licks a stripe up your neck, kissing back down the trail of saliva he left on your skin. 

“yes, please, taste me” your own voice is unstable and full of lust. “please, cobie” your chest rises and falls faster by the minute. you think you might die if he doesn’t do something to you soon.

he kisses his way down your torso, leaving a few dark love bites in places no one else will see but him. high pitched moans get stuck in your throat the closer he gets to your wetness. 

he pushes your legs open as he settles between them. he places small pecks up and down your inner thighs, teasing just a little more. he kisses your heat over your panties, drawing a sharp gasp out of you. 

he opens his mouth to ask for your permission to take the final barrier off and you glare at him. “yes, jacob, do it, please.” he chuckles a little before dragging your panties off of you painfully slowly.

he drops your final garment onto the floor of your bedroom. you waste no time to close your legs, embarrassment only just now hitting you. jacob drags his fingers up and down your legs, pouting at you. "i can't taste you if you close your legs, baby." 

shakily, you reopen your legs, splaying yourself open for your eager lover. he begins kissing your thighs again before placing a kiss on your folds. you shiver at every touch of his lips on your skin. 

he licks a stripe all the way up, his tongue coming to rest on your swollen clit. he wraps his mouth around it and sucks lightly, knocking the wind right out of you. he wraps his arms around your thighs and pulls you closer to him.

he eats you like you’re his final meal and he’ll never be able to eat something as delicious as you ever again. your legs shake around his head as his tongue ducks in and out of your weeping hole. 

out of nowhere he shoves his index finger into you, slowly moving it in and out. it’s a stark contrast to his desperate sucking on your sensitive nub. you whine, shifting to try and get away as you become more sensitive.

he grants you the gift of another finger, beginning a merciless pace with his hand and mouth. he whines into you, the vibrations sending a shiver through your spine.

your hands tangle in your boyfriend’s soft brown locks and tug slightly. he releases another whine at the sensation. 

“c-cobie i’m gonna-” he looks up at you with a knowing look. he keeps his exact ministrations going, watching as you come undone for him. you cum with a loud cry of jacob’s name, your grip on his hair falling away.

he pulls away from you, moving up to make eye contact with you. he admires your fucked-out expression. the after orgasm effects still wash over you by the second. 

“are you ready for the next part, pretty girl?” he brushes your hair out of your face gently. you lean into his hand and nod. “yes, please, jacob” your words are breathy and desperate.

he wastes no time in stripping from the remainder of his clothes, it all being discarded on your plush carpet. “no condom?” he asks, stroking himself in preparation. he didn’t allow you to look down in fear of intimidating you out of wanting to let him fuck you. 

“n-no condom” you repeat. he’s gripping your chin to keep your eyes locked with his. you’re really trembling now, but it’s anxious nerves now.

he momentarily looks down to line himself up. his tip brushes your hole and a low moan escapes his throat. he looks back into your eyes and slowly pushes into you, bottoming out between your shaky legs.

“j-jacob fuck” you pull him down to wrap your arms around his shoulders and dig your nails into his shoulder blades. you don’t press down too hard, though. just enough to ground yourself.

for a few moments, you remain like this. fully connected. his chest pressed against yours, skin meeting with each breath you each take. his hands rest on your hips, his light grip feels so loving.

“please move” you whisper, breaking the silence just a little. he rises from your grip on his back. he angles himself better before drawing all the way out to the tip before slamming back into you. you gasp, your breathing immediately picking up.

he sets a steady pace, his tip prodding at the gummy spot inside of you repeatedly. you reach out to hold his face in both your hands, his sweat dripping onto your fingers. your thumbs caress his cheeks, admiring how his face contorts with his movements. you look at him with so much love he could cry. 

he leans down to kiss your neck, licking droplets of your own sweat off of you. “fuck, baby. you’re so good for me” his voice booms in your head, his words bouncing around. “letting me take your virginity? fuck, baby i’m so happy right now” he rests his face in the crook of your neck for a moment before coming back up. 

your back arches deliciously, his pounding reaching into at a different angle. you clench around him suddenly, almost sending him over the edge. however, he manages to keep himself together. his goal is to get you to finish first.

he reaches down and rubs your clit, high pitched moans escaping your mouth. you reach down to hold his wrist, the knot in your stomach threatening to snap at any moment. 

“gonna cum, please give me cum” you whine, clenching again. he nods his head vigorously. “cum for me baby and i’ll give you what you want” at his words, you fall apart, twitching and squirming as he chases his own high.

his hips still, spilling his seed into you, painting your walls white. he pants, brushing his hair out of his eyes. your mouth hangs open as you come down from your second orgasm of the night.

he slowly pulls out of you. he marvels at the sight of his cum spilling out of you. he gets up and grabs a towel to wipe you off. he puts his boxers and a shirt on before passing you your own underwear and one of his shirts to wear. 

he helps you get under the blankets and holds you close to him. he strokes your hair, yawning. “so, how was it?” he asks, wrapping his arm around your waist to bring you closer.

“amazing, cobie. beyond my expectations” you kiss his pouted lips softly, smiling at him. he gives you a bright, toothy smile back. 

“happy anniversary, baby.”

© lomlhwa 2023

[tyonfs]

the marriage and baby project (teaser)

PAIRING ▸ mark lee x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ smut, fluff, crack, college au, fake dating (marriage?) au

SUMMARY ▸ mark lee has had the biggest crush on you for years, so, naturally, he’s over the moon when you’re both partnered for a group project. however, he underestimates just how close two people can get when they have to pretend they’re married for a month while taking care of a fake baby.

ESTIMATED WORD COUNT ▸ 8k words

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ the dunk shot series is not dead guys :’) sorry this series was sort of at a standstill for a bit but here’s the teaser for mark’s installment !! ♡ send me an ask or comment if you want to be on the tag list! (warnings will be added in the final fic) 

THE ONLY REASON WHY MARK TOOK FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE WAS BECAUSE his friends told him it would be an easy A for a general education requirement he needed to fulfill. No one clued him in on having to become a married man and father.

“Hi, Mark,” you greeted with a smile, sliding into the seat next to him. “I guess I’m Y/N Lee for the next few weeks.”

He felt his heart drop to his stomach.

Here was a brief rundown: you were essentially a femme fatale, a drop-dead gorgeous it-girl; and Mark was a loser who was somewhat good at playing basketball. On top of that, Mark harbored the biggest crush on you since forever.

Forever dated back to high school. Although Mark never spoke to you much, he had always thought you were the most breathtaking individual he had ever seen. That was probably why he was malfunctioning right now. He had never gotten the opportunity to be around you like this, mostly because you were dating Vernon Chwe up until last year. All he could do was admire from afar helplessly, eyes lingering as you strode down hallways.

Chenle told him that there was a definite shelf life on relationships like yours and Vernon’s—relationships that were mostly physical—so he was confident you two wouldn’t last. And he was right. When you and Vernon broke up, Mark felt bad seeing your sad eyes, but an ugly part of him had been waiting for it to happen.

This situation, however, was like winning the lottery. Not only was he partnered up with you, but he had to play the role of your husband? Things like this never really happened to Mark, so he figured some misfortunate was coming his way soon.

“Hey, Y/N,” he managed to get out.

“Come up and get your babies,” the professor instructed. “These RealCare infant simulators use wireless programming to track and report on your behaviors, which is why I had you all sign those consent forms.” She held up one of the dolls for everyone to see. “I’m not gonna require you all to keep your dolls in a car seat, but I will be able to see records of misuse, clothing changes, temperature changes, whether you’ve rocked, fed, or burped your baby, or respond to its cries.”

Great. He had to walk around campus with a plastic baby. Mark’s friends were never going to let him live this down.

He wondered if the RealCare infant could play basketball.

He turned to face you again. “Do you want a boy or girl?”

“Mark Lee,” his professor chided, and he nearly jumped when saw her standing right beside his desk. “You don’t get to choose the gender of your child in real life, so I’ll be randomly assigning each couple a baby.”

“I don’t think we’ve considered the possibility of gene editing.”

“You can take that up with Congress.”

GENERAL TAG LIST ▸ @papiiimark @jaehy9ngs @chanluster @jjhmk @marksflute @superhajimark @jeongyoonohs @marklexleaf @dnylwoo @kpop-bambi @miyrisa @jjikyuu @venesiun @seventeeneration @chenosaurus16 @kylomeyon @infnteen @ohmarkly  @weish5n @thejeongjaehyun​ @lovesjenmoong​ @infnteen​ @wownajaemin​ @haruharux23 @pewpewpwe00 @scxrlettkx @pckeia @keijikunn @sapiowoman28 @atiny-doodles @loki-in-hogwarts @baekhyuns-lipchain @repjaehyn @chan-s-laptop @jen0zen @michplusb @yutassecrettime @minkis-simp​ @dreamyyang​ @catscoffeeandkpop​ @ahgastayzen​ @ryu-naa

[jayflrt]

a study in demons

PAIRING ▸ yang jungwon x fem!reader

GENRES ▸ horror, angst, psychological thriller

WARNINGS ▸ profanity, semi graphic depictions of violence and gore, character death, mental illness

SUMMARY ▸ always keep a supply of latex gloves on you. wear shoes bigger than your actual size. if you’re looking for a nice and clean death, a couple of visine eye drops in a drink should do the trick. 

or, yang jungwon doesn’t want to be a murderer. he just wants to get away from all this, and that’s not easy when nishimura riki’s next target happens to be you.

WORD COUNT ▸ 2,846 words

TAG LIST ▸ @mindprismus @ily-cuz-i @mmsriza @changmin-wrlds @13isacoolnumber @from-xero @svnglvs @acciomylove @sakuracoffee @nyujjan @goldenhypen @bbanggami @honeyju @lvsunq @notmangojuice @luvrjn @cb97curls @jakeyuni @soobisms @rikibae @soobin-chois @xiaosimp3​ @outrologist​ @nabinthegardnn​ @viagumi​ @mxnuilx97​ @euphorecore​ @kpoplover718​ @duolingofanaccount​ @jjongsha​ @teawithbucky​ @fiantomartell​ @baekhyunstruly​ @mykalon​ @heelariously​ @hobistigma​ @simplyxlea​ @wntrsgf​ @person-standing​ @ja4hyvn​ @dnyamight​ @candidupped​ @shmooooo​ @pr0dbeomgyu​ @heeyunkist​ @sunshine-skz​ @hiqhkey​ @kp0p10v3r2​ @baekhyuns-lipchain​

AUTHOR’S NOTE ▸ hihi it’s been a while since i posted writing here, and this is more halloween themed oops but this is inspired by mix & max bleeding darkness !! i analyzed their dancing and performance for this :’) sorry jungwon i literally bias u and all the fics i’ve written for u are horror </3 hope y’all enjoy this little installment ♡ my search history looks so concerning now sobsob

THE FIRST TIME YANG JUNGWON SAW SOMEONE DIE IN FRONT OF HIS EYES, HE WAS NUMB.

It was a strange feeling, like crushing a bug slowly and watching its guts spew out while it struggled under your grip. Not that Jungwon did that—regularly. But that was what he thought of as he watched Nishimura Riki drive a knife into someone’s stomach. Jungwon felt a strange feeling of dissociation as he watched the light leave the other man’s eyes.

He thought the first sight of death would be accompanied by a wave of nausea, a lack of control over his limbs, and echoes of screams in his head. Instead, Jungwon remained still and observant. Maybe if he avoided allowing his presence to be known, then Riki wouldn’t even notice the accomplice standing next to him.

There was something horrifying about the way a human would stop begging for their lives and succumb to their fate. Jungwon always shuddered a little when he saw the last drop of hope get squeezed from their eyes. Riki never failed to point out how they stopped looking for mercy and started waiting for freedom.

That was then. Now, Jungwon wasn’t sure if he could ever shake off the dreadful feeling in his gut.

This time, they were in an abandoned warehouse. It was a bit of a cliché, Jungwon thought, but it was deserted and easy to deal with their victims. They used this place most of the time because of how secluded the area was. It didn’t really matter to Jungwon since Riki did most of the dirty work, leaving the older boy to clean up.

Jungwon didn’t want to kill. He didn’t have it in him. When Riki made a light joke about it, though, Jungwon’s fingers started twitching.

He once thought that teenagers like him were one of the most independent beings in a sense, untouched and ignorant to the cruel world and its convoluted cultures. Teenagers like him represented all the good and pure things in the world, like searching for a four-leaf clover in a field, or picking up a penny from the sidewalk. He believed that they were all born innocent, foolishly trusting and unknowing of the evil around them.

Jungwon believed that he was once like that.

His parents loved him so dearly. They were the kind of parents that any child would dream of having, and, to this day, Jungwon knew he took them for granted. What he regretted most, however, was not being able to be the son that they wanted.

He really shouldn’t have even been thinking about it, considering his parents were already dead.

“Jungwon,” Riki called out sharply, pulling the boy out of his spiraling thoughts. “Take care of him for me, okay?”

“Who was he?” Jungwon asked, even though it didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter because he knew that Riki would always answer with, “Who knows?” and this time around was no different. Humans were just empty vessels to the boy.

There were several different motives that killers had—that made sense, however messed up the reasoning was. Even with Dennis Rader and John Wayne Gacy, it was clear that they got some sick, twisted pleasure out of dominating their victims and watching them suffer. They saw their victims as some ritualistic token.

The FBI called monsters like them stone-cold psychopaths, but Jungwon disagreed; he believed the real monster was Nishimura Riki because he had never seen an individual so apathetic about human life.

If someone asked Jungwon what Riki’s motive was, he wasn’t sure he would be able to answer them properly. Riki had always been distant, always interacting at an arm’s length, so when Jungwon found him stabbing a man to death in an alleyway, he felt like the killer could finally pull him in with blood-stained hands. That was the first time Jungwon had ever seen Riki so delighted, so happy to embrace him.

Maybe part of Jungwon was scared that he would end up being Riki’s target one day. Maybe that was the reason he hadn’t reported the boy yet—why he kept cleaning up his crimes.

But there was also a distressing feeling that lingered in the back of Jungwon’s head, making him wonder if he stayed because he liked this.

He couldn’t bring himself to think about that any further, though. There was no way Jungwon could possibly enjoy the very actions that made him sick to his stomach. He felt tortured enough each time, watching Riki slice and slash at his victim slowly.

Sometimes, Riki liked to get the job done quickly, slipping a couple of visine eye drops into a drink and forcing it down his victims’ throats. On other occasions, he liked to extend the duration of  the kill for his own amusement. He got a kick out of the process, relishing how he could prolong their suffering.

“Are you leaving?” Jungwon asked when he heard footsteps toward the door.

“Yeah,” Riki answered. “I got his key, so I’m gonna go check out his place. Maybe he has a cool toy.”

“Toy,” Jungwon echoed, and a dry, hollow laugh followed. “Yeah, bring me back a souvenir.”

When Riki left, it was time for Jungwon to get rid of the evidence.

Oxygen bleach was perfect for getting out the blood and forensic evidence, and then Jungwon would go over the area with a vacuum to make sure he got all the clothing fibers and hairs out. After that, he would mop the area with a solution of water and vinegar to get rid of the footprints. He made sure to keep the area spotless, even if nobody came by the warehouse.

He hauled the body to the back of his car, popping open the trunk where a suitcase was. He had to use some force to break some of the limbs so that he could shove the corpse inside. After zipping the suitcase up securely, Jungwon looked around once—only once because any more times would be far too suspicious—before he closed the trunk and got in the driver’s seat.

The drive to his apartment was a blur. Jungwon didn’t have time to worry about being caught because this was routine to him. The area was shoddy enough so no one would sniff him out, and the apartment complex lacked proper security. Jungwon couldn’t complain, though; it was the perfect arrangement for him to clean up for Riki.

What he normally did was take the suitcase out of the trunk and carry it upstairs to his floor. However, seeing that the suitcase was far too heavy to not draw suspicion, Jungwon waited until most people were asleep to drag it upstairs. He scrunched up his nose at the putrid smell, but he just needed to bear with it until he was in his room.

Once he locked the door to his apartment behind him, it was time to prepare the bath.

Water and sodium hydroxide—once heated at the right temperature, it was the perfect concoction to liquify corpses. Jungwon always wore latex gloves while doing so, of course, and he chopped up the parts so that he could melt them effectively.

It was a gruesome job, but someone had to do it.

Of course, there were days where Jungwon thought of ratting out Riki. He despised this lifestyle, wanting to get away from it desperately, but he felt trapped. Riki’s mocking words always parroted in his head, reminding him that he had no one else in the world.

So Jungwon played janitor as per Riki’s request. Even if he was trapped, he had to save his own skin somehow.

The day Jungwon started to develop a crush, he knew it was doomed from the very beginning.

Of course, Jungwon still attended school like anyone else. Not only did it keep him in line with the compulsory education laws, but it provided the perfect alibi. Jungwon was almost invisible at school, keeping his presence weak so that he wouldn’t have to get close to anyone. However, after moving seats and ending up next to you, he realized he was doomed.

Normally, people got butterflies in their stomach while heat rushed to their cheeks. Jungwon only felt dread. He knew that people like him weren’t allowed to fall in love and experience such emotions.

Falling in love broke routine in the profession. If that routine fell apart, it would affect Jungwon’s performance. When he made a mistake on the job, his and Riki’s lives were on the line.

More importantly, if Riki caught onto Jungwon’s developing feelings, it would be over.

He couldn’t help it, though. Jungwon found himself falling for you faster than he expected.

Part of the routine was keeping a distance from others. He couldn’t afford to hold people closer than arm’s length. It would just be the same outcome as what happened to his parents.

Riki was what happened to his parents.

But you were such a gentle presence in his miserable life. Your smiles made Jungwon feel like he was on Cloud-9, and the way your eyes lit up made his heart twist painfully in his chest. He had never felt this way before—not in a long time—and it was almost suffocating.

You started to join him for lunch at the rooftop, away from the ruckus and noise of the cafeteria room. Jungwon was grateful that you weren’t pushy about him joining the other students, either. All you did was sit by his side and allow him to open up at his own pace.

“Why don’t you bring lunch, Wonnie?” you asked one day, handing him half of your sandwich. The careful probe of your question made Jungwon want to tell you everything, but he was afraid to push you too far away. “If you don’t wanna share, that’s fine. I’ll just bring you something to eat every day.”

“Thanks,” was all he could muster, gingerly taking the sandwich from you.

It was just a sandwich. Just bread and ham and lettuce.

It was just a sandwich, yes, but it was everything Jungwon needed right then and there. It was enough to make him want to cry.

Perhaps he had been deprived of human kindness for far too long. It was the consequence of being so distant with everyone, although he preferred not allowing anyone to get near. Anyone who got too close would end up seeing him as a monster.

He feared that would happen to you, too.

“Is that girl a new friend of yours?” Riki asked several nights later.

The victim tonight was a gas station worker who had pissed Jungwon off quite a bit. The new employee was Jungwon’s coworker, but he kept slacking off while Jungwon was trying to show him the ropes. He kept his emotions under wraps and walked away from the situation, but Riki insisted on teaching the man a lesson.

It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.

It never was, but it did.

Jungwon’s mouth went dry and his knees went shaky when he saw the light leave his coworker’s eyes. He hardly processed Riki’s question because he was so fixated on the dying man. When it registered, though, his heart started to pound in his chest.

“No,” he replied quickly. “I don’t have friends.”

“Yes, you do. You eat lunch with her every day. She feeds you like a fucking mom.”

Mom. Tears pricked Jungwon’s eyes. Push it down, push it down, push it—

“Bring her here next time,” Riki added. “I wanna play with her.”

“No.” The words left Jungwon’s mouth before his brain could process it. He stiffened when Riki drew his attention away from his coworker to glare at him. Jungwon continued, “She’s just a random classmate, that’s all.”

To his surprise, Riki just smiled. Wide. Cold. Bloodthirsty.

“You’re really bad at secrets, Wonnie,” he sneered, “because you’re so fucking transparent.”

It was almost cruel how Jungwon was so tightly wrapped around Riki’s finger.

“Are you free after school?” he asked you during lunch, murmuring the words so quietly because he didn’t even want to hear them come from his lips.

It was heartbreaking to see how your face brightened up. “Yeah, I am.”

“Wanna go somewhere together?”

“Where?”

“It’s a secret.”

Maybe if Jungwon was as cryptic and vague as possible, then you would turn down his offer. He was banking on you having some strange gut feeling about his offer.

You were far too innocent for something like that to happen, though.

You hesitated before you answered, “I’ll go.”

You really were too good for Jungwon.

The amount of trust you placed in him was incredible. Jungwon had never met someone who had so much faith in him, but it crushed him even more to think about how he was going to stab you in the back soon. He couldn’t understand why Riki had such a strong hold over him, but he prayed that he would show you mercy.

He brought you to the same old abandoned warehouse, and you looked a bit uneasy this time. You didn’t make any effort to move when Jungwon opened his door to get out of the car.

“Come on,” he urged. “It’s really cool inside.”

“I don’t know, Wonnie,” you replied. “It looks kinda creepy. Can we just go back? We can think of something else to do in the city.”

He nearly jumped at your offer. It would be perfect to actually hang out with you without worrying about Riki, but now that you two had arrived, Jungwon knew that the killer was awaiting your presence in the warehouse.

“I’ll protect you,” he lied right through his teeth, flashing you a reassuring smile. “It’s not that scary. Trust me.”

Finally, you complied and took his hand. Jungwon sucked in a sharp breath when your fingers interlaced with his, wondering if this would be the last time he held your hand.

When he entered the warehouse, Riki stood at the back, holding a crowbar in both hands. It was one that he had used on his victims before; it was mainly to knock them out so that they could be tortured later. Riki spun the crowbar around lazily a few times before gripping it tight and walking toward the two.

“Oh, you actually brought her.” Riki barked out a dry laugh. “You really can’t resist your urges, can you, Jungwon?”

“Wonnie?” you asked in a small voice, a little fearful. You tried to let go of his hand, but Jungwon gripped on tighter.

Riki was wrong. He didn’t have any sort of urge. All he wanted was to get away from this sick reality, but every time he thought of escaping, Riki would reel him in again.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Jungwon whispered. “I really do like you, I swear.”

“Wonnie, I—”

Before you could get the rest of your words out, Riki raised the crowbar to bash your head in. However, some protective urge came over Jungwon, and he stopped Riki from dealing too painful of a blow to your skull. You cried out and fell forward, and he could tell you were disoriented, but you were still conscious.

“Stop it, Riki!” Jungwon cried.

“You knew what would happen to her if you brought her here,” Riki said grimly. “If you’re so against it, then why’d you bring her?”

“Because, I…” he trailed off before frowning. Why did he bring you?

“You want her dead,” Riki said. “You brought her here because you want to kill her.”

“No, you want to kill her!”

“No, Jungwon.” Riki’s dark eyes bored into his so intensely that Jungwon felt cornered. “You even hit her with the crowbar.”

He felt his mouth going dry again. Knees getting shaky. The ground beneath him was slipping away.

“No,” he whispered, “no, I stopped you from hitting her too hard.”

“No, you stopped yourself.”

“Shut up, Riki!” Jungwon tugged a frantic hand through his hair. “Why are you turning this on me?!”

“J-Jungwon…” you whimpered, trying to pull yourself up from the ground. Your eyes were focusing and unfocusing, and you tried to blink several times to regain your vision. Your voice was weak when you begged, “I don’t know what I did, but please stop hurting me.”

“What?” Jungwon’s eyes went wide. “Y/N, I was trying to stop Riki from hurting you!”

Before you could respond to him, the both of you turned at the sound of sirens coming from outside the warehouse. Jungwon zeroed in on your phone that was strewn aside, the 911 call still running. You must have kept the number ready when you entered the warehouse, and Jungwon must have been so occupied with Riki that you rang the police while he was busy talking.

“No…” he whispered, voice breaking when he asked, “Y/N, what are you doing?”

Your eyes looked sincere. “You need help, Jungwon.”

“I don’t need help,” he insisted, “Riki’s the one who needs help!”

“Jungwon,” you whispered, agonized. His world all but shattered when you asked, “Who’s Riki?”

A Study in Demons: Dissociative Identity Disorder