#bts love triangle au

[bangtanficsforyou]

Girl of his Dreams- Prologue

Pairing: Fuckboi! Jungkook x Reader

Au: Strangers to Lovers au

Genre: Angst, fluff, smut (eventually)

Rating: 18+

Word count: 3K (approx)

Summary: You think Jungkook is the utter definition of beauty. Jungkook thinks you’re cute but just not his type. Throw a magic ring into the equation, that makes you look like the girl of his dreams and you have the perfect recipe for heartbreak and tears.

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Main Masterlist

Walking into your art class you notice that your designated seat has already been taken by a boy. That's weird.

What's even weirder is that you have never seen the said boy before in your class. You say that with complete surety because there are only a handful in your class and this boy does not seem familiar at all.

Walking up to him you tap on his shoulders. "Excuse me, this is my seat."

The said boy turns to look at you and you frown when you realise you don't even have a clear view of his face as the majority of it remains covered by his hoodie.

Instead of responding to you, he moves a little to give you some space to sit on the stool.

There's a protest on your lips because how the fuck can two people sit comfortably on one small stool. But you decide on not voicing it because you know there are no other empty seats and asking him to just evacuate would basically mean him standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room, which honestly is harsh.

You awkwardly clear your throat and occupy whatever remaining space the stool has to offer.

"So are you new here?" The query leaves your lips a few moments later when you realise that you can't just ignore his presence considering how the right side of your body is almost entirely in contact with his left.

His fingers momentarily stop swiping at the phone screen and he looks up the slightest to give you attention.

He shakes his head and locks his phone. "Nah, I'm not here as a student."

If he's not a student then, what is he doing here?

He must have noticed the look of confusion on your face and he opens his mouth seemingly to clarify what exactly he is here for but the arrival of your art teacher stops him from doing so.

"Good morning, class," Miss Richardson greets the class as she settles all her materials on the table. "I hope you all had a good weekend."

The class comes up with mixed responses with a few people groaning and a few voicing their responses positively.

"Well that sure is a confusing response," she says with an amused look. "Well for those who had a not-so-good-weekend, I hope knowing that you will sketch a model today would be exciting enough to make your Monday."

A low murmur spreads through the classroom. That's a good response, you'd say. You definitely find yourself pleasantly surprised and excited at the thought of getting to capture the beauty of a model. The list of things she asked to bring for today's class, makes so much more sense now.

"Now, for today's model; his name is Jeon Jungkook and he's a fashion designing student."

All of a sudden you feel the warmth next to you gone, and the figure walks towards the podium. It takes a few seconds too long for you to realise what was happening.

Oh. He is the model.

"I hope all of you have your equipment ready and remember that you have to complete the sketch by the next two classes." She finishes. Once done, she turns to face Jungkook and gives him a small smile as if to tell him that from here on, he can do his thing.

And so he does.

It begins with him removing his hoodie which finally enables you to get a proper look at his face and fuck.

He's beautiful.

You did not think anyone could ever be this gorgeous and it honestly has you speechless. It's like one of those scenes from the movies where one of the main protagonist's eyes land on someone and they can't help but keep staring at them because they are the most beautiful creature on earth.

You believed that those sorts of things happened only in movies because that kind of breathtaking beauty existed only in movies. As it turns out, you were wrong.

Before you can gather your thoughts, he removes his t-shirt.

If you were in awe with how beautiful his facial features are, now you find yourself gasping for air after having a glimpse of his body.

Fuck, he looks sculpted, like a Greek god of some sort.

You feel butterflies flying merrily in your stomach as if they too want to voice out their agreement.

Unfortunately, the sound of low murmuring snaps you out of your daze. Looking around, you realise that almost everyone has their eyes on him and is in awe of his beauty.

It's when your eyes land on a guy who has already started sketching, do you realise that you too are here to sketch and that you too will only get three classes to finish this.

With a sense of urgency, you pull out your pencils and with a deep breath start sketching the beautiful man that seems to be straight out of your fantasies.

As your classmates slowly but steadily empty the classroom, you find yourself lingering.

You can't help but run your eyes across the canvas with a scrutinising gaze, wondering if you like how it is turning out to be and if your pencil is doing justice to the man's beauty.

Jungkook strolls towards your stool to take his bag but his eyes land on the sketch.

"That looks weird."

You yelp in shock and turn to look at the person who thought it was a good idea to scare you.

However, you find your breath hitching when you realise that it's Jungkook. Even worse, he remains shirtless.

Gulping down the saliva in your mouth, you try to steady your breath and register the words that fell from his lips. "What do you mean it's weird? Is it not coming out nice?"

He steps closer and bends down a little to have a better look at your sketch.

His movements cause a wave of nervousness to wash over you. In an attempt to hide your flustered state, you pretend that your whole attention is on your canvas and that you are not bothered by the man next to you.

"It is nice, I'd say you captured the details well," his low timbre reaches your ears and his exhale hits the expanse of your back. Fuck, you had no idea he was standing this close. "I just never had anyone draw me before. So looking at a sketch of me does feel weird."

"Oh, t-that makes sense." You curse yourself for stuttering. Could you look any more stupid?

The stutter catches Jungkook's attention and his eyes move from the canvas to the side of your face. A smirk appears on his lips when he notices your fast breathing rate.

He usually doesn't bat an eye because girls getting flustered around him, is not unusual. He knows the effect he has on the female population. However, with how flustered and how desperately you try to seem unaffected, Jungkook can't help but find it cute.

Cute enough to drop a flirtatious comment.

"But I guess it's okay if such a cute girl like you is doing it."

The effect those words have on you are instantaneous. You flush and your whole body warms up from head to toe. Squirming in your seat, you clear your throat and pray that your cheeks aren't embarrassingly red.

Jungkook's smirk widens. He wonders how you'd react if he were to call you the l-word. "I'll get going then, love."

You choke on air. That reaction was worth it, he thinks.

Stepping a few steps back, he puts his shirt back on and swings his bag on his shoulders. "See you, next class."

You hold your breath until the sound of his shoes against the floor completely fades away and only when he's gone, do you let yourself relax and feel the rush of emotions and adrenaline.

As embarrassing as it is, the first thing you do after going home is to search for his name on Facebook. There's just no way you're not searching up, the unbelievably good-looking guy, who also happened to flirt with you, on the net.

Thankfully, his Facebook profile is unlocked.

Clicking on his name you are greeted by his handsome face which stares back at you from the circle of his profile picture. You might have looked at it for a little too long, observing every single detail and wondering how a human could be this handsome.

Nevertheless, after snapping yourself out of your daze, you scroll down and your eyes fall upon the top post.

Models required.

For the upcoming inter-college fashion show, I need someone to model my designs. If you're interested, please meet me and my team on Friday in room no. 302.

One male and one female model would be chosen for the occasion.

You blinked at the screen and soon a wide smile spread on your lips. Isn't this just perfect? The perfect opportunity for you to get to know him better.

You have never modelled, you idiot.

A voice reminds you not so gently.

Although you feel doubts enter your head, you don't let your hopes get killed. Clicking on the comments section, you look for something that can provide you with clarification as to what exactly he is looking for.

One particular comment catches your eye as it is the only comment he has replied to.

Your eyes do a quick scan of the words and you find that it's a girl asking whether it's okay to try out even if she has no prior modelling experience. Jungkook's response to which is 'ofc it is'.

You internally scream thinking how perfect this is for you.

You take out your notepad and take down the details and also set a reminder on your phone, just in case.

However, with how long you stay on the net scrolling down his profile, you and probably even your FBI agent knows that there's no way you will forget about this on Friday.

Very unsurprisingly, you don't forget about it on Friday. In fact, you find yourself heading towards the room way earlier than the scheduled time.

It's on an entirely different side of the campus. It will take time to get there. That's what you tell yourself every time a voice tries to remind you that you're being far too eager about this.

When the building approaches, you feel a shiver of nervousness run down your spine. Is this going to be awkward? Is he going to recognise you?

The moment that thought comes to your mind, you chase it away. Of course, he's gonna remember you. It hasn't even been a week since the art class. There's no way he could have forgotten you this soon. Right?

With that little talk with yourself, you take a deep breath and step inside the building.

Having practised some modelling over the course of these few days from YouTube, you repeat the instructions you came across. Head held high, shoulders and back straight, and sway your hips and arms naturally. You can do this! (The last part was not in the video)

You find yourself being so narrowly focused on your way to the room that you miss the tall body that's heading in your direction. Although, the other party also remains blissfully unaware of the fact that they are heading towards you. Guess it's only fair that you two collide with each other.

"Owwwwww," you groan

"I'm so sor–Wait you're the art girl!" His pupils dilate ever so slightly in recognition.

Your eyes widen when you realise, it's him out of all people. Once the surprise wears off, you nod and a part of you feels glad to know that he indeed does remember you.

"So wassup?" He asks, genuinely curious.

Now see, you possibly could have replied to that question with anything. But with how caught off guard and unprepared you feel, you don't find your brain having the capability to come up with something cool. Hence, nothing but the truth comes spilling out; truth with the slightest bit of lie, mixed with it. "A friend of mine mentioned that you were participating in the inter-college fashion competition–"

You searched him up on the net. That's the first thought that comes to Jungkook's mind. How can he be so sure about it? Because he made the post only yesterday and sure he's popular, but not so much on Facebook because he's hardly ever active there. The chances of your said friend getting to know about it are next to zero.

"It's more like, I was asked to represent our college," that's the second thing that comes to him and he cuts you off with it. Call it him being cocky (which he knows he is), but there's a huge difference between putting your name in a competition and the college board preferring him to represent them. He can't have people making mistakes, can he?

Your mouth forms an oh and your eyes sparkle in wonder because how good is he exactly at fashion designing?

"That's great," you say. "I hope you win it."

"Oh don't worry," he says with his gaze locked with yours. "Pretty girls inspire me."

Now, he had meant for it to come out as a fact. Because that's what it is. But with the way his eyes remain locked with yours, it makes you assume otherwise. Makes you think that the statement is directed at you.

You clear your throat and look away from him. Gosh, your knees are gonna give away.

"That's good to know," you say in a meek voice. "I was actually heading towards room 302. You know, just want to give it a try."

Jungkook's brow furrows as he observes you closely.

So you searched him up on the net. Cute. But he isn't interested in you and he can tell that unfortunately, you took his meaningless flirting as him showing interest in you.

Thankfully, you seem like someone who knows how to get the hint. You don't seem like you will trail behind him like a lost puppy even if he were to make it clear that he isn't interested in you. Good for him.

He comes up with a quick plan which he thinks will send the message loud and clear. He has just gotta be honest.

"Don't waste your time with that darling," he says as he takes out his phone from the pockets of those tight skinny jeans of his. Before you can ask for clarification, he is speaking again. "You see this girl?"

You take a look at his phone screen which is now facing you and is currently displaying a Facebook profile page. Tina Rei. After some pondering as to why this name rings a bell, it clicks. She's the same girl whose comment you stumbled upon a few days back.

Not sure what he is trying to say, you nod.

"She's the one who's going to be my model," he says before locking the screen. "She's just so hot. One of the prettiest girls on campus. Can't think of anyone else better."

Your stomach sinks at his words. Oh. He already has a model.

"Then why have this whole audition thing?" You ask, trying not to interact with your thoughts at the moment.

"Don't want to seem like I'm being unfair you know?" He shrugs. "But thought I'd save you some time. Going inside that room won't be of any use. I already know who I want to work with."

You simply nod at his words. You don't know what to say. You feel so stupid for letting your teeny tiny crush get out of hand and although you never admitted it out loud, his flirty actions had you hoping.

"Lost your voice, art girl?" He asks with a teasing tone. You refuse to answer him verbally, yet again and simply shake your head, making him sigh. "I'll get going then."

He moves forward a few steps but stops.

Walking back to where you are standing, he bends down a little to look into your eyes. "Also, a small piece of advice, you should probably stick to art. Modelling is not for you."

And then he's gone.

That day instead of going back to your dorms, you choose to go back home for the weekend.

Feeling angry with yourself, you find that you are not in the mood of interacting with anyone and desperately crave the comfort of home. Where you don't feel judged.

Thankfully, when you're greeted by warm hugs from your parents and gentle (very very aggressive) licks and kisses from your dog, you don't find it in you to regret making this decision.

A small smile manages to make its way onto your lips and you find your spirits being lifted ever the slightest.

Your dad watches you from the corner as you playfully give Jack belly rubs. He notices the way your eyes don't have their usual bright look and the way you seem as if something's been eating you away. He can't help but wonder what it is that seems to be bothering you.

Once you've gone to freshen up, he makes his way inside the kitchen.

"Do you think she's okay?" He asks in a tone that does not hide his worry at all.

Your mum takes a spoonful of the soup she's preparing and tastes it, soon letting out a satisfactory hmm.

"She's a big girl now, don't worry she'll be fine." Her words do not address his question as there's no point in denying that there's something that seems to be troubling you.

He sighs. "I know but I still can't help but get worried."

Patting his back, your mom lets out a huff in amusement. Two big kids she has got. "Don't worry, she's probably itching to talk to me about it. Maybe while we clean the dishes, okay?"

Your dad feels some of the tension leave his body at your mom's warm touch and nods with a sigh.

Dinner goes smoothly with you laughing loudly at your dad's exaggerated storytelling about the time he went fishing with his friends and at your mom's annoyed grunts and comments about how your dad has turned into a teenager. You laugh so much that you forget about everything. Temporarily.

Once you're alone in the kitchen helping your mom with the dishes, you feel the silence prompting your brain to be loud with its thoughts.

"Am I not attractive?" You blurt out of nowhere. But then it probably isn't out of nowhere.

You were so busy admiring and daydreaming about Jungkook's beauty that you did not stop to ponder the possibility that he might not find you attractive.

While the thought of your crush not finding you attractive is hurtful, the thought of your crush finding you unattractive is quite gut-wrenching. And something about the last comment he made before leaving, has you feeling all sorts of things.

Most importantly, it has you questioning if you really are unattractive. But at the moment, you're too scared to address that question, all by yourself.

Your mother's movements stop all at once. "What kind of a question is that? No never mind, I'll answer that– one of the most stupid questions I have ever heard."

A small smile appears on your lips at her dramatics. "It's a serious question, though."

She shakes her head as if to indicate that she won't tolerate any of your nonsense. Putting down the cleaning cloth, she walks over to you. "What is making you say all this?"

She keeps her tone gentle.

You sigh trying to hide the tears that try to leak out. "It's stupid."

"Nothing is more stupid than you thinking that you're not attractive." She quips and pats the top of your hair in hopes of giving you comfort. "Is it a boy problem?" She asks for clarification.

Feeling relief but also hating, how spot-on she is, you let it all spill out. You tell her how Jungkook just took your breath away. How he seemed to be the perfect guy. The guy you always dreamt about. How he looked like a literal prince. How he only stomped away after giving you hopes that you might have a small chance of being his princess. Not to mention, how that one comment made you feel insecure to ever be in front of him again.

Your mom's eyes soften. "Oh sweetie, come here." She wraps you in a warm hug and lets you cry silently for a while. "There's something that might help you."

You unwillingly retreat from her warmth to look at her. "What is it?"

"Just wait here," she says before swiftly getting up and heading towards her bedroom. You sit there and stare in confusion until she arrives. When she does, you find yourself thoroughly perplexed to find that she went to get a ring.

"A ring?"

She smiles. "Hmm but not just any ordinary ring. The one who puts this on you will start seeing you as their dream partner."

You blink at her blankly for far too long. "Huh? Mom, are you doing drugs?"

She throws her head back and laughs. "Thankfully, no, not yet."

"Then are you trying to check if I'm doing drugs?"

A chuckle escapes her lips and she shakes her head. "I get that you don't believe me but take this and try it out. Put that ring on the guy you like and let it do its magic."

Saying so, she takes a hold of your clenched fist and pries it open. Placing the ring on your finger, she looks at you and you can't help but feel even more disbelief when you see nothing but honesty in her eyes. "Take care of this ring, it's precious."

And then she's getting up, asking you if you'd like to sleep in her room as if she didn't just say the most absurd thing moments ago.

[seokjins-luigi]

i hate everything about you | pt. 1 | pjm

・pairing: ex!jimin x ex!f!reader

・genre: exes to lovers | a lot of angst | a slightly little bit of a love triangle

18+

・word count: 6.7k

・summary: accidentally, you bump into your ex who, mind you, previously cheated on you. so you're 99% sure the only feeling you have left for him is sheer hate. but the 1% leaves you questioning.

・banner: by the amazing @kookdiaries

・A/N: firstly, i want to wish our baby mochi the happiest of birthdays! i really wanted to have something to post on his birthday, since i couldn't do it for any of our other boys this year ):

i also want to say that i'm really happy/surprised with the huge amount of attention the teaser for this fic got! i felt so inspired, thank you all for taking your time to share it and to talk to me about it too !! <3

i hope you enjoy this first part and i promise i won't take too long to put out part 2! here's a playlist for y'all to play as you read it, if you want to hehe also shoutout to the anon who asked for the black haired jimin header back lol this one's for you

as always, thank you to my fave person @primadonnasdream. without her, i would never be able to write any of my stories.

feedback is always appreciated, sweeties 💜

・permanent taglist: @goldenhoney-cas @yuugehn

・taglist: @imluckybitches @bbtsficrecs @minijagiya @jackinthethroat @arckyive @chimchimmarie @bex-92br @rkvi @hoseok666 @joonsytip @callmejimmeo @koreanaestheticc

There are about eighteen thousand bars in Seoul. You know this because you’ve just googled it. Out of curiosity? Not really. Just because you couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that out of all the bars in Seoul, all the eighteen thousand bars in Seoul, Jungkook had to pick the one where your ex is currently working. 

Not to blame it on Jungkook, poor guy. There was no way in hell he could know this and you’re sure that if you told him, he’d be crushed, since, according to him, he’s been trying to muster up the courage to ask you out for months. To be fair, you didn’t even know Jimin had left his partner, Seokjin, and his own bar to start working behind the counter again. Not that it's any of your business, anyway. He can go to hell for all you care, especially after dumping your ass three days before your four year anniversary for some random girl he met on that stupid fucking bar of his.

That fucking stupid bar he clearly didn’t even own anymore. Joke’s on him.

It broke your heart in a way you’re not sure it’s ever going to heal. He meant the world to you, all that butterfly bullshit and everything. When he left you, it felt like your world was falling to pieces. You shared a life, even shared a home. A small apartment near his stupid fucking bar, you were so happy when you two finally moved in together. 

Building intimacy takes time, compromising to someone else’s well being and happiness costs more than only your time. Learning how to share your space, your insecurities, your feelings, your everyday life. That shit takes time. Giving yourself to a person takes more than that. It takes courage. 

You gave all of that and much more to Park Jimin. But you regret doing so with every fiber of your being. Learning to live your life again without having him in it was one of the hardest things you’ve had to do so far.

You had your share of revenge after fucking his best friend, Taehyung, and making sure to tell him about it when you went to your apartment to get his stuff back. If you felt like shit, you had to try to make him feel at least one percent of the heartbreak you had been feeling. After that, you heard that he and Taehyung got into a physical fight and had cut ties. 

It was definitely not a very peaceful break up experience, both of you were extremely proud people and could not stand losing. It took you a great amount of therapy sessions in order to stop dreaming and thinking about him 24/7. 

Do you still believe in love after that? You’re not sure, probably not, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun. Jungkook was a very sweet and flirty distraction in the middle of your heartbreak. Not to mention the guy is hot as fuck, but right now, you swear you could just punch him in the face. 

Because out of all the bars in Seoul, here you are. At the one your fucking nasty ex boyfriend works in. 

As soon as you walked in, you felt something was off with this one. It felt like the universe itself was trying to spare you from this experience. Of course, you didn’t listen to your intuition, especially because Jungkook told you a friend of his has been talking wonders about the drinks from this specific bar. 

Once you looked over at the bar, you saw him. For a split second, you froze. He looked as gorgeous as ever, dark locks obscuring his eyes from where you could see. You didn't allow yourself to feel any type of way with the sight of him, you were over him, you definitely didn't want to go back to the pit where you recently came out of, thank you very much. He was too busy with whatever he was doing at the moment to notice you, fortunately. You just rushed over to Jungkook, locking your arms out of nervousness, leaving him quite giddy about it. 

Did you ask him to leave and look for another place to spend the night? No. 

Should you have done so? Maybe.

But you wouldn't deny yourself the satisfaction of showing Jungkook off to him in the place Jimin works. It didn't matter that only looking at him made you miss him more than words can ever say, you know that he’d feel pissed out of his mind. You’d deal with your feelings some other time.

“Looks nice, huh?” Jungkook asks you with a sweet smile hanging on his pierced lips, bringing you back to planet Earth.

You nod faintly, showing him a warm smile. 

“There's a balcony back there, do you see it?” He asks again, holding your hand now. You weren’t even able to react to Jungkook’s gestures properly, you were too lost in your thoughts about Jimin. “It’s got a very nice view of the city, if anything, we can take some nice photos here. You look hot, by the way”.

“Oh- I- Thanks, Jungkook. You too, by the way”, you tried smirking. “A-Are we getting a table or what?”

You usually don’t get thrown off by his compliments. You love when it happens, of course, but you’re usually good at flirting, you see he gets slightly puzzled as to why would you react like that all of a sudden.  

“Are you okay, Y/n?” He asks you, caressing the back of your hand with his thumb, a little concern can be sensed in his voice tone. 

“Of course! Why do you ask?” You reply, tilting your head a bit, trying to sound convincingly confused. 

You would not simply ruin your date by mentioning your ex boyfriend is the bartender he’s been listening compliments about.  

“Nevermind… Why don’t you go ahead and grab us a spot on the balcony? I’ll do the honors and order our drinks. Any preferences?”

“Surprise me”, you challenge him, squeezing his hand before letting go of it, still trying to hold the confident demeanor he’s used to. 

You head over to the balcony, not really looking over at the bar, trying your best to forget about the fact that Jimin was here and could notice you’re here too at any moment. The most annoying thing about this situation is that you’re feeling too nervous about seeing him. Much more than you should be.

So what Jimin is here? You’re over him, remember? Get your shit together. You’re here with Jungkook, enjoy your date.

You try distracting yourself by scrolling on your social media, not really paying attention to anything in particular, just trying to keep your mind away from Jimin. You can’t really understand why you feel almost shaky, maybe that’s how your body reacts to someone you hate. 

You only had the courage to look into his direction again when you felt Jungkook was coming back to your table, with a warm expression adorning his beautiful features, holding two drinks in his hands. It would have been the beginning of a nice date, if you couldn’t see Jimin’s eyes shooting daggers in your direction from above Jungkook’s shoulder. 

Yes, he’s seen you already. Of course he’s seen you. 

Naturally, since you noticed Jimin’s eyes on you, you were simply not able to relax. Jungkook was acting like his normal charming self, completely unaware of what was going on inside your head. You simply nodded whenever it felt like he was waiting for a reply from you.

“Why are you nodding? Did you hear what I said?” He asks you, with an embarrassed half smile, making you feel slightly guilty for not giving him the attention he deserves.

Damn you, Park Jimin.

“Sorry, Kook, I zoned out for a second. What was the question again?”

“I said the restrooms here are amazing and that you should see it”, he repeats himself, pointing to the drink in front of you, he continues. “I need to use the toilet again, by the way, do you want another mimosa?”

“Oh, sure. Thanks”, you reply with a gentle smile, the nicest one you could flash at him.

You honestly liked him. He was a very good person, from what you could tell. Unfortunately, you completely lost the focus on this date, maybe it was your fight or flight instincts taking over your thoughts, but the only thing you could think about was Jimin’s burning gaze on you and how badly you wanted to escape.

You were pretty sure you got over him, he’s your past. That’s a fact. He is past, there’s no other way. The idea that he can look at you like you’re doing something wrong by moving on with your life makes you feel livid, that’s all there is to it. 

He’s always had the talent to make everything be about him, but this time around it genuinely pisses you off. This whole situation was actually just a coincidence, he’s the one needing to get over himself.

“So, who’s the idol wannabe?” A voice startles you.

A voice you know all too well.

Following the sound of this voice with your eyes, you contemplate the one and only Park Jimin, the man who cheated on you. The once love of your life. You refuse to allow his presence to affect you in any type of way, though.

“Idol wannabe?” You snort, crossing your arms in front of your chest. “Oh, you mean my date? Wow, Mini, you sound so frustrated when you put it like that… Cause, you know, you’re an ex idol wannabe too”.

“Very funny, babe. Who’s the guy?” He jerks his head in the direction Jungkook went, with an authoritative expression on his face.

Like he had any right to be asking you questions about your life. 

“What’s that, Mini? A public jealousy display?” You figured the best way to deal with him was by not giving him what he wants.

“Isn't that what you wanted bringing him to the place I work?”

“I can’t believe- Why do you think I care about how you feel or don’t feel, Park Jimin-ssi?” You blurt out, trying to keep your composure as much as possible. The last thing you want is to make a scene. “It’s funny that you think I’d give myself the trouble to make you feel jealous. I didn't even know you left The Wave”.

“And you expect me to believe that?” He cocks his brows, eyes not leaving your face. “You're a character, Y/l/n Y/n-ssi”.

“As I’ve stated before, Park Jimin-ssi, I do not care about anything that’s related to you anymore. I’m sorry if my presence here feels like an insult or whatever, but, you know… You should have moved on with your life by now too”, as you spit these words at him, you see his eyes flickering with an indignation he would not be allowed to lash out the way you know he wants to, because, after all, this is where he works. “So, if you excuse me, my date can come back at any second and I have no interest in letting him know you’re my ex”.

He grimaced, not uttering another word. That is so unlike him, it’s funny... and kind of weird. He has quite the explosive demeanor and you know you were kind of harsh to him right now. You almost feel guilty, but then you remember how humiliating it was finding out about his infidelity.

What he made you go through was way worse. 

Placing a Daiquiri glass in front of you on the table, he smirks, but you see his smile does not really meet his eyes, covered by a darker cloak you couldn’t actually explain where it came from. 

“Alright, Y/n-ssi. Here’s your drink”, bowing to you, as he takes his leave. “You’re looking as gorgeous as ever. Good luck with your idol boy”. 

“Jimin-ssi, that’s not really what we ordered”, you raise your voice tone slightly, just so you made sure he could hear you.

“Oh, I know, babe. But we both know you’re not really much of a mimosa woman”, he answers, the irony lying underneath every single one of the words that came out of his mouth, turning to you again. “I know you very well, unlike your date, apparently. Don’t worry, this one’s a little more expensive, so, it’s on me”.

He blinks at you, turning on his heels again, this time around not taking another glance in your direction again, leaving you with an almost bittersweet taste in your mouth, that only goes away when you see Jungkook’s smile getting near you again. 

He sits in front of you again and you honestly don’t understand how you allowed Jimin to get under your skin for even a split second. Jungkook was everything you could ask for a guy to be: stunning, into you and not your complicated ex.

“A daiquiri?” He asks you in a gentle tone, knitting his brows together. “Sorry, I guess the bartender didn't understand what I said”.

“No. It’s fine, I’ve started drinking this one already”, you state.

It’s kind of cute that he paid attention to you to a degree in which he noticed the drink you were having. He’s a sweetheart, but Jimin was right, at the end of the day. You’re not much of a mimosa girl. 

“Don't worry, he’s the one who made the mistake… I’m sure he’ll bring you a new one”, Jungkook turns in what you know is Jimin's direction, with his right arm raised, gesturing for him to come over to your table. Then, he turns back to you, with a sweet smile hanging from his pierced lips. “He’s coming”.

Jungkook calling him over was something you simply didn't expect to happen, you didn't have time to react, to think about something to say or for a reason to stop him. You figured you couldn’t have a very strong reaction here, since for all that matters to your date, this guy is just the bartender, not your ex-boyfriend from a relationship that ended really badly. 

Naturally, it doesn’t take Jimin more than ten seconds to get to you, and knowing Jimin, he would stop anything he was doing so he could come over and be petty, if possible. 

“Can I help you?” You hear his voice, but refuse to turn your head in his direction.

You know he’s looking at you, though.

“We have actually ordered a mimosa, but, maybe there was some confusion, and we ended up getting a daiquiri instead. I was wondering if there’s something we can do about it”, Jungkook had both sides of his mouth turned up in a likeable smile, as he gazed in Jimin’s direction. 

You know Jungkook’s niceness would only piss Jimin off even more. 

“Oh, yes, the daiquiri. There’s no mistake, actually”, Jimin mimics the smile Jungkook flashed at him, but you know his isn't a heartfelt one. “I think it suits her better than a mimosa. Anything else?”

“I’m sorry?” Your date’s brows snapped together and the niceness in his smile dissolved into disbelief. “How did you come to a conclusion about the type of drink she prefers?”

“Oh, believe me, I know it”, Jimin snapped back, in a controlled tone. 

Jungkook’s eyes darted in your direction, kind of looking for some sort of endorsement to what he was saying to Jimin, obviously baffled by the boldness of this guy. He, obviously, didn’t find the same kind of expression on your features. It didn’t take him too long to understand that something was off, in a split second, you saw the realization dawning in his face.

You felt cold to your bones, concentrating on using every single bit of what was left from your self control in order not to run away from this bar and leave both of them bickering over the goddamned daiquiri.

“Well, she seems pleased with your choice of drink”, Jungkook tried, clearing his throat. “Thank you for your service, I guess. Keep up with the good work”.

Jimin bows to Jungkook and then to you. 

The atmosphere Jimin leaves behind is so heavy you can almost touch it, you feel the air weighing all around you and Jungkook, who was focused on playing with the napkins on the right side of your table. You open your mouth, but the words just refuse to leave your lips.

You don't even know how to start. What could you possibly say in a situation like that? Most importantly, would you be able to actually explain anything without bursting into tears in front of Jungkook? Not only did you run into your ex for the first time in almost a year, but also he had to come over and make a scene in front of the guy you were seeing.

It was only your second date with Jungkook, after going out for a very nice dinner, in which the two of you couldn’t stop smiling and laughing at each other’s jokes. If only you two had gone two any other of the eighteen thousand bars in this city, you would have never seen Jimin and you’d also not be feeling this terrible uneasiness in your chest.

“So”, Jungkook breaks the silence, but you see he’s still looking at his hands as if those damn napkins were the most amusing thing in the world. “You apparently know each other”. 

“We do. But honestly, I don’t really want to get onto this, Jungkook. Sorry”, you confess, not really knowing if you’re angry or simply dejected by this encounter.

Jungkook could have also just not mentioned the fact that it was clear you and Jimin have some kind of history. Why do men have to be so clueless all the time? Honestly, it feels like a curse liking men sometimes. The whole situation was so off putting, you truly just wanted to go home, it didn’t matter Jungkook was hot and the nicest guy ever, Jimin was able to kill the mood for you completely.

You see Jungkook is fighting some sort of  internal battle and you feel extremely bad for being the reason behind it.. He had been the sweetest person you had a date with in a very long time. You obviously were not ready to try dating again, Jimin was still all over you, and unfortunately, not only figuratively speaking.

"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this mess", you finally break the silence, making Jungkook look at you again. "I honestly don't feel so good right now…"

"Yeah, I imagined. All I can do is wholeheartedly tell you that it's alright if you wanna go home or something. I don't really know what happened between the two of you, but I can tell something definitely happened", he sympatized and you could tell he was being genuine, not really knowing why, you just saw it in his eyes.

You feel like going home, for sure. Just laying in bed for a couple of hours and crying your eyes out would be the only medicine for this. Maybe, tomorrow after work, you’d need the “best friend plus romantic sad movies combo”, but you’d be alright. Unfortunately, seeing Jimin after this time apart was not as easy as you thought. You just knew that the lump in your throat wouldn't just disappear after installing itself there once again.

Looking deep into Jungkook's eyes, searching for some sort of judgment or resentment, which you do not find, you muster up the strength to be fully honest. If nothing, he deserved it.

"I do want to go, Jungkook", you confess, taking his hand, that rested upon the table, into yours and squeezing it lightly. "I'm really sorry for being a louzy date tonight. I promise I'll try to make it up to you".

"Hey, don't worry…" He says softly. Jungkook squeezes your hand back, but lets go of it and pulls it back, leaving yours hanging on the table by itself. "I have kind of waited a long time to ask you out, but I can wait some more. Date number one was amazing, but we can’t always win. I just want us to have a good time together. I'll let you make it up to me, it's fine".

“I’m really sorry…”

“It’s fine”, he shakes his head, a soft smile hanging loosely on his pierced lips, sounding convincing enough to you. He is genuinely a good person. “But for out next date, you’re the one who should be asking me out. Deal?”

He extends his tattooed hand to you, still beaming at you. 

“Fair enough”, you shake his hand back, feeling a little better for his reassurance. “Deal”.

You must be the most stupid person to ever walk this earth and you know it. Losing your chance with a guy like Jungkook is one of the most ridiculous things you've ever put yourself through. But what can you objectively do? You just ran into your ex and it was awful. You just wanted to cry curled up onto your pillows until you forgot, once again, what the sound of Jimin's voice felt like against your ears. You were in no mood for small talk and flirtation anymore. It was better ending the night like this, than being a statue around him, right? And if he said you could make it up to him later, you could really try to. 

You know that if you weren't feeling this blue, you'd be embarassed as fuck. Maybe, tomorrow, you will. 

Jungkook insists on paying for your drinks, saying that you could pay on the next time. Good to know that he's really counting on a next time and he didn't say it just to be polite before. Fortunately, he doesn't really offer to take you home and you call yourself a car. All you wanted was to be alone with your thoughts for a while.

This whole situation wouldn't be this awful if you didn't feel Jimin's eyes on you the whole fucking time. You knew he was watching the whole scene unravel in front of his eyes with an indescribable delight. 

Indeed, he won this time. But you could only hope that this was the only battle he'd win from now on. You needed to find your way back to yourself. 

And you will, it’ll just take you a little bit of time again.

The light breeze gently touches your skin, as you feel the warmness of the rising sun delicately kissing your hair. The star emerges from behind the hills, as you stand in front of them, tall and strong, deeply rooted to the depths of the earth.

Suddenly, you hear a very loud noise, sounding like a distant bell. Looking around you, you’re not able to find the source of it. It’s not possible that it’s coming from one of the trees, is it?

You hear it again, this time, longer and more annoyingly depriving you from enjoying this beautiful day out in the meadows.

But then, you realize this is a dream. And as soon as the realization hits you, you wake up. You hate being an occasional lucid dreamer, who wakes up as soon as you notice you’re in a dream. It has prevented you from fulfilling many of your fantasies with your celebrity crushes because you always feel like the scenarios are too good to be true.

Then you hear the unblessed noise that woke you up one more time, noticing it’s been the sound of your doorbell this whole time. Finally finding your phone, after your hands grop on your bedside table looking for it, you see it’s 3:27 in the morning. Why the hell would anyone ring your doorbell in such an ungodly hour? 

Well, a burglar wouldn’t ring the doorbell, right? You reason, trying not to freak the fuck out. 

The doorbell rings one more time, then you hear what seems to be a muffled attempt at verbal communication. Should you go to the door? Should you call the cops? You have no idea. 

It could be one of your neighbors looking for help. What if it was an emergency?

“Mrs. Hong? Is that you?” You blurted, voice a bit shaky from the anticipation. 

You hear another muffled response, not really understanding anything this person is saying, but you know it definitely isn’t Mrs. Hong. 

Fuck, Y/n, are you stupid? Whoever this is, now they know you’re inside!

You feel your whole body starting to tremble, heartbeat racing as the worst images possible flash through your mind. You want to go back to your bedroom, call the cops and hide under your bed until someone comes to save you from whoever is this weirdo at your doorstep. The sound of your parents’ voice saying you were crazy for moving out of their house to live by yourself echo through your brain and you can feel the tears start brewing in the corners of your eyes when you’re able to distinguish a word from the muffled bumbling from outside your door.

You are positive you heard the person finishing their sentence with a “babe”. Instantly, you feel a warm wave of relaxation invading your body, in contrast with the uneasy feeling you had a minute ago. You know exactly who it is on the other side of your door. Looking at the peephole, you find the exact person you expected to see leaning against your door frame. Park Jimin. A very, very drunk Park Jimin, from what you can see.

Your hand goes straight to the door handle, opening the door with a blunt movement. When he realizes what’s happening, his eyes land on yours and you see them turning into the shapes of small crescent moons, as a smile rests on his plumpy lips. 

“You almost gave me a fucking heart attack, Jimin-ssi! What the fuck are you doing here?” you bark, watching the smile disappear from his face. 

“Sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to scare you! I just want to talk to you and if I’m here, it’s your fault! I could have just called, but you fucking blocked me everywhere”, he pants in a high pitched voice, one he uses when he’s allowing his irritating to take control over him. 

“It’s almost four in the morning… You’re clearly drunk… I really don’t want to do this, Jimin”, you state, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Please, get the fuck out of here before you disturb my neighbors too”.  

Slamming the door on his face, you turn on your heels towards your bedroom, but before you’re able to walk four steps in its direction, Jimin’s voice can be heard from the inside again. Only this time, he didn’t have his face buried on your door and he was shouting in front of your house.

“Y/n-ssi! I just want to talk to you, pleaseee”, and the there was a knock on your door. “Y/n-ssi! Let me in, Y/n-ssi!”

You feel your blood boiling like magma in your veins, knowing you gave him the perfect weapon to use against you when you mentioned your neighbors. He knows you wouldn’t want these people to talk about you, to talk about the guy who was making a fuss by yelling your name for the whole street to hear in front of your house. You know him and you know that he knows how he plays his games, even when he’s drunk. In a blunt movement, you open the door and grab Jimin by his coat, this time, dragging him inside. 

For a second, the two of you just stare at each other. Due to the closeness, you’re able to sense the scent of his cologne, the musky one you gave him on the last Valentine’s day the two of you have spent as a couple. You hate him even more for not getting rid of what’s left of you in him. 

“You wanted to talk, didn’t you? So, talk!” You hiss, crossing your arms in front of your chest, feeling the need to break the silence before you did something you’d end up regretting.

He blinks, clearly still mesmerized by the fact that his lousy strategy to get you to do what he wanted worked. 

“I saw you left not even five minutes later from that… Well, awkward moment”, he wiggles his eyebrows exaggeratedly as he speaks. “You got yourself a nice suitor, huh?”

“The moment was awkward all thanks to you!” You fumed, unconsciously raising your pointer finger in his direction. “You asshole!”

“Why am I the asshole here? I just told him the truth!” He stated emphatically, with a flicker in his eyes you were just not able to identify precisely.

You were able to smell the alcohol in his breath, due to the closeness, and you felt even more disgusted to be in his presence.

“After cheating on me, you think you have the right to come back and interfere in my love life?” You whisper, angrily. It feels like the temperature in your house is rising, but you know it’s just your anger making you feel hot on the inside. “What did I do to you, Jimin-ssi? Why do you feel like destroying my life every chance you get? Just leave me alone!” 

You see your words have an effect on him and whatever he was about to say, you feel like your words have just stopped him from going on. He sighs loudly and when you were about to kick him out of your house, he starts again.

“Who… Who is he, babe?” He looked down as the question finally left his lips. 

You almost missed him, his arms around you, his voice whispering soft words in your ears. You almost allow his vulnerable demeanor to get to you.

Almost, but you know better.

Sighing, just like he did seconds ago, you voiced.

“Why do you even care, Jimin? You have nothing to do with my life anymore, you know?” You run your hands through your hair, nervously, looking away from him for a second. “As I’ve told you earlier today, you should’ve moved on by now, after all, you were the one who chatead. Own up to your mistakes, dear, you’re a grown ass man. And stop calling me babe!”

He looks at you, wide eyed after you snap at him. The fact that after all these months without seeing him, you were finally able to say everything you wanted to say to his face brought you some sort of relief. 

“When I saw you today, after all the time we’ve been apart, I realized that's the problem… I have nothing to do with your life anymore. I miss you, Y/n”.

It's so hard to hear him saying those things. Mostly, because, deep down you know you miss him too. It hurts so bad to know that you can never have him back, despite loving him. You'd never be able to truly let go of what he did to you. Acknowledging it was the hardest part, it felt like the lump in your throat just got bigger. 

“You can't change that unless you have a time machine”, you said under your breath, more to yourself than to him.

“I can't believe he took this away from me too… Fuck…", he snorts, rubbing his face harshly with both of his hands.”

“What are you trying to say? Who is he?", you ask him impatiently. You would not have him just throwing crazy and riddled information at you at this point. "Are you talking about Taehyung?

“No. It's not about Taehyung. Nevermind", his eyelids drop as he mumbles.

“Really? Is that how shit’s gonna go down? You come to my house to pester me in the middle of the night like you had the right to still be in my life after what you did? And you talk in riddles, like, if there's something I still need to know, now's the only time!” You stop, trying to find the right words to try to get to him as much as he did to you. He didn't move, his eyes were still closed as you spoke. As he made no move, you felt like you could continue. “You know what’s funny, though? I guess if things had worked out with miss thing, you wouldn’t be here right now. So, thank you for showing me you’re just a lonely piece of shit. It's good to know you're in pain too”. 

“You still have no idea, do you?” He snorts, mouth agape as he eyed you.

“Oh well, I don't know if I do. Please, enlighten me, Jimin-ssi. Did the illuminati make you cheat on me or something?"” Scorn spewing out of your words.

He looks at you once more, his eyes burning with longing. It just made your blood boil even more inside of your veins.

“I’m sorry, Y/n. I can’t even say how all of that broke my heart in, like, one million pieces”, he whimpered lowly, his head down as the words left his lips, not really entertaining your mockery.

You snort. 

“How all of that broke your heart? Have you considered that if you had not cheated, we’d still be together? Have you thought about how all of that broke my heart?” You poke him angrily on his chest, feeling the unwelcome misery settling once more in your chest once you heard Jimin’s words. “It was all your fault, Jimin! If we’re not together right now, it's your fault! You broke my heart!”

You vomit all those words at him, holding back the years with every single bit of strength left in you. His eyes travel up to meet yours as you spoke, Jimin’s features are clouded by something you can’t quite name. Is it regret? It must be, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Maybe he’s genuinely sad about it too, but it honestly doesn’t matter. Or maybe there was really something he was trying to tell. 

Whatever it is, hee deserves to deal with it on his own. You don’t have to allow him to drag you back to the hole of pain you were able to come out of, very recently, by the way.

“You’re right, Y/n-ssi. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have come here, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He sighs, running his hands through his dark locks that fell to the sides, looking partially messed, in a very attractive way. “Again, I’m sorry. For everything. Maybe, someday-”.

“Yeah, sure. It doesn’t matter anymore”, you cut him short. You just can’t do this anymore, you can’t listen to him whining. Not without bursting into tears and you definitely didn't want to cry in front of him. 

On the other hand, the attraction you feel for him, right now, standing before your front door, his features barely lit by the only source of light coming from your bedroom behind you. You hate him for still looking great, for still messing with you, for still being the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. You hate yourself too for feeling like that about him, after all this time.

“Is… This guy. Is he nice to you?” He breaks the silence, his voice as soft as feather touch against your ears.

“He’s just a guy, Jimin. But just stop… Stop asking”, you mutter. “Please, just go”.

He nods, still gazing at you with his magnetic dark eyes.

“I hope you know this”, he points to himself and to you, as he jerks his head in your direction. “Us. Me being here. It means I still have very strong feelings for you. Very strong feelings I can’t control, I guess”.

“I don’t wanna know, Jimin-ssi. Really”.

“I’m sorry, but by the way you still look at me… I’m sure there's still something there. Maybe you’ve done a nice job locking it away, but I know it’s still there”.

“I don’t-”, you stop yourself, and turn to him with a louder tone. “Just fucking go!”

The control you had over yourself so far was gone, you just want him out of your sight. Hopefully, out of your mind too.

When it finally seemed like he was ready to leave, he turned to you once more, gazing intensely into your eyes. Before you had the chance to tell him the get the fuck out for the last time, he had his arms around your waist and his lips found yours; hungrily. 

His kiss was exactly the way you remembered. Intense. Passionate. Breathtaking. Right. It just felt like home. His tongue pursues yours in a fervent twirl and your tongue corresponds in the same intensity. His hand travels upwards, resting on the nape of your neck, spreading a pleasurable warm sensation where it touched. 

He pins you up against the wall, his lips not leaving yours for a split second. He pressed his body against yours and you wrapped your arms around his neck, enclosing any space that could be left between your body and his. He felt so warm against you and the way his touch felt against your skin made it impossible for your brain to think about anything other than the right now and how much you longed for him.

“I’ve missed this”, he said softly, his plumpy lips against yours. “So much”.

He presses his lips against yours once more, but now you realize you can taste the soju on his tongue. Then, you come to your senses.

You’re missing your drunk ex-boyfriend in the middle of the night. This is the man who cheated on you. The man who made a fool out of you and didn’t give a fuck about your feelings. You swore you wouldn't allow him to touch ever again. Here you are, breaking your own promise. Worse part is, maybe he won’t even remember anything that was said or done when we wakes up tomorrow.

In an instinctive impulse, you push him as hard as you can, trying to create as much distance as possible from Jimin. You don't face him long enough to know what happens to him, besides the confused look on his face after forcing him away from you.

“Jimin-ssi… Just get the fuck out of my house”, you start babbling, but trying to control the wobbliness in your voice. 

You hate yourself for being so weak, all it took him was a kiss and you almost dropped all the defenses you’d worked so hard to build up.

“Y/n, just hear me out, please… I wanna tell you everything”, he cried out, his somewhat wobbly voice coming from behind you.

“Jimin, please!” You murmur, imploring. “Just leave me alone.

And there was silence. It felt like time had stopped, you just focused on not allowing the weight on your chest to take over you. You don’t know how long it takes, but you hear your front door being slammed, then all you could do was allow yourself the tears you were holding back to roll down your cheeks in an attempt to release this pain from your chest.

part 2

[pascaloverx]

Invisible Bonds: The Power of Destiny

Author's Note: This fanfic contains possible strong language and explores themes of unconventional love. The relationship between the protagonists will be handled with sensitivity, without explicit scenes. If there are explicit scenes, readers will be warned. This fanfic focuses on the reader's relationship with Jungkook and Taehyung, separately.

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Chapter Fourteen

It was days of waiting for either of them to come back to the hospital to visit you. What to do, maybe you're a hypocrite. Sending two handsome men away and now wanting them back It seems a bit silly even to you. Your mother didn't leave your side, not for a minute. She only stepped away when some of your other friends came to visit. Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jin, and Jimin. They all came here to spend a few hours, or in the case of Jimin and Hoseok, the whole day with you.  You can safely say that you understand what Jungkook and Taehyung mean to you,  but without remembering them, it hardly matters. It's been almost three days since you returned home, and neither of them has shown up at your house. According to your mother, both of them call her. She said that despite not understanding your romantic life, she's happy that you'll definitely marry well. You're not so sure if she's right, but you don't know if you have an open enough relationship to tell her that you don't remember wanting to marry anyone. Your mother was a great caregiver, but you're feeling more liberated now that she's back home. And your first task is to go downstairs to fetch the mail. Using crutches makes it incredibly difficult to descend the stairs in your building.

"You need some help?" You look ahead and come face to face with Jungkook, who seems to have just come from a run, his hair wet and his face slightly sweaty. Truth be told, what a handsome man.

"I'd really appreciate it if you could help me with these crutches. Grabbing mail with them seems to be impossible." You say in response, not looking directly at him. There's always the risk of getting lost in his gaze and giving the wrong impression.

"Let me help you with that." He says, using the keys in your hand to open your mailbox. You take a deep breath, feeling Jungkook's scent fill the air of the lobby. He then places your mail in your hands and takes your crutches, handing them to you. You look at him with confusion, wondering what his plan is. Then he firmly puts his arm around you, lifting you up and placing you in his arms.

"You know that's not what I meant when I accepted your help, right?" You speak as he carries you to your apartment, which by the way, you're not sure how he's managing. Maybe he's a supernatural being, huh?

"All I know is that you're not in a condition to go up and down alone. I guess what you're trying to say is thank you." He doesn't seem too pleased. You look at him a little embarrassed.

"I'll put you down now, so get ready." He speaks as you search for a good response to give him. Nothing comes to mind. Maybe this accident has affected your ability to interact.

"Look, I... would like to apologize. I was rude that day at the hospital. Maybe because I'm confused. Maybe it's because..." Again, your ability to think of what to say escapes you. But Jungkook seems to be amused by this.

"Because I want you, Taehyung wants you, and you have no idea what you want?" He says, opening the door to the apartment for you. You then smile. It's funny to be in a confusing love triangle.

"Can I be honest with you? Like really honest?" You speak as you look into his eyes, now standing face to face with him just after he opened the door.

"It's hard to imagine a moment when you haven't been like this with me, but okay, be honest. Give me the truth, I can take it." Jungkook says playfully, which seems quite charming.

"Wanting isn't the issue. I don't even remember you guys, and I could easily want both of you back, with reciprocity. The problem is that you both seem to have deep feelings, something I don't have. And I hate to break it to you, I don't want to discover feelings." You say, being as honest as you can possibly be. The proximity between you two becomes more physical, giving you a sense that perhaps Jungkook is less disappointed than you imagine.

"When we talk about wanting, you mean..." Jungkook seems to be teasing, which is quite pleasant. Flirting is something new since you lost your memory.

"I mean, if you were to kiss me right now, I'd be okay with that. But if you want to sit down and talk about feelings, I'll save it for another time." You speak straightforwardly. Was that how you were before, or is it a new aspect of your personality?

"I believe a kiss is worth more than just an 'okay,' but let's see how you feel about it in practice." He says, pulling you closer and kissing you. But contrary to what you expected, it's a gentle kiss. A kiss that stirs your emotions, which you now can see is Jungkook's objective. But you can't seem to pull your lips away from his. It feels like a kind of addiction, something you want to hold onto. In fact, you're holding onto Jungkook tightly to keep him as close to you as possible. Until you stagger, almost falling.

"You want to, um... have some tea with me?" You say, adjusting yourself and heading towards your apartment. Now, what you want is a long make-out session with Jungkook.

"I don't know, maybe it's too much for you. Not to mention I need a shower." He replies, teasing you.

"You have two seconds to come in here, close the door, and seize this opportunity. If you want, you can take a shower here. I have a great washer and dryer." You suggest nonchalantly but hoping he accepts. There's a fire burning inside you, and he seems to be the cure for it at the moment.

"You know that means you're going to see me naked, right?" He says, closing the door, and you smile, leaning against the corner of the couch. He then comes towards you, and you kiss him again. There goes your time to be alone and reflect on what's best for you.

[monkishes]

Friendly Fire | 01

You and Jungkook had been friends for quite some time, and it seemed like everyone around you could sense the spark between you. They noticed the playful banter and affectionate gazes he directed your way. However, you were completely oblivious to it all, thinking that your relationship with Jungkook was purely platonic. Little did you know, things were about to get complicated. Enter Jimin, who developed a crush on you. This unexpected turn of events stirred up some jealousy in Jungkook. What will happen next?

pairing : jungkook x f!reader + jimin x f!reader

extra : love triangle??, college au, student

word count : 1051

01/?? \\ previous -> next

"Are you being for real? You should see the way Jungkook looks at you." your friend, Leila, speaks, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible to avoid others from hearing it.

"Leila, shut up. Jungkook is just a friend." you groaned, grabbing onto her arm. "Plus, he likes someone else."

"You guys are always flirting though." she whines, adding an almost inaudible "it's so cute" at the end.

"He does that with everyone."

Leila scoffs, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'Seriously?' Something behind you catches her attention, causing her eyes to widen and her smirk to broaden.

"Your boyfriends here," she quickly whispers, just before Jungkook arrives. "Hey, Jeon."

"Leila," he acknowledges, barely sparing her a glance. His eyes focused on you as a warm smile lit up his face. "Can we go now?"

"Go where?" you asked, confused.

"I'm dropping you off, you idiot." he playfully rolls his eyes, "You're so forgetful."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, Leila." she sent you a knowing look before saying bye, leaving the two of you to walk down the now empty hallway by yourself.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Huh?" you looked up at him slightly as you walked, waiting for him to speak.

"Leila. She acts weird whenever she sees me." he shrugs.

"I.." you thought, searching your mind for an excuse. "I don't know, maybe she likes you." A small smile forms on your face at the impossible ordeal, Leila was so obsessed with you and Jungkook being in a relationship that there was no way she liked him.

"Really?" he seemed to be a little pleased at this, which confused you. "She's hot."

He had never shown even an ounce of interest towards her and out of nowhere he says shes hot?

You look up at him as he now stopped walking, his eyes fixed on something else. Following his gaze, you realise he's focused on Leila, not you.

A small frown fights to take place on your face, but you don't let it. There was a feeling in the pit of your stomach. Jealousy? No, it can't be, more like annoyance. You were annoyed. Annoyed at the fact that he was focusing on something else and not you.

In the past year and a half since you've became friends, you'd only ever seen Jungkook in a platonic way. Your relationship was strictly a friendly one, nothing more and nothing less, and you assumed he thought the same way too, but you weren't too sure.

One thing was for sure, though. Leila would be delighted to hear what was said about her.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Jungkooks car, you buckled your seatbelt and waited for him to join you, watching him through the window. He was occupied with talking to another one of his close friends, Park Jimin. When Jimin met your gaze, you quickly turned your head to your lap, suddenly finding your fingers much more interesting. Through the window his laugh could be heard.

So embarrassing, you thought, wincing at yourself for being caught staring. You weren't necessarily staring, though. Just zoned out for a second, but if Jimin had told Jungkook, he would surely tease you for it after.

Just as you were about to look over once more, the door opened, and Jungkook graciously took the drivers seat. You waited for him to buckle up and start the engine, but the time never came. Instead you heard the sound of him tapping away on his phone.

"What are we waiting for?" you asked, usually he wasted no time in getting you home as quickly as he could.

"Oh, Jimin's gonna come with us. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't it be?" After all, it was his car.

"Well, he said he caught you staring at him. I don't want you getting all shy." he looked over at you, placing his phone onto his lap and waited for your reaction, no trace of a smile evident on his features.

For a moment, you thought of what to say. You weren't looking at Jimin, you were looking at Jungkook, but telling him that would be a boost to his already enlarged ego. "Yeah, he's really cute." you said, emphasising the really, and letting a wide smile paint your face.

Jungkook scoffs, "I'm cuter."

"Debatable." you tried to keep the laugh from erupting, but couldn't keep your smile from broadening. Jungkook looked over at you again and frowned.

Laughing softly at his reaction, you nudged his shoulder. He really was cuter than Jimin. "I'm joking, you're the cutest."

"Oh, I know." he said, the satisfied smirk returning on his face.

A knock on the window interrupted you before a response could be uttered, and Jungkook looked over, unlocking the door for his friend.

"What took you so long?" he questioned as Jimin entered into the backseat.

"I was saying bye to Joon." you had turned your head to look at him, and as you did so, he was already looking right at you.

"Hey, Y/N." he said, nodding his head.

"Hi." was all you could get out before turning your head back.

Jungkook chuckled, starting the car. "She said she thinks you're cute."

"I cant blame her," he laughs along with him, watching as both your hands go to cover your face. "I think she's cute too."

"Okay, back up Jimin." Jungkook exclaims, his face dropping and tone becoming serious.

"What? She's not yours or anything." Jimin shrugs, leaning back in his seat and watching Jungkook through the rear mirror.

Jungkook makes a sound from the back of his throat, and says something almost inaudible that goes missed by Jimin, but not by you. You hear him mutter through his gritted teeth, "Dickhead." and can't fathom why the man beside you was acting so strange all the sudden. It's not like you've never received compliments from other guys before, and if you guys were just friends, why was he acting jealous? Maybe that's what it was, just acting.

The rest of the ride is spent in a comfortable silence, except for the music playing through the speakers and the winds gusting in through Jungkooks open window. Nobody says a word, not until Jimin is dropped off, at least.

[cherrysoulth]

MADNESS

💕Pairings: Female reader X Daechwita! King AgustD-1 // Female reader X Daechwita! AgustD-2

📝Summary: When the sound of Daechwita vibrates in the internal battle between the royal family twins. A king and a lover. Lust, Love and Betrayal are on rampage. You need to make a choice- Love or saving the trust. And your choices will have consequences...

✏️Genre: angst and fluff 

✏️Rating: PG-18

⚠️Warnings: Mentions of sex, violence, cheating/affairs

Hii! Welcome to my work. I'm new in this platform but been posting my writing for four years now in AO3. English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

Chapter 1: UNDER THE VEIL OF SILENCE

Chapter 2: A NEW BREEZE

Chapter 3:

Chapter 4:

© 2018-2024 Cherry Soulth, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, or unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

[nucleo-bang-tan]

The Uisa's Daughter | Teaser

Pairing/s: Kim Taehyung X Reader, Jeon Jungkook X Reader, slight Min Yoongi X Reader

Genre: Medieval Korea AU, Mystery, Strangers to Lovers, Angst, Smut

Rating/s: 18+ Mature Themes

Word Count: 430

Warning/s (For the teaser): Evil king, major character death, mentions of blood

Summary: In the 1700s, the Jeon Dynasty spread all across the Korean peninsula.  Happiness quadrupled with the founder Emperor's presence, or so it seemed. Secrets scattered over the palace in the capital city, Hanseong were known to none except a few.

Release Date: March 11 2024, 01:00 AM GMT

Masterlist

Prologue Chapter 1

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Regret is a funny thing.

You trust yourself while doing the actions, you trust the others around you. Barely thinking about the results, the consequences. But time takes it all away and you're left with this disgusting feeling called hate and annoyance of your past self clawing it's way until it finally breaks you.

You always thought of life as a matter of the present. To forget the past and live carefree of the future. No regrets.

Oh, but you were only human.

A human full of regrets.

Would it be better if you had ran away with him?

Should you have had exposed the Emperor the minute you knew what he wanted?

Would you not be stuck here if you knew your father better?

....should you not have asked for some better vegetables that day?

It was all your fault your lover was here,  bleeding out his insides. You saw as the King pushed the sword deeper into the gaping male in front of you.

The sharp tip of the legendary white tiger sword was now covered in blood, some dripping off the edge of it. You would ask how his lowly self dared to wield it but you needed to get your thoughts straight first. You opened your mouth to speak but all that was let out was a whimper.

Taehyung coughed up blood and looked at you with sad eyes. This could have gone better. His eyes spoke a clear message. He regretted it all. Just like you did.

But one thing he didn't regret was loving you. Heck, he couldn't help it no matter how much he tried.

"This is what you get for committing treason against me." The king spoke from behind Taehyung. He voice coming out with a series of pants. He didn't seem to regret a thing.

"T-Tae..." Your voice came out more silent than intended. "Taehyung?" Was the only word you could form.

Blood spilt from his mouth as he tried to smile and for a reply. He wanted to run to you. Embrace you while petting your hair, tell you he'll be fine.

He saw as you cried for him, your brain barely registering the existence of tears and focusing more on the sight in front of you.

"What was that? Still speaking of this wreched man's name?" The king scoffed and abruptly pulled his sword out of the bleeding man. You let out a scream of his name and ran towards Taehyung who fell to his knees.

The king smirked evilly above him,

"I told you, I'll make you regret it, Y/N."

[ot7heaven]

Never Let You Go

Pairing: idol!hobi x manager!reader

Genre: fluff, angst

Words: 4362

Warnings: none

Chapter 2: San Man

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Series Masterlist

OT7Heaven Masterlist

Just as Hunny starts tucking into her salad, Jihyeon glides into the break room. Effortlessly rocking the heels she loves to wear, Jihyeon looks the part. It’s not hard to believe she’s a nail technician judging by the way she’s always so put together. Hunny has only known Jihyeon for a month but she already admires her so much. Her infectious laughter, calming and kind personality, professionalism and kdrama actress good looks have made Jihyeon a favourite with staff and spa clients. Hunny is so glad to have found a spa with such nice employees.

“Is everything going okay out there?” Hunny asks, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth.

“The girls out there look rushed off their feet!”

“Let’s stay in here and hide for a while then,” Hunny laughs. “What scrumptious food have you brought in today?” The spa manager asks.

Setting her lunch on the table, Jihyeon replies “Kimchi Jjigae and also homemade brownies for afterwards.”

“My mouth is watering just thinking about those brownies!” Hunny exclaims. Last week it was Namseok’s birthday. Jihyeon brought in homemade matcha croissants for the waxer’s birthday. Needless to say, there were none left for him to take home after everyone enjoyed them on the morning break.

“Actually Lucas made these.” Jihyeon explains. Her boyfriend is a pastry chef in the kitchen of one of the fanciest hotels in Seoul - no, in all of Korea. Having a hot French pastry chef boyfriend at home is a blessing Jihyeon could never take for granted.

“So I'm guessing they’re out-of-this-world amazing, then?” Hunny asks as if the answer isn’t at all obvious in any way.

Laughing as she nods her head, Jihyeon slides the container across the table towards Hunny. Hunny is on a diet - again - but how can she resist? Surely one little brownie is okay… With its chunky chocolate chips and an ‘eat me’ deeply chocolatey scent… She barters with herself and decides to go jogging 6 times this week instead of the usual 5. She inspects the brownies until she finds one with the most chocolate chips. She makes that brownie her victim.

Noticing Hunny’s tactics, Jihyeon smiles “I think they all have lots of chocolate chips in them. Lucas knows we would have to break up if he deprived me of chocolate.”

Hunny puts the chosen brownie in her bag so she can enjoy it later at home. “Seriously, chocolate owns me. Chocolate has made me its little slave.” She disposes of the salad container and sips on her coffee. “I wonder if it settles down when we're back out there.” Hunny says hopefully as her eyes drift towards the door.

“Ugh, I hope so,” Jihyeon says, putting a cube of tofu in her mouth. “It seems that every guest in the hotel decided that today is the day for manicures and massages.”

The first verse of 'Dynamite' by Bangtan starts playing on the radio. Hunny smiles to herself as she reminisces about her chance encounter with Hobi yesterday. She’s spent so long being bombarded with Bangtan on the radio, television and even on Tumblr. One of her mutuals often posts edits and one shots regarding idols. Scrolling through Tumblr, she has seen one shots of Hobi. Hunny always scrolls by quickly when she sees Hobi’s name as it’s just too weird. Yes, Hobi is hot. Yes, he’s an idol. And yes, Tumblr is rife with Hobi thirst traps and edits. But being his childhood friend, Hunny thinks it crosses a line. One that she couldn't possibly allow herself to cross.

Gesturing upstairs towards the hotel rooms, “If you were doing in-room treatments you'd have no radio. So maybe being down here in the chaos is actually better than the tranquillity of doing treatments in the peace and quiet of a fancy suite.” Hunny offers, taking another sip of her coffee.

Giving it less than five seconds of thought, Jihyeon shakes her head with a slight smirk. “No, I have to say I actually prefer to be down here in the spa. Upstairs, I don’t have you or Namseok or anyone else to talk to. I feel a bit intimidated by the guests in the rooms.” She honestly admits.

“You do?” Hunny would never have guessed that Jihyeon's Achilles heel would be her confidence.

“Well, the guests that come down to the spa are relatable. I easily find common ground and I can just be myself. The guests in the suites? The fancy expensive suites? They expect more and I don’t always know how to connect with them.” She trails off shyly.

Hunny feels touched that Jihyeon felt she could be this open with her. “You just have to be yourself with all of your clients. I mean, you’re working in an award winning hotel for a reason! If you run out of topics to talk about you could always tell them about Lucas’ tasty croissants.” Hunny offers this advice sincerely because she knows how scary it can be to talk to rich clients who expect the world.

With a raised eyebrow, Jihyeon quips “Lucas’ tasty croissant? That’s for me and me alone.”

“You can behave yourself right now!” Hunny laughs. “You know what I meant.” She says as she disposes of her coffee cup. Heading towards the door to continue her shift, Hunny offers Jihyeon one last piece of advice. “If you ever need some advice or just a chat, my office door is always open.” 

After her shift, Hunny decides to get her eyebrows waxed. Namseok made a joke about them looking a little too wild. She thought that they looked fine - oops. She didn’t want to ask him to stay at work late so she tracked down a salon that she’s heard good things about. Pulling her car into a parking space, she turns the radio down so she can call her sister. Jinseong went to university in Denmark and fell in love. She stayed in Denmark after graduation to be with her Danish boyfriend. Not long after graduation, they got married and started a family. Hunny sometimes wishes she studied abroad. She thinks of the life she could be living right now if she left Korea. She could be fluent in English instead of her skills being just about conversational. She could improve her Japanese speaking skills. Hunny wishes that her speaking skills were as good as her listening skills because she feels overwhelmed and lost most of the time when she speaks Japanese. Hunny could have gone on so many adventures and seen so much of the world. She’s not yet left Asia apart from trips to see Jinseong and her new family. Jinseong may only be two years older than Hunny but she still feels so far behind her cool older sister. Hunny’s attempts at playing catch up have amounted to nothing. This only makes her break up with Sonhee more devastating.

After a few rings, Jinseong answers. “Hunny Hunny!”

Just hearing her sister’s voice fills Hunny’s heart with love. She beams, “Eonnie, I've missed your voice. How’s your day?”

“It’s only 10:30 in the morning so the day hasn’t even started yet,” Jinseong jokes. “Well, that’s if you don’t count Karen’s morning tantrum which seems to be a daily occurrence now.”

“Oh no. What happened? Is my little angel okay?” Hunny is her niece’s fiercest protector.

Jinseong scoffs, “Little angel? Little angels don’t cry because they want to come to work with mommy. Lars has taken her to see his parents so they'll be out of town until the evening, I guess.”

“So you can come home from work and relax in the bathtub with a very large glass of wine?” Given the time, Hunny assumes that Jinseong is on her morning coffee break and would love something a little stronger than coffee.

”Ooh, that does sound like a good idea! How are you doing? It’s been so long since we last spoke.”

Realising that they haven’t spoken since Hunny moved to Seoul, she mentally scolds herself for not keeping in touch during the move. “I’m good. All settled in now. Just missing my Karen.”

“Have you made any friends yet?” Jinseong asks. She really cares about Hunny. Knowing it can be scary moving to a city, she just wants to give Hunny a huge hug and tell her this adventure is going to be amazing.

“I’ve made a few friends at work. My colleague, Jihyeon, gave me a homemade brownie today. I just couldn’t resist. So Sunday will no longer be my rest day. A quick 30 minute jog and that brownie will be forgotten about.”

Jinseong sighs, ”You’re lucky that you don’t live in Copenhagen. The bakeries here are amazing.”

“I’d never see a rest day again in my life!” Hunny laughs.

“So Jihyeon bakes?” Jinseong quizzes.

“Her boyfriend does. He’s a French pastry chef. Jealous doesn't even begin to describe how I feel” Hunny jokes.

“I bet. She’s a lucky girl. And how are you feeling today,” her tone shifts, “with it being the day of what would be your four year anniversary?”

Reality hit Hunny like a brick. She spent so long surrounded by memories of him in Gwangju. Memories that she thought she’d never escape. Four years of being a dream team gone. Just like that. Ouch. She now remembers why she was so desperate to move to Seoul. She hasn’t cried in weeks but feels tears threatening to spill. The man she thought she might marry is no longer in her life and she hasn't thought about it for weeks. That’s either Hunny moving on or Hunny going on autopilot to cope with this big life change. She’s surprised that Jinseong remembered the anniversary and she didn’t.

Shaking her head and blinking fast, “I haven’t thought about Sonhee much recently. I think I’m just trying to get used to being in Seoul that I haven’t really had time for anything or anyone else. I’m sorry that I haven’t called you in a while.” 

“Hey, don’t be sorry. You’ve been busy. I just want you to be okay.” Jinseong reassures her younger sister.

“I think I am going to be okay. It just may take some time for me to really believe it. One of my colleagues - employees - said that my eyebrows were looking a little too wild today. Wow, saying 'employees' is going to take some getting used to.” Hunny laughs, “He was only teasing. Everyone at work has been welcoming and kind, so I think I’ll be okay. They all seem like great friends.”

“Is he a friend or something more?” Jinseong cheekily asks.

“Namseok is not even a friend yet. I don’t know him that well so it’s been weeks of polite small talk.” Hunny says, hoping that she gets the chance to know him as well as everyone else at work knows him. “I’m actually about to get my eyebrows waxed. Would you mind at all if we ended the call here and carried this conversation on later?” Hunny hates ending phone calls with Jinseong. Timezones and busy lives mean they don’t even get weekly check in calls.

“Go! Go get your sexy brows and we can talk later. I’ll call you on my afternoon break. I love you Hunny.”

“I love you Eonnie. Bye.” After cutting the call, Hunny steps out of the car and makes her way to the salon.

After what felt like an unnecessarily long day all Hunny wanted to do was sit on her couch, watch Business Proposal and eat that dreamy homemade brownie. Just as she took her first bite of chocolatey goodness, a flash of pure white came running in from the hallway. The surface of Hunny’s face was just 90% pure smile at the sight of her cat. Sonhee had gotten Hunny a kitten for her 25th birthday. She spent so long saying she wanted a dog. However, her apartment was tiny. It would not have been ideal or realistic to raise a dog in that apartment. Sonhee compromised and brought San into Hunny’s life. San is the best friend she’s ever had. He occasionally reminds her of Sonhee but he’s a nice way to remember the good times they shared. She doesn’t know how she would have coped with moving to a new city if she had to leave San back in Gwangju.

With her eyes rolling back at how good the brownie tastes, Hunny licks her lips. “San Man, why can’t you bake like this?” The white ball of fur nestles next to her on the couch. He purrs with contentment, happy to have his owner back home from work. Before Hunny can even miss the taste of the brownie on her tongue, her phone starts to ring. Leaning over to look at the coffee table, Hunny notices that it is Jinseong. A video call? Now that’s more like it. Hunny misses her eonnie’s face. Propping her phone up against a decorative potpourri bowl on her coffee table, she presses the answer button.

No sooner than the call connected did Karen’s little face take up the whole screen. Hunny’s five year old niece beamed as she saw her long distance auntie for the first time in too long. “Hunny Eonnie! Eomma told me to give you a kiss before I have a nap,” the small shouted into the screen, not realising that her indoor voice would be much appreciated.

“Karen, I love your kisses. Thank you so much my little Bunny.”

Jinseong appeared as she placed Karen on her lap. ”Let’s see those brows then,” she said, trying to hold a hyperactive Karen in place as she attempted to wriggle out of her mother’s grip.

Hunny leaned down so her sister could inspect her brows through the screen, “I think they’re the best I’ve ever had. Don’t you think so?”

After a quick inspection, Jinseong nods in approval. “Lookin’ good, girl! Just don’t tell the waxers at work that you cheated on them,” Jinseong laughs. She looks over to the right as she places Karen back on the floor. “Karen, give Hunny Eonnie one last kiss. Appa’s ready to read you a story now.”

“Can he read me The Little Mermaid?” The sweet child asks with the biggest puppy dog eyes Hunny has ever seen.

Jinseong beams down at her daughter and teases, “Only if Hunny Eonnie agrees.”

Okay. Hunny was wrong. These eyes are the biggest puppy dog eyes she’s ever seen. In a way, Hunny is lucky she doesn’t live in the same country as Karen. She knows she would have to say goodbye to her disposable income and free time. And maybe, her sanity.

“Hunny Eonnie…” those puppy dog eyes get bigger with each syllable. Hunny doesn’t know how Karen does it but she has everyone wrapped around her finger at all times. There must be magic behind those sparkly brown eyes. “Can Appa read me The Little Mermaid?”

“Seeing as you asked so politely, of course he can Bunny. But first, I want another kiss.”

Karen kisses the screen for the briefest of seconds. Not wanting to miss out on any reading time before her nap. And in an instant, she runs out of the room.

“Wasn’t she going to see Lars’ parents today?” Hunny asks suddenly, remembering that Jinseong should be at work and Karen should be at the coast with her appa’s parents.

Jinseong pouts, “She fell over and cut her knee up pretty badly. She wouldn't let Lars’ eomma clean her up unless I left work early and kissed it better.” It’s never easy seeing your child in pain and hurt. Especially when you’re almost one hour away. As much as she loves her marketing job, she would drop everything to be there when Karen needs her. And she has. Multiple times. She really can do it all - career woman and mother. Hunny is always in awe of her.

Hunny’s heart sinks at the thought of her little Bunny being hurt. “Oh, no. When you go into her room make sure to give her extra kisses from me.” There’s no ocean Hunny wouldn’t cross just to make her little niece giggle and smile. Man, she loves Karen’s lopsided grin. She’s currently missing one of her front teeth but that somehow adds to her charm.

Nodding, Jinseong sits up straight. “So, come on. Anything new with you?” Always one for a gossip session, Jinseong brings out Hunny’s talkative side like no other. Jinseong feels like a friend rather than a sister. Hunny’s so grateful for that. If Hunny had a brother instead, the connection just wouldn't be the same.

San stretches out, taking up even more room on the couch. At this point, Hunny will need to buy a bigger couch. Stroking the mini cloud beside her, Hunny thinks back to her meeting with Hobi yesterday. Jinseong still doesn’t know about it. Jinseong got along with all of Hunny’s childhood friends. The kids in the neighbourhood all hung out together. Everyone knew everyone’s business so eventually Jinseong would become friendly with Hunny’s friends, and vice versa. The fact that Hobi lived 4 houses away meant that he would be at Hunny’s house almost every day. The days when he wasn’t, Hunny was at his house. Jinseong hopes that Karen’s childhood will be like that. Living in the centre of a big city should be great but it lacks the small town feel that everyone’s childhood needs.

“Well, yesterday I went to this cafe near my apartment. Jihyeon from work recommended it to me because we live in the same neighbourhood and she knows all the good spots.” Hunny starts.

Jinseong’s eyes light up, “Ooh, how was it?”

“I have to say, it lived up to the hype. Most cafes in Seoul are pretty but the drinks are terrible. Thankfully that was not the case here.” Hunny makes a mental note to go back to the cafe soon. “I was about to leave and guess who called out my name.”

Jinseong wracks her brain. Who do they both know living in Seoul? Unless it was someone from their hometown who was visiting Seoul. But who? “I really have no clue,” her eyes dart to the side as if she’ll find answers there. “I can only think of Eomma and Appa… have they moved to Seoul to secretly spy on you?”

Hunny laughs in amusement, “No, they’re still on their American cruise. Eomma keeps sending me photos of Baskin Robbins!”

“Aw, she’s so sweet. Someone needs to tell her that there are such things as international chain restaurants.” The elder sister smiles as she remembers being surprised when she first recognised the names of restaurants and stores in Denmark, quickly learning that 711 was not a little Korean secret. “But, who? I couldn't even begin to guess. My mind is empty. Well, it’s empty apart from the ‘Encanto’ soundtrack.” She laughs, never being able to escape ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ thanks to Karen’s latest favourite movie.

“Jung Hoseok - I saw Hobi!” Hunny bursts out unable to contain her excitement.

“No way. He was just in the cafe?” Jinseong found it hard to believe an idol would be in a space so public and potentially busy. Don’t idols hangout at their companies where they can socialise away from prying eyes?

With a nod accompanying a beaming smile, Hunny replies “He was sitting in the corner but, yes. I had to do a double take. It’s been years. Like, so many years but that’s still my Hobi.” Now Hunny was the one whose eyes mimicked an innocent puppy.

“How is he doing?” Jinseong asks with a warm tone.

“Oh Eonnie, he seems so happy. And he hasn’t changed.” She says just as San purrs.

“I think San approves,” Jinseong jokes.

“I should hope so! We exchanged phone numbers and we’re hanging out on Friday.” Hunny feels as though she’s been given the biggest lifeline by finding Hobi. If they can recreate their childhood friendship, Hunny will need no one else. The two best friends were inseparable once and, if life hasn’t burned them too much, hopefully their old roles will fit like a glove.

“You’ll have to say hello from me.” Jinseong says.

“We’ll have no time to talk about you. We have a LOT to catch up on,” The younger sister proclaims in jest. “Min Yoongi was also there…” She sheepishly utters. She can’t even attempt to hide how flush her cheeks have become at the mere mention of her bias and celebrity crush.

“Hunny, tell me everything! Have you set a date for the wedding yet?” Jinseong quips.

“Don’t even joke about that because if I let myself daydream about marrying Yoongi, I’ll start to be severely disappointed when I remember that I live in the real world.” Hunny doesn’t have a list of boxes a man needs to tick to win her heart. Her dream man doesn’t need to look a certain way, have a certain job or have certain hobbies. That being said, Yoongi ticks every hypothetical box imaginable. And extra boxes. If there was a dream man, it’d be Min Yoongi and Min Yoongi only. Yoongi is perfect. Or rather, the public image he projects is perfect.

“Was he everything you’d hope he’d be?” Meeting someone you admire isn’t always advisable. Idols have a certain image that their companies have created for them. Just because an idol is funny and sincere in an interview, that doesn’t mean that they’re not a major jerk when they’re not at work.

Smiling into the phone screen, Hunny may need to pinch herself to ensure she’s reminded that the encounter wasn’t a daydream. “After a while, it felt just like talking to Hobi,” she admits.

“That’s so great. A couple of weeks ago I watched their show that they livestreamed from Seoul. Was it called ‘Permission To Dance?’ Or something like that?” Jinseong searches her mind for the name of the concert.

Instantly, Hunny has the answer. Of course she does. “Yep, ’Permission To Dance’. You’re starting to become an army?”

“Well Karen has gotten into kpop since I played Blackpink in the car. I wish she spoke more Korean so kpop karaoke sessions in the car are becoming our morning routine. I even heard Lars singing ‘Whistle’ whilst cooking dinner last week.” Jinseong chuckles.

Hunny laughs, “Please tell me his bias is Jisoo.” Jisoo is Hunny’s Blackpink bias. It seems as though Jisoo is the least biased member, so Hunny always gets excited whenever she finds out Jisoo is someone’s bias.

“I think she might be.” Jinseong tries to recall listening to Blackpink with Lars, but she can only remember her excitement at having a fellow Blackpink fan in her house.

“Good man Lars,” Hunny approves. “So you were watching the Bangtan concert?”

“Yes. So Karen has decided that Bangtan might be her next fixation. She begged me to watch it so that she could learn their songs,” she explains.

“I knew there was a reason I liked that kid.”

Jinseong laughs, “She kept on saying ‘I like him’ whenever Yoongi appeared on the screen.” It’s highly likely that thousands, if not, millions of girls shared Karen’s exact thought. “I think she wants to marry ‘Life Goes On’ Yoongi when she grows up.”

“Get in line, kid. But seriously, I think it’s so cute that she may become a little blink or army,” the doting auntie remarks. San, clearly not  impressed at the prospect of having another army in his life, jumps off the couch and retreats to his bed next to the floor length window.

Hunny yawns. She wishes she could be discreet about it and yawn like a lady. She wishes she could be like that. Sadly, her tiredness forces her manners to take a backseat. Before she can comprehend what it takes to begin to feel embarrassed about showing Jinseong all of her teeth along with her tonsils, she yawns again. These gigantic yawns are becoming increasingly involuntary.

“Tired?” Jinseong giggles. She realises how late it must be in Korea. Hunny actually completed a full shift today, unlike her elder sister. On top of that, she also worked out before work. Jinseong respects Hunny for working out before work every morning. Why on earth would anyone want to wake up earlier than absolutely necessary? Hunny should just workout after she finishes work. Like normal people. Like Jinseong.

“So tired,” Hunny mumbles along with another yawn. Stretching her arms in an attempt to wake herself up, Hunny stumbles and slides off the couch. Luckily she has a large sheepskin rug placed under the coffee table to break her fall.

Unable to hold a laugh in, Jinseong reluctantly mocks her sister. “Be careful. If you fell through the floor and into your neighbour’s apartment, you know I’d pee myself from laughing so much.”

“Meanie!” Hunny pouts as she finds comfort on her leather couch. Trying to take the high ground would prove useless because Hunny knows all too well that she would laugh so hard if the roles were reversed.

“You should head off to bed. We can talk again soon. Next time Karen can talk your ear off about Yoongi.” Karen loves talking about her new obsessions. Once she gets started, she doesn’t stop. She reminds Jinseong of a young Hunny. Maybe that’s why they get along so well.

“I like the sound of that. Talk soon?”

Jinseong nods, “Soon.”

“I love you Eonnie.”

“I love you Hunny. Sleep well.” Hunny’s phone screen returns to her wallpaper of San sleeping on Hunny’s periwinkle blue pillows.

Hunny finally takes herself off to bed once she finishes brushing her teeth and completing her skincare routine. Getting her nightly routine down to just five steps is an accomplishment Hunny is proud of. Her skin certainly thanks her for it. But right now she’s that tired that it feels like a twenty step routine. Her bed has never felt as cosy as it does tonight. Her pillows are soft and plump. Her mattress is just the right level of firm. She welcomes sleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

[sweetestofchaos]

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙽𝚊𝚖𝚓𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚈/𝙽 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚂𝙵𝚆, 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝙾𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙰𝚄, 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝙿𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚢 (𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛)...𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 𝟷.𝟻𝚔 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛: 𝙾𝚗𝚎​

𝐴/𝑁: 𝖡𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝖻𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝖿𝗎𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖺𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝖽 @itaeewon

​ 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 // 𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 // 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

“Did you see the new guy?”

“New guy?”

“Yes! The new guy filling in for Manager Lee. He’s so freaking hot!”

“Shhh! Do you want to get sent to HR?!”

“Please, once HR gets a look at him, they would totally understand.”

Namjoon rolls his eyes as the voices from the breakroom fill the air. It’s day one as the new manager for his uncle’s computer repair business and so far, all everyone can talk about is his looks. Stepping into the breakroom, Namjoon offers the two women a smile and they both scramble to see if he would like help with anything. Namjoon declines their offers and goes about making himself a cup of coffee. Next week he won’t have to worry about making his own anything once his friend, Y/N starts to work as his new secretary. Namjoon smiles to himself and nods his head to the ladies before he leaves the breakroom with his black coffee in hand. 

Later that night Namjoon makes his way to Y/N’s apartment with a small black bag in his hand. As he rides the elevator, he thinks over his day and sighs. He doesn’t understand why females have to talk about him like he’s some kind of conquest. He has more to offer than just his good looks and a good time in bed. Shaking his head as the doors open, Namjoon steps out onto Y/N’s floor and makes his way to her apartment door. Pulling the key from his pocket, Namjoon unlocks the door and lets himself in.

The scent of Goya, cayenne pepper and other spices tickle Namjoon’s nose and his stomach growls loudly as he takes his shoes off. Locking the door behind himself, Namjoon steps farther into the apartment and goes right to the kitchen where he can hear Y/N singing along to whatever song is playing on her bluetooth speaker. As ‘Die For You’ by the Weekend plays, Namjoon watches from the threshold as Y/N rocks her hips to beat, singing off key which makes him smile. He loves that she sings even when she isn’t that great at it.

“Knock, knock.” Namjoon announces his presence and Y/N jumps a little from his sudden appearance. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, Poppy.”

Y/N rolls her eyes and sets the spoon in her hand down on the counter. Wiping her hands off on a towel, Y/N walks over to Namjoon and wraps her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. “How was your first day?” 

Namjoon holds Y/N close and buries his nose into the kinks and coils of Y/N’s black hair. There are a few grays showing and it soothes Namjoon’s soul to know that she has fully embraced her imperfections that mean the most to Namjoon.

“It was…okay.” Namjoon pulls away from Y/N and asks if she needs help with anything and Y/N declines his offer. Telling him to sit down at the counter while she finishes up with dinner. Namjoon sits at the counter and places the bag in his hands in front of him. He keeps his eyes on Y/n, watching as she moves around in her own little world as she plates dinner and puts a few finishing touches on some dishes. Tonight’s dinner is soul food, and the smells are making Namjoon’s mouth water. He loves his normal Korean cooking, but something about the way Y/N throws down with her food just sends his soul to the moon.

Y/N sets the food on the table along with two glasses for herself and Namjoon. Sitting beside Namjoon, Y/N raises an eyebrow at the black bag on the table. Namjoon notices Y/N staring at the bag and he quickly moves it to the chair beside him. “We can worry about it after dinner.” Namjoon starts to fill his plate with food and Y/N waits until he’s good before she starts to make her plate. “Are you ready for next week?”

“Yeah. I think so. I got a few new outfits and some shoes since I can’t wear jeans.”

“What are you going to be wearing?”

“Skirts and dresses for the most part. I’m not a huge fan of dress pants.”

Namjoon laughs and nods his head as he takes a bite of the fried chicken. “Damn…I swear your cooking could end every single war in the world.”

Y/N snorts and shakes her head as she swallows past a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “I don’t think it’s that crazy, Joonie.” Y/N notices that their glasses are empty, and she jumps up. “Oh! Shit, what did you want to drink? I got some soju, wine, water, soda-“

“I’ll drink whatever you have.”

Y/N nods her head and goes into the fridge to grab a two liter of cranberry ginger ale, filling the glasses a little more than halfway before she puts the soda back. Namjoon takes a sip of his drink and his nose crinkles as the fizzy bubbles tickle his nose. Y/N laughs and Namjoon smiles showing off his dimples. 

“This is really good with soju.” Namjoon points out and Y/N has to agree with him. “We drinking tonight?”

“Do you think you should be drinking after day one, boss?” Y/N tease. 

“One bottle wouldn’t hurt.”

A week later, Y/N is sitting in the passenger seat of Namjoon’s car, dressed to impress in a sheer white ruffle button down shirt, a soft pink knee length pencil skirt and white heels. Her thick curls are piled high on her head and twisted tightly together in a braided bun. Namjoon is dressed in a white button up with black slacks and his blonde hair is pushed out of his face showing off his forehead. At a red light, Namjoon looks over at Y/N when he notices that she’s playing with a necklace that’s around her neck making him smirk.

“You really like it?” Namjoon inquires as he stares at the purple teardrop diamond that rests in the hollow of Y/N’s throat. 

“I love it, Joonie. I really can’t thank you enough for the gift.”

Namjoon smiles, his dimples deep as the light turns green and he continues his way to the company. Pulling up to the front doors, Namjoon licks his lips as he glances over at Y/N as a man comes over to open the doors. 

“It’s going to be all eyes on you today. Just ignore them and do your job. Don’t worry about what everyone has to say.”

Y/N nods her head and unbuckles her seatbelt when Namjoon gets out of the car. He opens the passenger side door for Y/N and offers his hand. Y/N grabs hold of Namjoon’s hand and gets out of the car, letting go of his hand. Y/N stays two steps behind Namjoon, her arms at her sides as she follows Namjoon to the elevators. Namjoon presses the up button and shows his hands into his pockets, feeling his phone against his knuckles. The elevator doors open and Namjoon motions for Y/N to step in first before he joins her. 

“What’s our story?” Namjoon questions and Y/N rolls her eyes.

“I’m your personal assistant that’s been with you for-” Y/N thinks about how long she and Namjoon have worked together before she continues. “five years. I would have joined you last week, but I had to tie up loose ends at our old workplace.”

“If anyone asks you out?”

Y/N laughs, “I doubt any of your employees will ask out the new black woman that works directly under their boss.”

“Poppy,” Namjoon warns and Y/N sighs.

“If anyone asks me out, I just reinforce the dating policy.”

“And?” Namjoon looks down at Y/N and she shrugs her shoulders. Namjoon shakes his head and leans down. “And you must tell me who asks you out.”

Y/N laughs and pushes Namjoon away from her softly. “Like that’s any of your business, Joo-” Y/N catches herself and clears her throat. “Mister Kim.” Y/N gives Namjoon a teasing smile and Namjoon clicks his tongue before the elevator doors open. Namjoon steps out first followed by Y/N and together they walk towards the main office where all his employees work.

All eyes are on Namjoon as he clears his throat. “Good morning, everyone.” Namjoon looks around and motions for Y/N to stand beside him. “I would like everyone to meet my personal assistant, Y/N. She will be the main contact for everyone who might need me from now on. Y/N – ssi will take care of everything in my place when I am not present.” Namjoon steps away from Y/N and allows her to take over the spotlight while he watches with a stony face.

“As Manager Kim said, I will be your point of contact from now on. I hope that we can work well together. I’ll be in your hands.” Y/N bows with a smile on her face and Namjoon is impressed, he thinks Y/N introduced herself very well. He really hopes that with Y/N around the ladies and even some men in the office will leave him alone now.

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 // 𝑁𝑒𝑥𝑡 // 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

[foxymoxynoona]

Asunder (Chapter One)

(Gorgeous banner & linebreaks by @awrkive)

Asunder (Ongoing, Chapter 1 on Tumblr) Book 2/Prequel of The Legends of the Red-Lions Series

Avvar Warrior Taeyung x Avvar Mage OC

Technically the prequel to the Lowlander but finishes after The Lowlander. Can be read before the Lowlander if you prefer, either story will contain spoilers for the other.

Summary: Before there was the romance of a Lowlander elf and the Hold's best warrior in the shadow of a dragon, there was a much simpler story: a boy and his friends. A boy and his friends who wed each other, and loved each other, and hated each other, while he watched, and regretted, and tried not to drown in his own broken heart. A boy who wasn't just a boy at all but the son of the Thane and a mother slain and a dream that never quite fit. A boy who grew into a strong brave man who still secretly wanted the same boyish things: to love, to be loved, to be free, to be just a boy, a boy with his friends. Maybe the gods never intended for the story to be simple.

CW: domestic violence & child abuse (abusive father), graphic violence, raiding, character death, loss, depression, love triangle, emotional infidelity, divorce, explicit sex, explicit language, heartbreak, unrequited love, major pining, grievous injuries, series still in progress so I don't know everything yet, friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, fluff,

Read entire work on AO3 | Read chapter one below | Multi-story series masterlist

Taehyung’s fist connected with Do’s nose. He dropped instantly to his knees as a fountain of blood gushed forth. For a moment Taehyung froze, wide-eyed at the damage he’d managed to do sort of by chance. But when Do bolted up, face a mask of rage, Taehyung realized he couldn’t quit in the middle of a fight just because he was shocked by the blood. Not that he was any great fighter at seven years old, and it wasn’t his first fight, just the first one he’d managed to draw blood in. He’d gotten lucky with that punch, just like Do got lucky with the next one and managed to knock the wind out of him with a fist in his stomach.

The other boy, Jungkook ar Mara, jumped onto Do’s back and began pounding on his head. He was small, so it looked more annoying than painful, but it gave Taehyung a moment to catch his breath and then rush forward, shoulder wedging into Do’s back to knock him against a log bench near the edge of the clearing. 

Taehyung thought for sure Jungkook was going to be crushed, but he leapt off the bigger boy like a rabbit at the very last second. Do went down hard and lay still, the last opponent.

Jungkook stayed by Taehyung’s side but the wall of children who’d simply watched kept their distance, as if unsure that the show was actually over and not wanting to accidentally become involved by moving too soon. No one else had thrown in to help Jungkook when the bigger boys started to shove him around anyway so Taehyung wasn’t surprised, nor by the fear on their faces as they regarded him now. If there had ever been a time the other children were nice to him, he didn’t remember it, and his father becoming Thane last year in a bloody turnover had earned him fear but no friendships.

Jungkook elbowed him as he wiped the blood and drool and snot and tears from his face and asked, “Did you kill him?”

“I fucking hope not,” Taehyung said. Ama told him not to use that word like Apa did, but it felt right in this moment as together they looked down at Do’s hulking, unmoving form. There were a lot of rocks on the other sides of those logs. He might have just killed Do. He wasn’t sure whether Apa would be proud of him for having his first kill at seven or not, but he knew for sure he’d leave out the part where he pissed himself and vomited on his shirt –which was definitely what was about to happen if he’d actually just killed Do.

“I wasn’t trying to kill him,” Taehyung said, so quietly only Jungkook could hear. “I just wanted to help you…”

He turned to look for an adult when suddenly someone crashed into his shoulder, leapt over the log, and settled down beside the bully. Taehyung used the moment to hide the way he swiped at his eyes; no matter what, Apa would be furious if he cried again. He cried too much, Apa told him that all the time, and death was definitely not something to cry over because either it was honorable or embarrassing. 

It was one of the older girls who’d crouched beside Do and then said matter of factly, “He’s not dead but you did knock him out cold. Someone should send for a healer…” Taehyung just stared at her and she seemed to think he wasn’t going to do it, so she pointed at someone else. “Hoseok, will you run?” The boy gave her a scared look but took off at her command. Everyone seemed to just accept that there were no adults so suddenly this girl was in charge.

Now she stood stepped over the log to them, demanding, “Well? Does it feel good that you hurt him?”

“Yes,” Taehyung confirmed. “I guess I didn’t want to kill him but he can’t just pick on people smaller than him.” The girl looked at him like he’d grown a second head, so he added, “He’s a piece of shit.”

“Why do you talk like that? It’s not impressive. You’re six.”

“I’m seven,” Taehyung corrected and glared because apparently she didn’t know who he was. “I’m Thane Greybeard’s firstborn son!”

“Oh.” She looked like she was trying to be impressed because it was the right thing to do but couldn’t quite pull it off. 

Jungkook ar Mara lifted his hand and admitted, “I’m six.”

“You’re bleeding,” the girl frowned. Taehyung looked at Jungkook’s bloody nose and bloody lip and ruffled hair and the gash beneath his eye. It wasn’t the first time Do and Bjorn and their friends picked on Jungkook ar Mara, but something had made them extra violent today. The teachers tended to look the other way because maybe they were only children now but someday they would be adults and they needed to learn to be strong and settle their own affairs as soon as possible. There wasn’t time to be weak and useless, even if you were small. 

Taehyung had watched Jungkook endure the bullying with an impressive stoicism and been confused because it was honorable to endure like he did but it was also weak to be bullied. He’d often seen Jungkook’s older sister Mina ar Mara comforting him before they walked home together after classes. Everyone liked Mina ar Mara but when she had tried to chase the boys off they thought it was even funnier that Jungkook’s big sister was trying to protect him. Once they’d turned their teasing on her, and Jungkook had launched himself at them and managed to get a few kicks in, but he was little and couldn’t do much and that also seemed to make it worse. Taehyung kind of envied them that though –having a brother or sister who would try to protect you like that. He had no one.

Maybe that was what had made him snap today when Do and Breck and Niilo had set in on Jungkook. Mina wasn’t at lessons today. Breck ran off quick when Taehyung kicked him in the stomach, and Niilo only fought back until he realized who Taehyung was, but Do hadn’t cared.

And now Do was passed out in the mud like a drunk pig.

The girl reached for Jungkook, pulling a square cloth from her pocket to press against his eyes. Taehyung frowned because it didn’t seem fair that he was the one who’d jumped into a fight to protect someone he barely even knew but Jungkook was the one getting babied. 

“I am too,” Taeyung pointed out, pointing to the blood on his lip. He’d knocked a tooth out when Do punched him but the truth was it was about to fall out anyway. He wasn’t sure what had happened to his cheek but thought Do might have scratched him with his disgusting badger nails.

“I thought you were seven,” the girl said. “Aren’t you Thane Greybeard’s firstborn son?”

“I’m not a baby either,” Jungkook said, suddenly pushing her hands away. He pulled the cloth away and handed it back to her and she looked crestfallen. “We don’t need your help.”

Megeera, one of the village healers, came running into the lesson house yard with the boy called Hoseok, her voice high as she demanded, “What’s going on here? Lessons are done for the day, go home!”

“Fighting!”

“They were fighting!”

“Do’s out, Taehyung killed him.”

“I didn’t kill him,” Taehyung shouted. He spun, glaring, ready to challenge anyone who said it to his face. He decided it was a bad idea to have his first kill at seven because everyone looked horrified instead of impressed so they better not say that about him. The wall of unfriendly stares brought him up short. Ama insisted that over time, the other children would fear him less and he would make friends, but it had been a year now. He didn’t remember ever having a friend in his whole life. He rarely bothered to even learn anyone’s name.

He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t cry in front of everyone who misunderstood him or hated him and he hadn’t even done anything except help someone who was getting hurt. He turned his back to them, trying to fling the tears from his eyes before they could slide down his cheek. 

But the girl saw. He knew she saw, because she gave him the same look he’d seen Mina give Jungkook, like he was a cute little baby who’d been hurt and she was worried.

“You’re hurt too,” she said, and produced another cloth from her skirt pocket. 

When she pressed it to Taehyung’s cheek though, a blue light sparked. They both yelped and she dropped the cloth. Just as quickly, she pressed her hand to his cheek again, her eyes going wide as the blue light resumed.

“Karmen!” the boy Hoseok yelled. “You have magic!”

“What? Back away!” Megeera shouted, rising quickly from where she’d been trying to wake Do. 

The fear on Karmen’s face was instant and obvious. Every child was warned about the dangerous first signs of magic. Usually something crazy happened, like you accidentally blew up a hut or melted your bed or froze the lake around you and were stuck in the ice until a trained mage could come melt you out. Taehyung had heard about a boy who was plucking a chicken, then suddenly poof! No more chicken. Just feathers and guts everywhere. He’d cried for two days, worried he’d blow up Ama the same way, even though she had pointed out no one in their family had ever shown magic. No mixed blood in his family, just Avvar since the beginning.

Maybe because she’d just seen him wipe those traitorous tears away, and now he’d seen her very first magic, or maybe because he was impressed she was the only other child to jump forward and help, or maybe because she’d looked at him the way Mina looked at Jungkook and no one ever looked at Taehyung that way except Ama and he was just lonely … Whatever the reason, Taehyung grabbed her hand and pressed it to the gash on his cheek that was really starting to hurt as he caught his breath from the fight. It was right above his lip.

“Don’t blow me up.”

“I don’t know anything about…” the girl began but trailed off as her hand glowed blue. It was a beautiful blue light, mesmerizing, and so bright it hurt to look at. Taehyung closed his eyes and tried not to complain at the way it burned against his skin. He just stayed very still, like he was very good at doing.

Suddenly her hand was wrenched away, and Megeera shouted, “What by the Lady do you think you’re doing? You have only seen the first glimpse of magic just this moment and you have your hand to a boy’s face? And not just any boy but the son of our Thane! Are you out of your mind, Karmen ar Hilde?! You are wiser than this!”

Karmen ar Hilde dropped her gaze and fidgeted beside Taehyung. On his other side, Jungkook ar Mara craned his neck, eyes so wide and mouth turned down in a pout so that he kind of looked like a craggie. Taehyung thought Megeera was scolding all of them but he honestly wasn’t listening to any of it. It didn’t bother him for anyone to yell because his apa was the Thane and no one in the Hold was as scary as his Apa. 

“I’m sorry,” Karmen mumbled to him. He saw with shock that she’d begun to cry. He had no idea why.

“We must go home and talk to your parents right away about this–”

“It worked,” Jungkook said. His eyes were even wider. He looked at Megeera like he expected her to yell, but then pointed at Taehyung’s face, “You made her cry but she fixed his face and he didn’t get melted or anything.”

Taehyung touched his cheek where, sure enough, he could feel a slight dip beneath the dried blood but it wasn’t a hole in his skin anymore. It didn’t hurt anymore, it didn’t even burn from her magic anymore. 

Megeera didn’t know what to say about that. For just a moment, she was without words. It was neat to see that on her face, that confusion because she had insisted something was going to happen and Karmen had proved her wrong and Jungkook had pointed it out and Taehyung had been the start of it because he’d taken the chance and let Karmen try. She had brand new magic and he’d been healed by it! A blessing from the gods, that’s what Ama was going to say about this. 

Just as quickly Megeera was back in motion. Do was sitting up now, back to shouting murderous things at Jungkook and Taehyung. Megeera was torn between hauling him off and dragging Karmen to tell her parents she had magic now. More adults were arriving and Taehyung decided it was time to pull a disappearing act.

So he grabbed Jungkook’s arm and tried to flee, but Jungkook stayed where he was, and gave him a confused look.

“We should get out of here,” Taehyung pointed out.

“But… we can’t just leave her,” Jungkook said, pointing to Karmen. “She’s upset.”

“We can’t fix that. She has to talk to her parents now and learn to do her magic.”

“Oh… but I can’t leave yet.”

“Why not?” Taehyung frowned.

Jungkook didn’t have an answer for that, just seemed to believe he needed to remain while there was anything going on. Taehyung didn’t know how to fix that either but he sure wasn’t going to stick around and get in more trouble. Besides, he’d almost killed someone today, and he felt like he needed to go home and be alone for a while. 

But it had kind of been nice, for just a moment, to not be standing alone when he got yelled at.

Taehyung cut through the water like a brown trout, swimming a wide circle around Ama. He held his breath as long as he could before erupting through the surface. She laughed as water droplets flew through the air, then reached out her arm for Taehyung to hold onto so he could stay still for a moment. He was so good at moving in the water, Ama said he was the best swimmer she’d ever seen and joked that her great-grandfather had been a fish and Taehyung took after her. But he wasn’t good yet at treading water, and it was kind of scary in this deeper part of the sea where he would sink like a rock if not for her hand. That had happened to him before and he still had bad dreams about it. 

He had lots of bad dreams actually. He’d had another one last night, so Ama had brought him to the sea to swim early this morning so he could wash away the sweat and bad feelings. Taehyung wished his dreams were of things to come; Apa’s mother had been a dreamer and even though she died before he was born, Taehyung thought she sounded amazing through the stories Apa told. 

Taehyung’s dreams were always of things that had already happened though. Last night he’d dreamed of the day Apa became Thane again. He’d only been five and it had been a scary and confusing day so his dreams were equally as disjointed and confused, but a few things stood out clear: the bellowing shouts that seemed to shake the wooden benches; blood so strong in the air Taehyung could taste it in his mouth; the image of his big strong father rising victorious from the haze of the arena, black with blood, holding someone’s arm. Apa had not looked like Apa in that moment and Taehyung was convinced for days that Apa had died and a demon had taken his place. Ama insisted that wasn’t true, but Taehyung still dreamed it as truth.

His mouth tasted like blood now, so he gulped a mouthful of water and sent it like a fountain through the air.

“Little fish,” Ama grinned, reaching out to brush the hair back from his face. “You need to learn to stay still in the water. Paddle your arms and feet like I taught you.”

Taehyung had been about to insist he was a big fish, not a little fish, but the reminder he couldn’t tread water humbled him. He tried to do what she said, to prove he could, but as his head kept almost slipping under the water, he found himself panicking and paddling more frantically, which didn’t work. Just when his heart felt like it was going to rip from his chest, Ama caught his arm and dragged him close.

“It just takes practice,” she told him with a warm smile.

“I’ll practice all the time!”

“With me,” she quickly added. “It’s not worth drowning over to prove a point. You can come with me.”

“But you’re so busy,” he sighed. His Ama was the best weaver in the whole Hold and had been working very hard on new tapestries for the main hall because Apa didn’t like the old ones. Sometimes Taehyung ran around the main hall while she worked but it wasn’t the same as being home with her and there were too many people and everyone looked at him like he was a feral cat, so he spent most of his time out running around on his own. There was so much to see in the Hold, and he was sneaky and quick. No one ever thought to look for him up on the roof when they realized someone had tied a scarf on their dog or let the chickens out for a stroll or taken a handful of sugar drops! And even if they did happen to see him before he got away, what were they going to do about it, complain to his Apa? One person had tried that and Apa had laughed in their face and scooped Taehyung up to his shoulder and praised him for being so clever and quick. “He’ll make a fine raider if he’s that quick!” Apa had boomed and Taehyung had vibrated with joy at the praise.

Now he went back to swimming circles around Ama, who left bubbles at the surface when she washed the soap out of her long hair. Taehyung surfaced through them and gave himself a bubble beard and eyebrows to make her laugh. He always knew just how to make her laugh. 

Even though Taehyung had been born in Red-Lion hold, Apa had insisted Taehyung mostly stay home with Ama in their old hut just outside of the Hold walls for his early years, down on the wetlands. He had rarely gone into the Hold proper –Apa had said it was to keep him safe, and anyway, it suited Taehyung fine, because he got to play with Ama all day and learn from her and watch all the beasts of the wetlands from his window and not be bothered by the other children his age. They seemed annoying back then.

He had seen one group of children often though, the same ones he saw walking the same old path now. Jungkook and Mina walked with their parents, all carrying baskets from the wetlands towards the docks. Mina sort of skipped around but Jungkook walked very still with a basket on his back. There was a little brother with them too, toddling next to his mother’s skirt, and the mother’s belly was big.

“Mara must be getting close to having her new baby,” Ama mused, moving Taehyung to her other arm as they watched. “Looks like they were out crabbing this morning. That will make a delicious dinner for us, won’t it?” She smiled and Taehyung nodded and licked his lips; crab was one of his favorite foods. Ama didn’t do the cooking anymore, they just ate in the main hall everyday where other women cooked for them.

“Ama are you going to have a baby too?”

“What, you think my belly is that big?” Ama laughed and threw him away from her into the water. He paddled back to her, also giggling.

“No! But it’s only me! Are you supposed to have more babies?”

“No, I won’t have more babies,” Ama said. “The gods decided one for me and gave me the most perfect son I could have dreamed of.”

“Did you dream about me, Ama?”

“Oh yes, every day since I was a little girl,” she smiled. 

Taehyung clung to her shoulder, practicing pedaling his feet beneath the water, and demanded, “Tell me! Tell me!”

So they floated and slid through the water together, and Ama told him about her dream:

“I dreamed I crawled for days through the mountains, searching desperately for a mountain stream to quench my thirst but everywhere, I found nothing. The skies were bright and blue but the gods offered me no rain. I pleaded with Korth Mountain-Father to give me just one dewy leaf; I begged the Lady of the Skies for a single drop of rain. It wouldn’t be enough to quench my thirst but at least I could die with moisture on my tongue. Maybe it would be enough for me to rise, so I could die on my feet like a good Avvar woman.

“I found a streambed but it was empty. I found a pool but it had dried. I found salt on a stony cliff where some old water must have flowed but there was nothing. I licked the wall, desperate, but there was nothing, and I began to cry but I had not even water in my body for tears. I was dry as the stones around me. I cupped my hands, praying for even tears that I could drink, but there was nothing.

Until plop !”

She lifted her hand and let a trail of water fall on Taehyung’s wet hair. He giggled and flapped his arms so as not to go under and for a moment he managed it, but then grabbed onto her arm again.

“Into my cupped hands dropped a little tadpole, straight from the sky. There were no clouds, no water, nothing, this tadpole couldn’t be anything else except a gift from the Lady. I tossed it into my mouth–”

“No, Ama! Don’t eat me!” Taehyung cried, bought into the story he’d heard so many times.

“But as soon as I felt that little tadpole wiggle in my cheek, I let it slip right out of my mouth and back into my hands. I knew I would rather die thirsty than take the life of that little tadpole. The next thing I knew, the tadpole grew bigger and bigger and transformed into a little boy.”

“You had to drop me then.”

“Yah, you were too big to hold in my hands like that,” Ama agreed. “And as you grew, rain began to fall, even though there were still no clouds. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but the gods sent rain to wash me and quench my thirst and restore all the rivers and ponds and streams. I understood the tadpole had been a gift I almost misunderstood and that now I would never be thirsty again.”

“But you do get thirsty, Ama,” Taehyung pointed out. “You like mountain tea.”

Ama smiled and wrapped her arms around him. 

He laughed and poked her chest, “Your boobs are in the way.”

“Of what?” she demanded.

“If you don’t have more babies you don’t need them anymore.”

“Well Tae-ya, my body can still exist even when no one needs anything from it,” she told him. “I like my breasts. Our bodies have different needs and uses throughout our lives, just like right now you don’t need that little eel between your legs but someday it may be useful.”

“I like my eel!” Taehyung pouted at her, then kicked off and went splashing through the water again. He did a circle in the water and when he came up for air, realized the ar Maras were out of view, taking the path through the Hold now to double back to the docks where they would put their crabs out in their stall. 

He paddled back to Ama, but she looked thoughtful now so he didn’t say anything. Sometimes he was thoughtful too and she would sit there patiently and wait, or maybe she’d say, “You look like you’re thinking big thoughts, Tae-ya, what do you see?” 

Finally she smiled at him, “The dream was right. How could I ever be thirsty again with such a healthy, thoughtful, clever son as you?”

“I’m big and strong too!” Taehyung bragged because Ama always seemed to leave those things out but they were the most important of all! “I’m going to be big and brave and fierce like Apa.”

“You will be perfect whoever you are,” Ama said to him. “But I think you are right, you will be tall. You’re already so tall compared to the boys your age!”

“I’m big and strong too. I helped Jungkook ar Mara at lessons.”

“You did? Doing what?”

So Taehyung told her about the bullying and the fighting and even about the girl Karmen suddenly discovering her magical skill. He really tried to embellish the story and make it interesting because he could see by Ama’s face that she was surprised by all of it.

“I knew about Karmen ar Hilde discovering her magic,” Ama admitted, “But I didn’t realize you let her learn on you! That’s very dangerous, Tae-ya!”

“I’m brave,” Taehyung beamed.

“There’s a difference between brave and reckless, my son, and you must learn the difference. It’s very important!”

Taehyung didn’t like that Ama didn’t sound so impressed, and now he frowned at her, “Apa told me to fight bullies and I did.”

“Yes, it was kind of you to help Jungkook ar Mara.” She glanced over and they saw the family opening up their stall and dumping the crabs into place. “It’s good for you to make friends, Taehyung–”

“They aren’t my friends,” he quickly corrected. Apa wouldn’t like that. “I just helped him. I’m the Thane’s son and I’m strong and brave and I wanted to show how fierce I am.”

“You are those things, but even a strong and brave Thane’s son can be happier with friends.”

Taehyung’s face screwed up further, reminding her, “Apa says friends are just people you let close enough to stab you.”

“Yes, and trust that they will not.”

“But… they will.”

“Not always.”

“But you don’t know until they stab you!” Taehyung pointed out. He was getting tired now and wanted to swim back to shore, so he started and was gratified when Ama followed, walking slowly since her feet could touch the ground.

“You sound like your apa,” she said once they’d reached the shore. She wrapped him up in a blanket to dry him off before wrapping it around her own body because he could get his own clothes on without help. “Your apa is wise about many things but when it comes to people… his way is not the only way. I would not have made it this far in life without the help and comfort of friends. It was hard we kept you from children your own age for so long… it’s only natural for you to find others to get along with and play with.”

Taehyung thought about this. It wasn’t right for her to say that about Apa because he was the Thane as chosen by the gods, so obviously his way was the best way and she shouldn’t question him. Apa would be mad if he knew she did, but Taehyung wouldn’t tell. 

“Who are your friends, Ama?” he asked slowly because he didn’t really know.

“I don’t have many friends here. Most are back in the Hold I grew up in. But I am working on making new friends here and you can too.”

“Ok but I need big strong friends. I need friends who will help me in battle someday!”

Ama shrugged her shoulders, “There are many kinds of battles in life, Tae-ya, not just ones with axes. A good friend is someone who can watch your back and you watch theirs, and who is willing to be there with you even when the winds aren’t blowing in your favor that day. You don’t have to be big and strong to do those things.”

“But Jungkook ar Mara is too small to be my friend. And he has big eyes like a craggie. It makes him look like a baby monkey!”

Ama suddenly grabbed something from the beach and held it out to him, saying, “Look at this. Do you know what this is?”

“It’s a… seed.”

“It’s a small seed, yes. But if we plant it, it could grow into one of those tall trees there. That tall tree will live longer than us, or could give wood to our Hold for houses or cooking or weapons, or give branches and shade for animals to make their homes. No one but the gods can look at this small seed and know what the future will be like for it.”

“Apa can.”

“No one can, Tae-ya,” she said. “Unless the gods whisper in their ear or their dreams or their heart. So when your heart tells you that you’ve found a friend, listen to the gods.”

“The gods don’t talk to your heart,” Taehyung said, face scrunching up. He began to laugh, “Apa doesn’t listen to his heart !”

Ama gave him a look that he wouldn’t understand for many more years and asked, “You want to be just like your Apa, don’t you, Tae-ya?”

“Yeah!” he said. Of course he did! Apa was the Thane! The gods had said Apa was the best man in the world! He wanted to make his Apa proud and follow right in his footsteps, even if that seemed like a lot of work right now because he didn’t really do the things Apa said very well…

“Let me tell you something the gods have whispered into my heart,” Ama said, beckoning him closer. “You are my child as much as you are your apa’s, and you will be better than both of us combined someday. That is the tree you will be.” She glanced at the docks, at all the fisher families now setting up for business. “And I think you should make friends with Jungkook ar Mara.”

“Why?” Taehyung asked, not understanding anything. He wasn’t actually going to be a tree. People weren’t trees. 

“Because your heart sent you to his side even when he could do nothing for you,” she pointed out. “Give it a thought, my son. Don’t blindly follow the path of your father if the gods whisper something else to you. Apa is not a god.”

“He’s chosen by the gods,” Taehyung pointed out. “So… it’s kind of the same thing.” 

“No, Tae-ya. It isn’t the same thing. It’s very important you never forget that… Now come, let’s go break our fast with Apa before you have to go to school.” The sudden shift in her demeanor was familiar and didn’t bother Taehyung at all. He was the same way. Sometimes they could talk to each other so seriously like that and then the time was done and onto other things. He thought it was a little strange she wanted him to befriend Jungkook ar Mara and he also didn’t think it was very good, the things she was saying about Apa. Apa was the Thane, chosen by the gods, and he had a legend name and would probably ascend to the heavens as a legend when he died someday. So he basically was a god and he’d be mad if Ama said something else.

But he loved his parents and he didn’t want to cause problems between them, so he would just keep those things secret in his heart, even if he didn’t think he should keep secrets from Apa either. But sometimes Apa was pretty mean to Ama if she did something he didn’t like, and Taehyung didn’t like seeing his mother hurting just because she said odd things sometimes, so he thought that was the right thing to do. Maybe the gods told him that in his heart.

He’d think about what she said about Jungkook ar Mara, but he really just didn’t think he had any use for a friend, especially a little tadpole who hadn’t grown into a real boy yet.

Taehyung was bored. Why did feasts to honor the gods have to be so long and boring? He actually wished Apa had let him be one of the children running around with the serving bowls this time because it kind of looked like fun. You could sneak the foods you weren’t supposed to eat yet, or pretend to forget the adults who were mean to you. Sometimes drunk adults threw things at you or yelled but they couldn’t do that to Taehyung because his apa was the Thane. And you could hide back in the kitchens during all the long boring chants. Augur Cass took forever in her chants and her voice always tried to put Taehyung to sleep. It wasn’t his fault! But gods save him if he actually fell asleep on the dais, Apa would skin him alive, he knew that. 

So he pinched his thighs to stay awake and stared straight ahead like Apa wanted him to do. Even though his feet hurt , they were itching so bad to run around. He wouldn’t get to stay for the dancing either and he would have to sleep at his grandfather’s house because Apa and Ama would stay for the dancing and then be too noisy when they got home. He didn’t like being home when Ama and Apa were noisy. Did they like doing that? It didn’t sound like fun to him.

At least he liked sitting up here sometimes though because he knew as Apa’s son, people looked at him with admiration and respect because he’d be just like his apa someday. He didn’t get to automatically be Thane just because of that, he would still have to prove himself through Trials, but it happened a lot that gods favored the son of a Thane in those trials. The previous Thane had two sons but it turned out the gods favored Apa more and he killed both of them during the Trials, but that wouldn’t happen to Taehyung. He was from stronger blood. Apa had explained it to him when he’d begun his training, when he and Apa had finally convinced Ama not to fight it anymore. He’d been training now since he was five and that was why he had even been able to help Jungkook ar Mara that day because no one realized Taehyung was already a good fighter! They had underestimated him. Maybe people looking at him sitting next to Apa on the dais underestimated him now too just because he was seven but like Ama said, they were thinking something small would grow from the seed that was Taehyung. It wasn’t true. The gods had big plans for Taehyung. He’d train even harder!

That was the real reason his feet probably hurt. His shoulders ache. His elbows ached. He had been training by himself because they didn’t usually let boys start to learn weaponry until eight but Apa wanted him to start early and once he was Thane, who could say no? His teacher was extra hard on him this week, Taehyung thought. Not as hard as Apa would be but he was tired, that was true. It was hard work growing up strong like Apa. Very hard work.

Taehyung watched the serving children emerge as soon as the prayer ended with the next round of drinks for the people important enough not to have to fetch their own. Jungkook ar Mara scurried forward and thrust a mug into Apa’s hand. Since he never did that work, Taehyung had no idea why Jungokok ar Mara was the child serving the Thane. He assumed it was a coveted space and certainly Jungkook ar Mara couldn’t have fought the other boys for it. Jungkook raced around like a little mouse, face set in a stern glare until something caught his attention and then his eyes went so big. Craggie. 

The children all disappeared again and Taehyung felt an annoying desire to follow them. It was all adults around him now. He felt so separate from the children who weren’t serving tonight, seated in the regular benches or on the ground with their parents. He was important, on the dais with his important father. But being important was kind of lonely…

In a moment of impulse, Taehyung slid backwards off his stool and disappeared behind the dais. He held his breath for a moment but no one leaned back to look at him. A new prayer was starting so maybe no one had even noticed yet. He decided not to waste time and instead crept quickly around the dais and darted behind the nearest rock and then just ran the rest of the way around the outside of the clearing and hoped the shadows obscured him. 

He found the other children back by the path down to the kitchens beneath the main hall, which spanned the width of the entire main hall and also into the cave beneath where they stood now. The delicious scents of food were stronger back here, but so too was the stench of blood and raw meat and death. It reminded him of that day and disoriented him for a moment, like he was in the stands again watching his father the lion devour everything around him. He froze in the middle of the path, hearing the thump of severed arms and legs hitting the wood platforms and falling to the ground–

No. Different whumps. The sound of small fists connecting with a smaller body. 

Taehyung already saw red, so it was frightening how easily that red transitioned to his bellow, “I told you to leave him alone!”

Jungkook ar Mara had a big stick he was swinging around, but it was too big to be of any actual use. The older boys ducked easily under it, making a game of punching him in his weak spots. 

Taehyung ducked under the stick too but thrust it at one of the boys; he was just as tall as the older boy and managed to body him almost to the edge of the deck. In all honesty, he would have pushed him right over the edge if another boy hadn’t hit his back, distracting him. He turned just as Jungkook jumped onto the boy’s back with a rock in his hand, but he dropped it before he actually hit the boy with it. There were two more, so no time to really worry about whether Jungkook ar Mara brained one of them. Taehyung leapt around them and punched one bloody before elbowing the second in the throat. 

When he turned around, Jungkook had the rock again, dark blood and tears streaming down his face as he squared off with the remaining boy. Several other children stood just around the fringes. It was eerie, with the pitched prayer echoing around the clearing in the background, and the low flickering light from the pathway torches and kitchen lights and a bright moon. The children were all being terrifyingly quiet in this brawl so as not to attract adults. Taehyung looked up at it and realized it meant the Lady was watching them, maybe Korth Mountainfather too. Would his own father be proud or disappointed if Taehyung helped Jungkook ar Mara kill a boy as a final warning?

No. He got that sick to his stomach feeling again. He couldn’t do that, and clearly Jungkook ar Mara couldn’t either because he was trembling and crying now and let the rock fall from his hand a second time. 

With a grunt, Taehyung raced forward and grappled with the other boy. He put up more of a fight than the other three had, and for a very long couple of minutes he and Taehyung rolled around in the dirt, striking with elbows, knees, and fists, grabbing clothing and hair to tug. 

Then Jungkook ar Mara yanked the boys’ boots off and threw them off the cliff –an odd gesture, but the boy let out a squawk and freed himself from Taehyung to run down the side path after them. The other three boys groaned and rose, probably to continue the fight because there would be too much shame in being beaten by a younger boy. 

These weren’t even the same children as last time, Taehyung realized. No Do or Breck or Niilo, though Bjorn was the one currently chasing down his boots. 

“How do you have so many enemies?!” he demanded of Jungkook ar Mara. “You’re six!”

Jungkook ar Mara wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, his big dark eyes watery enough to catch the reflection of the moonlight like a helpless little doe. 

Taehyung turned to the other boys, “I’m Taehyung ar Yeorum, son of Thane Greybeard. If you fight with Jungkook ar Mara, you fight with me. Hakkon Wintersbreath thinks you’re ugly nug-humpers for fighting with someone smaller than you so fight me instead unless you piss your pants when you lose!”

For all his grand-standing though, maybe it was more impressive when a girl’s voice said, “Yes, who’s impressed by picking on a boy smaller than you? I’m embarrassed for your parents. Do they know what a loser you are? Scram!” 

Maybe the boys still wouldn’t have gone, but a nearby crackle of electricity changed their mind.  Without even seeing who it came from, the boys scurried away in shame and defeat just as another girl flew down the path: Mina ar Mara.

She caught Jungkook ar Mara up in a hug that he tried to squirm away from as she demanded, “Who was it this time? Who did this?”

“They ran off,” the first girl’s voice said –Karmen, he realized. Mina’s glare turned to him, standing to the side, bloodied and dirty, but before he could say anything, Karmen said, “He was fighting on your brother’s side again.”

“I don’t need help,” Jungkook insisted, squirming out of his sister’s hold. “I have to get back to work!”

“You’re injured.”

“I’m strong!”

The boy who had cast the electricity, whose name Taehyung didn’t know, sighed, “Next time just get me and I’ll chase them off.”

Karmen glared at him, “More like you’ll blow them up. You know we aren’t supposed to use our magic until we’ve passed our trial.”

“You’ve had magic for a week and you’re already bossy about it.”

“Stuff it, Yoongi,” Karmen retorted, crossing her arms. 

“I’m your elder, speak to me with respect.”

“You’re a year older, so act like it!”

Taehyung backed away slowly as Jungook ar Mara ran past him to grab something from the kitchen. He’d jumped into the fight without thinking, but with more children involved now, he didn’t want to be here anymore. He wasn’t here to get tangled up in all of this.

“We should tell the adults–” Mina started.

“Tell them what?” Yoongi asked. “They don’t care about fighting. You aren’t helping him either when you treat him like a baby in front of everyone.” Mina looked deeply hurt by this but Taehyung thought Yoongi was right. Other children weren’t going to be nice to you just because your older sister was worried. Crying when they hit you wasn’t going to make them stop. Taehyung might not know very much about other people, but Apa had taught him the most important thing: the strongest wins. Jungkook ar Mara was not the strongest, and Taehyung realized he was really stepping into it if he was going to keep getting involved, and then this growing flock of noisy children was going to keep circle around him like this. He did not want to be involved.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Karmen demanded, turning to him and crossing her arms. She looked very angry in the blue light from the magic torches. 

“I’m the Thane’s son. I have to go back to my seat.”

“Are you hurt? Do you need any healing?”

He was hurt, but the last thing he wanted right now was a brand new mage child trying to heal his cuts or bruises with unsteady magic. He’d already proven he wasn’t afraid, so now he didn’t have to prove it again. Anyway, Apa would want to know why he was beat up and would probably be proud about Taehyung beating a bunch of older boys even if these ones weren’t very much older. Ama wouldn’t be but women didn’t know about those kinds of things. He could see that was true about Mina ar Mara and Karmen ar Hilde too. 

“Thank you for helping him,” Mina ar Mara said, with a voice and big eyes that proved he was right about her not understanding fighting. She looked at him like he’d done Jungkook ar Mara some big favor. He’d just joined a fight. It just annoyed him for boys to push around a younger boy. The gods wouldn’t honor something like that, but they would honor him helping someone smaller. Besides, it felt a little good to get to kick and punch someone. That was what Apa talked about, right? The bloodrush of justice!

“I don’t care,” he said and turned away, embarrassed by all their eyes on him. He didn’t know these people and he didn’t want to know them. He made quick steps back towards the dais from the back. Jungkook ar Mara bumped into him along the way, carefully balancing a tray. He looked like shit, even though his wet face seemed to have been washed off. It just made him look like he had cried more.

“Thank you for fighting on my side,” he said, practically sniffling. Taehyung was tired of being thanked. 

“I won’t help you again,” he said, glaring. “You need to learn to fight for yourself. You have to get bigger and stronger.”

“I’m growing as fast as I can…”

“Pray to the gods harder or those other boys are going to kill you and it won’t be my problem,” Taehyung snapped at him. Jungkook’s eyes went wide and Taehyung decided it was no use, Jungkook ar Mara was always going to look like a baby with that face. His father was tall but probably he would be shorter like his mother. He looked more like his mother. How embarrassing for a boy. Taehyung was proud to look like both his parents.

“I won’t help you next time,” Taehyung said again, and gave Jungkook’s shoulder a rough shove that made him spill one of the bowls. Jungkook gasped but Taehyung just leapt up the back of the dais and settled back on his stool.

Ama gave him a wild look, clearly confused and worried about why he’d disappeared and why he looked all beat up. He smiled at her to reassure her: I won, Ama, don’t worry.   Unfortunately his father didn’t notice at all, just grabbed a mug of beer from the platter Jungkook held up to him, face stoic and stern again. He looked like a grumpy baby. Taehyung was glad he wasn’t like him, a serving child at a feast like this, or small, or getting beat up by the other boys, or sharing his small home with so many siblings, or being the son of a simple fisherman. He knew how to fight! Jungkook ar Mara would never learn to fight or defend himself and he’d just keep getting beat up about it until the other boys probably killed him. The gods favored strength.

From the dais, he saw Mina ar Mara and Karmen ar Hilde whispering to each other as they returned to their seats. The other boys, Yoongi and Hoseok, were right behind them. Were they all friends? They were all around the same age, and three of them were young mages, but he didn’t think they spent much time with Mina and Jungkook ar Mara –not that he paid much attention or knew anything about how people became friends or acted like friends. He tried to forget everyone’s names because he didn’t care. 

Taehyung held the ax in both of his hands, even though Apa was annoyed about it because it was supposed to be a single-handed weapon. Every bone in his bottle rattled with each ‘tap’ from Apa’s ax.

“Sparks!” Apa shouted. “I want to see sparks! Meet my force!”

Taehyung did his best to hold his ground but Apa was the strongest man in the world and even his light taps were enough to send Taehyung flying. Even if he tried to swing and meet Apa’s hits, the impact felt like it would explode his bones. He knew Apa was barely using any of his strength but Taehyung didn’t feel like he was managing to show off any of the things his weapons trainer had taught him. He still flinched when Apa took a step towards him. He still got the wind knocked out of him when Apa would send him flying. He was still too slow getting up so that Apa could hit him on the back and knock him down again. He threw up at one point, unable to keep his stomach from emptying after a hard blow, and Apa’s disgusted frown shattered his heart.

A warrior can’t have a soft heart he chanted to himself and pushed to his feet to try again. He tried to show off his speed but it was flagging because it took him so long to try and circle around his much larger father. He tried to dodge blows but maybe Apa was getting tired too because he wasn’t deflecting them as quickly. The edge of his ax touched Taehyung’s shoulder and a moment later a line of blood wept through the cut in his shirt. Taehyung stared at it with shock.

The next blow sent him flying backwards. His breath left him again and he doubled over, stomach cramping as it tried to vomit up nothing.

“Get your ax!” Apa bellowed, furious. Taehyung tried to scramble to his feet but he wasn’t quick enough. He’d barely reached his ax when Apa kicked him, sending him flying again. He didn’t know how long they’d been at it by now, but he knew he felt like he was dying and that he hadn’t gotten to show Apa anything he’d learned yet. 

“Do you see this?” Apa demanded of Florin. He grabbed Taehyung by the arm and dragged him up like he was just a weak little kitten. “This is what you teach my son? Is it you or is my son lazy?”

“I work hard–” Taehyung tried to say but Florin spoke over him, “I am sorry, my Thane, I do my best with him but–”

“But what?” Apa demanded, stomping over to him, Taehyung still a limp ferret in his grasp. “What are you saying about my son? He is not big and strong and capable?”

In a burst of strength, Taehyung tried to prove he was those things by kicking at Apa’s ribs. Apa simply tossed him aside and grabbed Florin by the throat.

“If you cannot teach my son to be better I will replace you,” he snarled. “The gods do not waste breath on the weak.”

“I’m one of the best warriors in the Hold–” Florin began indignantly but Apa punched him in the face and tossed him aside as easily as he had Taehyung, shouting, “You are weak! You are worthless! You are not worthy of teaching my son! Run from my sight and do not let me see you again or death will meet you!”

Florin really was one of the most experienced warriors who’d dedicated himself to training since he couldn’t really fight as well anymore because something had happened to his legs. But he was still tough and Taehyung didn’t think there was anything Florin hadn’t been trying to teach him. He was plenty big and brave and scary and strong. 

Taehyung tried to stand but found his arms and legs were shaking too badly. Apa stomped over to him now and he could see the fury all over Apa’s face. He’d failed. He hadn’t impressed him. He was the only son of Thane Greybeard and he was seven years old and being taught by another great warrior but he wasn’t getting big and strong fast enough. He hadn’t even been quick.

“Stand up. We keep going,” Apa yelled at him. “We’ll stay here until you do something worthy of your birth–”

“Njal,” Ama called. Taehyung hadn’t realized she was here at all. Apa had them training in one of the circles that was tucked away because he didn’t want anyone gawking at them –now Taehyung understood he didn’t want anyone to see what a bad warrior in training he was. A few people had tried to watch in the beginning but Apa had scared them off. Now, as Ama ran forward, Taehyung could see a healer lurking, and the way people walking by in the distance glanced nervously over. They were all scared of Apa too right now.

“He’s exhausted now,” Ama said. “He’s bleeding and–”

“You think warriors don’t bleed? We are Avvar! We shed blood in training so we may shed others’ blood on the battlefield.”

“He’s only seven–”

“Silence, woman!” Apa shouted and backhanded her. She stumbled backwards, clutching her face.

“Njal!” she said again. “You’re being too hard on–”

“Enough!” Apa roared at her. 

“I can fight!” Taehyung shouted, leaping forward and drawing on every muscle in his body to lift the ax. He was afraid Apa would accidentally kill Ama. He got like that sometimes. He forgot he didn’t need to use so much strength. Taehyung understood Ama wanted to protect him, but he was seven, that wasn’t her job anymore. Now he was almost a man and it was his job to protect her! “I’m a warrior, Ama. I’m strong.”

“I know you’re strong but– you’ll kill him, Njal! He’s still young!”

“Make me another baby if you need something small and weak,” Apa said to her, then spat on the ground by her feet. “You have made me a son, now I will make him a man.”

Taehyung lifted his axe, ready to push through and fight harder and do whatever Apa asked of him so he could be the man Apa wanted him to be.

“He’s my son–”

Apa sent her flying again. Ama was very light, tall and thin. The healer Trygve caught her and Taehyung held his breath until Ama had risen to her feet. 

“Focus, Taehyung,” Apa growled, blocking his view. “Don’t be distracted by any woman. Women come and go but strength is forever. From now on, I will train you.”

Taehyung gave him a serious nod.

It didn’t last long. Certainly it didn’t last as long as it felt. Apa had already hurt him and frightened the strength out of him and Taehyung’s best efforts were like a tickle. Very shortly he couldn’t even hold the ax up while Apa shouted at him about being weak and pathetic and no blood of his. When blood finally made it hard to see and he was dizzy and his arm hurd so bad he couldn’t help but weap, Apa finally stormed off cursing the gods for giving him such a pathetic son.

Tyrgve crouched beside Taehyung immediately, offering, “Here, child, I will heal your wounds.”

“A warrior doesn’t need healing.”

“A warrior in training does or he will not be strong enough to fight tomorrow,” Tyrgve corrected, hands already glowing blue. “Even adult warriors may seek healing after a difficult day.”

“Don’t get rid of them or Apa won’t know how hard I fought,” Taehyung said before realizing by the confusion on Tyrgve’s face that his words didn’t make sense. Apa had been training with him, of course he knew he hadn’t fought well. But still the impulse gripped him; he didn’t want to be healed. He wanted to wear his injuries with pride like Apa did but… but they hurt so bad. It hurt so bad he could barely breathe. He didn’t like this. He wanted to like this but Apa was frightening and being hurt wasn’t fun and he didn’t like the way Apa had hurt Ama. She wasn’t a warrior!

He lay still as Tyrgve healed the injuries, grateful they were at least behind a rock where no one passing could see them. It was weak to need healing, right?

“Is my Ama all right?” he asked. His wavering voice embarrassed him.

“Yes, she’s all right. She’s at home waiting for you.”

He wished she wasn’t there. Maybe Apa wouldn’t go home right away though. He wasn’t in a good mood as he stomped off, but Taehyung couldn’t tell if he was going towards the Main Hall or taking the path towards their hut at the top of the climbing wall. Apa kept a room off the Main Hall so maybe he would get drunk and sleep there today.

“I will walk you home,” Tyrgve offered as he pulled away. Taehyung looked down at his arms and legs. His shirt was bloody but his shoulder and nose weren’t bleeding anymore, just smeared with red. 

“I left some bruises,” Tyrgve explained. “I know you boys wear them like badges. But your arm was nearly broken and you hit your head too many times. You’ll be all right now but please be careful.”

“I’m a warrior,” Taehyung said. “I’m big and strong and brave.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

“I’m not going home yet.”

“Your ama is waiting for you–”

“You aren’t my nursemaid so go!” Taehyung shouted. Tyrgve gave him a shocked look, then stood and walked swiftly away. Good. Ama wasn’t here and Taehyung certainly didn’t need anyone else babying him either. 

He’d thought to keep training by himself, now that he was healed, but his legs wouldn’t let him push up. He was thirsty, so thirsty it hurt, and his whole body shivered, cold even though he’d just been sweating so much. He didn’t want to move at all, he decided. Even training right now wouldn’t make Apa happy. Apa was right, he was small and weak. He had to be right, because all Taehyung wanted to do right now was crawl home and curl up in Ama’s lap and cry. That wasn’t the way a warrior behaved.

Instead he was crying right there on the ground, curled up behind the rock. Fear oozed from his body on those tears. Apa was going to kill him trying to make him strong. Apa was going to kill Ama because she wanted Taehyung to stay a baby. Even if he lived, he was only ever going to disappoint Apa. He couldn’t grow up fast enough. If only he had taken training with Florin more seriously but he didn’t really enjoy it so his heart wasn’t always in it and that’s why he was bad at it now. He didn’t really want to swing an ax, he wanted to–

He looked up with fury as someone came around the rock, intruding on his private moment. Jungkook ar Mara gave him that wide-eyed stare and Taehyung shifted like he was going to hit him, certain it would frighten the mouse boy away.

Instead Jungkook ar Mara asked, “Are you still hurt?”

“I’m not hurt. This is what a warrior in training looks like.” Taehyung felt shame and rage turn his face red. How dare this ar Mara brat sneak up on him and catch him crying! He leapt to his feet, dashing the tears from his eyes.

But instead of flinching away, Jungkook argued, “You can’t train to be a warrior until you’re fifteen. You can’t start strength training until you’re twelve. You can only learn um… archery and survival right now. That’s the rule from the gods.”

“Rules like that are for weak people like you. My apa is the Thane!”

“But gods are… the gods…”

“Besides, what do you know? You’re just a little mouse boy! You can’t even fight the other little boys like you!” Taehyung shouted at him.

Jungkook just looked calm and a little concerned as he asked, “Are you hungry?”

“Huh?” Taehyung hadn’t expected the question and just stared at him.

“We’re eating crabs for dinner. You can come eat with me if you want.”

“I don’t want to eat with you.”

“Oh. All right.” Jungkook looked at him like he wanted to say something else but then he shrugged. “The crab is really good.” He turned and began to walk.

Taehyung didn’t care about the crab. He was messy right now and hurting and he ought to go home to Ama to make sure she was ok.

But there was something interesting that Jungkook hadn’t made a big fuss about the way he looked right now. He couldn’t , right? He got beat up by little boys so he couldn't look down on Taehyung for getting beat up by his own father. And maybe if people saw him walking around like this, they’d realize how tough he was. And he was really, really hungry but the last place he wanted to go was the Main Hall where his father probably was.

He pushed to his feet and quickly caught up with Jungkook, bumping into him as he said, “Fine. Your family can be honored to feed the son of the Thane.”

“Uh huh.” 

Taehyung’s gaze narrowed at Jungkook ar Mara’s simple response. Did he mean something by that? But he didn’t say anything else. He looked like he was thinking about something else entirely.

They were silent walking next to each other through the Hold. Sometimes people stared at him, but a bloodied boy wasn’t really that interesting or unusual a sight. Belatedly Taehyung worried people might think Jungkook was the one who had bloodied him, but that made so little sense that he didn’t worry about it long. Obviously that was not what had happened. 

The ar Mara’s lived in a two-room hut near the docks. It was small, even compared to the hut he and Ama and Apa used to live in. The littlest ar Mara was toddling back and forth across it while Mother Mara and Mina cooked. Jungkook’s father sat at the table doing something with string. 

For a moment Taehyung had the laughable urge to hide behind Jungkook. He’d stepped boldly into the hut only to realize that this was nothing like this home. The baby was making a lot of noise and Mina was talking nonstop to Mother Mara and Jungkook’s father sang to himself in a low voice as he worked. 

“Ama,” Jungkook ar Mara called. “Can my friend Taehyung eat with us?”

All activity in the hut ceased. The big pot over the fire still bubbled and whatever it was smelled so good Taehyung wanted to cry for it. Suddenly he didn’t think he’d ever been so hungry in his life. The food in the Main Hall was almost always wonderful but Ama’s cooking when they’d lived in the hut hadn’t smelled like that . Suddenly all the training and shouting and bumps and bruises and even the tears pressed down on him, unleashed by the warm smell of whatever was in that pot, and he wanted to cry.

“Yes, it’s all right,” Mother Mara said with a nod of her head. “Are you hurt, child?” Child .

“My father is Thane Greybeard.”

“Yes, I know who you are,” she said. Taehyung glanced at Jungkook’s father, who just gave him a warm smile. Why wasn’t he the one doing the talking? The woman of the house was?

“You’re all bloody,” Mina said. The baby had walked over and Taehyung looked at it with confusion as Jungkook suddenly knelt down for it to hug him. He’d never been so close to such a small child before.  He was cute, actually. He wasn’t surprised to see that Jungkook was the kind of boy who would just hug a baby like that. Soft.

“This is my baby brother Yo-han,” Jungkook explained. He picked Yo-han up and the little one laughed and tugged at Jungkook’s hair. He smiled like it was a funny joke and Taehyung wondered what it was like to live with other children.

“Are you injured?” Jungkook’s father finally spoke up. “We can patch you up or send for a healer.”

“I’m already healed. I’m just still… dirty,” he frowned, looking down at his own hands and arms. He glanced at Jungkook, but his arms and face were clean. Everyone in the hut was clean. He was the Thane’s son and he was visiting a family that were fishermen and lived in a small kind of broken hut but he was the dirty hungry one. That was humbling. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was training and I didn’t wash up.”

“Show him where to wash up, Jungkook, and give him one of your shirts if he wants. We can clean and mend the one he has now.”

Taehyung frowned about that. He didn’t need them to fix his shirt. His own Ama could do that. Did these people not understand who he was? He was the son of the Thane! Everyone in the Hold had to take care of him and treat him with respect! He was the one who kept fighting when Jungkook ar Mara was getting beat up –the only one!

“My sister is really good at it,” Jungkook said as he led Taehyung outside to rinse off. They were right by the waterline, which stank of fish here. Fish skeletons and crab shells and bits of cloth and broken bowls littered the short muddy beach. “At mending but she likes to stitch flowers so if you don’t like that maybe you don’t want her to do that.”

Taehyung almost laughed in Jungkook’s face that of course he didn’t want flowers in his shirt! But then he thought about the shoulder of his shirt with a decorative line of flowers and… Ama might like that and think it was pretty. Ama loved flowers. He kind of liked flowers too, even if he wouldn’t admit it to anyone ever. Apa did not like flowers.

So he shrugged, “It’s fine. Flowers are ok.”

“She doesn’t have to do flowers but sometimes she likes to.”

They slid out of their clothes and rinsed off quickly, then Taehyung carried his shirt back to the hut. Inside Jungkook gave him a shirt he didn’t expect to fit but it did, probably too big for him. Taehyung felt a little bad now to take a shirt from people who didn’t have the blessings he did with his apa but he’d just be careful and return the shirt. 

He caught Mother Mara watching him closely as he trailed Jungkook to the table. Baby Yo-han was trying to climb up and Jungkook picked him up and swung him around to make him laugh before setting him down.

“More more!” Yo-han cried, trailing after Jungkook, but Mother Mara had told him and Taehyung to start shelling the crabs.

“We put the meat in the stew,” Jungkook explained as Taehyung held back, staring at the work all of them were doing at the table –all except Yo-han, though after a moment he climbed onto a chair and Mina gave him a crab to try and fail with. Jungkook paused, then offered, “I can teach you if you don’t know how!”

“I know how,” Taehyung snapped. “I used to eat crab all the time with my Ama. We lived on the wetlands.”

Jungkook’s father nodded, “That’s right, we saw your cabin when we would go out crabbing.”

“Yeah, I saw you,” Taehyung admitted, but it suddenly felt strange to speak to another adult who was also Jungkook’s father and inviting him into their house to eat so maybe he didn’t want to be as demanding towards him as he usually was towards adults. He wasn’t feeling like the respected Thane’s son right now but he also wasn’t feeling not respected. He just felt odd here. This place felt strange.

Mina snuck a sliver of meat into her mouth and, when she realized Taehyung had seen her, giggled, “Oops.” He just stared, not sure why it was funny. 

The crabs were already cooked anyway, so once the meat was tossed into the pot, there wasn’t much longer to wait before Mother Mara said it was ready to eat. Shelling the crabs had taken longer than the last period of cooking and then Taehyung was given a seat not at the table but around the fire with his bowl and a mug of water, nothing fancier. There were seats for everyone, even Yo-han though he kept climbing up and down until Mother Mara finally made him sit on the floor and he leaned against Jungkook’s legs. Obviously Yo-han thought Jungkook ar Mara was amazing. Taehyung wondered what he’d think when he got older and realized his brother was small and got beat up a lot.

But no one seemed to think Jungkook was pathetic here. Taehyung was used to adults talking over supper, but he definitely wasn’t used to the children doing it too. When Mina or Jungkook spoke, the parents listened with interest and asked questions, like they were two more adults! Sure, Ama spoke closely like that with him, but not around other people, and not at mealtimes since they ate in the Main Hall with Apa. 

Taehyung almost wanted to test it out himself and say something, see if everyone listened to him. But what did he have to say? He didn’t want to talk about training with Apa, but that was kind of it for his life except for lessons and spending time with Ama. He didn’t have any interesting stories really, nothing that he thought would interest or impress the people here and he felt that was important, that if he was going to talk, he wanted to say something they would find really impressive. He was the son of the Thane. He was blessed by the gods and they were just fisherfolk but he wasn’t sure they cared about that. No one brought up Jungkook’s fights either, or Taehyung’s involvement. Did they not know Jungkook got beat up all the time? They must know. Or they didn’t appreciate that Taehyung was helping him?

Instead they talked about the baby Mother Mara was carrying and a blessing the Augur had given, and a dream she’d had that the baby was born a beautiful rose with sharp thorns, and about how Mina had won some recognition in her class, and about a whether or not they should still go on a trip they took in the summer to fish at the Great Ocean. Taehyung’s eyes went wide when, pressed by Mina and Jungkook to tell Taehyung, the father told him stories of the biggest, bluest water stretching as far as the eye could see, and ships as big as the Main Hall, and fish that jumped from the water and made laughing noises and were big as a man, called purpoises. And they were smart! Blessed by Bjorn Reed-beard with enough intelligence not to be easily caught. Taehyung had never been from Red Lion Hold, and the only things he tended to hear about were battles and raids and how pathetic the other Holds were, so to hear Jungkook’s family speak with awe about the Blue Fins and the Reed Sea Holds was mesmerizing. 

“I’d like to go on a boat like that,” Taehyung admitted.

Jungkook’s father grinned, “Maybe someday you can join us. All young men apprentice at some point.”

“I will be a warrior like my apa,” was Taehyung’s instant response with a laugh. As if he could even pretend to apprentice with a fisherman!

“Every role in the Hold is equally important in the eyes of the gods,” Mother Mara told him. “We are blessed to take that journey. We meet many people, see interesting things, remember to appreciate our home, and the people of the Hold get to remember how much they rely on our fish and crabs!”

“We’re the busiest fish stall!” Mina told Taehyung proudly. 

In the face of their pride at their own profession though, Taehyung was embarrassed and defended, “My Apa is the most important though! He’s the Thane of everyone! Maybe if you were warriors too Jungkook would learn to fight and not get beat up by the other boys.”

The instant frowns on all faces present let Taehyung know he had said something wrong.

After a moment, Jungkook’s father said, “The gods encourage us to look after each other within a Hold. Little boys who don’t feel seen or heard try to put others down around them. It is easy to feel strong if you pick on those smaller than you but that’s not true strength.”

“The gods will see justice in the end,” Mother Mara said. Jungkook and Mina sat quietly while Yo-han watched them. He seemed bothered that Jungkook was quiet and tried to climb up Jungkook’s back.

“I don’t bully Jungkook,” Taehyung insisted, feeling like maybe they were confused. “I helped him because I know how to fight and he doesn’t. I think it’s stupid to beat up smaller boys too.”

“It’s really nice of you,” Mina said. “Those other boys are just awful. I hope the Lady drops hailstones on their heads–”

“Mina.”

“They deserve it!”

Jungkook just mumbled, “Someday I’ll be bigger and I can fight my own battles.”

“The gods look after us,” his father nodded. “Sometimes by providing us with friends who can watch our backs.”

Taehyung thought they meant him, but Mina agreed with her father, “Yoongi promised me he’s going to keep watching because he said he needs to practice his magic and he won’t get in so much trouble for using it before his training is done if he uses it helping someone.”

“He shouldn’t–” Jungkook’s father began but Mother Mara shrugged, “Eh, if the boys get themselves blown up…”

“Ama!” Jungkook and Mina both actually laughed at the same time. Mother Mara smiled at them. She usually had a hard look to her but she looked like Taehyung’s own Ama in that moment.

“I’m not scared of magic or of those boys,” Taehyung said. “Apa is proud of me if I fight good so I can help too.”

Jungkook just looked at him and didn’t look very grateful about it, but his parents thanked Taehyung instead.

Soon food was all gone and Taehyung realized he had better get home or Ama might be there worrying about him. When Mina took his bowl, he remembered at least to say thank you to the ar Mara’s for the food and wish them blessings from the gods. Jungkook followed him outside, to his surprise, catching his arm before he could run off.

“Can you teach me to fight?” he asked without any lead up. “I don’t care if boys bother me but sometimes they bother my sister too.”

“Oh.” Taehyung glanced back through the open doorway where Mina was already looking at the torn part of his shirt. He had told her he didn’t mind if she practiced flowers on it which had surprised her but she’d looked really happy about it. If it was too embarrassing he’d just get rid of it; he could have all the shirts he wanted now anyway since he was the Thane’s son.

Taehyung looked at Jungkook for a moment. He was smiling. His family was calling him back inside and he didn’t look annoyed about it because his family all loved each other. Taehyung thought Jungkook’s parents might not even be that mad that he wasn’t immediately obeying them. He felt a little jealousy that he didn’t want to admit, because Apa was the best and greatest warrior in the Hold and wanted him to be great too but having a little brother who crawled on your back and an older sister who fixed things for you and both a mother and a father who listened to you and already thought you were great was kind of… It seemed nice. Taehyung was blessed by the gods! He didn’t want a different family! But maybe he could just eat here sometimes when he wanted to feel what that was like. 

So Taehyung answered Jungkook’s request, “Yeah. You need to learn to fight for yourself too. Maybe I can eat with your family sometimes and maybe I can go to the Great Ocean with you too.”

“Yeah, ok.”

“Ok it’s a deal.” They knocked their foreheads together and patted each other’s backs like the adults did and then Taehyung waved at him and headed home. 

Was this what it meant to have a friend? Were they friends now? They had a deal where both of them got something they wanted and… Probably Apa wouldn’t be happy to know this was who he had made friends with but at least he could say confidently Jungkook wasn’t going to stab him. His puny arms definitely couldn’t drive a knife in, and Taheyung could disarm him and actually stab him before he tried a second time. No problem. 

He wondered what kind of flowers Mina would stitch into his shirt.

Read more on AO3 | Series Masterlist

[outrogi]

saving fics to read later in my drafts that I know will absolutely destroy me but i don’t have the emotional strength rn to be destroyed is my anthem

[bangtanficsforyou]

Girl of His Dreams (01)

Pairing: Fuckboi! Jungkook x Reader

Au: Strangers to Lovers au

Genre: Angst, fluff, smut (eventually)

Rating: 18+

Word count: 5K (approx)

Summary: You think Jungkook is the utter definition of beauty. Jungkook thinks you’re cute but just not his type. Throw a magic ring into the equation, that makes you look like the girl of his dreams and you have the perfect recipe for heartbreak and tears.

Main Masterlist | Prologue

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You're sure that the majority of people hate Mondays. Dread it even. You, on the other hand, used to look forward to Mondays because Mondays meant art classes. However, for the first time, you find yourself being a part of the Monday hater club. You just wish you could skip this day and remove its existence entirely. Or at least for this semester.

In the less than three days that you got to spend with your family, you had your fair share of relaxing moments. But after coming back to your dorms, it's like a part of you has realised that these distraction techniques are only temporary. Because there's no way for you to run away from the impact Jungkook's words have had on you.

Thankfully, yesterday you were tired from the journey and your mind did not have the energy to overthink. Which, you also think, is the reason why you could fall asleep so easily.

But now it's Monday which means art classes, which means you will see Jungkook again. There's no avoiding it. Worst of all, it's the first class of your day and you don't even have the time to prepare yourself.

As you make your way through the hallways and towards your designated room, your mind rushes to come up with all the ways in which you should be prepared to face Jungkook. It's like this one thing that you need to get right in order to save whatever amount of dignity you are left with.

Your imagination, however, is put to a halt when you find yourself in front of your class.

Gosh, this is going to be stressful.

You take a deep breath and tightly shut your eyes, before swinging the door of your classroom open. When you open them again, your eyes land on Jungkook's back, automatically.

Shit, he's already here and is sitting on your seat.

The sight of him, causes you to take a step back and you start second-guessing if you're ready to face him. It's not so much about his words anymore but rather how your body is reacting to seeing him. You were not feeling this way even a few moments ago and could have never predicted having to battle your thoughts like this.

You also don't have it in you to sit back and process the emotions you're feeling when your mind and body are screaming at you to run in the opposite direction. Somewhere away from Jungkook.

"Hey," someone taps on your shoulder, aggressively. "Do you plan to stand here for the rest of the day?"

You wince and face the person, only to roll your eyes when you realise who it is. "Can you for once, not be so aggressive?"

Brie rolls her eyes right back at you. "If I hadn't tapped you so hard, you might still be in your depressing dream world."

Shit. Are you making it obvious? In case you're, you can't have that. One of the many things that you had planned on, was to not show how affected and in turmoil you are. Because getting butthurt by people's words is not cool. It's childish and immature. Unfortunately, even though you want to, you can't do anything about the fact that the words had an impact on you, but you can work on not showing it and making it obvious.

Even if you're weak, you do not want to appear weak.

Not bothering to reply to Brie, you start walking towards your seat. You can't avoid facing him, what's the point of delaying it? You think you hear a "rude" coming from Brie but you don't pay much attention to it.

"Good morning, art girl," Jungkook says in greeting. When you respond to him with a simple nod and wordlessly ask him to scoot, he takes the hint that you're not interested in making conversations with him.

Understandable, he thinks. His words weren't exactly nice. But they had to be spoken. He had to make it clear that he isn't interested in you in some way or the other, sooner or later.

One might ask, why then, is he sitting next to you when he could have chosen any other seat? Well, your seat is right in front of the podium, so when he has to get up there to pose, he will have to walk the least. Plus, he didn't think it was important to change seats, anyway. He knows you won't mistake his actions again. Heck, you are not even talking to him, so why should he give up his ideal seat? A few moments of awkwardness is nothing he can't handle.

So, the two of you sit in silence with you occasionally operating on your phone, to find some distraction. For you, the atmosphere could not be any more suffocating.

Thankfully, around ten minutes later, your professor arrives, which gives you a bit of hope that you'll finally be out of your misery.

It takes a few moments of Miss Richardson chit-chatting with the class for the class to really begin. When Jungkook leaves your side you heave a deep sigh of relief as it feels like you can breathe again.

You arrange your materials and get ready to continue with the sketch. When you look up again, Jungkook is already shirtless and posing the same way he did in the last class.

You take a deep breath and take a look at your incomplete sketch. Hmmm. Where should you start with? As soon as the thought comes to mind, the eyes catch your attention. Something is missing. They need more details and some highlighting.

You involuntarily nod to yourself and make your decision. Eyes it is!

Quickly looking up, you take notice of Jungkook's eyes and then back to your sketch. Making a few quick observations, your pencil comes in contact with the paper to add some strokes at the corners of the eyes. After feeling satisfied, you look up again, to see what else you could add.

After a few moments of staring, you notice that there's a certain level of innocence in Jungkook's eyes. You look back to your sketch and notice that despite the strokes that you added, the eyes lack the ability to convey emotions and fail to stand out.

Your hands quickly get to work and you work on the irises. Your eyes do a quick back and forth between Jungkook and the sketch.

When you look up for the umpteenth time, you happen to find his eyes closed for a very brief moment as he blinks. When he opens his eyes, it's almost as if your brain starts to look at him from a completely different angle. Like one of those illusions, where you blink and only then does your brain catch up and sees the object for what it is.

It's almost as if you're seeing his eyes for the first time. And for the first time do you see the amount of beauty they hold. His eyes are so captivating and mysterious. It's like there's a library of books inside them, and you find yourself wondering what each of those books contain. You do not mind the idea of spending an eternity reading each and every book with great care so that you don't miss a single detail.

The feeling of a certain warmth blooming in your chest, grabs your attention and your face falls when you realise what exactly you were thinking.

Not again, you think. You can't do that again. You simply cannot afford to go down that road.

The feeling fuels a certain kind of anger in your veins and you find yourself feeling determined to finish the drawing as quickly as you possibly can. Because completing the sketch means not having to see Jungkook anymore.

Once you have caught your breath and are ready to start again, you pick up your pencil and get back to work. Unfortunately, it does not take too long for the thoughts to slip again. It's like his eyes have captivated you and you don't know how to get out.

As your anger turns into frustration, you admit defeat and think that it's a wise decision to work on the other body parts. You can get to the eyes again when your brain isn't behaving like it's on some sort of drug.

Focusing on the arms now, you restart. But much to your utter dismay, the same pattern follows. It only takes a few moments for you to notice how huge and sculpted his arms look. Your frustration grows as you keep trying to focus on other body areas but your thoughts keep going back to admiring his beauty and soon you find yourself running out of areas to work on.

Your agitation causes you to put an intense amount of pressure on the nib of your pencil until it breaks. The sight of the broken nib causes you to sigh and you feel pain at the thought of not being able to focus on the one thing you do right. When you feel tears pool in your eyes, you get up from your seat.

"Ma'am, I'm not feeling well, can I please be excused for a few moments?" You ask in a meek voice.

Miss Richardson, is one of those professors who's strict but at the same time gentle and observant. It might appear as if all she's been doing is sitting and updating grades on her laptop but in reality, she has also been keeping a close eye on the students and their activities.

By your constant fidgeting and squirming, it was obvious to her that no matter how hard you were trying to focus, for whatever reason, your mind was stuck somewhere else.

So when you come up to her asking if you could be excused, she is more than willing.

As soon as you're out, you beeline to the washroom. Locking the doors, you repetitively splash your face with cold water. If it was a movie, it would be one of those scenes where the female protagonist splashes water to get some sense back into her and then looks into the mirror with eyes heavy with emotion.

But this isn't a movie.

Although you look into the mirror with your hands gripping the edges of the sink tightly and your eyes are heavy with emotion, this is not a movie. Because you aren't pretty enough to be the main protagonist.

With that thought, it all comes crashing down. Every emotion that you couldn't make sense of suddenly starts making sense.

You aren't naive or foolish enough to think that Jungkook is the only good-looking man out there. There are people who are just as good-looking or maybe even more. The world is not limited to him.

But how does that make any difference?

Like every other person, you have had dreams of your prince charming, of your soulmate and what your 'forever' person would look like. In all of those, he was someone breathtaking, someone gorgeous and someone who's the utter definition of beauty. They loved you unconditionally and were just as much in awe with you, as you were with them.

Never did you consider the possibility that they might find you unattractive.

You are also, aware that just because Jungkook implied that he finds you unattractive or not conventionally good-looking, does not mean every other guy will hold the same opinion of you. But then, your history with men or lack thereof, simply proves that no one has ever found you good-looking either.

Why would they? You've got eyes and you can point out a hundred things wrong with your face in the blink of an eye. Everyone dreams of their loved one to radiate beauty and charm. And you're neither beautiful nor charming. Why would anyone choose you?

With your eyes locked with your reflection, you realise that you don't just feel unattractive. You feel unlovable.

When you were sketching Jungkook and observing those little details, you weren't only observing his physical features but also how easily lovable he is. How easy it is to love him and how he won't ever have to struggle to find love.

His beauty was only making you feel small and inferior.

A drop of tear falling on your wrist makes you realise that you have been silently crying all this while. The realisation only makes you think how pathetic you are to be crying in the bathroom about how you look. You're ugly but also so uncool.

The worst part is that there's nothing that you can do about it. You'll have to live with this face for the rest of your life. And maybe, you'll struggle the entirety of your life to find love. That is if you even do.

A warm sensation on your finger catches your attention once more but this time when you look down, it isn't a teardrop but rather the ring. The same ring that your mother gifted you a few days ago.

You had worn it to class thinking that it looks pretty and matches quite well with your outfit.

But now that the area in contact with the ring starts getting warmer and warmer, your confusion keeps increasing along with it.

Although the warmth isn't uncomfortable, you remove the ring from your finger. The moment the tips of your fingers come in contact with the metal, you realise that the ring in itself is warm and is well above room temperature.

Your immediate instinct is to touch the other ring you are wearing but to your complete surprise, you find that the ring is cold. This observation only causes you to frown harder.

You turn the faucet on and place the ring under it. Once you deem that it's been enough time for the ring's temperature to drop, you turn the water off. You dry the ring by wiping the remaining water off with some tissue paper.

To your utter disbelief, the ring remains just as warm.

But how the fuck is that even possible?

This is a clear slap on the face to the laws of thermodynamics, that you spent so much time learning!

Could….could it actually be some sort of a magical ring?

You remember thinking about the ring last night and how you didn't even entertain the thought of this ring being magical even for a second. Those sorts of things only exist in fantasy worlds. You'd be incredibly stupid to ever consider the possibility of it being one. You had peacefully settled on the conclusion that your mom only played a prank on you.

But right now, you are doubting everything.

It's not just how stubbornly it remains warm but also how it got warm out of nowhere. You cannot explain any of these things using logic.

"Hmm but not just any ordinary ring. The one who puts this on you will start seeing you as their dream partner."

Your mother's words ring in your head.

Ordinary ring? You cannot yet say that it's not an ordinary ring. But unlike before, you find yourself unable to rule out that possibility. This only makes you want to know for sure, what the deal with the ring is.

But how do you put the ring to test? One possible way is to wait for the ring to get heated up again or do something that isn't natural. But who knows when that will be?

The other option available to you is, to check whether the ring does what your mom claims, it's supposed to do.

With your decision being made, you wear the ring back, wipe your tears and clean your face a little bit before heading out to find someone who can help you with your little experiment.

You'll deal with your emotions later (hopefully in the dorms), first you have got a ring that you need to figure out, about.

You have been thinking a lot.

You have been going through classes, blankly staring at the board while your mind remains somewhere else. On the ring, to be very specific. It hasn't been off your mind for a single moment.

Until now of course, as you find yourself in front of Jungkook's class once again. Why? Because you missed your art class and now you need to take a picture of his so that you can complete your sketch.

Although this isn't ideal, you think it's still better than having to be battling your thoughts in the middle of a classroom.

You have to wait for a few minutes until the bell rings. As students start coming out, your heartbeat increases and your hands start getting clammy. However, you aren't as nervous as you were before, because now your focus isn't solely on Jungkook. Somewhere at the back of your mind is the ring.

When you spot Jungkook, he's surrounded by a few of his friends. You clear your throat and put up a facade of confidence, before walking up to him. When he notices you, a confused frown appears on his face.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" You ask, with eyes as blank as they can be.

Jungkook nods and tells his friends that he will join them in a minute before turning back to you. "Wassup?"

"I could not attend today's class, I had to leave midway because I wasn't feeling well. But I need to complete the sketch so I will have to take a picture of yours." You say in a single breath, letting it all out. The longer you remain under Jungkook's gaze the more you find yourself willing to hide. For a moment, you forgot how powerful his gaze can be and how small it can make you feel. It would be fair to say that now the ring is pretty much out of your mind and all you're focused on is getting out of here as quickly as possible.

"Have you talked about it to your professor?" He shoots another question. He does not mean to sound judgemental but you look like someone who's highly cautious about their grades and who would do anything to maintain them. Who knows, maybe you are here asking him without actually referring it to your professor.

"Of course, I have," involuntarily, a scoff escapes your lips. For the first time, you feel a bit of anger towards the boy. How dare he think that you would be here asking him about it without consulting with your professor first? That would be highly immoral as that would be cheating and unfair to the other students. It's also about his tone of query, it did not sound like a genuine question. Rather one, where he seemed to have formed his own opinion beforehand.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow at your offended stance and finds amusement in it. "Cool then, you can take a picture but what do I get in return?"

Your anger is replaced by surprise and mild panic. You don't have anything you could give to him in return. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'll tell you what, art girl, I'm currently in the mood for some tacos," Jungkook answers, giving you a hint of what exactly it is that he wants.

Realisation clicks and then your face falls. Shit, you'll have to spend more time with him in the name of bribing him. Your stomach churns at the thought and a new wave of anxiety rolls over you. How long are you going to manage to be in his presence without experiencing the same mental breakdown you did a few hours ago?

Unfortunately, if you have to complete your assignment, you will have to spend some more time with Jungkoo–

Jungkook!

The name loudly echoes in your mind.

Jeon Jungkook. He's the ideal man to put the ring on your finger.

Why?

Because he, never in his wildest dreams will consider you to be his dream woman. If after putting the ring on you, it somehow affects the way he views you, that will be no less than a miracle and proof that the ring indeed is magical.

Suddenly, you find yourself looking forward to treating him. A change in your body language which Jungkook notices.

"You know that's not me asking you on a date, right?" He asks with a clearly worried frown that you might mistake his words again.

Your heart shrinks at his comment. How lowly must he think of you? But you try to put that aside and give him a small smile. "Don't worry. I know."

It wasn't that difficult for both of you to find an empty classroom to click the picture in. You were once again overthinking and stressing about being alone with Jungkook but somehow the nonchalant way in which he removed his shirt, without a second thought, gave you enough courage to behave like a normal person. You're the only one who's stressing and making it out to be a big deal when everyone else is just doing fine.

You clicked your photo and now you're fulfilling your end of the deal aka bribing him aka paying for his tacos. While you're at it, it's only fair that you got a burger for yourself. You can't just sit there and watch him eat, things are already awkward enough for you.

As you and Jungkook chew on your food, he keeps swiping on his phone and you keep wondering what is the ideal way in which you can make him put the ring on you.

You can't just ask him to do it directly. You have already made a fool out of yourself before, you can't do that again.

But what other options do you have?

Jungkook feels your intense stare on the side of his face and sighs. Guess, he will have to make some conversation. It's rude to make you pay for the food and not even put some effort into making a conversation with you.

He locks his phone and puts it in his pocket. "So what exactly happened when you weren't feeling well? Like a headache? A stomach ache?"

His words snap you out of your train of thought and it takes a few moments to register his words. When they do, you can't help but notice the irony. The very person who caused your mental breakdown is asking about it, with zero clues about the impact his words and actions have had on you. But then he's not to be blamed, your mind reminds you. He only spoke the truth. Sooner or later, someone might have told you the very same thing and caused the bubble of your daydreams to pop.

"Nothing serious was just feeling heavily nauseous," you say with a shrug, wanting to keep your answer short so that you don't have to recall the events.

A small crease forms on his forehead. If you were feeling nauseous, what on earth are you doing eating a burger now? It's only been what, three hours since art class? You should not be eating junk food three hours from when you were feeling nauseous, it will make things worse. He knows it from his own experience and the memory of it causes him to wince.

Noticing that there's a look of displeasure on his face, you quickly attempt to divert the question elsewhere, in fear of what he might have to say.

"Where did you get that shirt from?" You blurt out but then smack yourself mentally at the absurdity of the question. Who the fuck asks where they got a plain white shirt from? They are available everywhere!

"This?" He asks as if making sure you're talking about the shirt he's wearing. When you nod, confirming he shrugs. "I might be wrong but I think it's from Target."

You look elsewhere in embarrassment when you reply out a hum. But it's when you're looking around that you notice a woman wiping her hands on a tissue paper. The sight causes an idea to pop into your head.

"But why are you asking where my shirt is from?"

"Nothing, the shirt just looks like it's made of good quality fibre." you chuckle awkwardly as your thumb fiddles with the ring and gradually loosens it enough so that it can come out easily.

Jungkook squints his eyes in suspicion as he leans forward to observe you. "This shirt could not be made of cheaper quality fibre."

"Hehe," you say (yes, you literally say hehe) with a wince. "That aside, can you help me put this ring on?"

You point to the golden ring that now lies on the table surface and then point to your greasy right hand, in an attempt to explain why you can't put it on yourself.

Jungkook, thankfully, doesn't think much of it. He picks the ring up with his left hand and wordlessly asks which finger you wear it on. You lift your ring finger to give your answer and moments later, he's gliding the ring on your finger.

When Jungkook looks up at you, he finds that his vision has turned blurry and the harder he tries to focus, the more a splitting headache appears on the right side of his brain. He puts his hands on his head in hopes that it would give him some comfort but it doesn't help at all.

Your brows furrow in concern when you see the uncomfortable look in his eyes. "Jungkook, are you okay?"

Your voice faintly reaches his ears but the words do not register and he definitely does not manage to respond.

"Jungkook?"

The voices start fading out and his eyes start getting droopy.

"Jungkook!"

That's the last thing he hears before he blanks out completely.

Permanent Taglist:

@bloodline1632 @embrace-themagic @jeonsorchid @fragmentof-indiffernce @royallyjjk @jeonninja @variety-is-the-joy-of-life @blairscott @jungkookslittlebun

Series taglist:

@youremyjinearth @charcutetaerie @hunbun07 @jyupuff @rosieatron @armydgirl @heartjiminie @leedoesntknaur @j3oooonsnsns @teteschim @azur3s @berryonasummerevening

[seokjins-luigi]

I hate everything about you | pjm | mini masterlist

pairing ↠ ex! Jimin x ex! f! reader

genre ↠ exes to lovers | a bit of love triangle | angst | smut | fluff

18+

banner: by the amazing @kookdiaries

summary ↠ accidentally, you bump into your ex who, mind you, previously cheated on you. so you're 99% sure the only feeling you have left for him is sheer hate. but the 1% leaves you questioning.

feedback is always appreciated 💜

permanent taglist ↠ @goldenhoney-cas @yuugehn

part 1 | part 2

[pascaloverx]

Invisible Bonds: The Power of Destiny

Author's Note: This fanfic contains possible strong language and explores themes of unconventional love. The relationship between the protagonists will be handled with sensitivity, without explicit scenes.

chapter five chapter seven

Chapter Six

"Finally, the rest of the group arrived. We were starting to think you guys had lost your way to Hoseok's house." Namjoon speaks as he sets the dining table; it seems like it wasn't just you and Jungkook who brought something to eat. You smile somewhat awkwardly, still thinking about how Taehyung spoke to you and Jungkook a few minutes ago.

"Y/N was the one responsible for our delay; she insisted that we should bring something to eat and made me change my clothes as if you all deserved to see me at my best." Jungkook jokes. You remove one of the hands that were holding the pie and playfully hit his arm. The others find it amusing, and you feel a bit embarrassed.

"So, where can I leave this pie? My arm is already sore." You say, trying to shift the focus to something else.

"You came with two people, and none of them offered to help you? How ungentlemanly of both of you." Haewon says, getting up from the sofa where she was sitting. She takes the pie from your hands, gives Taehyung a kiss, and heads to the kitchen.

"So, how has it been for you two being connected to each other? Fun? Horrible? Frustrating?" Jin asks as he sits in a chair facing you and Jungkook. Taehyung takes advantage of being out of the spotlight and sits on the sofa, leaving just you and Jungkook to be interrogated.

"It's been an adventure, good and different. Like now, I know you're making her rethink if it was a good idea to come here, and I don't even need to ask her that." Jungkook replies, giving a disapproving look to Jin.

"That doesn't prove anything; I know that too, and it doesn't make me her soulmate. I mean, who would want to spend the afternoon with six idiots and Haewon?" Yoongi speaks from the dining room, and you let out a light laugh.

"Sure, I have to work while you live a romance? Nothing against you, Y/N, but that's exactly why I gave up on my soulmate." Yoongi remarks.

"Stop talking nonsense; anyone can focus on work and have a soulmate. You gave up on yours because you were afraid of how you'd feel. Meanwhile, I'm here waiting for my soulmate to come and make my days happy." Hoseok responds. Unfortunately, Yoongi gave up on his soul connection, while Hoseok has been waiting for his for years. A soulmate shaman even told our poor Hoseok that his soulmate probably gave up on the connection.

"In that, I have to agree with Hoseok. I've already found my soulmate, and I continue working." Jin adds.

"It depends on whether you can stay away from your soulmate or not, which reminds me, I have to go find mine. To the newest couple, my blessings, and to the newlyweds…" Jimin was about to continue speaking but noticed that Haewon and Taehyung hadn't gotten married.

"I'll give you a ride; I need to buy more coffee. And don't destroy my house, have fun. While I'm away, Namjoon is in charge." Hoseok says as he leaves with Jimin.

"Speaking of Namjoon, I'll help him set the table. Jungkook, can you help me take off this coat?" You ask Jungkook as you try to remove the coat on your own. He quickly comes to assist you. His cold hand touches your back, sending shivers down your spine. You murmur a "ouch" as he takes off your coat, and he notices that it's because of the coldness of his hands.

"Stop being so sensitive; I barely touched you, love." Jungkook says, taking your coat off completely and placing it on the coat rack. Before you head to the dining room, Jungkook gives you a kiss on the cheek. You then head to the dining room. Helping Namjoon will clear your mind, not to mention that you feel the need to talk to someone with experience about soulmates.

"I feel like you didn't come to help me for nothing, so go ahead and open up." Namjoon says as soon as you enter the dining room. You're surprised, but you remember that he often knows things you didn't even think to question.

"When did you discover your soulmate, and how long did it take for you to know you felt something genuine for them?" You ask, curious and a bit apprehensive. Namjoon stops what he's doing and looks at you.

"Y/N, uncertainty about your feelings and their enormity will be with you all the time. Whether it's real or not doesn't really matter. Are you happy?" Namjoon asks. Before answering, you look at Jungkook, who is in the living room talking to Yoongi. He smiles so genuinely that you feel like your heart is going to burst.

"Possibly, I feel light. As if I could share my life with someone. Sharing my life with someone, especially someone like Jungkook, feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Despite the uncertainties, there's a warmth in my heart that makes every moment worthwhile." You speak so unexpectedly that even you surprise yourself. Perhaps you're letting your heart do more of the talking.

"So allow yourself to feel that, without overthinking if it's the connection or just you. In life, moments where we feel complete are rare. If you feel that way, savor this moment." Namjoon says, embracing you as if he wants to comfort you.

"Even if it means letting go of something that is very dear to me?" You ask genuinely, knowing that embracing your feelings for Jungkook means leaving behind your romantic feelings for Taehyung.

"I think you know the answer to that question, but I can tell you that sometimes life closes one door so that a better one can open. I trust that you will make the right choice." Namjoon says, gently patting your head, and you feel like he kind of understands what you're talking about. You and Namjoon then call everyone to eat, and you think that maybe Namjoon is right. Life is closing one opportunity to open up a better opportunity for my future happiness.

[minisugakoobies]

Paradise | JJK - Fifteen

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: smut, neighbors to lovers (not quite friends but not quite strangers), slow burn, love triangle, Stripper!AU

Rating: M (18+)

Warnings: we finally get a JinKook showdown in the most ridiculous way possible, the tiniest bit of angst, CONFESSIONS!!, followed by post-confession sex, JK hits it raw, OC in lingerie, fingering, oral sex (f receiving), lots of talking about feelings, I'm sorry but this gets a little soft because I love these two

Word Count: 6.3k

Disclaimers: NSFW, obviously I don’t own BTS - they just inspire me

Summary: That sexy man on stage - the one currently giving your friend the lap dance of her LIFE - is your super shy neighbor, Jeon Jungkook?!

A/N: We're back and we're nearing the end! Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently for the next chapter - I didn't mean for it to take so long, but, well, life 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, I'm very excited to share this chapter with you finally - I hope you enjoy!

Unbeta’d as usual. Please don’t be a silent reader, I’d love to hear from you!  💕

Previous Chapter ♦️ Paradise Masterlist

Despite his words earlier, Jungkook is in fact one of the first people on the dance floor when it opens. And of course, you’re right there with him. How could you say no when he holds his hand out and smiles at you like that - like nothing else would make him happier right now than you in his arms?

After all the time you’ve spent admiring Jungkook’s moves when he dances for you, it’s a whole new perspective to get to experience them when you’re dancing with him. Part of that difference is due to the deejay keeping it wholesome with the song selections, since Jennie and Yoongi’s family members are the majority of the revelers surrounding you. So there’s a lot less grinding and a lot more distance between the two of you.

You don’t really try to keep up with him - it’s not that you’re a terrible dancer, it’s just that he’s so fucking good. His every movement is so natural, like he’s not even trying. He does show off just a little bit, when Jisoo eggs him on, slipping into a freakishly accurate robot that has a small ring of guests gathering around to cheer him on. The giant grin on his face tells you he’s enjoying the attention just as much as the faint blush on the tips of his ears tells you he’s just a little bashful about it. 

After a few songs, the music finally slows a little, the crowd thinning as only couples are left. Jungkook draws you close, one arm sliding around your back as the other clasps your hand, holding it to his chest. The room around you falls away as he takes the lead, swaying with you around the floor.

“Are you having a good time, jagi?” he murmurs after a moment. 

“I am, Kookie.” Lifting your head from his shoulder, you gaze into his eyes, feeling that familiar warmth overtake you when he returns your smile. “Thanks for coming with me today.”

“Like I’d turn down the chance for free food and drinks,” he teases, laughing when you huff and try to pull away, tightening his grip to keep you locked in place. “What? I’m just being honest.” 

“Ass,” you mutter, but you can’t stop smiling, and neither can he. He lifts his arm, hand pressing lightly on your back to guide you in a spin, then brings you back into his embrace. You spot Rosé across the room, watching you and Jungkook dance, and she politely claps as you shake your head, grinning. 

The beat picks up again, and your friends surround you and Jungkook. Rosé, Jisoo, and Jin all dance together as Lisa introduces Yi-Jeong to the group. Even Jennie and Yoongi join in, and it’s true what Jennie told you yesterday - her man definitely has moves. Everyone’s happy and laughing, and you’re so full of joy you could just burst.

Jin suddenly twirls, facing Jungkook with an intense look on his face. The younger man takes a step back in surprise as Jin starts to rock his body back and forth, like he’s about to bust out a breakdance move. Is he seriously about to - 

“Ooh, dance battle!” Jisoo cups her hands around her mouth, yelling. Your other friends start whooping, forming a circle around Jungkook and Jin. Jisoo pulls you next to her from where you’ve been standing, so you’re not between them anymore. “Get it, Bambi!” 

While the others around you are shouting encouragement, you just gaze silently between the two men, unsure if you should be joining in. Unsure if this is a friendly competition or if the tense vibes you feel radiating between them is something more. From the expressions on their faces, it’s clear that they’re going to do this, so you just sigh, bobbing along to the beat, waiting for the show. 

Jungkook stops gawking at Jin and begins bedrocking, swinging his hands as he faces Jin with a fierce look. Jin glares back, sticking his arms out as he undulates in a rather impressive wave, rolling his long limbs from left to right. 

It’s not until you hear clapping behind you that you realize that more people have joined the circle, crowding in behind you, shouting Jin’s name. Jungkook hears it too, his brow furrowing slightly. It’s clear his competitive nature’s kicked in when he peels his suit jacket off. You hold your hand out for it automatically, feeling a swoop of heat in your stomach as he gives it to you with a wink. 

The tip of his tongue slips out as Jungkook suddenly throws himself towards the ground, landing on one hand like he’s doing a handstand, and then kicks his legs out in a cartwheel kick. He’s so smooth with it, inverting himself like it’s nothing, that you actually gasp.

It’s like he cranked the volume up on the crowd, and someone - Rosé, maybe? - starts chanting Jungkook’s name. You can’t help but add your voice to the mix. 

Jungkook lands back on his feet and motions for Jin to go. Jin also takes his jacket off, jaw clenching firmly. He rolls his body a few times before bouncing into the Roger Rabbit, feet stepping quickly, arms flapping at his side like wings. It’s surprisingly loose and funky, two words you don’t typically associate with Jin. 

Lisa yells, “Go chef!” and the crowd divides itself into two chants. Jin ends his turn with a little flourish, dusting imaginary dirt from his broad shoulders. But you know from Jungkook’s smirk that he’s undaunted, and without a second’s hesitation, he swiftly dives to the floor, launching himself into a windmill.

Your friends explode into cheers, watching Jungkook roll round and round the floor. As he picks up speed, he tucks his arms up onto his stomach, doing the trick with no hands. Then he comes to a stop with a freeze, legs hanging in the air. 

The crowd chants Jungkook’s name only as he rises to his feet. He straightens his tie, then gestures to Jin. Jin rocks for a few beats, a strange look in his eye. 

Then he throws his hands out in front of him, holding one steady while the other mimics winding a reel. 

“Is he - is he fishing for Jungkook?” 

You don’t answer Rosé as there’s no need to. Jin’s clearly doing the fishing pole move. One by one, the voices around you grow quieter. Jungkook blinks at Jin for a few seconds, obviously thrown by this decision.

Then he grins, flapping his hands by his face like fins.

“Oh, wow, they share a brain cell,” Lisa says. “Did not see that coming.” 

Jisoo groans. “Well, this is anticlimactic. I was promised bloodshed.” 

“Who promised you that?” you ask, laughing. Feeling a tiny bit relieved. 

The crowd departs, but the two men keep dancing. Jungkook pretends he’s been hooked, thrashing from side-to-side before dropping to the ground in his signature dolphin kick. Always a performer to the end, you think, as he hops back to his feet, and he and Jin take turns bowing to one another. 

The smile on his face gets wider when Jungkook sees you clapping for him. He reaches for his jacket, and you impulsively press a kiss to his cheek, biting back a laugh as his eyes widen slightly.

“If those are the moves you pull out for a dance-off, I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for later,” you whisper. Jungkook’s arm grips your side as he tilts his head to look at you. His touch is warm, but it can’t match the heat in his eyes. 

“Careful what you ask for, jagiya,” he replies, gaze dropping to your mouth so briefly that you almost miss it. “I need some water. Do you want anything?” 

You shake your head, and he disappears towards the tables. As soon as he’s gone, you feel someone brush your arm. 

“Okay, I’ll give it to the kid - he’s got moves,” Jin declares, holding his hand out in an offer to dance. You silently take it, letting him pull you close as the deejay cues up a ballad. 

Jin’s quiet for a few beats, leading you in small circles around the dance floor. It strikes you that this is the first time the two of you have really been face-to-face since yesterday, that weird standoff in the hallway earlier notwithstanding. You haven’t had a chance to talk to him alone since - 

“So what’s up with your boy?” 

You meet Jin’s gaze with a raised eyebrow. “Jungkook? What do you mean?”

Jin shrugs, the movement jostling your hand where it rests on his shoulder. “I mean, he looked like he was ready to throw hands when he introduced himself earlier. Like he was just itching for a fight.” 

“And you’re not?” You snort when he blinks in exaggerated confusion. “Oh, come on, all those snide little comments you were making at the table? Arguing with him about who has it worse? What was that all about?” 

Jin maintains his affronted expression for half a minute longer before he starts to laugh. “Okay, fine, I admit I was just pushing his buttons at dinner. In my defense, he made it too easy!” He laughs harder when you roll your eyes and start to pull away. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But I had to do something to cheer myself up. It wasn’t easy for me to sit there and watch the two of you together, to see the way you look at him.” 

Your curiosity tampers down your annoyance for a moment. “How do I look at him?” 

Jin smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Like there’s no one else in the world.” 

You glance away, unsure what to say to that. Your gaze flits around the room until it lands on Jungkook, finding him at one of the tables, chatting with Lisa and Yi-jeong. His nose crinkles as he laughs with your friend, tattooed hand coming up to swipe away the hair that falls into his face, and you hear Jin sigh. 

“Yeah, that’s the look,” he says, shaking his head. He shifts his arm from your back, leading you into a gentle spin. “I was honestly surprised at how easy it was to antagonize him. Figured nothing I could do or say would bother him, knowing he won your heart.”

When you don’t respond to that, staring at Jin’s bowtie instead of meeting his eye, he hums. 

“Oh, I see. You haven’t told him yet.” 

Without warning, Jin dips you. You gasp, clutching his bicep to steady yourself.

“Are you having second thoughts?” he murmurs. His hand grips yours tightly, arm cradles your back, keeping you in place while his face hovers a mere breath above yours. 

It’s an intimate pose, the way he holds you now, yet just like yesterday, you feel nothing.

“No. No second thoughts.” You’ve recovered from your momentary shock, voice steady as you reply. “I’m sorry, Jin, but like I told you yesterday, it’s Jungkook I want.” 

Immediately, you’re back on your feet. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Jin grins a crooked grin. “Had to ask, though.” 

You roll your eyes. “I’m starting to regret this whole ‘let’s be friends’ idea.” 

He ignores your jibe. “Can I ask you a serious question?” 

You take a moment to study his face before answering. All traces of humor have vanished as he waits for your response. Slowly, you nod. 

“What are you waiting for?” 

The rooftop garden glows softly in the night air, lit by tiny lights strung along the trees and flowering plants. Hidden speakers strewn around the open space bring the music from the reception outside, providing a gentle soundtrack for a beautiful summer evening. 

“Where are we going?” Jungkook asks, hand clasped firmly in yours as you lead him out of the reception and across the garden. 

In the corner of the roof, there’s a small nook carved out between two potted cherry blossoms, their branches obscuring the two of you from any of the other guests milling about. Right now, you need a little privacy.

You also need a moment to gather your thoughts. Your stomach’s jumped into your throat at the thought of what you’re about to do, and your anxiousness makes it hard to think straight. It doesn’t help that you’re slightly distracted by the sight in front of you. 

Although the sun’s long since set, the air is still warm. Jungkook’s shed his jacket, has his tie loosened, sleeves rolled to his elbows, hand still in yours as he looks at you expectantly, patiently waiting for you to speak. You can see the moon reflecting in his bright eyes, and for a moment, you’re back in the elevator at your apartment, staring at your handsome neighbor, that shy man with the sweet smile.

It wasn’t that long ago that he was a total stranger. Someone you saw occasionally at the mailboxes, someone who regularly ran away when you tried to talk to him. You didn’t know anything about him back then - what he did, what he liked, what made him laugh. What his kisses felt like. 

It wasn’t that long ago, yet it already feels like a distant memory. One that you never want to return to. Knowing everything you know about him now, feeling everything you feel - you can’t go back. There’s only one thing you need to do now - tell him. 

No reason to wait a second longer. 

Taking a deep breath, you squeeze his hand. “Jungkook, I brought you out here because I wanted to tell you something. I’m… ah, I’m not very good at this kind of thing, but I’m gonna try because I don’t want to drag this out when I don’t need to.” 

Jungkook’s eyebrows twitch slightly, but he doesn’t say anything, so you go on. 

“You know how I went to Jennie’s yesterday? Um, Jin was also there, with Yoongi. He pulled me aside and told me that the job Wendy asked me to interview for is actually his show for Nosh. And then he started talking about the two of us working together and traveling and -”

“Choose me, jagiya.” 

“Huh?” 

His interruption throws you off from the rambly mess you were attempting to say. Jungkook reaches for your other hand, holding both against his chest, and gives you a shaky smile. 

“Choose me, jagi. I know I don’t have a career like Seokjin does, or his money, or - or even a guarantee that I’ll ever have either of those things. I probably can’t promise you most of the things he can.” He pauses to draw a long breath, like he’s trying to slow himself down and not rush over his words, and oh, you want to kiss him so much right now. Even if this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. “But I can promise y-”

“No no!” It’s his turn to look surprised as you raise your hands to his mouth, muffling his speech. “Jungkook, stop! I was trying to tell you that I ended things with Jin yesterday. You don’t have to say another word because it’s over.” 

“Mmt’s omer?” he mumbles against your fingers, eyes widening. 

“Yes, it’s over,” you giggle, uncovering his mouth, and suddenly all of your nervousness floats away on the evening breeze. “Come on, Kookie. Don’t you know? I’ve already chosen. It’s you. It’s always been you.” 

Jungkook continues to stare at you with those big doe eyes as your words slowly sink in, and you can’t help but smile, fondly, so, so fondly, that familiar sensation of warmth surging up from your chest, and you know now that it has a name, that buzz, that elation, that euphoria, and it’s on the tip of your tongue, just waiting for you to breathe it to life. 

So you exhale. 

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” 

For just the slightest of moments - a fraction of a second, a single heartbeat - when he doesn’t do anything, doesn’t so much as blink or breathe, you’re scared you’ve said too much. It’s too soon, too fast, too everything. 

But then he wraps his arms around you, holding you close enough that you can feel his own heart thumping wildly within his chest, and puts your fears to rest with four simple words, whispered softly against your lips.  

“Jagi, I’ve already fallen.” 

He kisses you, soft and slow, every touch so full of tenderness that you could cry. You tangle your fingers in his hair, desperately seeking something to hold onto, to keep you from floating right off the roof. He’s fallen for you. Jungkook’s fallen for you. 

You never knew your heart could hold so much. 

All your nervousness from before has dissipated. Now the only reason your pulse races is the nearness of him.

“Are you in any hurry to get back in there?” he asks, tipping his head towards the party.

You shake your head. 

He smiles. “Good.” 

He takes your hand again, locking his other arm around your back. You lay your head on his shoulder and close your eyes, listening to him sing along lightly with the music drifting across the rooftop. Even when the song changes to something more uptempo, he doesn’t let go, just laces his fingers through yours and continues to sway with you beneath the stars. 

Many songs later, when the two of you finally return to the party, you find that it’s already winding down. Jennie and Yoongi are making their rounds to say goodbye, needing to go home  and pack for their trip to Jeju Island in the morning. 

Jennie grabs your arm and pulls you away from Jungkook, waving the other bridesmaids over. “I’m gonna do it tonight!” 

Jisoo pinches her cheek. “Babe, you’ve already done it. That’s why you’re late, remember?” 

“Ha, ha.” Jennie smacks her hand away. “I mean I’m gonna tell Yoongi I’m pregnant, smartass.” 

“Ah, I’m so excited for you!” Lisa gives her a hug, and then you’re all hugging. 

“Have you all had a good time tonight?” Jennie asks, not waiting for an answer. “This has been the most amazing day! Thank you for everything, I couldn’t have done this without you.” 

“Yes, you could have,” you grin. 

“Okay, true, I could have. But it wouldn’t have been as much fun without you all. I love you so much!” 

“We love you too. Now go celebrate with your husband!” Rosé giggles, emphasizing the last word with an energetic wiggle of her eyebrows. 

“Yeah, get out of here. Some of us have plans tonight but we can’t leave until you do.” Jisoo declares. 

“She makes a good point,” Lisa chimes in, glancing over her shoulder at where Yi-jeong sits alone, clearly waiting. 

“Wow, okay,” Jennie laughs, but she’s flying too high to really be mad. “I’ll see you all in a week!” 

It’s as you turn to walk back to Jungkook that you remember. 

“Oh! Lisa!” 

Your friend glances at you as you back away with a giant grin. 

“Pay Rosé her fifty bucks.” 

“Why are your friends screaming like that?” Jungkook asks when you rejoin him. 

You just smile and press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Ready to get out of here?” 

Riding Jungkook’s motorcycle is a much more pleasant experience tonight than it was on your way home from your first date. The sky is clear above you as Jungkook expertly weaves through traffic, and you’re warm and dry sitting behind him, wearing his suit jacket, arms tight around his waist. You spend most of the ride hugging more than holding on to him. 

Every few blocks, he releases the hand grip to let his palm rest on your thigh for a moment, squeezing gently. You think he means it as a reassuring touch, knowing how shaky you are with the entire concept of motorcycles to begin with, how just the thought of riding one still makes you nervous, but the actual effect he's having on you is far from comforting. It’s driving you insane.

By the time you reach your apartment door, you’re feral with need. You toss Jungkook’s jacket onto the floor and Jungkook lets out a surprised yelp when you tug on his arm as he’s closing the door. He barely has a chance to turn the lock before you’re pulling him down, passionately kissing away his confused noise. 

“B-baby,” he finally manages to stammer out after a few minutes of intense making out, “baby, do you wanna move to the couch?” 

You shake your head. “Need you now.” 

“Yeah?” His eyes are so dark that it makes you shudder when he catches your gaze. “Always so needy for me, huh? Just like the first time?” 

You remember that night, the way he’d fucked you against the hallway wall, both of you too desperate to even make it another ten feet to your bed. That same greedy desire burns through you now. 

Thank god for the slit in your dress. Hitching your leg up, you wrap it around his back, guiding him back down on top of you. 

“Just like that,” your voice trembles, back arching as Junghook’s hand snakes between you, rubbing at you through your dress. “Ahh, fuck, just like that!” 

You grasp at the side zipper on the dress, fingers fumbling too much to yank it down as quickly as you want. Jungkook has to do it for you, helping you sit up long enough to shed the entire gown. 

He sucks in a sharp breath. “Jagi.” 

If you weren’t already dying for him, the expression on his face when he sees you in the lingerie you’re wearing beneath your dress would do it. 

“Does it look better in person?” you ask, running your fingers over your chest, thumbs pressing in slow circles to wake your nipples, feeling them swell beneath the lace. 

With a pained groan, Jungkook starts hurriedly tearing at his suit, throwing the items nearly halfway across the open space of your living room in his urgency, not stopping until he’s completely naked, cock already hardening between his legs. 

“Yeah,” he grunts, biting his lip to let his hands do the talking. They travel over your torso, up across your breasts, squeezing your hands so you grip yourself harder. He laughs at your little gasp, and then he’s swallowing your sounds with his eager mouth, knocking your legs apart with his knee so he can press his body to yours. 

Your own impatience has you hooking your calves the backs of his thighs, bending your knees to urge him nearer. But no matter how close he is to you, it’s not enough, an itch you can’t scratch no matter how much you try. 

“I think this is going to have to come off now,” you frown, tugging at your bodice. You need to feel him, skin-to-skin. 

“Oh, not yet,” Jungkook says, voice near enough to be a growl. “Please, jagi, keep it on a little longer. For me.” He looks at you with such a lustful gaze that you find yourself nodding, immediately caving to his wish. If he wants to fuck you in your lingerie, fine. There will be more time to feel him later. 

There will be more time for everything you want with Jungkook. 

His mouth reconnects with yours. You sigh into him as his fingers find the snaps at the crotch of the teddy. He’s not gentle with them, practically ripping them open, but he’s more delicate as he slides his finger into you, finding you just as wet as always. He plunges two fingers in, and you know he’s trying to take his time and make sure you’re ready, but you’re too impatient for his consideration right now. 

“Come on, Kookie,” you plead, cupping his chin to draw his gaze away from his work, “I’m ready. I need you now.” 

“Shit,” he mutters, clearly reading your frustration. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I wanna feel you.” 

He reaches for his pants, which have been flung over the back of the couch, and you stop him.

“No, I mean, I want to feel you.”

Jungkook swallows hard, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbing. “Jesus Christ, jagiya, you’re going to kill me.” He kisses you again, before his expression turns serious. “Can we? I mean, are you on something -” 

Laughing, you grab his face again, pulling him back to you for another kiss. 

“I have an implant. And I haven’t been with anyone since you and I have been…” you trail off, unsure what to call it. Dating? “Not since the last time I was tested.” 

“No one?” He doesn’t say the name, but you know what he’s asking. 

“No one.” You and Seokjin never got that far.

“I haven’t been with anyone either.” Jungkook strokes his thumb along your cheek. “It’s just been you. You’re the only one I want.” 

“Then have me.” With another sigh, you lift your hips, rolling against him. 

Jungkook groans, and you barely have a second to breathe before his lips take yours again. There’s some shifting, you spreading your legs while he’s propping himself up on one elbow and lining himself up with his other hand, and then he’s sinking in, slowly, filling you up hot inch by hot inch, until he’s completely sheathed. 

You got your wish. You can feel all of him. It’s a new sensation, and it’s intense, but you can tell it’s even more so for him. 

“Oh, goddamn, jagi.” Jungkook presses his forehead to yours. His chest heaves as he holds himself completely still. “You’re so - fuck.” 

“Yeah? Is it that good?” 

He nods a little, eyes squeezing shut, and you run your fingers through his hair, trying to impart some comfort. As much as you want him to rail you through the floor right now, you don’t want to rush him anymore. 

“Does it really feel that different?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “It’s not that. That’s part of it - you feel so fucking good, baby - but it’s - it’s…” He huffs out a short breath, shaking his head again. “I don’t know how to say it. It’s everything.” 

And you understand exactly what he means, not by whatever he’s trying and failing to say, but by the look in his eyes. 

“Oh,” is all you can say, feeling your own words slipping away from you, as he starts to move. 

His cock drags slowly, so slowly at first, his head bowing as he concentrates on the feeling of you, the way your cunt seems to suck him back in eagerly, walls clenching when he snaps his hips experimentally. He observes every breath that escapes you, every mewl and whimper, and adjusts his pace, the strength of his thrusts, all the while drowning in his own perception, the tight heat and wetness of your core making his eyes roll back in his head with each pump. 

Neither of you speak after that, but you don’t need to. Your bodies communicate everything you’re feeling, punctuated by the unrestrained noises you both make. Your nails rake down Jungkook’s back as he fucks into you, drawing whine after whine from him, broken cries of desire, of wanting you to hold him, claim him, just as he’s claiming you. Mine, your fingernails declare, inscribing his skin with scratches. Yours, his hips answer in return, powerfully driving into yours, connecting you again and again, faster and faster. 

His hand clutches at the thigh you’ve wrapped around his waist, fingers twisting around the garter straps, and you can tell from his unsteady panting that he’s close. Your own pleasure is nearing the precipice, but you know he’s going to reach his first. Which he confirms with a strangled whimper.

“Jagi, I’m - I’m gonna come,” he grits through his teeth, brow furrowed, like he’s focusing all his energy on not coming right then and there. “‘M sorry, I can’t stop, I can’t - “

“Don’t stop, Kookie, don’t stop!” You don’t care if he finishes first. This isn’t about just sex anymore. All you want is for him to feel as good as he makes you feel, all the time. “Come on, cum inside me. Give me everything, fill me up!” 

“Fuck!” he grunts, moaning your name, and with only a few more thrusts, he follows your command. His hips jerk wildly as he gives in to the burning need beneath his skin and fills you with his hot release. It seems to go on and on, until he’s gasping, sagging against you weakly, too wrung out to hold himself up any longer. “Holy shit.”

You just hum, stroking his sweat-soaked hair, until he finally lifts his head. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I got caught up in the moment. Too much going on in my head and - and, fuck, you felt too good.” He gives you a sheepish smile.

You shush his apologies with a laugh, wrapping your arms around him again, urging him to lay down, so his head rests on your chest. “You don’t have to explain. It’s been… it’s been a long time since I’ve felt anything like this.” 

He sighs, moving slightly so he can leave light kisses over your covered chest. “Me too.” His hand trails lazily down your torso, following the swirls in the lace’s pattern. “I’m glad you said what you did. On the roof. I wanted to tell you before how I felt, but I was afraid you’d think I was rushing things.” His voice gets quieter. “It wouldn’t be the first time.” 

There’s a sadness in his tone, a naked vulnerability that makes your heart ache, so you squeeze him a little tighter. You know exactly what he means. 

He raises his head a little, starts kissing his way down your stomach. “Are you still…”

“Am I still what?” You bite your lip as he reaches the apex of your thighs, gently nudging them further apart so he can lie in between. 

Jungkook presses soft kisses to your inner thighs, one side, then the other, before he looks up at you. “Was that enough for you or are you still wanting more? You were so needy earlier, jagiya.” 

Of course you still want more. You don’t think you’ll ever get enough of him. 

“Yeah,” you say, your fingers combing his hair out of his face so there’s nothing hiding him from you, just as there’s nothing hiding you from him, “I want more. Please, Kookie.” 

The smirk that spreads across his lovestruck face sends your heart racing. Your back arches off the floor when he coaxes the first orgasm from you with his tongue, feels like it might snap in half by the time he pulls the second one with his fingers. 

You melt into his embrace afterward, so thoroughly satiated, so utterly content, that you nearly fall asleep. But Jungkook coaxes you off the floor and into the bathroom, to wash his back in the shower before he tenderly scrubs yours, and then into bed, where the last thing you see before closing your eyes is the smile on his face as he whispers good night. 

“What does this one mean?” 

It’s late. Very late, sometime between midnight and early morning, when you should be asleep. You’d awoken in need of some water, slipping out carefully, trying not to wake Jungkook, only to come back to find him up and waiting for you to return to bed. He wasn’t just awake but up up, and you couldn’t resist, climbing directly into his lap for a slow, lazy ride. 

Now, you’re lying together, back pressed to Jungkook’s chest, with his arm draped beneath your breasts, as he gives you a tour of his tattoos. He tells you that most are symbolic, but a few have stories behind them, and you listen raptly to each one. Even though he’s probably tired, he’s indulging you, answering all your questions without so much as a single yawn.

He tilts his head to look at where you’re tapping on a striped snake. “That one? That’s supposed to represent growth. You know, shedding my skin, like a snake.” He flexes his forearm and the snake moves as if undulating on its own. “Do you like snakes?” 

“I like them a lot more than spiders, I can tell you that,” you reply, giggling. 

He laughs, watching silently as your fingers roam over his skin. There’s so much ink covering him, and you’re dying to know about all of it, filled with a buzzing curiosity despite the late hour. 

“What about this one?” Gingerly, you trace over the orange tiger lily etched onto the inside of his forearm, as if afraid that pressing too harshly will cause the petals to crumple. It’s gorgeously vibrant, the glowing color popping vividly against his skin. 

“Ah, that’s my birth flower.” Jungkook laughs a quick laugh. “That one was actually Taehyung’s suggestion. Do you know what the flower is supposed to represent?” 

“Uh-uh.” 

“Self-confidence.” He laughs again, shaking you a little as his chest vibrates. “He said it’d be a good reminder when he’s not around, that I still need to be confident.”

“Taehyung’s a good friend,” you remark, and Jungkook hums in assent. He rubs mindlessly at the flower with his other hand, fingertips bumping against yours. 

“You know, there’s another reason I got this one. A hidden meaning that tiger lilies are meant to express.” 

“Ooh, a hidden meaning?” You tilt your head to peer at him. “And what’s that?” 

Even in the dim light from your bedside lamp, you can see the tips of Jungkook’s ears turning red as he smiles bashfully, his eyes crinkling when he answers. “Please love me.” 

It’s impossible to resist kissing him, kissing that shy bunny smile that you’ve adored all this time, so you don’t even try, cupping his cheeks gently while you brush his lips with yours. When you pull away, his face is flushed, and he laughs, dipping his head in embarrassment even as he whispers, “Keep going.” 

You giggle, and kiss him again, and then stop. “Oh! Wait a minute.” 

Jungkook lets out a small grunt of displeasure when you leave his embrace, but you return quickly, handing him a small frame from your desk. 

“Jagi, you framed this?” He stares through the glass at the tiger lily sketch he’d drawn for you, back when he asked you out on your first date.

“Well, yeah. It was too pretty not to.” 

You take your place between his legs again, his arm automatically sliding around your waist while he gazes at the picture. “But it was just a quick little drawing. It’s not my best work.” 

“So? I think it’s beautiful. And… it’s from you.” You can feel your neck warming as you speak. “I like to keep it on my desk when I’m working. Every time I get annoyed by something, I look at it, and it calms me down.” Your lips quirk in a little smile. “So you can imagine that I look at it a lot,” you say, half-joking, half-not. Because it’s true, you do stare at it a lot. The drawing always brings you peace. Because it reminds you of Jungkook. So fiery and bright, but also so lovely and delicate. 

“Jagi,” Jungkook says again, swallowing thickly. His arm squeezes you closer.

You take the frame from his hand, placing it on the nightstand, before shifting to face him, legs straddling his as you loop your arms around his neck. “Be honest - were you sending me a hidden message with this?” 

His ears are burning red again. “Maybe. Guess it worked.” 

You surge forward, kissing the cheeky smile right off his face. His hands settle on your hips, holding you tightly, as if right now there’s any danger of you leaving. There’s nowhere else you’d rather be, with no one else. 

But you’re also wondering something you’ve been wondering for a while now, and since he’s been so obliging so far, you decide to ask him one more question. “Can I ask you something?”

“Jagi, all you’ve been doing is asking me questions,” Jungkook grins. 

You roll your eyes at his teasing tone. “Yeah, okay, I just mean, can I ask about something that doesn’t have anything to do with your tattoos?” 

He nods. 

“If I hadn’t come to Paradise with my friends that night, would you ever have made a move?”

He clearly wasn’t expecting that question, judging by the look on his face. His eyes fall out of focus as they stare unseeing at you, and you know he’s lost in thought. You give him the time to find his way to an answer, running your fingers through his hair soothingly while you wait.

“I don’t know,” he finally admits. “I’d like to think that yes, I would’ve gotten up the nerve to talk to you. But it might’ve taken a while. Seeing you at Paradise kind of gave me an opening.”

“I think this still would’ve happened,” you tell him, suddenly filled with an unusual amount of confidence, bolstered by his hands on your waist, his eyes locked on yours, “all of this. I think we would’ve ended up just like this.” 

“How do you know that?”

“I would’ve worn you down at the mailboxes,” you grin. “At the rate we were going, it probably would’ve taken a decade, but we’d get there eventually.” 

He laughs, hands locking behind your back as he holds you close. “Or maybe I would’ve shown up at your door one night and danced for you. Maybe that’s what I did in another universe.” 

“I’m sure it worked,” you murmur, leaning closer to his lips. “I think in any universe, we end up like this. We’re just lucky that we got here so fast.” 

“The luckiest,” he agrees, closing the space between you. 

When you finally fall asleep again, you dream of falling through other universes, following the same dark eyes and wicked smirk through each.

If you liked this fic, please consider reblogging! Likes do not help it get seen by other readers. 💕

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© 2021-22-23-24 by sunshinerainbowsbts/minisugakoobies. Crossposted to AO3. Please do not copy or repost.

[cherrysoulth]

WHAT HIDES IN THE SHADOWS

💕Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

📝Summary:

"What hides in the shadows will let you see who you really are."

Protected by your family and the Guardians your whole life, you come across the creatures you have been sheltered from and your whole world loses its balance.

The truth of the Oath reveals itself as you walk your path through the shadows and start questioning all that has been taught to you since your childhood. Those who co-exist between both sides would be considered traitors by the humans, but if the Vampires were so bad, why did they allow the Guardians to exist? Why didn’t they overpower the entire human population after The Shadow Nights?

As you get into the depths of both the Guardians' and the Vampires' worlds the pieces fall in place and you discover secrets that have been hidden to the civilians like you. Secrets that will make you question the whole sense of your existence. Eventually bringing calamities upon your kin.

✏️Genre/au: Vampires, Alternative universe (Future of humanity), Sci-fi, Horror, Romance, Action, Vampires vs. Hunters

✏️Rating: PG 18+, explicit

⚠️Work warnings: angst, gore and blood, hierarchy, sire bond (implicit: dominance and obedience), alternative relationships (multi-partner relationships: polyamory, poligamia, etc), love triangles, toxic relationships, unhealthy relationships, rivalry, explicit smut, jealousy, ownership, manipulation. Be aware of each episode's warnings.

Hii! Did you stumble a cross this work? Glad yo're here 😊

This work has multiple chapters and I should be posting on the first and third monday of each month until its closure (depending on demand). Please, bare with me 💜

Note that English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

Thanks to @moonleeai for helping me with the summary 💜

Chapter 1: AWAKENING

Chapter 2: METAMORPHOSE I

Chapter 3: WISE IMMORTALITY

Chapter 4 : VERSUS I

Chapter 5: VERSUS II

Chapter 6: VERSUS III

Chapter 7:

Chapter 8:

Chapter 9:

Chapter 10:

Chapter 11:

Chapter 12:

Chapter 13:

Chapter 14:

Chapter 15:

Chapter 16:

Chapter 17:

Chapter 18:

Chapter 19:

Chapter 20:

EPILOGUE

[bbtsficrecs]

BTS FIC RECS PART 4 Part 4 of some of my favourite BTS fanfics. Please do consider liking, reblogging and/or commenting on the fics you like. There are so many wonderful and amazing authors out there who do not get the recognition they deserve. So please send them lots of love to keep them going. If you're on here, then know I enjoyed every second of reading your story ♡ There will be two parts 4 as it's (sadly?) too long to be saved under one post. Stay tuned for part 5, joon recs will be added!

Please let me know if some of the links aren’t working. Happy reading!

⊹ Navi ‣ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 4.1 | Part 5 |

​⊹ Hell Is Empty - drabble Love triangle AU | a | @aquagustd​ ‣ An important phone call between Yoongi & OC.

⊹ You’re The Best I’ve Ever Had  Boyfriend Jungkook, Chubby reader | a, f, s | @adoredcore​​ ‣ Jungkook’s touches were so soft. So soft you almost barely even felt them. Keyword: almost. His smooth fingertips ran along your silky skin, while the tip of his pink tongue ran across the nape of your neck.

⊹ Fool Me Once Fuckboy AU | a, s | @jeonqkooks​​​ ‣ You never expect anything from Jungkook, but somehow he always manages to let you down.

⊹ Attitude CEO Jungkook au | s | @lushtans​​​ ‣ Your relationship with your CEO is... Rather complicated. Aside your professional relationship, he fucks you whenever he feels like it and as much as you hate to admit the truth, you love it. 

⊹ Don't Worry, Be Happy Daddy Jungkook AU, | f | @jvngkook97 ‣ "You guys have been trying to conceive for a little over a year now, but have yet to be fully successful."

⊹ Trap Idol Jungkook AU, | f | @jiminpitys ‣ In which you show up at your boyfriend's concert soundcheck as a surprise, and to your own, he’s wearing an outfit that’s bound to make you feel a certain way.

⊹ Addicted College AU, | f , s | @sparklingchim ‣ Your boyfie Jungkook fucking you silly.

⊹ B i g o l e f r e a k Friends with benefits AU | f , s | @joonberriess ‣ You’re both exclusive only to each other. Jungkook fucks the way he acts—crazy, hard. too bad you’re only here for the ride..

⊹ Foundation - Part 01, 02, 03 feat Yoongi Non-idol doctors AU | f , s, a | @hamsterclaw ‣ You know Jungkook is a fuckboy. So why are you letting him fuck with you? Featuring Yoongi.

⊹ Paint me naked Artist Jungkook AU | f , s, a | @gimmethatagustd ‣ After the mysteriously hot guy in your university class starts taking an interest in you, should you really trust that he’s not like all the other college fuckboys? Especially when his best friend is the guy who broke your heart?  

⊹ Why are you so late? Idol Jungkook AU | f , s | @kimnjss

‣ With such a packed scheduled, you’d think Jungkook would be on top of his game. But when a morning rolling around the sheets with you is thrown into the mix, it’s expected for him to want to take his time.

⊹ Our beloved summer - Series (on-going) Producer Jungkook AU | f, s, a | @jeonqkooks ‣ You made a vow to hate Jeon Jungkook ever since he packed up and left you without a single explanation, but when he shows up at your door after years of radio silence, it turns out that maybe your resolve isn’t as strong as you thought.

⊹ Heaven can wait Chubby reader AU | f, s ish | @adoredcore ‣ "What’s a chance I’ll take baby I’ll stay heaven can wait."

⊹ Midnight cravings Established relationship AU | f | @hobiholic ‣ You want to go to the convenience store late at night to fulfill your midnight cravings but a sleepy Jungkook stops you.

⊹ Wet dreams Somnophilia AU | s | @kookiecrumb ‣ “I want you to use me…whenever you need me,”

⊹ Look at you -  Risqué drabble Risqué couple AU | s, f | @mercurygguk ‣ Mirror shopping with your boyfriend turns into something else entirely.

⊹ In the middle of the night Friends with benefits AU | s, f | @joonsmoonluna ‣ It’s the middle of the night and Jungkook’s in need of you

⊹ Like I'm famous Idol Jungkook AU | s, f | @softyoongiionly ‣ It’s New Years Eve and Jungkook would rather be anywhere else than at his company’s massive party. Sure, he’s a guest of honor and his team rented out the nicest hotel in Seoul, but ringing in the New Year with you on the other side of the world just feels wrong. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to celebrate without the woman he loves, but maybe- just maybe…he won’t have to…

⊹ Strangers to lovers Established relationship AU | s | @kissmetae ‣ You’re a regular at the gym and today you decided to workout late. You thought you were alone, but it turned out there was one other person at the gym and you so happened to be his gym crush…

⊹ My dear friends Friends to lovers AU | s, f, a | @kooktrash ‣ Just friends? Keep telling yourself that, you and Jungkook have always danced on the line of friendship and something more but lately you’ve struggled being able to tell where you guys stand.

⊹ Red - Part 03 Pregnancy AU | s, f, a | @taestefully-in-luv ‣ You drunkenly sleep with your ex-boyfriend, Jungkook. Can’t be that bad right? Unless he gets you pregnant.

⊹ As we were - Series (on-going) Cheating/Infidelity AU | s, a | @archivedkookie ‣ Your husband cheats on you and find comfort in someone else’s arms. He claims he’s happy—but is he really?

⊹ Imagine Model Jungkook AU | s, f | @chryblossomjjk ‣ Jungkook wants nothing more than to spend your anniversary cuddled up in a fancy hotel bathroom, eating takeout and binge watching TV shows. You, on the other hand, have something more exciting in mind. 

⊹ Practice - part 02, 03 Fuckboy Jungkook AU | s, a | @chryblossomjjk ‣ You usually spend Friday nights on your own. Tonight, however, your friend and campus fuckboy, Jungkook, decides to pay you a visit.

⊹ Lost Cause Cheating AU | a | @kooksbunnnn ‣ Jungkook comes back to you after his 10 day trip to Busan, and you sense something different about him. 

⊹ The Boy With Galaxies In His Eyes Idol AU | a, s, f | @oddinary4bts ‣ You had never thought the night sky could be found in someone’s eyes. That is, until you met Jeon Jungkook and his gravity pulled you in. Will he crush you with the galaxies in his eyes, or will you learn to explore his worlds and make them yours?

⊹ Beyond Infinity - As We Were drabble As We Were Couple AU | a, s, f | @archivedkookie ‣ Jungkook does something you always dreamt about, and it ends up with the most beautiful night of your life.

⊹ What If I Love You Too Much Single Mom AU | a, s, f | @taleasnewastime ‣ Jungkook. It’s only a name you learn after your son kicks his ball over the fence. Before that you only knew him as the hot new neighbour who mows his lawn topless. And though you have no intention of getting to know him anymore than that, inevitably you do. You don’t necessarily fall, it’s too slow for that, but you definitely develop feelings you don’t intend to feel. Because you know men like him, and you know that whatever you’re feeling, he’s probably not feeling the same. All the same, however hard you try, you can’t help yourself.

⊹ Services For A Queen Sub!JK AU | s | @taegonia ‣ Jungkook serves his queen in more ways than just as the royal head of security.

⊹ Cold Nights & Blurred Lines FWB & College AU | a, s, f | @awrkive ‣ Jungkook and you have been keeping a sexual relationship with each other for four months now, and it’s casual for the most part. But as time passes, you can’t help but feel that some of the lines suddenly got blurred in the process. Is it a cliché to blur the lines with your fuck buddy? It definitely is. Will you do something about it? Both of your emotional constipation have a hard time saying yes.

⊹ Strictly Platonic Bestfriends to Lovers & College AU | a, s, f | @jeonqkooks ‣ Sometimes, Jungkook can be a little selfish; and sometimes, the lengths you would go to for his happiness mean relinquishing your own.

⊹ In The Middle Of The Night FWB AU | s, f | @joonsmoonluna ‣  it’s the middle of the night and Jungkook’s in need of you ⊹ Perfectionist Dancer AU | s | @miraclesatnightfall ‣ "He watched you, with each sensual step you made his eyes darkened with explicit desire" ⊹ Tangle Free Establish Relationship AU | f | @here4btsfics ‣ Bad days lead to you needing your boyfriend for comfort, specifically by playing with his hair.

⊹ As It Was - Apart of Boy With Love Series (on-going) College AU | a | @ggukiepie ‣ You bump into Jungkook days after you find out he has a girlfriend; things don't go so well

⊹ The Habits Of A Broken Heart Soulmate & Unrequited love AU | a, f | @softykooky ‣ Jungkook and you are soulmates. So says the matching crescent moons on both your wrists. However, things are never as easy as they seem, and you are quick to learn that falling in love with someone who does not believe in love is a one-way ticket to heartbreak.  ⊹ Blackout - part 02, 03 Best friends to Lovers | s, a, f | @jjungxkook ‣ Utility bills shooting up like this should be an international crime. Luckily, Jungkook has the perfect idea(s) to save up money and make your night sinfully unforgettable.

⊹ Step Brother Step Siblings AU | s | @aris-ink ‣ Sub yn *innocently* dry humps her step brother jk while he plays video games.

⊹ Forbidden Romance Step Siblings AU | s | @aris-ink ‣ "It wasn’t unusual for your stepbrother to check up on you before bed. You’ve grown closer than you initially thought you would; it turned out that beneath the surface, you and Jungkook weren’t that different, after all."

⊹ My Perfect Patient Dentist Office AU | s, f | @pinkcherrybombs ‣ Jaw pain is just as much of a pain in the mouth as it is in the ass, but don't worry, your favorite dentist is sure to fix you right up, using some special methods.

⊹ Confessions - part 02 Office AU | a | @pinkcherrybombs ‣ Since we're about to die, I need you to know, I've always loved you, Jungkook.

⊹ Getting Railed Boyfriend Jungkook AU | s | @dearlytea ‣ Getting dicked by your boyfriend during a train ride.

⊹ Make You Mine College AU | a, s, f | @mercurygguk ‣ Your first day at your new college is quite eventful to say the least. But everything seems slightly less chaotic when Jeon Jungkook offers to help you on your way – if only knowing him wasn’t an even bigger mess than the day you first met.

⊹ Catch 22 College AU | s, f | @alluremin ‣ You and your best friend had agreed: college was for a good time only, no serious relationships were necessary. Who knew that a frat boy would be the one to shake up that notion?

⊹ Tolerate It - part 02 Failing marriage! au | a | @lmaosope ‣ Marriage is difficult, and every married couple fights. but jungkook has been late one too many times and broken one too many promises. it has you wondering why you give everything for a man who simply tolerates you.

⊹ Make You Mine Jock Jk au | a , s, f | @mercurygguk ‣ Your first day at your new college is quite eventful to say the least. But everything seems slightly less chaotic when Jeon Jungkook offers to help you on your way – if only knowing him wasn’t an even bigger mess than the day you first met.

⊹ His Throne - 01, 02, 03 Prince JK au | a, s, f | @jiminsa ‣ You, a maid for the royal family, have sex with the irresistible prince Jeon Jungkook on his throne.