#chap 16

[dyinggirldied]

Grandfell is such a sweetheart and Hoyeol is such a crack lmao 🤣

[untaemedqueen]

At Your Service

Escort!Jeongguk x CEO!Reader

Genre: Strangers to Lovers!AU, Angst, Fluff, Smut

Chapter 16.

Series Warnings (Will Be Updated): Angst, Fluff, Cold Heartedness, Emotional Trauma, Healing, Smut, Dark Humor

Namjoon isn't much of a talker the escort realized as they drove silently through the streets. The only semblance of sound was the old fifties music in the background that somehow fit the blonde haired man to a T.

The silence did however give Guk time to think. He realized after the first few minutes in the car that Joon was basically a steel vault that couldn't be pried open for anything. He's loyal to you. And while your ex can respect that, he still finds it irritating.

What must you be hiding?

What is going on?

How did you do a complete one eighty on him like this? He clearly hasn't done anything wrong. Unless loving you is the worst sin of man.

It didn't take long for the car to pull up to your community gates and as he slid down behind the front two seats of the car, his heart began to hammer thick and sickly within his chest.

You'll be furious to see him. He knows that. You went through so much effort to keep him away.

You're gonna yell and scream. You might even throw something.

But he just needs to see you. He needs an explanation, goddammit.

With the mere shake of his head, he waited patiently until the gates were open and the car crept on by the guard station.

"Get up," Namjoon announced, "We're here."

The blonde man carelessly opens the front door with your not so hidden key and it irritates Guk to no end knowing just how easily he does this. He's done this many times it seems.

The first thing your ex hears is screaming opera, it violents his senses and he almost out of instinct covers his ears.

Joon simply rolls his eyes, ushering in the escort and folding his arms.

Your co-worker leans in just close enough to be able to shout in your ex-boyfriend's ear.

"Go upstairs and turn down the music, it's how she knows someone's here!" he hollers.

When Jeongguk pulls away, Namjoon is already turning on his heel to go out to the garden, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

How many times has the escort rushed up these familiar marble stairs? How many times has his heart pounded, echoing through his chest with radiant joy to turn down the music and get your attention?

It won't be the same. You'll come out to see who it is and when you actually see it's him, you're gonna go bananas.

The escort's feet are heavy as he moves, contemplation enveloping him with little care.

Just to be able to see you again… God, he can't even truly process his excitement.

He doesn't know what emotion he's feeling the strongest but as his foot hits the first step of the stairs… Fright wins.

His skin begins to sing with goosebumps and he combs his fingers through his hair like some sort of nervous tick.

The opera doesn't seem to help, if anything it makes the pounding of his heart times perfectly with each screech of vocals.

He takes a shaky breath, gripping onto the railing with enough force to crush mere metal.

His feet are sluggish and heavy but he ascends nonetheless.

Just knowing in a mere minute he will see you again, blooms the butterflies in his stomach once more.

Finally, he's on the second floor and Guk has to wipe his sweaty hands on his black jeans.

"Y/N," he hisses under his breath, reaching for the sound system.

With his heart thumping in his ears, he lowers the music and he turns accordingly to the long hallway of doors.

There's a moment of waiting that seems like it's forever until you emerge from the office he once helped furnish.

Your eyes are on the floor until they slowly raise to take in the escort in his entirety.

You're wearing an old hoodie of his, it's baggy on you with colorful letters of the alphabet stitched haphazardly onto the white fabric. It was always one of your favorites, you even voiced it to him the day before sending him away.

Your eyes become vulnerable and your nostrils flare as if you're trying to quell your need to burst out in tears. It's almost as if you're looking at a ghost.

Standing just feet away from you is a man with such love and adoration still present on his face.

"Y/N," Guk breathes, swallowing thickly.

He expects the anger, the shouting, the random objects thrown at him. But you simply walk back into the office.

"Y/N?" he inquires again.

His feet move on their own and within seconds he's standing in the doorway as you lay down on the couch.

You simply stare lifelessly at the carpet, gripping the teddy bear he bought you within your arms.

Suddenly all that fear and all the anxiety melts away within him and he sits down on the carpet before you silently.

Guk just stares at you, taking in every inch of your tired face. He memorizes the way your eyes close and the way your bottom lip tucks between your teeth to peel away skin nervously.

"Hi, sweetheart," he whispers softly, leaning back on his hands and watching how your knees draw inward into a fetal position.

When you hear his voice so clearly, your eyes squeeze shut.

Tears well up at the sides and coast down your cheeks. Your nose becomes darker and redder with raw emotion causing you to sniffle helplessly.

All the confusion and all the angry questions he has simply melt into concern. He knows now that he will sit with you for hours on end without any care for his real self. You don't even need to speak, just being close to you is enough.

But he does decide to say the three words that he never told you aloud. He needs to tell them to you while you're awake because even if you do end up sending him away again at least you'll know.

"I love you," Guk whispers.

Your tears become faster, your soft cries become louder, almost wails and you throw yourself off of the couch to hold him needily.

He opens his arms for you, burying his face in your hair as you hug him tightly.

The escort's eyes burn at the raw emotion and he sobs softly hugging you with all the strength he can muster.

All of the pain, all the sorrow, all the confusion, it pours out of him in wet, salty fat tears.

"Y/N," he cries loudly, squeezing his eyes shut as he takes in the familiar scent of cherry blossoms from your hair.

You bury your face into his neck then, not wanting to let him go ever again.

You've needed him so much over the past month and you know that sending him away is the worst thing you could have ever done.

"I love you," you whimper softly.

Even over his cries he hears those words and he looks up at the ceiling as his body racks harder with emotion.

Jeongguk wasn't expecting this. He wasn't expecting this to be so easy and heartfelt but maybe the month away from him has changed you in some way.

It feels like forever and a simple second that he holds you tightly on the black Persian rug but when you pull away he gets the sudden fear that you're going to tell him to leave.

"Don't send me away," he begs, cupping your face with warm hands, "I love you, baby. Don't leave me again. Tell me what's going on. Let me help you."

You can see the fright in his eyes, darting back and forth with shaky pupils as he looks up at you.

You're slow to stand up and he sits up accordingly, dragging his fingers over his wet, tear streaked cheeks.

You seem to contemplate his words for a mere moment and when you extend a hand to him, he takes it immediately.

"Baby?" he inquires softly, following you out of the office.

The opera seems to echo off the hallways walls as you continue down toward rooms Guk knows to be empty.

When you stop in front of one of the rooms at the far end of the hallway, you simply fold your arms and nod towards the door.

"What is it?" he inquires, grabbing ahold of the door handle.

You simply nod again, turning your back to the sight of it when he begins to crack it open.

His eyebrows furrow and he enters the room with his breath caught in his throat.

As he steps inside the multitude of boxes makes his eyebrow flicker up and he inspects them as he gets closer.

The words stamped on the sides of the boxes with black outlinings show exactly what's inside and he has to prop himself upright on one of the large sturdier boxes because his knees almost give out at the sight.

He opens his mouth to call your name but only a sob can breach past his lips. And all over again he's an emotional mess.

He cries softly, slowly setting himself down on the floor.

The boxes for the crib and the changing table begin to blur before his eyes and when he turns to the doorway he sees you leaning against the door jamb with hopelessness etched all over your face.

Within an instant, he springs up onto his feet. The escort barrels over towards you, grasping your face between both hands and smothering you with a deep kiss that seems to make even your frigid stance go soft.

Guk cries against your lips, hugging you closely to his body and for once you're really truly frozen in place.

Then once the shock begins to dissipate, a ball of fresh flaring anger forms inside of the man you love. He pulls back just far enough to narrow his eyes at you.

"Don't you dare ever send me away again, do you hear me? Don't you dare make decisions for our baby by yourself," he hisses, pressing his forehead to yours.

Just hearing the words you've tried so hard to ignore makes you shiver and you can only nod against him sullenly.

Jeon Jeongguk knows you. He probably knows you better than your own self at this point and he speaks every word clearly to calm any nervousness in your heart.

"Yes, this baby is early for us. Yes, we didn't plan this but we didn't do anything to stop it either. I don't love you less because you're pregnant with my child. I'm not angry that you're pregnant. You don't get to send me away because you're fucking scared. Do you understand me? You don't get to make decisions like that on your own. You fucking know how much I love you. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you," Guk enunciates, staring deeply into your eyes.

When your eyes flutter shut, he clicks his teeth sternly.

"C'mere," he whispers, pulling you back into his loving embrace.

Did he think he would be having a child? No.

Did he want children right at this exact moment? Not really.

But does he still love you and this baby more than anything in the world? Always, yes.

"I'm sorry," you breathe into his leather jacket.

He shakes his head softly, laying his cheek on your hair. "Don't be sorry."

"I'm scared," you mumble.

"So am I," he replies honestly, drifting his fingers over your back, "But we're gonna do this and we're gonna be such good parents."

You can only sigh then, letting his words thrust the reality you've been avoiding for a month back into your bones.

"Do you have a picture of my baby or what?" Guk asks, pulling away to give you a smile.

"Yeah," you bleat, looking over the room.

"Well show me," he chuckles, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

The thing you adore about Guk is how understanding and immediately willing he is to take any situation on his shoulders.

He's already come to terms with this while for this whole month you've barely been able to process what the doctor told you.

You've been scared of Guk, scared of yourself, scared of anything and everything because it's so far out of your comfort zone.

But now, with him being supportive, you might just have a sliver of hope blooming within the recesses of your chest.

He takes your hand, intertwining your fingers gently as you lead him back down the hallway towards the bedroom you once shared.

"Am I moving in or do you want to co-parent separately?" Jeongguk asks, looking around the mansion that hasn't changed at all.

You stop in your tracks, almost confused by his question. There are so many things that have to get sorted out and you've been hiding away from them all.

"Y-You can move in," you breathe, looking back at him.

You don't want to do this without him. Even though it was bitchy enough that you left him without a leg to stand on for the past thirty days.

"Okay, good," he whispers, kissing your forehead.

"And we c-can get married," you suggest softly, looking down at your feet.

"I'm not marrying you with that kind of proposal," he teases, hooking his arm around your waist and pulling you close, "Where's you on one knee with my engagement ring? You don't even have to give me a ring. Where's my protein bar?"

For the first time in a month you find yourself laughing and Guk's smile at the sound says it all. He's really in this with you. He's really here forever.

"I don't have either," you sigh.

"Well, I'm gonna have to change that. Before I even move in I need a stock of protein bars to keep me satisfied," he chuckles, pulling you towards the bedroom.

"How's Hawking?" you inquire, stepping into the bedroom.

"He misses you, misses your cuddles. Like me," the escort says truthfully, sitting down on your bed and laying back.

"He can move in too," you offer sweetly.

Guk tilts his head to you, watching as you open up the ornate black side drawer. When you pull out a thick picture his throat becomes terse and he can only swallow thickly to try and relieve it.

He opens up his hands to you, waiting patiently as you scurry over.

The escort taps his thighs, waiting for you to straddle him like all those times before you were gone from his side. You crawl over him, laying the picture on his chest and looking down nervously.

When he picks up the picture, he can only take a sharp breath between his teeth from the shock.

The baby is so small in the photo, he almost has to squint to see it. But it's there, as plain as day in black and white.

"Jesus Christ," he croaks out, drifting his thumb over the small little life form in the picture.

When he looks back up at you again, he can see your glassy eyes once more and he immediately coddles you. Sitting up, he wraps his arms around you tightly, pressing his lips to your temple.

"We're gonna be just fine, baby. I promise. I love you and you love me and we're gonna love our baby and do our best," the escort whispers, pressing his forehead to yours.

You can only nod childishly, sniffling softly at his words.

He lays back down, pulling at the hem of his sweatshirt you adorn. His hands coast over your skin, settling on your sides and he nods to you. "Take it off, lemme see my baby."

Just his words send such emotion through you and you comply within seconds. Taking off the fabric, there's no real change to your body so far but Guk knows you so intimately that he can tell you're swollen.

He lays you down softly, pecking your lips sweetly as if to assure you it's okay.

"You look beautiful," he avows, kissing down your stomach and your hands clench nervously at the feeling.

Guk opens your hands with his, intertwining them gently and when he reaches your womb an unexpected sob tears through him. He didn't even know he was ready to cry again until he just does.

He presses his trembling lips to your womb and you simply relax beneath him.

His eyes squeeze shut and he can only let out a shaky sigh.

Your body is warm beneath him and soft like the first day he ever got to touch you. And he knows he will never have a more intense love than this right here before him.

"I love you," he says simply, looking up at you and drying his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I love you, too," you reply, swallowing thickly.

He pulls away just a fraction, looking down at your stomach that shows no signs of change yet and he smiles. "And I love this kid."

You give him a warm smile, the apology you want to relay thick on your tongue. Jeongguk can see it in your eyes and he simply wrinkles his nose sweetly at you.

"Don't," he whispers, crawling up the bed to pull you into his arms, "We just forget it. Yeah? We just forget and move on. We look to the future now."

You cuddle up against him, closing your eyes and hugging him around the waist, clinging to him.

"It's gonna be a boy," he mumbles, closing his eyes.

"You think so?" you whisper.

"Oh yeah, I can't handle a little girl like you. She's gonna hold my heart and make me spoil her to no end," the escort laughs, leaning back against the headboard.

Even though the month apart was tortuous and strained, now that you're together again it's almost like it never happened. You don't want it to happen again and even if you have to change your whole being to make sure you're ready… You will.

<;- Last Chapter Next Chapter ->

[erinwantstowrite]

having so much art to share but having to wait for at least chapter 16 for some of it.... the world truly is evil (i'm impatient)

[sorryimananti-romantic]

The Leaders | chapter 6 teaser

“Oh, dear,” Seonghwa pulled you closer, prompting you to settle on your knees instead of keeping them upright as a barrier between you two. “Tell me you said something he deserved to hear.”

“I did,” you sniffed. “I told him not to come after me or mine ever again unless he wants to start a war he can never win.”

A smirk creeped up the underboss’ lips, sending a stirring of nerves to your stomach. “Me or mine, huh?”

“I had to say something–”

“You did well,” Seonghwa said, cupping your face and wiping your eyes, nodding in acknowledgement. “You did so well, love. And I’m glad you stayed strong. You don’t ever have to break in front of your father anymore. You can break in front of me, in front of any of us but– never him.”

You looked at Seonghwa, truly looked at him. His eyes glinted with a million unsaid things, but even in the dim light of the lamp, you could tell that they held admiration and something like pride. Something you always wished to see in someone’s eyes when they looked at you.

“Why do you cry, love?” He asked, wiping the tears that threatened to roll down your cheeks. You didn’t even realise that you were crying silently now.

“I don’t know,” you told him. “Seonghwa– can I really break in front of you?”

Something unreadable flickered across Seonghwa’s face. “You can. With me, or Hongjoong, or any of us, you can be yourself. We’re here– I’m here for you. You never have to feel alone again.”

You tightened your lips, stifling a sob. Seonghwa only smiled, scooting closer to plant a kiss on your forehead. You let out a shaky breath and then went still as he kissed your cheek. 

“Won’t you look at me?”

The deep timbre of his voice sounded inside your skull. You kept your eyes shut and he wiped the remnants of the tears away from your lashes before kissing both your eyelids, his soft lips like feathers of an angel's wing shielding you from everything that hurt you. Your hands tangled in his shirt as he continued to pepper light kisses all over your face, the sound of his breath making your heart flutter uncontrollably. However, he stopped right when he kissed near your mouth, his hands almost shaking as he cradled your jaw and pulled back to gauge your reaction.

“Look at me.”

“I’m scared,” you opened your eyes and your gaze stuck on his plump lips. “I don’t understand why you all want me. I don’t understand why we’re here, like this.”

He only smiled in answer. “Is it too much?”

“That’s the thing,” you scoffed in disbelief. “I don’t think it is.”

[fishareglorious]

Remember that all of chapter 1 and 2 happens in the span of 2 days.

Vertin met Schneider for that short of a time (on Valentine's Day, no less) and managed to have to most whirlwind goncharov ass doomed tragic could-have-been with each another in prohibition era Chicago; has to watch her almost die in her arms; ends up traumatized by oranges because her; then goes into a actual coma after watching her actually die in her arms.

Tender is the Night? WRONG. more like Painful is the Night.

I'm never emotionally recovering from this im suing bluepoch.

[black-sapphire57]

I had to!😂

[unbreakable-red-riot]

an update for y'all :)

[deilantha]

Kagome interrupting the brothers' fights with her awesomeness.

[djevelbl]

i am Procrastinating on Catching Up Inky Mystery bc im 16-17 chapters behind. depends on if I actually finished reading 360 or nah

[dyinggirldied]

The manhwa missed out on having more scenes of Jerry coughing blood and making the people around him concern (no Cale, im not inspired by you *giggle*). Not sure about the novel but coughing blood is a must, i insist.

Also, Siren is so funny.

Chap 16

[sunnydbd]

final silver bullet artdump !!

[bnesszai]

*on my hands and knees* vanoe bite when

[xoteajays]

is a little funny to see a new reader come onto my fic and notice they clearly have a favourite character that is not the main ship. like …… oh. honey. he’s not gonna be here for like 75k words asghdjdksl

[glassdemons]

saw someone talk about the khr fandom from like 2013 onward and i managed to find khr art of mine from 2011 and its so bad bc i didnt know what a stabilizer was

[puhpandas]

looking at the foreshadowing i put in tttb knowing what ive been foreshadowing is happening in one chapter... i cant wait for ppl to eventually see

[eris-eveningstar]

I feel like an honest to god idiot. My anemic ass should have known better. I just got out of my bed after a nice long nap and my ass decided to take a shower. Obvs, I almost fainted multiple times.

Someone put me out of my misery. I literally almost blacked out ugggh.