#exo d.o fanfic

[marshmallow-phd]

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

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

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

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

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

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

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

Then it stopped. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

*****

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

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

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

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

“Such strong thoughts for a night like this.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Help! Please! Help!”

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

Bang! Bang! 

BANG!

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

The face of a beautiful young girl. 

*****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bang! 

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

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

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

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

“No, thank you.”

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

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

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

You nodded. “Thank you.” 

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

*****

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

Nine very dangerous men. 

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

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

Hm.

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

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

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

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

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

The eruption was instant. 

“Enough!”

In an instant, the hissing ceased. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

[loeyicons]

✮ exo icons ੭୧ like and reblog if you save (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) ♫ link ‹ para acessar os icons gif com mais qualidade

[joshiji-darling]

ㅤ 🪸͟ ָ֢ ’’ 𐙚˙⋆.˚ 𝓶𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓴𝔀𝓸𝓷 𝓼𝓾𝓲𝓷 ๋࣭ ⭑⚝

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kwon suin masterlist

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ࣪. basics ୭ ˚. ᵎ

birth name: kwon suin 권수인

birth date: 1995..14..02

birthplace: goyang, gyeonggi province, south korea

residence: nonhyeon-dong, gangnam-gu, seoul

occupation: celebrity, artist, singer, dancer, producer, founder&director of Darling Entertainment

nationality: korean - greek (dual- nationality)

ethnicity: korean

languages: english, korean, french, greek, italian, japanese, chinese

height: 170cm

weight: 45kg

blood type: O+

partner: doh kyungsoo (exo's D.O)

status: married

mbti: infj

debut: 2007

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ࣪. career ୭ ˚. ᵎ

history:

2007 - duo group 'darling (달링)' with shin ryeonha (신련하)

2012 - debuts as a soloist

2015 - debuts with seventeen

2016 - debuts as an actress in descendants of the sun

position in seventeen: co-leader, main vocalist, producer, lead dancer, visual,

suin's/ 'darling's fandom: dearest (디어에스트)

her emojis: 🐋🪼🪸🪷🍡🌊🪐🎀🧸🫧🖇🩰

social media: @sususuinkw.n

weverse: @sususuinnova

brand ambassador: graff,, patek philippe,, dior,, alexandar mcqueen,, hermès,, van cleef& arpels,, brunello cucinelli,, bottega veneta

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ࣪. trivia ୭ ˚. ᵎ

she is seventeen's co-leader, meaning she shares the leader position with s.coups. this was because she was elected as leader by all the members and the company, but suin felt that s.coups would make a great leader, so they comprimised by having themn both leaders

she is the oldest member in seventeen and is their senior as she debuted in 'darling' in 2007

some of her nicknames include; original visual,, blueprint,, the trend,,original ace,, nation's center,, nation's daughter,, miss korea, korea's voice,,

she is a-list celebrity in hollywood, not just in korea

she was under a company called 'whipser' when she was active in 'darling' and for her solo career, then pledis was bought into her company. but in 2019, suin left whisper and started her own company named 'darling entertainment' after her group.

meaning she is the founder and director of the company

she is the creator of aespa

seventeen, ateez, aespa, btob, day6, and taemin are now under Darling Entertainment

she produces 80% of seventeen's songs alongside woozi, but she produces 100% of her own songs

she is the most credited artist, and the youngest artist to be awarded that title. she has credit for 600+ of her own songs, not included songs she produced for others.

she is the most known and recognized name in the korean industry

"if you don't know kwon suin in korea, you are a spy"

she is the hidden ace of going seventeen, she rivals jeonghan

she bought a multi-million penthouse in korea and she has another penthouse and vacation house in greece

she created the trends in kpop (not including her fashion influence); photocards, lightsticks, fansite, fansigns, fansign calls, fancams, idol content, tiktok challenges, singing osts, random dance, having lore, ending fairy, dance breaks, highlight medley, brand ambassador, dance practice, behind the scene videos, encore, personalised in-ears and mic, western collabs,

she popularized idols appearing in variety shows by appearing on "running man" and boosting their ratings

she was the first idol to have 'pre-releases' and an intro and outro track

she has an emotional support spoon

she was an ivf baby

she was the first idol to be a "new years couple" (when dispatch reveals couples on new years ykyk)

her ears go red when shes shy

she made the name 'carats' for the fandom

she concerts usually lasts for 4-6hrs, but once she had a 9hr concert and still didnt finish her entire discography

locals: "i don't know kpop, but i know suin and bts"

she is unfortunately the female idol that has been in the most danger

her newest nickname is "idol with the most aura"

and yes, suin and kyungsoo are married, they married in 2019, kyungsoo proposed in 2018, and they announced their relationship and engagement in the mv for "only" which even included their proposal video

ㅤㅤ kwon suin masterlist

comment for requests!

[paintingwhiteceilings]

❃How EXO acts around their crush❃

a/n: This is 10000% just for my own pleasure. I may have had this in my drafts for weeks... I am totally okay with all the Kyungsoo solo content and EXO ladder dropping. Totally. Super functional, delusional who?

ALSO to any EXO-L that are sharing Chen's LEAKED wedding photos. Please be respectful and either delete them or, at the very least, blur out his wife's face. Chen has gone to great lengths to safeguard her privacy, as she is not famous nor wants to be in the spotlight. Not to mention that there could be crazy sasaengs out there with ill intent. Sharing her info is basically doxing, and it is insane to me how many people shared these posts without much thought. Anyway, I needed to share my frustrations.

Xiumin/Minseok:

✾ He is a lot shyer than the other members; where most of EXO probably feels comfortable enough to act on their crushes, he is a bit more reserved. He wants to test the waters first, ascertaining whether the feeling is mutual. Whenever you are around and are talking to other people, he sits back silently, observing your reactions.

✾ Xiumin is smiling so widely around you that the other members worry that his muscles might start cramping up soon. The moment he sees you, his bubbly personality starts to really shine through, and sometimes you can't help but wonder whether this man truly is 33.

✾ That being said, from the moment that anyone offers Xiumin a couple of drinks, his confidence spikes, and he will start flirting with you. His flirting is still extremely sweet and cute; Xiumin can be incredibly charming when he wants to be.

Suho/Junmyeon

✾ He is such a gentleman around you, trying to make you feel at ease with his kind gestures. Whether it is him pulling back a chair or opening a door for you, he will do anything to make you feel like a princess.

✾ Being one of EXO's proud black card owners, he will casually buy you whatever you need. He keeps repeating that he wants to treat his friends when you try to interject. You can't completely refute it; he does spend a lot of money on the members. Yet, you can't help but feel like his gifts are slightly too expensive and excessive for 'just friends'.

✾ So. Many. Soft. Glances. Suho looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars; you catch him staring at you almost every time you look over. Conversations with him can, therefore, be a tad awkward. He doesn't always register what you are saying; he is so absorbed in watching you that he forgets to listen.

✾ The other members relentlessly tease him for it. If you don't catch on based on Suho's actions, you will definitely catch on due to his members' relentless teasing. Whenever he does anything remotely romantic around you, their faces light up like Christmas came early. The members are not subtle about it whatsoever, thoroughly enjoying putting their leader in a slightly uncomfortable position.

Baekhyun:

✾ The members didn't think it was possible, but Baekhyun somehow became louder. It is as if he wants to draw your attention simply by screaming, as he no longer has any volume control when you are around. Everyone can hear your conversation from across the room, and his laughter becomes borderline obnoxious as it overpowers any other sound.

✾ He is such a tease and a suggestive one at that. Considering he has no problem revealing intimate, not suitable to be aired on national TV, details about the members' bodies, he won't have any trouble suggestively flirting with you. Where Xiumin's pick-up lines are cute, Baekhyun's are far from it. Give this man some holy water, Jesus.

✾ He is so intense with his flirting that it sometimes crosses the line of sexy to parody, coming off as a joke. Baekyhyun has a very flirty personality and isn't above flirting with his friends. Even though he isn't subtle about his crush, he can accidentally fall into the "he flirts with everyone" category, making you question whether he genuinely likes you or is just being friendly.

✾ He really enjoys the chase when it comes to relationships. Thus, it will take him quite some time before he asks you out, simply because he likes the push-and-pull game.

Chanyeol

✾ There is nothing subtle about Mr. Park Chanyeol. The moment he sees someone he wants to date, he is going for it full steam ahead. Puppy Chanyeol is momentarily retired as he makes his way over to you; Chanyeol knows that he is handsome and sexy, and he is ready to show it to you. I hope you weren't interested in anyone else because the moment you return any of his interest, he will be flirting with you like there is no tomorrow.

✾ Internally, he is so excited to be talking to you, and sometimes, you will see glimpses of his cute puppy-like persona, especially once he feels like you are just as interested. Still, the words coming out of this man's mouth, Jesus part two. Please go and ask Baekyhun to pass the holy water.

✾ That being said, he will get embarrassed when the other members are around or slightly bashful when you return his flirting at full force. I don't think Chanyeol is used to anyone sharing his level of intensity, so once you do, he gets a bit flustered. He absolutely loves it, though. Your compliments got him grinning from ear to ear.

D.O./Kyungsoo

✾ Don't get me wrong, I adore this man to a delusional extent, but he is absolutely hopeless when it comes to communicating with his crush. He won't go anywhere near you if he can't help it; he prefers looking at you from afar. He is someone who favours being approached first over approaching you himself. It isn't that he doesn't want to talk to you; he simply isn't the type of person to initiate contact with his crush and tends to stay back when he can tell that someone else is interested, too. 

✾ Even if he finds himself near you, don't expect him to have a full-blown conversation with you. He already tends to be a man of little words, but when it comes to you, he is a man of not a single word. Being around you is enough to make him happy; he doesn't really need to have a deep conversation. 

✾ Nevertheless, his actions make more than up for it. He is such a gentleman, being the definition of preferential treatment. You don't have a chair to sit on? He will quietly offer you his. Your sweater got caught on something? He will silently help you get it out. Although he may not say much to you, he communicates his feelings through his actions. 

Kai/Jongin

✾ If you think Xiumin or Kyungsoo are shy, you have not yet met Kai with a crush. He turns into absolute mush the moment he sees you, giggling and blushing whenever you do as much as breathing. You can't even see him because he has resorted to hiding behind the other members, preferably Sehun or Chanyeol, as they are tall enough to obscure him completely.

✾ If he somehow musters up the courage to talk to you, good luck having it go anywhere because he can barely make it through a sentence without giggling. It is obvious to everyone around him that he is smitten with you; his laughs are awkwardly loud, and his eyes are literally shooting hearts.

✾ The moment he manages to ask you to dance, his shy demeanour completely changes. His movement… His expressions… The way he is smirking at you… Maybe you should go and ask Chanyeol whether there is anything left of the holy water he borrowed from Baekyhun.

Sehun

✾ He has one of two ways of acting around his crush: either he acts super bratty or becomes painfully shy. It depends on whether he has met and talked to you before. But, if you are complete strangers, he would be so quiet, hiding in the furthest corner he can find.

✾ He will pester the members to go over and collect as much information as they can about you. They will do it because he will whine the entire night about it if they don't and, repeat with me, what Sehun wants, Sehun gets. The members try to convince Sehun to go talk to you himself, but Sehun stubbornly refuses. Bro will be playing the Maknae card harder than he ever has in his entire life.

✾ In the end, he will drag Suho with him, trying to 'casually' strike up a conversation with you. The small talk is painful, and in all honesty, Suho, with his dad jokes, isn't helping in the slightest. At the very least, it provides the two of you with a new conversational topic: the teasing of Suho.

masterlist

[dpr-stay]

Through the years | D.K

Doh Kyungsoo x f1driver!Reader

Warnings: Swears, a lot of crack

WC: 9.1k (ik, kill me now)

Howdy Cowpeople! This one is... hefty. This wasn’t supposed to be as long as it was but when I get in a groove... I think I made it obvious but I just wanted it to be over L O L. This one is pretty niche, but hopefully it can be enjoyed by both sides as it is a driver!reader.

(I didn't edit this, whoops)

2015

“Can you explain this picture?” The reporter asks, hovering in front of you with a phone in hand. The crappy quality is amplified as they have zoomed into the point where the picture is unrecognizable. You squint your eyes to see it and can’t make out quite what they’re trying to show.

“Sorry, w-what is that?” You ask, drawing back and squinting your eyes, resisting the urge to close them from exhaustion. Whoever decided it would be a good idea to do interviews after nearly 100 continuous laps in some barely held together race car with no break was a sadist. No other explanation.

“Oh! It’s a picture of you in a car with a guy.” The reporter said eagerly and shoved the phone your way. You briefly looked at the camera, an unimpressed look on your face, before turning back to the phone and squinting again.

You paused for a minute and drew back, your face still scrunched up, and exhaled.

“Nahhhhhh.” The drew out word left your mouth.

The reporter’s head tilted and they frowned.

“But it is! It’s you in Seoul after the Japanese Grand Prix!” He continued, looking very determined. You plastered a confused expression on your face.

“I’ve never been to Seoul before.” His face dropped and he turned back to his phone, as though trying to rationalize what he was hearing.

“Have you just taken a picture of… two random people in a car? To me it honestly doesn’t even look like anything cause it’s so zoomed in but to each their own.” You finished your words with a shrug.

“No, my source told me that that was 100% you! They said they saw you get in the car at the airport.” He continued on, undeterred by your flat disregard.

“I hate to say it, your contact’s wrong. I’ve never even set foot in the country.” You shrugged before turning to your PR manager who was gesturing for you to leave, with rather forceful movements. That was to clue you in that you were in trouble. With her personally or with the boss man, you didn’t know.

“Lovely to see you again, though.” You smiled and held your hand over. The interviewer tentatively took it and you exchanged good-byes before you turned around and left to go onto more interviews. The glance you exchanged with your PR manager told you that you were lucky you had not been caught out on your multiple lies and you heaved a sigh of relief to yourself.

Being the only female driver in a heavily male dominated sport was incredibly stressful. Add to that the eyes of reporters trying to find you doing anything remotely weird to spin it into a scandal and you had a lot of things to worry about. Especially since you had just started a relationship with a highly coveted Kpop singer which you were determined to keep under wraps.

You both had a bet running with each other. The first person to reveal the relationship would lose. There was no consequence but your pride, something which both of you had a bit too much of.

And so, a game was born. It simultaneously made you more careful of revealing your relationship while also making it a fun game.

This also meant that you had to start constantly lying to reporters to get out of tricky situations. Surely nothing bad could ever come from this.

2016: 

“How does it feel to be a key contender for the championship?” Asked a reporter, directing it to, of course, Lewis Hamilton, who was sat beside Daniel in a panel of drivers. You were sat on the other side of Daniel, the small desk in front of you reaching for miles on either side.

As Lewis gave the carbon copy response that he had given to every interviewer so far, Daniel leaned over to whisper in your ear.

“I’m surprised they haven’t called him out on that yet.” He then reached for his plastic water bottle and took a sip. You considered this for a second before leaning to his side and answered, not turning your face from the crowd of reporters.

“I’m surprised they haven’t called you out on your disgusting trim.” He jolted forward at this unprompted attack on his hair and the choking sound he emanated drew attention from all in the room, all watching him with curious eyes as he tried to regain his breath.

“You alright mate?” Lewis asked, one of his eyebrows arching.

“Y-yeah I’m fine.” Daniel replied, waving his hand, eager to have attention off of his spluttering. It took a while but eventually all the cameras were aimed back at Lewis, so Daniel took the opportunity to elbow you hard in the side, your reaction being to topple off your chair dramatically. Usually one for the dramatics, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen Daniel want the cameras off him so much. 

Hidden behind a small desk, you could only hear the questioning tones calling out your name and see Daniel’s slightly panicked face urging you to get up and back on your chair. With one single hand, you reached for the desk and slowly pulled yourself up.

You released a deep breath as you hauled yourself into your seat and turned to face the crowd of reporters who were looking at you. With a grand hand gesture, you motioned for them to continue with their interviews and turned slightly to Daniel with a smile. He shot you back an exasperated glance before your name was called from the crowd of reporters. You looked towards the reporter and he began speaking.

“So, as you’re the only female on the grid I feel the need to ask, if you could date any of the drivers, who would it be?” The eager face he had contrasted with your entirely unimpressed face. You could hear Daniel begin to start speaking and you could feel the defensive energy emanating from the rest of the drivers on the panel, but before any of them could interrupt with scathing criticism about the misogyny that permeated the question, you replied to the reporter.

“Literally none of them, I’d rather die.” Your response was met with general silence before Daniel started laughing as usual.

“Really? You wouldn’t fancy any of them?” The reporter asked, almost in disbelief.

“No!” You said almost equally in disbelief.

“I’m fine with what I have at home!” You added on after a second.

“Are you saying you’re in a relationship???” The reporter was on the edge of his seat, others shoving their microphones and cameras trying to get a good shot. You dramatically pondered that for a second before replying.

“I wouldn’t say that, I just have other things at home.” You said that and then leaned back, shrugged, and didn’t say anything else into the mic even at the reporters continual uproar as they took in the implications of that statement.

You, luckily, were able to avoid the increasingly weird questions by just not answering and smiling. You weren’t as lucky to miss the smirks thrown your way by the other drivers.

2017:

“It doesn’t count!” You said in disbelief, aiming it at the microphone of your phone.

“Mmm I’d say it counts.” Kyungsoo replied back teasingly, his voice echoing into your AirPods. 

“You can’t go back on your word!! You said it was fine last year!” You were sitting at a table in your company's hospitality, having a conversation with Kyungsoo on the phone, blissfully unaware of the interviews going on outside the building which had a clear view into the small area. 

“Yeah but it’s been two years, one of us has to call it quits soon.” Your face contorted before Kyungsoo quickly amended his statement.

“The bet! The bet! Sorry, that came out the wrong way.” 

You just shook your head, a small smile growing on your lips.

“You bastard, you had me a little worried.” He scoffed in response. He had been speaking quietly into the phone as he was hiding in a closet in the SM building, taking a break from practice to talk to you. A true charmer.

“As if.” He replied shortly, a loud scuffling heard on his side.

“One second.” He said, as a banging sound came through into your headphones.

“Come on Hyung! Get off the phone and come back before someone else finds you!” Kai’s voice could be heard through the door. A pause before the banging started again.

“Also tell her I said hello!” You giggled at the younger man’s words and Kyungsoo’s sigh in response.

“I’ll call you after the race, do your best, I love you.” Kyungsoo muttered into his phone before shouting back to Kai something about respect and to shut up. It just made you laugh more.

“I love you too, practice well and I’ll call you soon.” You finally said in response after the yelling died down.

“Bye.” He said before quickly tacking on another “love you” and then he hung up.

After he hung up you just stared at your screen for a second with a smile you would 100% not call radiant on your face. It was quickly wiped off when your PR manager popped up out of nowhere and started talking about interviews, causing you to switch to English as you stood up and followed him.

However, the interview still captured your little moment and the conversation preluding it. You knew this because, when you went back to your phone after the race, Baekhyun had sent you a picture of your smile through the tinted glass with a smirking emoji as well as a picture of Kyungsoo on the floor in the closet in the dark talking to you on the phone, not to mention the hounding you got at the next press conference.

2018:

You knew it was risky to do a live in your own apartment, especially since you were in a completely different country than where you were claiming you were.

But your PR team wanted you to do it, and you couldn’t exactly tell them no, even if you were currently lying to them about your circumstances. You were a bit worried that something unexplainable might happen like the South Korean national anthem suddenly blaring but what you weren’t worried about was the person who you were living with coming back and interrupting your live.

Kyungsoo was at practice and, while you were ok with him skipping it to talk to you on the phone, you didn’t want him to skip it now, as you had been promised a few days without any interruption if he went to every practice. So he was at practice and you were fulfilling all your expected PR duties for the next couple of days, which included the live.

Regardless of your hesitations, you set up your phone on your coffee table facing the entrance to your home and sat on the couch before turning on the live. Immediately people joined, flooding the chat and making your phone vibrate.

“Uhhh hello everyone.” You awkwardly greeted as you tried to think of things to say. Kyungsoo would be fantastic at this, you couldn’t help but think, always having to do live’s with his members.

“How’s everyone’s days been?” You settled on and watched the responses roll into the chat. You noticed a few drivers had joined your live and even a few of the boys from F2 and F3 were watching, which you thought was pretty nice of them considering it was mainly you rambling for around 30 minutes.

Your manager wanted you to do an hour minimum for the live and the time seemed to stretch for years, you continuously making small talk and occasionally replying to comments. You even snuck in a few jokes for the other drivers before, around the 55 minute mark, a sound came from your end.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you wondered where the noise was coming from, looking around the apartment. Quickly standing up, you looked around the apartment, making a lighthearted joke about ghosts as you nervously tried to find the origin of the sound.

You realised that sound was the wrong key being put in the lock as soon as you registered the sound of the correct key being put in.

As Kyungsoo opened the door, you made the biggest leap you think you have ever made. It would’ve had to have been around 4 meters surely. Somehow you had leapt onto the coffee table, knocking your phone down. Kyungsoo was staring at you weirdly as you violently gestured at him to shush. He raised an eyebrow.

“Are you ok?” He asked, his deep voice sounding as lovely as ever. You took a second, contemplating your options in this circumstance before coming to a logical conclusion.

You started to scream.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!” Kyungsoo’s face shifted to one of confusion as yours was full of desperation.

“YOU CRAZY PSYCHO! GET OUT!!” You continued to yell in perfect English, a contrast from his peaceful question, and gestured for Kyungsoo to close the door, which he did, albeit very confused.

As soon as he closed the door, you maneuvered yourself so that you weren’t facing him and quickly picked up your phone from underneath you.

“Oh my god, what just happened.” You said, showing the camera your roof. You picked up the phone and started fidgeting with it.

“‘Are you ok?’ Yeah I’m fine, I just gotta figure out how to change the locks. I’ll uh.. I’ll get back to you guys. See you later.” You said absentmindedly, as you ended the live.

You paused for a second, sat back on your heels, and sighed, staring up at the roof. The sound of footfalls reached your ears and you didn’t react when Kyungsoo placed a hand on your shoulder.

“I’m not losing this bet.” You mumbled, staring at the ground. An incredulous laugh left him at that as he reached his hand further and brought your face to look at him. A smile that there was no other way to describe but goofy was spread across his face.

“You’re still thinking of that?” He asked and you nodded.

“I take our bet very seriously.” You said before he slightly shook his head, gave you a kiss on the forehead, and moved towards the kitchen.

You picked yourself up and moved to the dining table as he started work in the kitchen. And, as he made a delicious dinner that you both enjoyed, you started to field off your PR team asking who was in your house and ignoring the comments wondering why the guy was speaking Korean in the middle of England.

2019: 

It was approximately ten minutes before you had to be in the car and ready to go, and you were half-way there. You had your fireproofs and race suit on and you were being herded towards your car by a crowd of engineers. Strategies and specifics were being directed at you and you could only nod and act as though you were absorbing what they were saying.

Even after four years on the job some people felt they just couldn’t rely on you. Honestly, they should just let you do your thing, you knew what you were doing. 

No! God, ever since Kyungsoo had joined the military you’d been irritable and quick to anger on the track. Your poor engineers were trying their best to get through to you, likely because they wanted to keep their jobs, but you’d been incredibly closed off since after you got back from the honeymoon. 

Oh yeah, you got married. During a break and right before Kyungsoo was scheduled to start his enlistment, you got married down in a small courthouse with only a few people from either side. You had your family, a few close friends, and a few drivers while Kyungsoo had his family, a few close friends, and the whole of EXO.

It was very emotional and intimate, but that was how you’d describe your relationship so you were very happy with it. You were also extremely happy with the week get-away in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand that followed after, a week of people not recognising both you, farmers markets, and sheep. Lot’s of sheep.

But ever since he’d flown off to do his duty to his country (and shaved his head, no one should look that good with a shaved head) and you’d flown to your next race, you’d been incredibly… angry.

You didn’t know if it had to do with not seeing Kyungsoo for the better part of two years or having that split immediately after the wedding, but what you did know was that it was affecting your racing so you had to snap out of it.

Being dragged back to the present you quickly hopped in the car and performed all of your checks on the steering wheel and adjusted things while people flitted around outside the car, adjusting things and making sure the car was in proper state.

After a quick radio check, the call to start up for the formation lap (you were in P11 after a pretty dodgy qualifying) was relayed and all around you could hear car’s engines coming to life. You glanced at your engineers and snapped down your visor at their nod, starting the car.

Before you pressed the throttle something quickly came to mind. You rapidly gestured for one of your engineers to come close to you, incredibly conscious of all the cars revving around you. The poor engineer almost sprinted to you as you started to fiddle with the zip of your racesuit, the gloves you were wearing prohibiting you from unzipping it.

The engineer's face was comically concerned and he slowly reached forwards before you looked up and grabbed his outreached hand. His face immediately went to one of shock as you made his hand grab the zip and unzip the front part of the suit.

Choosing to ignore the cameras capturing this interaction you continued unzipping it till it lay around your collarbones, hoping the cameras don’t catch any of your naked shoulders. The engineer's face then relaxed as he saw the necklace around your neck and he quickly reached in, almost leaning over the car, to move your necklace around your neck till the latch was in front of him.

He cautiously unlatched the necklace before zipping up your race suit. You immediately relaxed as the pressure around your neck was relieved. Before he could retreat back to the crowd of engineers, you grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding your necklace and slapped it appreciatively with your other hand.

He retreated as you powered up the car and started to move it forwards, letting all the cars that needed to go before go before you started to move. 

Your team radio started up as you were leaving the pit lane.

“You all had us very confused there.” Your race engineer said as you started your cruise around the track. 

“Yeah, sorry I completely forgot about it. But I thought it was better to take it off.” You said, pressing down on the throttle. 

“He better not lose that though. I want that back at the end of the race.” You subtly threatened, suddenly thinking of the rings that were attached to the necklace. You hoped that maybe the cameras hadn’t seen your wedding and engagement rings but you knew there was no chance they hadn’t not captured it. Oh well.

“I don’t know if you’ll get it back by the end of the race.” Your engineer said, her tone almost sarcastic. 

“What’s that mean?” You asked, letting the car cruise.

“You’ll probably be killed by your PR team first.” She said bluntly. So bluntly it made you laugh. 

“I’ve got a race to focus on.” You reminded her, leaving out the part that you had a race to think of an excuse as to why you have two rings attached to a necklace around your neck.

And you did think of an excuse, wearing the necklace proudly during post-race interviews and saying it was a family heirloom that had been passed on to you by your grandma whenever you were questioned about it.

The moment still went viral though, people questioning the relationship between you and the engineer. It went viral enough to that you had to suffer through teasing by Daniel and his accomplice Max Verstappen (you didn’t know how the kid knew you were married but you suspected it had something to do with an annoying Australian) not to mention the shit being talked in the EXO group chat you were in.

I mean seriously, all of those guys are millionaires, does Chen have nothing else to do with his time than bully the wife of his bandmate?

2020: (sorry Alex)

Somehow you got signed to RedBull on a year contract. Not to say you weren’t grateful for the opportunity but you were definitely a bit confused. But anyway, you let bygones be bygones and now you had a 22 year-old dutch nuisance under your wing.

He was a great kid but god, was he traumatized. You were convinced he’d never seen a healthy family dynamic, so you were more than happy to let him see how you and Kyungsoo functioned. Or at least how you functioned when he was not in the military.

You kind of felt like a life coach for the kid, telling him when he was being taken advantage of or when he should continue with something. You’d been woken up plenty of times in the middle of the night by him drunkenly whining into the phone about wanting to go “home”, something neither of you commented on when he woke up on your couch the next day.

So, safe to say, you’d practically adopted a child without the permission of your husband.

This extended to on the track as well, you’d gotten into a few mild disagreements with Jos Verstappen after his cruel comments which often involved you looking at him angrily and him shit-talking you in interviews about you being a woman. You’d often have to refrain from saying that you’d always be more of a man than him, but alas, you didn’t want to get kicked from your seat.

You knew that Max was extremely appreciative of your dynamic, even commenting on it a few times during interviews, saying that he was very happy to have you as a teammate. After that interview you almost felt like you and his lover, Daniel, were able to give him some sort of an idea of what a normal family relationship should look like.

This sentiment was definitely reinforced when a loud knocking on your Monaco apartment door happened in the early afternoon. It was a weekend with no race, so you were soaking in relaxation. You were having a nice bubble bath after having read for the whole morning, so you were hesitant to hop out of the bath. 

The knocking persisted however, and with a sigh, you got out of the bath and wrapped a bathrobe around you before loudly yelling you’d be a minute. You tugged on some sweats which weren’t yours and put your hair in a towel before eventually making your way to the door. 

You might’ve taken more than a minute, but it didn’t matter when you opened the door and were greeted with the image of Max Verstappen on his knees, face pressed into the expensive hallway carpet. What a sight to see, the prodigy and most highly anticipated driver of his time, lying face-first on the floor.

“What the fuck?” You asked, immediately crouching down to his level after a quick glance to see that none of your neighbors had left their apartments to check on the banging (pretentious, self-concerned people). 

You rolled him over, your confusion doubling as you took in the remorseful look etched across the young man's face, almost tripling as you took in the barely concealed tears in his eyes. Your heart ached though and you pulled him up so that he was sitting on his knees.

“I’m so sorry.” He muttered as your face contorted in confusion. What had happened? “Come inside Max.” You said quietly, helping him up from his spot on the floor and leading him inside, locking the door after you both. Leading him to the couch, you left him after putting the throw blanket over his shoulders, and went to make both of you a tea.

You noticed your phone constantly vibrating on your kitchen counter and quickly chucked it on do not disturb, not checking the notifications because you were more concerned with your teary teammate. 

After grabbing the teas you made your way to the couch, setting them down on coasters on the coffee table, before sitting on the edge of the ‘L’ piece of the couch, so you were facing Max. You grabbed his hand from his lap where he had been nervously picking at his nail beds.

“What’s wrong Max?” You asked calmly, bringing his hand to your lap to stop him from hurting himself. He looked up at you, a few tears having rolled down his cheeks. 

Whatever had happened had fucked him up. You didn’t think it was a fight with his dad, he’d sadly become pretty unresponsive to those. You briefly considered him losing his seat but shook that off, he was doing exceptionally well. 

Maybe you’d lost your seat and he was sent to deliver the news. That would make more sense, especially as your phone was blowing up. You hadn’t been performing very well, but you didn’t think they’d drop you from your seat midway through the season, especially during a season as turbulent as this one.

It was the only reason that made sense though, so you prepared yourself for the news that you would be unemployed. Maybe you’d go back to F2 or maybe IndyCar? Or you could just move to South Korea and live there permanently, letting Kyungsoo fulfill his passion for acting and singing while you did a few kart races to occasionally quench your thirst for adrenaline. 

That actually didn’t sound too bad, though you’d definitely have to discuss it with Kyungsoo when he got back from enlistment, which meant around 5 months of unemployment. But hey, you had the money and so did Kyungsoo.

Max snapped you from your thoughts of the future by clearing his throat.

“You don’t know?” He asked, curiously glancing up at you. You furrowed your eyebrows.

“No…” You said, conveying your confusion. “Should I?” 

“Have you checked your phone recently?” Yep, you were definitely getting fired. You should probably start packing now. Maybe Daniel could get his seat back? You shook your head in response to his quiet question.

“I’ve just been reading all morning.” Max nodded, a small ‘ah’ leaving his mouth as he stared at the floor. He reached for his tea, his hand leaving your lap. You narrowed your eyes at that, following his movements as he sipped, a gasp immediately leaving his throat as he burnt it.

You immediately cussed and sprung up from your couch to grab a glass of cold water, running back to the couch and giving it to Max, watching as he gulped down the glass. When he finished he turned back to you and thanked you, before pausing for a second and bursting into another round of tears. You placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re really freaking me out Max. Can you please tell me what’s wrong?” You asked gently, trying to make him catch your eye.

“Promise you won't hate me?” His small voice asked and you internally crumpled at his vulnerable question. Honestly you never thought you’d end up gentle-parenting a teammate like he was a child of yours, especially since you were only like 5 years older than him, but here you were, caring for him like family.

“Yes, I won’t hate you Max.” You repeated as he finally caught your eye. He took a deep breath before starting to speak.

“I was doing an interview for the press and they started asking questions about other drivers and my relationship to them. They then asked about you and I said that I’m really close to you and etcetera.” Ok, seems pretty normal so far. At least you weren’t getting fired, hopefully.

“And they asked if I see you more as a mother figure or a romantic interest.” He said before quickly turning his eyes away. This confused you before you clued in.

“Oh Max.” You said quietly and he turned back to you. “I’m flattered you feel that way but I am married and I am loyal-”

“No, no, no!” He said, louder than he’d ever spoken in the time since he was on the floor. His cheeks had turned bright red as he looked in your eyes.

“No, I didn’t say that I saw you romantically!” He quickly amended and you breathed a sigh of relief, smiling.

“Ok, that’s good! I didn’t want our friendship to be awkward.” You said, looking at him for a response. He just grimaced and averted his gaze. You gestured for him to go on confusedly and he began speaking again.

“And I said more like a mother-figure.” A statement which made you feel positive things you don’t want to address. “Then I may have accidentally said that, even though I haven’t met him, I see your husband as more of a father-figure as well.” He quickly rushed the last part out and you sat, stunned. 

The room went silent while you processed what he told you. Fuuuuckkk. How much trouble were you going to be in? I mean the team knew, but this wasn’t something you could pass off as your grandmother's rings. This was undeniable proof that you had a husband. God press days were going to suck after this unless you could somehow make an excuse.

As time went on he seemed to collapse in on himself, the energy quickly switching to something you didn’t like.

“To be honest I thought you were going to tell me I’d lost my seat.” You said and Max’s head snapped up. “What?” He asked, disbelieving.

“Yeah I know, crazy.” You laughed, dragging out the last word, trying to establish a more relaxed aura in the room.

“No, why haven’t you kicked me out yet?” It was at times like this you really wanted to punch Jos Verstappen in the face. You made an over exaggerated confused face, hoping the fact that that had never gone through your mind was on display in your face.

“Max, why would I do that?” You asked, your voice very quickly becoming soothing.

“Why aren’t you mad at me? You’ve spent years hiding this! You should be yelling at me!” He said, standing up. You tried, in vain, to get him to sit down by gently calling him, but he started pacing.

“I’ve just ruined your chances at revealing this yourself, at ever having another peaceful day in your marriage, and all you can do is make a joke?!” He almost started yelling, clenching his fists. You got fed-up and yelled his name, calling his attention to you.

“You’re in my house as my guest. You will not tell me what to do or how to handle situations. Sit your ass down.” You yelled, your voice incredibly commanding. He followed your instructions and sat smally in front of you.

“Max. It was eventually going to come out. I don’t mind. I’d much rather it come off handedly from you than maliciously leaked by a random instagram page.” You said and he looked up, almost looking close to tears. You frowned before bringing the boy up into a hug. You stayed like that for a few minutes before you had to ask a question.

“You didn’t reveal who he was though, no?” You asked, still in the hug. You felt Max shake his head and you silently fistpumped behind his back. It wasn’t your fault, so it technically didn’t count and you hadn’t lost the bet.

You were right, by the way, press days were soon filled with questions about your mystery husband instead of your racing. But it was fine, you were somehow able to twist it as though you’d made a joke about having a husband and Max took it seriously.

Phew.

2021: (sorry latifi)

“And so today you will be reacting to fan edits of yourselves!” The lady behind the camera finished, prompting you and George to look at eachother. It was early in the season and, even though you’d raced together for a few years, you weren’t exactly close, being that before pre-season meetings, you hadn’t ever talked. At all.

This meant he didn’t know much about your personal life or the whole ‘husband’ thing. Which was fine, you’d tell him in your own time, when you felt your friendship was strong enough. He seemed to be a great kid, though you were determined to not adopt another grown child, especially after the look you got from Kyungsoo when you mentioned the fact you may have ‘accidentally’ had Christmas with Max Verstappen.

But hey, they had finally met during February and it was almost like a Dad saying that his daughter can’t adopt a cat while simultaneously cuddling with the cat. Kyungsoo, against his better judgment, had instantly attached to Max and now you were battling for the position of being his favourite driver. Which you were totally not bitter about (you said your favourite EXO member was Sehun in retaliation and he changed your mind very quickly).

Back to the present, the people behind the camera placed a tablet on the table in front of you. It was open on the photo gallery and you could already see some very flattering videos saved to the device.

“You wanna go first?” You asked, and George nodded before picking up the tablet and scrolling through the photo library. He closed his eyes and landed on one. Loud music immediately began playing from the device, you think ‘London Boy’ by Taylor Swift, and you both watched in varying states of horror as photos and clips of him flashed on the screen.

As the video ended you both accidentally made eye-contact. Now, as an almost 28 year old woman, the simple gesture of looking into your teammate's stricken eyes should not have made burst out laughing as hard as you did. But, god, George’s eyes were expressive. In fairness he also did laugh, though he probably was confused as to why you were laughing so much.

After you caught your breath you could only utter out,

“Your face...” Before peeling back into giggles again. He started laughing again as well before putting the tablet down. In doing so, he accidentally swiped the tablet and the Backstreet Boys started playing, an edit of the 2019 rookies playing as the video.

This chain event caused you to start gasping, the sheer ridiculousness of the videos catching up to you. George only took one look at the tears forming in your eyes before he was also wheezing out harsh breaths from laughing.

It took around 2 minutes for you to look at each other without laughing and, for you both to be able to pick up the tablet without giggling, it took another minute or so. You eventually began scrolling through the tablet, laughing at some and ‘aww’-ing at some of the sad ones. 

Eventually a video came up with the background music to ‘Give it to me’ by Sistar, an edit of you that was hot but had you gasping at the lyrics.

“What?” George looked over to you, curious as to why there was another noise that came out of your mouth than laughing or a strained ‘why?’.

“The audacity!” You said, as the music continued playing.

“What..?” George asked, more confused than previously.

“Do you want to know the lyrics they’ve just edited me to?” You asked, looking over at him, your voice pretending to be offended.

“What?” He said, his tone changing again to have a sort of goading lilt.

“Will I even get married before I turn thirty.” You said with an air of finality, turning to glare at the camera, your jaw dramatically hung open. George gasped mockingly.

“How dare they!” He said sarcastically and you nodded eagerly.

“I know right!” You responded beginning a stereotypical mean girl impression. “How dare they!” After that little fiasco, you both kept scrolling and laughing (a notable example of this being when an edit of George crying came up, him pushing your shoulders as you continued to laugh). 

Eventually the video was being wrapped up and George was preparing to do a sort of sign off when he paused and turned to you.

“I know we aren’t incredibly close…” He started and you prepared for a multitude of questions. You didn’t know him well enough to predict what he might say, so you went over your predisposed answers to questions in your head.

You knew he wouldn’t ask anything uncomfortable, like about your relationship status, or anything really weird, like how many socks do you wash at once. But that left a gaping probability for mildly-weird or mildly-uncomfortable questions. You hoped he wouldn’t ask that, but you were still prepared to be asked if you threw out your receipts or kept them.

“But I didn’t know you knew Korean. How did you learn?” 

Oh. Fuck.

You did not have an answer for that. How the fuck did you not have an answer for that? You definitely should have had an answer for that. Oh wait, you didn’t have an answer because you promised yourself not to tell anyone that you could speak Korean so that you didn’t get that question!

The real, close-friends answer was that Kyungsoo had taught you over a range of years and that you’d taken courses so that you’d be able to talk to his friends and family. However you didn’t have a PR approved answer because you’d never thought that you’d need one. Time to put your problem solving skills to the test. 

“Uhhhhh…” You said, staring confusedly at George, aware of the seconds that had passed while you were internally monologuing. You hoped your expression didn’t convey the level of gob-smacked that you felt but you think it did because George’s face contorted to be one of worry.

“If that’s a sensitive topic or something you don’t have to answer!” He quickly said as though he was trying to fix the situation. You’d later learn the George thought before your video that you were kind of ‘fucking terrifying’ (his words) and that he was scared he’d screwed up by asking you this and one of his ‘hero’s’ (his words) wouldn’t ever want to talk to him again. 

“Nah, nah. It’s ok.” You waved him off, desperately trying to think of something. Oh! You knew exactly what to say.

“Basically I just have this really good friend who is Korean and I asked him to teach me for fun.” You said simply, before realising that wasn’t good enough considering your reaction.

“I was trying to hide how good I’ve gotten to try and surprise him but I guess it’s ok.” You said, a small smile on your face. George relaxed from his tense state and nodded, a small smile playing onto his lips as well.

“Ah that’s cool. Sorry to spoil the surprise.” You waved him off again and he continued the video’s outro.

Another good save, you really oughta be hired to problem-solve. And by problem-solving you mean lying to the media. And George. Poor George. 

2022: (yeah the timelines don’t match, don’t call me out pls)

A loud banging sounded against your hotel door. You groaned, dropping the book onto your chest from where you held it up. Glancing angrily at the door, you rolled out of bed and stomped over to the entrance. You ripped open the door and prepared to start reaming the person on the other side before letting out a high-pitched scream.

You were in Japan for the Suzuka GP. You always didn’t like the Japanese GP because, even though you were incredibly close to Kyungsoo, your schedules never lined up so you could never see him. 

That fact really grinded your gears, but it’s what you get when you try to schedule something with SM Entertainment. A decisive ‘No.’ What a great company. To be honest, was Willaims really any better?

No. No they weren’t. That mere fact infuriated you enough to make you scream. However, it wasn’t the reason you were currently screaming. That was because, standing in your doorway in the middle of the team hotel, was Kai. 

You hadn’t seen him in a few months, you both had busy schedules, so the man appearing on your doorstep was miraculous. You didn’t think of why he was there, or how he got there. You just threw your arms around him and gave him a hug.

“Oh my god!” You screamed, before immediately regretting it and quickly pulling him into your hotel room before someone came out of their rooms and wondered why he was in front of yours.

“Hi!” He said, laughing as he let himself be pushed into your room despite the fact he could pick you up and throw you.

“What are you doing here?” You asked changing your pulling into a hug, squeezing the younger man as though he was your child. You had a serious problem with that, treating men almost your age as children. But Kai was more of a brother than a child, to be quite frank. That distinction just meant that he really really bugged you.

“I have a concert tomorrow and I thought I might just stop in.” He said, a smile on his face. “Though it is only me, sorry.”

“That’s ok!” You said, still in disbelief one of your closest friends was on your doorstep.

“Does Kyungsoo know?” Kai smirked in response to your question. That was answer enough in itself and you slapped Kai on the shoulder.

“You should’ve told him! He might’ve come.” Kai gasped in mock offense.

“What am I not good enough? Would you really prefer your husband that much?” He continued in mock offense and you dead-panned him. He just laughed in response.

“I did have to tell the company I was coming though, and they asked me to film a TikTok with you.” He quickly rushed out and you groaned, staring at the sky. What was up with all of these people wanting you to do TikTok’s?! You had all of your team's PR people constantly chasing you with a camera and now you had Kai asking for a video.

“Fine.” You ground out and Kai grinned, purposely ignoring your annoyance.

“Fantastic!” He said and quickly whipped out his phone, launching into his plans of what to film. Your only artistic input was that he had to cool it on the filters or else you wouldn’t film. 

The video started with the familiar sound of Peaches by Kai and a hand knocking on your hotel door, you opening the door curiously. As the chorus sounded, you recorded Kai dancing in your doorway, incredibly aware of the chance of any of your colleagues walking into the hallway and wondering what the fuck was going on.

The video continued after the chorus, Kai recording you slamming the door in his face with a confused expression. The video then ended with a still image of the both of you doing a heart together with your hands and you let Kai go rampant on the filters, hearts and sparkles flying around on the screen. 

When you watched it back, Kai waiting at your side eagerly to see your reaction, you did your best to hide the laughing fit you had in reaction to the monstrosity. You couldn’t quite hide the gasps that were leaving you though and Kai frowned.

“It’s perfect. I love it.” You said, through your giggles and he smiled.

“I know. It’s fantastic.” You only nodded because you couldn’t trust yourself to talk, a small whine escaping through your lips at the struggle of not laughing.

“Do you want to see the caption?” He asked and you violently nodded your head. 

“Please.” 

“P15 but still P1 EXO-L.” He read out and you just hung your jaw open. “You bastard!” You laughed out. 

“I put it in Korean as well.” Your only response was to hit him, hard, while still laughing and shaking your head.

“Should we run it by your PR team before posting?” Kai asked, taking a serious note. You looked to him and sucked in air through your teeth.

“Nahhhh.” You replied and he shrugged, and clicked post.

“I should probably tell Kyungsoo you were here before he finds out through the internet.” You said, reaching for your phone. Kai nodded vehemently.

One phone call later, an angry Kyungsoo and an apologetic Kai later, the TikTok was making its rounds and your phone was blowing up, your poor PR agent about to have a heart attack.

On that delightful note Kai left your hotel room, farewelled with a minute long hug and a well-wish for his concert, and you were left to phone your PR agent who just screamed into the phone for 10 seconds before actually speaking.

Of course, during the press releases for the rest of the season, you talked about how much of an EXO-L you were and how close of a friend you were to Kai. This didn’t come without dating rumours but, due to one poorly angled camera shot of your disgusted face when a reporter suggested dating to your face, that was shut down pretty quickly. 

Still no one had shipped you with the other EXO members though, so you weren’t even close to losing the bet. (Though you had been asked which EXO member was your favourite, which you responded to with a smirk.)

2023:

It was a good race, you finishing P4 which was a huge improvement since last season. Your team was on top of the moon as were you, smiling from ear to ear. You were currently in the press area, getting asked questions left and right about the car and your performance.

You were adequately responding to each question, sometimes looking questioningly your PR agent when you weren’t sure how to respond. A loud crash sounded through the area that drew the attention of most in the area as a reporters chair fell to the ground. They had jumped up at something on their phone and, like everyone else in the pen, you were wondering what had them so fired up.

Then their eyes darted up and made eye-contact with you. Your internal monologue quickly changed from questioning to a repeated loop of ‘Oh no. Oh no.’ as they advanced your way, moving like a predator stalks their prey. They thrusted their phone under your nose, the shitty little mic attached to it capturing every breath you took and the many cameras in the area capturing your wide eyes.

The reporter addressed you by name before starting to speak.

“Do you know of a man by the name Doh Kyungsoo?” They asked and your world cracked. What on earth had happened? How did they know? All you knew was that it was time for the one acting class your mum had made you take to try and sway you from racing to come to full effect.

“I think he’s from that band Kai’s in, yeah?” You responded after a second of fake pondering. The reporter's eyes narrowed like a hawk.

“You wouldn’t say you were close? Not close enough to get married perhaps?” The reporter asked, clearly trying to stir the pot. Oh my god, was this a prank? How the fuck did they know? How were you supposed to play this off? Would this jeopardize your career?

“Uhhm no…?” You said, incredulously, fixing them a scandalized stare. They sarcastically nodded.

“Oh really? Then what’s this?” They said and shoved their phone closer to your face till you saw a picture of you and Kyungsoo on your wedding day. How did they get this? Had one of your small circle leaked something?

You tried not to let the bewilderment you felt show on your face.

“I’m sorry? Are you trying to pass this off as real? It’s obviously photoshopped! I’m so tired of people trying to fabricate a story of me dating every person I’ve interacted with!” You finally snapped, letting a few years of pent up tension out in this moment. The reporter only continued to smirk.

“Oh really!” They said and you wanted to punch them and their snooty little face. To try and display this, your face fell into one of contempt.

“Is that why this image was posted to Doh Kyungsoo’s official instagram account with the caption ‘Sorry for making you lie to the press for eight years!’?” 

They got you there, dam.

Your jaw dropped open, the corners of your mouth rising at the pure hilarity of this situation.

“Excuse me?” You asked, grabbing the phone off the reporter and tapping back onto the post. They were right, Kyungsoo had posted to his official instagram that exact post. It was a carousel post with pictures taken of when you’d lied to the press about him, from the initial lying about being in Seoul to a picture of your ringed necklace to a picture of you smirking after being asked which EXO member was your favourite.

You couldn’t help but release a laugh, your hand traveling to cover your open mouth. Why did he post this? 

Wait.

This meant you won the bet. Your head shot up to stare at a camera.

“I won the bet.” You said quietly. The reporter snatched their phone back and stared at you confused. 

“What?” They asked and you whipped your head to them, a large smile spreading across your face.

“I won the bet!” You said eagerly, reaching out to grab their shoulders and rock them back and forth.

“I won the bet!!” You ignored how they shook you off, turning to your PR Agent instead and grabbing them and lifting them up. They hurriedly tapped your back as you lifted them, as though signaling you to drop them, but you ignored that and started spinning them around. 

“I actually can’t believe it, oh my god!” You snapped out of it and dropped your PR Agent, immediately running out of the media pen and back to your driver room, pulling your necklace out of your racesuit and pulling your rings off, placing them back on their correct fingers.

You quickly packed everything up, ignoring the ringing of your phone as your team tried to get you to go to more press conferences and briefings, and you got out of there, on the first plane to Seoul you could book.

When you arrived, after a long plane trip filled with excitement and pictures being taken of you, decked out in your team's merchandise as you sat buzzing in your seat, your phone was completely blowing up, messages from everyone in your contact list and more. You turned it off (you’d deal with it later) after calling an uber to your apartment.

You were jittery the whole ride, hoping that, despite the time of night, Kyungsoo was still awake. When you arrived outside your apartment building, you felt all the tension in your body ease, and you looked up to see the light on in your window. You smiled and took your suitcase handle in hand and ventured into the building, greeting the old lady at the desk.

Riding the lift up to your apartment nearly had you pacing and you almost ran down the hallway towards your door, quickly knocking. You felt the reverberations in the floorboards as Kyungsoo walked over to the door and a sense of euphoria filled you at the familiarity.

The door was barely open before you launched yourself at Kyungsoo, his heavenly laughter filled your ears as he caught you. You quickly found yourself in a kiss before pulling back and peppering kisses all over his face, finding his giggles more lovely than his singing.

You both pulled back just to look in eachothers eyes and you smiled simultaneously. 

“I love you.” You muttered, the happiness from the day finally catching up to you.

“I love you too.” He whispered, tilting his head before going in for another kiss. 

“You know.” He began later that night, when you were just lying in bed cuddling together. You turned your head from its position on his chest to look at him, his eyes remaining on the roof.

“I think I won in the end.” You immediately reared your head back, prepared to object at the sheer wrongness of his answer. He anticipated this though and dropped his hand from where it was combing through your hair to your mouth. He also dropped his head as to make eye contact.

“You stuck by me through everything. Even though you had to lie almost every day and had to listen to millions of rumours about me with other people, you still stayed with me. You learned a whole other language just to know people who knew me. Nothing I will ever say will ever put into perspective how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me. The way you’ve loved me will be comparable to nothing other than how much I’ve loved you.” His heartfelt speech made your head vibrate and a few tears left your eyes at his words, him kissing each one away. 

You whined deep in the back of your throat and he released a laugh at your response. 

“You could’ve just said ‘I love you’.” You said quietly.

“That’s true too.” He said, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

ahh it's over! dividers from this post btw, it's 11:59 pm let me sleep.

[kjsexo]

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

⋆.˚ ♡ ⋆.˚

[jongbross]

Hi, it’s boyfriends things with Exo😅🤍

Thanks

kim minseok:

cutest boyfriend out there

will take such good care of you 🥹

is literally a keeper

your family loves him, he just charms everyone around him

might be a bit difficult as sometimes he can't see why you're still with him

doesn't realize that you're the luckiest person for having HIM

kisses your nose a lot

holds your hand while walking on the street

listen to you vent and gives you the best advices

won't let you sleep in though, so good luck with that

kim junmyeon:

the personification of a gentleman

pulls chairs for you, open doors, makes sure you're with your seatbelt on, doesn't let you walk on the side of the sidewalk that's closer to the street, etc

has the warmest hugs

can literally hug you for hours if you let him

secretly plans to pop out the question in the near future

buys you anything you want. anything.

respects your opinions SO MUCH, it's ridiculous

has the boyfie vibe somehow, so people don't hit on him anymore

chanyeol can see how much he changed because of you, how he's much more bubbly now

"you made him worse!!" (joking)

zhang yixing:

nicest boyfriend out there

dude is just soooo chill, your friends adore him

shows you random stuff on your phone just so you can laugh about it together

hands you his jacket whenever you're cold, but scolds you for not taking one with you

calls you a lot whenever he's away

you'll have to take care of his cats, i'm sorry

does this thing where he kisses both your temples before kissing your lips when he has to say goodbye to you before traveling

passes out beside you on bed while you're talking about a nice recipe you saw on tiktok

doesn't bring up marriage if you don't

really, really hopes you do

byun baekhyun:

i hate him, but congrats to you, i guess

ugh he's just so sweet

takes you out EVERYWHERE, like picks you up at your place

always has a smile on his face when he's around you

asks you about your day and listens to carefully

holds your hand while driving

charms your mom with helping her on the kitchen, it's like a scene straight out of a movie

sings 24/7, so your house is never silent anymore (your neighbors hate you though)

has a whole way of talking that's for you and for you only

you can't trick me baekhyun, i know you must have at least one (1) flaw

kim jongdae:

sunshine boyfriend

let's you sleep in whenever you feel like it

clears some space on his wardrobe/drawers for your clothes and things

"jagi, can we cuddle?"

has so much fun playing with you, you're literally he's best friend

always places bets with you

lots of kisses on your cheek

randomly smiles to you because he knows it makes you happy to see him smile

likes to take you away for the weekend, just you and him

loyal af

park chanyeol:

the "it's okay, i got it" boyfriend

personal uber driver, takes you everywhere if you let him

really, reaaally stubborn

can't sit still, is always looking for something to do with you

"did you see they opened a new bowling place downtown?"

purposely leaves his things at your place

his house is way bigger than yours but he doesn't care

plays guitar while you cook dinner

kisses you everytime you feed him

loves when you sleep on top of him

do kyungsoo:

he's comfort embodied in a person

likes to have breakfast with you, it's like his favorite part of the day

bonds with your pet if you have one (and they love him)

saves new videos on youtube to watch it with you

is in charge of cooking, always

asks you to help him shave just because

gets excited whenever something good happens to you

is your number 01 supporter

loves when you cuddle closer to him in your sleep

shy forehead kisses whenever he can't find the words to express his feelings

kim jongin:

cutest, most caring boyfriend

respects you more than anything in this world

listens to you so carefully whenever you have something to say

is willing to fix some of his bad habits for you

needs constant reassurance that you love him, just because he loves you so much and can't stand the thought of you falling out of love

laughs so hard at your jokes, and they're not even that funny

pays for every meal but lets you pay for his coffee so you won't feel bad

helps you choose your outfits

loves when you play with his hair

wanna have a baby with you so bad

oh sehun:

gets offended whenever someone treats you badly

"why didn't you tell me?? i would've give them a piece of my mind"

smirks whenever he sees you wearing his clothes, he just loves it

calls you whenever he can't go see you

encourages you to go see your friends, especially when he can't be around

but let's be honest, he's attached to you by the hip

rolls his eyes whenever you baby him, but secretly loves it

stares at you dearly when you're talking to his hyungs or his family

lets you play with his fingers when you're bored or too shy to talk to people

dude is so in love it's actually sickening

[kpopimaginings]

Compromise - D.O (Kyungsoo)

The day you realised that it was always you initiating physical affection in your relationship was strange to say the least. You had been so happy with Kyungsoo until this revelation shattered the rose-tinted glasses, and doubt clouded your mind.

You made a conscious effort going forward to be less clingy with him and see if it was all in your head. Unfortunately, Kyungsoo didn't pick up the slack and there was just less skin-ship between you. Nothing else had really changed though, leaving you questioning both your logic and your relationship.

Kyungsoo was still inviting you out and planning dates, such as tonight when you found yourself over at his for dinner. When you first arrived, he had placed a gentle kiss on your cheek as you entered. This small gesture helped to calm your anxieties as your mind wondered through all the worse case scenarios.

The two of you began to talk as you followed him to the kitchen where he was finishing preparation for the meal. You exchanged stories of your days so far as usual until your boyfriends mood changed.

"I wasn't going to say anything until after we ate, but I think I need to now," Kyungsoo said, suddenly.

Immediately, the anxiety that had ebbed away returned.

"Are you still happy with me?" he asked.

"What?" you replied, a little incredulous at his question.

"You've changed, you've been really distant lately and I need to know if you still want to be with me," he explained.

For a moment, you froze, wanting nothing more in that moment than to hug him. "Of course I still want to be with you," you told him. "I just thought I was being too clingy and wanted to give you some space."

"Why do think that? Did I make you think that?"

"No," you answered, quickly. "Not exactly, I just- you don't really hug, and I was doing it a lot and I just thought, maybe... I was annoying you."

"You could never annoy me. I know that you just show your affection for me physically. I show mine by buying you things or cooking for you." He gestured at the food currently sat on the hob.

You nodded, knowing that Kyungsoo hadn't once made you actually feel unloved, despite the lack of skin-ship.

"We just have different love languages," he continued. "I know that can be hard sometimes, but we can make it work."

"Yeah," you agreed. "I'm sorry, I should have just spoken to you. You always make me feel loved, even if it isn't with hugs and kisses all the time."

"Good," Kyungsoo said with a little nod and a smile. "Now, come here, you need to make up for all those hugs I didn't get."

You happily shuffled towards him, securing your arms around his waist. "Don't let the dinner burn though," you muttered.

"I won't," he chuckled. There was a pause before he continued, "I'll make more of an effort with physical affection it if will help reassure you."

"You really don't have to."

"But I want to," he pulled out of the embrace and placed a quick kiss to your lips. "I love you, and sometimes that means compromising on things like love languages so that everyone feels happy and loved."

"I love you, too," you smiled at him, resting your hands on his shoulders.

"But now I really should check on dinner."

You laughed, and moved so that Kyungsoo could get back to the hob. All of a sudden you couldn't remember why you had gotten yourself into such a state before. Watching the man you loved carefully preparing food for you, you knew there would be no problem too big with him by your side.

NAVIGATION  |  EXO MASTERLIST

[yezuri]

Fake love, real feelings > capa para uso pessoal

📅 05/06/24

Capinha dos dias dos namorados

Inspiração em @trancyzp, desculpa meu amor eu esqueci de colocar na capa, mas logo eu mudo aqui com os créditos tá 🥺❤️‍🩹

Serase eu saí do ferrugem? Até que eu gostei dessa 🤔✨

[spacequokka]

Say My Name | 09

Pairing: Kyungsoo x Reader Genre: Fluff, Smut Rating: M Summary: After you've chosen them over your job, Kyungsoo makes sure you feel loved. Word Count: 4.4k Warnings: soft hard hours, dry humping, fingering, breast play, vaginal sex, editing at the last minute because I overslept

I listened to Rain and Moonlight while writing. Enjoy!

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Maybe you could have worded things better, but luckily Kyungsoo had been by your side to help you explain things to the guys. Once they understood that you weren’t moving out, they were quick to rush you with hugs and kisses, beyond grateful for the chance to try things out. A quick game of rock, paper, scissors declared Jongdae and Jongin as the cleanup crew while everyone else retired to the living room to watch whatever someone found on Netflix. As usual, you found yourself in a sandwich on the loveseat, this time Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

Minseok chose an action movie, insisting on a Jackie Chan classic. Rumble in the Bronx. The conversation was light as you all actually paid attention to the TV this time. Chanyeol tucked you against his side and relaxed allowing Baekhyun to cuddle into your other side. Before you knew it, the movie was over. Someone made a comment about beating someone else’s ass in Smash Bros, and controllers came out as the shit-talking intensified.

“Well, that’s my cue.” You peeled yourself off the loveseat, ignoring Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s pitiful pouts. “Gonna go shower while I can.”

You stopped by your room to pick out a change of clothes along with your essentials. The noise in the living room got louder by the time you made it to the bathroom. You were tugging your shirt over your head when you heard the door open and shut. Hands pulled at the shirt and you yelped when you saw Kyungsoo’s face inches from your own.

“Soo! What are you doing?” You held your shirt to your chest and he chuckled.

“A shower sounded good to me.” He held up his hands. “I cooked, remember? You moved faster than I could think to ask if you’d let me join you. I’ll behave, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Though you were a little self-conscious about it, you bit your lip and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Though, I planned to wash my hair so I might hog the water for a bit.”

He shrugged and began undressing. “It’s fine with me.”

You took a deep breath and forced yourself not to think about it. He didn’t care. He wasn’t looking at you like that. You turned the shower on then continued yanking off clothes. The second you were completely bare, you stepped in. The warm spray of water felt amazing on your tense neck and shoulders. You rolled your head slowly as you massaged every muscle you could reach.

Kyungsoo stepped in behind you. “Want me to try?”

You nodded, low-key grateful for the offer. He poured some of your shower gel into his hand and lathered up. His touch was nothing short of magical. You had to lean against the wall to keep your balance once you closed your eyes and just let him take over. You jerked when you felt yourself leaning too far and his hands flew to your hips to steady you. “Shit. Sorry.”

“Let’s wash up and get out.” He touched your cheek when you looked over your shoulder at him. You started with your hair, wetting it then adding shampoo while he grabbed a loofah. He washed his body while you gave your scalp a good scrub then rinsed the suds out. The silence between you while you washed was comforting, reassuring even. You wouldn’t mind showering with him in the future. Once you were sure the shampoo was out, you reached for the conditioner, but Kyungsoo gently pried it out of your hand. “Can I? Please, _____?”

Admittedly you were a little apprehensive about it. You hadn’t let anyone touch your hair in years, convinced no one would give it the same care and patience you did. You took great pride in your hair and to allow anyone else near it like that meant you trusted him. Did you trust Kyungsoo? You bit your lip then sighed. Of course you did. Despite your apprehension, the process went smoothly. He was patient and attentive to your instructions and even asked questions for clarity. It was a level of intimacy you’d never had with another person before. You were able to shut your brain off and simply enjoy the sensation of his fingertips massaging conditioner into your scalp as he hummed a song you couldn’t quite name.

Soon enough, you were out of the shower and helping each other dry off then getting dressed. He took care to help you get your hair in a towel, working as if he’d done it a thousand times before. He was the perfect gentleman, eyes and hands never straying too far. There was a tenderness in his actions you hadn’t felt until then. It made you feel warm and fuzzy inside, content and surprisingly at ease. Once you both brushed your teeth, he took your hand and led the way to his room.

“We have time to hang out before it gets too late.” He flicked the light switch on and the room was bathed in a soft mellow light. “I might do some light reading.”

“Because reading is better than staring at your phone?” You snickered as you climbed onto his bed. You’d washed his sheets and comforter plenty of times before but not once had you ever sat on it. It was incredibly soft, like sitting on a cloud. “Oh, wow.”

He smirked at you as he went around to the other side and pulled a book out of the drawer of the nightstand. “What? Did you expect me to sleep on a slab of concrete or something?”

You shook your head. “No. I knew it was a good bed, but this,” you pressed into the mattress and watched it slowly rise again, “this is heavenly.”

His cheeks lightly flushed with color as he shrugged. “Well, you’re welcome to sleep here whenever you want.” He kicked off his slippers and leaned against the headboard. “Anything of mine is yours.”

“I could never take advantage of you like that.” You flopped back onto the pillows and sighed. “My bed will do for now.”

He leaned over you with a frown. “How would that be taking advantage? I was the one that offered.”

“I know, but you’re getting nothing in return.” You looked away and swallowed hard before finishing with, “Isn’t a relationship about balance?” Seconds ticked by without a response. When you couldn’t stand the silence anymore you looked up at him and found him with a dopey grin on his face. “What?”

His hand crept across his lap to your cheek, where his thumb gently brushed against it. “This is balance. You’re giving up your comfort zone for me, for all of us. I think unrestricted access to the best bed in the building is fair trade.” He pressed his warm, soft lips to your brow and whispered, “Thank you.”

You didn’t know what to say to his tender gesture. His kiss created a ripple of goosebumps over your body. It was an odd feeling but not unwelcome. When he pulled away and picked up his book, you were tempted to follow and snuggle into his side. You were allowed to do that, right? Would he mind or would it be a distraction? You could easily get your phone and play some games or scroll through your socials—

“Come over here.” He wiggled his fingers and you smiled, barely containing a giggle. You were at his side in a second curled into him like he was a blanket with his arm around your shoulders, chin resting on top of your head as he looked at the book. “Ah, here it is.”

He got comfortable and started reading. His voice was a soft murmur as he pulled the story from the pages. His warmth seeped into you, and before you knew it, you were fighting sleep. He took a peek at you and chuckled.

“One sec,” he whispered reaching somewhere behind you. A warm, weighted blanket covered your body and he settled down again. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” His little smile was everything to you. As he continued the story, you adjusted your position and ended up resting a hand on his chest, just over his heart. Your ear was pressed against his chest and you heard his heartbeat clearly. It was a steady rhythm that was both soothing and reassuring. He pressed a kiss to your forehead just as your eyes closed for the night.

When Kyungsoo felt your body sag against him, he marked the page with his bookmark and closed it with a contented sigh. He’d never be able to fully express how relieved he was everything worked out. As he reached over and cut off the bedside lamp, he recalled the conversation they’d had about you before coming home. The conference call had been a pain to work into their schedule on top of securing privacy for everyone in their different locations.

Yet they’d made it work, just like they were sure to make this work with you.

He pulled the blanket over his legs and scooted in closer allowing you to rest your head closer to his neck where he brushed more kisses against your face. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of doing it. Not with the way you lit up and blushed. And to think, you thought he’d be okay with you moving out. Madness. Life without you isn’t really living.

His limbs relaxed as sleep started to set in and his mind returned to a past conversation with the guys.

“If I knew that taking her out of the house was allowed, she could have traveled with me.” Yixing’s voice had held a hint of irritation yet remained cordial. Kyungsoo admired him for having restraint given the situation.

Baekhyun scoffed. “She can’t leave the house for that long. And it was just one evening.”

“Even so, the rest of us weren’t aware it was allowed,” Jongin stressed. “It’s bad enough you get to go before us, but you’re also making up your own rules as you go along. What happened to keeping it professional outside of the apartment?”

“And sex on a yacht?” Chanyeol cut in. “How do we top that?”

“This isn’t a competition. It was a unique situation that happened to work out in my favor.” Junmyeon hadn’t bothered to hide the smugness.

“Bullshit!” Sehun coughed.

Kyungsoo couldn’t agree more. “A dress and shoes just happened to be lying around?”

“I couldn’t believe it either.” Jongdae stroked his chin as Baekhyun suppressed a laugh. “Almost like it fell from the sky.”

“You’re so full of it.” Sehun laughed and chaos ensued as they began yelling and pointing fingers at one another. At some point, Minseok remembered the purpose of their conference call prompting him to grab a pot and spatula. The loud clanging cut through the group’s discussion.

“We’ll discuss rules another time. Right now, we have a more urgent issue.” He paused to make sure everyone was listening before he continued. “If we plan to take things further with _, then we have to address her fears and concerns first. Naturally, job security is her first priority.”

“But we already swore to keep it between us.” Jongin pointed out.

“Doesn’t mean that she trusts us to keep our word,” Yixing spoke softly. “Or believe that things will stay between us. We could easily be overheard even right now.”

“Which means she’s constantly thinking of losing her job which also provides her a place to live.” Junmyeon sighed. “We need some way to ensure that even if the worst happens she’ll be taken care of. A backup job and housing.”

“Maybe even emergency funds?” Minseok volunteered with a snap of his fingers.

From there, they were on the same page, a team working together to come up with ways to make sure you wouldn’t have so much to overthink your pretty little head about. Of course, he’d seriously underestimated just how active your mind and anxieties were, but he was glad he got you to see reason in the end.

A soft sigh left your lips as you readjusted your head and he held you a little tighter. He really hoped you trusted them more now that you were taking a chance. Trust and communication would be of utmost importance to make things work with so many people involved.

He inhaled and the scent of your conditioner filled his senses. It was really nice to finally get a proper scent of it after being teased with fleeting whiffs as you pass by. Finally nice…to hold you like this…

In your humble opinion, Kyungsoo’s room was the best to wake up in. It didn’t directly face the rising sun, yet still allowed enough light in to get that soft early morning glow. As awareness slowly seeped in, you realized that you were completely wrapped up in Kyungsoo’s arms. You could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against your back and the warmth of his breath on your neck. You turned over to face him and he stirred slightly before opening his eyes to meet yours.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice husky with sleep.

“Morning,” you replied, smiling softly.

“I’d love to wake up like this more often.” He brushed his thumb over your cheek and you leaned into his touch. Your eyes locked and in that moment, you felt completely safe and secure in his embrace. You leaned in and he met you halfway, starting with a soft brush of his lips before gracing you with a gentle kiss. Once wasn’t enough. Feeling bold, you pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips. He didn’t say a word but his grin said enough. His hands settled on your waist as you went for another kiss. Steadying yourself with your hands on his chest, your lips connected again, this time lingering longer. His hand came to your cheek as he held you in place, opening his mouth a little to swipe his tongue across your bottom lip. You whimpered at the chill that bloomed over your skin and he chuckled. “Music to my ears, jagi.”

The way his words sounded so tender, so full of love, really rocked you to your core. It was hard to have restraint and stay guarded when he was under you being so honest and vulnerable with his affection and feelings. You couldn’t help the way you ducked your head, cheeks flaming, as you turned your attention to his jaw with little pecks that trailed to his neck. When your lips brushed over a spot just under his ear, he groaned softly and pushed his hips up against your core. His reaction surprised you while stoking the growing fire between your bodies. Curious, you did it again and followed with a gentle nip. His hands squeezed your waist, holding you firmly in place as his hips bucked up again.

He exhaled with a shudder. “Please. Just a little harder.” His voice was husky and firm. When your teeth scrapped his skin again, he pushed his neck towards you, giving you ample room to fulfill his request. This time, you suckled as your hands moved to his shoulders while your hips pressed as hard as you could against his growing erection. He hissed then outright moaned, hands moving to cup your ass as he pushed up against you. “Yeah, jagi, just like that.”

You kept at it, testing new places across his neck and collarbone to see if you could get more of those sweet sounds. When you started to move down his chest, he sat up and pulled you into another kiss, this one much more heated. His teeth caught your lip before his tongue soothed the bite. He didn’t need to ask for permission for more. You immediately let him in, surrendering control so he could explore at his leisure. His kisses were a mixture of his shyness and passion, brushing across your lips before applying pressure and nudging your lips apart, tongue stroking yours then teasing the roof of your mouth. Whenever your thighs twitched because he’d found the right spot, he’d push up against your heat and moan, filling your head with his desire. Your arms went around his neck as his hands found your waist again, both of you pushing against each other seeking friction.

He pulled away slowly with an audible smack and looked into your eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever kissed someone like this.” His voice was just barely above a whisper and filled with wonder. His eyebrows wrinkled. “And I don’t want to try it with anyone else either.” His gaze dropped to your lips. “I know it wouldn’t be the same.”

“Kyungsoo—”

He inhaled sharply, grip tightening as he looked at you startled. “S-say it again. Say my name like that again, jagi.”

You leaned in and kissed him again. “Kyungsoo, please. Can we—” You couldn’t bring yourself to get the words out, to ask for what you both wanted. A whine escaped your lips before you squeezed him with your thighs, hoping he’d get the hint. You’d gotten used to them taking the lead yet here he was letting you lead the way. “Please.”

His chuckle was low and throaty making his chest rumble against yours. “Please, what?” He nudged your head to the side and skimmed his lips along your throat to your shoulder. “I need to hear you say it.”

Your cheeks burned, and you closed your eyes. “Don’t tease me. You know what I’m trying to say.” You lowered your voice to a whisper. “I want it.”

“Hm,” he looked up as if he were thinking. “Close but not good enough.” He fell back onto his pillows and pulled you with him then rolled both of you onto your sides. His kiss was deeper as his hand found your waist, fingers exploring your heated skin. “Tell me what it is you want, jagi. I’ll give it to you if you just tell me.”

Frustration threatened to consume you. You put a leg over his hip and pulled him closer, moaning softly at the feel of him pressed against where you wanted him. “Need you here,” you whispered against his lips with a pointed roll of your hips. “Wanna feel you inside me. Please?”

He smiled as the hand on your waist skirted over your silk sleep shorts down to your thigh. “Inside? Are you sure?” He pushed the fabric out of the way and his fingertips brushed over your panties. “Mmm, she’s soaking through your clothes, jagi.” His lips returned to your neck. “You want me to take care of you?”

“Yes, please.” You pressed down against his fingers, crying out when he pushed your panties to the side and touched your slit.

“Shit,” he hissed and pulled away. “You need to take this off.” He tugged at your shorts. You nodded and lifted your hips to let him pull your shorts and panties down your legs. “All of it.” No sooner than you’d tossed the garments away, his hands were pulling at your shirt and then unclipping your bra. Cool air hit your nipples and you shuddered when his warm hands cupped your breasts. “Finally.” He brushed soft kisses over your chest before drawing a nipple into his mouth. His moan went straight to your core, making you clench and grab his hair.

“Oh, fuck—Soo—please!”

He lapped and sucked, twisted and pinched until he could barely keep you pinned to the bed. He casually trailed his hands down your body until one rested on your thigh as the other touched between your legs. “So messy.” His fingers smeared slick over your pussy before two parted your folds and went in, one then two. “So beautiful.”

You pulled at his shirt. “Off. I wanna see you too.” You finished with a pout and he smiled.

“Of course, my love.” He tugged his shirt off then laid beside you to kick his boxers off. He was rock hard, pressed against your thigh and so very close to where you wanted him most. You teased the tip of his cock with your fingers before wrapping your palm around it. “Mmm, love the feel of you.” He caught your lips in another bruising kiss as his hips started to move. His hand wrapped around yours and he guided your hand up and down the shaft, applying pressure around the head making him moan sweetly into your mouth. He pulled away and did the same with your hands. “Next time.”

You bit your lip and looked up at him through your eyelashes. “Will you put it in now?”

He slipped one hand under your neck. “Yes.” He pulled a condom from under your pillow and handed it to you. “Don’t question it. Baekhyun’s idea.” You laughed as you tore open the package and rolled it on for him. His other hand went under your knee and pulled it over his hip allowing his cock to glide across your sticky folds. He held his lip between his teeth as he rolled his hips, captivated by the way the tip would slide over your entrance making you moan a little louder than before.

“You’re teasing!” You groaned and pushed his shoulders. He rolled over onto his back as you positioned yourself on top, eagerly reaching behind you for his cock and lining it up. You had to swirl your hips a few times but once you felt pressure in the right spot, you pressed down with a delighted moan. It wouldn’t go in right away so you lifted up and tried again, getting a few more inches in.

“Please stop squeezing!” His eyes were screwed shut with a death grip on your waist. “J-just relax and let gravity do the rest.” You didn’t realize you were tensing up. Sure enough, once you took a deep breath and relaxed the fit was much smoother. “Ohhh, fuck.”

You put your hands on his chest, lightly rubbing his nipples. “Do you need a minute?”

He nodded. “Oh yeah. Just—yeah a minute.”

“Okay, no rush.” You smiled and leaned down to kiss him. He welcomed the distraction, hands cupping your face as pecks turned into deeper kisses with playful nips and teasing tongues. When your fingers found his hair again, he rolled his hips up into you. You had to reposition your hands just above his shoulders to keep your balance. “Soo!”

“Don’t fall over.” He muttered before thrusting up into you again. “So good.” You braced yourself and met his next thrust. The gentle grind sped up until you had a steady, comfortable rhythm. “Slow down, jagi.” He kissed you gently. “I’m not going anywhere. Take your time.”

“But I wanna cum. Want you deep.” You could barely think with the way your body was lighting up with pleasure. “Don’t wanna wait.”

“You can do it.” His hands cupped your breasts again, fingers toying with your nipples. “Keep the pace. Take it slow.”

You covered his hands with your own and whimpered, dropping down onto his dick harder. He flinched, squeezing your breasts. The feeling shot through you, making your pussy clench. “Fuck. I need—I need more. Please, Kyungsoo.”

He shifted his body, propping his feet up on the bed. “Then take it, jagi. Take what you need.” One of his hands grabbed a handful of your hair and pulled, arching your back. He sped up the pace, pounding up into you with long, deep thrusts that made you shake and cry out. Mindlessly, you followed his lead, riding him hard and meeting his hips with loud claps of skin. Your head went empty, focused on his grunts and moans and occasionally swirling your hips. “Almost there?”

You nodded, head jerking. “So close, so close.”

“Give me your hands.” He let go of you and held his palms up. You laced your fingers with his. “Okay, now pull your knees up and squat. Yes, good girl. Use the bed to bounce—fuck!”

You couldn’t even moan. He went impossibly deep, hitting that spot right on with each thrust. It felt so good, turning your legs to jelly the closer you got to orgasm. He watched you closely and the second you started to twitch, he quickly rolled both of you over onto your sides again, lifted up your leg, and pounded you through it. Your arms were around his shoulders as you babbled his name mixed with curses and moans right into his ear. You felt a tremor go through him and he sped up, working with shallow thrusts until he pushed in deep and let go. His embrace was tight as he buried his face in your neck, hips surging gently until he slowed to a stop and let out a deep breath.

His eyes opened slowly and he looked at you. “How do you feel? Did I hurt you?”

You shook your head with a wide smile. “I feel amazing. Light as a cloud. You?”

He pressed his forehead against yours and closed his eyes again. “I feel…complete. I can understand why they value the intimacy so much. I get to see another side of you and it’s exclusive to us. No one else gets to see you fall apart like that.” He pressed another kiss to your skin. “Makes me feel special.”

“You’ve always been special to me.” You leaned back. “You always will be.”

He looked into your eyes for a few seconds. “I love you. I hope you don’t think it’s too soon, but I’ve never been this sure about someone. I know I love you and I know it’d take a hell of a lot to change that.”

You swallowed hard and nodded. “You’re right. Everything you said last night? It was more than just a job, and I love seeing your reactions to the personal touches. I love doing anything that makes you all happy.” You looked away, unable to take the full weight of his gaze. “And I know it wouldn’t be the same with another group…because this is my home. I love you, too.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.” He kissed you, slow and gentle, stopping for air only to dive right back in. “So sweet to us. Thank you.”

Previous | Masterlist | Next

[marshmallow-phd]

A Manor of Shadow and Blood

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

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

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Am I a suitable partner?" 

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

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

"It's rude not to share, Junmyeon.”

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

No, not a mirror. There was no reflection. 

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

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

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

*****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not a human. 

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

Crack. 

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

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

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

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

"Baekhyun," Junmyeon gasped. 

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

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

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

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

"She could have been killed!" 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A choice? He was giving you a choice?

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

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

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

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

"I think… I think I want to stay."

*****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Should I go steal a penny from Sehun?" 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minsoek shrugged. "This manor is bigger." 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What is this place?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yixing.” 

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

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

"I need to speak with you." 

"Fine." None of you moved. 

Sehun looked at you with a pointed glare.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You danced with an invisible partner in the fashion that your grandfather had taught you as a small child. It was more intimate than the choreographed dances currently popularized. You had always imagined your first ball like this, instead of the disappointment you really experienced. You had pictured a boy you didn’t know catching your eye. As the music was struck up, he laid a hand on your waist.

Just like now. 

Hm. Your imagination was running wild, even pretending the weight of a palm was there on your lower back. And now in your lifted left hand. 

No. That wasn’t your imagination. 

Your eyes snapped open. 

Jongin had taken the place of your imagined partner. He smiled down at you with a feline smirk as his hands tightened around you, refusing to let you slip away. There was no choice in leaving this musicless dance. You had stopped humming but he continued to whirl you around the marble floor. He controlled the dance, in charge of every step. He led with an expertise he shouldn’t have possessed–if he were a man of this age. 

In one final move, he slipped his arm fully around your waist, pulling you so close that no room remained between you. Without breaking the spin, he lifted you from the floor as if you were no more than a kitten and whirled you around like the heroine from your favorite novel.

When the spin came to a close, he set you back on your feet, but didn’t let go. Your lungs heaved from the exercise–and from the way your bodies pressed together. Each rise of your chest brought you even closer to Jongin. He kept your gaze like a stablehand trying to calm a wild horse. His right hand slipped from your fingers, softly tracing the delicate inside of your arm. The touch left behind a fire you couldn’t explain. A cold, simmering fire.

He cupped your jaw as his eyes drifted down to your lips. This was a different reaction to Yixing’s wandering gaze. Not panic, but something similar. 

Jongin held you in place as he leaned down, his lips pressing gently into the corner of yours. The thin breath in your lungs hitched. He lifted his lips only to find a new patch of skin. The delicate skin covering your pulse. Every muscle in your body froze. He kissed the skin softly. Surely, he could feel the race of your blood. 

“Whenever you need a partner,” he said in a hush against your neck, “just whisper my name.”

And then, he was gone. 

You stared off at the empty path left behind Jongin. The sheer hubris.

His name lingered on your lips, wondering if he would really come back like he said. But you kept the whisper inside and left the ballroom just the same. 

[exouniverse]

Not by Happenstance

Pairing: kyungsoo x gn reader

Genre: fluff, angst, established relationship

Warnings: none, but if you find any please let me know.

Summary: Kyungsoo wakes up feeling lonely on his birthday, knowing you were not coming back on time, but well-intentioned friends whisk him away for a day full of surprises. Although the most important one was patiently waiting for him back home.

Word count: 3K+

A/N: I just had to add the angsty feelings, but I hope it stayed balanced. I had the idea after hearing Kyungsoo do the cover of Falling Like the Stars by James Arthur. Another happy late birthday, Kyungsoo!

MASTERLIST | MOODBOARD

The alarm went off, but while Kyungsoo would usually wake up right then and start off his day, this time he remained curled on his side, sighing as he burrowed deeper under the covers.

Gentle rays of sunlight touched his face, yet he kept his eyes closed as the alarm was still going off, wishing for a few more minutes of sleep. It wasn’t exhaustion weighing on him, but an intrusive longing for your warm embrace and smiles that greeted him constantly.

Soo, I’m so sorry. I’m afraid I won’t even make it on time for your birthday.

Your words kept echoing in his head. It’s not like he’s obsessed with birthday celebrations, but you’ve been away for so long already that the holidays were too monotonous for him.

He actually hates being too clingy—he really tries not to be—and he understands more than anyone how patient and considerate you have been before waiting for him when he is the one away. Kyungsoo groaned at his self-pity thoughts, grabbing his phone from the counter to finally turn the alarm off.

It’s his birthday, and while you couldn’t be there quite yet, your return would be all the sweeter for waiting. Belated birthday celebrations are fun too; it’s not the end of the world not having you there on his specific special day.

But he could still see you in every corner of his house. He smiled, noticing your coat and scarf still hanging inside his closet. You never seem to get those back or end up replacing them with other pieces of clothing as the seasons change.

He jumped out of bed, fixed on starting his day right, and tried to ignore his phone, which was already flashing with text notifications from Chanyeol. It had started at midnight, but he had already turned on the do not disturb setting. Chanyeol’s teasing would not be welcomed during his peaceful morning, even though a tinge of curiosity piqued within him to know what his texts could be about.

After showering, Kyungsoo's face lit up with a smile as his lovely dogs, Hoochoo and Meokmul, greeted him upon stepping out of his room with his hair still damp. He kneeled to accept sloppy dog kisses; their affectionate natures never failed to lift his mood. He filled their bowls with fresh water and food, tending to their needs before heading to the kitchen to prepare his own breakfast.

Kyungsoo chuckled softly when he saw your favorite snacks and ramyeon in the cupboards, still untouched. He’d stocked up eagerly for your planned week together, thinking you were coming on the sixth.

It dawned on him why he had been feeling so blue these past few days, since he would be busy with work after his birthday and not be able to see you regularly again.

With a shake of his head, he began to prepare his breakfast. The fresh coffee aroma filled the kitchen, complementing the eggs he was frying along with some savory kimchi. Cooking made him happy; it would’ve been better if someone else were there to share the food with, but so far he was content with how his day was going.

He set his toasts and kimchi eggs, accompanied by some leftover japchae and soy bean sprout soup. As he was about to fill his cup with coffee, the doorbell rang, leaving him puzzled since he was not waiting for anyone to come.

“Kyungsoo-yah! Let me in.” Chanyeol’s voice came through the speaker, and the dogs started barking excitedly.

He wondered if Chanyeol somehow managed to hack his video doorbell and speak through it because he had ignored his texts. Silly Kyungsoo, he knew that Chanyeol wouldn’t ever be clever enough to pull that off. Chanyeol would obviously resort to more annoying methods, like showing up at his house unannounced.

Kyungsoo hesitated, but his friend’s voice kept coming through along with the ring of the doorbell. He made his way to the entrance but only talked to Chanyeol through the speaker. “Why are you here, Chanyeol?”

“Happy birthday, Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol said it in a singsong.

Kyungsoo chuckled. “Thank you, bye!” he joked.

Chanyeol kept ringing to annoy Kyungsoo even more and get him to let him in, but Kyungsoo had opened just at the same time that he rang, so Chanyeol didn’t notice at first. “You’re going to break it; just come in,” Kyungsoo uttered.

“Are you ready?” Chanyeol entered, almost jumping out of his shoes and going straight to the kitchen. He greeted the cheerful little dogs on his way, who were the only ones who seemed truly happy to see him. “Smells pretty nice in here.”

Kyungsoo rushed to close the door and find Chanyeol before he could take anything from your snacks since he also loves the same types of bean chips. Luckily, he was only taking a look at the toasts for his breakfast. “Ready for what?” Kyungsoo finished pouring some coffee into his cup. “Want some breakfast?” he asked as he saw him looking for a bowl.

“I could eat some,” Chanyeol mumbled. “I brought you seaweed soup; my mom made some for you.” He offered a warm smile, winning one back from the lonely birthday boy in front of him.

The container was small but seemed spacious enough to have soup for both of them, so Kyungsoo grabbed two medium-sized bowls from the storage. “Go ahead and eat what’s already served. I can make some more toasts for me.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “I can make toasts, eat your breakfast. I’ll serve the soup; it’s yours. I won’t eat any.”

Kyungsoo settled down at the table with his food and coffee, amused by his friend’s response. From a distance, he could sense the wheels turning in Chanyeol’s mind; whatever scheme he had planned, Kyungsoo was actually grateful for his taller friend’s happy virus energy to accompany him during the day.

Chanyeol sat in front of Kyungsoo, flashing him a small, mischievous smile before he dug into the delightful breakfast. Kyungsoo missed that gesture as he stopped Meokmul from climbing onto his lap.

As they ate and chatted, Kyungsoo seemed more and more at ease. Chanyeol caught him cracking a genuine grin at one of his silly jokes. “There’s that smile!” He teased. “Now finish that toast—we’ve got a full day ahead of us.”

Kyungsoo squinted at him suspiciously. “You still haven’t told me what you’ve got planned.”

The laugh that escaped Chanyeol was not at all convincing for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo felt uneasy about Chanyeol's hidden secret, as he didn't want to be left in the dark. However, his patience hadn’t yet run out, so he decided to wait just long enough to get at least a clue before Chanyeol could drag him out of his house.

“You just trust me; you’re gonna love it.” Chanyeol stood up and took Kyungsoo’s emptied dishes. “I’ll clean this; you go put on a coat or something.”

Kyungsoo was hesitant at first, but he made sure to watch from afar for any hint that his friend could let slip while he was busy with the dishes.

His phone was still flashing with texts from his friends, so he checked all of their messages. He laughed silently as he saw the insistent ones from Chanyeol to let him in, as well as the funny birthday wish at midnight. His smile grew as he saw texts from fellow actors and idols, but his heart fluttered once he saw yours.

You: Happy birthday 🥳😘 wishing you all the fun and love you deserve on this day. I know I’m away, but I’ll be with you in spirit no matter what you do 😌 you are in my heart always. I love you so much, see you in a bit 😉🫰

Kyungsoo glanced up, a tenderness in his look that only the sun could witness. Your words warmed him up even more than the cozy clothes that he changed into, anticipating any activity that his friend could have planned.

Thrilled, he made his way back to the kitchen. He had almost forgotten about his friend’s suspicion, but his whispering on the phone served as a reminder. “What was that?” Kyungsoo asked, “are we meeting someone? Why—“

“Kyungsoo! Why are you—“ Chanyeol was a little startled because of his sneaky friend. “Hey, just wait there,” he said as he ended the mysterious call. “Baek will join us, and that’s all I’ll say.” He chuckled tauntingly.

So the two menaces were accompanying him. Kyungsoo just laughed softly, letting things flow their course. For a second, he considered texting Junmyeon back on his offer for lunch, but somehow, Chanyeol’s plans seemed interesting.

It was satisfying to see the white blanket of snow covering the streets while the sun battled to defrost the glistening icicles on top of the bare tree branches. At least the weather was nice and managed to cheer him up even more, somehow matching his friends antics and the eagerness of their dogs.

The park came into view as they drove along the bridge, and Kyungsoo smiled, knowing that Chanyeol was taking them to a park for their dogs to have some fun too. He will take care of making a snowman out of Baekhyun as payback for all the teasing he’s been doing during the car ride.

The dogs were eager to get out of the car once they managed to get a spot in the parking lot. Baekhyun’s corgi, Mongryong, even let out a joyous howl, asking to be let out.

Kyungsoo’s mood lifted even further with their enthusiasm. The park wasn’t crowded since it was quite early, so he released their leashes, giving the dogs permission to romp.

After some time playing with their pets, Kyungsoo heard a notification ding. He briefly excused himself for a little privacy, as he wished it was you, but it had been a message from Woobin.

“Hey, birthday boy!” Baekhyun’s voice distracted him, but he looked back at his phone to answer his hyung’s message.

He opened your text again, intending to reply when you were back online. Unfortunately, despite your lovely birthday wishes, you still didn’t seem to be around. He decided to simply send his reply for you to check later, along with some pictures of the dogs playing with his friends.

Soo: Thank you baby! ❤️😊 you won’t believe how your wishes came true 😆Yeol and Baek dragged me out to Seoul Forest with our pups. I’m having fun tho

Baekhyun playfully shook Kyungsoo’s shoulders, trying to make him go back. “Come, Soo! Don’t get lost, little penguin.”

Kyungsoo turned to level him with his most lethal glare. Though not the tallest among them, Kyungsoo possessed a presence that commanded respect, making Baekhyun shrink back instinctively and realize it was time to flee. Kyungsoo ran around trying to catch him to finally turn him into a snowman.

The dogs followed them, with Chanyeol on tow, trying to make them all stop since snow was starting to fall quite heavily. Baekhyun stopped first, making Kyungsoo bump into him. Kyungsoo was breathless from running and laughing, but he managed to get Baekhyun on the ground.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo moved the snow around them, making snow angels as Chanyeol laughed. “Guys! Look up; we might need to go find shelter or go back—“ The ringing of his phone stopped him.

Chanyeol looked at the caller’s name and excused himself for a minute. He was almost whispering to the person on the other end, but Kyungsoo managed to listen to one sentence before Chanyeol walked farther away. “We’re going now then!”

Kyungsoo was truly enjoying Chanyeol’s plans, but he was too curious about who he was talking to on the phone so much. He unmistakably guessed it was Baekhyun earlier, but he is now right in front of him, playing along with their dogs.

The flakes started to whirl downward in swift blizzards, making the wind pick up pitch. They knew there was no stopping the snowstorm, so Chanyeol called out that it was time to get back home and stay safe before it would be too dangerous to drive.

Surely enough, after a quick stop at Baekhyun’s house, traffic began to slow down as it became harder to mobilize because of the snowfall.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay out there?” Kyungsoo asked before he got out of Chanyeol’s car. “You can stay until it’s clear.”

Chanyeol managed to contain his laugh and only pulled off a warm smile at his friend. “Nah, I’ll be okay. And perhaps, you know how much I love your dogs but the allergies might kick in and I need my meds.”

Kyungsoo nodded, understanding. They could also go and buy some, but it did seem like there was no stopping the snowstorm, and Chanyeol would be a lot safer in his own house.

“Hope I managed to lift your spirits for a bit. Y/N will come back soon; cheer up!” He winked and put his thumb up.

Kyungsoo seemed to not catch the clue, but as they reached his apartment, his dogs had a surge of energy. Hoochoo sniffed below the door while Meokmul barked up at him, as if trying to let him know something.

He only grew worried, thinking they were hungry because he hadn’t taken enough treats to the park, so he hurriedly entered his house as the dogs pulled on their leashes. He swiftly removed their gear as he hung his winter coat and beanie to leave them to dry.

The dogs kept barking and whimpering, but it took on a happy tone; soft shushing and whispers accompanied them, along with Kyungsoo’s hopeful racing heartbeat.

You were back.

You were here.

Kyungsoo stared in awe, stopping for a second to check if it could be his hopeful mind playing tricks on him. But as his watery eyes focused and took you all in, his lips curled into the widest of smiles.

He walked over slowly, taken by a rush of emotions. Your heart almost broke at the sight, but he reassured you that he was okay, chuckling between a couple of sobs.

The embrace didn’t take you by surprise, but he almost made you both fall to the ground. In that perfect moment, with you cradled safely in his arms, Kyungsoo found he had no words. All the lonely nights spent yearning for this very feeling evaporated as a warm and overwhelming emotion rose within his chest.

He buried his face deeper into your comforting scent, his fingers clinging onto you with a tighter hold than intended, but you made no attempt to break free from his trembling embrace. Your own hands stroked his back tenderly, soothingly, as if to say, “I'm here; it's really me. I've returned to you.”

After what felt like an eternity, Kyungsoo finally found the strength to pull back, his glistening eyes hungrily scanning your face, re-memorizing each cherished feature. His lips parted, but his thoughts eluded him; the snowstorm outside served as an illustration of the swirling emotions of gratitude, disbelief, and joy within him.

Sensing his struggle, you graced him with a tender yet radiant smile, one hand rising to cradle his cheek. "I've missed you too," you breathed, the simple words conveying so much.

At the sound of your voice, Kyungsoo's hesitancy crumbled, and he claimed your lips in a kiss that poured forth every unspoken emotion.

Breathless, you parted, but hesitant small kisses lingered upon your lips. You laughed as you gently kissed his chin, tracing over his lovely beauty marks, while Hoochoo playfully tugged at your pants.

“How are you here?” He finally asked, taking your hand and leading you to the sofa, where you cuddled with the two adorable poodles.

You continued to laugh, and he cupped your cheeks. His hands felt a little cold, so you covered them with yours. He lovingly pushed your cheeks up and down, as if he were still trying to convince himself that you were really there. His five senses were now aware of your return, but it still felt like a dream in his heart. It was only when he felt your fingertips dry a couple of tears that he fully assimilated your presence.

“I might need a couple or more cups of coffee to stay awake, but I managed to come back sooner.”

He pulled off a shy smile. “Oh, baby. You didn’t have to…”

You still felt his hands being cold, so you softly grabbed both of them and tried to wrap them in your warm ones. “No, I needed to. I wanted your birthday to be perfect.” You kissed each of his hands. “I wish you could’ve gone to all the places I had in mind for you and your friends, but the snow was pretty heavy.”

Kyungsoo shook his head, trying to comprehend your words. “Wait, wait… you planned-you asked Chanyeol to come and all—“

“Yes, kinda! He was visiting you, so I asked him if he could help, and he accepted quite easily.”

He gazed at you, filled with wonder and affection. “So Junmyeon hyung’s lunch invite, and Minseok hyung wishing we could’ve gone bowling, and Jongdae saying he’d stopped by to bring me a gift—“

“And all of the people who sent you any text other than to just wish you a happy birthday. I was planning on throwing you a small party when you came home, but the snowstorm happened and everyone got stuck, so I had to cancel.”

“Wow! How? Did you know you’re amazing?” He chuckled and tenderly kissed your jaw. “I think this is better though. Having you back and everyone else here… you would have been distracting.”

Curling into your embrace, he rested his head on your chest, listening to the sweet sound of your heartbeat. The furry little ones nestled around the two of you, sighing contentedly.

“This is all I need. Just being with you… you were my birthday wish.” Smiling softly, he tilted his face up for a tender kiss. At last, all he yearned for was no longer far away from him. His smiles were easier to pull off now that he got you back just in time.

[sooinbloom]

Wedding Dress

pairing: kyungsoo x you genre: angst, fluff, lost love, slight smut word count: 3,619 description: Kyungsoo has one last chance to prove his love for you, and it just so happens to be on your wedding day to a man that you don’t love. warnings: mentions of domestic/relationship abuse and violence, minors DNI author’s note: hello dear reader. this is another one shot that was collecting dust in my drafts. This is heavily inspired off of the Grey’s Anatomy Jackson x April arc where Jackson confesses his love to April at her wedding to Matthew. I also had, “Wedding Dress” by Taeyang playing while I wrote this. Those two elements came together to make this fic. There are mentions of abuse, please proceed with caution if this is a sensitive subject for you. Thank you for your likes, reblogs and shares! I appreciate it more than you know. Dividers by @saradika-graphics , photo is not mine.

- Aria

It felt like 100 years had passed since you said goodbye to him. It felt like longer, but Kyungsoo knew he could exaggerate details when it came to you and living life without you. He remembers the moment you said goodbye, it was confusing but also made so much sense.

He failed you.

On the night of your breakup, you told him everything that was on your mind and he hated it. You felt that the relationship was going in circles in an endless guessing game of back and forth. Up and down. The endless questions that embedded themselves in your mind without any answers. Feeling abandoned, unimportant, the list started to accumulate. It felt like you were in a relationship with a completely different person than you had met and fallen in love with your first year of university.

 To be clear, it wasn’t that Kyungsoo didn’t love you or care about you. He did. He adored you. Ever since the moment you met in ECON 101 in fact. It was such a specific place to meet someone. A lecture hall full of people and the meet-cute set up was something out of a movie. Kyungsoo saw you from across the room and could not take his eyes off you. He just didn’t account for the fact that there was a wall in front of him that he didn’t notice until he walked right into it. While stumbling to the floor of the lecture hall, you had a laugh and helped him up.

Despite the embarrassment of your first meeting and a few awkward run ins at the university library, you and Kyungsoo became study partners. This continued for at least half of the academic year and you began to dance around the fast that you had feelings for each other. At the same time, you were grateful for the budding friendship at least. What started as something very innocent turned into something else entirely one night in his dorm room.

After an uneventful evening of studying and soft conversation over cups of coffee, the young and not-so-confident Kyungsoo took a risk and kissed you. The kiss was unexpected, hungry, and so needed to break the tension that built for months between the two of you. Something between you two awakened. Love began to bloom. He became yours, a position he thought was irrevocable. He got comfortable at the notion of you and not growing with you.

Somewhere in between Kyungsoo finishing law school and you branching off to go to culinary school, the relationship fell flat. Then crashed. Then burned. Ashes of your memories together were all that remained mixed in with every should’ve, could’ve, would’ve that existed in Kyungsoo’s mind.

Kyungsoo had an inkling your parents were relieved; he was not exactly the guy that they envisioned for you. You were not a rich girl, but your family was well off and expected you to marry a social status above you. Ridiculous? Yes. Characteristic of you? Not in the slightest. That didn’t necessarily matter to your parents, they thought they knew what was best for you, emphasis on thought. Every single day regret lived in Kyungsoo as he watched you date some idiot named Ren. Your parents had set you up with him not even a month after yours and Kyungsoo’s breakup, despite your protests of wanting to be single and focus on your career. What kind of name was Ren anyway?

Ren had money, nice cars, and a fancy job at his father’s brokerage. That meant nothing to Kyungsoo, he knew Ren would never care for and love you the way he did, even though he did not fully show you the love you absolutely deserved. Kyungsoo was grappling with the fact that Ren was marrying the love of his life, the one that got away.

Now, Kyungsoo had an hour.

An hour to stop an entire wedding.

Kyungsoo's friends tried to talk him out of his plan to stop the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, but he could not acknowledge logic over love. Chanyeol had spent countless hours on the stool next to Kyungsoo at their favorite bar, hours after the law firm closed and Kyungsoo was four beers deep in wallowing over you. He would ask Kyungsoo over and over if this is what he really wanted to do. Chanyeol also knew once something was in his best friend’s line of sight, there was no changing his mind. It was as counter productive as mixing oil and water trying to reason with Kyungsoo at this point in his decision making.

On paper, Ren was a great guy. Kyungsoo, being a prosecutor, knew there were many men that looked good on paper and were absolute monsters in reality, behind closed doors of course. The realization that his suspicions were correct came in the form of your friends telling Kyungsoo the truth about your relationship with Ren.

 One by one, friend by friend, the truth came together. Their stories matched and didn’t leave out a single detail, as difficult as the details were to stomach. Ren was a millionaire, sure. There was a secret he was hiding from the world. He was a man with little patience and a temper. His family did their utmost to hide the fact that he battered every woman he dated, including you.

What you did not know was that Kyungsoo knew.

The first time Ren laid his hands on you, you were terrified that your friends would tell Kyungsoo. They knew that it was not easy to explain the reasons why you were black and blue. The words seemed as generic as a PR statement, that you didn’t think you would ever be in this position, he didn’t mean it, any excuse to make Ren look innocent though blood was on his hands.

Your friends explained to Kyungsoo that you made them swear not to say anything to anyone. Fortunately, the friend group you had cared enough about you to not even listen to your requests. Each request was futile, ignored. If they kept quiet, Ren would end up killing you. They did what they could, but it was not enough to get you away from your abuser. The cycle was embedded into your brain, became routine, and felt impossible to escape.

The violence against you continued and your friends felt no choice but to tell Kyungsoo a few weeks before the wedding that it wasn’t getting any better. Kyungsoo did what he did best and gathered evidence. It was the only thing that silenced the screaming voice inside of his head to throw caution to the wind and erase Ren from existence. Kyungsoo spent most of his time plotting how to get you away from Ren. The only solution was to crash the wedding and get you to run away with him.

He had to give you a grand gesture, he had to save you.

Kyungsoo anxiously adjusted his cuff links, smoothed his neatly combed hair, and adjusted his lapel one more time. Taking a breath, he rehearsed his speech over and over in his head to make sure not one word was missing. Every second counted, every word held weight. He just hoped they would tip the scales in his favor.

On the drive to the wedding venue, Kyungsoo listened to songs that reminded him of you. He hummed along as his heart beat out of his chest. He knew he was out of his mind, but he did not care. There was still a chance that you would say no. Turn away. It was a chance he was willing to take if it meant you were away from the monster you were set to marry. If you were in his arms again you would only know love and nothing else.

God, he needed this to work… As outrageous as the plan was. There was no backup or do-overs. You were on the line, and needed to know you were everything to him.

Meanwhile, you were surrounded by people poking and prodding at you, getting your hair and makeup done for the biggest day of your life. Everyone around her was smiling, happy and emotional. You couldn't feel anything. Your heart was not with Ren at all. Your heart belonged to Kyungsoo. Even though the breakup felt like it happened so long ago, you constantly compared the two men.

Ren was initially a rebound that was carefully set up by your parents, Kyungsoo was the right person at the wrong time. You knew that the moment you said, "I Do", your chances with Kyungsoo would be gone. The breakup was so juvenile, the reasons were stupid. You could have fought harder, he should have put in more effort. You both would have been happy if you just got over yourselves and invested more time together to grow and fall deeper in love. In your point of view, the problem with Kyungsoo was that he did not show affection often and his work was a priority. Being on track to becoming a successful prosecutor at the time had its pros and cons, the cons being a very lonely girlfriend who desperately wanted to be your wife and craved her lover’s attention. If only you would have seen how your life would’ve turned out before breaking up with him, you never would have done it.

You hear your name being called. It snaps you out of your thoughts of Kyungsoo. You turn to see your mother with watery eyes.

"My baby, why aren't you smiling? This is the best day of your life!"

"So you think," you mumble as the makeup artist finishes your face. So far, you had done an excellent job at hiding the black eye that Ren gave you a couple of nights ago. 

"Baby, you are about to be set for life. What did I tell you about a man like Ren?"

"Keep my mouth shut, turn my cheek and endure." you whisper fearfully, "Kyungsoo would never do this to me."

"Ah. That Kyungsoo! And where is he now?"

"Enough, mother! Either you keep quiet or I will throw you out." you growl.

You walk over and put your wedding dress on, getting good photos for the wedding album. No one dared to question the healing bruise on your side, you knew that if you lied enough about clumsy injuries that no one would ask anymore.

Ren had initially presented himself as a good guy. He came from old money and was impressed by your skills as a baker. You owned a cafe downtown that Kyungsoo always encouraged you to open. If it weren't for him, you would not be as successful as you are now. Ren didn’t know your former lover was the reason you opened your bakery, that his loving encouragement rang in your ears any time you hit a milestone or even unlocked the doors in the morning.

Once the honeymoon phase with Ren ended the beatings started. They were violent, endless at times. It didn't matter what set Ren off, he'd always take it out on you. Proposing was his attempt of saying sorry. He knew you wouldn’t say no to him if he acted like he meant it. The pressure of the wedding planning made him even more violent. No one stepped in to help you, not even your friends… Or so you had thought.

You felt so unbelievably lonely in a world full of enablers. You had no courage left in you to call it off, fearing the wrath of Ren. You look at your reflection in the mirror. You were disgusted that you were not going to meet the one you loved at the end of the aisle. Instead, you were meeting nothing but a mask, a lie… Someone you loathed.

Kyungsoo watched closely from the vantage point across the street as people entered the venue, the clock minutes away from striking 4pm. He had to time this perfectly or it would all fall to pieces in mere seconds. Sweat beads started to drip down his forehead, anxiety pressing onto his chest. His eyes focused on Ren, the bastard was smug. He wanted to have his fist meet Ren’s jaw so badly, but he also knew that wouldn’t get you away from this man. It would only make things worse. Kyungsoo had to be patient, something he was learning the hard way how to do.

The clock struck 4pm and Kyungsoo got out of his car, casually walking across the street onto the outside steps of the venue. With a deep breath he sneaks into the very back row on your family's side and waited. The ceremony starts and Kyungsoo's heart starts to pound in his chest. 

He catches sight of you.

My God, you were gorgeous in white.

You looked immaculate; your beautiful hair pinned into a braided style with loose strands around your face. a veil lay attached on the back of your head and trailed down your back. The dress was lace and had sleeves, probably to cover the bruises Ren left. The idiot wasn't even smiling as he saw you, he looked completely unbothered. Kyungsoo's eyes narrow and he waited for the right time to make his move. 

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the union of two beautiful souls. What a beautiful bond a marriage is, the couple wishes to thank all in attendance for supporting their union. Now, for formality I must ask, is there anyone in attendance that objects to this union? Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

It was now or never.

"Stop! You can't do this. I'm in love with you."

Your eyes divert from Ren and look down the aisle.

You couldn't believe your eyes, it was Kyungsoo!

Oh no. It was Kyungsoo. This wasn’t a dream.

His hands rest in his pockets as he walks casually down the aisle. The entire venue gasps and murmurs amongst themselves. Who is the handsome man calling for you? Why is he stopping the wedding? Isn't that Prosecutor Doh? How does she know such a man?

"What the hell is he doing here? Did you plan this?" Ren growls in your ear.

"I had no idea." you whisper, your posture straightening at the tone of Ren’s voice.

"Baby," Kyungsoo starts while walking further down the aisle, "This man doesn't deserve you. He can't even treat you well. It killed me to know you were marrying someone else, and I recalled my many mistakes I made in our relationship. Now, we have our chance to start again, I'm sorry I didn't speak sooner." 

Ren had a death grip on you.

You fought to get away from him until your arm was free. You slowly walked down to Kyungsoo and meet him in the middle of the aisle, your hands shaking.

"Excuse me, Prosecutor, but you are out of line!" Ren calls from the altar, "My sweet love, get back up here."

"No, you don’t get to do that. Not now!" Kyungsoo points at Ren, fury written on his face and coating his voice, "I have every right to be here and to do this. She has a choice now, it's up to her. She is not married to you yet." 

You look between Kyungsoo and Ren, the choices laid out in front of you.

"Love," Ren calls.

“She’s not your love.” Kyungsoo snaps.

Kyungsoo takes your hand, stroking your fingers. 

"If you don't want to do this, say the word and we'll go." Kyungsoo whispers.

Out of anxiety, you look to her parents and your future in laws. Marrying Ren isn't what you want and you know it. This gesture was the biggest Kyungsoo has ever made. You search his eyes and find nothing but the love you sought in him. How is this possible? Your friends told you how he never dated after you, and it never felt real or believable. Kyungsoo was far from not being handsome or kind. He was the whole package.

He’s everything you need.

You loved him, oh God, did you love him.

Hesitancy fills you, knowing you would have to explain everything to Kyungsoo about your relationship with Ren. Kyungsoo sees the hesitation and tightens his hold on your hand. "I know everything, and we can throw his ass in jail for what he's done to you. He'll never hurt you again, baby. I'm sorry I confessed to you this way. I’m sorry it took me this long to get to you.”

You turn to Ren and take a breath, both of your families and friends awaiting your answer with a mixture of judgement and hope. You shake her head and walk toward Ren. Kyungsoo's bravery depletes, knowing that with each step he's losing you. 

Until you take off the engagement ring and place it in Ren's hand. "Goodbye, Ren."

Kyungsoo's smile beamed across the entire venue as you ran to him. Together, the two of you run out of the venue and to his car. He drives off and heads to the coast. 

"Let's get you out of this dress, baby." Kyungsoo groans.

You nod and Kyungsoo's fingers easily undo the row of buttons along your spine and slowly allows the dress to fall that held you captive to another man.

Out of fear, you hug the dress on your body in an attempt to hide yourself from Kyungsoo, your lover. You didn't want him to see what Ren had done to your body, he'd lose it. The man holds you, his beloved, and a look of concern flashes on his face.

"Baby..."

"No, you can't see."

“It’s okay. I already know. Your friends told me everything. Let me take care of you. Please.” Desperation and longing coated Kyungsoo’s words, he meant every single thing that left his mouth. Your grip loosens on the dress and you drop it, your body covered in just a strapless bra and underwear.

Kyungsoo’s fingertips grazed your skin, helplessly trying to figure out why someone would hurt a woman as lively and beautiful as you. There was no filter on Kyungsoo’s thoughts, they only multiplied as he slowly revealed the black and blue marks that attempted to camouflage your skin. The enamored man took your hands, guiding you to the bed.

“I could kill him for what he did to you, but not even then would it be justice. He deserves to burn for everything, for all the pain he caused.” Kyungsoo says in between soft, gentle kisses.

He held you like you were fragile, despite the fact that he knew you weren’t as delicate as you seemed. The only thing that he was certain of was that in this moment, you needed to be fragile. You needed to be assured that this would never happen again. He could at least do that for you.

The desire that once drove his every move depleted into concern and care. His fingers danced on your skin, then moved to unbutton his shirt. His tie was lost somewhere by the entrance of the hotel room, but that was the last thought in his mind at the moment. As he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it from his body, he encouraged you gently to sit up.

“What are you doing?” You question.

“I want you to be comfortable.” Kyungsoo mutters, fastening the shirt around your body.

 Memories flicker of how you’d be just like this after long hours caught in between his sheets and his body. How you clung to the bed as you begged him for more. How after you’d always find whatever shirt he was wearing and put it on. In a way, he knew you did it for comfort but also as a sign that you belonged to him. You didn’t have to, but you wanted to have him on you and around you even if you weren’t being intimate in that moment. His shirt would suffice for his hands being kept to himself.

“I am comfortable. I’m with you. I just wish you said something a hell of a lot sooner than my wedding day.” You know your words sound harsh, but Kyungsoo knows you better than you know yourself. He understands what you are saying without an explanation. You missed that.

“I have shitty timing. I know.” Kyungsoo chuckles as his fingers dance along your thighs. His eyes meet yours, eager for a response. He missed your voice. The soft exchange of words that felt so easy. He watched you take a breath, pull him into you and he went more than willingly.

“No. It’s not shitty timing in hindsight. You saved me from a lifetime of misery and reminded me that even though we’ve been apart… It’s always been you. You were stubborn and so was I when we dated. We were young and had no idea what life could offer us. Now don’t think for a second you have shitty timing. It’s me who makes shitty decisions and you have to rescue me from them.” You sigh.

“Not in the slightest. We make mistakes. It’s okay. What matters is that you and I are here right now. And that bastard will never lay a hand on you ever again. Ever. I’ll make sure of it.” The enamored man nods.

Your heart pounds as he kisses you. The need and desire returns full swing between the two of you. It felt right to be with him in this room. To be in his arms. To feel him melt with you.

Once again, he proved that he has always been the one, your last, everything that you ever needed and so much more.

[paintingwhiteceilings]

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

❃EXO members as your childhood best friend❃

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

Xiumin/Minseok:

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

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

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

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

Suho/Junmyeon:

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

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

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

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

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

Baekhyun:

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

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

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

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

Chen/Jongdae:

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

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

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

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

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

Chanyeol:

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

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

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

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

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

D.O./Kyungsoo:

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

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

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

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

Kai/Jongin:

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

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

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

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

Sehun:

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

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

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

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

Masterlist

[justwritedreams]

Hello

A headcanon of Kyungsoo realizing he has feelings for the reader

I'm enjoying that you're asking members that I haven't written yet CONTINUE!

KYUNGSOO REALIZING THAT HE HAS FEELINGS FOR YOU

Author: Maari

Warnings: minor errors probably because i wrote it in the break of work

So you and him have been friends for a long time

You have a lot in common

Enjoy having in-depth conversations on a variety of topics

You like to do the same things

And you are each other's excuse to get away from noisy and crowded places

And one day, you managed to escape from a club

How had you ended up there? Ask his extrovert friends

None of you wanted to go but it wasn't like you could say no

Thank you Chanyeol 🫡

So when you accepted his ride, you could finally breathe a sigh of relief as you got into the silent car

Both of your heads ached from the loud music

And you were so sleepy that you leaned against the car window even as he was driving

"I thought you couldn't get away from Baekhyun" he chuckled

And you, of course, laughed along, looking at him

He was so focused and so handsome

"I didn't remember he talked so much, I thought you were going to leave me there" you said and his laugh increased

"Don't think it didn't cross my mind"

And you were like 😲

Your plan had been simple:

The two would take a 5 minute break to go to the bathroom but actually you would run to the door and leave the place

But Baekhyun delayed you because he kept telling you how sad he was because his girlfriend had gone on a business trip

Although far away, you could see Kyungsoo's bored face in the middle of the crowd, waiting for you 🤣

But it wasn't like you were going to argue with him because

You would do the same lol

You just smiled and closed your eyes, too tired to talk

And he not only understood, he respected 🥺

And when he turned to face you real quick

Damn!

He never noticed before how you had a glow of your own

He frowned thinking it was some illusion in his head

Or that kind of intrusive thinking that no one has control

He dropped you off at home and you invited him in

And he was more worried about you because you had worked a lot during the week

And on Friday you looked like a zombie, you were so tired

So he accepted

He felt good in your house, it was quiet, it brought peace

You lay down on the couch and he helped you take off your shoes

As he already knew your house, he went to get a blanket so you wouldn't be cold during the night

And when he came back, you were already asleep

Sounds cliche, right?

But well, the time he put the cover on you

He couldn't help but push the hair that fell into your eyes

And it was only then, watching you sleep so serenely that he felt his heart warm

Anxiety in the stomach that wasn't bad at all

And an involuntary smile appeared on his face

And when he leaned in to kiss you

He was like oH 😳

He straightened up again but brought his hand to his mouth.

Not believing that he had almost done that because

Damn, was he in love with you?? Since when?

He was always very clear about what he felt, what he thought...

And he just now noticed that he likes you?

Poor baby left your house so confused he couldn't even remember where he had put his car keys 🤣🤣

But he wouldn't be the only one confused

Because good luck if you think he's going to leave things the way they were

Expect a very sincere confession 👀

[joshiji-darling]

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ࣪. 𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐨𝐨 𝐱 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐧 ୭ ˚. ᵎ

𐙚˙ songs about each other 𐙚˙

ᵃᵏᵃ ᵗʰᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉᵇⁱʳᵈˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵉʳᵉⁿᵃᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵉᵃᶜʰ ᵒᵗʰᵉʳ (〜￣▽￣)〜

follow my tiktok for more content

first off, these damn lovebirds are either writing songs about or for each other, or covering the other's song

urgh, people in love（；´д｀）ゞ

anyways, so we know suin is a well-established and recognised producer, songwriter, etc.

and because of that suin has dedicated many love songs, cute or sad, to kyungsoo

and kyungsoo has dedicated songs to her as well, so lets review them together!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ࣪ 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ୭ ˚. ᵎ

song no.1 ┈─ ⚝ I do - d.o

the lyrics are such a sweet love letter to suin

kyungsoo said that once he read lyrics and heard the song, he knew he wanted to sing it for suin

the 'i do' is nod to their wedding and marriage of coursee

and kyungsoo requested suin be a feature on the song, and so they included duet sections, with suin joinning in the back-and-forth part in the second verse, and the ending chorus

"How would we look as one, not two? I know you and you know me like we're onе"

"I just have one wish If I tell you, would you say, "I do, I do"? With a smile, please tell me, "I do, I do"

watch the tiktok/video i made for this! here <3

song no.2 ┈─ ⚝ love wins all

original ┈─ iu

omg this beautiful song, yes

kyungsoo was in the mv, the music video had a whole storyline, they played two individuals, blind in one eye and one deaf, the mv was a message about discrimination, etc. (you know that plot of the original mv, but instead of taehyung, its kyungsoo instead)

but regardless, the song itself describes two lovers running away to the ends of the earth together

ooh! and theres a small reference to kyungsoo's song mars, a nice way to shoutout the person she wrote the song for and was in the mv so

there is also a sweet reference to her fandom, dearest, and her previous duo group, darling, in the opening line

(i will have a seperate post about the love wins all mv, Here)

"Far away in the universe from Earth to Mars Will you please go with me?

"Dearest, darling, my universe Would you take me along?"

"Run away from the world, run on Go to the end with me, my lover"

song no.3 ┈─ ⚝ only

original ┈─ lee hi

the proposal.

yes, this song's mv was their engagement announcement

the mv was absoultely adorable and of course, it broke the internet.

not only was this song to announce their engagement, but this was how they revealed their relationship

safe to say, there was a lot to process for dearests, exo-ls and well, the entire industry

not only did this song go viral in korea and overseas, but they headlined for the entire month

also the day they were dubbed the 'soosoo' couple

and the most beloved couple in korea

after this, the paparazzi photos of their outings were released, and details of their relationship was the highly sought after by the public

the mv consisted of clips of their relationship, revealing their long-term relationship, and revealing their history (read that here!)

but the last clip was the footage from the proposal, from the perspective of the exo and svt members (you can clearly hear them lol)

(i may write a seperate post for this mv as well! stay tooned!)

"Be my only one I don't have to hide my feelings anymore"

"Now I believe La-la-la-la-la-la-la, I sing a song like this With the one I was desperately looking for My, oh my, oh my, oh my love Be my only love"

song no.4 ┈─ ⚝ my old story (나의 옛날이야기)

original ┈─ iu

'my old story' - a song suin remade

the song's lyrics resonated with suin, espeically during the period of time when her and kyungsoo had broken up

"Do you remember that lonely alley? I still remember it now The days when I couldn't say "I love you" and was anxious Did you know? The beautiful nights of the past when we were young and foolish I still love them"

"If you hear this song Please come to me I'm waiting for you"

song no.5 ┈─ ⚝ about time - d.o

ahh the sad song...

this song was also during their break up period (will write soon! here)

basically, the song perfectly sums up how kyungsoo felt after losing suin and the lyrics describes his regret

although it was released wayyy after their break up, kyungsoo held onto this song for a while, he didn't know if he wanted to release it as in 2024, they were happily married, why would he release their breakup song?

but suin loved the song so much, that she begged him to release it so she could listen to it

kyungsoo found it funny that she would even like that song that literally described his guilt, but according to her "its a good reminder of your idiocy :)" (pft- kyungsoo gagged)

"Why are things always so precious? I realized it only after I lost it The hand I finally held I recognize you only after letting go"

"You've been by my side when there was no reason I didn't know back then For someone's sake I would give up all of my everything for you"

(^ahh forshadowing/hint at why they broke up hehe)

more:

(I can another post like this for the following songs, if yall want me to, and i can also make a playlist ;))

┈─ d.o's love songs:

Mars, Rose, Popcorn, I do, About time, Ordinary days, My Dear, Somebody, I’m Gonna Love You, I’m Fine, Wonder, My Love, The View

┈─ suin's:

all because i liked a boy (sabrina c.), off my face(justin b.), me after you(paul kim), say yes (punch&loco), take a chance with me (niki), hate you (jungkook), try again (jaehyun), fix my makeup (wax), someday (btob), epilogue (iu), maybe its not our fault (yerin baek), let u break my heart again & so this is how it feels (laufey),right where you left me & mastermind & corneila street (taylor s.)

┈─ covers & duets:

kyungsoo covering suin's 'through the night', love wins all. suin covered 'mars', their duet 'meaning of you'

please check out the masterlist and if yall want to be tagged in future works, comment and ill tag yall!! happy reading <3

kwon suin masterlist

comment for requests!