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justkpopjokes · 1 year

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SKZ + Day6 Uni Band AU

Ft. Stray Kids + Day6

Word Count: 2k of bullet points

jaesea: “Maybe best friend!Chan (skz) but like he invites u to be part of this new band he's making?”

A/N: Another old request lol. This fic practically wrote itself! So many details fell right into place, so there are a ton of references to the irl history of the groups which I might make a separate post explaining lol

PROLOGUE: DAY6

WELCOME TO JYP UNIVERSITYYYYYY it even rhymes :)

JYP Uni is mostly an arts university, so the students have their own student-run festival to celebrate everyone’s skills!!

A few years ago, there was a band called Day6 that grew in popularity due to performing at this festival on a whim

Sadly, one of these original performers left b/c he wanted to focus on studies

Then another guy quit the band after he graduated to focus on his job

So the remaining 4 members, Sungjin, Brian Younghyun, Wonpil, and Dowoon, decided to finish up their studies then go pro!!

However, due to studying, sometimes a person or 2 wasn’t able to make it to a performance

Either that or the song they wanted to perform wasn’t possible with only the 4 of them

Additionally, Sungjin and “Young K” decided to work full time after they graduated to save up for their Big Band Plans, which meant that they were often down a bass and guitar for on-campus events

To solve this, they decided to add some other people to the band temporarily!!

These new members were more like collaborators rather than official members

Wonpil and Dowoon would teach them the band’s existing songs, so for many of their fans at uni, it was like a special honour to get to perform with them

During his last year at uni, Dowoon was such a sweet but stressed mentor as the last original one left lmao

Imagine him going around trying to find lil underclassmen to fill in for performances

((ok but wow that would definitely lead him to have a lot of fans,,,, yknow,,, like in the Every Day6 MVs,,,))

After Dowoon graduated, the 4 main members of the band were reunited to go pro and focus on making music!! :’) A happy ending!!

I: 3RACHA

Now THOSE are the legends that Bang Chan has idolized ever since he got accepted into JYP Uni!

Bang Chan is a guy. A guy that happens to be really good at writing music (and guitar)

So his skill landed him the opportunity to perform with the legendary Day6!

(Dowoon and Wonpil had heard of Chan’s music during one of the student music festivals, so they called him up to fill in for Sungjin once)

But since all the original members have since graduated, Day6 isn’t a part of JYP Uni anymore

And thus a gap is left for a new band to rise into!!

With his knowledge gifted to him by Dowoon, Chan decides to start another band!!

He takes rhythm guitar and vocals, but he still needs others to, yknow, make it a band 🤔🤔🤔

lmao I would love to be recruited as a second guitarist, keyboardist, or drummer

The people who witnessed Chan’s performance w/Day6 are like “ooh he’s a good singer, maybe we should see what he does”

So his friends show off their skills to him and he eventually starts getting a band together!!

First he recruits 2 of his closest friends, Jisung and Changbin

I didn’t plan this but it makes so much sense that Chan filled in for Sungjin in the past because it meant he got really good at rhythm guitar

Which means Jisung plays lead guitar (and he does actually play guitar omg) with Changbin taking up drums

The trio performs together for the 1st time at the same music festival that Day6 started at!

They name themselves “3RACHA” after Jisung spilled Sriracha sauce on himself when they went out to lunch to plan for the event

Following their performance, they gain attention for their unique original songs!

Sadly, after about a year of 3RACHA uploading their music online, Changbin has to step back due to time conflicts

Although Changbin’s able to help write their songs, only Chan and Jisung would be performing live like they planned

Chan’s a little discouraged; he’s been trying for so long to get a crew together and is close to finishing up his time at uni

He doesn’t want to cancel their 2nd big performance, but it’ll be hard performing their songs as a duo

So he calls his friends, Day6!

Younghyun in particular had sort of adopted Chan after the latter filled in for Sungjin

So he gives Chan a pep talk and tells him to keep pushing through

As a solution, Younghyun suggests Chan do what Day6 did and give some newbies a chance to perform with 3racha like Day6 did with Chan

II: Srir4cha?

Inspired by his mentors, Chan decides to recruit a young man who enrolled into JYP Uni early: Jeongin!

Jeongin is an amazing singer, but Jisung’s a little confused at first since Chan usually does vocals

However, papa Chan encourages the youngin’ to work on his piano/keyboard skills so he can perform with that too

After a successful first practice to see if he’s a good match, they happily accept Jeongin onto the team!

They also just love to baby him lol he’s their golden child

Hyunjin, another student at JYP Uni, knows about the band that Chan is forming

Although he hears that they’re looking for new members, he doesn’t really want to audition, feeling like other people were better than him

Besides, he’s a dancer, not a musician. What’s he going to do?

However, Hyunjin is always practicing his dance routines in a studio on campus

And whenever it’s empty, he’ll sing to himself!

Chan hears Hyunjin singing and is like “hmmm interesting…”

And after witnessing Hyunjin’s stage presence during a dance performance, he’s like “okay that’s it he’s joining!!”

So Chan approaches Hyunjin and asks him to join the band, at least temporarily, for their next performance

Hyunjin: “??? But I don’t play an instrument??”

Bang Chan: “You dance, right? I’ll teach you drums; since you’re good with dancing on beat, it should be easier for you to pick up”

So Hyunjin learns drums with Chan (and occasionally Changbin’s) mentorship

It seems a little odd to Jisung/Changbin that Chan is just picking random kids who have little to no experience with instruments

Jisung especially is like 😒😒 about Hyunjin replacing Changbin, thinking Chan just brought him on the team because he’s handsome and can get them attention

But 3RACHA (currently a team of 4 and needing a new name) have unwavering faith in Chan’s good judgment

With Hyunjin working hard to catch up to the others and carry the beat, Jisung accepts that Hyunjin does belong on the team

Though they really are a ragtag team of stray kids that Chan pulled together

With a fresh lineup, they boys are able to perform at their 2nd major event under their new name: Stray Kids!!!

III: STRAY KIDS

After the event with Chan, Jisung, Jeongin, and Hyunjin (mirroring Day6 hehe), Changbin’s able to rejoin the band!

Hyunjin’s a little sad he won’t be performing with Stray Kids anymore

But Chan is ofc like “NO you’re one of us now!!” and offers him a permanent spot on the team

Hyunjin: “But what am I going to play now that Changbin’s back on drums?”

Bang Chan: “uhhhh well ok hold up we have some rearranging to do…”

With 5 people in the band now, they have a full house!

Yet they’re somehow still missing a bass guitar…

For their previous 2 performances, they had used a recording of a synth bass that Chan had thrown together with Jeongin’s help

But they kinda have to tackle this problem now

Jisung’s really good at lead guitar, Changbin’s the best at drums out of the 5 of them, and Jeongin already learned many tricks on keyboard

So either Chan or Hyunjin have to take up bass

Hyunjin isn’t super comfortable with learning a new instrument again (he just learned drums, after all)

So Chan—being the multi-talented man he is—takes up bass himself

(It’s not his forte, but it’ll do for now!)

Instead of playing rhythm guitar in Chan’s place, Hyunjin writes a couple songs of his own and takes up lead vocals for their 3rd performance!!

After that performance, a certain Kim Seungmin notices they’re down a rhythm guitarist…

Even though he’s majoring in vocal music, Seungmin decides to teach himself rhythm guitar in hopes that he can join the band

One day, when Seungmin is jamming out, a certain band leader walks in…

…and immediately tries to recruit him LMAO he’s kind of desperate

Now they’ve got a team of 6!

But Chan isn’t having a great time with bass lol rip

Chan, now working on a Master’s degree in Music, has less time for the band

He’s confident in taking more time off now that Hyunjin has taken up lead vocals (and the other members also sing for certain songs)

But the rest of the team is getting really excited to perform at an annual campus music festival which, frankly, Chan doesn’t have the time to practice for

After talking with the team, the consensus is that they really need a (proper) bassist

((LMAO that was like an unintentional pun like. They need an assist. But it’s a bassist LJKFDHLKJS sorry bad joke moving on))

IV: Full House

One of Hyunjin’s fellow dance classmates, Minho, auditions for fun in hopes he can help out

Minho’s part of a dance team that’s also performing at the festival, so he can't perform with them on stage (doesn’t have time to perfect it, basically)

But he knows a bit of bass guitar and offers to play during practices so they can hear the bass parts

Although he isn’t the greatest at it, he’s a good fill-in while Chan focuses on uni

That’s when their angel Felix comes in!!

Chan recognizes Felix from their high school choir, so he knows the kid has got a knack for performing music in there somewhere

So he asks Felix to learn bass for them as a permanent member

Since Chan and Minho are already not the greatest at bass, Felix struggles a bit to learn from them

He gets the hang of it, though, and quickly becomes an expert!

So let’s do a recap:

Bang Chan: vocals, songwriting, arrangement, mostly mia due to uni

Jisung: lead guitar

Jeongin: keyboard/synth

Changbin: drums

Hyunjin: lead vocals, songwriting

Seungmin: rhythm guitar

Felix: bass guitar

So what’s Minho up to?

Turns out, the guy is a natural at drums!! (For the same reason Hyunjin was)

So the crew, the kids, now at max capacity, take this opportunity to rotate which instrument they play for certain songs

With Minho on drums, Changbin’s able to take center stage and sing/rap some songs he wrote for himself

While Hyunjin occasionally switches over to keyboard so Jeongin can have some time in the spotlight to show off those stellar vocals

And they successfully rock their 4th performance at a concert on campus!

Needless to say, Papa Chan is super proud of them :’)) *wipes single tear*

V: Battle of the Bands

For their 5th and biggest appearance yet, the crew signs up for a city-wide Battle of the Bands

(Ahem, Kingdom: Legendary War)

Unfortunately, shortly after they sign up, Hyunjin has some personal issues to deal with and needs to take time off of the team

Needing a lead vocalist again, Chan returns to the band full-time!

He’s finishing up his master’s degree, but manages to make the time to practice

He has always been dedicated, you gotta give him that

They miss Hyunjin’s vocals, but Hyunjin is cheering for them from the sidelines!

AND THEY WIN FIRST PLACE WOOO!!! KINGS FR

With a win under their belt, the band performs together for the rest of the year with more attention than ever

They’re rocking with the big leagues now!

Before Chan graduates, the crew decides to organize one last performance with all 8 of them for their last uni music festival of the year

Chan does lead vocals with Hyunjin (a duet, if you will… Red Lights rock version *cough*)

Meanwhile Minho rotates between extra percussion or other smaller instruments (triangle, maracas, kazoo, harmonica, otamatone, whatever)

Their last performance goes out with a BANG (Chan) and is a huge success!!!

A certain group of alumni, Day6, come back to their old uni to watch lil Bang Channie all grown up with a band of his own :’)))

Even though Chan graduates soon after, he isn’t leaving the band!

No siree those are his kids hello

So the 8 of them work hard to become the next big boy band sensation all together, no matter how many instrument rotations it takes <3

#stray kids imagines #skz imagines #stray kids headcanons #skz scenarios #day6 imagines #jkj fics #.txt

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remmykinsff · 1 year

Video

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DAY6 Sungjin and Young K - Time of Our Life (ft My Day)

#youtube

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lqjaehyung · 6 years

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#this is my lockscreen :((#day6 jae #jae park #lq day6 #lq jae #park jaehyung #day6 #lq jae park #lq jaehyung #ft sungjin

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youngkangz · 4 years

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Sungjin & Wonpil | DAY6 x UNDERTONES

#day6 #mydaysnet #park sungjin #kim wonpil #sungjin #wonpil #*mine #*gif #ft a little bit of dowoon in the second gif #ok last gifset for now

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seriously-funny-9 · 6 years

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These spot the difference games are getting harder

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moonchildmuses · 6 years

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@ferrarswrites asked: “is there some secret to winning your love?” for our new plot

”A secret to winning my love? Wow, that’s a new one.” Sungjin raised an eyebrow and put down his phone, suddenly more interested in whatever his girlfriend was saying. “Were you reading my fanmail again or are you actually asking me that?” He questioned, trying not to sound too mean. It was too early to engage in a new stupid argument, and he didn’t have enough energy for it. “I don’t even know why you’re asking that. You already have my love, babe.” He sighed and unlocked his phone, hoping she wouldn’t realize that he had used his stupid ‘idol voice’ with her.

#⌜ otp ⌟ ✰* — ˗ˏˋ what can i do to get back to you ˎˊ˗#⌜ ft ⌟ ✰* — ˗ˏˋ sungjin ˎˊ˗#⌜ ask meme: replies ⌟

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v-hope · 3 years

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Secrets

Pairings: Artist!Kim Taehyung x Heiress!Reader, Heir!OC x Reader

Genre: Fluff, slight angst, Ex Roommates AU, Enemies to Lovers AU, Arranged Marriage AU (OC x Reader), ft. Ex Friends with Benefits (Heir!Jimin x Reader)

Word Count: 5.3k

Summary: Your relationship with Taehyung has grown a lot since the two of you used to live together and be at each other’s throats. And with both of you starting to develop feelings for each other, he could no longer stand not knowing what was going on in your life and you could no longer keep from him the biggest secret in your life.

Warnings: Family issues, mentions of death (not a main character).

A/N: Hellooo! This is the 19th part of my Social Media AU “Belong”, but I guess you can read it as a one shot if you don’t follow the story (although it might be a bit confusing lol). Please let’s just ignore the fact that I was not in the mood to come up with a cool title lmao. i hope you guys enjoy!

Waving goodbye to Sungjin one last time after getting off his car, you turned around to enter Taehyung’s building, only then hearing the car engine as your so-called-fiancé drove away. It was exhausting, honestly — having to pretend you still lived here when you no longer did. Not only was it awkward to stand at the reception until you made sure Sungjin was gone, but having to later take the bus every single time to go back to Hobi’s was not something you were a fan of either.

Many times you had thought about telling him you had moved out of Tae’s a while ago and were living with Hoseok in the meantime, but telling Sungjin meant your parents would might find out about it at some point, and you could just not risk it for the world.

At least today you would be able to skip the ‘awkward standing’ part, since you had agreed to drop by Taehyung’s so the two of you could talk. In all honesty, though, you didn’t know which situation was worse.

Once on his floor, you took your time walking over to his front door, contemplating whether it was a good idea to tell him the whole story behind you leaving home and your family a few months ago, for once you walked through that door, you knew there would be no turning back. And the thing was, for the longest time, you had kept it from him because you did not trust him. It was only natural, right? He would make sure to let you know just how much he disliked you every single day during the entire time you had lived with him, so telling him about your personal life was most definitely off the table.

However, now, trust was no longer the main issue. You did trust him. Somehow along the way, he had earned your trust — the way he had stood up for you more than once, and the way the two of you seemed to grow closer by the day, could do no other but for you to believe he was actually there for you. So, the problem now was that you didn’t want things to change.

You were getting along so well, and it might even sound delusional, but you could feel a very particular kind of tension when you were with him you had not quite ever felt before, not even when Jimin and you had the whole ‘friends with benefits’ thing going on. And you couldn’t help but believe that, if he found out about you and Sungjin, about how you were supposed to marry him at the end of the year if you failed to show your parents you could have a good life on your own, Taehyung would pull away from you and all the progress the two of you had made would be completely ruined. The thought of that possible outcome alone made your chest feel heavy.

Taking in a deep breath once you reached his door, you decided to just go with it. He needed to know the truth — Jimin’s words about a possible romantic relationship developing between the two of you in the future coming to mind and being the last push you needed. Because, although you hated to admit it, sometime along the way you had started to like that idea, and keeping things from Taehyung, especially ones that were such a big deal like the possibility of you marrying someone else, would do no other than jeopardize what the two of you could be in a near future.

If it were to be jeopardized, it needed to be now, for once and for all, for it would not be fair to him to find out when the two of you were in too deep — if he ever happened to return your feelings and the two of you even got to the point of being in too deep, of course.

Pushing every thought aside, you finally called on the door, feeling your breathing become heavier when you felt his footsteps coming closer to the entrance.

“Hey, you came” Taehyung said first thing, the look on his eyes letting you know he, too, had been doubting whether you’d come or not.

“I only came because you said you’d have something yummy for me” you teased him with a smile, which only grew bigger at the sight of his own as he rolled his eyes.

“You were the one who told me to get you something yummy,” he mocked you on that particular word, moving aside and keeping the door open for you to come in. “But whatever you say, princess”.

Letting out a light giggle, you made your way inside — eyes instantly going to the doughnuts box that was placed on the small table in front of the sofa.

“Coffee?” he offered after having closed the door behind him.

“Please” you smiled, turning around to look him in the eye and catching the way he smiled right back.

With a quiet ‘okay’ coming out of his mouth, he motioned for you to take a seat in the meantime. Doing as told, you sat down on the sofa and took your coat off — not even two minutes passing by before he came back with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

“Thank you” you quietly said when he handed you the coffee, eyes fixed on him as he took a seat beside you. “You really went big with the doughnuts”.

Taehyung chuckled at your comment. “I just remembered how much you liked them. I mean, given the way you were stuffing your mouth with them on this very sofa a while ago”.

“Shut up” you lightly shoved him with your shoulder out of embarrassment.

“If it makes you feel any better, I got those triple chocolate ones you seemed to love so much” he teasingly informed you, leaving his cup on the coaster so he could open the box.

Smiling at the sight of them, you leaned in to grab one. “Thank you. I promise not to drop it this time”.

Your statement earned a laugh from him. “You better” his threatening tone as he grabbed a doughnut as well, had you rolling your eyes. “Otherwise, you’re cleaning up”.

“I cleaned it up last time, so what’s new” you shrugged.

“Touché” he gave it to you, biting onto the baked good right as you did.

“So…” you began after a few seconds of silence in which your chewing was the only sound filling the room. “What did Jimin exactly tell you?”

It was now his turn to shrug like it was no big deal. “Just about your guys’ arranged marriage a few years ago”.

“Just that?” you pushed it.

Although you had bombarded Jimin with text messages right after his infamous tweet and he had confessed to you that he had told Taehyung more than he should have, causing him to now be suspicious over your relationship with Sungjin, you had not really asked him about the details he had told Taehyung about your past relationship —if you could call it that—, for you had already given him the green light to tell him the whole thing. Therefore, you now wanted to hear from Taehyung himself how much your friend had told him about it.

His face right there, however, was all you needed to know he did indeed know about the whole thing.

“Also about… you know” he struggled. “You guys being friends with benefits and all that”.

You nodded, watching him stuff his mouth with the rest of the doughnut in his hand in a poor attempt of making things less awkward. “Okay… so you know everything”.

He rushed to swallow. “I think so…”

“So what was it that you wanted to know about Jimin and I then?” you inquired, taking another bite of the baked good.

“Huh?”

“You said over texts that you wanted to talk about Jimin and I” you reminded him. “As well as about Sungjin and I”.

“Right…” he pursed his lips, leaving place for silence to take over the room as he did not know where to even begin.

You were telling him about Sungjin for sure, he knew that, since that was the part of the story that was missing for him. But, on the other hand, should he just be up-front and ask you what he really wanted to about you and his best friend?

“Um…” you awkwardly shifted in your seat, leaving the doughnut back on the box and placing both of your hands around the coffee cup instead. “I don’t really know where to begin,” you admitted. “So just ask”.

Taehyung couldn’t help but let out a snort, followed with a shake of head that left you completely puzzled.

“What is it?”

He shook his head in amusement once more. “You and Jimin are the same” he remembered the exact words his friend had told him right before telling him his history with you. That’s when he decided to just be up-front and ask the first question. “Do you have, or�� did you ever have feelings for him?”

There it was, the one thing that was troubling him the most when it came to you and Jimin. Although his friend had told him over and over he had never felt something for you, and even assured him you had never felt something for him either, Taehyung needed to hear it from your very lips.

Much to his relief, you were quick to shake your head no. “I don’t. Never had”.

He gave you a silent nod as his response, one that, for some reason, wasn’t convincing enough to you.

“I mean it,” you determinedly said, aching for him to believe you. “We were only ever friends with benefits. That is all there was to it”.

“I guess I just can’t understand how you guys had it going on for like two years and didn’t catch feelings, I mean…”

“I know it’s weird to wrap your head around it, but… we somehow made it out without catching feelings. We’re just really good friends and I guess the platonic love we have for each other beat any other kind of romantic love there could have been” you explained, leaning one of your sides against the sofa so you could properly look at him. “Can you believe I don’t have feelings for Jimin now and I never did in the past either?”

After staring at you for a couple of seconds, he nodded, this time both genuinely believing you and convincing you of it. “And for Sungjin?”

“Huh?” his question took you by surprise.

“Do you have feelings for him?” he went straight to the point.

“I don’t”.

“Then why are you dating him?” he questioned, not being able to understand why you were going through so much trouble for someone you felt nothing towards.

“I’m not dating him, I…” you sighed, staring down at the coffee cup in your hands. “I told you, there’s a lot to it”.

“Well, isn’t that why you’re here, princess?” he wondered with a small tilt of his head. “So you can tell me why you left home in the first place and have a boyfriend you don’t love?”

You bit down on your bottom lip. Not being able to look him in the eye as the truth abandoned your mouth. “He’s not my boyfriend—”

“So you’ve said a hundred times”.

“—He’s my fiancé”.

Silence. That was everything that filled the living room for the next couple of seconds as he tried to take in what you had just told him. It could not be true. It just could not.

“Y-Your what?”

“My fiancé…” you sheepishly repeated.

He pulled slightly away. “You’re joking”.

“Come on, Taehyung. I think you know me well enough by now” your eyes squinted ever so faintly. “Do you truly believe I would joke with such a thing?”

He uncomfortably shifted on his seat, eyes going to your fingers as they held the cup. “Where’s the ring then?”

Your eyes instinctively went down to your hands, lifting the one your engagement ring had once been on and showing it to him. Taehyung didn’t think twice before leaving his cup on the table so he could grab your hand and analyze it as if he would find the ring camouflaged somewhere in your fingers.

“I took it off” you stated the obvious. “Couldn’t come here and try to have a normal life with a diamond ring on my hand, the media would’ve found out right away”.

“You just said you feel nothing for him and now you say you’re marrying him?” his eyebrows furrowed, denial written all over his face as he let go of your hand. “Y/N, you’re literally making no sense”.

“I know, I…” you looked up to the ceiling, trying to compose yourself before you could explain it to him. “I mean, he’s not really my… we won’t, m-my parents said—unless…”

“Hey, hey. Princess,” Taehyung tried to calm you down, his hands gently cupping your face so you would look back at him. “I’m listening. No need to get so nervous”.

You nodded, taking in a shaky breath. His warm hands on your skin, although causing giving you chills, had managed to calm you down. “So, you know how me and Jimin were being forced to get married a few years ago?”

Taehyung nodded, eyebrows still furrowed as he had seemed to already catch up and did not like one bit where this was going to.

“Well,” you laughed humorlessly. “Sungjin is the new Jimin”.

His jaw dropped, and, much to your disappointment, his touch left your skin. “So you’re… being forced to marry him?”

“Mhm…” you nodded.

Taehyung bit his bottom lip. Just like you had said, it was a lot. He needed time to process everything, because out of all the things he could’ve imagined when it came to the reason why you had left home, marrying Sungjin was not it. Which he now found kind of dumb, considering your parents had tried to marry you off to Jimin only a few years ago. If anything, an arranged marriage should’ve been first on his list.

He found out right then, though, that out of all the scenarios he had came up with, this particular one he had not thought of, was the one he hated the most.

“And you can’t do anything about it?” he questioned. “I mean, it ended up working out for you and Jimin”.

“Jimin didn’t want to marry me, it’s different”.

“Sungjin wants to marry you?” he raised one of his eyebrows — for some reason he already knew yet would not quite admit, feeling his blood boiling.

“Hard to believe anyone would want to, I know” you bitterly joked. “But yes, he wants to marry me. His parents were looking for a heiress to marry him off to anyway and he’s been into me for a while now, so he offered”.

“Wait, he offered?!”

You couldn’t help but laugh lightly at the way he seemed to be so invested in your life — completely oblivious to the fact that his dislike towards Sungjin was growing by the second.

“He did” a heavy sigh escaped your mouth. “He didn’t mean any wrong by offering, we used to get along quite well regardless of us not being the closest of friends and I was getting married off to some other heir anyway, so…” you shrugged. “He thought he would ‘save me’ from having to marry someone I didn’t like at all, and plus he got to be with me, so it seemed like a win-win situation”.

“And was it?” Taehyung wondered.

“Not at all” you shook your head, a weak smile curving up the corners of your mouth as you sipped on your drink. “I had managed to make two other possible fiancés not wanting to go through with it anymore, but with Sungjin nothing works because he already knows me and likes me just like that…”

“Doesn’t sound so bad” Taehyung mumbled, internally slapping himself for the way he had just encouraged you to give it a second thought.

“You’re serious?” you furrowed your eyebrows, and he couldn’t help but feel chills at the sight of your sudden cold stare. “I don’t want to marry him, Taehyung. I don’t want to marry anyone I don’t love”.

Although wanting to smile over the fact that you had once again turned down any possible feeling you could’ve had for Lee Sungjin, he remained serious, reaching for his cup on the table.

“Is that why you left home?” he took a sip of tea before putting it down once again. “To rebel yourself?”

You shook your head no. “It’s more than that…”

“Tell me”.

“It was the only way not to marry him”.

His eyebrows knitted together in genuine concern. “How’s that?”

“I tried to talk my parents out of it multiple times but they were very set on making me marry someone from our same status. And, in all honesty, I was hopeless. My brother took over the family business and they still married him off to another heiress,” you shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was not that big of a deal, while Tae’s face said the exact opposite at that new bit of information. “And then there I was, the younger sister with a stupid business management degree that, may I add, my parents made me get, who would not really be of any major help to the hostelry business given Jin-ie is the one in charge. So, the best contribution I could give our family would be marrying some wealthy man with a wealthy and well-known family so we could improve our respective businesses and whatnot”.

“So you left home because…”

You laughed lightly at his confusion. “Well, the only way to make my own choices is to take myself out of the picture” a melancholic smile showed on your lips. “I reached a settlement with my parents,” you informed him, sitting up straight and having him unconsciously move closer to you in anticipation. “I have one year to show them I can have a good life without their money. If I can’t manage on my own, I go back to them once the year is up and I marry Sungjin. If I can manage and want to stay here, then they disown me and I get to live the rest of my life the way I want it”.

Taehyung remained silent, staring into his lap as he tried to take in everything you had just said. Everything slowly starting to make sense.

“Will you please say something?” you nervously pushed it, staring down into your cup as you could not face him either.

“Are you okay?” his sudden question took you by surprise.

“W-What?”

“Are you okay?” he repeated. “I mean, you either are forced to marry someone you don’t love or you get disowned. Doesn’t sound like a fair agreement to me”.

You bit down on your bottom lip, giving him a light shrug before you put your cup down like he had done minutes ago. “I still have a good amount of months to go, anything could happen so… who knows,” a breathy laugh escaped your mouth. “I could either end up loving my life away from them and hence wouldn’t be that affected by being disowned, or if I see I can’t do it anymore I could… you know…”

Taehyung shook his head. “I don’t…”

You sighed. “My parents are making me spend so much time with Sungjin to make the media believe we’re together that maybe, eventually, I could—”

“You don’t want that” he abruptly cut you off, sticking to the words you had said only a minute ago.

“I don’t” you agreed in a heartbeat. “But I’ve got to have a plan for every possible scenario, and making myself fall for him seems like the best idea if all of this doesn’t work out”.

“It will work out” he stated, the confidence he had just put on you making you look away as you shyly smiled. “You’re doing great so far”.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘great’, if I’m honest” you nervously fidgeted with your hands.

“You have a place to stay at, you have a job, you’ve got friends…” he numbered. “You’ve got all the essentials covered already”.

“I don’t have an actual place though…” you pointed out. “Don’t have an actual place I belong to, one that is fully mine and I won’t move out from every month. Don’t have a family either, probably won’t ever have one again”.

“But you have friends… and a brother who loves you” he reminded you. “Friends can be family, too”.

You sighed. “It’s not the same...”

“It’s not, but they are” he let out a small, humorless laugh. “Trust me. I know it first hand”.

“What?”

“Jimin, Yoongi hyung and Namjoon hyung are the only family I have” he shrugged. “Took me a good while to realise, but that’s how it is”.

“But wait,” you moved closer to him as you tried to process what you had just heard. “You mean you also left your family behind or…”

“They left me” there it was again, another laugh with not even a pinch of amusement in it whatsoever. “Not intentionally, though. At least not my mum and grandparents. My dad was out of the picture since before I was even born”.

“Oh,” was all you could manage to say. “So they…”

Taehyung nodded before you could finish the sentence, not wanting to put you through the awkward situation of having to actually say it out loud. “Mum passed away when I was nine” he shrugged in an attempt to take importance away from it, yet the look in his eyes gave away just how much it still affected him. “I was raised by my grandparents, but they were quite old and you know how nature works, so…”

You bit the inside of your cheek, having to keep yourself from giving him a hug, as you knew he should be tired of having people pity him by now. Instead, you couldn’t help but want to know more a about it.

“The press doesn’t know about it” he pointed out before you could ask any further. “No one apart from my friends know about this, so if you could please keep it to yourself...”

“I will, don’t worry” you gave him a reassuring smile, catching the way he had seemed to relax at your words. “What did you do, though? I mean, how did you... manage...”

“It was right after I had made it into art school, so... I moved to Seoul. I mean, we didn’t live that far from here, only right outside the city, but the house felt so big and empty right then that I decided to just rent something small near the university” he explained. “The inheritance wasn’t much, so I got two part time jobs that would be compatible with my lectures. I actually met Jimin that year” a smile curved up at the memory. “We had this project I needed a model for, so I could draw the human body from different perspectives, and I ran into him with his genius dancing skills and asked him to help me out. Then we became friends and he introduced me to our hyungs, and here we are now”.

“Must’ve been tough...” you mumbled. “I’m glad you met the guys right that year and weren’t all on your own”.

“Yeah...” he smiled weakly. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without them”.

“I’m sorry” you apologized.

“No, please no” he begged, making your eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Not the pity face”.

You shook your head immediately. “I’m not saying sorry because I pity you, I actually admire you right now and think you’re really strong” you reassured him, reaching for his hand and tightly holding it in between yours. “I’m just… God, I’ve been complaining over my family for so long and you’re actually here comforting me when I can still go back to them if I want and…” you took in a shaky breath. “You must think I’m such a spoiled brat. I’m sorry”.

He chuckled. “I thought you were. That’s why I disliked you so much at first” his confession, although new to you, was not surprising at all. “I didn’t think it was only because of the way you acted but I couldn’t put my finger on any other reason, and then Jimin made me realise that it mostly had to do with my family issues”.

“How’s that?” you tilted your head.

“I mean, I’ve been on my own without a choice for so many years and have longed for a family so bad… and then there you were, having one and wanting to stay as far away from them as possible…” a breathy laugh escaped his mouth. “I really couldn’t stand you because of that. You had everything I wanted and were pushing it away over some stupid tantrum—”

“It was more than that” you cut him off, earning a small snort from him.

“I was getting there, princess” he cynically informed you. “I know that now. Trust me, I understand why you did it”.

You smiled genuinely at that. “So you don’t think I’m a spoiled brat anymore?”

His eyes went up as he feigned to be deep in thought. “Mmm…”

“Yah,” you lightly shoved him off, earning a chuckle from him and having his hand grab yours to pull you closer and stop you from pushing him again. “You’re such an ass”.

“I think that is the first time I’ve heard you curse” he mocked.

Your mouth opened in offense, feeling the heat reach your face. “That was not a curse at all!”

Taehyung laughed loudly this time, his chest trembling as he did. “You’re such a good girl”.

“Make up your mind, Vante” you taunted him, playfully squeezing his hand that was still holding yours and leaning your cheek against the sofa. “Am I a brat or a good girl?”

“They’re not exclusive traits, princess” he let you know, just like you, resting his face on the sofa as well.

“Oh, so I’m both now?” you laughed.

“Mhm…” he agreed, face now only a few centimeters from yours as he intertwined your fingers like he had done a couple of nights ago.

“And which one do you like more?” you wondered, unconsciously having your eyes travel down to his lips.

“I like both” he said before he could stop himself — before he could answer with another sarcastic remark of his like he wanted to.

“You do?” your voice came out soft, taken aback yet very pleased with the answer of his you had not expected to hear. Looking up to him, you caught a glimpse of the way he had been staring into your mouth as well, causing the corners of your lips to curve up. “Is it okay if I’m a brat now?”

He chuckled. “Sorry to break it to you, but asking for permission to be a brat is such a goo—”

And that’s when your lips on his shut him up.

Taehyung’s eyes opened wide for a second, travelling in utter shock from your closed ones to your mouth pressing on his. Nevertheless, that was it. A second. After that, his eyes were shut as well and his lips trapped yours before you could pull away like you had already started to do.

As if on cue, the two of you smiled — your hands comfortably resting on his chest as his own cupped your face and deepened the kiss.

In all honesty, you had just gone for it. Kissing him in that very moment had just felt right, and, plus, you needed to know if there was something worth not forcing yourself to fall for Sungjin for. You had not expected him to kiss you back at all, if anything, you had taken the risk, being well aware there were high chances he would push you away. But hell, was your heart going wild at the way he had done the exact opposite.

It hadn’t lasted long, yet just enough to leave the two of you longing for more.

Just enough to let you know there was something else worth staying here for.

“What was that for?” he mumbled against your lips when you pulled slightly away, not being able to hide his growing smile when you pressed your mouth to his one last time.

You bit your lip, looking down for a second. “Just wanted to kiss you, so I did”.

He rolled his eyes in amusement. “Such a bratty move”.

“You told me to go for what I want the other night”.

“Oh, and you want me?” he smirked.

Feeling the heat once more reach your face, which was pretty much burning at this point, you couldn’t help but look away from his eyes. It didn’t take him long to catch up on that, deciding to go easy on you and not tease you any further after noticing how shy his words had made you.

After all, he didn’t want to keep you from possibly kissing him again.

“I’m not like Jimin…” he quietly blurted out.

Taken aback by such a sudden comment, you stared at him with a puzzled semblance. “Huh?”

“I can’t,” he sighed. “I don’t do this whole friends with benefits thing”.

“Are we even friends to begin with?” you asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

“Ouch?” Taehyung brought his hand up to grab his chest, making you giggle at his feigned hurting as you leaned against the sofa again. “Where does that leave us then?”

You shrugged. “Let’s leave it at… kind of friends”.

“Okay, I’ll take it” he contentedly nodded. “We’re good then?”

“We are” you smiled, earning a smile from him in return.

“No more secrets?”

You giggled, holding your pinky up for him to interlock with his. “No more secrets”.

Rolling his eyes in feigned annoyance —yet the way the corners of his lips remained curved up letting you know just how much he was enjoying this—, he wasted no time on interlocking his pinky with yours, smile turning into a boxy one when you later added:

“And just for the record, I know you’re not like Jimin. I like that”.

That was the whole point after all. With Jimin, you never felt like this. It was always something strictly physical, not once had you felt some kind of electricity run through your body when you kissed him, not even when things got way more heated. With Taehyung, however? One simple touch of his lips had made you feel everything you had never felt before. Not with Jimin, not with Sungjin. And that’s how you knew you were already in too deep.

Took you long enough to realise. Maybe way too long. But that kiss had been all you needed to figure out what you felt for Taehyung.

And therefore, the label you had put to your relationship had not been wrong at all. You couldn’t call yourself his friend, because although you may have been acting like friends —and very bickering ones at that— the past few weeks, you did not see him like that. You could not, for whatever it was you felt for him, was so much more, so much stronger, than what you would feel for a simple friend.

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arch1va1 · 2 years

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✫⠀!!⠀ˊˎ- PLAY TAPE ... ❝ BROKEN LINE’S DISCOGRAPHY ft. CALL AGAIN? ❞

HAILING FROM A SMALL COMPANY WITH LITTLE BUDGET, Broken Line was destined to be underrated it seems. Debuting as the first idol group under JoyStar, their debut was virtually invisible minus the few music show appearances they went on.

The lack of success followed them throughout 2017, neither of their releases charting or selling well. That was until the sub-unit debut of Call Again? happened in 2018. JoyStar is known for producing bands and training their trainees in musical instruments as well as dancing and singing so it came to no surprise when Broken Line debuted a band sub-unit.

Call Again? consisted of members Emery, Juwon, Minjun, Sungjin, and ██ and performed exponentially better than Broken Line had perviously. The sub-unit’s success trickled down to the group’s success as a whole but the sub-unit remained more popular sales and chart wise up until their presumed disbandment after the incident in 2021.

Though their success seems to be hit or miss, Broken Line clear has a passion for music production and performing. Despite being able to take home a few music show wins, they seemingly can’t make it big as a collective and are destined to stay under the radar until their eventual disbandment.

#𓆩❃𓆪ㅤ۫ 𝅄 ✦ LET THE MUSIC PLAY!#𓆩❃𓆪ㅤ۫ 𝅄 ✦ ARTIST OF ... JOYSTAR

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serenityseventeen · 3 years

Text

DK (이석민):

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“Star (3)”

synopsis: Seokmin has returned to the castle alone and locked into a cell for two weeks, where he gets the time to think about you and life. However, after those two weeks of being held in a cell, the first thing he does is escape the castle again, going off to find you.

parts: 1 - “Star” | 2 - “Star (2)” | 3 - “Star (3)”

warnings: injuries/wounds, blood, witholding someone in a cell, and butterflies and horses(?)

genre: royal!au, romance

characters: prince!seokmin x peasant!reader, ft. prince!seventeen members

word count: around 5k

a/n: happy birthday to seungkwan and sungjin again!!! this part ended up a bit longer than I thought and all of the parts of this fic would amount to around 10k; I didn't know if I should have added more (like more fluff) at the end... + kdrama update: I am watching 'the one and only' (it's so gooood the chemistry is off the charts and of course kim! kyeong! nam!!!!) and 'bad and crazy'!!!

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“I need to go out there again.”

Mr. Kim's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't allow the prince to go out there again. Word of his escape had reached many kingdoms across the world already. Of he went out again, it would not be good for the prince, even if his intentions were not bad.

“I'm sorry, your majesty, but the king has made it clear that you shall never sneak out again. However, I do have to thank you for not exposing the secret tunnel, for if you did, I would never be able to see my wife and son.” Mr. Kim smoothed the prince's white shirt.

“You don't need to thank me. I'm the one who needs to thank you for letting me use the passage...” Seokmin was feeling guilty for having his most trusted servant, who was like a friend, go through hard times because of him.

After Seokmin returned to the kingdom on his own, Mr. Kim was put into confinement for a few days as punishment for not watching the prince well enough and allowing him to escape. Less than 4 days later, he was released because Seokmin told the king bravely for the millionth time that he'd take full responsibility.

That's how Seokmin got locked up for two weeks that went by like a year.

When he was locked up, he finally realized that the scenario he was in (being locked up) was the best he could get at if he wanted to feel what it was like to live like you.

The king found it too hard to watch his son being behind bars. The original punishment would be to have food portions and clothing reduced, have hands bound by chains, and ankles strapped to the bed. Seokmin wanted to know the worse of it; that was the only way he could think of to be able to understand you. However, the king always insisted on only having his leg bound; Seokmin was still given nice meals and sufficient clothing.

While in the cold stone prison underground with barely any light flowing in and only a small window the size of his head, Seokmin thought a lot about you. As the winter days passed he found his heart aching, maybe missing that short time he spent with you. He was eager to go out again, even if he was barefoot. He wanted to see if you were still living in that barely warm enough, tiny shack in the middle of the woods. He wondered if you were still stealing bread to survive. He wanted to see you again. Despite the time having been short, there was a small spark inside his chest from the memories that aroused the desire of wanting to see you again. Most of all, he wanted to ask why you didn't come with him to turn him in.

To fight the boredom inside the cell, Seokmin sang songs. He would make up lyrics about his wretching heart, about the poverty he witnessed, about the person he met while out there, about love.

Some days, his singing would echo through the castle and his younger brother, Seungkwan, would make his way down to sing a duet. Some days, Seungkwan would invite Jihoon, Jisoo, and Jeonghan to come along and sing as well. The five singing brothers would make songs in secret and sing happily, with smiles spread across their faces, without the king knowing.

On the day before his release, the king came to visit him in his lonely prison that smelled only of stone.

“Seokmin,” the king said, his voice gentle. “How did you escape without Mr. Kim knowing?”

“I stole his son's clothes and climbed over the grape vines at the back of the castle. I gave him one of the sleeping pills I acquired from the doctor when he came to visit Seungcheol. He fell asleep and I left.” The story was packed with lies.

“Okay, then why did you leave the castle while knowing the dangers out there? What made you think you should?”

“I realized one day that I don't see enough of the kingdom I am a prince of. I wanted to see the world and what it's like. Venturing with Seungcheol on horses only gave me a glimpse.”

The king stayed quiet so the son continued.

“Do you know what kind of world you're ruling?” Seokmin turned to his father and glared at him daringly. The king was surprised to find his son's new nature but at the same time, he wasn't. “There are people out there who are barely living lives. We have this whole kingdom filled with flourish yet while out there, can you guess what I saw and experienced, dad?”

Another bit of silence passed by.

“I saw them. They were poor. Not only that but because they were poor, everyone immediately assumed they were bad people, and they have no choice but to be bad. They barely have any to eat, the place they sleep is colder than this cell!” For the first time, Seokmin had exploded in anger in front of his father. “This is the world you have been keeping from us!”

“Seokmin, you are too naive,” The king said simply. “What do you think you saw? A piece of your kingdom or your whole kingdom?”

The king let out a sigh and pressed his face against the iron bars that seperated him and his son. Seokmin was sitting on the bed, his anger dissipated.

“What I, as a king need to do is focus on the majority of people, do you get that? There will be people who are unfortunate, that's just how life is, a balance between lucky and unlucky. Do you know why people die?”

“‘To bring equality to life,’” Seokmin recited. He remembered that line well because that was what his father always said.

“Among the rich, there is also poor. There is simply nothing you can do about it. Some people are born poor and some make mistakes in life and become poor, just like how some people are rich and some become rich. Are you going to show sympathy for every peasant in your kingdom?” The king placed one hand on the bars of iron. “I told you, a king does not need love but he can't have hatred. A king does not need to be generous and sympathetic but he should be feared and wise. You are not fit for a king.”

“I don't care about being a king,” Seokmin snapped, getting up from the bed with his fists tightly closed. “I don't want to become one. I know I'm not someone who is fit for it. I just know that I don't want my kingdom scattered and innocent people being looked down on just because of their class. You can be a ruthless soul but I cannot because I have a heart. I just want to help those people. When I do, I know I'll be a better person than the king who overlooks it.”

The king just shook his head and with his hands brought behind his back, he quietly turned away from the cell. There was no guilt anymore for he had seen it from the beginning.

It was hard to be a king but it was even harder in the beginning.

Seokmin felt bad for Mr. Kim. He felt that he was putting Mr. Kim in danger but he had to get back out there. He didn't want to be trapped in his own home anymore. He wanted to see you too.

So, when Mr. Kim fell asleep, Seokmin did not hesitate to leave. He changed into a fresh pair of silky clothing and grabbed a backpack, packing clothing, new shoes, a first-aid kit, food from the kitchen, and money. He didn't really know what he was doing anymore and why he was doing it but there was just a calling or a ringing, inside his chest, asking for him to pick up.

It was dawn when he left through the secret passageway. He emerged from the ground and he could see the bricks of the townhouses. Seokmin made his way over there and tried to trace his steps from 2 weeks ago. If there was any place he'd find you, it'd be the shack.

The sun was rising beautifully, painting red across the sky as Seokmin walked through the park with the cobblestone bridge and river of koi fish. He recalled the memories he made with you and that made his heart flutter, his hands grip onto the straps of his backpack, and his mouth grin shyly.

After passing a field of green, he was approaching the rocks that blocked the river water passage. He hadn't reached the location yet but remembered hopping upon each one like a frog, skipping on the stones with you.

When he passed the flower fields and came across the gigantic rocks, he smiled. It was you, swinging your feet back and forth, the back of your heel hitting the stone and then the tip of your old raggedy shoes getting drenched. You were humming.

“Y/N,” Seokmin called out. His heart was racing, just the sight of you made him want to go crazy and run around the fields like a loose puppy. He had been waiting for this moment when you two would see each other again.

He took a few more steps but your voice snapping caught him off guard. “Stop, don't come.”

“What?” Seokmin wondered out loud. For the first time in 2 weeks, he escaped and managed to find you again but the first thing you said was for him to not approach you? Of course, Seokmin knew that you probably weren't aware of his feelings, but still, he felt a bit disappointed. “W-Why?”

“Just because.”

When Seokmin returned to the castle by himself, you stayed at the shack, deep in thought. Though getting the reward would have made your life much easier, you couldn't find the bravery to accept the offer, which was ridiculous because you had always been known for your bravery. It was something hard to explain.

As days passed by, Seokmin never returned. You never heard or saw him but at times you'd catch wind of gossip and overheard from the silk weavers that he was placed in a large cell. You felt bad for him while not knowing why.

You felt regret for not taking the money too but it was like convincing yourself you lied when you told the truth. If the choice was given again, you knew deep down that no matter how much you needed the money, you wouldn't take it.

The stash of food stolen from peasants was growing low. As the winter days grew colder, it was much harder to find food while your body grew numb and closer to freezing. There was always one place warm with food; the bakery.

You got a few loaves, enough for the young children for a few days, even if it costed a slash on your arm and deep scratch on your cheek. Your brother could not steal from the hospital and no one had the money to pay for bills. Out of luck, his four fingers wrapped a cloth around your arm and face. It was quite uncomfortable.

You spent many days waking up at dawn. You didn't quite know why. Some days it'd be midnight rising and some days it would be dawn sleeping. You just kept thinking early in the dawn or late into the night about life, about peasants, about the kingdom, the king, and his 8th son, Seokmin.

You didn't expect to see or hear Seokmin, a prince, again. When he did show up, it was when you had an ugly and prominent cut across your face and bleeding arm that was too numb for stinging pain. You didn't want him to see you even if you badly wanted to turn to face him and look into those glittery puppy eyes and catch his lovely smile again.

“Is something wrong?” Seokmin asked after a moment of silence with only the sound of river running passing through. “I came because I—I wanted to see you. I also wanted to know more... about your world. I also have a lot of things I wanted to tell and ask you.”

You smiled. Hearing his voice was like listening to a comforting melody. “Why would you though? There's nothing here to see.”

“No, there is. You showed me so many things the last time we met and I want to know more. I want to know how I can help and what I can do for you.” Seokmin took a step forward and inch by inch, he was getting closer to you without you knowing. You just continued to stare blankly at the river that seemed endless looking like you were about to cry.

“You know, after meeting you that day and having you disappear for two weeks, I thought I'd forget about you already. I thought that meeting you wasn't that big of a deal but every day and night, I kept thinking about you—your life and mine,” You didn't know why the tells were welling. “I really can't understand anything.”

Seokmin had closed the distance while you buried yourself in your hands. His heart was drumming, not with flutters, but with ache.

“I just want to know why, what did I do to deserve such a life as this when everyone is living perfectly fine? I've tried before, to get a job, work and learn, but they all said the same thing: ‘you bring bad luck’, ‘the customers don't like you’, ‘you don't know how to do anything right, must be because you're a peasant’.”

Your words were muffled and for the first time, you could feel the pain in your arm as your raised it to cover your eyes. Seokmin had sat down next to you, on the big cold gray rock.

“I'm sorry for all that you had to go through,” Seokmin said quietly. “I want to change it. I want to know how to effectively change your life and the people who depend on you and that shack. My dad isn't giving in to any of it though.”

“It's not his fault,” You continued, sniffling as the tears dried against your palm, letting out a soft groan of pain. “It's just how the world is.”

When your face emerged from your palms, you could see his feet, dangling next to yours. His pants were of fabric you'd never seen before. His shoes were leather and neat and shiny.

Your eyes traveled to his shirt, white without creases, his sleeves folded to his elbows, decorated with buttons down the middle. Inside wasn't a feeling of envy, you just felt terrible inside, wondering what it'd feel like if you could see your brother wear something like that; so graceful, matching his figure.

Eventually, your eyes went from his neck, chin, lips, nose, and eyes, where your gazes locked. His eyes were shimmering a golden brown in the sunrise but without it would be brown like chestnuts.

Seokmin's eyes darted away after a few seconds. He shrieked with panic after seeing the scratch on your face that had yet to be fully healed. Your arm had cold blood trickling down to your fingertips.

“Y/N!” He grabbed your face gently with his warm and soft hands, his caring touch and warmth spreading all throughout your body. You felt the strength to smile. “Are you okay?”

You nodded and proceeded to explain that it was just a small scratch from the baker. “Even if I die, I can't let the kids die. Even if they grow up with no progress in becoming something more than a peasant, like me, I know one day at least one of their worlds will be changed. That's like saving a soul.”

His thumb caressed your cheek and his eyes were sad with tears. You were slightly confused as to why he was beginning to cry.

The blood soaked into your shirt and Seokmin had to notice it. He didn't scold you or anything, just, while holding your hand, took out a white box from his backpack and told you to stay still. He applied cleaned the wound on your arm, applied ointment on it, and bandaged it, all while crying softly.

You had to wipe his tears from time to time.

After he finished treating your wounds, he closed the box and put it away, saying quickly, “I knew I should have brought this first-aid kit.”

Seeing those drops of water come from his eyes made you feel like your heart had been stabbed deeply.

He pulled you into a warm, tight hug, whispering about how glad he was to see you again. It had been a while since someone hugged you that hard, like they were never going to let go.

It was a different kind of pain, seeing Seokmin cry.

Seokmin wanted to know your favorite place in the world so you took him to the butterfly haven. A luxurious field of only nearly dead dandelions, a few trees, grass, and tons and tons of butterflies. You could see the butterflies from far away, they swarmed the field like bees in a hive. The place was popular on weekends but not on weekdays, the walk to get there was way too long.

“Why do you like this place?” Seokmin asked, while picking a dandelion. The fragile butterflies fluttered their wings, flying from one side to the opposite, circling around flowers and the two of you.

“It's the prettiest thing I've ever seen.” You replied with a smile, trying to refrain from scratching your arm wound. “I don't see many beautiful things. It's also one of those places that continue to bloom instead of dying. It's already the beginning of winter but look at these dandelions and butterflies.”

Seokmin smiled while seeing you smile. It was crazy because butterflies should have already began migration.

“You know, there's something crazy about how we're looking at each other right now,” Seokmin said out of the blue. Your eyes were on each other.

“What's crazy about it?” You asked.

“I don't know how to say.” He looked away.

You laughed and the two of you leaned against one of the smaller trees, looking at the butterflies. You told him stories of your childhood and he laughed along to your humor. Seokmin told you about the lack of butterflies in the castle, that only a few would fly above the wall and wander around for a bit during the floral season.

Gazing at clouds was a new kind of activity for Seokmin. You told him that you often would stare into the sky and test your imagination, trying to figure out what each unique and absurd cloud shape could be if it were an object. Seokmin also found that activity fun.

Maybe everything with you was fun, especially when you were looking at him, making him feel free like a soaring eagle, and happy.

You introduced Seokmin to a game that the peasants played whenever they were bored. The children of the shack taught you it. It was a simple game; pluck a leaf from a tree and try to break it into as many pieces as you could. Seokmin found the game frustrating as the pieces he broke off of the leaf would blow with the wind. He lost every game and applauded the children for playing such a game.

Seokmin had packed food inside his backpack and said he wanted to share it with you. You refused at first but eventually caved in. It was the best meal you've ever had, or rather, the first meal you've ever had. There were side dishes, rice, and a main dish. You felt the urge to devour it all but decided not to because you wanted to share.

“I think this is the least prince-like I've been,” Seokmin said as you two watched the sun disappear behind a hill. It was kind of hard to believe you two spent your entire day walking and in a dandelion field of butterflies. “I really love it.”

“What do you mean by ‘prince-like’?” You asked.

The two of you were crisscrossed, sitting on the grass.

“Elegant, brave, intelligent, and obeying but also strong enough to make their own decisions.”

“I think you're like a prince,” You smiled at him and Seokmin smiled back at you. “But most of all, you just remind me of a human.”

“Of course,” Seokmin wanted to hold your hand but decided against it. “I am a human.”

“Do you have a dream?” You asked suddenly, plucking a dandelion. They always looked so furry and like little white pom poms but the one you picked was slightly brown and more crunchy than soft.

“I want to sing.”

“Then sing for me.”

That's how you met the voice of heaven from the mouth of an angel.

After finding out that Seokmin had left, Mr. Kim reported it to military leader Seungcheol, who informed the king. Seungcheol advised a search for the runaway prince.

“It's only been two weeks since Seokmin's first runaway,” Seungcheol said, looking up at his father who was sitting on the diamond throne. “He can be in grave danger. Seokmin is not well knowledgeable regarding the area and he can easily pass the border into the kingdom of Ruqy or Mez.”

“Seungcheol-ah,” his father began, his fingers tapping on the chair of the throne. “What do you think I should do regarding the peasants? It's not a large problem yet but I don't want it to be one in the future. As the oldest son, what do you think we, the kingdom, should do?”

Seungcheol stayed quiet for a minute. “I talked to Wonwoo about this. He said that ‘a king who neglects a fraction of his kingdom is not a king... the generosity and will of giving is a future threat as it is impossible to do and be perfectly both, thus, one shall never be too kind’.”

The king smiled fatherly at his son but did not say anything further until his sigh broke the silence.

“Let's find Seokmin. I want to talk to him.”

Walking back to the shack was going to take a while considering the time you and Seokmin departed the butterfly haven. It was already dark but thankfully, the path was lit by tall street lamps.

Seokmin said that his brother, Jisoo, who recently came back from dealing with an overseas alliance, was the one who suggested lighting up singular dirt paths like the one you two were walking on; he even made the design for the street lamp.

“I know it's a bit late to say this,” You said quietly, your feet and his rubbing against the dirt pavement. “But I'm sorry for what I said two weeks ago, before you told me to turn you in. It's crazy, we've technically only known each other for two days, but I feel such a large connection with you.”

“My brother Myungho told me that if you think about someone a lot and they're on your mind often, it feels like you spent time with them when you were just reminiscing,” Seokmin said. The mention of his brothers made him faintly smile. He loved his brothers with all of his heart but he felt bad for escaping the castle and hiding within his own kingdom.

“I guess—well, I did think about you a lot if I'm honest.”

“I thought about you too,” Seokmin tried to say it confidently but ended up getting embarrassed and shy. He hit himself at the side of his head and looked down as his ears turned bright red like a strawberry.

“Look,” you said quietly, coming to a stop in the middle of the empty dirt path. Your head turned to face the sky, you smiled, seeing the millions of stars brightening up the black. “Look at the stars, Seokmin.”

Seokmin lifted his head and was amazed when he saw the stars. They were just simply dazzling, each one of them.

“Now, I suddenly feel the want to make a wish.”

Seokmin smiled and turned to see you already with your eyes closed.

“Then, let's make a wish.”

He didn't look at the stars nor put his hands in a praying gesture. He just couldn't take his eyes off you. The only wishes he could come up with did not include singing or his kingdom. His mind just kept repeating one wish inside his head, ‘Y/N, Y/N, Y/N’.

“Seokmin, what did you wish for?” You asked, opening your eyes slowly. You didn't stop looking at the stars though.

“How about you go first?”

“To sleep better. For the past two weeks, my sleep schedule has been fucked up. Now, how about you?” The wind gave a slight chill.

“I don't know,” Seokmin replied honestly. At that answer, you turned to him with an amused and attractive half-smile. “I just kept thinking of how beautiful you look.”

“Seokmin—”

“I really like it when you call my name. The only people who do that are my brothers and my parents.”

You chuckled and looked at him in the eyes. “We've known each other for two days.”

“Yeah,” Seokmin grinned, his smile so dreamy that it made your heart melt. Your heart could only jump afterwards because Seokmin continued and said, “but we've been thinking about each other for two weeks.”

“I like that you've become more confident, you barely stutter anymore.”

“I also like that you smile a lot more,” Seokmin said, smiling with his hands shyly on his backpack straps.

Both of you laughed as each star in the sky twinkled.

Seokmin had never seen anyone shine as bright as you.

“Seokmin hyung! It's you, isn't it!?” The calling was from the side of the dirt path the two of you were heading. It was Chan's voice.

The clicking sound of horse hooves grew cleared and Seokmin knew he wasn't going to run away. You just watched in awe as the horse grew closer. It was Seokmin's horse that Chan was riding on.

“Chan...” Seokmin let out very quietly.

“So you were here! And you're with—” Chan stopped his sentence and hopped off his horse. There were three other soldiers on horses that followed behind Chan. “Dad wants to talk to you. Please stop leaving home without any notice, we were all so worried about you!”

Seokmin apologized quietly but quickly glanced at you, who was just staring back at Seokmin.

“Hurry, get on your horse,” Chan said, mumbling how much he was worried for his brother.

“Wait,” Seokmin said slowly. “This is Y/N and I'm taking them too. It's a long way back, you see.”

Chan nodded in agreement and quickly swapped places with one of the soldiers as they joined a different soldier. You were reluctant to get on the horse but Seokmin assured you that it was his horse who knew him better than any other animal.

You took his backpack around your back, took his hand, and boarded the horse and wrapped your arms around his waist hesitantly.

“It'll be a bit weird at first, but don't worry, I'll try to make it a comfortable jog.”

The king was smiling when Seokmin entered the throne room.

“Who did you bring with you?”

“The person who showed me the world,” Seokmin smiled at his father for a short second. He was in a surprisingly great mood but knew that he also did something bad. “I'm sorry for leaving the kingdom again.”

“No, it's fine, I just wanted to talk,” Seokmin's father said with a smile. The king was also in a surprisingly great mood. “You do know that I became the king of Svuentin at age 17, right, son?”

Seokmin nodded.

“At 17, I was still like a kid inside but I was forced to be mature. I had to take care of my kingdom. Anybody could have killed me, I was just a kid. I learned to fight, read, and learned from textbooks. I was focused on being a good king by learning to be good at everything; nobody could possibly hate me if I were a perfectionist.”

Seokmin's father took a quick sip of water from an expensive mug.

“That is not the way for me to rule. I, thankfully, recognized the faults in my kingdom. The fault was not just me but my people, they were uncontrollable. Some babies were born without enough milk or warmth during the winters but some were born with so much milk they grow chubby, so much warmth they grow sick of it. Seokmin, my son, you reminded me so much of myself, you know that?”

Seokmin blinked. His hands were clasped together respectively. He was drawn into his father's story.

“And of course, it's not easy being a king. I realized that there were people who didn't get enough though they deserved more and people who got too much yet didn't deserve that much. I tried to change it and I had a few ideas; build houses for them and give them money; give them food and offer them a job in the army...”

The king paused. “I wanted to help them in any way that I could. I was guilty, as a king, because a part of me knew that my people were not living nice lives and that I was partially responsible for it. I was feeling pity because I couldn't do anything effective. In the end, I just avoided it. When it did come up again, I let it go.”

Seokmin wanted to talk but found himself silenced, also wanting to hear more.

“Do you know what your grandfather told me?” The king sighed. “that a good king will be good because of their length of rule. But, I don't think that's true. For the past 50 years I have been king, I just simply kept our world going, but does that make me a good king? That's why I am going to change and relieve my guilt with the help of you, my son.”

Seokmin found himself smiling.

“I'll open free schools and libraries. I'll tell people the consequences of beating other people, no matter what class. I'll try my best to include that part of my society that was segregated. I'm going to try again to fix the problem. That's alI have to confess to you, son.”

Seokmin walked closer to the throne with a slight smile, his eyes down.

“I have something to confess too,” Seokmin said quietly. “the person I brought with me... I think I—”

“If you're worried about the arranged marriage I was going to have you do, don't worry about it.”

“What?”

The king chuckled at his flustered son. “That's right, though I'm not sure you were aware. I was going to have you marry the princess that Jisoo met overseas, but I think the doctor should be done treating your person. Their arm wound was pretty harsh. Why don't you go take a look?”

“R-really?” At this, Seokmin was gleefully smiling.

“Yes, punk. 12 out of 13 times arranged marriages don't work anyway.”

53 notes · View notes

prettywordsyouleft · 3 years

Text

Someone Unexpected

Pairing: Brian Kang x OC (ft the female reader from Someone Real)

World: Someone Real

Genre: angst / romance / kind of an enemies to lovers au

Warnings: angst, recovery from heartache, light cursing, and getting drunk.

This story won’t make a whole lot of sense if you haven’t read the series this is made from. It also includes the Y/N from the former story, so I hope that’s not too confusing!

A/N: After completing my recent Jae/Brian series, a lot of people had unexplained questions regarding why Lainey and Brian became a thing – myself included. And the more I thought about it, the more my Brian muse urged me to close the chapter fully. I hope those who didn’t like Brian at the end are curious for what happened from his point of things!

Word count: 6705

“I’m not in love with you, though.”

Sitting up in his bed, Brian dragged a hand down his exhausted face, the sentence you had spoken still echoing around in his head.

It had been six days since that moment. The one where everything had gone so unbelievably wrong.

He chuckled darkly. “Face it. You knew there was never going to be a happily ever after for you.”

Sighing as nothing but agony answered to the painful truth he had just spoken out, Brian threw his legs out of his bed and padded out to the kitchen for a glass of water. Gulping it down, he lazily threw his gaze around the living space of his apartment, his eyes coming to a halt on the shirt lying on the couch.

Why was that there? Placing down the glass half-finished, he approached the shirt, picking it up and fingering the collar. There was a lipstick stain in the colour you had worn most often when you went out together, no doubt smeared there from one of the nights where he had taken you home and carried you forth into ecstasy.

Now, it merely provided as a reminder to Brian that you had been all over here. Taking his eyes off the shirt, he surveyed his home, noting each place where he had heard you moan out his name. The endless times where you had giggled about something mundane that he had told you about, or the spots where you had looked out from under your lashes at him, shining pure adoration up at him.

“I’m not in love with you, though.”

Slamming his hand onto the half wall beside him, he gripped the top of it, trying to exert control. He was done crying over your sudden change. Done with trying to decipher where it had all gone wrong.

Where he had lost you.

Flashes of the night reappeared in his mind without being prompted, and he whined out loud, not wishing for his logic to pick up on the subtle details he hadn’t seen at the time.

The way you were looking at the guy next to you when he came out of the elevator at full speed towards you. The fact you didn’t hug him back when he confessed to you. Your eyes not quite meeting his, your thoughts not nearly as present as he thought you’d be.

The torment replayed over and over until a single tear slipped down his cheeks.

Brian Kang had never fallen in love before. He had never wanted to. He assumed it was easier to coast through life looking out for himself. Over the past ten years, he had done just that. High school had been a breeze, and making connections at university meant he had the right environment to excel with his studies. He landed a well-sought after job in one of the most prestigious business firms in the city, and he was good at it too. For Brian, he had glided through life, taking opportunities where he needed to, and always received a good outcome with each one. He had his fair share of adversity, but nothing that some quick thinking or talking couldn’t resolve.

However, he did have one weakness. His family.

“You have to bring someone.”

“Sungjin?” Brian offered with a grin, but his mother rolled her eyes. “Okay, what about Wonpil?”

“A date, Brian,” she responded sternly, and Brian pouted.

“I bet either would scrub up well in a suit. I’ll see if-”

“Will you leave me grandchild-less for all of eternity?”

“Of course not. Who could handle you without grandchildren?”

“Don’t tease me, child.”

“I would never,” he answered sincerely, holding up a hand in an oath. “But I’m still young, Mum. I don’t want to give you grandchildren yet. Besides, you normally need another person to help create one-”

“Precisely. So why are you spending all your time looking at a computer screen in the rat race of the business world instead of searching for someone special?”

“I have women, Ma.”

“Long term commitments,” she reiterated, knowing full well her son dated around but never settled on one face for too long. “You need to learn about them.”

“I have a very long-term commitment to make you happy, don’t I?”

“Of course. And whilst I know not everyone holds the same values as I do, I know deep down how good of a man you could be to someone. How amazing a father you’ll be, too.”

“You think too highly of me, Mrs Kang.”

Reaching out to straighten his shirt before hugging her son, she smiled. “I should do. I’m your mother.”

“Maybe there’s no one out there who can outdo you in my eyes. Ever thought about that?”

“There is someone. I’m certain of it.”

He had stared at you for the entire lunch break, wondering how to broach the topic. Brian had known you for years now since you were friends with his high school buddy Sungjin and a cousin of Wonpil, his old roommate.

What was more important was that he knew you had crushed on him for almost the entire duration of knowing one another.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Eat one more sandwich?” a voice asked, and Brian tilted his head to the side, still sizing you up. “That’s right. You shouldn’t. You should hand it over to me.”

“Take it.”

“Who’s your next victim?” Sungjin asked, trying to follow Brian’s focus. “Oh, look. Y/N’s finally back.”

“Was she gone?”

“You didn’t notice? She was away for a month on holiday.”

“Maybe that’s why she looks so good.”

“Dude. No.”

“Huh?” Finally breaking out of his reverie and looking at Sungjin, he frowned. “No?”

“Don’t mess with Y/N like you do all the other girls you see.”

“I’m not going to mess with her. I just said she looked good.”

“It always starts there, and before you know it, they’re at your house screaming out your name.”

Brian smirked at Sungjin. “You almost sound bitter.”

“I’m in a long-term relationship, remember? I don’t need to be bitter about my best friend who has commitment issues.”

“Well, it looks like you’re out of the question to be my date.”

“To what?”

“Samantha’s wedding. Mum’s insisting that I bring someone.”

Sungjin took a bite of the sandwich before replying. “Take Suzy.”

“I’m bored of her. She’s always in my face about something I don’t care about.”

“Wow. To have the Brian Kang aura.”

“You don’t want it,” he answered, grinning at his friend before looking back at you. “It makes you into a jerk.”

“You better lay all your cards out on the table, is all I’m saying. You and I both know how much Y/N has liked you over the years. She’d basically do anything for you.”

“That’s what I’m banking on,” Brian admitted, getting up and patting his friend on the shoulder before approaching you.

You seemed aware of him before he stopped at your side, your smile instantaneous. “Uh… Brian. Hello.”

“Hey Y/N. How are you?”

“Good. Great. Splendid.”

Grinning as he took a seat next to you, he looked at you more closely. Without a doubt, someone like you would be perfect to take in front of his family. But he knew it wouldn’t be convincing if he just showed up with someone they didn’t know on the day of the wedding. If he was going to do this, he’d have to ensure his family was completely satisfied. And once the wedding was over, he’d be able to stay away from their radar for some time, especially if he was nursing a broken heart from breaking up with someone he dated for more than a few weeks.

It was a perfect plan, and you were the perfect person to be at his side to execute it.

It happened without Brian even noticing it. The way you fitted in with his family had already put him at ease, and with your added intimacy arrangement, Brian was living on cloud nine. He was able to have his career without the burdens of dating, he had help in keeping his family life peaceful, and the bonus of sex with you whenever he was up for it made his confidence soar. He was meeting targets both in the workforce and out of it, that he had no clue the consequence to having everything in his grasp would be that his ignorance would be the cause of losing it all.

You were waiting at the usual spot for Brian, your smile bright and your wave inviting. He stopped on his approach to meet you, blinking several times. He had grown accustomed to your appearance lately. He’d seen everything about you that nothing could throw him off anymore.

Except right now, he didn’t feel right. His heart was thudding in his chest, and his stomach full of knots. Brian was confused. He had never experienced something like this around you. Everything was normally so easy.

“Are you alright?” you asked after approaching him instead, reaching out instinctively to check his forehead.

He watched you silently as you examined him, wondering why he was suddenly breaking out in a sweat. You gasped.

“Are you coming down with something?”

“No? No! I uh, you just look amazing today is all,” he answered, blinking when he realised what he had said.

It wasn’t the first compliment over the last couple of months he’d given you. If anything, it was rather simple than the full-on charms he possessed whenever you were together in front of his family.

But it was different this time. Because he had said it genuinely. There was no need to talk you up anymore. You were beyond needing that type of reassurance in your agreement. And since it was just the two of you, it threw him completely.

It wasn’t an isolated incident, either. As the days went by, you were on Brian’s mind more often than not. He’d watch you at work when you’d cross paths and message you late at night when you were too busy to meet with him. You were his first thought when he woke up and his last before closing his eyes.

It was completely maddening.

“Have you ever thought that perhaps you might like her?” Sungjin offered, and Brian rolled his eyes.

“Of course, I like her. I wouldn’t be doing all that I am if I didn’t. Y/N’s amazing.”

“I meant more than the arrangement you two created.”

Brian froze, staring at Sungjin as if he had sprouted a second head.

“Seriously, give it some thought. You’ve never spent so much time with a girl outside of hooking up, right?”

“I don’t just sleep with everyone I kiss, Sungjin.”

His friend grinned. “But you’re seeing more with Y/N. Like how happy she makes your parents. Your grandmother adores her. You told me that you’ve never felt so at ease at a family gathering and even opting to go to the little ones all because it’s fun when you’re with Y/N.”

“It is.”

“Maybe you like like her, Brian.”

“More than the arrangement?” Brian echoed softly, and Sungjin nodded. Thinking on it, Brian grew uncomfortable and shook his head, dismissing the thought entirely.

“Don’t be daft. I have the Brian Kang aura, don’t I?”

But deep down, he wondered if Sungjin might be right.

He knew something was brewing between you when you started to have less time for him. Brian began to miss you, feeling impatient in between seeing you. The barriers he had strictly placed to protect his professional life from the agreement crashed when he dragged you into an office as soon as he saw you one morning, and the urgency that filled him to take you home with him that night had people talking about you and him around the office the following day.

And he liked it.

So, Brian came up with a plan. He was going to wait until the wedding was over and end your agreement.

By asking you out on a real first date instead.

Except, it didn’t go to plan at all. “Are you sure that you want me to drop you home?”

“Absolutely. I have plans.”

“Plans without me?” he asked, trying to hide his disappointment with a smile. “I’m wounded.”

“You’re a big boy. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Brian wanted to wait until he had you someplace where you could both be alone before he confessed what he felt for you. It had been building all day at the wedding, his realisation came too late. He was in love with you. He couldn’t wait to tell you, the words sitting at the surface on the car ride back to your apartment.

And when he turned to admit them after stopping the vehicle, you were already climbing out of the car, telling him to go along with the initial agreement on how to end things.

“Wait!” he called, but before he got his seatbelt off, you were gone, dashing into your complex as if you had someone waiting for you.

Knowing he couldn’t wait a moment longer, Brian sprinted after you, tapping his foot impatiently in the elevator on the ride up. He had only been to your apartment once in the beginning and he tried to remember which floor it was, going to the fourth floor before remembering it was the fifth. By the time the doors sprang open, he was wired, never feeling so sure about anything else in his life as he did with his feelings right now.

He vaguely looked at the man you were conversing with, uncaring of what he was interrupting. Brian was convinced you would much prefer hearing the confession he had to make instead.

“You’ve got some cheek showing up here.”

Nodding at the person before him, Brian leaned against the countertop. “When will you have a break, Lainey?”

“I’m amazed you know my name,” she said with a surprised laugh, and Brian merely stared at her. Her amusement died down when she examined his evident lack of self-care lately. “Shit, you look bad.”

“Break time, Lainey. When is it?” he prompted, and the woman before him checked her watch.

“In ten minutes. I’ll just-”

“I’ll meet you down in the coffee shop below.”

Brian was agitated by the time Lainey arrived, her eyes cautiously washing over him before sitting down. Shoving the menu towards her, Brian smiled briefly. “What do you want to order?”

“Have I stepped into another universe?”

“I wish I could. Panini? Cheese grill?”

“You are the Brian Kang I know of, right?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Brian shrugged. “I don’t know who I am.”

“You actually fell for her, didn’t you?” she breathed, and Brian glanced up at her, his eyes showcasing how vulnerable he was. Lainey groaned. “This won’t do.”

“I’m hungry, Lainey, and you should be too, so can you just pick something to order?”

“Come on. A coffee shop isn’t the right place for you right now,” she announced, reaching over the table for his hand and dragging him back outside.

He didn’t question where she would take him instead, not even fully aware of the journey they took until she was opening her apartment door for him. Brian blinked, staring at the open threshold and then at Lainey standing on the other side. She watched him before smiling gently. “Come on in. I won’t bite.”

Hesitating a final time, Brian crossed over into her home, looking around politely before taking a seat at the small dining table she gestured to. However, instead of joining him, Lainey moved into the kitchen. “I’ll make us something to eat. You look like you haven’t had a proper meal in days.”

“I don’t remember when I last ate,” he admitted softly, and Lainey nodded.

“Heartache does that to you.”

“Does it?”

Lainey stopped getting out ingredients from her refrigerator to look over at him. “Don’t tell me this is your first time being rejected.”

He didn’t dispute it, and Lainey cursed under her breath. It didn’t take her long, but the meal she presented sure smelt good enough to devour.

He picked at the food once it was in front of him, though, now feeling shy about his decision to approach your best friend for advice.

“So, are you going to start talking about it, or should I tell you what I know?”

“How much do you know?” he mumbled, and Lainey gave him a look that indicated she was holding onto a lot of information. “Of course. You must know why she doesn’t love me anymore.”

“I don’t think Y/N ever loved you, Brian. Gosh, she drove me mad about you for ten whole years, you know? I don’t think you and I have ever had a proper conversation because deep down, I’ve always hated you.”

“Ouch.”

“Sorry. I guess I was just over Y/N’s endless crush on you. She was never going to do anything about it. When you suggested the whole fake dating and friends with benefits thing, I was worried my best friend was going to be sitting across from me right now looking incredibly fragile after you broke her heart. Ironic that it’s the other way around, huh?”

“Sungjin was right to warn me about coming to you. You really don’t mince your words,” he muttered, and Lainey grinned before easing into a posture that made him feel small.

He could tell she was going to tell him something he didn’t want to hear.

“She’s dating someone else, Brian.”

“What?!” he gasped, dropping his fork onto his plate. It clattered, but the sound wasn’t nearly as deafening as the buzz in his head was becoming. “How could she be… we only just ended things… it’s not even been a month!”

“It was thanks to the arrangement with you that Y/N realised she didn’t even know you enough to love you. And her neigh—the person who was around her often was actually someone she had genuine feelings for.”

“I came here for advice on how to win her back.”

Lainey nodded empathetically. “I wouldn’t have given you any even if she was single. Brian, you both need to let it go. Fake arrangements are just that.”

“My feelings are real.”

“I’m guessing you’ve never allowed yourself to feel for anyone you’ve messed with.”

“You make me sound horrible.”

“You’re just an opportunist. Guys like you make the rest of the world feel unfair. You’re good looking, successful, smart, and yet completely switched off to what you feel on the inside. I almost feel sorry for you.”

“I didn’t come here looking for a pity party.”

“Yes, you did. Oh, Brian! How could Y/N even think to let you go like this! Don’t worry! I’ll give you all the knowledge I have as her bestest best friend to help you win her heart! Nothing like true romance to save the day!” Rolling her eyes after clearing her throat from the sweet tone she had used, Lainey stared at him expectantly.

“So, maybe I was looking for something along those lines.”

“In the real world, love isn’t just. Sure, it can be magical, but more often than not, it messes you up.”

“Sounds like you’ve been scorned.”

“I’m too much for most people,” she admitted with a shrug, turning back to her meal.

Glancing down at his food, Brian started to eat, hoping to recover from the weakness he had shown in front of your friend. He looked up at Lainey halfway, wondering what this world had thrown her way to make her so bitter about love.

“We best hurry up.”

“Oh, yeah. You have to get back to work,” he mentioned awkwardly, but Lainey shook her head.

“I told my boss I wasn’t going to come back today,” she told him, and Brian’s eyes widened. Lainey grinned. “But if we want to make it in time, we need to be leaving here in five minutes.”

“You bought me to the park for the ice cream truck?” Brian asked in disbelief almost thirty minutes later, watching as she lined up excitedly for the icy treat.

Lainey nodded. “You’re suffering. Don’t you know the steps to heartache?”

“Can you not announce that so loudly?” he asked, stepping closer to her side so she wouldn’t yell out to the universe that he had been rejected and was hurting on the inside.

“You’ve gone through the initial wave of rejection. No doubt faced some anger and denial over it too. Why me? Why not me? That kind of thing. Now, you need to get back to surviving. Sweet treats help.”

“Help with what?”

“I don’t know how exactly. It’s just what everyone does,” she answered, moving up to the counter, and looking back at Brian expectantly. “What flavour?”

Once settled on a park bench with a sundae each, Brian looked over at Lainey. He was strangely curious about the woman. Although he had been in the same friends’ circle as her all this time, it wasn’t as if he had openly gone out of his way to talk to her.

In fact, he knew very little about her.

Lainey smirked. “Stop sizing me up.”

“You’re really bold, aren’t you?”

“Not many can handle me, as I said.”

“Y/N does.”

“She’s sweet. You know? She’s foolishly adorable at the best of times. I don’t know. Maybe the cynic in me adores her because she likes to look at the bright side of life about everything she does, and I wish I could too.”

“She does,” Brian agreed with a small smile before having some more ice cream. “She’s comfortable to be around.”

“Sometimes I find myself wanting to be anywhere else,” Lainey admitted, looking over at Brian before staring at the large oak tree nearby. “I love her. I would do anything for her. But sometimes, she makes me so frustrated with who I am as a person.”

“Y/N has a way about her that makes you look at yourself properly.”

“I don’t like doing it often,” Lainey replied with a laugh and looked over at him again. “But we ought to. For what it’s worth, she was the right person to fall in love with.”

“As opposed to someone like you?” he questioned, and Lainey shrugged playfully.

“I don’t think I’m all that loveable.”

“I’ve always been afraid of being trapped down by someone. I’ve been driven my whole life by my own needs, my own greed. The concept of having to make room for someone else always put me off.”

“So, you dated people like Suzy Yates.”

“You sure know a lot,” he mused, and Lainey nodded.

“Always in the knowledge, never the one gaining it first-hand.”

“Do you want me to give you a pep talk?” he offered with a purse of his lips, and Lainey laughed heartily.

“Go on then. I’m curious as to what a pep talk from the almighty Brian Kang would be like.”

Clearing his throat noisily and repositioning himself so he was looking at her, he nodded once before starting. “Lainey, you won’t forever remain on the sidelines. Someone will find you to be just right for them. Not too much, or too little. They’ll be the right fit for you.”

She didn’t respond for a moment, and Brian leaned forward, amazed that he had stumped the woman. “Lainey, did-”

“Woah. Y/N was right. You really are someone who just spills out charming nonsense, and everyone’s meant to fall for it. You almost had me.”

“Almost,” he settled on with a satisfied smile and went back to eating his ice cream.

Ice creams in the park soon moved to meeting at bars once a week. Brian had never had a friend like Lainey who would be there to listen to every stupid idea he had in his head. Equally, she complained about everything and anything during these sessions, and he hadn’t laughed so much in a long time.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve told Sungjin half of the stuff I say to you. It’s as if you unlocked something in me, and I just spew nonsense out until I run out of things to say.”

“Could be the beer too,” Lainey mentioned, tapping her lager bottle against the side of his. “Alcohol always has a way of loosening people up.

“I normally drink wine. Funny, huh?”

“Well, you’re not wining and dining me, now are you.”

“There’s not a chance that I’d convince you back to my bedroom, huh?” Brian joked, and Lainey took a swig of her bottle before looking over at him.

“I’d rather take you back to mine.”

Staring at Lainey as if he was caught in headlights, she cracked up with laughter until she was hiccupping. “Your—face!”

“Have some water before you make a further fool out of yourself.”

“Why? Wor—ried that I’ll dr—ag you down a bad pa—th?!”

“You sound ridiculous!” he enthused, shoving a bottle of water her way, in which she gulped down to remove the hiccups she had. Once she was good, Brian smiled at her. “Better?”

“Thank you. Anyway, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept around with someone. That’s what I’m good for.”

“Too much for anything more, I know. You’ve told me a thousand times.”

“A sad joke it is that I’m sitting with one of the most eligible bachelors in this city, and he’s off-limits because he used to sleep with my best friend.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’d sleep with me if I wasn’t entangled with Y/N?”

Lainey gulped more of her beer and leaned in close to Brian, hovering around his ear. “I liked you first.”

“Huh?”

“Before Y/N even saw you. We went to all the same schools since kindergarten.”

“No, we didn’t.”

She nodded and let out a laugh. “See! You didn’t even know I existed all this time. That’s why I was bitter about Y/N crushing on you. Because you only came into our circle of friends when Wonpil introduced both sides.”

Thinking over the past, Brian whistled lowly. “Woah. That’s crazy.”

“Then I got sick of all the girls around us swooning over you. You’re not all that great.”

“I’m an asshole, really,” he agreed with a laugh, but Lainey didn’t join him.

“I always wanted to sleep with you.”

“That beer is going to your head. How about we stop?”

Lainey was undeterred. “Not because I wanted to outdo Y/N. Goodness, no. But because someone like you needs to know what it’s like to sleep with someone like me.”

“How so?” he wondered, curious at what she was getting at.

“You get everything you want. I don’t.”

“I don’t get everything, Lainey.”

“Almost everything. I’ve been honest my whole life in my approach to everything, but that honesty has bitten me in the butt one too many times. Apparently, I should be sweetly hanging off the arm of a guy. Not leading the way to the bedroom.”

“Who’s counselling who here these days,” he muttered, and Lainey grinned too easily, shaking her head suddenly.

“I won’t ever sleep with you, Brian.”

“Good. Because I didn’t plan on it either. Y/N wouldn’t approve.”

“She knows we hang out.”

Brian blinked before looking at the woman. “She does?”

“I told her I liked your company. She encouraged it.”

“So, she sees me as pathetic.”

“Hey, maybe she’s leaving you in the hands of the best person she knows.”

Brian chuckled. “That’s it. You’ve had more than enough to drink tonight.”

Despite that strange conversation with Lainey, Brian kept meeting with her. He wondered if it was out of mutual need. He relied on Lainey and believed she had grown accustomed to sharing her inner thoughts with him in the same way. Sometimes he worried it wasn’t healthy, especially with her connection to you, but she seemed to be the only person who got it.

Who got him.

“Brian.”

Jarringly turning at the familiar voice, he stared at the person before him as if it were a dream. For months now, he’d been avoiding you as best as he could around the workplace, thankful for a promotion that had taken him to another floor away from your department.

Which was why he was surprised to see you now. You smiled wistfully for a moment before approaching him and holding out a stack of files. “Annie asked for these. Could you deliver them to her?”

“Oh. Ah, sure.”

“Thanks,” you said, lingering longer than what was considerate between old lovers. Chewing on your bottom lip, you then decided to say what was on your mind. “It’s Lainey’s birthday this weekend.”

“I know.”

“Really?” she asked, blinking softly. “You didn’t know my—anyway, I am going to spend time with her before the date as I’ve got to head out of town with my family. I was hoping you’d maybe swing by and look out for her?”

“Why?”

“No one should be alone on their birthday.”

“I know that too. But why are you asking me to do something I was planning on doing?”

“Right. This is strange, you know.”

“Actually, it’s not so bad. I thought it would be a hell of a lot worse to talk to you than it is after all this time. Are you well?”

You blinked at his sudden chatter and then nodded. “I’m doing okay, Brian. And you?”

“I’m okay too.”

“Good. Well, uh. Sorry for assuming that-”

“I didn’t do enough right by you. I know that now. I also realise we both thought more about the other until it was obvious we didn’t know each other at all. Still, I want to let you know that I cared about you. And I told my family I broke it off with you. They still ask about you from time to time.”

“That’s… I don’t know what to say.”

Holding out his free hand, Brian smiled as you took it gingerly. “Let’s try not to walk on eggshells around each other. I’m also going to tell you something that might upset you.”

“What?”

“Lainey means a lot to me. I know she’s your best friend, but she’s become an amazing friend to me too. I hope you don’t mind us sharing her.”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “If Lainey has made a friend in you, then it’s because she sees something worthwhile. She doesn’t befriend just anyone.”

“It’s an honour,” he told you, and you grinned.

“I better get back to work. Thanks for caring about Lainey, by the way. She’s been let down by people in the past. I’m grateful she has someone like you.”

“Like me?”

“Yeah. I think she’ll be great for you,” you said with a strange smile, waving him off and disappearing from his view.

“Great how?” he wondered.

“Birthday shots!” Lainey exclaimed as she headed right for Brian’s liquor cabinet in his apartment. He barely had enough time to get in front of the doors to stop her. She whined outlandishly. “Come on, spoilsport.”

“This is your first time at my house, and you’re already walking around here as if you’ve visited it a thousand times.”

“Do I have to ask for permission to touch everything, sir?”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Don’t be like that either. I was just meaning perhaps we should eat first.”

“You’re right. It’s not every day that you cook for me.”

“I’ve never cooked for you,” he corrected with a smirk, and Lainey nodded.

“Is it poisoned? Is that how you plan to get me to leave tonight?”

“I doubt you’ll be leaving tonight,” he mentioned instantly and then looked up at Lainey with horror. “I uh meant, if we’re both drinking, it would make more sense for you to stay here. I have a spare-”

“Look at you babbling along with worry. Don’t worry. I won’t sneak up on you in the middle of the night to spoon.”

Brian eased into a smile and suggested for Lainey to take a seat at the table. He had gone to the trouble of making her one of his best Japanese dishes, and the delight was evident on her face when he placed it down in front of her. “Wow, look at you.”

“Red or white?” he offered, producing two bottles from his wine cooler. Lainey smirked.

“Are you wining and dining me, Brian?”

“Seriously, you’re trouble tonight, Lainey.”

“I want to make trouble. It’s my birthday only for today.”

Brian shrugged. “We can celebrate your existence every day if you want to.”

“There you go with those charms of yours,” she replied dramatically and then giggled, pointing to the pinot he held.

Dinner went well, as did the two movies they watched together. He watched Lainey yawn and then stood up. “Come on. I’ll show you to the spare room.”

“How gentleman-like of you.”

“I try,” he said with a laugh, and after pointing to the extra toiletries, he left Lainey to get ready for bed.

Whilst he sat on the edge of the couch in turmoil.

Brian didn’t know why he felt the way he did about Lainey staying over. He was torn, feeling as if he was a teenager again anticipating a sleepover with a girl, as well as reminding himself of the responsibilities he held as Lainey’s friend.

As her best friend’s fake ex.

So, when Lainey stepped back into the living room, freshly showered and looking far too good in his pyjamas, Brian leapt to his feet mumbling needing the bathroom. Reaching out for his lower arm as he brushed past her, Lainey spun him back to face her. “Are you okay?”

“Yep. Fine. Just need the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. Well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, birthday girl. Sweet dreams,” he told her with a slower pace than his last sentence, smiling briefly before dashing into the bathroom.

Where he gave himself the longest pep-talk about what was right or wrong.

When he eventually stepped back out and padded towards his bedroom, he couldn’t help but pause outside the room Lainey was in. She had left the door slightly ajar, and he peeked his head inside, smiling fondly at finding her already asleep. Without much thought, he slipped inside the room, approaching the side of the bed she was curled upon. Crouching down, his smile grew as he watched her peacefully.

He had never slowed down enough with any of the women in his life to truly take them in for who they were. He felt after the last several months now, he knew Lainey the most in this world. Without trying to, he had learned a lot about the woman, sometimes even more than he cared to know.

But that’s what he liked about Lainey. The fact that she didn’t hide anything and liberated him to feel the same way with his own thoughts. She was the first person to know the real version of him.

The vulnerable, normally locked away Brian Kang.

“You make me feel free,” he whispered, smiling once more before getting back to his feet.

Her hand suddenly dove out from under the blanket and linked with his. When Brian looked back at her, Lainey’s eyes were half open. “You haven’t given me a birthday present yet, Brian.”

“I cooked you dinner.”

“I want something else.”

“Lainey, I won’t have se-”

“Stay. I don’t want that either. Could you hold me in your arms tonight? I want to sleep beside someone warm.”

Contemplating the request, Brian eventually nodded, and Lainey scooted across the bed so he could slide in where she had been. Once under the covers, he let one arm fall across towards her, inviting her in. Nestling in beside him, Lainey sighed with content. “Thank you.”

“Happy birthday, Lainey,” he whispered, leaning down to press his lips to her forehead before closing his eyes.

It was the first time he ever had a woman sleep in his arms without her wanting to taste all of his body first. Sleep came all too easy for Brian with this new and exciting feeling.

It wasn’t awkward to slip into a more affectionate person at Lainey’s side. Whilst the pair hadn’t yet distinguished what their relationship was now, Brian felt content as a person whenever Lainey was around. It was different from the boastful notions he held over his time with you.

But there was an underlying nervousness that followed him around whenever he was with Lainey, worrying about the developing urges he held.

Lainey noticed one night when he was exceptionally quiet whilst fighting off the desire to kiss her. Pausing the movie they were watching at her place, she cocked her head to the side. “Do you even know what’s happening on the screen right now?”

“No,” he confessed quickly, laughing awkwardly afterwards. “I can’t even remember the title of the movie if I’m honest.”

“You’re not in the mood for this.”

“We can still watch it,” he replied, gesturing to the TV. “You’re interested in it.”

“Actually, I’m more interested in you.”

“Huh?”

“Just do it already, Brian. No, don’t. Allow me,” she stated before she leaned over and hovered her mouth around his. With a brief look at him for acceptance, she pressed her lips onto his, holding them there until he slowly moved against hers.

It was unlike any other kiss he’d experienced. Normally, he was only in it for passion. There was no urgency in the way he caressed Lainey’s lips now. He wanted to cherish the moment, savouring the taste of her with their languid kiss. Lainey didn’t demand anything further, either, which was refreshing.

It was just a kiss.

But it reached right down to his soul.

When they finally parted, Lainey shyly grinned at him. “So that’s what it’s like to kiss you.”

“The real me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve never kissed like that before,” he admitted, and Lainey’s skin flushed with colour. “Are you blushing right now?”

“I’m surprisingly weak when it comes to you. Why do you make me feel like all the troubles I’ve faced with men before won’t be what I have with you?”

“You’re someone unexpected for me too, Lainey.”

“I like that.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Maybe you’re someone who can handle all of this.”

“I think I’ve been handling you just right all this time.”

“I guess you have,” she replied with a soft laugh before capturing his lips in another mind-blowing kiss.

“How are you this late?!”

Glancing at the visibly relaxing expression on Lainey’s face as she took in your and Jae’s arrival, Brian then turned to the newcomers and smiled brightly. “The main thing is that they’re here.”

“Would you believe us if we said traffic was bad?” Jae offered with a guilty look as you nudged him warningly before leaping into Lainey’s embrace.

“I cannot believe you’re both getting married today!”

Nor could Brian.

It was something he hadn’t imagined for himself no matter how often he had told his family in the past he would happily marry someone. That was all for them, however, not once thinking he was the marrying type.

Then again, he hadn’t connected with Lainey back then either. Now, he couldn’t wait to read out his vows in front of all their guests and say I Do. But first, he had to farewell his bride to be and get ready for the wedding.

“Don’t you believe in it being bad luck to see your bride before the wedding?” Sungjin asked as Brian finally returned to his dressing room. Glancing at Jae, who had decided to join him, he then turned to his best friend and shook his head.

“After everything I’ve gone through to find Lainey and date her against all the odds, I’m not frightened of bad luck. Not even Jae’s glares can throw me off my game today.”

“I’m not glaring for once,” the man in question commented with a chuckle, slapping Brian on the back. “If anything, I’m happy for you. No longer on the market, Brian Kang.”

“I haven’t been on the market for years, Jae.”

“Still, it’s nice to have someone, isn’t it?” he mentioned sincerely, and Brian nodded.

It really was.

_________________

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