#have so far proved that over n over I need a pr team

[hangmansgbaby]

Puck Around and Find Out

A TGM Hockey AU

The San Diego Daggers has together for 5 years and the players have grown extremely close. And with a close team comes with everyone being there to witness every step of your life. Read along as the Daggers work through major moments in their's and each other’s lives.

| Meet the Team |

*listed in timeline order*

P U C K I N G F I N A L L Y Playlist | Taglist

Javy Machado x Natasha Trace | Prequel | Javy and Nat had been on again, off again since freshman year of college, ending on off again at the time of graduation. A year later, Nat is in desperate need of a date to her cousin’s wedding where everyone is convinced her and Javy have been together for the last year and a half, including her parents. Javy agrees to pretend so long as Nat tells them they broke up soon after. A weekend together though may just make them change their minds, but will they say something or just let the opportunity for something more serious pass them by?

R O Y A L L Y P U C K E D Playlist | Taglist

Jake Seresin x Layne Thomas (Athletic Trainer) | Layne Thomas is the new physical therapist for the San Diego Daggers but on day one, she runs into an all too familiar face, who is also the captain of the Daggers. Jake Seresin, who met Layne by chance in Denver, Colorado after a game, has nonstop thought of her ever since that one night and now she’s here before him in San Diego. Jake pines after his Denver girl while Layne does everything to ignore his advances, even going as far to show more interest in his alternate captain despite her own feelings for him blooming.

W H A T T H E P U C K Playlist | Taglist

Bradley Bradshaw x Riley "Racer" St. James (Dagger Ice Girls Captain) | Riley St James is the captain of the Dagger Ice Girls and long time friend, recently turned girlfriend, of Alt Captain Bradley Bradshaw. When Bradley’s ex shows up and drops a baby in his arms before leaving, Bradley’s entire world is flipped upside down. Between Bradley’s new found fatherhood and the possibility of losing her spot on the team, Racer has to work hard to prove she is still a devote girlfriend and worthy of her spot as an Ice Girl.

P U C K I N G S H O T S Playlist | Taglist

Bob Floyd x Beatrice "Bug" St. James (Team Photographer) | The SD Dagger photographer sees every side of of the team, but her favorite view is Bob Floyd. The sweet, wouldn’t hurt a fly boy is one of the toughest goalies in the game and Bug has he sights, and lens, set on him and she’s willing to break every rule in the handbook to win him over.

B E Y O N D P U C K E D Playlist | Taglist

Mickey Garcia x Mia Floyd (Dancer) | Bob’s sister, Mia Floyd, just moved to San Diego to be apart of a local dance troupe and catches the eye of one Mickey Garcia. Despite being labeled off limits by her older brother, Mickey can’t help to try his hardest to win over the dancer.

S O C I A L P U C K S Playlist | Taglist

Reuben Fitch x Jessica "Click" Monroe (Social Media Manager) | Jessica Monroe has been the social media manager for the Daggers since their inception. Although her strict no player/coworker policy, a scandal involving Reuben Fitch’s name breaks out and the only way to save his image is to convince the world he is long since taken, only… the press seems to have a different plan that the PR team.

[gr0vndz3ro]

Fucking Fame

Idol!Bakugou x Idol!Reader(NSFW)

Warnings:NSFW,18+, cursing, thigh riding, slight degradation??, unprotected sex

Word Count:3,656

Crossed off: Popstar AU

Tag list: @gallickingun​ @prismaroyal​ @shoutodoki​ @sadistiks​ @keigod​ @honeytama​ @shoutogepi​ @hawks-senseis​​

A/N: Happy forth of July to my fellow people in the USA enjoy some smut. This is my first piece for the @bnhabookclub​  bingo event, but I hope that you guys really enjoy it :3

“We’ve been driving for hours, PLEASE tell me that we’re close to the venue. I think I’m going to die.” You say as you throw yourself against the couch in your tour bus. You were currently heading to where your next concert was supposed to be located. It wasn’t far enough in distance to warrant taking the plane so here you were, trap inside this boring bus.

“You should be relaxing for the show tonight. And your supposed to be on vocal rest until we get there, so stop focusing on when we are going to arrive and just do what you’re told.” Your manager doesn’t even bother looking up from her laptop while you throw your fit. You roll your head over to where she sat and sigh dramatically hoping to get her attention so the two off you could do something more entertaining, but when she continues typing you give up. Moving your feet off of the side of the couch, you get up heading back toward the little hang out room. 

You shut the door behind you and take a seat on one of the comfy chairs and pull out your phone checking out tonight’s show and venue. After typing in your password you can see that the show tonight was one of your combined shows with a well known band that your agency wanted to have a show with to help boost your ratings. You had tried refusing doing a combined show but in the end your manager and team won. You knew that it would be good publicity but there was apart of you that wanted to be able to achieve your fame without having to piggy back off of others. Seeing as this was your first tour though, you didn’t have much say in things. What bothered you the most though, was that you had never even met this band before. At the least with other shows, you had a day or two to get to know whoever you were preforming with but this time it was almost as if you were thrown to the vultures. 

So you took it upon yourself to look them up. The band had consisted of 5 members. There was their lead singer, Izuku Midoryia, who seemed to be the face of the band, appearing in the most amount of interviews and seeming to have the biggest general following. The lead guitarist and back up singer, Shouto Todoroki, seemed to be more of the band’s mystery man and the ladies favorite. The second guitarist, Eijirou Kirishima, looked to be the life of the group, appearing at as many meet and greets and almost always staying after shows to talk to fans. There was the base guitarist, Denki Kaminari, who seemed to get in the most amount of newspapers and magazines. Never for any super bad reasons but it seemed to be for really stupid things like accidently breaking a hotel microwave by microwaving glass. And then there was the drummer.

Katsuki Bakugou.

According to article after article, he was the group bad boy. He had no filter and was often never brought to interviews due to past appearances. He didn’t put up with the fakeness of celebrity life and called every person who was apart of it out on it. The band’s PR team constantly had to log him out of his twitter due to vulgar debates. You were also able to find multiple scandals' involving him and other female celebrities and fans to which he never responded to with more than a wicked smile. But other than his hot headed ego and promiscuous relations, there wasn’t much else you could find. You searched for a half hour to try to see if you could find anything else about who he was but nothing came up. Eventually you gave up on your efforts to try to uncover any actually useful information on the man, instead decided to waste your time by taking a nap until you arrived at the venue. 

It felt like only seconds had passed before you were being nudged awake by your lovely manager. She explained to you that you had arrived at the arena and gave you direction to where your dressing room was going to be. The band had already preformed the sound check so you were free to take your time while getting ready seeing as they wouldn’t need you for a bit before it was time for your own mic check. You made your way through the poorly lit halls to where your manager had told you your dressing room was. When you finally come across the door you believe to lead to your room you push it open and quickly enter. Your make your way over to were the vanity was and take a seat. While reaching over to grab your products for the night, your attention is caught by the sound of the door opening. There in the doorframe was the same man you were unable to find any information on. Although you were confused as to what he was doing in your dressing room.

“Um can I help you?” Your eyes trail after him as he beelines toward the couch before plopping down. You raise your eyebrow at him, questioning how comfortable he was making himself. “Make yourself comfy I guess” He continued to ignore you while moving his arms behind his head as he closes his eyes. “Are you just going to sit there and ignore me? What are you even doing in my room?” You were now standing next to where you were just seated, hands against your hips as you question him. He shuffled on the couch looking over at where you were.

“Your room? I don't think you got the memo princess.” He sat up from his spot on the couch, still taking an obnoxiously large amount of room he spoke again. “This is our room. The other dressing room was too small for all 5 of us so the two of us are sharing. Besides...” He looked you up and down, suddenly feeling very small under his glare, “wannabe brats like you don’t get a private room. Sorry about your luck your highness” You’re stare hardens at his words, angry now flowing through you.

“Well you don’t have a private room either so what does that say about you?” Crossing your arms you wait for him to come up with some clever response. You make your way over to wear he was, prepared to shove him out of your room so that you could have some peace and quiet before tonight.

“Why you little-��� You cut him off before he can finish his sentence.

“You know what I think. I think that your other bandmates probably got sick and tired of your ‘I’m the best person here and everyone else can fuck off’ attitude and forced you to go to some other room. How pathetic do you have to be for your own friends to find you obnoxious?” Your words leaving your mouth like venom, not even caring how mean you sounded. When he shot up from the couch and stormed right infront of you, you still stood your ground. You weren’t going to back down. He kept coming closer and closer to you until he was barely a step away, his face merely a few inches from yours. A breath hitches in the back of your throat, as you feel your body betray you. Just his presence alone was soaked in intimidation. You go to speak up again to tell him to back off but you feel the words get trapped and fail to get out. A smirk covering his face as he notices as well. 

“Oh? Not so big and tough now are you? You should learn to hold your fucking tongue, especially when you’re talking to someone who could end your whole career.” He holds you in place with his killer stare, Vermillion eyes staring into your own. You swallow whatever lump had formed and spoke up.

“Oh yeah? You and what following? I’ve heard about you ya know. Everyone knows that you call out everyone for living such fake lives. For taking advantage of their fame and sleeping with whoever they want just because they’re famous and they know they’ll do what ever they say. Yet you’re exactly the same. You pick up chick after chick as they all practically fling themselves onto you. You’re just a fucking hypocrite and I know you’re not going to do shit because you’re all talk.” Confidence pouring from your mouth as you take a step away from him, trying to create distance between the two of you. But he quickly takes another step forward closing your attempt.

“You almost sounded jealous there, what do you wish you could be one of them?” His smirk so wide you could see his gums poking out. You scoff at his remark.

“As if I would ever be with someone like you.” A look of disgust taking over you face at even the thought of sleeping with him. But like a disease, the thought continued to spread in your thoughts and slowly your face began to heat up. Suddenly the little space between you felt hot and you were wanting nothing more than to leave the room and distance yourself from him, but he had different plans. 

“Is that so?” He continues stepping toward you and you back away from him. This continues until you feel you back hit the wall next to where you were once getting ready. A gasp leave your lips at the sudden contact but are quickly brought back by a hand on your jaw, turning you toward his face. 

“Yes t-that’s so” You curse yourself at the stutter that manages to escape, the tension in between you finally getting to you, against your own wishes. A deep chuckle makes a shiver shoot down your spin.

“You don’t seem to confident in that answer. Come on where did all of that sass go? Don’t tell me the brat has lost her fight.” His free hand makes its way to the wall behind you, effectively caging you in-between it and his broad chest. 

“I didn’t lose anything and I’m not a brat.” You clench your teeth, sure he could feel it through his hold. His grip tightens slightly against you as he brings you closer to his face. So close that you could now feel his warm breath fan across you as he spoke.

“Then prove it princess. Show me that you’re not just some goodie two shoes who’s gonna cry if she doesn’t get her way.” His face hovering just barely in front of yours. You look into his eyes and think about what he said. You could very easily just brush past him and walk out but it was something about the way he was staring you down that almost didn’t make you want to go. So, against you better judgement, you did the exact opposite. You raise your arm up, bringing it to his forearm. Moving your fingertips up the muscles of his thick arms, you watch goosebumps litter his skin. Once you get to his bicep you switch to having your full arm feel him as you continue to travel all the way to his neck, where you run your hand around the back of his neck, finger tips spreading throughout his hair. Bringing your eyes back to meet his, you take a handful of the soft locks and lightly tug it, earning a throaty groan from him. Using the leverage of control over his head, you bring him down so you are at level with his ear.

“Why don't you make me?” You say as you lean forward, giving his ear a small nibble before returning back to your spot against the wall. His face grows red at your sudden forwardness, and you chuckled before letting a smirk cross your lip. But when you watch as his eyes darken as he drinks you in, you find yourself subconsciously biting your bottom lip. His eyes flicker down to see you release your lip before bring his own to come crashing down.

Both of your lips meet in a fight for dominance, not wanting to just let him win and loose your ground. Your hands still tangled in his hair as you find yourself tugging on the stands as you fight for air. The sensation only further driving Bakugou to want more. His hand moves away from the wall and to you hip as the other travels to the back of your neck, pulling you further into him if it was even possible. Your lips move in perfect harmony as he pushes himself into you, his thigh separating your legs as he kept you pinned against the wall. You gasp as you feel his hand grab your ass, but he takes advantage of it and dives his tongue into your mouth. They meet in a battle of dominance, exploring every dip of each others mouth. Eventually he takes charge and you feel yourself moan into the kiss. Oblivious from the heated kiss, you had hardly noticed Bakugou’s hand slid down to the edge of your skirt until you felt him take a handful of your ass and squeeze. 

You pull away from the kiss looking him in the eyes, lust glazed over them. You squeezed your thighs together but instead of getting any relief from the presser, it caused you rind down onto the thick thigh that was holding them apart. The friction making a surge of pleasure rip through you and the need to feel again grew. So you roll you hips forward, moaning from the rough jeans against your almost naked core, protected only by thin lace. It was almost as if something had came over you as you continued rolling your hips against his muscular thigh getting yourself closer to your own release. That was until two firm hands landed on either side of you hips, haltering your movement. 

“Are you so desperate that you’re trying to get off by riding my thigh? If you want more all you have to do is ask princess.” Leaning down so that his head was right next to your ear, making sure you heard his next sentence. “Go ahead, I want to hear you beg for it.” The feeling of his lips on your neck make your hips involuntarily move as he searches for the sweet spot, but as soon as he finds it you’re a puddle of whimpers in his fingertips. 

“Pl-please Bakugou- ughh- I need more” Barely able to get the words out any louder than a whine. Desperately trying to receive any form of please the man infront of you was willing to give to you. You shutter as you feel him chuckle against your skin.

“Is that all you got? You’re going to have to do better than that if you want this dick at all.” He returns to kissing against your neck, just light enough not to give you the pleasure you so desired.

“Fuck! Bakugou please! I need you to fill me up and fuck me until I can’t walk. Please I need your fat cock to just split me open.” If you could hear the words you were saying right now you would probably die of embarrassment but the amount of lust taking over your body made you not even think twice at the lewd confession. You feel his grasp on your hips tighten, his finger tips digging into your soft sides, surely leaving marks, as a groan leaves his lips at your begging. Quickly, he moves his hands from your side to underneath your hips, picking you up before placing you down on the sofa he once was on, pinning you between the soft cushion and his hard chest. You two met again in a passionate kiss, much messier than the first, spit was everywhere but you couldn’t care less you just wanted all of him. As he reached down to pull the drenched lace down your thighs you could feel his hard on press against your thigh and you couldn’t help but feel even more turned on by the fact he was liking this as much as you were. Pulling away from the kiss you feel him pant against your lips.

“Call me Katsuki baby, I want to hear you scream my name as I destroy this pretty little pussy of yours.” He almost couldn’t tear his gaze away from your soaked core, wanting nothing more than to devour you then and there. “Next time I’m going to have to eat you out but for now I want to feel you around me instead.” You feel yourself clench around nothing at the thought of there being a next time.

But suddenly your attention is grabbed when you feel his head press against your entrance, your head shoots down to see his massive cock rubbing against you, gathering all your slick with each stroke. Teasingly, he stops right as his tip is aligned with your hole, causing you to squirm as you craved to feel him deep inside you.

“Please Katsuki I can’t take it any more, I need you!” You bite down on your lip as you feel him start to push into you, feeling yourself stretch around his head as it dips further into you. Clenching around him at the pleasure of him filling you up.

“F-fuck Y/N you gotta stop squeezing me like that.” He struggled with trying to slowly push into you at how tight you were, so he did the next best thing. Thrusting his hips forward, he forces himself passed though the squeezing grip into you until you are filled to the brim with his cock. His head dipping back in ecstasy at how your walls hug around him. “Shit you’re so fucking tight.”

“P-please move.” Tears collect in your eyes at how full you were. Sure you may have been with other guys before but no one ever made you feel this full. Slowly he pulls out of you before rutting his hips forward to fill you back up. The way he was positioned, causing him to hit your g-spot. A moan leaving your lips as he starts moving his hip again, starting to pick up the pace before eventually he is slamming into you at an unforgiving speed.

The feeling of his vein dragging against your walls as he slams into your spongey wall causing you to cry out at the amount of intense pleasure you were feeling. Your hands make there way to his back, digging your nails into the muscle as you try to somehow control how you were feeling.

“Is my little princess already going to cum?” A yes barely makes it out of you as a mutter of profanities follow soon after. His hand reaches down to press into your clit causing a wave of heat to flood through you. While rubbing little circles into you, he leans down, kissing and sucking on your neck before speaking again. “Come on then baby girl, let me hear you. I want everyone in the whole building to know who’s making you feel this good.”

“God you Katsuki!! You do! Holy fuck you’re gonna make me cum” Your back arches as his pace becomes sloppy but he keeps increasing in power. You can feel the couch shaking at the intensity at which he’s slamming into you.

“Cum for me princess, cum all over me.” If the pleasure from him hitting both of your sweet spots wasn’t enough, the addition of his lewd words burning into your ear was enough to make you see stars. As he continued his assault on your body your vision went white as you chased your release, clenching tightly around him as your hands dragged down his back, marking it as your own as you felt yourself cum around the thick cock that pulsed inside of you. Watching your face be taken over in pure bliss and the feeling of you milking his dick had Bakugou painting the inside of your walls white within a few thrusts.

His pace started to slow down helping the both of you ride out your high. The room was filled with the sound of both of your uneven breathing as you both attempted to catch your breath. After a few minutes he pulled himself out of you and you immediately felt empty. He watched as his seed tried spilling out of you as you clenched at the sudden emptiness, and quickly brought his finger down to scoop it back up and push it back into you. He looked into your eyes as a smirk takes over his face.

“Maybe you aren’t as much of a goodie two shoes as I thought.” He grabs your hand and helps you to stand up and you feel your knees buckle under the weight. An arm is wrapped around you waist, stopping you from falling to the floor. As he held you, you felt his cum run down your thighs. You were about to ask him a question when a knock came from the door.

“Y/N you’re need for a mic check, make sure you hurry up because they’re waiting for you.” You heard the voice of your manager from out side of the room and a look of panic crosses your face but Bakugou just chuckles.

“You heard her princess, your audience awaits. We’ll just have to pick up where we left off after the show.” An evil smile on his face as he lets go of you and nudges you toward the door. As you step out of the room and make your way toward the where the stage was, you realized one thing.

That fucker didn’t give you back your underwear.

[catxsnow]

REPLACED

Summary: Bruce might have adopted a bunch of children, but that didn’t mean all of them were ready to take on the mantle of Robin.

Batfam x reader 

Warning: angst, self-depreciation, Damian being a demon-spawn  

A/n: I’ve learned when I’m feeling depressed I write depressing so here we are. 

GIF not mine

Word count: 2.4k

You struggled a lot in your life.

Bruce Wayne found you after the death of your mother. Your father had never been apart of your life and without your mom, you had no one. Just like he had done with the Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, he had taken you into his home with open arms. It was a big adjustment, one that took you years to get used to.

He trained you to be the next Robin, but fighting was something that you could never grasp. No matter how much he pushed you, had patience with you, and spent hours upon hours training, you felt as if you were never going to be enough to get on the streets. You felt weak, pathetic that you couldn't be as good as the rest before you.

And then Damian came into the picture. He was trained from such a young age that he was far better than you and he was years younger than you were. It made you feel even worse about your skills. Before you could even get your chance as Robin, Damian had taken the title from right under your feet.

That was your breaking point. For years you forced yourself to not give up. You thought that maybe if you pushed yourself to your limits that you would reach the point that you could go out there. You were wrong. The moment Damian showed up at the Wayne Manor, you had finally given up.

Maybe it was for the best. If you had to train for that long, just to be able to go on patrol a few nights a week then maybe it was best that you never got your chance.

It broke Bruce's heart to see you give up.

He always wanted what was best for you. No matter how much he yelled at you and pushed you down, he did it because he wanted you to stay safe. Not once did he ever give up on you because you had never lost faith in him. Damian showing up ruined that.

It wasn't just his abilities that towered over yours, it was his teasing. He knew he was better than you and it made sure that you knew it. Damian put you down, mocked your skills, and pushed your to your mental breaking point. You didn't think he realized the damage he was doing until you broke down in the cave.

“What benefit does she even bring to the team, father? You’ve been trying her for years and she hasn’t even come close to making it the being Robin,” Damian harshly spoke. He said many more things about you, things that no one should ever hear about themselves. 

Damian was talking to Bruce about you, wondering why you were there if you never even made it out on the streets. His words tore through your chest - useless, weak, pathetic - all the things you already felt. You were sparring with Tim at the time, Damian must have thought that you couldn't hear.

Tim heard too.

He saw you pause in the middle of your training. Standing there with your shoulders slumped and tears in your eyes. He stopped, hearing what you were hearing and understanding why you were like this. The only reason that you were even down there, was because even after you told Bruce you wanted to give up, he asked you to at least keep yourself enough on your toes that if something were to happen to you, you could protect yourself against a common thug.

Tim tried to stop you from running off, he wanted to tell you not to listen to what he was saying but it was too late. You were already storming off, tears streaming down your cheeks. Thankfully, neither Bruce nor Damian noticed your exit - as far as they knew, you hadn't heard a thing.

Bruce was yelling at Damian when you left, angered that he would say these things about you. You might not have been the best fighter on the team but you were still part of it. Even if that meant that you were the one stay back and stay on comms or stitch them up when they got back. You were a part of the team just as much as the rest of them.

Damian wasn't able to see that. He was just a kid, as much as he didn't want to be seen as one. He didn't understand the human emotion at that age, especially being the way that he was raised. You knew that you should have taken that into account but it didn't make his words hurt even left.

You left to your room. The tears wouldn't stop, everything that he was saying was your worst insecurities spoken in truth. Everyone knew that you were self conscious about your skills, but they also knew that you were trying your best and that was what mattered the most. Damian didn't know that.

For years, you felt older than you actually were, it was a quality that was picked up by every child in that house hold. However, laying there on your bed crying your eyes out? You felt like the teen that you were. Filled with sadness, loss of hope, you didn't think you would ever find your place.  

You cried and cried until no more tears would come out. Knees tucked to your chest and staring at the wall with lifeless eyes, you felt like the disappointment that you always thought you were.

"(Y/N)," there was a knock at your door. It sounded like Tim, but you couldn't be sure over the sound of your sniffles.

Weakly, you replied back, "go away."

"(Y/N), I'm not leaving until you let me in," You knew for sure that it was Tim. He was the only one to see you run off so upset. Tim was always a good older brother to you. He understood the struggle of not being able to be as strong as Dick or Bruce, but where he lacked strength, he made up with in skill. You had neither, at least not enough of either.

Reluctantly, you allowed him to come in. Tim saw you curled up on your bed, eyes red and puffy. He joined you on your bed, wrapping his arms around you. You thought that you had no more tears to shed but the second you crashed into his arms, they spilled again.

"Don't listen to him," Tim rubbed your back. Age wise, you were the closet to him which made it easier to get along. Tim always seemed to take your side no matter the circumstance. "Damian has been training since he was a child, you've only been here a few years. That doesn't make you less worthy than him.

"In fact, just by showing that you've never given up proves that your better than he'll ever be. You're willing to learn, to improve, Damian has reached an arrogance that makes him thinks he has no more to learn," Tim tried to comfort you. "You can't give up now, I know you already talked to Bruce but -"

"But nothing, Tim," you shook your head, pulling away from him. "Damian's right, I'm not cut out for this, I never have been. We both know if I ever go out there, the whole time everyone is going to be worrying about me and the job isn't going to get done. Bruce might have made me family but I'm not meant to be under the wing of Batman."

"That's not true," Tim argued. He wished that you could see how much you had improved. He wished that you could see that you were just as valid of a member of this family. You were important to everyone there - even to Jason who rarely liked to admit that he tolerated anyone in that family.

"But it is, we both know it, we've always known it."

><

You wished that you were strong enough to not sulk around the manor for the next week but that wasn't the case. Damian's words were really tying you down and nothing was able to get out of your rut.

Tim tried to help in every way he knew how. He would bring you your favourite drink when the two of you got back from class, he even tried to bake you cookies. You appreciated his efforts, you really did, but this wasn't something that could be fixed with material items.

By the end of the week, Bruce finally picked up on how you were feeling. You had done your best to avoid him but when he cornered you in the library, you knew that there was no escaping him.

"(Y/N)," Bruce called out to you. World's best detective was going to see through you facade in a matter of seconds. It was time to face him, you knew you had to. Maybe this was what you needed: tell him how you felt about Damian's arrival. "You've been MIA for a week, what's going on?"

He didn’t even know that you heard what Damian said about you. What a joke. 

"Damian is what's going on," you suddenly felt this sudden rage fill your body. This wasn't like you, you were never an angry person. "Damian shows up in the middle of fucking nowhere and you treat him like he's some kind of-of god! I've been here for years, he hasn't even been here for two months and you replaced me with him. For godsake Bruce you let him take my place as Robin before I even got the chance!"

Your voice continued to raise as you spoke. Bruce had never seen you like this - the anger that rose a fire in your eyes and fists tight at your sides. He knew that Damian's arrival wasn't necessarily ideal in their plan for the future but he couldn't change what it was now.

“We’ve talked about this. I’d rather you be stuck training for years then dead on the streets because you weren’t ready,” Bruce tried to argue. The situation was less than ideal but he didn’t even put in the extra effort to try and change it. 

“That isn’t the point!” You yelled. “I don’t give two shits that I’m not ready. I don’t care that I’m not as naturally equipped as the others. You gave up on me along time before I gave up on myself. You replaced me because that was easier than facing me!” 

"(Y/N), calm down, you're starting to sound like Jason," Bruce tried to get you to lower your voice. He had known the pain that Jason felt when Tim took his place after his death and you were starting to say the exact same things that he was saying when he was in that same place.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Your voice still echoed through the large library. "Maybe Jason was right. Maybe this family is too fucked up to ever amend. Maybe he was right to leave and never look back! You let Damian say those things about me and you never did jackshit about it! What kind of father does that prove you to be?"

Bruce looked taken aback by your words. You always appreciated him taking you in, but there were some lines that he had crossed that you couldn't forgive him for. This was one of them - the betrayal that you felt when he took sides over his son he didn't even know existed against you.

Bruce’s silence said more than any string of words could.

With a huff of air, you pushed past Bruce and out of the library. Maybe Bruce was the reason that you were never able to reach your potential as Robin. Maybe he never took you to the same level that he took with the boys and with Steph. Maybe it was Bruce Wayne that never wanted you to make it to being a vigilante.

The idea had never crossed your mind before, but the more you thought about it, the more you thought it to be true. You felt as if you were always missing pieces of training - moves that Tim was able to do and you couldn't, tactics that Dick would come up with, even using weapons like Jason when he was Robin. There were so many things that you could never do.

The thought of him sabotaging your success just made you even more angry than you were before. In that moment, you wanted nothing more than to be Robin, you wanted to be a better hero than Bruce, Dick, and everyone that came before you. You wanted to prove everyone wrong.

You hadn't realized that you walk of anger had led you to the gardens. The sun was just setting and through your red vision, you had to stop and admire the beautiful orange and purple skies that shone through the trees. The sight had calmed you instantly, and you stood there to watch the sun finish setting.

Dick was the one to show you how pretty they were in the gardens. It was when you first arrived at the manor, upset about your mother's death. he tried to make you feel better with the view and it had worked. You always thought of your mother when the sun set after that, it was a reminder she was still there with you.

"(L/N)," you hadn't realized how long you had been watching it. The smallest glimpse of light was left and darkness began to cover the yard. You were surprised to see that it was Damian standing next to you. Since his arrival, you avoided having a full conversation with him. "Father told me to come apologize to-"

"I don't want your apology, Damian," you looked down at him. He seemed relieved that he didn't have to do it, but even more so confused. Just as the last bit of light left the sky you fully faced him. Damian watched as your face grew with determination.

"I want you to make me a lethal weapon."

[vanaera]

The Heart Holiday | Act 1 | myg

Synopsis: Valentine’s Day is declared as an official holiday. However, private companies’ standards dictate it’s only for the people who are currently in a relationship. Unluckily for Y/N, she doesn’t have this year’s PRS’ (Proof of Relationship Status) “in a relationship” box ticked – the only ticket out she can have to enjoy one paid week of holiday leave away from her hellish job. And more unfortunately for Y/N, everyone around her is oh so conveniently currently committed in a relationship. Except for one person: Min Yoongi, Y/N’s biggest critic in every pitch meeting, the picky guy who always picks on her, and the most annoying jerk of the century. Desperate for that holiday leave, Y/N strikes Yoongi up with an offer: Fake date each other two weeks before February 14, just enough time for the Department of Relationship Management (DRM) to consider processing your PRSs. After Valentine’s Day, they will go back to their own ways and never speak about whatever that may happen during the plan. Good, plain, and simple. That is until, Yoongi uncharacteristically oh so enthusiastically agrees to Y/N’s offer, leaving her thinking that she may have bitten something too much more than she can chew.

Characters: Yoongi x Female Reader

AU/ Trope: Office AU (Creatives manager!yoongi x PA!reader), enemies to lovers, fake dating

Genre: fluff, angst, comedy (the triple t(h)reat)

Wordcount: 11, 798

Warnings: Lots of curses from two emotionally-constipated characters (PG-15 Rating)

A/N | This fic is in part with FWL’s Valentine’s project, The Luv Library: Romance. I had this premise about a Valentine’s holiday for a while and finally, I got to use it for this fic.

next  | series masterlist

             Ten seconds are enough to look at Min Yoongi. Two seconds to look at his unkempt, unprofessional, and stupid fringes that nonsensically cover his already small eyes. Three to look at his stupid, smug smile. Another two for his overly-confident stance—leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the table, hands clasping together—as if he’s better and of higher power than anyone else around the room when he’s just a measly representative of the day for the Creatives Team. And the last three seconds—they are enough to look at his mocking eyes, his jeering gaze, and the arrogant quirk of his brow.

               This is the same look he gave to Y/N when he got promoted ahead of her. This is the same look he flashed to Y/N when he berated every word choice in her reports. And, this is the same look in his face when he ruined her presentation which could have been her ticket way out from this hellish job. Smug, arrogant, and proud, Min Yoongi is set to ruin Y/N’s life. And all Y/N could do now is glare at him and hope her eyes could set him on fire so it will be easy for hell to swallow him up and—

               “Y/N?”

               Y/N whips her head to her right, “S-sorry?”

               Nancy Kim clicks her tongue, “Why are you just standing there, glaring at the windows? I told you to distribute the copies among the room.”

               “R-right,” Y/N gulps and rushes forward. She hands the copies of last month’s Travel Loca issues among the representative of each department. Gracie from the Marketing Team sneaks her a small smile, which Y/N returns. However, that smile falls into a frown when she reaches the devil himself.

               “Good morning, Y/N,” Min Yoongi greets, chin rested on his palm. When Y/N doesn’t greet back, Yoongi takes it upon himself to wink at her. With a huff, Y/N slams down the copy on the table in front of him, enough for the glossy, firm cover page to hit his pile of notes and cause some pages to fly off the table.

               “Thank you, Y/N,” Nancy calls out, sighing. She waves away at Y/N and the latter takes it as a cue to sit back on her chair. Nancy leans back in her huge black chair, “Okay, let’s get the ball rolling. Now tell me something I don’t know.”

               Y/N seats herself on the chair by the corner of the room, behind Nancy’s chair, far from the round meeting table. Every team representative starts to report their progress last month and their suggestions for the next, next month’s issue. Meanwhile, Min Yoongi is still busy picking up his notes on the floor. When he’s gathered them back, now in a sloppy stack, he looks from his crouched position and flashes Y/N his middle finger. She flashes back a finger at him, grinning. Y/N looks down at her small pocket notebook.

               “Y/N – 1. Yoongi – 0.”

               So far, this morning is really good.

               Y/N hates Min Yoongi, and this is beyond an understatement. She hates him so much that the word “hate” started to become insufficient to describe her tantamount distaste for that man. Y/N blames his last name for that. “Min” should not be how his last name spelled. It should be M-E-A-N because that man is beyond mean.                

               When Y/N first met Yoongi, she knew there’s something off with him. He stands so arrogantly, so prideful as if he deserved every bit of the floor space of Travel Loca’s Main Office when he just got hired because there’s no other job-seeker that has actually applied. Yoongi looks at other people as if he’s any much greater than them. Lazy eyes, far-off gaze, indifferent façade—he just looks at you as if he’s listening when he’s actually just hearing so he can make some witty comeback. And Yoongi talks like a dictator know-it-all. He corrects every word people say here and there, like “Y/N, are you sure it’s ‘demonstrate,’ not ‘visualize’? We can’t physically see something if there’s nothing to see,” or “Y/N, you shouldn’t say ‘Xerox.’ It should be ‘photocopy.’ Xerox is just a brand, our junior high teacher told us so,” as if every word anyone says but him, will always be wrong. Yoongi talks as if no one but him will always be right and that everything around him does not deserve a bit of his attention unless they prove their worth to him.

               And it frustrates Y/N to no end that no one seems to see his real form but her. Because apparently, Yoongi is “amazing.” Yoongi knows a lot of foreign places, having traveled to Malta, New Zealand, Hawaii, and yaddah yaddah, making his first-hand knowledge essential to the Writing Department. Yoongi has a lot of expertise in various editing apps, and he’s willing to teach the tricks and nicks to it to anybody. Anybody but Y/N. Because behind closed doors, Y/N knows his true face:  Min Yoongi is a thick-skinned, double-faced bitch. That even if his name is on the tip of the tongue of anyone around the office every single morning, his quick promotion as manager of the Creatives Team a never-ending topic starter, Y/N knew the real story. Because Min Yoongi started out as Nancy’s Personal Assistant…just like Y/N.

               Nancy Kim is the best photojournalist in the history of travel magazines. God-tier even, because when Nancy is just an intern in The Traveler’s Foot, she wrote the best articles Y/N has ever read. It didn’t matter if they were about a cliché tourist spot that has been featured over and over again or something bizarre that could make anyone wonder someone in their right mind would actually go there. Nancy is the goddess of travel journaling and Y/N obsessively consumed every article she wrote during her entire senior high and college life. So, to be able to get accepted in a company Nancy built, as Nancy’s personal assistant, is a sweet as fuck dream come true. Y/N didn’t care if she has to go home by 12 A.M. or 1 A.M. as Nancy said PA’s always have to leave the office after their bosses left. Nancy just shows the dedication to work one must have. Y/N didn’t find it tiresome when Nancy has to send her back-and-forth for errands both for work and personal life. She’s learning how to be resourceful while being good at time-management all at the same time. She’s learned a lot from Nancy. So, seeing Min Yoongi be so lax at work after getting hired frayed Y/N’s nerves to no end.

               Yoongi doesn’t keep a tab on Nancy’s schedules just like Y/N does. He says there’s no reason for such rush to keep every event on track because Nancy will just cancel or push forward them anyway. It’s true, Nancy does sometimes mess up the week calendar Y/N arranged for her, but still, not tabbing anything on your work diary is still an evident proof Yoongi slacks of.  He even takes a nap in between work hours for God’s sake. Yoongi also likes to talk behind Nancy’s back: of how inconveniencing, overbearing, and unnecessarily over-the line abuser she is as a boss. He tells this to Y/N day in and day out. Yoongi even mocked Y/N’s work ethic as a “willing subservience to work slavery.” He mercilessly reduced her dedication to work as blind obedience to an authority for the sake of monthly paychecks instead of hard, honest efforts to learn the essential skills in travel journalism.

               And, it’s not a miracle no one finds out about this. Because when Yoongi is indeed caught, he finds one loophole in his and Y/N’s dynamic as co-PA’s for Nancy and implicitly, oh so subtly, turns it around against Y/N. Y/N remembers one time when Nancy berated them two for not inserting her friend Rosa’s son’s first birthday party into the 6 PM slot of one Monday in March. After her long sermon, Yoongi apologized for not encoding it into Nancy’s Schedule Work Sheet. Y/N handles Nancy’s Schedule Work Sheet, not Yoongi. Nancy knows this. So, after her 9-12 shift that same Tuesday, Nancy reminded Y/N of her replaceability in Travel Loca during one of the most tension-filled elevator rides in her life. She went home to her flatmate, Mina, in tears which did not permit her to get an ounce of sleep. Y/N turns up the next day at work, red eyes and red nose close to make Rudolph the reindeer run for his title, only to know from the call logs that Yoongi did not receive Rosa’s call because he was sleeping when Y/N outright told him to take over the phone because she needed a bathroom break.

               Min Yoongi is mean and Y/N has seen the last straw of her respectful tolerance to people ticked off by this insufferable man one cursed Thursday night of September.

               Thursdays are horrible. It is always assured to be the worst day Y/N will have in a week. Either an investor will change their mind about a deal with Travel Loca, or Nancy will lash out at her because of stress from stupid shenanigans of her rebellious teenage daughter—Thursdays always have it out for Y/N. Y/N can already tell this so when Nancy called for her at 10:30 P.M. to give her a run-down of her schedule for the weekends and the upcoming week. It is already an established routine that Nancy will have Y/N over to her office to give a schedule report at any time of the day. It’s just happened this day that Yoongi took a leave and Y/N shouldered every task to be done, easily wearing her out in the afternoon.

               Y/N is close to crying right now because of exhaustion and it does not help that Nancy is wearing a sour face. She does not even look up at Y/N from her laptop when she said, “Tell me this week’s schedule.”

               Y/N pulls up her notebook and traces her pen over her notes, “Tomorrow you have an 11 AM meeting with investors from VanTae Apparels. At 1 PM you will have an online meeting with our overseas partners, JM Restaurant Group. We also have to submit the Kim Yuna special feature by 2 PM and at 3 we have the Travel with RM to interview. And–”

               “Push the Travel with RM to 2. We’re holding the Yuna feature ‘til next week because Jennie is writing as if she’s still in college.” Nancy presses a hand over her forehead and huffs, “The Writing Department has been consecutively disappointing me with boring, generic articles. Are fresh pieces non-existent nowadays?!”

               Y/N looks up, eyes wide, hands sweaty.

               Nancy turns back to her laptop, “What else is on my sched?”

               “Um, O-on Saturday 4 PM, you are invited to your friend’s, Rica’s baby shower, and for 5, you are invited to Jungsoo’s son’s 1st birthday party. Then Sunday 2 PM is Hana’s sister’s daughter’s 1st birthday party. You are also invited to Nick and Ken’s wedding on Friday and–” 

               Nancy clicks her tongue, “Cancel them all. I have no time for these parties and meaningless chit-chats that always have these housewives bragging how great their husbands are or their children’s stupid what-nots.”

              Y/N nods and slashes through her notes, “Okay.”

              “So send them my apologies and give them a $300 gift instead.

              “Okay, ma’am.”

              Nancy turns her swivel chair to face her, “Did you get my daughter the unpublished sequel of The Swallowing?”

               “Yes, ma’am,” Y/N smiles, recalling her last week’s adventure and success. Maybe Nancy’s mood will lighten up if she knew how she accomplished such an impossible task. “I got to grab a copy after weeks of talking with R. Lewis’ manager. Luckily, R. Lewis caught wind that it’s for your daughter. So he agreed to give me the copy. I actually have it right now, let me go back to my table –” 

               “You don’t have to. Suzie changed her mind. She doesn’t like The Swallowing anymore. Return the copy and get her the unpublished sequel instead of Bird and Foe.”

               Y/N’s jaw nearly falls as she stammers, “S-sure, no problem.” Deep inside, Y/N cannot help but think to herself, “Yes, Nancy may be fickle-minded and forgetful of differences in company protocols that intervene with such transactions, but she cannot just disregard my hard work! All the money in my train tickets and brain cells have gone all in the drain for nothing—Okay, calm down, Y/N, this is Nancy. Nancy can help you to write the best articles in no time. This is just training for the real deal—

               “Y/N, did you hear me?”

               “S-sorry, what?”

               “I said, where’s the USB I told you to get from my laptop at our home? I need the files for the JM Restaurant Group.”

               Oh shit. The USB. Y/N told Yoongi to get it since he lived nearer to Nancy’s residence in West Street than her. And since, Yoongi’s on leave, the USB is—!

               “And first thing in the morning, I want you to go to the Writing Department to get some fresh stories. I do not want to personally see them or else I will be able to fire one whole department in a day.”

              At this, Y/N fiddles with her fingers. “Umm, I think I have a story.”

               Nancy quirks her brow.

               Y/N wrings her hands behind her back. “I-it’s not yet polished and I still have more to cover on–”

               “So, you’re already telling me it’s bad before you even pitch a formal proposal –”

               Y/N’s eyes widen and she rushes to Nancy. “No! I-it’s about the Write and Backpack Trip Club. The-they’re a club of unpublished writers, usually late 30s, who met on Facebook and decide to travel together to the countries or places their stories are supposed to take place.” Nancy tilts her head and Y/N picks up her tone. Her hands start to quiver with her voice as she says, “People think—people think it’s hopeless. Like, like, they’re wasting their lives on something so trivial instead of focusing on their jobs. But this club gave them a purpose to still reach for their dreams even when people tell them it’s already too late. And I just,” Y/N wipes a stray tear on her cheek–which she doesn’t know if it’s because of her attachment to the club, Nancy’s new orders, or her frustration at Yoongi for leaving all their responsibilities on her–but she sucks them up and breathes out, “I find it really inspiring to have the courage to seek out your purpose when everything in the world is against you.”

               Nancy stares at her, brows furrowed. Another drop of tear falls from Y/N’s eyes. Nancy fixes her eyes back on her laptop. “The USB, Y/N, I need it now. A.S.A.P., capiche.”

               Wiping her cheeks again, Y/N nods, “Ye-yeah, capiche.”

               Y/N could not remember any time she’s rushed out the office as fast as now. Yoongi’s cell is out of reach and nothing is present in Y/N’s mind but to just run out of the building. She needs to clear her mind. She has to think of a solution. She can’t go back to Nancy empty-handed. Nancy’s already unimpressed of her sloppy work for this day, much more at her uncalled emotional breakdown in her office. She will definitely get fired for sure this time.

               The cold dry wind hits Y/N’s face the moment she pushes past the large glass doors of the Rockfort Building. The night sky has blackened into dark indigo and the establishments that dot the neighboring grounds of the building have blurred into monotonous dim shops. With just their solar lights left on, the rest of the complex looked like a washed-out commercial center. The only thing that stands out has to be the small mango tree just a meter away from her—the center-piece and quite the only humanizing element of the harsh Rockfort Complex.

               Okay, this is great. Y/N always tend to get the best ideas and solutions when she’s standing near this tree. She proved this twice. First, when Nancy demanded her to re-do all their presentations for VanTae Apparel. Y/N managed to slay it by getting inspired by the mangoes and editing the templates to look like nature’s rendition of Van Gogh’s starry night, which happened to be the favorite painting of VanTae’s CEO. And second, when Yoongi messed up Y/N’s schedules for Nancy’s personal events by misnaming each invitation, this mango tree provided her peace to quickly fix everything up before Nancy gets to the office.

               Put your thinking cap on, Y/N. What should you do? Should you rush to Nancy’s house now? Oh no, maybe Yoongi already got the USB. Should you go then to Yoongi’s house? Shit, I don’t know his house address—

               “Here’s $25, sir. Thank you!”

               Y/N freezes. It can’t be.

               Y/N turns to her right only for her eyes to land on a man with a familiar jet black mop of hair, standing about two meters before her, talking with a blue-vested delivery man.

               No. No. No. NO. Min Yoongi cannot just swoop out of nowhere and sound so chirpy like that while I have to stress over a problem that I DID NOT create. I cannot get fired in a company I’ve spent my life on for two years just because of this man’s unreasonable incompetence!

               Fueled by the purest form of aggravation, Y/N stomps ahead and brushes Yoongi’s shoulder, making him turn back to her.

               “Oh, hi, Y/N.”

               “‘Hi?!’ ‘Hi,’ yourself, Min Yoongi!—"

               “Oh my God,” Yoongi rolls his eyes, “she’s Adolf Hitler again.”

               “Adolf Hitler?!” Y/N scoffs, “Say it for yourself, Min! You’re Hitler because you’re twisted enough to ruin my career because doing shit in yours is not enough. Where’s Nancy’s USB?!”

               “If you’re going to talk about work again, I gotta leave. If you didn’t know, a ‘leave’ is a leave.” He emphasizes the last syllable as he starts to walk toward the street.

               Letting common sense knock into her, Y/N momentarily disregards her pride and runs after him. When he rounds the corner of a clothing boutique, she slips by his side and places herself in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking him.

               Unlike his usual work attire, Yoongi is clad in a black hoodie and denim ripped jeans, an ensemble that remarkably turned to look horrible in 0.5 seconds just because he’s wearing it. Y/N deduces it’s just Yoongi ruining fashion because he 24/7 looks like an asshole.

               “What, are you just gonna stare at me?”

               Yoongi’s voice brings Y/N back to her purpose. “No, I’m here to tell you, you forgot to do your job—Nancy wants her USB for JM Restaurant Group right now.”

               “Well, I don’t have it, sweetheart. Work hours are already over so practically, I’m in no responsibility to do whatever the fuck Nancy wants,” the man quips back, smiling.

               Y/N cannot help but snap. “Why are you even here in Rockfort, then? You didn’t turn up for work and now you’re just casually strolling in front of our building. You didn’t take home at least a quarter of our tasks and dumped everything on my shoulders like an irresponsible, signature free-loader high school groupmate. And now you think it’s okay to tell me ‘sorry, I don’t have the USB’ when I told you yesterday to bring it today?! I cannot believe what an asshole you can be, Yoongi.”

               Yoongi raises a hand. “Okay, chill, tiger. To answer your question, I am here because my friends and I hung out at a bar near here. Not that you will understand, of course, considering your whole life revolves around work, work, and work. Ooh, and Nancy,” Yoongi grins. “How can I forget you idolize Nancy? Actually no, you worship her.”

               Y/N’s face falls into an indignant scowl, “I do NOT worship Nancy! I respect her. Which you also should do because she employed you, not the other way around. Also, I have friends! Mina is my friend!”

               “Correction, Mina is your only friend at work. And she happened to be your flatmate and college buddy first before you both had luck to also be co-workers. So no, your friendship with Mina is out of the equation.”

               Y/N opens her mouth to tell him Mina cannot be out of the equation when Yoongi beats her, “And second, how could I be a free-loader? A leave is a leave. Our job description did not say we should also take work home. You are the only one who does that because you’re paranoid. So don’t impose your so-called work ethic, that is actually masked obsession, to me because I am a mentally healthy person. I don’t want to have a stick in my ass like you do.”

               Y/N steps closer to Yoongi, making the latter cock a brow at her. “I’m not paranoid, Min. It’s you who is the problem. You don’t take this job seriously. You don’t take on responsibilities like a mature adult. You think you’re so great just because no one told you you suck at something when you were a kid. Well, let me tell you now. You suck at plain human decency, something that should be innate in every people. You’re so high up your ass you think you can just do anything and get away with it and you–”

               “If you’re just going to insult me, can you do that tomorrow? My food is getting cold.”

               Oh no. Nancy’s USB. Y/N closes her eyes and releases a long sigh. She thinks her eyes already did a 360 by the time she managed to fix her composure. She looks up at the man in front of her, currently giving her an amused look. Y/N’s voice cracks as she says, “Yoongi…This is the only time I will ask a favor from you. Please help me with Nancy’s USB. I just want to end this night and go home peacefully without her chewing my head off further more. So please, please, please, can you just help me for once?”

               “Hmm,” Yoongi scratches his chin, “let me think about it first.”

               “Yoongi, please!”

               “Okay, fine,” Yoongi grimaces, “considering you practically begged to me for dear life, I, as a human with pure soul will help you out despite all the shits you said to me—”

               “Just help me out!”

               Yoongi slaps your reaching hands, “Stop, I’m not yet done with my speech. Anyway, considering this as a favor, not a request, I expect a return of favor, too.”

               “Sure, fine, anything!”

               “Okay, I think I may or may not have slipped in Nancy’s USB in my bag,” Yoongi breathes out as he reaches for his black satchel. “Oh yeah, I totally have it,” he says, flashing the orange 32 GB USB in front of you.  

               What the fuck. All this time-!

               “Why didn’t you tell me you already have the USB?!”

               Yoongi nearly guffaws, “Didn’t I tell you a “leave” is a leave? Wait, oh my god, you should see yourself, sweetheart. You’re about to pop a vein.”

               “Min Yoongi, I fucking hate you!” Y/N snatches the USB from Yoongi’s hand and stomps back to the direction of the Rockfort Building. The man doesn’t seem to go on his own way though because Y/N hears him holler “Same sentiment too, Y/N!”

               Y/N doesn’t turn back. She just raises a middle finger up that she’s sure Yoongi will not miss. And he did not, for the man’s faint chuckles only continued.

               The travel back up to the 12th floor seems like the longest elevator ride Y/N has ever been on. Every additional second into the constricted metal box feels like a one-second deduction from her own lifetime. So when the elevator doors open to Travel Loca’s floor, the air is immediately knocked off Y/N lungs. But not because of relief. Nancy stands in front of her, bags in hand, and obviously upset.

               Y/N quickly steps out of the lift. “Nancy, here! The USB!”

               “You took too long. Just e-mail them to me. I have to cram-reading them in the morning anyway because a certain someone forgot to do their job.” Nancy brushes by her shoulder and steps into the elevator. “You know, Y/N, if I’m paying you to make my life easier for me and instead, you’re making it harder, your position in this company is useless.” Nancy presses the button for the parking lot. The doors close in front of Y/N, letting her see the disappointment on Nancy’s face for the last second of the night.

               Y/N goes home twenty minutes later, worn out, and ready to sleep the second she reaches her floor. But when she opens the door, Mina’s smiling face greets her, and she immediately rushes to the sofa next to her bestfriend.

               “Mina, oh my god, I have so much to tell you.”

               “Me, too!” Mina giggles, wrapping her arms around Y/N’s arms, “Can I go first though?”

               “Yeah, yeah, sure,” Y/N smiles, fixing her seat.

               “Well, remember last week when I told you I finally confessed to Mark?”

               “Mark, as in, the café barista Mark Tuan?”

               Mina jokingly hits Y/N’s arm, “Yes, what Mark would I be talking about?”

               “Sorry, you know how I get so spaced out when I’m tired and groggy. Anyway, what happened?”

               “Well, Mark finally said yes!” Mina bursts into a wide grin, arms outstretched in joy. “I finally get to date Mark!”

               “Oh my god, I’m so happy for you, Nana,” Y/N engulfs Mina into an embrace, “I can’t believe you’re finally in a relationship! I mean, who would not want to date you? You’re smart, pretty, and funny. The boys have missed out on you for seven long years. And now, there’s finally someone who has eyes and can see what a gem you are. And damn right, Mark would see that. It’s not every day he can have a gorgeous girl court him for six months after getting rejected twice.”

               “Oh my god, stop bringing that up!” Mina playfully slaps her back and Y/N chortles.

              “Okay, okay, I’m just joking. What I really mean is: Mark is a lucky guy. I’m glad he finally realized what an idiot he will be if he rejects you again for the third time when you’ve been with him through all his problems. He won’t find another beautiful girl willing to ride his motorcycle with him in a huge-ass dress just to help him deliver orders in time. You’re the total package Mina and I’m so happy Mark has realized it.”

              “Oh, Y/N, you’re making me blush,” Mina laughs. She sways the both of them in their hug, “Mark has an impossibly high standard to meet now because of you.”

               “Mark doesn’t have to meet any standards,” Y/N snickers, “You already drool at his face the moment we enter The Daily Bean.”

               Mina detaches herself from Y/N and dramatically places a hand over her chest. “How can you remember that so well and not who Mark is?”

               Y/N shrugs, “Because I’m not staring at Mark and eye-fucking him 24/7.”

               “Oh my god, I do not!” Mina giggles, making you laugh again as she hugs you tight once more. Mina’s fingers card through your hair as she murmurs “But you do know, Y/N, even if I’m in a relationship now, I’m not gonna leave you alone. Even if Mark will start to occupy the top priority in my life, it doesn’t mean you will lose your spot in the top-pest part of my list. You know you’re still and will forever be my number one, right?” Y/N hums at that, closing her eyes from the head massage Mina is currently giving her. She feels Mina nod, “Right, you should because you’re practically my baby.”

               “No, I’m not.”

               “Yes, you are! Who would wash the red stain on your pants and underpants in the girl’s CR while you prance around the cubicle only in a top because you bled through your bottoms during your period, much more, on our Christmas Party, other than me?”

               Y/N grimaces, “Oh god, you didn’t have to bring that up.”

               “You hit right through me when you said I eye-fuck Mark so yeah, eye for an eye, bitch,” Mina cackles as she finally unlatches her arms around her friend. “Anyway, I’m finished with my story of the day. Your turn. What happened tonight?”

               Y/N bites her lip, unconsciously easing an inch between her and her bestfriend. Mina is in a good mood today. Y/N doesn’t want to ruin it by ranting off about how horrible Yoongi is again. She knows Mina. She will listen to her rant about another bullshit done by her co-PA and she will also indulge in an insult-fest against the man. That’s just their dynamic: Y/N’s enemy is Mina’s enemy and vice versa. So as Y/N looks at Mina’s smile which doesn’t do much covering up her dark eyes, which have grown from staying up late to wait for her to come home for multiple nights on end, Y/N decides it’s enough negativity for the day.

               “It’s nothing, Mina,” Y/N shakes her head, forcing a smile on her face, “just another tiring day from work.”

               Mina tilts her head, “Are you sure?”

               “Yeah,” Y/N flashes her another smile as she heads for her room, “I’m totally fine. Just tired. Congratulations to you and Mark again.”

               “Yeah, thank you,” Mina replies, but the look on her face tells Y/N she’s unconvinced of what she said. Seemingly aware that her friend needed space, Mina turns back the TV. Before Y/N closes her door, she hears Mina chuckle to a punch-line in the airing sitcom.

               Y/N flops on her bed face down. If Yoongi didn’t put much of a fight and just handed her Nancy’s USB when he knew he already had it, then maybe this night won’t be so horrible. Y/N would have given Nancy her USB in time, and her boss could have acknowledged it as a peace offering to her unremarkable work performance that day. Y/N would have totally rejoiced with Mina with her full heart into it and not force a smile on her face when such an announcement deserves much more celebration.

               Y/N releases a stifled scream into her pillow. Thursdays are really the worst and it’s all Min Yoongi’s fault.

               However, what Y/N didn’t expect is that the following week will get much worse. The Writing Department is late in their deadline, causing the online publication of the September issue to be pushed in the first week of October, a big deal late to the releases of their magazine competitors. Thus, Nancy became more pissy and naggy, giving Y/N a cold shoulder for the longest streak in her work life. Nancy became more frigid when Y/N failed to get Nancy the copy of the unpublished sequel of Bird and Foe. Y/N tried her best, she really did. It’s just that the publishers of Russell Park refused to give another copy because they said they cannot give out two unpublished copies at the same time. Of course, this turned out as a lazy excuse to Nancy, making her dump additional workload on Y/N’s already staggering pile. But that was not what made Y/N’s last week of September the worst week she’s ever had. It was Min Yoongi getting promoted as a staff member to the Creatives Team after giving Nancy the unpublished Bird and Foe sequel.

               Ringing phones, staff members running to- and fro- the beige faux wood office floor, and the occasional requests for coffee from the break room–Travel Loca is buzzing with life as usual. But not for long though, because the clock hands are currently on 12:49 P.M. At 12:57, it seems everyone on the floor have gone silent. Almost everyone taps their foot against the floor. All eyes were set on the digital wall clock. Some have even glanced on their own wristwatches to check if the wall clock was right. The hands start to move. Everyone gulps.

               The hands hit one o’clock. Everyone scrambles off their swivel chairs. Some have bee-lined for the break room.  Meanwhile, a huge mass had created a bottle-neck of office workers at Travel Loca’s main door. No one is left on the staff chairs, except for one: Mina Young.

               The accountant slides her swivel chair to the left. Her hands meander through her large file cases and when she feels a cold, ribbed metal surface on her index, she smiles. Mina pushes the on-button and immediately, the then-silent office space has now become a replica of her own flat.

               “Good morning everyone! Today seems an extra sweet day than yesterday because you know what? I can smell and see the sweet aroma of those dark, chewy chocolates and those pretty pink balloons surrounding our streets. That’s right folks, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Which also means–drumroll for me, Alexa–Holidays are about to sweep in! It’s just three weeks to go, folks, note that! So, for our dear, sweet listeners, I hope you already got your hotels booked and your plane tickets ready so you can finally have that amazing buffet, relaxing spa, or a fun tour around places you’ve never been with your very lovable significant others! I’m sure all of you will have that wonderful, exciting, and pleasurable rendezvous away from school, work, and any responsibilities. Just make sure to channel in on our station if you want the best playlist to get you in the mood for some steamy, passionate, and intimate time–”

               “Mina, will you turn off that radio?”

               The short-haired brunette frowns at her friend, whose also frowning at her. Mina pushes up her glasses on her nose, “Why? You know I always listen to this station during break time. Plus, Nancy is not here.”

               “Still, it doesn’t excuse how irritating that DJ sounds.” Y/N rolls her eyes as she plops herself on another swivel chair. “His voice sounds like there are two styrofoams gyrating each other in a sweaty club.”

               Mina’s jaw drops as she turns off her portable mini-radio on her desk. She faces Y/N with a frown this time—actually a scowl now. “Kim Seokjin’s voice is like creamy velvet to the ears! Also,” she scrunches her nose in disgust, “you did not just sexualize non-living objects so casually as if you’re not aware that the mental image you’re painting is so disturbing.”

               “First off,” Y/N turns to her, swivel chair squeaking in her abrupt movement, “you’re already seeing Mark Tuan for you to have any weird fantasies about Kim Seokjin and his voice or how cute his laugh is when it literally sounds like he’s an old man dying on a choked-out old joke. And second, sexualizing objects is not illegal by law and even if it so, I did NOT sexualize them. They are just the perfect representation of how Seokjin’s voice sounds.”

               Mina purses her lips and props her elbow on her desk to cup her face. “Cut to the point, Y/N. Just tell me what is with you today. You barged in furious in here for no reason, threw a fit at the break room, and now you’re ruining lunch by insulting Seokjin for something so trivial.”

               “Trivial?! His voice is fucking irritating! Just because he’s handsome does not mean his voice will also sound good on the radio. It’s like listening to a whale dying while making mating calls–”

               “The point, Y/N?” Mina cuts you with an unamused look.

               You deflate in your seat. “Fine, it’s Min Yoongi. He made it a point that he is more intelligent and capable than me in our 10 AM meeting with Nancy for this month’s spread. Said he knows more about weird facts and trivia about Sweden because I never got to travel outside this fucking country when I damn well know he only uses some advanced search engine to look for info like the computer whiz that he is! I went so many times on his Facebook to know he posts nothing in his wall but his work achievements—and his dog! Of course, if you went outside the country, you will post pictures in your wall, ‘cus social media sites are just platforms masked as an outlet for free expression when we damn well know it’s just a place where you can brag and be not called out for being arrogant. And damn hell, Min Yoongi does not have any out-of-the-country pictures posted there. What only comes close is his picture of that gumbo he said he made—yeah, quotation marks—because it looks too good to be made by his ugly crooked hands and even if it’s got this aesthetic background not expected to come from this fucking country, I still think he just photoshopped it.” Y/N crosses her arms, “Bet that gumbo did not even taste good.”

               Mina scrunches her forehead, “Are you the only flawed person Min Yoongi sees? Why does he always have to nitpick every single bit of your work? He just criticized your last week’s report because of your ‘poor articulation.’”

               “Right?!” Y/N leans back on her chair. She groans, “I still remember how he sabotaged my files for Nancy’s professional and personal events. Who in their right mind would change the contact names to mythical creatures? Rica’s 2nd baby shower was named ‘Merlin’s Demon Baby’s Party?’ It’s a baby event for God’s sake!” Y/N looks at her friend, “I swear Mina, one day I will get a brain hemorrhage because of Yoongi’s shits.”

               Mina winces, “Please don’t. I don’t want to be the one to tell your mother you already died before you even managed to pay your housing loans.”

               “Hey! Don’t attack me like that,” Y/N slaps the back of her friend’s chair. Mina, choking on her spit first, erupts into a fit of giggles.

               Unfortunately, it seems lunch’s fun will be cut short as Y/N hears Nancy’s megaphone’s speaker start up, “Calling for Y/N to come into my office. A.S.A.P!”

               Y/N scrambles from her seat as Mina sees her off with a sad wave. Pushing through Nancy’s glass door, Y/N could see the lines of ridges forming on Nancy’s forehead before the latter can even eye her.

               “Y-yes, Ma’am? You called for me?”

               Nancy pins her a look, “You’re asking me if I called you? Are you deaf? Did you not understand what I said?”

               “Yes!—I-I mean on the understanding part, yes, not about being deaf or something hehe-“

               “Y/N,” Nancy clasps her hands on her table, “I called you here because I have something important to tell you.”

               Y/N nears her table, pulling up her notebook and pen.

               “I need you to work in the Creatives Department for the next two weeks.”

               Y/N’s fingers freeze. She looks up at Nancy with eyes as wide as a goldfish. And before she can brain-filter out her words, they’ve already escaped her mouth. “What do you mean I have to be in the Creatives next week? I’m your personal assistant, not Min Yoongi’s!”

               “Y/N, I didn’t say you will work for Yoongi. He’s not the head of the Creatives. Steven Spielberg is,” Nancy gives the girl an unamused look, waving her off from her desk. Y/N bites her lip as she takes two steps backward. She didn’t know she’s rushed up too close to Nancy’s table just at the prospect of Yoongi and her working together came from her boss’ lips.

               Nancy leans back on her chair, “I know you two have this petty children-in-the-playground fights ever since the start of October last year. I get that your differences are too great to be bridged anytime soon, thus the reason why I grew tired telling you to stop doing your cat and dog thing because I know you two wouldn’t listen anyway. You two just like to bang heads whenever you like—”

              “But, it’s Yoongi’s fault-”

              Nancy raises a finger, “But, Y/N, this is really important. I will be out-of-the-country for the next three weeks for both some business and family matters. Hence, why I cannot bring you with me as usual. And why I will need you to work under Steven for the meantime: to report to me about any of their progress. The Creatives’ current designs will have us late into this month’s deadline and I do not want this business going down anytime soon because of a weak holiday cover. So, as my PA, you will report everything about their progress to me, and you will report my feedback to them. At the same time, you will tame your childish fights with Yoongi to a minimum so Travel Loca will function as well as it can be while I’m not physically here. Understand?”

               Y/N nods, “understand, Ma’am.” She doesn’t have a choice even if she wanted to object. Whatever Nancy dictated is already set in stone.

               “Also,” Nancy looks at Y/N, “since I will be off the next three weeks, my schedules for the weeks in my absence will be pushed and packed on the following week. So, I expect you to still work on your station—and work even harder after I came back. Understand?”

               More workload? Y/N internally groans. She doesn’t like work getting reduced early into the week then doubling into hell in the latter part of the month. She likes them evened out—everything is balanced, familiar, and predictable. Nevertheless, Y/N only nods, “yes.” “No” doesn’t exist in Nancy’s dictionary.

               Nancy returns to her laptop and waves her off, “Okay. Then, capiche.”

               “Yes, ma’am, capiche,” Y/N makes a quick bow and scampers out of her boss’ office.

               When Y/N reaches her station, she sinks herself into the cushion of her seat. First, Min Yoongi belittles her researching ability in the morning meeting. Then now, she will work with him for the majority of three weeks. After that, another hell will start because of Nancy’s incoming packed schedules.

              Y/N’s eyes land on her laptop and she immediately sees her calendar. January 16, 2020. Thursday.  Y/N releases an inhumane groan. Of course, the goddamn Thursday curse. When will she ever live?

.

               “When will I ever die?” Y/N sobs into Mina’s shirt. Her friend keeps her arms around her tight as she cards through her hair.

               “Hey, don’t think so negative,” Mina coos, “Think of this as an opportunity to finally have Nancy off your back.”

               “Yeah, as if working with Min Yoongi is better than that. He already ruins my life when we only physically encounter each other in meetings and breaks and lunches. Imagine working with him for a whole fucking day!”

               “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I take that back,” Mina hugs her friend tighter.

               Y/N continues, “And after enduring all that, my workload will quadruple when Nancy comes back after three weeks! I already experienced this during her daughter’s debut last year. When Nancy said a pile of work will come, it fucking means four metal file cases of work. I spent the last two weeks of August plunging myself into an abyss of papers. I did not sleep for two weeks straight! And now— I will have three weeks-worth of hell work to come after spending three weeks working with the personification of Satan. Can the world just eat me up?!”

               “Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Mina pulls away to hold her bestfriend at arms-length, “What did you say will happen in three weeks?”

               Y/N closes her eyes, “Another hell will come because a shit-pile of work is coming in three weeks! Mina, I’ve been telling you this since morning-”

               “Y/N, after three weeks, it’s Valentine’s Day.”

               Y/N’s eyes immediately shoot open, “What?”

               “Look,” Mina clicks on her phone and flashes Y/N her calendar app. “Today’s January 17. Exactly after three weeks is the Valentine’s week.”

               Y/N’s jaw drops ajar, “Oh my god.”

               “Yes, Y/N, oh my God. It’s the fucking Heart Holiday.”

              “…The country’s long-time problem with their low birth rate has driven the government to build another department that will help its citizens build, manage, and maintain healthy relationships. The Department of Relationship Management was established in 2015, and ever since then, there have been impressive developments in our country’s birth rate. One of the best programs of DRM behind this wonderful growth is the Heart Holiday, the holiday held in the week of Valentine’s Day. It grants any person employed in a private sector one week of paid holiday vacation leave as long as they are currently in a relationship. Meanwhile, education establishments and students are given one week off their academic calendars without regard to their relationship status. Isn’t that sweet? The only downside to that, folks, is that government employees can only have two days of paid holiday leave on the 14th and 15th. But, still, a holiday is still a holiday! So for our lovely listeners, start planning your vacation trips and hangouts! Especially when Cloud 10 Airlines is there to make your holiday week even sweeter with their 70% discount on local trips! Just contact 675-9859 and 568-987—”

               “Mina, can you turn off the radio?!”

               “Again?!” Mina heaves, “What’s with your aggravation streak these days against Kim Seokjin’s voice?”

               “It rattles me,” Y/N half-screams, plopping into the swivel chair next to her friend’s cubicle. “Yesterday, he already announced that goddamn timeline of the DRM and ‘all hailed’ importance of the Heart Holiday. Why does he have to repeat it again today? In that overly-enthusiastic voice, too, as if he’s never read of that script again and again?!”

               “Y/N, it’s how broadcasting works. It’s one of the most awaited holidays in the year, so of course, they will nab as many advertisement deals as they can.”

               “Well, I don’t like how they work!”

               “You cannot just tell a radio company to stop working,” Mina turns in her chair to face her friend, “Also, stop venting your frustration on Seokjin. He doesn’t even know you hate his voice. Routinely doing this noise pollution doesn’t do anything at all. Just tell me what made you upset today.”

               “It’s Yoongi!” Y/N scowls. “He won’t explain to me the technical editing terms on Steven’s report for Nancy! He said a five grader can even know what they are. I went through fifth grade, Mina, and I did not freaking know about any photoshop shit!”

               “Well, that’s because you’re old.”

               Mina looks up and sees Yoongi hovering her cubicle.

               Y/N’s scowl deepens, as she turns her chair to the direction of the intruder.  “As if you’re any much younger. From what I know, you’re four years older than me, dumbass.”

               “Well, at least I know what Steven is talking about,” Yoongi props his chin on Mina’s cubicle.

               Y/n rolls her eyes, “Because it’s your freaking line of work! Of course, you’ll know about it!”

               “Well, you’re now working most of the time in the Creatives Team and you don’t know it. What does that make you, then? I’ll give you a hint: It’s what you called me three seconds ago. Starts with the letter ‘d’ and ends with the letter ‘s.’”

               “What? You think you’re so smart now just because you know that vector-mask-thingy?! News flash, Yoongi, you did not graduate with any Latin honor. I did! So, who’s the real dumbass?!”

               “You damn well know Latin honors doesn’t actually have any effect on real life. Practical knowledge has—especially knowledge about terminologies used in digital designing. Which you need because you won’t be able to report anything to your god Nancy. Because, well: You. Don’t. Know. Anything. Like. Always.”

               “Min Yoongi, fuck you–”

               “Guys, guys, guys, can you stop?”

               Y/N gives Yoongi another glare before fixing herself back in her seat. Mina puffs, “Yoongi, can you leave us alone for a while? We’re talking here and you just invited yourself in our conversation.”

               Yoongi chides, “Well, tell your friend that if she wants to shit-talk a person just a meter away from her without the said person barging in the conversation, she should keep her voice on the down-low. Not screaming around like a crazy ape.”

                Y/N’s jaw drops open, “What crazy ape?! You’re the crazy ape! You look like a fucking gorilla who accidentally get dwarfed by a tooth fairy and-”

               “Min Yoongi, just leave us alone,” Mina gives the man a pointed look.

              Yoongi shrugs and detaches himself from her cubicle. He heads back to their office but he doesn’t completely leave the room without giving Y/N a middle finger.

               Y/N’s mouth drops open in disbelief. She turns to Mina. “See? Isn’t it obvious he just wants to make me the bad man to Nancy again? What kind of person are you to not cooperate with your co-worker like a goddamn adult? I don’t get why no one sees this bitch’s true face but you and me! I just want to freaking tear off his face, make him wipe it in his ass, then place it back on his head since he’s such a literal ass—”

               “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mina clasps a hand over your shoulder, “don’t get too homicidal. What you just said, aside from disturbing, is very disgusting.”

               Y/N slumps in her seat and crosses her arms.

              Mina sighs. “Okay, yeah, I know, Min Yoongi is the worst. But I don’t want you to do anything stupid so let’s not talk about him for a while, ‘kay?” Y/N nods. Mina leans back in her seat with the nth sigh for the day. “Okay, I got some update from Jaehyun.”

               Y/N leans forward. “What did he say?”

               Mina gives you a sad smile, “He already has a fiancé.”

               “So soon?” Y/N scoffs. “He was just courting me two months ago.”

               “Yeah, well he’s getting married this week. Whatever,” Mina waves off, “I don’t like him for you anyway. He dresses like a college fuckboy.”

               “Okay, what about Dahyun?”

               “Already married.”

               Y/N’s eyes widen, “and she didn’t tell us?”

               “Yeah, I already nagged her on the phone. She said it all kinda happened too fast–her and Sana. And the marriage was in New York. We’re too broke for out-of-the-country trips to attend anyway if we were informed.” Mina smiles, “She said she’s gonna invite us to the Christening of their baby.”

               “Okay, I’m glad she still cared about us. Oh,” Y/N pipes up, “what did Jackson say over the phone?”

               Mina gives you a tight smile. “Getting married, too. And guess what, the invitations were already in our mail box when I went to get our bills.”

               “Momo?”

               “Engaged. She and Heechul just broke out the news a week ago.”

              “Sam?”

               “Married. And 4 months pregnant.”

               “Jongdae?”

               “Engaged. Also has a baby in way.”

               “Hana?”

               “Engaged.”

               “Changmin?”

               “Engaged.”

               “Jaebum?

               “Engaaaaaged.”

               Y/N throws her hands in the air, “Why is everyone getting married?!”

               “Well, we’re in our late 20s. It’s the “marrying age” they say. It got more enphasized when DRM’s programs had succeeded in encouraging hundreds of people to marry in the recent year. Even my mom already expects Mark to propose by next month. We’re just dating for 6 months!” Mina cringes. She pulls Y/N’s chair closer to her to hold her hands. “Y/N, I’m really sorry. It kinda slipped my mind that we always apply together for the Heart Holiday every year. It’s just that Mark and I—”

               “Hey, hey, don’t blame yourself. You’ve been pining after Mark for about two years and now look at you—together, stable, and in-love half into the year! I don’t want you to fret having a relationship with the boy you liked for so long.”

               “Yeah, Y/N, I know,” Mina closes her eyes. “It’s just sad and unfortunate everyone we know are already in relationships.”

               “Yeah…” Y/N nods and the two fall into silence. Why is everyone conveniently in a relationship just in time with the Heart Holiday? What, the whole world suddenly knew the loophole in DRM’s program? Y/N and Mina studied that for a whole year! This is unfair. Y/N cannot be the only single person out there who’ll miserably work in the office while everyone gets to have the time of their lives—wait.

               Y/N grabs Mina’s hands. “Hey, Nana, I know we said co-workers are off-limits because Nancy will definitely know it’s a ruse. She’ll block my application form before it can even have the seal from the HR. Especially when she found out our lesbian “relationship” was fake after you and Mark updated your civil statuses.” Mina winces and opens her mouth to apologize again but Y/N cuts her with a finger to her mouth. “Nancy will definitely call me a liar and grill my head if she finds out what we’re planning to do now. But look, Nancy’s out of the country. Teddy is the general supervisor and she’s the next in the hierarchy. We damn well know her 45-year-old heart is soft for some nicely-woven romantic story. Even more, in an office setting—the bane of every middle-aged woman’s sappy romantic heart. So, what do you say?”

               Mina lets out an exasperated breath, “That crossed my mind, too, you know. But, Y/N, the thing is—the whole Accounting Department is in a relationship. And the same goes for the Writing, Marketing, Logistics, and HR.  All of them are either in a relationship, married, or getting married.”

               “What?” Y/N’s eyebrows curve up high, “How come I didn’t know this?”

               “Uh, because you’re busy working for Nancy day-in and day-out?  Also, I just happen to be friends with Jisoo from HR. She’s in charge of the company’s relationship records. Sometimes, she slips in everyone’s stories while we listen to WWL Radio during break time.”

               Y/N bites her lip. This can’t be happening to her. Not now. Not when the most un-objectifiable reason for a break from Nancy is about to slip through her fingers like fine sand.

               Mina scratches her nape, “I…may have someone in mind though.”

               Y/N’s eyes look straight into Mina’s. “Tell me.”

               “Well, the entire Creatives Department is either married or engaged save for one.”

               Y/N holds Mina’s hands tighter. “Who?”

               “Min, Yoongi.”

               Y/N must be going crazy. She thinks she must be growing a nest of vultures in her brain now, the mother routinely picking on her numerous dead brain cells to feed to her young. It doesn’t help that the bags under her eyes have started to droop like a waterfall, forming a sad saddle of grey on her cheeks. She cannot even remember the last time she had a decent meal. All she remembers is the finger foods Mina hands to her station every once in a while.

              The universe is being unfair to her and it is all taking a toll on her body. They weren’t kidding when they said adjusting to a new environment is an entire whole work in itself. The Creatives Team runs a completely different routine. Large monitors crammed with multiple editing softwares Y/N cannot understand surround the studio-size office space. There are drafted papers and previous issues scattered in every possible corner, some even gathering dust by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Y/N is not even sure if anyone has re-arranged their desks in the last few months. The Creatives’ work ethic is loosely bound on schedules and everyone seems to be doing everyone else’s job.  Except for Y/N, because Steven is the only one willing to share their team’s progress to her. But that alone is not enough for her daily report to Nancy because Steven is always busy in his computer. More unfortunately, everyone is wary of her. Y/N’s sure she even saw Kim Myungsoo clutch their design folders closer to his chest when her eyes glanced at his cubicle.  

              Sure, Y/N expected everyone will have their guards up on her. Who wouldn’t be when they know Nancy still has eyes on them even if she’s countries away? But still, it doesn’t lessen the pain on Y/N’s self-esteem and the stress on her back. If Y/N can’t get someone to talk to her, she won’t be able to provide a more substantial report to Nancy more than just reading Steven’s printed reports verbatim.

              Y/N is desperate to find a workmate to discuss everything happening in the Creatives with her, but unluckily for her, she only has someone she wishes to not even breathe the same air with. Of course, no one in the Creatives wants to talk to her except for Min Yoongi. He’s an insufferable ass who doesn’t know when to shut up.  He welcomes Y/N every single day with an annoying “Yo, Y/N” and an unneeded commentary about her outfit, like how yesterday he told her “I know retro is in but I didn’t know grandma blouses are deemed stylish again.” He blabbers about his unnecessarily extensive general knowledge about every South Asian country, even if Y/N countlessly told him she didn’t care.  He brags about the cover designs and templates he did in the previous issues, flipping the pages too close in Y/N’s face while he speaks about colors and mixing like Y/N is an imbecile about basic color combinations high school students used in their PowerPoint presentations. Yet despite them all, Yoongi still refuses to explain to her the jargon in Steven’s reports.

              Y/N tried her best to keep herself from bursting and giving Yoongi an earful of sense. Yes, everyone knows she does not like Yoongi but Y/N doesn’t want them to know to what extent she can go to express them, afraid of embarrassing herself.  But in her defense, three days into the first week without Nancy, Yoongi has gone as far as to chip a small bit off Y/N’s mug in the break room. The mug with the “creative juices” in cursive printed around its body—Mina’s gift from college. Y/N’s patience meter was blasted off the roof. It will be safe to tell that at the end of the day, Y/N has screamed the hell out of Yoongi that everyone can be sure the latter’s ears may have fallen out of his head. Steven was close to reporting to Teddy what just happened. It was just Y/N’s remaining luck that helped her successfully and implicitly begged Steven not to do so by telling him calling Yoongi “a mean, inconsiderate, self-absorbed jerk who should eat his shit because people are what they eat and he is obviously the biggest shit in her life,” is just her “unique” way of expressing co-worker appreciation to the man.

              Aside from putting up with Yoongi’s Satanic attitude, Y/N has to endure Nancy’s intermittent calls with her forever pissed voice coming in first thing in the morning until in the late, ungodly hours. And despite Teddy’s patient guidance over Y/N’s “transition” to the Creatives Team, Y/N’s still close to digging a six-feet deep hole in her station. No, not because of Teddy or Nancy. It’s because she poured her remaining effort dedicated for work by spending the entire week going through every staff member of Travel Loca. Y/N thought Mina must have overlooked a face. That it’s possible Jisoo skipped on a detail she told to her friend. But despite learning Lee Minyoung from the Writing Department is going to call it quits to her boyfriend just after Valentine’s, or how Michael Park from Marketing is about to pop the ring to his girlfriend just right on Valentine’s Day, the looming fact Y/N dreads presents itself on January 24, two weeks before Valentine’s: No one else in the office is single but her…and Min Yoongi.

              Of course, it didn’t surprise Y/N, Yoongi must be single. With that know-it-all façade and condescending tone wearing you out like a 24/7 walking instruction manual no one even asked for, who would even like to date him? One week with him as a co-worker alone already makes Y/N want to throw herself into the flaming hot pit of the nearest volcano.

              But it’s only two more weeks before Valentine’s and Y/N is desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. Y/N did a last-minute check-up on her and Mina’s lists of contacts—phone, social media, e-mails, everything under the sun—only to come up with nothing. Mina’s “marrying age” theory must be true because everyone, every single one, of their acquaintances are already married or getting married. Y/N then changed up her game.  She started to opt for resources she never thought she will ever use in her life: dating apps. Tinder, Bumble, The League, Grindr—name it, Y/N had made every account for every conceivable dating site. She even spent the most of her break time this week hiding her phone beneath her desk and swiping right. But even this last considerable option proved to be pointless as all the replies she received are either honest “sorry, not interested,” rude “you’re no fun,” or out-right salacious “suck my dick.”

              This then left Y/N no choice but to consider the most unspeakably horrendously unfortunate option she didn’t even want to have. Min Yoongi is her only choice left. And for that, Y/N spent two days making an elaborate plan. She can’t afford any loose threads or plan-holes that can further make her at the mercy of the infuriating jerk. However, even if she made everything as seamless as it can be, Y/N knows it will be the worst decision she’ll ever make in her life. Mina also expressed the same concern, even apologized for planting that small information about Yoongi in her friend’s mind. But even her friend’s day-by-day discouragement to push through with her plan is not enough to deter Y/N.

              Because even if just thinking about the plan makes Y/N feel the world is about to crumble and swallow her down in its unending, fathomless depths; even if it makes her want to set up an appointment with an exorcist, Y/N knew she won’t back out. It’s not viruses or bacteria, it’s a seeded idea that is the most contagious living entity that can take hold of any human being. And the moment Y/N realized there’s no other ticket way out of her dilemma but Yoongi, she knew this thought will haunt her for nights on end.

              This is the reason why Y/N’s currently standing by the corner of the Creatives’ office when it’s already 6:46 P.M. while almost everyone has left the office. Almost, because Yoongi, apart from her, is the only one left in the office as Steven requested him to finish a color palette by tonight. Y/N gulps a thick blob of saliva. Sweat runs thick on her forehead. God, if Mina could see what Y/N’s about to do, she will be already by her side, yelling for her to just give up. Y/N shakes her head. This is Mina’s fault anyway. If she didn’t plant the idea in her head, she wouldn’t have to do this. She wouldn’t be creeping behind a door like a disgusting stalker. She wouldn’t be profusely sweating in an air-conditioned room like a guilty murderer. She wouldn’t be-

              “What the hell are you doing behind the door?”

              Y/N shrieks and jumps a half-foot away from her spot.

              “The hell—what’s gotten into you?!” Yoongi frowns, “And why are you even here?”

              Y/N’s brows meet together in her forehead. But before she can speak, Yoongi’s snickers drown out the words in her throat.

              “Wait, don’t tell me you’ve come as far as spying on my work. I didn’t know you’re going to be this petty,” Yoongi sighs and puts his hand on his waist, “Well, if you think going through my work laptop will get you to understand Steven’s report, I’m sorry to say you won’t get anything, little girl.”

               Yes, it’s true. The words did die out in Y/N’s throat. It’s just flames of anger sweeping in the valleys of her mouth. Y/N surges forward, fists clenched tight, “‘Little girl’? I am not a fucking little girl!”

               Yoongi grins, “Then what should I call someone who’s a foot smaller than me?”

               “What fucking ‘foot’?! We’re just inches apart! Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror? You’re not even that tall!”

               “Says the one who’s looking up at me just to level her eyes with mine,” Yoongi raises his brows, “and who’s now standing a little too close to me because apparently, standing a socially-decent foot away won’t enable her to see my face.”

               Y/N’s eyes widen and she immediately takes a step back. She doesn’t get how easy it is for Yoongi to rile her up that she instantly forgets how to control her body. When she looks up at him, the man is smirking at her. Her mouth aches to tell him he actually looks stupid with that lopsided smile if he thought doing it will make him a tad bit inch sorry excuse of “sexy.” But then, Y/N remembers she has a purpose tonight. She didn’t just waste an hour waiting in the excruciating office space of the Creatives Team just to get nothing done.

               Y/N closes her eyes and breathes out. When she opens them again, she looks at Yoongi in the eyes. “I’m not here to fight with you, Yoongi. I’m here to make an offer.”

               Yoongi scoffs, “An offer? You? Are you hearing yourself right now? In case you weren’t informed, I don’t need anything from you. And I didn’t—”

               “You’re single right?”

               Yoongi gawks at her, “W-what?”

               “Well, I’m single, too. And Valentine’s week is coming in two weeks.”

               “So?”

               Y/N tries not to grit her teeth, “So, that means the Heart Holiday is also coming. Nancy is bound to come back during that time, too, with an obvious incoming large workload to come for me. I can’t afford to hole myself up in this office while everyone gets to enjoy a paid holiday week. And since you have an affinity for disliking your job, I figured you also wouldn’t want to go to work during Valentine’s week.” Y/N crosses her arms, “So I’m here, Min Yoongi, to give you an offer: Fake date me for two weeks to make it to DRM’s PRS’ application deadline. When our application gets approved, we part ways and never speak about what happened in these two weeks. It’s a win-win situation. I don’t get to work during Valentine’s. You also don’t get to work, and we both will still get paid. So, what do you say?”

               Yoongi just stares at her. Y/N could feel cold sweat running from her scalp and down to her back. Why is he looking at her like that? Why is he being so silent? Is he about to make fun of her and bring it up to work tomorrow? Oh God, Y/N shouldn’t have even gone through with this plan. This is a bad idea. A bad, bad, bad, idea that should have never been entertained and buried in a trunk of embarrassing memories, never to see the light again—

               “I’m in.”

               Y/N freezes, “W-what?”

               Yoongi takes a step closer to Y/N. He leans forward, closing the distance between their faces into mere six inches. Y/N doesn’t need to crane her head up anymore because this time, their eyes are finally leveled with each other.

              Yoongi smiles, “I’m telling you, Y/N, I’m in in your plan.”

              Y/N looks at him. She just looks at him. Five seconds have already passed. Yoongi should be laughing in her face right now. But the man did not, and takes a step back away from her. He fixes his satchel on his shoulder and closes the Creatives’ glass door behind him shut. When Yoongi looks back at Y/N, he gives her a shrug, “Hey, if you’re not going home, I am.” He heads for the main door, hands dug into his pockets. Y/N’s eyes just follow his figure. Before Yoongi completely gets out of the office, he hollers, a hand cupping over his mouth, “I said I’m already in in your plan. You can go now. See you tomorrow.” He sends Y/N one last smile.

              It takes Y/N five more seconds before she breaks her frozen stance. What did just happen? Yoongi didn’t laugh at her. He didn’t put up a fight. He….agreed? Just like that? This is impossible. This cannot happen! Yoongi doesn’t agree, he argues! Always! And he just doesn’t bid her goodbye and “see you tomorrow.” Yoongi annoys her with one last hit of “goodbye, grandma.” And Yoongi doesn’t smile. He smirks. He just pulls up one side of his lips, squints his eyes, and snorts. Y/N must be going crazy. This is not Yoongi!  A whole different man has suddenly appeared before her. This cannot be!

              But despite all the things going back and forth in her head right now, there’s only one looming thought on top of them all that had Y/N release a staggered breath:

              What the fuck did she just get herself into?

next  | series masterlist

Disclaimer: This first chapter is based on Netflix’s Set It Up (2018), particularly Nancy’s briefing scene and the USB scene. Netflix’s Set It Up (2018) is the inspiration for this fic and so I based Ms. Nancy’s personality on Lucy Liu’s portrayal of Kirsten Stevens! Ms. Lucy Liu was fantastic in her performance! That being said, all scenes and references from the movie used in this story are the property of its respective owners. The rest belongs to the author. This work is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. Anyways, if you wish to watch the movie, don’t worry about encountering any spoilers in this fic!

A/N pt. 2: Hi hons! I decided to cut this fic into parts as this will be very long (hello banter dialogues). Writing a 25+k wordcount (so far, this is my assumed final wordcount) may overwhelm a lot of readers and make them not want to read this anymore ☹ Anyway, the succeeding parts will be released soon as I already have a detailed storyboard and outline for this mini-series so you don’t have to wait that long. Thank you for giving this fic a chance, hons. Also, feedback is more than appreciated. Tell me what you guys think!  ♡♡♡ \(> u

Taglist: @fangirls94​​ @ditttiii​ @chogiyeol-utopia​​

All Rights Reserved 2020 © Vanaera. Reposts, modifications, and translations of content are not allowed.

[fic-for-fic-sake]

It was self defense

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Warnings: Blood, gore, mentions of death, angst, abuse, swearing. If any of this triggers you, DO NOT READ IT!

A/N: I started writing this a while ago, and just finished it tonight. Basically the reader has an abusive boyfriend and in the heat of the moment something bad happens and Bucky helps her deal with the aftermath. 

Tuesday nights were by far the worst. Jake would come home from a night of schmoozing his fellow Wall Street workers, reeking of gin and cigar smoke. He would stumble through the door, always smiling and laughing, like the jokes from the party hadn’t worn off yet. You would be in the living room, working. Hunched over your laptop, the bright screen a stark contrast to the black night that seeped in through the windows. Managing the lives of the Avengers was never an easy task but it was one that you did with pride. Usually Jake was fine with that, except when he wasn’t. 

“Baby, are you still working? It’s so late.” Jake slurred as he made his way into the kitchen. He loosened his red striped tie and grabbed a beer from the fridge, apparently he hadn’t had enough yet. 

“Yeah,” you began, rubbing your temples with your fingertips, “I just need to finish the schedule for the month.” 

You heard him rifle through drawers trying to find a bottle opener. For a while the only noise in your shared living space was the rattle of objects and Jake’s frustrated groaning. He paused, and you assumed he found what he was looking for. You heard the sound of his dress shoes hitting the wood floor as he walked in your direction. You really weren’t in the mood for his drunken behavior right now, you had schedules to build. Over the top of your screen you saw his fingers curl around your monitor and had your mouth poised with a question when he closed your laptop, beating you to the punch. 

“What the fuck is this?” He sneered, shoving the object in question into your face. 

“What is what?” You retorted, grabbing his wrist and stilling it so you could see what he was talking about. 

“This.” He said, forcefully, as he held what appeared to be a lighter in his hand. 

“Please tell me you’re not drunk enough to recognize a lighter Jake.” You joked back, rolling your eyes slightly. This was bad, even for him. 

“I know what it is but who does it belong to? Cause it sure as shit isn’t mine.” He pressed, moving around the table to stand over you. You stood up from your chair slowly, creating distance between the two of you. 

“I don’t know, maybe someone on the team? They were over here earlier so we could discuss PR for the next month.” You replied calmly, trying to diffuse the situation. You knew what Jake could be like when he was drunk and mad, it wasn’t fun. But usually you could lull him down so he was mostly docile. 

“Who?” 

“Who, what?” 

“Who. From the team. Was here.” Jake questioned, tone clipped. You let out a shaky breath, Jake could be a little jealous of the team from time to time. Especially Bucky. There was a history there and Jake knew it but no matter how many times you assured him it was over, it was all white noise to him. He wouldn’t believe it, and you had the bruises to prove it. Every time you brought Jake to an event and he saw Bucky look at you or even spare a word in your direction you felt it for the next week. Jake always swore that it would be the last time and he wouldn’t get so bent out of shape unless he really loved you. So you stayed, and you believed him. 

Your silence was a dead giveaway as to who from the team had been in your apartment. A hard blow left your right cheek stinging in pain, fat hot tears worked their way down your face as you held your cheek in your palm. 

“Answer me Y/N, who was here?” He screamed. 

“Bu-Bucky.” You choked out. “But I swear we were just going over his schedule.” 

“Horse shit.” Jake retorted, shoving you backwards. Your legs caught on the back of your chair and you were tossed onto the ground with a hard smack. “I bet you wore this little number for him didn’t you?” He accused, gesturing towards your plain black leggings and off the shoulder t-shirt. 

“No.” You choked out, attempting to claw yourself into a sitting position but Jake advanced on you. Kicking you swiftly in the ribs and forcing you back down. 

“Am I a joke to you Y/N?” He challenged as he squatted down next to you and shook your shoulders roughly. 

You violently shook your head no, as fear slowly coursed through your veins. His hand curled into a fist and tore through your left cheek, you could see a spatter of blood leave your mouth and decorate the stainless steel refrigerator. You cried out in pain as he wrapped his hands around your throat, forcing you to meet his harsh gaze. 

“You fucking twat. I could have any woman in the city that I want. You know that right? But I chose you. And how do you repay my gratitude? By fucking your ex in my own home?” He roared as he squeezed your throat so tight you saw black spots begin to darken your vision. You heard a sound that sounded like a dying cat and realized that the noise was coming from your own mouth. 

Your hands scrambled on the floor trying to find something to defend yourself with, your mind racing with the minimal oxygen it still had. Your hand gripped something cool and solid. You weren’t sure what it was but you brought it up and jabbed it into Jake’s arm. You could see the metal corkscrew stick out halfway from his bicep as he let out a piercing howl. He subsequently released your throat and you coughed, trying to work air back into your lungs. However, your victory was short lived. 

“You bitch, you’re gonna pay for that.” He promised, before he pulled the corkscrew out of his arm and deposited it somewhere on the floor. You scrambled to stand up, your hands seeking purchase on the cool marble countertop. Before you could stand all the way however, Jake grabbed your ankle and ripped you down once again. As you flailed your arms the knife block was knocked over and you busted your lip on a cabinet hinge on the way down. 

The copper taste of your own blood filling your mouth made you gag. Your vision was tear streaked as Jake grabbed your ankle once more and dragged you through the kitchen. You quickly grabbed the knife block and blindly threw it behind you hoping to subdue your boyfriend turned attacker. He yelped and you felt the grip on your ankle let go, you grabbed the butcher's knife and turned around to see Jake attempt to scramble towards you on the ground. He had the wooden knife block in his hands and was about to deliver a blow to your head when your instincts took over and suddenly the knife was buried in his chest. 

He let out a strangled cry as his eyes went wide and he looked down at the wound. You could feel his thick, warm, blood ooze out from the entry wound and coat your fingers in slick, red warmth. His hand came to your bicep and squeezed hard. With shaky fingers you removed the knife and stabbed again, further this time. Jake’s hand went slack around your arm and he fell backwards, sprawled out on your kitchen floor. You could feel hot tears run down your face as you removed the knife for a second time. You noticed the faint trickle of blood that made its way out of the corner of his mouth. 

You tossed the knife to the other side of the kitchen and heard the faint clatter as it landed. You sat there, shock kept you from moving. The silence was deafening. Jake’s breathing turned shallow until he was rasping and twitching and then he wasn’t. You sat there, next to his body, bloody hands trembling until you heard the faint sound of your phone ringing. Wordlessly, you stood up and went to check it. 

Bloody fingerprints stained the phone screen as you answered. 

All you could do was breathe into the receiver. Too numb to say anything. 

“Hello? Y/N? You there doll?” Bucky’s voice sounded from the other end. 

“B-Bucky?” You whispered, voice hardly audible, raspy from screaming. 

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong, are you okay?” Bucky’s deep voice probed from the other end of the line. At the pet name you lost it, gut wrenching sobs racking your body. You could hear Bucky asking questions from the other end of the line but you couldn’t bring yourself to answer them. Could only think about the man you killed, bleeding out in your shared kitchen. 

“Y/N don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.” Bucky spoke into your ear before you heard the dial tone. You sank back down onto the floor next to Jake. Unsure of where else to go. 

You heard a knock at your door and you scrambled to get up, to hide, to do, you weren’t sure of. You felt a wave of panic wash over you, adrenaline spiking. 

“Doll, it’s me, can I come in?” Bucky asked, voice muffled by the door. You slowly stood up and opened the door for him. Bucky’s ice blue eyes examined your battered face. Your busted lip, black cheek, and purple throat did a number on his heart. 

“Shit, what happened?” He questioned, eyes never leaving you. Your tears were coming faster now, pouring down your face and you brought your blood dried hands up to wipe your cheeks clean. Bucky’s eyes widened in alarm. He walked around you into the kitchen and you heard his sharp intake of breath. He came back to you and gently placed his hands on either side of your face. 

“Sweetheart, I know this is gonna be hard, but I need you to tell me everything that happened, okay? I can help, but I need you to tell me.” Azure eyes burned into yours with worry and determination. With a shaky breath you told Bucky everything until your hands were trembling again and you couldn’t even look him in the eyes. 

Cool metal fingers grasped your chin and pulled your head up to meet his eyes, “Look at me. You were defending yourself. It’s okay. Why don’t you go get cleaned up while I take care of this?” He spoke softly as he stroked your hair with his flesh hand. 

Wordlessly, you made your way to the bedroom you shared with Jake. The bed was made to his standards, per usual, anything else would’ve resulted in you getting smacked. You looked to his side of the bed and his nightstand, everything was just how he left it. The Wall Street Journal folded by the lamp, his reading glasses folded next to the paper, and one of his watches haphazardly tossed on the hardwood. You felt numb as you passed the table and walked into the bathroom. You tried to avoid the mirror but when you caught your reflection you gasped. Now you understood why Bucky looked so alarmed, you looked as battered and broken as you felt. 

You lifted your shirt over your head and winced in pain. You could already feel bruises forming where Jake kicked you and from where you fell. You went into the shower and turned the water on hot, standing under the stream and silently watching as the blood that was caked to your body swirled down the white tiled drain. You scrubbed your body until it was red and raw and still you didn’t feel clean. Fresh sobs caught in your throat as you continued to come out of your state of shock. You sank to the shower floor, sitting catatonically, unable to move or feel much of anything. 

A while later, you weren’t sure how much time had passed, could’ve been seconds or hours, you heard Bucky call out for you, but you didn’t have the strength to answer, just sit under the now cold spray of water and stare at cream colored tiles, tiles that you and Jake picked out together, and now he was dead. You killed him. Murderer. 

“Sweetheart, I’m coming in okay?” Bucky called out before opening the bathroom door. You could see his figure behind the clear glass of the shower and he turned to look at you. His hair was tied up and his sleeves were rolled up, but the second he caught your eyes his whole demeanor changed. His shoulders visibly softened as he walked into the shower with you, clothes and all. “The water’s cold doll.” Is all he said. 

“Jake’s dead. He’s dead because of me, I did this. I’m a murderer.” You whispered, your back to the super soldier. 

“Honey, no.” Bucky began, sinking to his knees and pulling your naked form against his chest. His clothes were soggy but he didn’t seem to care. “He did this to himself, he beat you. You were defending yourself.” Bucky repeated his words from earlier. You didn’t move as Bucky turned off the water and scooped you into his arms, grabbing a fluffy towel and wrapping it around your body before carrying you out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. 

“Y/N, I need you to listen to me okay?” Bucky pleaded, grabbing your shoulders and meeting your eyes with his. “I need you to pack a bag. Whatever you think you’ll need for a few weeks, just the essentials.” 

“Oh my God I’m going to jail!” You wailed, handing coming up to hide your face as you cried again, panic seeming to break you out of your stupor. 

“Baby, no. You’re not going to jail, you’re coming with me, to the compound. You can stay in your old room if you want.” Bucky explained, hugging you tight against him as you shook with terror. Everything was happening so fast, you didn’t know what to make of it. 

When you were ready Bucky let you go so you could pack. With shaky hands you grabbed a duffel bag out of your closet and pulled shirts off of their hangers, not caring what you were grabbing but throwing it into the bag anyway. Your mind was racing a million miles a minute as you packed what you thought you needed, your mind not as sharp given the current circumstances. 

Within ten minutes you had a bag packed and ready to go. You started to walk back to the kitchen but flashbulb memories attacked you on the way. Images of Jake coming after you, blood on the fridge, the knife, how his blood felt on your hands, his lifeless eyes staring at nothing. You couldn’t do it, you couldn’t go back in there. You collapsed in the hallway, wailing cries coming out of your mouth. Bucky came running and caught you before you fell, hauling you back to your feet. 

“I can’t- I can’t do it Bucky. I can’t go back in there.” You argued, vehemently shaking your head ‘no’. 

“Y/N.” Bucky said, his tone even and sure. He cupped your face in his hands, the metal providing a soothing sensation. “You gotta be brave. Can you do that for me doll? Can you be my brave girl?” Bucky implored, his eyes saying more than his words ever could. You drew on some of his strength as you took in a deep breath. Bucky took your hand in his and led you through the kitchen, where you abruptly stopped. 

Everything was gone. The blood, the knife, the corkscrew, knife block, and most importantly, Jake. Jake was gone. 

“Where’s the body Bucky?” You whispered shakily. 

“I took care of it.” He replied. 

“Where’s Jake? Bucky where is he?” You tried once again, pulling his arm as if to pull the truth from his lips. 

“I think it’s best if you don’t know.” Bucky responded, pulling you through the front door of your apartment and shutting it behind you. He ushered you out of the building and to his car which was parked around front. He placed your duffel bag in the backseat as you climbed into the passengers side and buckled yourself in. 

You and Bucky drove in silence for a while. Your mind kept replaying everything that happened, wondering if you could change it somehow. If you could’ve maybe put the knife into Jake’s shoulder instead of his chest, he would still be here. You would still be you. Not this, thing, not this monster. 

“Do you hate me?” Your voice was barely above a murmur as you stared at the road ahead, only illuminated by the headlights of the car. 

“What?” Bucky asked, his head whipping around to look at you. You were slumped into your seat, biting your nails and shaking. 

“I’m a murderer Bucky, a bad guy. You hunt bad guys for a living. You must hate me.” You explained, head turning to look at Bucky, tears pooling in your eyes and threatening to spill over. Bucky turned on his blinker as he turned down a small dirt path, just off the main road, and killed the engine. He unbuckled his seatbelt so he could turn to face you fully. 

“Doll, I’m a trained killer. I fought in World War 2 and killed plenty of people. I was the Winter Soldier, the arm of Hydra for years and I killed, and now I kill bad guys. I have a lot of blood on my hands, do you hate me?” 

“What? No! Bucky I could never hate you.” You replied quickly, head snapping to look at him as he said the question. 

“Just as I could never hate you.” He responded forcefully, trying to get you to see his point. “How many times did Jake hit you?” 

“I don’t know.” You replied, looking away from him. 

“Doll.” 

“Too many to count.” You responded weakly. 

“You’re not a cold blooded killer Y/N. He came after you and it was self defense. How could I possibly hate you for defending yourself against a scumbag like him?” Bucky carded his hands through his hair as he let out a sigh. “Fuck, I should’ve seen it sooner.” He said angrily. 

“It’s not your fault Buck. I hid it from everyone, nobody knew.” 

“I swear to God sweetheart, nobody will ever lay a hand on you again. I won’t let ‘em.” He said as he clasped your hand in his and turned the car back on, steering it back on the road. You two drove the rest of the way in silence. Bucky occasionally brought your hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips against it, and he never once let go of your hand. 

[richrubies]

Chances (Kim Hyo-eun x Reader)

Warning: feels

Genre: angst x love x second chances 

Note: Joon-kyung = Dok2 // stop sleeping on Hyo-eun

For my beautiful anon who has been so patient. I’m so sorry that this took so long xxxxxxxxxxxx

You slammed the door shut as you left the board-room. You could hear Hyo-eun stumbling to follow after you; ‘Y/N!’ he yelled desperately as he shoved himself through the door leaving his CEO and the lawyers, behind.

‘Y/N!’ he pleads, grabbing at your hand to stop you from walking away, ‘Please stop!’

You spun, snatching your hand back despite the sting that came from the movement, ‘Don’t touch me, Hyo-eun!’

‘Please come back inside, baby. Please let me explain—,’

‘Explain what Hyo-eun? You cheated on me and now that bitch is blackmailing you and the label for money!’

‘Baby,’ Hyo-eun pleads, falling to his knees while his arms wrapped around your waist, ‘It was a mistake! We had just started datin—,’

Pushing him off of you, you swiped at the tears that fell and muttered, ‘I don’t care when it happened. I care that it did happen. I care that she’s threatening you with videos and photos of it happening!’

You and Hyo-eun had finally gone public about your relationship after a year and a half of dating; after it had been announced, the threats began to pile in – death threats for you, and blackmail for Hyo-eun. At first, you hadn’t been fazed.

The number of women who had come out and claimed Hyo-eun as their baby-daddy before and after the announcement was doubled, but you knew the truth and they had no proof either way.

That was until Choi Eul-soon came along with her videos of Hyo-eun’s head between her thighs, and the secret photo’s shed taken of the two of them when they had had sex, demanding money or else she would ruin his career.

Burying your face in your hands, you cried, ‘Fuck, Hyo-eun!’

Hyo-eun was in tears himself, still on his knees as he hung his head, ‘I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I love you so much…’

You had already begun to walk away, your heart aching as Hyo-eun called after you, his voice breaking as he cried out your name.

~*~

‘You’re back again?’ Joon-kyung says in surprise, looking up from his phone to find you in the vacant boardroom, surrounded by files and papers all to do with the blackmail scandal. You’d spent nearly every day in that same room you’d stormed out of a week ago, working with the PR team and lawyers, and conveniently, had spent all that time avoiding Hyo-eun. As a small-firm investigative journalist, you were skilled in finding out facts and had made a lot of connections in the industry. Without Hyo-eun’s knowledge, you’d been working behind the scenes while Joon-kyung kept you updated on how he was holding up with the break you’d put your relationship on, having taken Hyo-eun in seeing as you’d kicked him out.

Working had given you a distraction but it didn’t change the fact that you missed Hyo-eun. It was the little things, like when he dried your hair, or fell asleep on your chest, that really made your heart ache.

Tears had gathered in your eyes as you thought of it which didn’t go amiss by Joon-kyung, ‘You okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ you say with a sigh, blinking them away as you attempted to reassure him with a smile.

‘You’re clearly not, Y/N. And if I’m being honest, neither is Hyo-eun.’

You looked down at the table with a frown on your face, instinctively biting on your bottom lip as Joon-kyung continued, ‘He’s not left the house for five days.’

‘He smells like Doritos,’ Joon-kyung mutters after you ignored his first comment, ‘And sadness,’ he adds.

You sighed, looking at Joon-kyung tiredly, ‘Then tell him to shower.’

‘He won’t listen,’ he argues, ‘You know he won’t. You know what he’s like when he’s in a mood. He becomes difficult…Can’t you just…give him a call?’

You picked up your pen and shook your head. While Hyo-eun had messaged you several times a day, you’d simply turned your phone on silent and thrown yourself into working, ‘Not until I sort this out,’ you say indicating to the article you’d written and would use in a counter-attack, if proved necessary.

‘He doesn’t even know that you’ve been helping! And Choi has practically withdrawn from her threats anyway! We have too much evidence against her. She knows she’ll be sued for defamation, illegal distribution of porn, extorsion and more...You’re just trying to hold off dealing with the real issue at hand, Y/N.’

‘No,’ you say, adamant as you circled a typo you’d made on the draft copy, ‘The real issue is clearing up this mess before it hits the media, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,’ you defend.

‘Y/N,’ Joon-kyung sighs, ‘That’s not true and you know it – you’ve already called all of your contacts and asked for favours about blocking any stories to come through if it mentioned Hyo-eun. You’ve even prepared several counter-attack articles in case it does get exposed. You did all that last week. Now you’re just using this as an excuse to avoid Hyo-eun but still keep him near.’

Well.

He had a point there.

‘I know that with everything that’s happened, you’re hurt and upset…But I really do think that you need to sort this out. Properly.’

You sighed and nodded at Joon-kyung’s statement, only to later throw a pen at him as he announces, ‘—Which is why I told him you were here.’

‘What?!’ you nearly screech, ‘You told him? When?!’

Joon-kyung held up his phone and shook it, ‘When I walked in and found you here. Again.’

You weren’t ready to see Hyo-eun; helping him from behind the scenes was one thing, but actually dealing with your relationship? That was a whole other ball-game that you weren’t ready to play.

What were you even meant to say?

‘Hey, I know you had a drunk one-night stand with the devil when we had just begun dating and were going through a rough patch, but I really miss the way you play with my hair?’

You scoffed at the thought as you stood and grabbed your bag, ‘That was a dick move, Joon-kyung, and you know it,’ you tell him angrily.

‘If I have to play the villain, I will, Y/N,’ he responds without batting an eyelid, ‘Just sort out your relationship and stop confusing everyone.’

‘I’m not confusing anyone!’ you defend as Joon-kyung gives you a blank look, ‘Right,’ he drags out, ‘Because you showing up at Hyo-eun’s work place to help him whilst simultaneously telling everyone that you’re not together, isn’t confusing?’

Instead of responding, you stormed out of the room and slammed the door – something that was becoming a bit of a pattern for you, only this time, instead of chasing you down the hall, Hyo-eun was in front of you.

You knew why you didn’t want to see Hyo-eun; it was because he was your weakness – you could only act so tough around him until you began to crack, and your heart took over. You weren’t sure if you were ready to hear the whole truth of what happened, and you weren’t sure if you’d be able to control your loving emotions versus the rationality that told you to run as far away from him as possible.

And now you had no choice but to face him as he stood, just as surprised as you to be greeting one another in the same hallway in which you’d walked away from him.

Joon-kyung wasn’t lying when he said that Hyo-eun was a mess. His locks were clumped together and his eyes were red from tears. It looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and his uneven facial hair had made a ghastly appearance. One positive was the fact that he had clearly showered. The negative part was that he must have been in that big of a rush to get to you, that he had buttoned the dress shirt he wore completely wrong, leaving it uneven.

‘Y/N,’ he breathes out, not bothering to wait for your response as he pulled you into his arms and held you with an iron grip.

The familiarity nearly had you in tears as he clung to you with all he had, only pulling back to hold your face in his palms, ‘You’re here,’ he says as if assuring himself, ‘You’re here.’

To no avail, you couldn’t escape his hold, though you gave it a good shot, blinking back tears as he did his best to keep you near; ‘Don’t leave,’ he begs, ‘Please just stay with me a little while…Hear me out…’

Tired of fighting him, and your chest sore from the sound of his broken tone, you nodded in agreement and told him unsurely, ‘Only a little while…’

~*~

Locked away in his studio, Hyo-eun sat with his hands holding yours, his legs folded beneath him as he told you quietly, ‘It was when we had first started dating...when we weren’t official but everyone knew we would be,’ he says tiredly, ‘Honestly, I don’t remember a lot of it…I remember kissing her the night you’d told me that you were unsure about our relationship—’

‘Are you blaming your infidelity on my uncertainty?’ you ask him, not out of anger –okay, maybe a little anger– but curiosity too.

‘No, no, no,’ he assures quickly with a shake of his head, ‘Of course not…It’s just, we weren’t in a good place. I thought you were going to break up with me and I was a wreck…I had gone to Club 88 to let off some steam, and that’s where I met her. At first, I had pushed her away, but the more I drank, the sloppier I became and then it all happened so quickly. I had blacked out for most of it,’ he says truthfully, his head hung low.

You had pulled your hands away so that you could hug your knees to your chest, resting your chin on them as you tried to avoid picturing the events that took place.

‘I had honestly only thought that I had kissed her,’ he says quietly as you swiped at your fresh tears, ‘I didn’t remember any of the other stuff until she started blackmailing me and I saw the photos...’

Hyo-eun sniffed and wiped his face with his hands tiredly, ‘I thought that if I had only kissed her, it wouldn’t have been so bad…and then you told me that you were willing to try, and I loved you so much that I didn’t want to ruin a relationship we had only just started…So I didn’t tell you; I kept it a secret and decided that I would never wander far from your side. I never lingered around other women, I kept myself in-check, always, because it was the only way I could ever make it up to you. I had no idea that it would turn into this…I didn’t know what I had done,’ he tells you, his voice breaking as he let out a low sob, wiping at his face again.

The heart was a funny thing; like right now, it was aching – aching because you were hurt, aching because Hyo-eun was hurt, and aching because no matter how much of a toll all this mess had taken on you, you still wanted him.

‘How can I trust you?’ you ask Hyo-eun rhetorically; taking his hand in yours as he attempted to hide his face in the crook of his elbow and muffle his cries, you repeated, ‘How can I trust what you’re saying?’

It was quiet for a moment or two as Hyo-eun calmed himself, before he told you croakily, ‘I’d spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to…You are the only woman who has my heart, Y/N. I’m lost without you, and it’s selfish of me to ask you to put your faith in me, I know it is…’ he says, looking down at your entwined fingers, ‘But I think I’ll die without you by my side…’

You had begun to cry once more as he pet your hair and face gently, continuing, ‘I hate waking up without you next to me baby. I hate it. I hate knowing I did something so stupid, and let it hurt you so much. You are my every hope and dream and more Y/N. Even if it takes years to earn your forgiveness, love and trust, I’ll work hard every day until you do. I swear it,’ he says.

You couldn’t help but lean your face into his palm as his thumbs stoked away the falling tears; murmuring quietly, you tell him, ‘I love you, Kim Hyo-eun, even when I shouldn’t.’

His arms were around you in a second with your back to his front as he held you tight, kissing your hair and repeating, ‘I’m so sorry for what I did…I love you so much, I’m so sorry…’

Not wanting to leave his familiar embrace, you curled up against him and shut your eyes, letting the last tear drops fall as you told him in a low whisper, ‘This is your one and only chance…Please don’t fuck it up.’

His response was to hold you tighter, kissing your forehead as he promised through his silent tears, ‘One chance is all I need.’

That took me so fucking long to write, and has so many other drafts just to get to this! I’m so sorry about my lack of posting. Ya girl is currently working two jobs, planning a charity event, doing assignments and saving up for a surprise trip to Perth to see my parents. I’m so busy, y’all don’t even know.

Any requests made will most likely take a long time to do as I’m struggling to come up with fresh ideas for each individual, HOWEVER! Do keep tuned as I tend to find inspiration in strange things like water bottles, windows and all sorts of canny things, and stories may just pop up without warning xxxxxxxxxxx

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[elizabethrobertajones]

You know, I really love Jack, I'm invested in this storyline but am I the only one that things the whole Team Free Will, your my family true luve between SamnDeannCas and Jack is a little bit much and soon for relationship(s) that exit for like a month (? timeline) and between less then 10 episodes of interaction together?

Yeah, I agree that we’re not entirely meant to just immediately think of them as like… perfect family or whatever immediately. Jack’s still in the trial period and that conversation literally comes because after he ran off they had a momentary scare - which we as the audience were forced to view in a way WE consider it may have happened too except for our own trust in Jack - that he really had gone evil or was hurting people. 

I think Cas is the glue holding this together - from 13x01 as soon as Jack says Castiel is his father, not Lucifer, the entire tone changes completely. This is the sign WE are absolutely meant to trust Jack because believe in Cas, and HOWEVER Cas and Jack first got connected, the fact Jack is setting his moral compass by Cas MEANS something, which is that he can be trusted to WANT to do good and to try and to at least have believed and wanted what Cas described about guiding Jack on a good path, as he said in 12x19. That was the start of Jack wanting Cas to be his father instead. And it works as currency to win our favour towards him and Sam’s, and then once Jack brings Cas back, he gets DEAN’S favour, and Dean starts to genuinely like him.

Like OF COURSE they haven’t had any huge family bonding yet except this drama they’ve been through so far, but there’s a lot going on trust and that this is something that if Cas or Jack says the other is family then Sam and Dean are Cas’s family and so THIS is the key that lets Sam and Dean at least accept Jack using “family” for them and all. It’s literally the same sort of step relationship that Dean and Sam had with Claire because Cas briefly took her on as a ward.

I think there’s a disconnect between how this is going on in the show and how fandom and joking in any other level outside of canon e.g. actors, PR, etc is treating it, because for the most part going with lol Cas is his dad and that seeming like a comfortable zone to talk about it in a way that makes sense (aka to explain how Cas seems to feel about him and how Jack definitely feels about Cas in terms of the bond more than experience) is colouring the interpretation of canon that in fanon we’re making zillions of happy family fluff headcanons and art and even interpretations which are fitting into what is hinting at the potential for the fluffy relationship into how it already IS.

The car scene with Jack and all the stuff with Sam and Dean looking for him, this episode and the previous ones where they are stressing he might be a problem, show that there’s more going on than JUST fluffy feelings of adopting Jack. Sam and Dean have accepted him, on Cas’s behalf and because he seems to mean well and has been really sweet and they understand him a lot of the time when he seems hurt in front of them. That doesn’t mean they’ve got a strong battle-tested relationship with him and they still find him volatile and scary, although this last episode showed them - once they were back on the same page as him and rescuing Kaia - working better. Because he was now working single-track mind on the “thing they needed most” and had completely turned his motivation to getting Mary back for them since he’d brought Cas back for himself.

That is probably going to be what makes him MORE family if he succeeds and comes back friends with Mary too, and even just that he’s been going to this trouble, for them, on their original sort of motivation of finding one of THEIR missing parents. 

But at the moment it’s still weird and angsty and I can’t imagine Sam and Dean DON’T feel the strangeness of having Jack around, or having him suddenly in their lives and changing the dynamic. Or how Dean only had *one* episode where he was comfortable around Jack before Jack left until now. OBVIOUSLY you don’t get to fluffy fanon family headcanon territory over a couple of episodes. The jokes are nice to help integrate Jack into the fandom and extrapolate the bonds the show is telling us about or telling us WILL exist or could POTENTIALLY exist. If you like Jack you can write him into your fluffy fics. If you don’t trust him he can still skulk gollum-y around being untrustworthy and sowing discord between the brothers, or dragging Cas away from them if you really want. 

There’s a lot they still haven’t explored with him because they’re keeping the main cast mostly spread out and so far 13x06 is the episode with the densest collection of them in one place. I would hope after the Wayward Sisters stuff is over maybe we get a time when Jack brings back Mary and Cas is with the Winchesters and we can have all living members of this weird weird family in one place even for half an episode, just to see them together. For now I still feel like their dynamic is still pretty raw and uncooked and Jack is still proving himself to the Winchesters, and they still barely trust him not to go evil because they really hurt him just this last episode with the fact they were still suspicious of his actions. And to their POV they still don’t know they can trust him entirely BECAUSE they’re still in situations like that one. Sure it might be better now he’s proved he didn’t kill anyone and instead surpriiiise he was searching for Mom, but at least up until that point, Dean was still saying to Sam he had to be realistic about the threat.

So when Jack says they’re all family and includes Cas, Dean knows there’s something weird about what happened between Cas and Jack that’s made them bond like this but it seems something both are certain of. And he trusts Cas and knows he’s family and we had all of last season making it plain over and over that Cas is considered family. Family doesn’t have to mean Jack is immediately accorded the same level of intimate trust and emotional intimacy as TFW share with each other, or Sam and Dean feel for Mary. Heck, Mary and Cas seem to have connected but again it started until 12x09 as just because Sam n Dean were their middle ground, and later they did both show they cared about each other, but they were never constantly supporting each other like Sam and Dean do for each other because they’re still semi-strangers and haven’t been through as much together. 

If you think of it that Jack is the step-son, people will immediately make accommodations for that sort of relationship, to allow them to be family until proven otherwise and reach out to them, and to try to get along because of their mutual connection, when people are trying to do things right. The step-son will ALWAYS be a part of the family legally and in how people reckon they’re connected, even if the ties aren’t immediately as close emotionally. 

It’s not one of those things that ~only works if you consider Cas and Dean are married~ or whatever, but it is something that works BEST to explain it if you consider the Winchesters are getting Jack as family THROUGH Cas and it’s because Cas is their family that they will consider Jack is too. 

[winetae]

⇁ paper doll | prologue

⚬ pairing⇁Jungkook x Reader

⚬ genre⇁drama, slight angst ||  idol+singer-songwriter!au

⚬ warnings⇁sexual themes with smut in the next chapters, mentions of past unhealthy relationship 

When the nation’s little sister, IU, gets into a huge scandal, your agency seizes the opportunity to thrust you into that now vacant spotlight. Your self-composed song Paper Doll becomes an overnight sensation, and soon people are itching to find out who was the one who broke your heart. All hell breaks loose once netizens discover that you used to date popular idol, Jeon Jungkook. Little do they know that it wasn’t him who left the relationship unscathed — it was you.

↳ alternatively: a story on the consequences of a hit break-up song

::00::01::02

a/n; so basically this is me being coerced into writing jjk smut 

.

.

[+11,435; -2,003] this really breaks my image of him… proves how you can’t judge someone from their personality on camera

[+9,386; -1,983] all this time he was pretending to be super innocent haha all those stupid fangirls throwing money at him blindly must be going crazy

[+5,903; -1,234] i mean everyone goes through break-ups, but he was cosplaying as an innocent guy who was scared of skinship with girls all these years.. lmao he’s super shamel—

The words on the screen in front of him all blurred and bled into one big stain. He quickly scrolled through the hundreds and hundreds of comments, each more condemning than the last. A steady pressure was building in his ears, until the only thing he could see or feel were the accusations of a faceless crowd, all jeering at him loudly, fingers pointed.

It was as if his entire life flashed in front of his eyes right then, and he could suddenly recall every inconsequential and significant thing that had shaped his life the past seven years—the hours and hours spent in front of the mirror rehearsing the same steps over and over again, the taste of soggy ramen Hoseok hyung had let overcook last week, the screams of fans, the sound of his alarm clock, the look on your face when you told him it was over. There was no chronology to the kaleidoscope of fleeting glimpses of his past.

“What,” he breathed, hands shaking, eyes wide and disbelieving as his phone fell with a clatter on the table. He desperately wanted to ignore reality, but the stares that were all focused on him kept him grounded to the present.

Of course his first scandal would be linked to you.

Taehyung gave him a sympathetic pat on his shoulder but even that was half-hearted. The tension in the small room was palpable. For the first time since their debut they were confronted with this kind of situation, which meant no one knew what the appropriate reaction was. Despite their years of friendship, a single news article had created an awkwardness between the members. 

He hadn’t spoken to any of them since they had been summoned into this emergency meeting but he was afraid that they blamed him—or worse—that they hated him now. The mere thought had his palms sweating in dread. 

Just last week they had celebrated another music show win. All had been fine. Now Jungkook couldn’t help but feel like everything they had collectively shed sweat and tears over, was collapsing because of him. 

“Our PR team is trying to smooth things over, but there’s only so much we can do.” In the corner of his eye, he saw Seokjin flinch as their head manager sighed angrily. They rarely interacted with this manager in the first place so having him present meant things were serious. Worry started to build up in Jungkook’s chest once more. 

“Couldn’t we,” Jungkook could feel his throat go dry as everyone’s attention refocused on him. He decided to stare at his manager hyung’s mouth, not having the courage to look at him in the eye. “Couldn’t we just wait until all of this blows over?”

“Fat chance. Her company will probably milk this scandal for all it’s worth. This is probably the most publicity Jihae has gotten since her debut. It wouldn’t surprise me if they threw a party.”

“It’s all bullshit though, it’s not true. None of this is true.” His words tripped against one another, showing his increasing desperation. 

None of this should be happening. Your name, your face – all of it was supposed to remain a memory. But someone had reopened that box he had fought so hard to keep shut, and his relationship to you, his relationship with you, all of it had been shoved back to the forefront of his mind. 

“Are you say saying you never dated her?” His manager looked up, hopeful.

“Well I- I did,” he fumbled with his words again. Hearing your name had triggered certain images but he quickly blinked away those echos of you. “But she broke up with me.”

It was pathetic, almost. How you were still effortlessly ruining his life, even after all these years. There had been moments when he had sworn he had never hated anyone as much as you. He wondered if you knew how much you still affected him. Would you even care? You probably didn’t. Had you even seen the news yet? Probably. You had always been addicted to your phone, checking the real-time music charts to see how well his songs were doing. Except that now you were probably monitoring your own songs instead of his. He pushed the thought aside. You weren’t important right now. Except you were.

His manager was silently processing the piece of information, unaware of Jungkook’s conflicting emotions, his fingers tapping away on his phone. “I’ll have to make a few calls but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Unless we get their side to match the story, the public will think we’re just trying to do damage control. Which wouldn’t be far from the truth.”

Jungkook nervously eyed his members. He was trying to figure out what to say to them afterwards. How should he apologize? What was he supposed to say?

“Regardless, we have to act quickly. The news came out about 45 minutes ago. We have a 72-hour window to fix this before the damage gets out of control. Her  company is the main problem here. We obviously will have to compromise but we’re not sure what they could possibly want… It’s difficult to say for now.”

They all stood up when they saw that their manager was getting ready to leave. Jungkook still felt horribly responsible about everything, even though he knew that logically none of this was his fault.

“You guys just stay in the dorms today. I’ve cancelled the magazine interview that was scheduled this afternoon. Oh, and I hope it goes without saying that you should stay off SNS for the next week or so.”

Those were his parting words before the door closed loudly behind him. Sensing the uneasy atmosphere, Namjoon cleared his throat.

“Look, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we don’t blame you for this. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure they’ll find a solution. It’ll be fine.”

“Still—I’m sorry hyungs,” he attempted to face them straight on but didn’t manage. He was petrified of seeing disappointment reflected in their eyes. He wasn’t sure he could handle that. Not now. “I’m really sorry.”

He had never felt so small in front of them. Even that one time he had been severely scolded in front of everybody could not compare to today.

“Don’t worry,” repeated Jimin, trying to sound reassuring. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Jungkook wondered if Jimin was trying to convince himself too.

The rest of the members repeated variations of his encouragement, but Jungkook couldn’t help but feel like he had let them down. He locked himself in his room, suddenly drained. The past half-hour had taken ten years off his lifespan. He wanted to cry but he wasn’t sure he had the energy for it.

Again, images of you clouded his mind. 

How long had it been? He had seen you at a broadcast station last month, from far. But it had been longer than that since the two of you had actually conversed. Ever since that day… he hadn’t spoken to you. You hadn’t bothered either. Almost two years, then.

Just seeing your face had stirred up ugly emotions. He could remember the anger, the betrayal, the jealousy, the constant fights over the most meaningless things. You had managed to provoke him in the worst ways—as if you liked seeing the toxic parts of him. All of it had made the sex more satisfying, because it was the only time he felt like he had complete control over the situation. Those times when he had you laid out the way he wanted in front of him, he knew that you needed him. Nothing had been more fulfilling than hearing you moan his name and beg eagerly for him. Even thinking about it was starting to arouse him. You had really fucked him up.

He hated you. 

During the last few weeks of their relationship he remembered thinking how much he hated you. He hated the sharp smell of your floral perfume, the little hiccuping sound at the end of your laugh, and the little lines that formed between your eyebrows when you were immersed in writing lyrics. He despised how you had made him hate the good parts of you, the shades of you that only he had been privy to.

It wasn’t as if you were evil incarnate. Sure, you were vain and materialistic, and you were extremely picky about your food, but he wouldn’t label you evil. Deceitful and manipulative and haughty—those all seemed fitting to describe you. Evil seemed like too much. Or too little. He wasn’t sure anymore. Jungkook was never certain when it came to you. In the beginning, the hesitancy had been what he thought was characteristic of first loves. The silent searching, the suspense, the thrill. It had been that way, before.  

Along the way, you had started to enjoy goading him and pushing him to the edge until he had no other choice but to push back. You liked your games. Before, he believed he had been playing with you; in the end, he knew you had been playing him. 

The most twisted part was that everyone thought you were South Korea’s sweetheart. To them, your hobby was doing charity work, singing for sick kids, and whatever else you were up to these days. In white dresses, you radiated innocence and purity he was certain you did not possess. From afar, he remembered how soft your features had looked, how bright your expression had been. The voice you used in public was a bit higher pitched than the one he was used to, more cheerful, and it had carried down the hallway. This version of you was so radically different from what he remembered, that it was easy to pretend that you were a seperate person entirely. A stranger. 

It had been easy back then to pretend you weren’t the girl he hated, the one who had left him without turning back once. But even though the you in his past and the you in the present were seemingly two entirely different individuals, he couldn’t help himself from disliking your new form as well. How could he not? Not when he knew that version of you was completely fabricated. A delicate construction masking truth. A lie. You were good at lying.  

Vibrations pulled him from his train of thought.

During the short amount of time he hadn’t looked at his phone, countless of messages had poured in. His friends, his sunbaes.. all of them asking how he was, if the news was true. Fuck, even his family had seen the news. There were too many messages to be able to respond to all of them at once. He would deal with that later. Right now he just needed a nap.

Just as he was about to turn off his phone in a weak attempt to delay the inevitable, his phone vibrated once more. Although he had erased every trace of you from his phone a long time ago, he still recognized the series of familiar numbers that flashed on his screen. It was with a sick amount of curiosity that he opened the message.  

hey jungkook, it’s me. i’m guessing you saw the news. can we talk ?

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Freshman of the Week: Colorado’s McKinley Wright edges out Oklahoma’s Trae Younger

We right here at CBS Sports activities have as soon as once more teamed up with america Basketball Writers Affiliation and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Yr Award. Each Tuesday all through the common season, we’ll be posting a Freshman of the Week winner along with our Frosh Watch, which is a rating of the highest 10 most statistically spectacular freshmen in males’s Division I school basketball. This weekly characteristic will work hand in hand with the Tisdale committee and the USBWA. The winner of the award can be introduced in March, and a ceremony for all USBWA honors will happen in early April. The cycle for Freshman of the Week consideration begins on Tuesdays and ends Monday nights.

It has been an fascinating week to judge the perfect first-year gamers in school hoops. Nobody was massively dominant, however there have been some shut performances. Trae Younger’s numbers have been good, once more, however in case you watched his efficiency vs. West Virginia, you realize that he did not play properly. So our Freshman of the Week comes from the Pac-12 — and proves this yr’s point-guard class is sort of as deep as final season’s stacked group.

McKinley Wright IV, Colorado               

A brand new face to this system. In the event you’re unfamiliar with Wright, the 6-foot level guard helped convey Colorado to a flash of nationwide recognition due to the Buffaloes pulling off a house sweep in opposition to the Arizona colleges final Thursday and Saturday. First was a win over No. four Arizona State, then got here a pushback on 14th-ranked Arizona. The win over ASU was the primary time since 2003 Colorado beat a group ranked within the prime 5. 

Colorado had by no means defeated top-15 opponents in consecutive video games. With out Wright, it would not have been doable. Within the two video games he averaged 17.5 factors on 50 p.c capturing, had 7.5 assists and was 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Wright was pivotal in time beyond regulation in opposition to ASU. Had he not been on the ground, the Buffaloes might’ve come undone. What was significantly spectacular in regards to the Arizona State sport was how good Wright appeared in opposition to Solar Satan Tra Holder, who’s unquestionably been one of many 10 most spectacular and constant gamers in school basketball by way of the primary half of the season. 

Towards Arizona Wright went for 16 factors and 10 assists, touchdown his third double-double of the season. Fairly stable for the Minnesota native who was recruited out of Huge Ten territory. 

In gentle of that, Sean Miller’s playful barb at his brother, Indiana coach Archie Miller, is price noting. Following Arizona’s loss to Colorado, Sean Miller mentioned: “McKinley Wright is likely one of the most spectacular guards we’ve got confronted. My brother recruited him and he should be one of many dumbest coaches in school basketball to not have him as a part of his program.”

With this efficiency, and given his more and more sturdy play over the previous month, Wright has cracked the Frosh Watch beneath.  

Listed here are the highest 10 freshman performers in school basketball from the beginning of the season till now. 

On Saturday, West Virginia got down to do precisely what it wished to do: It received in Younger’s head, pressured him right into a season-high eight turnovers, and made the frontrunner for nationwide Participant and Freshman of the Yr look flustered and discombobulated. And in spite of everything that, Younger nonetheless completed with 29 factors. He nonetheless had 5 assists. He nonetheless was above common vs. most different freshmen. By the best way, that  89-76 loss to WVU was preceded by a 109-89 dwelling win over Oklahoma State. Younger was one rebound away from a triple double (27/10/9). However he had six turnovers in that sport, too. His utilization, and Oklahoma’s variety of possessions, will inflate his turnovers. Thus far, it hasn’t value Oklahoma dearly (regardless of his eight giveaways vs. WVU, Oklahoma nonetheless would have misplaced if Younger solely had, say, two turnovers), but it surely’s most likely the largest flaw in his sport proper now. 

Subsequent sport: Tuesday vs. Texas Tech. 

2. Deandre Ayton, Arizona

Key stats: 20.four ppg, 11.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 30.Zero% D-rebound charge

Final week: No. 2

One other actually good week for the Bahamian. Averaged 25.Zero factors, 9.5 rebounds — and it ought to have been extra. Ayton had solely two fouls, performed 32 minutes within the Colorado loss but was not bing utilized as a lot as he might have been. He most likely ought to ahve completed with 36 as an alternative of 26 factors. , Marvin Bagley III’s been in that Three spot of the Frosh Look ahead to a month now — and he is been taking part in properly and placing up good numbers. But it surely’s a testomony to Ayton’s dominance and improved defensive cognitive capacity that Bagley cannot leapfrog him. Ayton has shot below 50 p.c in a sport solely as soon as this season, Dec. 5 vs. Texas A&M.

Subsequent sport: Thursday vs. Oregon State.     

Bagley had 31 factors, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in opposition to NC State — and it is prefer it did not even matter. The Wolfpack beat Duke on Saturday 96-85, and although Bagley was sometimes environment friendly, the group’s protection worn out a lot of what he did. His particular person protection was good, not nice. There have been a couple of instances the place he had angles and leverage in area however nonetheless received beat. Mike Krzyzewski’s received two issues to deal with and tweak instantly. The primary and apparent challenge is group communication on protection. The second is that if he needs to maintain utilizing Bagley the best way he has been. It is labored loads, but it surely is likely to be time for Bagley to play off Grayson Allen extra. If these two actually discover a widespread vitality, then Duke makes a push to No. 1 once more.              

Subsequent sport: Wednesday at Pittsburgh.

four. Brandon McCoy, UNLV

Key stats: 19.Three ppg, 10.Three rpg, 1.6 bpg, 61.5 2-pt FG%

Final week: No. four

Rinse and repeat for McCoy, who can be getting 5 instances as a lot publicity if he was placing up the kinds of numbers we see now however as an alternative doing it within the Pac-12. UNLV went 1-1 final week; McCoy had 23 in each video games. We’re approaching the purpose the place I do not assume anybody within the Mountain West can truly match up with him — that means his averages are more likely to go up. I would not be shocked to see him publish 25 and 15 on Air Drive later this week. 

Subsequent sport: Wednesday at Air Drive.

That is how Waters received LSU a highway win over Texas A&M on Saturday. Simply one of many three most ridiculous pictures of the season. 

Waters is banging on the door for No. four on the Frosh Watch. He continues to make wowing performs in nearly each sport. He got here near profitable Freshman of the Week this week, too. Within the loss to Kentucky he had 18 factors and 11 rebounds. Towards Texas A&M, Waters had 21 factors, 5 boards, 4 assists and 5 turnovers. He’s completely on the brief checklist — name it a prime 10 — of the must-see gamers in school hoops.

Subsequent sport: Wednesday at Arkansas. 

Averaged 23.5 factors, four.Zero assists, 2.Zero steals final week, however Alabama misplaced 76-75 at Vanderbilt, then took a depressing 65-46 loss at Georgia. Sexton continues to place up good numbers, but when we need to begin asking why he is unable to be a team-changing level guard, that is honest. I do not assume we should always put Alabama’s 9-6 document on him, as a result of he does numerous good, however it’s fascinating that Sexton and the expertise round him have not been capable of keep top-30 standing within the sport. The Crimson Tide are destined for the bubble.         

Subsequent sport: Tuesday vs. South Carolina. 

7. R.J. Cole, Howard

Key stats: 22.7 ppg, 6.1 apg, Three.Three rpg, 1.6 spg

Final week: No. 9

Cole put up 31.Zero factors and seven.5 assists in his two video games final week, however Howard dropped each. First was a highway loss at Florida A&M, then cam a house time beyond regulation defeat to Bethune-Cookman over the weekend. Cole continues to be a high-volume scorer but additionally a keen distributor. It is honest to imagine 98 p.c of the folks studying this Frosh Watch have by no means seen Cole dribble a basketball, however I guarantee you he is worthy of this checklist. His group is dangerous, however he is a high-usage participant out of necessity. I preserve ready for him to hit 40. 

Subsequent sport: Saturday at South Carolina State. 

eight. Mohamed Bamba, Texas

Key stats: 11.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg, four.6 bpg

Final week: No. 10                                                                          

Texas fell 69-60 at Baylor on Saturday, however Bamba wasn’t the explanation. He had 15 factors, 9 boards, 5 blocks and sank a Three in quasi-transition at some extent when Texas wanted that sort of bucket. The Longhorns are nonetheless figuring issues out at this level, even with Bamba, however it’s simple that he is a greater, extra fluid participant now than what we noticed at PK80. 

Subsequent sport: Wednesday vs. TCU. 

9. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado

Key stats: 16.2 ppg, 5.Three rpg, four.eight apg

Final week: N/R

How uncommon is it to see a Colorado freshman be this good? The final time a Buffaloes beginner received the league’s Participant of the Week honor it got here in 1995 (Chauncey Billups), when Colorado was within the Huge Eight — now referred to as the Huge 12. 

Wright’s solely 6 ft tall, if that, however he is received to be thought-about a fringe NBA prospect already. Actually at the very least a two-year participant, perhaps three, however he is received numerous “it” to him. At the moment he is at 5.Three assists per sport, tied for second within the Pac-12. His 84 dimes by way of the primary 16 video games of his profession already put him within the prime 10 in program historical past for first-year assists. He wants 144 to interrupt Billups’ freshman document. 

Subsequent sport: Wednesday at USC.              

Knox’s teammate, Hamidou Diallo, fell out of the Watch this week. Now Knox is clinging to the 10 spot after going 1-of-9 with six factors and 4 fouls in Kentucky’s 76-65 loss at Tennessee on Saturday night time. He has numerous potential, is Kentucky’s greatest participant, however can’t make the leap to A-level participant. At the very least, he hasn’t but. I do assume it should occur. I am questioning if transferring him full-time to energy ahead would not be higher for him, and UK, proper now. With numerous concern concerning Kentucky’s lack of pizzazz and energy this season, it is price noting that this system has by no means had a freshman ranked this low within the Frosh Watch. There’s nearly at all times a UK man within the prime 5. Now Knox is wrapping up the checklist. If that does not change, Kentucky is not profitable the SEC. 

Subsequent sport: Tuesday vs. Texas A&M.            

Earlier Freshman of the Week winners:

Dec. 5: Trae Younger Dec. 12: Deandre Ayton Dec. 19: David Jenkins Jr.  Dec. 26: Trae Younger  Jan. 1: Mohamed Bamba

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