#how good could he really be? oh minwoo please

[bangtaninink]

when night falls i am your escape

a sequel / prequel to sanctuary! ( as requested by @athenakyle )

The dull sound of rhythmic knocking against a wall has Jisook stopping in her tracks, a tray of dirty dishes in her grasp.

“I’d keep walking if I were you,” Sanghoon says, fixing his glasses, a leather portfolio tucked in the crook of his arm. “Miss _____ has Master Jeongguk over again.”

Jisook sighs.

“I just did the laundry,” she mutters, walking off.

Sanghoon lets out a terse chuckle in reply, checking his watch.

“Ah, the Chairman and his wife also informed me earlier that they won’t be home for dinner tonight,” he calls out to Jisook. “They’ll be dining with the rest of the board of directors. Miss _____ will be dining out with Master Jeongguk also, so do let the rest of the staff know that only a light supper will be needed when they return, Jisook-sshi.”

“Thank you, Sanghoon.”

Sanghoon bows his head as Jisook disappears into the kitchen, the sound of her shuffling slipper-clad feet growing distant.

The rhythmic knocking eventually stops, and Sanghoon arches a brow at the sudden quiet, looking up from his diary, page half-turned. A few beats later, the door to your room opens, and you emerge in the middle of tying the silk belt of your robe around your waist, hair in a messy bun atop your head.

“Afternoon, Sanghoon,” you greet, lazy smile stretching across your lips. “How you doin’ today?”

“Good afternoon, Miss _____,” he replies, bowing his head. “I’m well. Thank you for asking.”

“Want anything from the kitchen while I’m there?”

“No thank you.”

“Okie dokie. Enjoy the rest of your day, okay?”

“I will do my best, thank you.”

                                                         〰️

Jeongguk yelps when something cold hits the small of his back, clicking his tongue as he pushes himself up off his stomach to sit against the headboard, taking the beer you’re holding out to him.

“It honestly surprises me that I’m allowed inside here every time I come over,” he says, taking a sip.

“Why?” you laugh, reaching into your bowl for a strawberry.

“Uh, ‘cause you’re one of the richest people in the country, and me and the hyungs literally have diets consisting of ramen and discounted kimbap. We are not the same, dude.”

“No one’s complained yet.”

“I don’t think your staff would complain. Maybe talk about you behind your back though.”

“Jeongguk, you’ve seen Jisook. She nags me more than my actual grandma. She would not hesitate to call me out.”

“True. She has such a cold stare sometimes. I can come over here horny out of my mind, but then I see her and I feel like my balls shrivel up and die in an instant.”

“Gross.”

“Well. I could be rich soon though. I hit five hundred thousand followers on Soundcloud within twenty four hours of those photos coming out from that dinner. And then seven hundred and fifty thousand followers on Instagram not long after. Kinda scary how quickly people can find my shit. You didn’t even promote me straight away.”

“Your nudes will be next,” you joke.

“Pfft. Please. You say that like it’s a bad thing. My nudes are spectacular.”

“You know who I bet would love to see your nudes? What’s-her-face. Hara? No, Hana.”

“Oh, Jesus. Don’t,” Jeongguk groans. “I thought her seeing you with me would force her to give up, but now I feel like she’s gotten worse. She keeps blowing up my phone.”

“You gave her your number?”

“Nah, nah. She’s been messaging me on Instagram. I bet it’s because of your ‘statement’.”

“What about my statement?”

“You said I was a ‘close friend’.”

“Well, what am I supposed to say? ‘Jeongguk’s my fuckbuddy. He’s got my favourite flavour of dick!’”

“Aww,” Jeongguk coos, hand pressed to his chest. “I’m touched.”

“Yeah, well, you can touch yourself on your own for the rest of eternity if you keep that up.”

                                                         〰️

“Hi, excuse me, um… c-can I get your autograph?”

You look up from your menu to see someone standing a few feet away from Jeongguk, holding a notebook close to her chest as she waits nervously for an answer.

“Yeah, for sure,” Jeongguk says, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at you briefly before taking the notebook from the girl, scribbling his signature on a blank page before bowing and watching her walk off. “Look at that. I’m famous.”

“Congratulations,” you say, nonchalant as you turn your eyes back to the menu.

“Damn, you really live like this? I could get used to it.”

“You say that now. Wait ‘til you’re getting followed into the bathroom when you go to take a dump.”

“How much do you think I could sell my shit for now that I’m famous?”

“I dunno. Ask Hana. I bet she’d be the only one crazy enough to buy it,” you say, looking up from your menu again to grin.

“Shut up.”

“Are you ready to order, Miss _____?” a waiter asks, stepping up to the table with a small notepad.

“Mmm, I think I’ll have truffle linguine,” you say, setting the menu down on the table.

“Of course. And for you, sir?”

“Uh… I’ll have the tenderloin steak with the cream potatoes, thank you. Medium rare,” Jeongguk replies, smiling.

“Excellent. We’ll have it over right away.”

“Thank you.”

“Damn. The perks of being rich.” Jeongguk leans back in his seat, hands on the back of his head. “I really could get used to this.”

“Don’t get too cocky, Jeon,” you say, taking a sip of your wine. “It’s not a good look on you.”

“You know what is a good look on me?” You look over your wine glass. “You.”

“God.”

                                                         〰️

“How were your meals tonight?” the waiter asks, collecting you and Jeongguk’s empty plates.

“Amazing. Send my compliments to the chef,” Jeongguk says, smiling. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“Would you like some dessert? Coffee?”

“Oh man, I’m stuffed.”

“Just the bill, thank you, Minwoo,” you say, reaching for your drink.

“Of course,” the waiter says, bowing his head before walking off with the empty dishes.

Jeongguk reaches into his back pocket for his wallet as you finish off your wine, counting out his money before slipping it into the small leather folder the waiter sets down on the table.

“What’re you doing?” you ask, amused; Jeongguk looks at you, confused.

“Paying?”

“Why?”

The crease between his eyebrows grows deeper as he furrows his eyebrows, saying, “because I asked you to come to this restaurant with me? Wait, hold on, I’m confused. Am I missing something? Should I not be paying?”

“No, it’s just… most people would be making me pay, that’s all,” you say, shrugging your shoulders.

“Please,” Jeongguk scoffs, proceeding to put his money in and shut the leather folder. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am not like most people, sweet cheeks. Also, making you pay makes it seem like you’re my sugar mommy or some shit, and that feels weird as fuck.”

“Oh, eww. You’re right.”

“Come on, let’s go. I need a smoke.”

                                                         〰️

You can feel the floor of the club pulsing beneath the soles of your heels, walking over to your usual table with Hyemi and Sora on either side of you, paying no mind to all the heads that turn your way. The rest of your friends cheer and wave when they see you approach, making space for you three in the booths.

The drinks easily come and go, and eventually a bunch of you end up on the dancefloor, nodding your heads and swaying your bodies to the sound of the music, laughing and fooling around as you always do.

One by one, you friends drift off, returning to the tables or leaving with a handsome stranger, until only you and Hyemi remain on the dancefloor – but even she looks like she’s one song away from disappearing from your side.

As you anticipate, just as one Jay Park song ends and another starts, Hyemi has her fingers entwined with an unfamiliar face, and she turns to look at you with an apologetic smile before wandering off. You let her go with a casual shrug and a smile, unbothered because you’re used to this routine now, knowing the fun is only yet to start now that you’re no longer surrounded by your friends.

It’s now that others will gain the courage to approach you, no longer resorting to fleeting glances your way—as if they weren’t being completely obvious in doing so—but using their alcohol-fuelled bravado to make their way closer to you on the dancefloor, until eventually, someone will sidle right up to you, hand on your waist, department store jeans pressed to the back of your tailored Prada dress.

“Hey.”

Like clockwork, you feel a hand come to rest on the small of your back, and the air around you briefly smells like whiskey, cigarettes, and clean laundry.

“Jeongguk,” the stranger says, guiding your hips to sway in time to his.

“_____,” you reply, smiling to yourself.

“Knew that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Surely everyone here does,” Jeongguk says, chuckling.

“You’d be surprised.”

“No way. They’d be insane to think you’re just another pretty face. Are you having a good time so far, _____?”

“Sure am, Jeongguk. How ‘bout you?”

“Me? Oh, I’m fuckin’ petrified.”

“What?” you ask, laughing as you turn around, Jeongguk’s hands wrapping around your waist as you rest your hands on his chest.

(You’re excited to find that his chest is beautifully firm—almost rock solid—beneath your palms.)

“Oh, definitely.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I’m not sure if you’ve got bodyguards watching you from afar. If I move my hands an inch lower, I could be tackled to the ground and banished from the country for laying a hand on probably the richest twenty-something year old in Korea.”

You throw your head back and laugh, the sound barely drowned out by the loud music.

“I don’t leave the house with bodyguards all the time,” you reply, grinning.

“Ah. A wild child, huh? I’ve heard that too actually.”

“Is that right?”

“Yup,” Jeongguk says, emphasising the last syllable with a pop.

“I’m surprised the tabloids are reporting the truth.”

“Oh, so it’s true? Oh, I like that.” Jeongguk grins when you laugh again. “So. What do you usually do on nights out, Miss _____?”

“Well, that depends on what you usually do on a night out, Mr. Jeongguk,” you reply.

“Hmm. Well, I’ll usually down a few drinks, dance next to a pretty girl, get slapped in the face before she tells me she has a boyfriend, and be on my merry way, crashing on my third secondhand mattress to the sound of my roommates fucking their boyfriends.”

“Sounds like a great time.”

“Eh. Could be better,” Jeongguk replies, shrugging. “Maybe havin’ the balls to dance with one of the richest people in the country will change my fate.”

You hum, barely audible.

“Or maybe this is the part where I slap you and find another hot guy to go home with.”

“Well if that’s the case, at least I can say I tried. I think I’ve done a lot better than that table on my left who’ve been staring at you from the moment you stepped foot on the dancefloor.” You turn to look off to the side, snorting when a cluster of guys startle and turn away from you before any of them can meet your eye.

“Story of my life,” you say, turning back to look at Jeongguk.

“It’s not too late to rewrite it, sweet cheeks,” Jeongguk says, winking. Smooth! “Unless, of course, you were planning on leaving with someone else.”

“Considering you’re the first person to come up to me, I think the gold medal is going to you tonight.”

Dramatically, Jeongguk swipes a finger under his eye.

“I’d like to thank my mother, my lucky lighter, and Jack Daniels.”

He takes your hand and leads you off the dancefloor, no complaints when you detour to your table and grab your things and wave goodbye to your friends who watch on with wide eyes as you leave with your arm hooked around Jeongguk’s.

His friends do the same, it seems, if the way he juts his chin out with a smug look on his face is anything to go by, ignoring the frantic waving to try and get his attention as he walks you to the door. He does, however, humour them with another wink just before he follows you out with a hand on your lower back, paying no mind to the ping of his phone when you’ve both exited the club.

“So. My place or yours?” he asks, waving down a taxi.

“Yours, s'il vous plait,” you reply, running your fingers through your hair. “My place is swarming with people and paperwork right now – probably the whole reason why I came out tonight actually.”

“That sounds so fun.” Jeongguk chuckles, opening the door to the taxi and holding it for you. “After you, sweet cheeks.”

“Wow. A gentleman.”

With a shrug, he waves you in, before climbing into the taxi after you, quoting the address of his apartment to the driver and leaning back, shoulder pressed against yours.

“So. What’s it like being filthy rich?”

“Eh,” you reply, shrugging. “It’s got its pros and cons.”

“Cons?” Jeongguk repeats, eyebrow raised. “That’s hard to believe.”

“That’s what everyone says – until they get a taste of the life, that is.”

“Hmm. Can’t relate. I get excited when I get a new follower on Soundcloud and Instagram, or when I can afford three cups of ramen instead of my usual two. I bet you barely notice followers flooding in – or even eat cup ramen.”

“Well, I can’t say cup ramen is a staple in my diet, but even I can’t resist that stuff. Just means I’ll have to do an extra session of hot yoga to get rid of all that excess sodium.”

“Hot yoga, huh?”

You look at Jeongguk, who stares off into space with wide eyes, totally distracted by what you’d just said. You laugh loudly, shaking your head.

“God, you’re such a… guy.”

“You said ‘hot’ and ‘yoga’ in the same sentence, and I am but a mere mortal,” Jeongguk replies, hand on his chest.

The taxi slows to a stop in front of an apartment complex, and you watch, intrigued, as Jeongguk hands his money to the driver, before stepping out and rounding the car to open the door for you.

He leads you up to his apartment, but without warning, he pauses, hand on the keypad of the front door.

“Shit,” he mutters.

“A problem?” you ask, amused.

“Yeah, I just remembered neither me nor my roommates cleaned up before we left.”

You shrug, saying, “doesn’t sound like a problem to me.”

“Oh, it’s a problem. How dare I invite a goddess into a trash can of an apartment?”

“Are you like this with everyone you sleep with?”

“Well… the guys and gals I sleep with don’t usually have a net worth of a trillion Won…”

You laugh again, shaking your head.

“You can open the door, Jeongguk.”

“Alright, alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Jeongguk punches in the passcode and pushes open the door, turning on the lights and kicking aside stray shoes in the doorway to make a clear path to walk through.

“Honestly,” he says. “I’d say shut your eyes and let me carry you to the bedroom, but I can’t even guarantee my room is any better.”

“This isn’t bad,” you say, scoffing as you look around at the expanse of the apartment, unbothered by the old takeout boxes, empty soda and beer cans, crumpled loose papers, and the remnants of rolled joints and cigarettes in ashtrays around the living room. “You made it seem like a junk yard.”

“I don’t know if you’re just saying that, but I’m not gonna push it,” Jeongguk says, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling, before motioning to the door of his room. “If you so desire, your Highness, your throne awaits just over there.”

“Weird. Your lap is right here,” you say, nonchalant as you kick your heels off and put your bag down on the sofa, before walking over to Jeongguk’s room.

“Oh,” Jeongguk groans, fist pressed to his lips as he watches the way your hips sway, nodding to himself before eventually chasing after you.

                                                         〰️

Taehyung whimpers softly as Yoongi bites gently at his neck, punching in the passcode without pulling away.

“Hyung,” Taehyung moans, toeing off his shoes, hands fisted around the lapels of Yoongi’s shirt. “Hyung, wait. What’s that noise?”

“Huh?” Dazed, Yoongi lifts his head, eyes squinted in concentration as Taehyung takes the opportunity to nibble at the shell of the elder’s ear, fingers curling around his belt loops. “Is that… I think that’s Jeongguk.”

“Jeonggukie’s home already?”

“Oh fuck, Jeongguk! Yes! Yeah, right there. God!”

Frozen, Yoongi and Taehyung stare off into space as the apartment fills with the sound of moans and groans, jolting in surprise when Jeongguk’s bedroom door swings open.

Panting, Jeongguk frantically crosses the apartment completely naked, stopping dead in his tracks when he notices Yoongi and Taehyung standing in the doorway, staring at him. He jerks his head in a nod, chest still heaving as he grins.

“Hyung, I’m grabbing some condoms from your room,” he calls out.

They watch silently as Jeongguk disappears into Yoongi’s room – and Hoseok’s room, for good measure – before returning to his own room and kicking his door shut, and it isn’t very long before the sounds return.

“You wanna just… watch a movie?” Yoongi mutters, sighing.

“With the volume turned up very loud please, hyung,” Taehyung replies, nodding solemnly.

“I guess I’ll text Hoseok to warn him in case he plans on doing anything with Joon then.”

                                                         〰️

“Christ, you guys wanna turn that down?” Jeongguk says loudly, wincing as he stands shirtless and in a pair of sweatpants against his bedroom doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, lit cigarette held in the corner of his mouth.

Yoongi and Taehyung look at him, eyes narrowed, even as Yoongi’s thumb mashes the volume button on the remote.

“What the fuck were you doing in there?” Yoongi asks, frowning as he holds his lit cigarette to Taehyung’s lips. “I know you’re loud, but Jesus Christ, Guk.”

Jeongguk shrugs, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“Did you kill her?” Taehyung asks, exhaling. “Have you just fucked someone to death? I’m telling you right now, we will not be your accessories to murder, Jeon Jeongguk. I’m telling the police everything.”

“I’m sure I can settle any lawsuits that might come from tonight.”

Yoongi inhales sharply, dropping his cigarette into the ashtray on the coffee table as he coughs violently when you step out of Jeongguk’s room, tying your hair up. With wide eyes, Taehyung stares at you, mouth opening and shutting repeatedly as he struggles to find words.

“Y-you’re… you… you’re…” he stammers.

“That’s Yoongi hyung, my roommate; and his boyfriend, Taehyung hyung,” Jeongguk says, motioning towards them. “I’m sure I don’t need to introduce you to _____.”

“What the fuck, Jeongguk?” Yoongi says in between coughs. “What the fuck?”

“Your boy’s got game, hyung.”

“Mmm, and a great dick,” you add, picking up your bag.

“Is your driver here? I’ll walk you down.”

“It was nice meeting you two.”

Yoongi and Taehyung stay frozen on the sofa, completely dumbfounded, even when you and Jeongguk leave and meet your driver at the front of the apartment complex.

“Oh,” you say, reaching into your bag and pulling out a pen, grabbing Jeongguk’s hand to scribble your number on his palm.

“Oh, this is officially the best day of my fuckin’ life,” he says, grinning. “Same time next week, sweet cheeks?”

“Wouldn’t say no to that,” you reply, winking and opening the car door. “Let me know if any of your neighbours wanna file any complaints.”

                                                         〰️

[ sms: YOONGI ] _____.

[ sms: _____ ] mr. min. how can I help you?

[ sms: YOONGI ] my phone feels like it’s going to eXPLODE WTF [ sms: YOONGI ] did Jeongguk tell you to do this?

[ sms: _____ ] pfft no [ sms: _____ ] if anything, I did this to piss him off ;

[ sms: YOONGI ] jesus _____ [ sms: YOONGI ] there are so many notifs on here what do I do??? [ sms: YOONGI ] my phone is not strong enough to handle all this [ sms: YOONGI ] I’M not strong enough to handle all this oh god

[ sms: _____ ] you want a new one?

[ sms: YOONGI ] huh?

[ sms: _____ ] a new phone lol

[ sms: YOONGI ] HUH???

[ sms: _____ ] i’ll send you a new one [ sms: _____ ] and hoseokie too :)

[ sms: YOONGI ] hold on [ sms: YOONGI ] HOLD ON [ sms: YOONGI ] YOU’RE SENDING ME AND A SEOK A NEW PHONE??? [ sms: YOONGI ] HELLO?? [ sms: YOONGI ] _____?!

 [ DISPATCH ] Samsung heir, _____, promotes underground Soundcloud rapper, Agust D’s second mixtape, ‘D-2’.

 [ sms: JEONGGUK ] you gave the hyungs new phones??? [ sms: JEONGGUK ] WHAT ABOUT ME

[ sms: _____ ] i’m not your sugar mommy, sweet cheeks ;) [ sms: _____ ] maybe hana will buy you a new one!

[ sms: JEONGGUK ] SHUT UP [ sms: JEONGGUK ] YOU’RE UNBELIEVABLE

[pixieminutes]

Seven Years | LMH (2)

genre: fluff, singleparent!reader

members: lee minho x reader

warnings: making out/implied smut?? very pg though

part 1

09:56 (just before when minho said he’d meet you)

“remember to be nice, okay?”

“do you like him?” haon asked, staring at your intertwined hands. you were walking a little bit too fast for his little legs, but he let it slide as you said this was important.

“of course i like him! i’d say we’re friend—“

“no. do you like like him?” haon asked.

you chuckled, turning and running your hands through your son’s hair, “stop growing haonie. and maybe, we’ll have to see.”

“so he could be my new dad?”

you took a breath, “we’ll have to see. okay, we’re here!”

haon looked in the window at the small brunch café.

“you alright?” you paused, “they do pancakes.”

haon smiled, nodding as you let out a sigh of relief, walking through the doors. before the waitress could approach you, minho’s waving hand caught your attention, leading you over to him.

“hello,” minho smiled, pulling you into a hug, “you alright?”

you nodded, “minho, this is haon. haon, this is minho.”

haon looked up and bowed, minho slightly bowing in return, making haon giggle.

you smiled, “you wanna sit next to me, haon?”

“no, i want to sit next to mr. minho,” he said, “cause then i can look at mum’s beautiful face!”

you sat down, glaring at your son, “what have you done?”

haon giggled cheekily, “nothing!”

“hmm, you sure?” minho chuckled, “here, whisper what you did.”

“i didn’t do nothing!” haon exclaimed, laughing.

you laughed too, trying to quieten haon down.

“um, what would you like to drink? i’ll get it,” you said, putting your coat on the back of your chair.

“flat white please,” minho smiled, “but i’ve already told them to pay with my card so...”

“minho!”

“it’s fine,” he smiled, shrugging.

you sighed, “haon. melon milk?”

haon nodded.

“if not...”

“hot chocolate!” he exclaimed.

you nodded, smiling as you walked over to the counter.

“how old are you, mr. minho?” haon asked, glancing over at the man sat beside him.

“i’m 25 years old.”

“birthday?”

“25th of october, 1998.”

“star sign?”

“scorpio.”

“interestings?”

minho chuckled, “um... dancing, cats, your mum.”

haon smiled, “i like that. it was smooth.”

minho nodded, “well thanks.”

there was silence for a moment before haon looked up at minho bashfully. haon had always had a kind of prejudice against men his mum’s age, especially when they were trying to interfere with his mum’s life.

but minho liked cats.

“i-i like cats too, mr. minho.”

minho smiled, “do you want to see photos of mine? i have three.”

07:14 (30 minutes before haon should be at the bus stop)

you rolled your eyes at the sound of the doorbell, “just coming!”

“mum! have you seen my uniform?!”

“um... check the dryer!” you exclaimed, before pulling the door open, “minho. hi!”

“hey, sorry, you look busy. i just thought before i go to work we could go to the shops together?” minho offered.

“mum! what can i have for breakfast?!”

you rolled your eyes, “come in.”

minho chuckled, taking off his shoes as he pulled the door shut behind him.

“can you just have toast? i’ll make you something really nice for dinner,” you nodded.

“can i have nutella too?” haon asked, his big, shiny eyes looking up at you.

you chuckled, ruffling his hair, “sure.”

“mr. minho!” haon exclaimed, “hello!”

“hey haon,” minho smiled, “you going to school?”

haon nodded.

“do you get the bus? or do you walk?” minho asked.

“bus,” haon said bluntly, putting the bread in the toaster.

minho nodded, “okay then.”

there was a few minutes of silence as you left the room to get haon’s things together, neither of the two boys daring to say anything to the other.

finally, the toaster popped, making both of them jump slightly before laughing. haon continued giggling as he reached up to get the toast out.

suddenly, minho’s reactions– that he didn’t particularly know he had –kicked in and he jumped in the way.

“careful!” he exclaimed, before stepping back sheepishly out of the alarmed boy’s way, “that’s gonna be hot. want me to do it for you?”

haon blinked a few times before nodding, “yes please.”

minho smiled, moving forward again and getting the toast out and laying it on the board.

he paused for a moment, looking round the unfamiliar space, “where’s the nutella then?”

11 days later, 07:14 (30 minutes before haon should be at the bus stop)

minho hummed as he got the toast out the toaster, putting it on the board and slathering it with a layer of nutella. he put it on a small plate before pouring a glass of milk to go alongside it.

“haon! i’ve made your breakfast!” minho called, the patter of small footsteps echoing through the house as haon ran to the kitchen.

“slowly!” you yelled.

“thank you mr. minho,” haon beamed as he reached the kitchen, snatching the plate and cup off the side and sitting at the table to dig in.

“your welcome, sprout,” minho smiled, wiping the top clear, “want me to walk you to the bus stop today?”

haon nodded, “minwoo wants to do aeroplanes again!”

minho chuckled, nodding, “okay. we’ll do aeroplanes.”

you approached the doorway, but stopped when you heard haon talking to minho. your son was giggling and talking in a way you’d never heard before.

was this how he would’ve treated a dad?

did he think of minho as a fatherly figure? cause you didn’t think you’d mind if he did.

god, what a terrible thing to think about the boy you like.

17:59 (time for friday night movie night)

“hmm, what do you want to watch?” you hummed, flicking through netflix, “it seems like we’ve watched everything on here.”

“mum,” haon said, the vowel sound dragging on.

“yes, baby?”

you looked down at your son as he looked up at you, his big brown eyes sparkling. you could see confusion behind them.

“what is it?” you asked, taking your arm from around him so you could inspect his face, “are you okay?”

“i’m fine!” he exclaimed, wriggling until you moved your hand.

“then what?”

haon sighed, “do you like mr. minho?”

you took a deep breath. of course he would question this. why would he not start to question it? he was a lot more grown up than you cared to admit. he probably had a girlfriend himself!

“yeah,” you nodded, “i like him a lot, haon.”

haon smiled.

“why? do you like him?” you asked, a sudden nervousness filling you up.

haon nodded slowly, “i like him a lot.”

you smiled, “well... that’s good.”

haon sat back, snuggling into you, “i want to watch mulan.”

“again?”

haon glared at you.

“alright, alright.”

07:11 (saturday, when haon does what he wants in the morning)

you opened your eyes, taking a deep breath and groaning slightly as you stretched.

your eyes remained closed, taking a few moments to properly wake up as you heard haon laughing.

must be watching cartoons, you thought, before the sound of minho’s voice flowed it’s way into your room.

“minho?!” you exclaimed, scrambling out of bed.

“oh, seems like your mum’s up,” minho chuckled.

you needed to get to the bathroom, minho couldn’t see you like this! but he was sat right in the middle of the pathway from here to your bathroom.

you sighed, collecting some makeup and some clothes, exiting the bedroom.

“mummy! can i go to minwoo’s, i left something there and i want to show mr. minho,” haon said.

“yes, yes, go,” you said, still covering your face, “be quick!”

you continued on your way to the bathroom, but you were stopped when a hand grabbed your wrist.

“y/n what are you doing?” minho asked.

you blushed, hyperaware of how close you were to minho with bad-breath, bare-face and while wearing pyjamas.

“just need to go to the bathroom,” you chuckled nervously, turning again.

“why? it’s 7am on a saturday, you don’t need to be anywhere,” minho chuckled, “come on. let’s watch tv. or do you want breakfast?”

“just let me brush my teeth,” you pleaded as minho let go of your wrist and walked into the kitchen.

“y/n, why would you need to brush your teeth? you haven’t even eaten breakfast,” minho said.

“in case we kiss,” you muttered.

“do you want toast? or cerea— wait what?”

your eyes widened, as you began to run out the room, “need to go!”

minho closed his eyes, chuckling slightly with a lazy grin as he watched the bathroom door bang closed, you the other side of it.

“y/n?” he called.

“hold on,” you shouted, “i’m just... never gonna come out ever again.”

minho laughed, “but what if i want to kiss you?”

“then i need to brush my teeth,” you said.

“just come out,” minho spoke.

you sighed, banging your head against the door a couple times before opening it slowly.

minho was still stood in the kitchen, leaning on the work surface, beconing you with his hand.

you shook your head.

“y/n.”

you sighed again, walking towards him slowly.

“why do you think you need to do all that stuff? i’ve been here so much the past couple of weeks,” minho said.

you took a deep breath, “because i like you, lee minho.”

minho’s eyes widened, “y-you do?!”

you nodded, “i like you a lot. a-and i know i was the one to push you away at first but that’s only because of haon but you’re so good with haon and it only makes me like you more! an—“

minho slammed his lips onto yours, pulling you against him by the small of your back.

you laughed slightly into the kiss, not pulling away at all as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

minho’s hands moved so they were on your thighs, minho murmering a quick, “jump”, and you obliged.

you wrapped your legs around his waist before he set you down on the kitchen countertop. he pulled away and smiled, kissing down your jaw and down your neck.

“y/n i like you so much,” he said, finally placing one short kiss on your lips before pulling away, “so, so much.”

you smiled, “i feel the same, minho.”

minho’s smile mirrored yours as he ran his hands down your arms, linking your hands with his.

“i mean that wasn’t part of the plan, but...” he trailed off and the sound of the door opening rang through the house.

you turned around, seeing haon with a bunch of orange roses and a balloon.

“haon! what’s this?!” you exclaimed.

“from mr. minho,” haon spoke, before imitating minho, “y/n y/l/n, i like you.”

you looked back to minho with tears in your eyes, shaking your head.

“the boy speaks the truth,” minho shrugged.

your son held out the balloons and the flowers to you as you laughed, taking them from his hands.

“i didn’t actually go to minwoo’s, mummy,” haon giggled.

you nodded, “i can tell, baby.”

“but minwoo is at the park, can i go and play with him now?”

“truthful this time?” you laughed.

haon nodded, completely seriously.

“well okay then,” you chuckled, patting his head as he ran back out the door.

“you like it?” minho asked.

you shook your head in disbelief, “minho, i love it.”

minho smiled, walking over and kissing you again, his hands on your hips as yours were around his neck.

you were just hoping haon stayed out for a while.

a couple years later... 11:34 (the first day in your new apartment)

“good morning, sleeping beauty,” minho smiled, “how did you sleep?”

you groaned, rolling over and chuckling slightly, “how do you think i slept minho?”

“it seemed pretty good,” minho smiled, laughing.

“how about you?” you asked, the smile never leaving your face as you turned over to face your fiancé.

minho nodded, “it’s pretty comfortable.”

you smiled, rubbing his arm, “savour this though, it might be taken away from you in the next few months.”

“why do you always think so negatively?!” minho exclaimed, “come on, we have a house, we’ve got money, we’ll get married in a couple months, everything’s good!”

“no, no,” you chuckled, “i mean by me. you’ll be kicked out by me. well, and someone else.”

“by haon?” minho guessed, “y/n what are you talking about?”

you giggled, rolling over and taking out a small white stick from your bedside table. you glanced at the small ‘positive’ written on it, smiling and biting your lip before handing it to minho.

“not haon,” you smiled, “but the other one. i’m pregnant.”

[babybirdgyeom]

you, me and bertha (2) | park jinyoung

⇴ neighbor!au, farmer!au, jinyoung x reader.

⇴ summary: moving from the big city to your uncle’s farm in the small village you used to visit as a child was a big and scary step. luckily, you found many reasons to stay. reasons like your cousin bambam, your best friend jaebum or park jinyoung, your neighbor who maybe was more than just a guy you like to nag around with.

⇴ this chapter: jinyoung and the reader and their constant habit of teasing and fighting each other. jinyoung actually being nice for a change, a hidden softie. and, of course, bambam being nosey. (kind of a filler chapter)

⇴ word count: this part: 4.5k   full story: ~30k

⇴ all the other parts can be found in my masterlist, linked in my bio! ♥

After a week you slowly got used to the daily work on the farm, your body was already starting to react differently, your arms weren’t getting as sore anymore and waking up early was bothering you less and less. It was Saturday which means you had to gather all of the stuff your uncle wanted to sell on the market the next morning. Picking out the best eggs, milk, wool and cheese was pretty boring, especially since Bambam left early because he was going on a date tonight with a girl you never heard of. But since you wanted him to be happy, and also his teasing about Jinyoung was slowly getting seriously annoying, you told him it’s okay to go. After about an hour you were finally done with stacking all of it into your uncle’s car as you saw Mrs. Park, Jinyoung’s mother, and decided to help her a bit since she looked like she was struggling.

She was a beautiful lady, always has been. Her black hair was long and even though there were a few grey strands in it by now she still looked as young as ever.

“Mrs. Park, let me help you!”, you shouted while jogging over to her, “Where’s Jinyoung? Letting his mum carry all the heavy boxes of fruits and vegetables alone is not a nice thing to do.”, you said as you arrived, one box already in your hands.

She let out a laugh and you were reminded of how warm her laughter was, it sounded like the giggle of a small child. “It’s fine, I told him to rest for today. He always works so much.”, she let out a sigh, “I’m very thankful, I know that’s not what he wanted to do with his life but he does it for me.”

You never really thought about it that way before - this might explain why he’s still here despite wanting a different life, it was probably hard for him to leave his family behind after losing his dad. While carrying a box full of blueberries you ate a handful, not able to hold back. The Park’s blueberries were always your favorites.

“You still love blueberries, huh?”, She asked joyfully as she was carrying the last box to the car.

“Yes, how couldn’t I?”, you answered, “Oh- I still wanted to thank you for the little basket full of fruits you send to me. I was so happy. The peaches were even better than I remembered.”

Mrs. Park looked at you in confusion for a second before realizing what was going on, the confusion vanished while a different kind of expression came to her face, unable for you to read at first. “Oh, so he can actually be charming.”, she mumbled with an almost mischievous smirk and within seconds you knew exactly what she was talking about.

The basket hasn’t been from Mrs. Park, it was actually Jinyoung being nice. You scoffed a bit thinking about it, wondering why he wouldn’t just admit it was from him. You guessed it just wasn’t like Jinyoung to play the nice guy.

“Mum-”, you heard his voice screaming while walking out of the door to their house. When he saw you he froze for a second, “Oh, hey, (y/n).”, he said with a slight and not really convincing smile.

You nodded towards him, ready to go back to work and leave them alone, as his little brother came running outside after him, chasing after Jinyoung.

“Jinyoung!”, he let out a scream as he tried to jump on his back. He was surprisingly tall for an eight year-old, almost managing to get to Jinyoung’s shoulders if he jumped high enough, “Can I come with you? Please?”

Before Jinyoung could answer, Ken’s attention was on something else. Or better said, on someone else. To be precise, on the girl standing in front of his mother and brother, a stranger he’s never seen before. “Who are you?”, he asked curious, studying you exactly, “Are you the niece of Minwoo?”

You kneeled down to be at an eye to eye level with him, shaking his hand, “Yes, that’s me. I’m (y/n).”

He had a big grin on his face, “Hi, I’m Ken.” - After introducing himself to you he turned around to his big brother, “Is this the person you made the basket for yesterday?”

Jinyoung shushed him immediately, giving him a warning glance before trying to cover up his story, “Yes, I did it because mum asked me to. Right, mum?”

She let out a sarcastic laugh, making fun of her son, “Sure, Jinyoung. It was totally me asking you to do that.”

A heavy sigh fell from Jinyoung’s mouth before shaking his head in disbelief, “Where is your cousin? He promised he’d help me picking up our new couch.”

“Oh, I am afraid he forgot.”, you said to him, “He’s on a date right now.”

Jinyoung let out a heavy sigh, not believing that Bambam completely forgot about him. Now even more frustrated, he started mumbling, “It’s always the same with this kid.”

“I’ll help you.”, you said determined, not even bothering to ask him first, knowing he’d say no anyway, “I’m done with work for today and I don’t mind coming along.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go alone.”, he said, clearly mad at Bambam, before walking over to his car. You didn’t care and followed him, hoping that he’d be nice to Bambam if you helped him instead. You had little hope, considering the fact you were talking about Park Jinyoung but it was worth a try.

“Stop being so stubborn.”, you said to him as you opened the door and sat down inside the car, “Just accept my help.”

As the two of you drove out of town the sky looked like it was painted in golden colors, the sun slowly setting but the air was still warm, brushing your arm that you held out of the open window.

“Where are we even going?”, you asked the obviously bothered boy beside you.

“It’s not far away, the dude I’m buying the couch from lives like twenty minutes away.”, he said, his eyes glued to the street, “You really didn’t have to come. I could’ve easily done it alone.”

Slowly but surely, you were starting to get annoyed by Jinyoung. You couldn’t tell why but his constant attitude was getting to you but it did, “Dude, you’re the worst. Can you shut up for once and accept help? Stop being so rude all the time, being nice every now and then won’t hurt you, you know? You can take your bad mood out on Bambam later.”

Suddenly he looked at you, his eyes grew wide in shock at your rant. Even though your voice was still low he clearly heard the frustration in it, “What do you mean? I am being nice all the time. I told you that you shouldn’t wear your good clothes to work. That was a piece of nice advice I gave you for example.”

You scoffed at him not knowing if he was being serious or if he tried to make him look good, “You also attacked me because you thought I was stealing chicken and made me churn butter all by hand.”

He chuckled as you brought it up, “I still can’t believe you did that.”

“My arms still hurt. You’re an asshole.”, you rolled your eyes, not in the mood to put up with Jinyoung being, well, himself, when you were just being nice, “If that is your interpretation of being nice I’m very very sorry for your future girlfriend.”

“Hey, now you’re just being mean.”, he said, acting offended and honestly a bit confused, not knowing why the two of you were discussing. Actually, you weren’t really mad at him, you just wished that he could be nice for once.

“Well, maybe you just need a taste of your own medicine.”, you said and let out a pout as the discussion was getting a bit more playful than it was serious.

But before you or Jinyoung could fuel the fire and add anything into the discussion you let out a small scream as he was turning right with full speed, making you feel like you were about to crash, holding onto the seatbelt for dear life, “For fucks sake, where did you learn how to drive? Do you not know that you’re supposed to slow down before turning?”

“If this is already scaring you, I’ll give you the nice advice to not drive with Jaebum.”, he said, chuckling, as he parked his car in front of a big house, “Ready to use the strength in your arms built up from churning butter?”

It took you about twenty minutes to carry all the parts of the couch from the third floor to the trailer on Jinyoung’s car. When you were done it was beginning to become dark outside and the weather was cooling down, making you feel a bit cold. All done, you sat back inside Jinyoung’s car as he was securing the trailer so you could drive back home.

“If you’re cold there’s a blanket on the backseat, you can use that.”, he screamed from outside, “See how nice I am? Caring for you, not wanting you to freeze to death.”

You shook your head amused, “What a gentleman you are.”

The drive home was more peaceful, no discussions this time. You looked outside, seeing a big and bright star in the sky, pointing to it. 

“I can’t get over how beautiful the starry night sky is here. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”, you said, almost sounding dreamy, eyes glued to the sky. It wasn’t even completely dark outside yet, but the first stars were already sparkling brightly.

“Isn’t it the same in your hometown?”, Jinyoung asked a bit perplexed as he looked over to you.

“Not at all. The big city lights drown them. You can barely see some, and if you can, they are not as bright as here.”

“I suppose Ilmon isn’t all bad.”, he shrugged. 

You hummed in agreement, “Except for this strange dude, who can never smile, living next to me I quite enjoy my time here.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes, “Must be really hard to live right next to such an attractive young man, huh? I bet you have a hard time.”

Laughing, you were impressed at his wittiness, “Don’t think too highly of yourself.”

Before you could let him answer your favorite song suddenly started playing in the radio, making you turn up the volume instantly, “You need to shut up now. This is my all time favorite song.”

He started to sing along to the song as loud as possible, laughing, trying to be louder than the radio. 

“I didn’t know you could sing.”, you said, giving him an approving look.

In response, he gave you a small wink, “There are quite a lot things I can do.”

The rest of the drive the two of you were singing along to the radio as loud as you could, having genuine fun together for the first time since you arrived. It was nice to see him let loose a bit. 

Driving up to the farm you already saw Bambam sitting on the porch. He immediately stood up, walking over to the car, already apologizing without you really arriving yet, “I’m so so sorry mate. I completely forgot. I owe you a beer next time we go out.”

Jinyoung chuckled as he parked, “Doesn’t seem like his date had a happy ending, considering he’s home already.”

“Good for me.”, you said, shrugging, “I’m way too tired to carry the whole couch inside anyway.”

You were the first to get out of the car, making Bambam narrow his eyebrows in confusion. “What are you doing in Jinyoung’s car?”, he asked suspiciously.

“I’m doing your fucking job, Bam.”, you laughed.

As you were walking towards your home you were stopped by Jinyoung holding your arm, making you turn around.

“Thank you, I suppose.”, he said, pressing his lips together, “Just trying to be nice.”

You gave him a genuine smile, “No problem. Sleep well.”

“You too, (y/n).”

As you woke up you were almost shocked to see today’s weather. Yesterday the sun was still shining while today it was pouring like never before. The sky was dark and grey and your whole farm looked quite sad, making you wish you could just stay in bed all day, just being lazy, reading, eating and maybe fantasizing about a certain someone. Looking at your phone you saw a text from Bambam.

‘it’s going to storm today, you have to make sure all the animals are in the barn and safe, please. i’m getting food for tonight. see you later, favorite cousin.’

You immediately threw on a cardigan and brushed your teeth, hurrying to get things done before the weather got even worse. Looking in the mirror you scoffed for a second at your sad reflection - your hair was in a very messy bun and your under eye circles were almost black. But there was no time to pity yourself right now.

After you fed and, of course, petted the chickens and made sure that all the windows were closed tightly you ran over to the barn where the cows and goats were in. Your clothes were completely drenched even though the way between the barns was very short, the heavy rain was so strong that there was no way you could’ve stayed dry.

Entering the barn your eyebrows narrowed as you see that the light was on and the food for the cows was already laid out. “Uncle Minwoo?”, you screamed loudly, the rain was so loud that otherwise, no one would hear you.

“Oh thank god, there you are.”, the owner of the voice was coming out of the little hut you kept your tools in, throwing one of the milking machines over to you. You barely had time to catch it because Jinyoung was throwing it without caring if you’d let it fall.

“What are you doing here?”, you asked him skeptical as you sat down to the cow next to the one he was currently milking.

He looked at you with an annoyed expression on his face - but only until he saw how wet you were from the rain. Immediately he burst out into laughter, “Why are you not wearing a raincoat for fucks sake?”, he asked, clearly amused.

“I don’t even own one.”, you admitted a bit hesitant while shrugging, knowing he’d make even more fun of you.

And of course, he did. “How can you not own a raincoat? Seriously, (y/n), you’re something else. Who on earth doesn’t own a raincoat?”, he shook his head in disbelief, still laughing.

You simply pressed your lips together, coming back to your actual question, “But why are you here? Certainly not because you wanted to help me.”

“Hey, maybe I’m not as bad as you think and just wanted to be friendly for once?”, he said, acting offended, “Since you’re always complaining.”

“Yeah, I doubt that.”

Suddenly you heard a loud thunder outside, making you jump - you usually were not afraid of thunder but the sudden loud noise startled you for a second. What really scared you though was the reaction of two of your cows, immediately after they heard the thunder they let out the deepest and loudest sounds you’ve ever heard of them. They sounded terrified.

Jinyoung immediately jumped up from his stool and walked over to Bertha, the small brown cow, petting its face. “Shhhh.”, he tried calming her down before looking over to you, “I’m always here when it storms. Bertha and Marnie are deadly afraid of the thunder, so I accompany them. It calms them down.”

For a second you thought he was fooling you but before you could say something another loud thunder was heard followed by loud sounds of the cows once again.

“Wait.”, you said confused as you saw Jinyoung pet Bertha once again, giving her a small kiss on the side of her face, “You’re serious?”

He looked at you with a grin, “Of course I am. Go, pet Marnie a bit. She loves getting pet right under his chin, she’s such a lovely cow.”

You did as he said, not really trusting him yet. “I didn’t know he had feelings, Marnie, did you know?”, you asked the cow sarcastically.

He let out a laugh, shaking his head, “I only love Marnie and Bertha.”

Bertha was walking away from Jinyoung to the hay he just put down for them to lie down for a bit, something you barely ever saw them doing, “When I first looked into Bertha’s big brown eyes I fell in love.”, he said loving, petting some of the other cows while Bertha was still lying down.

“That’s adorable.”, you admitted, “Didn’t expect that from you.”

He rolled his eyes at your comment, “You know, I’m not an asshole just because I’m telling you you’re stupid because you don’t own a raincoat or work on a farm with a goddamn Gucci shirt. That’s my way of helping.”, he said confident, “You just seem to not know exactly what to do, so I’m trying to help.”

“Oh, did you hear that, Marnie?”, you asked the cow sarcastically once again, “He is just trying to help by being mean.”

“Fuck off, (y/n).”, he said while walking over to Bertha, who was resting on the ground, lying down next to her, “Just go to your hut, I’ll take care of the cows.”

“No way.”, you said sitting down next to him, “I’ll not leave you alone with my cows. I don’t trust you.”, Of course, that was only an excuse to spend some time with the pretty boy from next door. Both of you were now starting to relax, leaning against Bertha, petting her.

“So, farmer girl, how do you like it here?”, he asked you after a few seconds of silence, seeming to be actually interested in you for once.

“It’s nice, Park.”, you shrugged as he was looking at you, “I like the fact that I finally am allowed to go into the pub the most.”

“I remember when we first were allowed to go in, it was like Harry Potter seeing Hogwarts for the first time.”, he said laughing, “and now we’re the ones that get drunk in there while the younger kids are jealous they can’t.”

“Some things never change, huh?”, you said, looking at Jinyoung, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be truly relaxed in your presence for the first time since you arrived. He was using his arm as a pillow, a smile on his lips - for once a genuine smile, not the usual teasing one he gave you. The rain was pouring so hard onto the roof of the barn it sounded like music. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself, a bit of air coming out of your nose, not believing that Jinyoung actually had a soft side.

“What are you laughing about?”, he asked curiously, still with closed eyes.

“I just love the sound of heavy rain.”, you said, also getting into a comfortable position and closing your eyes.

“Mhhh.”, Jinyoung let out, agreeing with you before yawning, “Me too. It’s cozy.”

You felt your eyelids feeling heavy, you didn’t have much sleep last night and your body was shivering a bit because of your wet clothes, Jinyoung was snoring lightly beside you within a few minutes and before you knew it you were asleep too. You wouldn’t have expected the barn to be such a comfortable place to sleep in.

You woke up by someone calling your name. As you were slowly starting to realize where you were, you were just as perplexed as Jinyoung, who was still beside you.

“Did we fall asleep?”, he asked you, yawning.

Suddenly, Bambam was standing in front of both of you, confusion written all over your face, “What the hell are you two doing in here? How do I keep finding you two together?”

Jinyoung shrugged, sitting up as you were doing the same, “We fell asleep, obviously.”

“Why were you here together in the first place?”, he asked, a smirk on his lips, “Did you make out in front of the cows? That’s unholy.”

You laughed at your cousin, “Shut up, please. I’m having a headache.”

“You two are just too cute.”, he teased you before telling you the reason he was looking for you in the first place, “Dinner’s ready. We’re having some meat with different salads and corn. Join us, Jinyoung, your mum and Ken are there too.”

“I don’t know.”, he said, unsure, “I still wanted to meet with Jaebum and Jackson later.”

Bambam narrowed his eyebrows, “Why didn’t you ask me to join, you fuck?”

Jinyoung laughed at Bambam, standing up, surprisingly offering you a hand to help you get up from the ground, “I’ll eat dinner with you and then you can come with me, alright?”, he asked Bambam.

Bambam agreed and the three of you walked over to the big house Minwoo and Bambam lived in.

“Did you find her?”, your uncle screamed from the kitchen as he heard the door opened.

“Yes, I’m here!”, you screamed as you took off your shoes.

Walking over to them, Mrs. Park was surprised to see her son, “Oh, Jinyoung. How lovely that you’re here.”, she said, as cute as always, “Where have you been?”

Both, Jinyoung and you clearly didn’t want to tell them where Bambam found them, not wanting anyone to get a wrong idea. But, of course, your annoying cousin was faster.

“They were sleeping in the barn together.”, he smirked as he told your family, knowing exactly how much you both wanted to kill them, “You two seem to get along better by now.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, “We were just taking care of the cows.”

You nodded, “It’s not like we met to take a nap in the barn.”

Uncle Minwoo and Mrs. Park both giggled a bit at the two of you. “Stop teasing them. They are already flustered.”, she said lightheartedly.

Everyone sat down on the table as your uncle brought the food to the table. It smelled and looked delicious.

“Thank you for letting us eat with you.”, Jinyoung said politely to your uncle.

“Oh, Jinyoung!”, he said laughing, “You’re always welcome. We’re like family.”

He nodded as all of you started eating. The food tasted amazing and the conversation was nice, all of you participating in it, talking about current events and the life on the farm.

“What were you doing before coming here, (y/n)?”, Jinyoung’s mother asked you as you were just speculation about what all of you would be doing if you didn’t have the farm.

“I was working in a hospital as an assistant during surgeries.”, you explained to her, “It was super interesting and I learned a lot about the human body. But the night shifts were the worst.”

Jinyoung looked at you, shaking his head, “I didn’t know that.”, he said surprised.

You gave him a confused glance, “I mean, why would you know that?”

He shrugged, making real conversation with you for the first time, “That sounds so interesting. Did you ever save someone from death?”

You laughed, “Yes, a lot of times. But I think it was more the doctor’s that really saved them, not me.”

Ken suddenly was joining the conversation, being just as curious and impressed as his big brother, “Woah, (y/n). Did you wear all white like the people on TV and ran around the hospital when people were hurt?”

“I did.”, you told him chuckling, “I hated the clothes though. I could never drink cranberry juice because I was afraid of spilling it and people would think it was blood.”

Jinyoung nodded before Ken could answer, “Did you ever see someone die?”, he asked curiously, making his mother gasp.

“Hey, we’re eating! Stop with such inappropriate questions.”, she said almost horrified.

You, Jinyoung and Bambam started to laugh at her reaction, continuing to eat. After all of you were done you offered to do clean the table but Bambam said he’d do it.

“I’ll just go and put on some different clothes and then pick you up, alright, Bam?”, Jinyoung said as he followed you to the door, both of you putting on your shoes.

“Uh-huh, sure.”, he said, grinning at Jinyoung’s obvious attempt to bring you home, even though you didn’t even realize.

Walking from the big house to the small hut took only a minute or two but Jinyoung still brought you home. As the two of you stood in front of your door, you felt a bit awkward. “Don’t let Bambam drink too much tonight. I need him to be fit tomorrow. It’s my day off.”, you joked, Jinyoung nodding.

“I promise to stop him if he drinks too much.”, he said, smiling brightly, “I’ll see you around?”

You scoffed a bit, wondering why he was so nice to you, “Considering the fact that you can see into my living room from your window I think so yes.”

[kdreamscenario]

The Boss’ Girl Ch. 11

Lee Minwoo (Shinhwa) X Reader X Jeon Jungkook (BTS)

Office!AU

Rated: M sub!Jungkook, switch!reader, dom!Minwoo 

Word Count: 6955 Ch.10

Jungkook puts your stamina boosting advice to good use.  When he’s got the time he edges himself nearly to tears.  At first he tried not to reimagine you touching him.  The humiliation of that day is still bitter and raw but apparently in the best way possible.  It didn’t take long until he accepted the kink and caved.  He can admit he’d let you do that to him again and again.  

The little make out sessions he has with Mina go farther and farther.  He can tell she’s less endeared by his holding off.  If he wasn’t such a perfect boyfriend besides that she would’ve dumped him.  It doesn’t help that he often has dreams about you or Mina.  One particularly disturbing dream of you treating him like an actual baby he would like to wipe clear from his memory forever.

He hopes that finally sleeping with Mina will let him forget you and this whole mess.  Once Mina finally gets a taste of Jungkook in bed she is insatiable.  He was right about learning fast.  He also tries incredibly hard to please and perform at his absolute best.  Pair that with his charming good looks and his perfect chiseled body, there’s no comparing to anyone Mina had been with previously.  

She’s extremely vocal about this at every girls night.  All the other girls are understandably jealous.  Frankly you’re getting annoyed with her repetitive bragging.  It’s not tactful to tell your sex life so openly.  You can’t imagine Jungkook would be appreciative of her airing their private business to anyone who will listen.  

When the next Friday comes you consider just going home and waiting for Minwoo to call you.  He has a business dinner to attend and expects to be out quite late.  They’re a long time partner of the company.  It’s been a long week and you do need a drink but having to listen to Mina constantly slip in comments about Jungkook is really getting on your nerves.  

The office is set up perfectly for Monday morning and you’re picking up your bag to leave.  You check your phone one last time to see if anyone else happened to cancel on going out so you wouldn’t be the only one.  To you delight, Mina left a message saying she’s headed home.  She says she’s been having bad cramps all day and wants to go lie down.  Not to be mean but that instantly brightens your mood.  It’s very likely she would have Jungkook stay at home with her to treat her like a princess.  You could finally enjoy a night out with no problems.

The ding of the elevator doors opening dampens your celebration.  It’s completely put out when Jungkook walks into the room.  “Jungkook what are you doing here?”  You snap a little meaner than you meant to be.  He stops and looks surprised by your tone.  “Am I not supposed to be here?”  He asks looking around at the empty room.  “No. Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound that way.  I just got a message that Mina isn’t feeling well.  I expected you would be with her.”  

Jungkook smiles now that he knows you’re not mad.  “Yeah.  She said she wanted to rest by herself and would probably sleep early.”  You figure Mina likely started her period.  Knowing her, she wouldn’t want Jungkook to see her in comfy old clothes, eating way too much chocolate, and lounging around with a heating pad.  Girls in early relationships have an image to uphold.  

“So why are you here then?”  You ask in a nicer tone.  Jungkook rubs the back of his neck.  “Well I’m going out to the bar again with the other interns.  I figured you’re also going out with the secretaries.  I thought it would be nice of me to walk you there so you weren’t alone.”  You can’t help but smile.  He’s really such a sweet guy.  

“Thank you Jungkook.  I appreciate the offer.  Though I worry what others will think to see you with me the first time you’re not with Mina.”  You say this casting a glance at the security camera wondering if Minwoo is watching you now.  Jungkook’s smile drops.  “Oh.  I hadn’t really thought about that.”  He replies sadly.  “I’m sure you didn’t.  Unfortunately it’s something you need to always think about in this office.”  You add annoyed.  

“I could at least ride the elevator down with you?  I’ll get off on the fourth floor and catch up with Namjoon.”  Jungkook suggests.  That sounds harmless enough.  It’s very unlikely anyone would get on at any of the floors in between.  “Sure.  We could do that.”  You nod and walk toward the elevator.  Jungkook follows quickly behind.  

Once the metal doors close with the two of you inside, Jungkook clears his throat.  “Can I ask you something?”  He asks nervously.  You look at him eyebrows raised.  “I suppose.”  “Does Mina talk a lot about our personal life to you ladies?”  “Yes she does. Unbearably often and in great detail.”  You answer frankly.  Jungkook blushes.  He’s not sure if he wants to ask just how much you know.  

“Do you not like that she talks about it?”  You’re genuinely concerned.  Jungkook hums and takes a minute to think.  “I guess I don’t mind?  A lot of the other guys started cheering me right after it first happened and I was wondering how they found out.  They don’t really tease me much anymore now so it’s fine.”  That answer doesn’t sound very convincing to you.  “If you don’t like her talking about it then say something to her.  Honestly, please say something to her.  We’re all getting a little tired of hearing about it.”  

The elevator stops at the fourth floor as you finish saying this.  Jungkook nods.  “Thanks for the advice.  See you at the bar.”  He smiles and steps out of the opening doors.  You hope he does say something and your Friday nights can go back to normal.  

The bar was really just what you needed.  The interns, secretaries, and a few others all sit together at a few big tables.  There’s lots of good junk food shared around, pleasant conversation, and plenty of drinks.  Jungkook sits almost on the other side of the room from you and barely looks in your direction.  You almost forget he’s there all together.  Mostly you drink your wine and soak in the atmosphere.  

By your third glass it’s nearing 10pm.  Minwoo sent you a message a few minutes ago saying he’d likely be out at least another hour.  Everyone else has started to suggest heading home or going out to another place.  There’s the risk of falling asleep, but going home to wait for Minwoo is the best option to you.  Maybe you could get a head start on the fun and be ready with something special.  

With there being more than just the girls together there wasn’t much gossip or stories to tell so you all paid your own bills.  Most of your group is all piled outside at the same time.  The sidewalk is a bit crowded before you’re all parting different ways.  You’re close to the curb to hail a cab after you’ve said goodbye to everyone.  

Two overly drunk guys trying to pass through your group end up knocking into someone.  It causes a chain reaction of people getting pushed.  You get pushed in the end.  When you step you have nowhere to go but over the edge of the curb.  Yoona and Sooji manage to grab you before you end up falling face first into the street, but you end up awkwardly turning your ankle.  When they pull you back you yelp out in pain stepping with the twisted ankle.  

Everyone nearby who saw what happened or heard your shout start asking if you’re okay and what happened.  Yoona and a lot of the guys are arguing with the drunkards.  You lean most of your weight on Sooji and hold up your hurt leg.  You try but you can’t put any weight on it.  Namjoon kneels down and takes a look at it.  He gently pushes down around the area making you hiss in pain.  

“Good news is I don’t think anything’s broken but I’m sure it will be a pretty bad sprain.  Do you want us to take you to the hospital?”  Namjoon tells you straightening back up.  You shake your head.  You really don’t want to deal with the hospital right now.  “No.  It’s late and I know how to treat a sprain.  I can see my doctor in the morning for it.”  “Alright.  Well let’s get you a cab then.”  Namjoon calls for a taxi to come.  

“Can you put any weight on it?”  JaeHee asks you.  You try to take a step even with Sooji helping you but even setting your foot down hurts.  “I don’t know if any of us can carry you.”  Yoona says.  Jungkook steps in then waiting for a way he could help.  “I’m sure I could carry her.”  He states gesturing to take Sooji’s place as your crutch.  

You’re passed off and Jungkook carefully picks you up bridal style.  “Oh, wow.”  One of the girls audibly swoons.  You’re just as surprised.  He’s not even straining at all to hold you up.  “Jungkook you don’t mind taking her home for us?”  Namjoon asks.  “Of course not.”  The younger answers.  You’re just glad no one is teasing or making jabs about him taking you home.  

The taxi arrives not too much later.  You both say your goodbyes and promises to update when you’ve arrived safely.  Jungkook gently sets you in the seat and jogs around to the other side.  He asks you if you’re comfortable enough right away.  There’s not much you can do about the cramped back seat of car beside take off your high heel.  Besides giving directions to the driver the ride is quiet.  You have to heavily insist on paying for the ride against Jungkook’s insisting.  

He carries you into your building.  While he steadily holds you in the elevator you both pointedly avoid making any eye contact.  You’re definitely not thinking about how strong and solid he feels.  The last time you felt his toned chest was the awkwardly intimate moment with the vibrator.  Both of you are pointedly trying not to think about that.  

Jungkook has no problem getting the two of you through your door, kicking off his shoes and setting you down on your couch.  He’s amazed at how spacious and neat your apartment is.  It’s obviously an expensive place.  “Wow.  Your place is really nice.”  He comments looking around.  “Thanks.  Can you put these over there for me?”  You ask holding out your shoes.  

He takes them over and puts them in the empty spot on your shoe rack and brings over your slippers.  “This is embarrassing to ask but could you help me over to the bathroom?”  “Sure!”  He picks you right back up and carries you over to the bathroom.  It’s a little difficult to do without hurting yourself but you manage to use the restroom.  There’s no way you’re getting your stockings back on so they get kicked over to your laundry basket.

You open the door but Jungkook’s not there.  “Jungkook?”  You call out for him.  He comes over in an instant and picks you right back up.  He carries you over to the couch again and settles you among the cushions.  “You should keep your foot elevated for a little while.”  He helps you put a pillow under your legs.  “I hope you don’t mind me going into your fridge.” He says pulling a bag of ice wrapped in a towel off your coffee table.  

“No, thank you so much Jungkook.  You’re doing so much.”  The ice feels so nice on the already swollen joint.  “I got you some water too if you want.”  He says holding out the glass.  You take it gratefully.  “Wow what service.  Mina might actually be lucky to have you.”  You regret saying that when you see Jungkook’s stunned reaction.  You look away from him and drink your water.  

Jungkook asks you if he could use your bathroom.  That gives you time to check your phone and settle in.  Minwoo hasn’t said anything since his last text.  It’s now around 10:40 and you figure he’ll likely be done around 11.  You send him a text to let him know you got hurt.  He’ll likely come home as soon as he reads it and come to take care of you.

Jungkook comes back and goes right down to the end of your couch by your feet.  He lifts the ice bag and sets it on the coffee table.  He gently presses around the swollen tissue.  You pull your foot back in pain.  “Sorry I just want to check again to be sure nothing’s torn or broken.”  You let him take back your leg and examine the painful area.  “I don’t think it’s anything serious but you should go to the doctor tomorrow.”  

He moves his hands up higher to massage the upper part of your ankle into your calf.  You stop flinching in pain and enjoy the good feeling.  Jungkook takes his time rubbing the muscles.  He carefully passes over your sprain and starts massaging your foot.  You hum in enjoyment.  It’s the worst possible moment for him to remember this is the same foot you got him off with.  He tries to put his thoughts into just the massage but it’s difficult when you close your eyes and moan softly.  

He takes one hand away from the massage to adjust himself in his pants while you have your eyes closed.  The movement makes you open your eyes and you catch him.  He stops when you do, so embarrassed at being caught.  “You really must have a foot fetish.”  You tease.  Jungkook goes red to the ears.  “No! Of course I don’t.  That’s so gross.”  He whines.  You laugh.  “What’s got you all excited then?  Still can’t massage a girl without getting hard?  Thought you’d be a little better about that by now.”  

Jungkook stops touching you all together and stands up.  “Sorry.  I forgot we established it as a noona kink and maybe some masochism.  But there’s no way you actually enjoyed that or want to go through the humiliation again.”  You ask seriously.  Jungkook steps closer and looks you right in the eyes.  “It’s nothing like that at all okay?  Isn’t this how any normal man reacts to being alone with a woman he’s attracted to?  You want me to act like a stone with you moaning like that?  After the things we’ve done before?”  

You’re surprised by his outburst.  He’s never talked back like this before.  The intensity burning in his gaze is unfairly hot.  For once he doesn’t look like such an innocent sweet boy.  He looks like a man and that’s just not right.  He’s not allowed to look that way.  

“I’m sorry for offending you Jungkook-ie.  I was only teasing.  No need to get all worked up.”  You break the eye contact and sip your water.  Jungkook clicks his tongue in annoyance.  He knows you’re doing this to get a rise out of him.  You’ve always got the upper hand on him.  The way you called him Jungkook-ie in that mocking tone should annoy him the most but of course he loves it.  

“Whatever.  I just wish you wouldn’t treat me like some little kid.  I’m a normal adult.  Sorry I’m not up to your standards.”  Jungkook huffs.  “Cumming in your pants like a teenager sure doesn’t help your case much.”  You know you’re plucking at sensitive strings but you can’t help yourself.      

Jungkook can't believe you brought that up.  Being a little tipsy in the comfort of your home has changed you.  You're smiling and teasing him so much.  Jungkook laughs and shakes his head.  “I've had a lot of practice since then, Noona.”   He purposely stresses the title.  “I've heard plenty about your practice.  Sounds like you had a lot of self practice before you got the real thing.”  

Jungkook can feel his ears warming but manages to keep his eye contact.  “Yes.  I put your advice to good use.  I told you I'm a fast learner.”  

“Well practice makes perfect.  Why don't you be a good boy and show me what you practiced.”  You smile and set down your glass.  Jungkook's brain short circuits.  He must have imagined you saying that.

“Show- show you how I built my stamina?”  He asks to be sure that's what you really want.  “Yes.  I want to see for myself how much you've improved.  The teacher should grade the student.”  

Jungkook stands there like a statue.  What exactly do you want him to do?  Should he drop his pants and start jacking off like that?  Do you want to be touched at all?

You giggle watching the boy panic.  “Poor Jungkook-ie.  You need me to give you all the directions again?  Why don't you start by getting into position for me? Come here and kneel on the rug by me.”  You point at the spot just by your elbow.  

Goodness knows why but, Jungkook obeys quickly.  He knows he's going to regret this later.  You reach your hand out and place it gently on his chest.  All the alarm bells going off in his brain quiet once you're touching him.  You run the back of your fingers up the center of his chest and stop at the top button.  The button pops open with a practiced flick of your fingers.  

"Tell me.  Do you watch porn when you practice?"  You ask.  "No!" Jungkook whines.  You smirk.  "Then what do you think about?"  His cheeks flush a little and he looks down to your hand smoothing down further.  The second button goes just as easily.  "I bet you thought about me didn't you? It's written all over your face.  You could have easily thought of your girlfriends naked body but, you thought of me fully clothed getting you off in your pants."  Jungkook blushes up to his ears.  

"Be a dear and hand me that book will you?"  The question is so jarring.  Jungkook looks up and has to process what you asked.  You're pointing to an old-looking leather bound book on the coffee table.  "That one there."  

Jungkook turns and hands it to you.  He notices that something feels off about it.  It doesn't feel solid and heavy like a book that thick should.  You set it in your lap and look back to him.  "Now be a good boy and take your bottoms off for me."  

Jungkook feels a second round of whiplash.  He doesn't move, only opens his mouth to ask about the book.  "What's wrong?  Got stage fright?"  You tease.  "No, just wh-"  "Then do as your told." You interrupt and look at him pointedly.  

The boy swallows and starts to undo his belt.  He gets everything undone and realises there's no way he can get them off in this position.  "Am I allowed to stand, your highness?"  He quips.  You narrow your eyes.  "Don't you talk to me that way.  You know how to address me properly."

If you didn't look so serious he would think you were teasing.  He's ashamed to say he's a little frightened you'll tell him to leave.  He's so weak for you.  "Sorry Noona.  May I stand?"  Your face stays cold and serious.  "No.  For punishment you can just pull them down as far as they go and be uncomfortable."  

He quickly follows your instructions.  Pushes his pants and boxers down to his knees.  It's just enough for his cock to be freed.  Seeing it bare puts your earlier suspicions to rest. He's very well endowed.  "Go ahead and show me your improvement."  

The start is awkward for Jungkook.  Sure he's kind of hard but how's he supposed to get in the mood with you just sitting there staring at him?  He starts by running a shaking hand over his whole length then going into some light strokes.  Once he starts a bit of a rhythm you reach for the book.  With a pull on the sewn in bookmark the cover pops up a little.  You open the lid and Jungkook now understands that it's a hollow book for storing things.  

His curiosity gets the best of him and his hand has stopped.  You give him a pointed look.  "Nevermind what I'm doing.  You just keep going."  You stare at him until he gets back into his slow steady rhythm.   There’s no pleasure in his touch now.  Not when you’re watching him so intently and he’s so curious about what’s in the book.  

Once you’re pleased enough with his actions you focus back on the book.  “Since you thought about me while you practice, why don’t I give you something similar to look at.”  Jungkook furrows his brow in confusion until you open the book.  You pull out a massage wand just big enough to fit diagonally in the box.  Beside it are a small stack of condoms and some lube.  

The boys eyes go wide and his hand stops again.  You tisk at this.  “You’re really bad at listening today aren’t you?”  Jungkook swallows hard but is still entranced by the toy in your hand.  “I think you need a little punishment.  Here put this on so you don’t make a mess.”  With your other hand you toss a condom at his chest.  

Jungkook tries to keep his hands from shaking as he fiddles with the little foil and rolls the rubber on.  “Now I expect you to keep stroking yourself no matter what, until I tell you to stop or I’ll really have to punish you.”  

The extra glide from the lubed surface of the condom finally makes this start to feel good for Jungkook.  His brain goes on a tangent of how this could be a punishment.  Where would you have let him finish before this?  That train of thought is wiped as soon as the buzz from your toy starts up.  It startles him a bit.  His gaze snaps back to you.  

At first you’re just holding the toy up, judging Jungkook’s initial reaction.  His hand doesn’t stop this time so you get yourself comfortable.  You bring the wand up to your neck and shoulders, using it for it’s more innocent purpose.  You take your time giving your tense muscles a little massage.  

Jungkook’s brain overthinks this too.  Maybe you really do just use this as a body massager.  Maybe his dirty mind automatically assumed it was for something else.  No.  Given the circumstances he’s sure it must be for other pleasures as well.  You’re just teasing him as well.  “I know how excited you get from massaging me.  Does watching me do it give the same effect?”  You tease.  Yeah he’s sure you’re messing with him.  

“I’d rather be giving it to you.”  He quips.  You smirk, pleased he can still play along.  “Too bad you don’t deserve to.  Your hands are quite talented.”  From the corner of your eye you notice the stutter in Jungkook’s stroke.  “I’ll just have to please myself until you learn some control.”  

Without breaking eye contact you move the massager down to your breasts.  You can barely feel it through your shirt and bra but it still feels nice.  Jungkook’s eyes glance at your chest and come right back to your face.  You smile.  “You can look.  That’s what I’m doing it for.  I’m trying to make your practice as accurate as possible.”  He looks back and forth between your breasts and your face before settling on the toy.  He wishes he could see your breasts bare and jiggling from the vibrations.  His cock twitches just from the thought.  

You would love to take off your bra and get the full effect but that would be too much of a treat for the boy who doesn’t deserve it.  Instead you turn the wand up one setting and take your time pressing it into any sore spots.  You spend extra time on your nipples, feeling them peak into your bra.  Jungkook won’t be able to see it through your clothes but, he does a fine job imagining it.

Once your breasts are nicely stimulated it’s time to move on.  Jungkook watches intently as you move it down.  You stop and rub it over the inside of your thighs.  Goosebumps rise from how it tickles you.  It takes a bit of readjusting but you keep moving down to massage your sore ankle.  Jungkook doesn’t realize he huffs out a breath until you give him a questioning look.  

After making sure that he’s still moving his hand you smirk and get back to your massage.  The massager bumps a little too strong into the painful area.  You wince and move it away quickly.  “Careful, Noona.”  Jungkook says softly, still not stopping his strokes.  He’s looking much less fazed.  That’s your cue to move on.  

You bring the toy back up between your thighs and right to your center.  There’s not much feeling through your tight skirt and underwear.  You can just barely get it over the top of your slit.  That’s just not going to do.  You press your hardest for a minute or so, more to tease Jungkook.  You give him a quick glance to make sure he’s watching you. His eyes are glued to the toy.  

He gives the smallest whine when you click off the massager and set it down beside you.  “Don’t you worry baby.”  You chuckle. He’d be more upset at your teasing if he weren’t so drawn in by your fingertips pulling up the hem of your skirt.  You stop just before the end of your butt and bring your hands under the fabric.  With a little wiggling you adjust your panties to be more flush with your clit.  

It’s not what Jungkook was hoping for, but once you turn the toy back on and tuck it underneath your skirt, he drops his disappointment.  You hum at finally getting the vibrations right where you want them.  One hand holds the toy handle and the other keeps your skirt in place.  

You let your head fall back on the pillow behind you and close your eyes.  It lets you concentrate on the feelings and sounds.  You keep your ears perked to Jungkook’s sounds.  His slightly uneven breathing, the slick slide of his hand over the rubber in an even rhythm, and the slight hum of your toy.  They make it easy to lose yourself in the moment.

Jungkook doesn’t have to know that you’re imagining him using a vibe on himself.  You’ll definitely have to add that when he gets better stamina.  Well that is if you continue to do this, but you won’t.  You can only imagine what you’d do to him if this became a regular thing but it won’t, it can’t.  The wrongness of these encounters turns you on much more than it should.  It’s dangerous how easily this man breaks your resolve.  

Your clit throbs and without thinking you let out a small moan.  Jungkook sucks in a breath and moans with you.  Ready to scold him, you open your eyes to look at him.  You’re caught off guard but how hot he looks.  He’s flicking his wrist in earnest, the veins in his forearm standing out against his skin.  Even his biceps are stretching the rolled up sleeves of his button down.  What really throws you off is his intense stare.  Knowing that he’s watching your face makes your cheeks redden.  It’s difficult but you manage to keep eye contact with him.  

“Are you close?”  You try to keep your voice strong.  “I could be.  What about you?”  Jungkook answers nearly as straight.  You click your tongue at his attitude.  “I could be.”  You throw right back at him.  “Noona, let me fuck you.  It would be so much better for both of us.”  Jungkook offers all too easily.  You hate the shiver you get.  It’s an incredibly tempting offer but that’s a line you do not want to cross with him.  “I don’t think you deserve to touch me.  Besides that’s not what this training is about.”  You reply.  “Isn’t it though?  I thought the final point was that I could please a girl before finishing myself?”  He argues.  You hate that he makes a good point.  “Such a brat.  You definitely don’t deserve it.  Just for that I want you to go faster.  I think you’ve been holding back a little too much.”  You command.  

Jungkook wants to fight back but he knows he can’t.  You’ll send him home still hard without feeling a bit of remorse.  He obeys and moves his hand faster.  A groan slips past his lips when you follow along and click the massager up one level.  You move it down over your entrance a bit feeling how wet you’ve gotten.  It brings up how empty you feel.  It would be perfect if you had another toy to fill you up.  Too bad you’ll have to do for now with bringing the vibe back to your clit.  The increased speed brings you close much faster.  You can tell it’s got the same effect on Jungkook.  His breathing is heavy and stuttering.  Every so often his strokes lose rhythm and he’s fighting not to moan or stop.  He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and furrows his brow.  

“Don’t bite your lip.  I want to hear you.”  You tell him.  He releases his lip with a soft moan.  He’s afraid he’ll be crossing a line but this may be a chance to push you over the edge.  “Fuck, Noona.  I’m so close.  You look so hot.  I bet you’re so wet right now.  Wish I could feel you.”   Jungkook moans.  His plan works.  His words push you right before your peak.  You hold long enough to let him off.  “You bad boy.  I’m close.  Go ahead and finish with me.”  You pant out and let yourself go.  That familiar wave of warmth washes over you, enhanced greatly by the long moans Jungkook lets out as he spills into the condom.  

The both of you take your time to come down from your highs.  Out of spite and embarrassment you turn your arm to push the massager right to the sensitive tip of Jungkook’s cock.  He shouts and tries to roll his hips away.  “Sit still.”  You scold.  It’s difficult but he holds his cock up to the toy.  He’s never felt anything like it.  In no time he feels a second wave of cum spurting out in the longest orgasm he’s ever had.  You’d really planned to push him through overstimulation to a second orgasm but the sound of your phone ringing surprises you both.  

Instantly you click off the toy and grab the device.  You look at the screen briefly before answering.  “Hello?”  “Y/N dear did I wake you?”  Minwoo’s voice comes over the line.  “No I’m still awake.”  You answer and look at Jungkook.  He’s still panting but sits pretty in position.  “Good.  Are you okay?  Do you need my help? I’m almost home.”  “Yes.  I’d like some help getting ready for bed if you don’t mind.”  Jungkook’s eyes widen in disbelief.  There’s no way you just told Minwoo to come over.  He starts to shift his weight to stand but you throw him a stern look and point for him to stay still.  He must be crazy to obey.  “Sure darling.  I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”  Minwoo replies.  “Sounds good.  See you soon.”  With that you both hang up.  

“Sorry but it’s time to say goodnight.  Go ahead and get yourself cleaned up.”  You tell Jungkook.  He sits there for a moment just in shock still of how you can break this off so easily.  If he weren’t terrified of his boss finding him here like this he might have stayed and given you a piece of his mind.  Or at least that’s what he tells himself.  He feels pathetic, slowly getting to his feet, pulling off the filled condom, and wrapping it in a few tissues from the coffee table.  He quickly gets himself cleaned up and redressed.  

“You did pretty good.  I can tell you’ve practiced.  Keep it up.”  Your praise is annoyingly good to hear.  He doesn’t bother to acknowledge it.  He only double checks his pockets for his phone and wallet.  “See you Monday, Secretary.  I hope you heal quickly.”  He bows coldly and lets himself out.  You think to yourself that this is exactly why you can keep playing with the boy.  He’s smart enough to know his place.  So many others would have tried to stay and fight about this or purposely waited for Minwoo to make an argument.

Not long after your doorbell rings and Minwoo is putting in the code to open your door.  He kicks off his shoes and comes right over to you.  “Hello pretty.  Doing okay?  What happened?”  He shuffles the ice pack that you had tossed back on.  “I’ll be fine.  Just some stupid drunk pushed me off the side walk and made me twist my ankle.”  Minwoo gently brushes over the still swollen skin.  

“How did you get home?”  “Jeon Jungkook carried me here.”  Minwoo looks at you with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.  “Oh he did?  That was very kind of him.  I really owe him a dinner now.”  You hum.  “I suppose so.  The others offered him up since he’s the only one who could carry me so far.”  

“Still it was such a gentlemanly thing for him to do.  I’ll have to thank him for taking care of the most important person in the company.”  You smile and nod in response.  Minwoo could very well be hinting at taking care of you in another way.  “He was very attentive until I sent him home.”    

“Well let’s get you up to the bedroom first.  How does that sound?”  “That would be nice.”  Minwoo has you hold the ice pack.  He comes to the side and puts his arms under you.  In one smooth lift he picks you up to his chest and you wrap your arms around his neck.  You feel much more at home in this pair of strong arms.  The two of you share a smile while he carries you to the bedroom.  

With steady careful moves he sets you on the edge of the bed.  “Let’s get these work clothes off you first.  You start on your blouse and I’ll help you with your skirt.”  He reaches his hands around you to unzip it and you try your best to lift your hips for him to pull it off.  You pull off your blouse and reach around to unhook your bra.  Minwoo starts to slowly pull your panties down your hips but stops when he notices how soaked they are in the center.  The wet fabric sticks completely to your core and he pushes a finger right at your entrance.  You jump in surprise.

“My, my.  What’s got you so wet like this darling?”  He asks running his finger up and down.  “I’m sorry.  I was bad and played with myself while I was waiting for you.”  You answer coyly.  Minwoo usually has no problem with you pleasuring yourself unless he’s specifically told you not to.  He looks you right in the eye as though trying to read if there’s more to it.  “You must’ve been needy if you couldn’t wait for me.”  “To be fair it started as a regular massage for my ankle.”  That makes Minwoo laugh.

“Can’t help yourself can you?  Naughty girl.  Do you think you should get a punishment?”  He asks.  Your eyes widen a little.  There’s that hidden meaning hanging in the air again, like he knows you’ve been bad.  You nod slowly.  “Well since you’ve already had your fun, how about if you let me get off and you don’t.  I think that sounds fair don’t you?”  You pout but still nod.  “Yes, sir.  I think that’s fair.”

Minwoo starts unbuttoning his own shirt quickly and undoing his belt.  “Be a good girl and take those off for me.”  He nods toward the panties still clinging to you.  By the time you’ve carefully got them off he’s already stripped bare.  He comes close and pulls your hips right to the edge of the bed.  

With a gentle touch he lifts both your legs.  “You need to keep your foot elevated.  Can you hold your legs for me?”  You follow his direction, tucking your hands behind your knees to hold them.  His hands run back down the inside of your thighs right to their apex then slip off.  In one swift motion he brings his right hand back up to smack over your clit. You jolt in surprise.

He watches just to be sure you stay in position before swatting his hand at you again.  He gives a few more in quick succession a bit harder than the others.  “Can you hear how wet you still are?”  He asks rubbing his fingers to soothe the sting of the smacks then right down the middle.  “Yes, sir.”  You can clearly hear the wet sounds of his fingers.  

“You’re only wet like this for me, right?”  He asks and immediately pushes two fingers into your entrance.  You moan out a yes.  “That’s right it is.”  Yes is what he wants to hear, but he knows it’s not the truth.  You know he knows.  You’re not sure how, but he does.  So when he pulls his fingers out and gives your clit four more smacks you can’t complain.  You both know you deserve it.  

His touch disappears altogether but is soon replaced.  With it gripped in his hand, he rubs the end of his cock over your slick cunt.  “Be a good girl now and let me take what’s mine.  Don’t you dare cum.”  He commands lowly, teasing at your entrance.  He waits for your reply of ‘yes, sir’ before pushing in.  

He doesn’t give you time to enjoy the first feeling but does start slow.  He takes his time stroking in and out slowly, fully enjoying your heat wrapped around him.  You spread your legs a little wider to make room for him to lean forward.  He breaths over one of your perked nipples but never actually touches.  Only teases the touches your wish you could get.

Gradually he picks up the pace.  He angles the thrust to hit just where it’s best for you every few times on purpose.  Just enough to get you riled up.  His lips ghost higher to just below your ear.  “You’re lucky I’m too tired tonight for toys.  I feel like I ought to leave you strapped to your vibrator for a while.  Not sure why I get the feeling you deserve it.”  He growls.  You’re not sure what to say.  He continues on in your silence.  

“Maybe I’m just paranoid because you were alone again with that young intern?  He’s such a nice young man.  It’s a shame he’s taken such a liking to you.”  You feel like he really means that.  Jungkook is a good worker after all.  “Do you wish this were him fucking you to bed?  Hm?”  “No.  Of course not.  Only you can touch me.  I sent him away.”  You pant.  

Minwoo has it in mind to ask if you sent him away before or after you had your fun with him but he doesn’t.  You could have very easily told him not to come tonight and besides your panties being wet you seemed untouched.  “Yes you did.  Good girl.”  He kisses your neck softly then stands back up straight.

He replaces his hands for your on your legs.  “You can touch yourself if you want as a reward, but you still can’t cum.”  He offers.  It’s a double edged sword.  You know he actually means for you to touch yourself in some way to make this more difficult.  As a middle ground you decide to play with your breasts.  

Minwoo smirks and starts really pounding into in earnest.  He’s hitting your spot more and more often and it’s driving you crazy.  You try to get the most and the least pleasure out of playing with your nipples.  It feels like forever before Minwoo’s thrusts start to falter.  All of a sudden he pulls out completely and jacks himself off to completion all over your stomach.  Your pussy throbs from the loss.  To make it worse, Minwoo leaves the last bit of cum on the tip and rubs it into your clit.  

He watches you squirm and moan.  He’s got you right on the edge and pushing.  Just when you think you might not hold it, he pulls away.  It takes a ton of will power not to close your legs and rub them together.  Your walls are fluttering in anticipation and tears are coming to your eyes in frustration.  By the time you finally start to settle, Minwoo comes to wipe the cooling cum off of your stomach.  

“You did good.”  He kisses your forehead.  It’s a poor consolation but you’re a good girl.  You don’t whine or pout.  You’re getting just what you deserve.  “Let’s get you washed up for bed.  Think you can handle that?”  Minwoo asks getting ready to pick you up from the bed.  “Yeah, especially if you wash me.”  You flutter your lashes at him and he smiles.  “Sure.  I can do that.”

-E.최 

[malpabo]

[Drunk Talk 2] Shinhwa “Luckily we didn’t break up despite the temptations”

Shinhwa welcomed their 20th birthday. It’s their 20th debut anniversary. Shinhwa debuted in 1998, and has released 13 studio albums in the past 20 years. While the mountains and rivers changed twice, and even through much complications, they have protected the name of Shinhwa, and received a lot of love as they released multiple hit tracks, starting with their debut song, ‘The Resolver’.

Shinhwa is the longest running idol group that is ‘currently active’ and has continuously promoted for 20 years, without even one member change. There are so many groups that have dissolved or experience member changes to the extent that the ‘idol 7 year jinx’ saying exists, and that is what makes Shinhwa’s 20th year shine even more.

The drunk talk interview was arranged with great difficulty, as Shinhwa was busy with preparations so that they can celebrate their 20th anniversary in an even more meaningful manner with the fans. It so happened that this interview was conducted on ‘Shin-dependence day’ (a phrase that combines Shinhwa and Independence day that fans use to commemorate the end of the trademark lawsuit, falls on 29 May), which was even more meaningful.

(continued from part 1)

- There must have been a lot of complications during your lawsuit to protect the name of Shinhwa after your contract with SM Entertainment ended Minwoo: Oh, the day we’re doing the interview is Shin-dependence day. It’s a meaningful day for Shinhwa and our fans. Actually, SM Entertainment was good for us because the conditions and system were good. Even when we said we’re leaving, they treated us nicely so I’ve always been grateful. We did experience difficulties after leaving SM Entertainment and starting at a new place. And that also made us stronger. Before leaving SM Entertainment, I told the members, ‘Let’s not break up, no matter what’. We were committed to sticking together, and not get shaken by whatever temptations there were in the confusion. That’s why we shared everything with each other, no matter how small. Back then, one of the CEOs of SM Entertainment left and we started with him in a family-like atmosphere. It was exciting to start again and we were determined to make it our second leap forward. We wanted to protect Shinhwa. We even received a daesang after we left together. Eric received a big award and gained recognition as an actor. The other members also received good reviews in their respective positions, so I’m proud of them. It’s really great that we didn’t break up.

- I’m sure all your interests were different, how did you come to the same conclusion? Minwoo: We talked a lot while drinking. We got everything out of our system, and I think that’s why we didn’t have a huge clash of opinions. Also, different members did well at different times but whenever a member was doing well, he would think even more for the team, and be even more considerate, and I think that is how we managed to maintain our team well. All the members are also the head of the family. It’s partly our environment but there isn’t a large gap of rich and poor between the members. I think that also played a part in keeping us together. Eric: We have never said ‘We definitely should not break up’ to each other before. We’ve only said that if we are asked during an interview. I think it is also due to the members’ personalities that we are able to maintain the team. When I was young, I wanted to be a singer not because I loved music or dance but because it looked cool. But as we continued this line of work, I think we had the common wish to maintain the coolness and not be servile. If I chose solo activities because I did well as an actor but not as Shinhwa, going down that route seems servile, doesn’t it? I think we all dislike choosing something that looks uncool. 

- Who takes care of himself the best? Junjin: It has to be Dongwan hyung. But can you write ‘All of us (laughs)’ in the article? (laughs) Dongwan: Jinnie is right. We’ll all good at it.

- You can’t miss out on ‘pranks’ when talking about Shinhwa Andy: Eric hyung is the best. When we lived in the dormitory, he once stared at me for one hour out on the porch that is connected to the room while I was playing computer games. I felt weird so I turned to look and I was really startled because of him. Hyesung: I try to act as calm as possible even in a prank. Minwoo: In Eric’s case, he will not prank you again if you have no reaction. He really loves shocking people after waiting for a long time, so we were often shocked when we lived in the dormitory. Eric: (laughs) There was once Hyesung flew up in the air because of me. He was doing his business in the toilet, and I was hiding in the bathtub. I peeked my face out slightly, and he jumped up to the roof from a sitting position. Hyesung: I’m totally not afraid of scary activities, like bungee jump, but you can’t help with being surprised.

- Any ugly pasts? Junjin: I’m sure all of us has one. Especially in relation to fashion, or hairstyle? (laughs) Minwoo: There’s something I’m still curious about. When we had our first broadcast for ‘The Resolver’, Mr Lee Soo Man said we had to stick a CD player on our pants. The cover was transparent so you could see the CD spinning if you played it. He told us to go up on stage with that kind of CD player attached to our pants. We only did it once and I still have no idea why he asked us to do that.

- What is the most difficult song to perform amongst Shinhwa’s songs? Minwoo: ‘Your Wedding’ is the most difficult. So is ‘Wild Eyes’ Hyesung: Minwoo flies around during ‘Wild Eyes’, regardless of in the past or now. In the past, I would just think ‘That’s cool. He does it well’ when I see him do it. Now I will think ‘He can’t fall down. He can’t be hurt’. Minwoo: Why? I’d still be doing ‘Wild Eyes’ even when I’m in my fifties. (laughs)

sr: Ilgan Sports Translation by @malpabo Please take out with full credits

[btsmutimagines]

Home

Request ➸ Can you make a fluff with Jungkook when you go to bed after a long day at school and you're really tired but he tries to wake you up and you're really pouty and ask why and he says that you need to take your makeup off cause it's bad from your skin but you're too lazy to so he does it for you EXTRA FLUFFY PLEASE 

Word count ➸ 2k

You woke up to the sound of your loud alarm clock, you never being gladder to hear the ringing for the first time. In the midst of your nightmare, Jimin successfully captured your boyfriend, Jungkook, heart with a simple air kiss. As much as you loved hanging out with him and the rest of his friends but at times, Jimin seemed more like a rival than a close friend.

You shivered, getting out of bed and quickly getting into the shower. The hot water tingled against your skin, washing away grogginess along with the odd feeling of jealousy that lingered due to your dream. You hoped that you wouldn’t accidentally snap at Jimin the next time you saw him. 

Dressing into a bomber jacket, one of Jungkook’s old white shirts and high-waist jeans, you lazily tied your hair back because the spark that caused you to dress up died as soon as you saw your hair.  It momentarily returned as you did your makeup, although going for a more natural look since you were short on time. You gave yourself a once-over in the mirror that hung on your door before going into the kitchen. You settled for a pear, the juicy green fruit deserved more love than the typical apple. Tossing the core into the trash, you grabbed your bag from the floor where you left it yesterday and noticed one of Jungkook’s socks behind it.

You sighed, the lone sock triggering the memory of when Jungkook asked you to live with him. It was probably three months after you two started dating and after a handful of times when his friends had walked in on the two of you. He was so abrupt about it, you jokingly agreeing to it at first until he showed up to your old apartment with a bunch of classified ads and a red marker. Of course, having a place to yourselves meant no interruptions but getting to know each other in the same house had its cons. Especially since Jungkook liked to eat your leftovers when you specifically tell him not to, or the fact whenever he offered to help you with the grocery, he loved to place your favourite snacks on the top shelf of your cupboard like the evil giant he is. Not to mention his habit of losing socks that turn up after weeks of being missing.

You dryly laughed to yourself, remembering that your boyfriend was currently on a trip for the next few days for his portfolio. That boy loved his camera as much as he loved you, although he couldn’t answer whether he would save his camera or you in a fire without hesitation.

This wasn’t the time to think about Jungkook, you told yourself and picked up your bag. You placed the sock on the coffee table and left the apartment. You caught the bus, rushing up the back of the bus before the driver sped down the streets. You watched the passing cars and bikes, the fall leaves adding colour to the grey asphalt of the road. The familiar scenery of your campus came into view and you got off the bus, walking down the path. People on their bikes pass you, stopping at the bike racks up ahead and you reached the corner where your best friend, Sol-ji usually popped up.

“Boo!” Just as you predicted, she came from behind you to cover your eyes and you smiled at her failed attempt to scare you.

“Halloween ended two weeks ago.”

“I meant that as an endearment.”

“Explain covering my eyes.”

“A magician never reveals all her tricks.”

“Sol-ji, you literally walked up behind me. The only magic here is how you managed to trick yourself into blatant fibbing.” You two walked up the steps into the hall, seeing people sitting in lounge chairs and others rushing up the stairs to whatever class they’re about to be late for.  

“You’re so mean, Y/N~ Did Jimin say he was going to steal Jungkook away again?”

“Only in my nightmare, yes. Sorry for my outburst, I feel strange today.”

“Oh, you miss him that much.”

“I miss not having to climb the counter to grab the peanut butter and my snacks or not waiting for the bathroom in the morning? I think not.”

“The amount of denial you’re having is astounding.” You rolled your eyes, focusing on walking up the stairs as Sol-ji continued to talk to you. She was bashing her roommate, as usual, talking about how she had come home to the floor covered with pictures of cats. Somehow, her roommate hadn’t noticed that her camera was connected to the printer and she had unknowingly printed 50 Polaroid photos of her cashmere cat.

“I’m honestly questioning why I said I was okay with pets on that survey.”

“You were just being an honest person.”

“How did the system think that I and she were 85 percent compatible when she is, 100 percent accuracy, the worst roommate I ever had.”

“Just ask for a change.”

“But she makes the best cookies,” you rolled your eyes, was she seriously going to let her sweet tooth be a deal breaker, “and I might be over-exaggerating.”

“I noticed.” She elbowed your side as you laughed while you two entered the classroom. A few people were early as well and you two sat in the middle rows. You two readied yourselves for class anyways, Sol-ji pouting as she did so.

“Meanie.” You were about to reply but a soft tap on your shoulder made you turn your head to the owner of the finger.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Oh, Himchan.” Himchan was the secretary of the student union which you were the vice president

“I’m just reminding you about today’s emergency meeting at 2.”

“What happened?” You took out your water bottle, taking a sip as Himchan nervously scratched his head.

“Mi-woo’s sick.” You choked on a sip, you quickly coughing to recover. Minwoo, the president, hasn’t missed a meeting since she became a member and usually filled you in on what happened because you were typically late to meetings because of a certain someone.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s fine, how did she get sick? “The annual cook-off, someone had the flu and everyone there got sick. I’m glad I hate cold cucumber soup.”

“Alright.”

“You can’t be late to the meeting this time, alright?”

“Okay.” You slumped in your seat as Himchan left the classroom, your professor entering at that moment.

“Look on the bright side, at least the meetings are just an hour long.” It was as if the universe heard Sol-ji’s words at that very moment and decided that today was the day it should mess with you.

You were on time because one of the other members spotted you and walked with you to the meeting room. It was going smoothly; the group was listening to you and you could see yourself wrapping up the meeting early until Himchan started discussing the holiday event for December and all hell broke loose. It was a shouting match and members shoving ideas at you as they angrily argued which idea was best for the student body. Mi-woo, you lucky wrench, you managed to avoid this. You ended the meeting about 30 minutes late, but your day wasn’t over yet.

One of the fine arts students that knew you through Jungkook needed a replacement model for her art piece and she had the largest puppy eyes (after Jungkook, of course. That boy gives you that look intentionally and unintentionally). You forced a smile as you agreed, and she happily dragged you into an art studio where she spent three hours to paint you, which didn’t look much like you but you didn’t have the heart to tell the girl. It was about 6 when you went out to the bus stop, waiting almost an hour for the bus and you missed your bed more as the bus ride went on.

You took the elevator up, going straight into your apartment and walking straight into the bedroom. You heard water running, your tired mind playing tricks on you as your head hit the pillow and you cuddled up to the sheets.

“Babe?” You were questioning your sanity when you thought you heard Jungkook’s voice and only made you want to sleep sooner.

“Babe, wake up.”

“Why does the universe hate me so much-” You sat up to see Jungkook sitting next to you and your faces were close enough that your nose brushed against his.

“Surprise?”

“Have I lost my mind?” He laughed, you blinked in response. Jungkook is here, alive and well while you were ready to pass out. Typical.

“Did you miss me that much?”

“It really is you, the same annoying Jungkook.”

“I thought you would be happier to see me.”

“And I thought I would be able to get some sleep.”

“I guess I could remove the towel to make things easier-”

“That’s not what I meant, horndog.”

“Okay, you’re cranky.��

“I had a long ass day and I just was some R&R.”

“You could at least change and take off your makeup.”

“I don’t really care, Jungkook.” You let your head fall back onto your pillow, Jungkook poking the back of your neck.

“That’s not good for your skin, baby.”

“I’m tired, Jungkook.” You heard him tsk at you, taking the sound as a sign of victory as he got up and walked somewhere else. You were barely entering the sleep cycle when you felt him yank the sheets off you and you snapped your eyes open and looked up at him.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart.”

“One day, I’m going to find out your weakness and kill you.”

“Did you eat a lot of sugar because it’s starting to melt into your personality.”

“You’re probably the meanest girlfriend on Earth.”

“I would be a lot nicer to you if you weren’t robbing me of my precious sleep time.”

“Can you at least sit up for me?” You sat up, cross-legged, for him regardless of your sharp tone with him and he pulled the makeup wipes off the nightstand. He sat in front of you

“Shut your eyes for me.” You did so, feeling the cold wipe run across your eyelids one by one and gently over your eyelashes. He ran a clean side of the wipe across your cheeks and lips before stopping.

“Jungkook.”

“You’re so beautiful.”

“So cheesy.”

“The prettiest girl that ever lived.”

“Quit it.”

“Why~ Your cheeks are burning, aren’t they?”

“Shut up!” He placed his hands on either side of your cheeks, verifying the heat in your cheeks as you tried to push him away.

“Your cheeks are going to leave a burn on my hands. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Meanie.”

“So that makes the two of us, two peas in a pod.”

“To think I missed you even in the slightest.”

“So you did miss me, huh?”

“Shut-” He cut you off, swallowing the syllables with his lips as he kissed you. Your hands grabbed handfuls of his shirt as one of his hands slipped to your side. He pulled away, you look away and Jungkook poked your cheek repeatedly.

“Should’ve known since you’re wearing my shirt anyways.” He pulled you into his lap, your arms resting on his shoulders and your hands playing with the ends of his obsidian hair.

“Why can’t you be cute and silent?”

“Because my sexy voice shouldn’t go to waste.”

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s true.” You sighed, how did you manage to find a guy like him? You placed your hand on his cheek, slowly caressing it with your thumb running across the smooth skin.

“I missed you so much, Y/N.” He pressed his lips again yours once again, his movements much more languid and gentle as his body molded into yours. He kissed away the tiredness of a long day, his touch awakened you and his presence made you feel whole.

“Welcome home.”

[inyournightmares97]

OUT

Part of the Firework Series: A Series of GOT7 Oneshots 

(Here’s my general Masterlist)

Jackson Wang is a young, rich heir who parties hard and spends money harder. He doesn’t seem to have a care in the world, until the appearance of Lee Haeun forces him to face one of his darkest secrets. Jackson has to deal with his worst fear: that everyone would see right through him.

They say once you reach the top, the only way left to go is down.

Warnings: Sex, strong language, adult topics, angst

Word Count: 16k+

OUT

Lee Haeun folded her arms across her chest and looked around, bored.

The house she was standing in was beautifully decorated, with pure white marble and dark velvet carpeting. A silver chandelier hung from the ceiling as the centerpiece. Walls were mainly adorned with large, life-size portraits of stuffy old people in haughty postures. Haeun couldn’t help but stare at one particular portrait of an old man who had a pointy chin and a goatee at the end of it; he looked kind of like Jafar from that Aladdin movie. Satisfied at having managed to entertain herself even in this painfully humorless environment, Haeun sniggered to herself.

“You shouldn’t fold your arms over your chest like that.”

Haeun jumped at the male voice which rumbled into her ear. She turned her head and instantly spotted Jackson Wang’s familiar, shit-eating grin. She frowned at him.

“Where the hell have you been? I was seconds away from stabbing myself with one of your mother’s silver forks just so I don’t have to stay here anymore,” she complained.

Jackson chuckled as he moved to stand in front of her. He was dressed well; Jackson knew how to carry a suit and his hair was styled up neatly, exposing his forehead. Haeun wondered how somebody could change their entire aura in less than a second. When Jackson Wang smiled or laughed, he looked like a naughty little child who had managed to stick his hand in the cookie jar. But when he dropped the smile and his eyes took on a more intense look, the same Jackson could make any woman’s panties turn wet with a single gaze.

Right now, the Jackson in front of her was the child-like one, and Haeun was not pleased.

“I was getting some drinks with my friends,” he explained happily. “You should come out with me and my buddies sometime. I could introduce you to Jaebum! He has a girlfriend already but she’s really uptight and kind of hates me so I’m thinking if he meets someone else-“

“I have no interest in meeting any of your friends.”

Jackson shrugged, unperturbed. “Fair enough.”

Haeun glanced towards the adjoining dining room. The doors were firmly shut. Behind those doors were some of the most important men in the country; well, the richest, at least. These stuffy family dinners took place at least once a month. The old men would come together to discuss the state of affairs; business dealings, political occurrences…? Haeun wasn’t sure what they talked about. It wasn’t as if her father would ever allow her to listen. After an elaborate dinner, women and children were banished to the rest of the house while the men shut their doors and smoked and plotted.

“Are you going to go inside with them?” Haeun wondered, glancing at Jackson. “I saw your older brother in there.”

Jackson laughed his usual high-pitched laugh. “Are you kidding? Walking in there this late would be suicide. I’m better off staying here and hoping my Dad forgot I exist. Is everyone else in the parlor?”

“Yeah. The women are all gossiping and drinking wine,” Haeun mumbled, rubbing her fingers across her temples. She’d barely just managed to escape from that vile place without anyone noticing. “One of the Ministers recently divorced his wife so they’re discussing how much of a bitch she used to be and how she was probably infertile. I think the younger kids are playing in your garden.”

Jackson leaned closer to her and smiled. She could smell his cologne as his lips moved closer to her ear and brushed against it lightly. A shiver went down Haeun’s spine. “Oh? Should we play too? Maybe upstairs…?”

Haeun rolled her eyes and gently placed a hand on his chest to push him away. “Jackson. We almost got caught last time. Do you really want to go through that again?” she hissed.  

“That’s because we were in someone else’s house and I had no idea that room had a back door,” Jackson whispered. His hand slid down to her side and rested gently but firmly on her waist. Haeun felt her skin tingle at his touch through her dress. “This is my house, baby. I know all the corners. I’ve never been caught here before.”

Fuck, he was convincing. Jackson’s eyes had taken on that dark, determined look that made Haeun’s cheeks heat up without permission. They were standing in the foyer of his house where anybody could walk in, and yet Haeun was contemplating ripping that suit off him right there. 

“It’s not a good idea…” she tried to insist.

Jackson let out a low whine. “Come on, baby,” he insisted, hot breath fanning her neck and sending another tingle down her spine. “You never let me pay you back for that amazing blow job you gave me last time the dinner was at your house. Tell you what. I won’t even take my pants off tonight. Let’s go in that little storeroom under that stairs. We’ll hike that pretty little dress of yours up and I’ll make you come with just my mouth.”

Jackson was a known playboy heir. The sort of guy who spent money without a second thought and who never seemed to care much about anything except having fun. But no matter how privileged and spoiled everyone claimed he was, there was one thing which Haeun had to hold to his credit.

Jackson loved giving pleasure just as much as he loved receiving it.

Which was how Haeun found herself pressed up against a wall and clutching onto a spare cupboard in one of the many storerooms in the enormous Wang mansion, as Jackson kneeled between her legs and worked wonders under her skirt with just his tongue. It was both slightly disappointing and impressive that he managed to make Haeun come within minutes. There was no teasing with Jackson. He liked to make people feel good, and he wasn’t ashamed of it.

“How was that?” he whispered, as he stood up and brushed off his knees. Haeun’s eyes were still closed, and she hadn’t quite recovered from the intense orgasm yet. Jackson grinned and pulled her into his arms, pressing wet kisses to her neck as he propped her up. Haeun’s knees usually gave out after he’d done something like this to her, and he could tell that she was still reeling from the orgasm. “I told you I could-mmm- could make you come with just my tongue. Is that amazing or what?” he chuckled against her neck.

Haeun blinked as she let her dress fall back to cover her legs and grabbed Jackson by the arms.

“That was pretty good,” she admitted breathlessly.

Jackson beamed. He loved praise and he especially loved when it came begrudgingly from Haeun. He gave her a long, deep kiss before pulling away and looking down at his own crotch. “Look at this little guy, baby. You made him that big with just your moans. Aren’t you going to do anything about it?”

Haeun couldn’t help but smile as Jackson pouted at her.

“Come here, I’ll rub you off,” she offered as she unbuttoned his suit jacket and began to fumble with his belt. Jackson was still pouting at her.

“But I brought a condom because I knew I was going to see you tonight,” he whined slightly. His hand stroked up and down her back gently. “Come on baby, you didn’t let me inside you last time because I didn’t have a condom.  Let me fuck you this time…”

Haeun shook her head. No way. Jackson was probably just as good at sex as he was at eating her out, but Haeun knew better. She was aware that he frequented the strip club in town, knew that he was probably sleeping with a lot of different women. The last thing she wanted was an STD. Who knew where his dick had been? But those thoughts were a little too mean to say out loud, so Haeun kept quiet.

“Not today,” she told him.

“You always say that,” he complained.

“Why are you so desperate to fuck me anyway?” she wondered, shaking her head as she grabbed his zipper. “You probably have plenty of women willing to do it with you.”

“Who cares about them? I just really want to have sex with you.”

“It’s not that I’m the only person who messes around with you because she actually wants to, and not just because your daddy’s rich?” she mused as she finally managed to undo the zipper on his pants and reach inside with a giggle. To her surprise, Jackson suddenly flinched and stepped away from her sharply. She blinked up at him. “What-“

“You think I can’t get women to sleep with me willingly?” he asked sharply.

Haeun felt the atmosphere tense. She hadn’t realized that she might hurt his feelings; they joked about him being a fuckboy all the time. How was she supposed to know where the line was drawn? She shook her head. “No, obviously you can, I’m not saying you’ve ever slept with a woman against her will, but-“

“But they don’t actually like having sex with me, they only do it because of who I am?” he clarified. Haeun didn’t know what to say. Jackson didn’t even sound angry. He sounded more resigned than anything else, as he pulled up his own pants and put his belt back on.

“Jackson…”

She was cut off by the sound of voices and running footsteps coming in their direction. Both Haeun and Jackson exchanged panicked looks and stepped away from each other, smoothing down their clothes before the door to the storeroom burst open.

“Got you!” one of the kids yelled out gleefully. He was about seven years old; the son of a businessmen who owned a chain of automobile companies. The kid blinked in confusion as he saw the couple inside the room. “Jackson-hyung? Haeun-noona? Were you playing hide-and-seek with us too? I don’t remember you being there when I started counting down from a hundred…”

Jackson caught on quickly and laughed, rubbing down on the boy’s head playfully. “Well, would you look at that? Minwoo caught us. I told you this was a shit place to hide, Haeun-ah. We should have gone upstairs.”

Haeun cleared her throat. “Right. Whoops. Looks like we lost.”

Minwoo beamed at the unexpected pleasure of having caught two more people than he originally intended to, and ran out of the storeroom to find the rest of the kids. Haeun let out an audible sigh of relief and followed Jackson out of the storeroom. They came out into the foyer, where some of the women had gathered. Haeun winced as her mother came running up to her, looking slightly annoyed.

“Haeun! Where did you disappear to, I thought you were sitting in the parlor with us!” she scolded her lightly, looking at Haeun’s wrinkled skirt in a disapproving manner. “I’ve told you not to go off like that without saying anything!”

Jackson gave her mother a polite bow. “We were just playing hide-and-seek with the kids, Mrs. Lee.”

Haeun’s mother turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. Jackson was charming, and most of the older women were enamored with his pretty manners and amusing sense of humor.  But there was more needed in life than charming behavior. Haeun’s mother not-to-secretly disapproved of Jackson, for reasons that weren’t exactly within his control.

“Is that so?” the older woman asked, glancing at Haeun with a tight smile. “You two should really join the adults instead of continuing to play with the children. I saw your brother Chansung joining the men for a drink, Jackson, I’m surprised you didn’t join them.”

To his credit, Jackson barely faltered. “I don’t know that I’m much use in there, ma’am.”

“Probably not,” Haeun’s mother replied coolly, before smiling at her daughter. “Darling, we should leave now. Your father already called the driver and the car is waiting up front. Say goodbye to Jackson and we’ll be leaving.”

Haeun raised an eyebrow at her mother coolly, before lifting a hand to wave goodbye to Jackson. Her smile was slightly apologetic but he didn’t seem to notice. Jackson merely gave Haeun a soft smile and nodded at her, while her mother pulled her away towards the front door of the house. The firm grip on her arm told Haeun that she was in for a scolding.

She got into the car, her mother right beside her with a tight-lipped expression.

“I’d really rather you didn’t see Jackson,” her mother told her bluntly, the moment the driver took off. Haeun’s father was sitting in the front passenger seat and didn’t seem to be listening to them. He was busy on his mobile phone. “If you had to see someone in that family then I wish you would’ve chosen his older half-brother Chansung. At least he’s set to inherit his father’s companies.”

Haeun bristled. “I’m not seeing Jackson. And I have no interest in Chansung either. He’s six years older than me.”

“Chansung is one of the few young men of your age whose fortune can rival ours. Imagine how uncomfortable it would be if an alliance were proposed between the two of you, but you’ve already dated his useless younger brother.”

“Jackson and I are not dating.”

Her mother glanced at her sharply before reaching into her purse and pulling out a small white handkerchief. She handed it to Haeun without looking at her.

“Wipe your mouth, your lipstick is smudged everywhere.”

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(2 Weeks Later)

“Seriously. Are you not going to come out tonight either?” Jackson Wang demanded, hands on his hips. He was standing in Jinyoung’s apartment, trying to convince his friend to go out drinking with the rest of them. “You haven’t come out with us in weeks. It’s bad enough that Jaebum’s stuffy girlfriend keeps me at arm’s length. Are you going to ditch me too?”

Jinyoung sighed and adjusted his glasses on his face. He was trying to read and Jackson kept bothering him. “I need to study, Jackson.”

“You always say that-“

“I’m serious. It’s an assignment for class, I have to do it.”

Jackson whined, making a puppy-dog face. “Please? Please, Jinyoung-ah, don’t make me go alone with Bambam and Yugyeom! Those two are uncontrollable when they get drunk! And Youngjae’s just going to keep hitting me and you know Mark speaks even less when he’s tipsy, he just stares into space-“

Jinyoung frowned. “Why are you going out with them if they’re so annoying?”

Jackson didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Jinyoung’s desk to look at what his friend was working on. “What are you doing? What class is it for? Is there anything I can do to help you get it done faster?” he asked in a rush.

“It’s for my credit course on corporate regulatory mechanisms. We’re doing a case study on the whole accounting fraud that came out into the newspapers recently. You know, the businessman who got caught and had to repay the entire amount he fraudulently obtained from investors by publishing misleading information-“

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, fancy corporate stuff, who cares?”

“He committed suicide after the authorities concluded their investigation. I thought you would know about it. I heard it was your father who gave them the tip-off,” Jinyoung pointed out, eyes narrowed. He was aware that Jackson had little to no interest in his father’s business, but surely he’d read a newspaper in the last week?

Clearly, Jackson had not.

“My father gave a tip-off?” he asked suddenly curious. He leaned over and looked at Jinyoung’s laptop, reading out the news article that was open. “Managing Director of Azure Enterprises commits suicide days after financial scandal unearthed. Lee Jangkyu, 52, was found dead in his villa in Gangnam district earlier this week, having hung himself-what the fuck!”

Jinyoung gave Jackson a startled look. “What? Did you know him?”

“That’s Haeun’s dad!” Jackson exclaimed, his eyes wide in horror as he ran his fingers through his hair. How had he not known about this? True, he didn’t really read or watch the news much, but it seemed like something someone should have told him about. “How did- what the- does it say what happened to his family? Where’s Haeun?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “It mentions that he has a daughter and a wife, but I don’t know what happened-“

Jackson ignored him, pulling his cellphone out of his pocket hurriedly and finding Haeun’s number. He hadn’t heard from her in the last two weeks. It wasn’t unusual for them; they didn’t talk much on a regular basis other than messing around whenever their families had dinner. He held the phone up to his ear desperately, but the automated voice told him that the phone was switched off.

“Shit.”

Jinyoung gave Jackson a worried look. “Jackson, are you okay? Is this girl your friend, or-“

“I need to go.”

He rushed out of Jinyoung’s apartment and ran down the stairs to his car, which was parked outside. Bambam and Yugyeom were sitting in the backseat, waiting for him. They looked surprised when Jackson practically leapt into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“Whoa- what happened? Is Jinyoung-hyung not coming out with us after all?” Bambam asked, startled.

Jackson glanced at them with a tight expression. “Sorry, guys. I have to drop by somewhere else first.”

He mostly ignored their questions as he sped towards Haeun’s house. Jackson’s fingers were trembling slightly on the steering wheel. How had he not known that something this horrible had happened? He felt a surge of guilt. I should have read about this sooner. God knows if Haeun’s okay. Jackson couldn’t even imagine how she must be dealing with this. He pulled into the driveway of the house sharply and jumped out of the car.

“Hyung, whose house is this? It’s all taped off outside, look-“

Jackson marched forward and banged on the front door. There was no response. The entire house was silent, almost uninhabited. Yugyeom walked over to one of the windows and peeked through, using his height to his advantage.

“The house is empty,” he informed Jackson, placing a hand on the window and peeking inside. “Look.”

Jackson jogged over to him. “There’s nobody inside?”

“There’s nothing inside. Not even furniture. It’s literally just walls and carpet. I don’t think anyone lives here anymore,” Yugyeom explained. Bambam was looking at the name plaque near the gate, eyes narrowed at it.

“Lee Jangkyu? Hey; isn’t that the businessman who killed himself earlier this week-?“

Fuck. Haeun was gone. Everything was gone from the house. Where could she be? Jackson suddenly realized that he had literally no way to contact her. They didn’t have mutual friends, only ever talked when they met at social gatherings. He pressed his fingers to his temples, thinking hard. There had to be some way to know where she was. Maybe she had relatives on her mother’s side, maybe…

Jackson took a deep breath, ignoring the confused questions that the younger boys were firing at him. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number that was only really stored in his phone as a formality; he’d never called it, not as far as he could remember.

Chansung answered instantly. “Jackson?”

He took a deep breath. “Hyung. I need your help.”

There was a brief moment of silence and Jackson heard his brother excuse himself from whoever he was with. When his voice was audible again, it was much quieter and a lot less pleasant. “Why the hell are you calling me when I’m at work? Jesus, Jackson, you’d better not be in jail or something-“

Jackson bristled. “I’m not. I just need some information.”

“About what?”

“Did you hear about the whole situation with Lee Jangkyu and his killing himself?”

“I don’t live under a rock, Jackson. I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of that ugly mess all week. Although admittedly, our company benefitted pretty nicely from that particular unearthing.”

Jackson felt nauseous.

“Do you know what happened to Haeun?”

“Haeun?”

“His daughter. And his wife too, for that matter. He had a family, you do know that, hyung?” Jackson hissed. “I came to the house, there’s nobody here. Their villa is empty.”

Chansung sounded exasperated. “Well, of course it’s empty. The dead man owes huge amounts of money to the investors, and as penalties for violating accounting regulations. They probably seized all his assets. I’d be surprised if his wife and daughter haven’t left the city by now. There’s definitely nothing left of his fortune once the authorities got their hands on it.”

Jackson felt his heart sink into his stomach. “Oh.”

“Forget it, Jackson. Don’t think about it too much. It’s not like Lee Jangkyu was innocent or anything. He tried to scam millions of investors, remember?”

Jackson didn’t want to hear it. He simply ended the call with his brother and put the phone back into his pocket, stomach churning. Was that it, then? Had Haeun and her mother left the city to save face since their fortune was gone? It was almost too difficult to believe. Why didn’t she call me? he wondered, but instantly felt stupid. He should have called Haeun. He should have done something to help her while he still could. Jackson stared down at the cellphone in his hand, disappointed in himself.

“Hyung.” Yugyeom placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “Hyung… are you okay?”

Jackson forced a smile on his face. “Come on, let’s go to the club. I need a drink.”

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“Darling, why don’t you get us another bottle of whisky? And some ice for the table, okay?”

Haeun nodded obediently, as she hurried over to the bar to ask the bartender for another bottle of whisky for the group of old men sitting at the table. It was almost disgusting; all of them were above fifty and at least two of them were wearing wedding rings. Yet they sat at the best table in the strip club, while strippers sat in their laps and giggled with them.

“Table 3 wants another bottle of whisky,” she told the guy working behind the bar.

The bartender glanced at her and nodded, pulling down a pair of bottles from the shelf behind him. “The Armorik, right? Take two.”

Haeun hesitated, her fingers closing on the bottles. “They only ordered one…”

“Baby, they’re too drunk to notice,” he told her with a chuckle. The bartender was the only person who was nice to her during her first week on the job; if you could get over the fact that he addressed all the women as baby. He probably just couldn’t be bothered remembering their names. “Take two bottles. Trust me. You’ll get a better tip and the manager will be happier. They’ll drink it up.”

Haeun decided to trust him. Her head was still spinning from stumbling around the dark club and taking orders from the customers. Most of them barely spared her a second glance; they were too busy looking at the stage where women (and men) were dancing seductively in various stages of undress. Haeun placed the two bottles of whisky and a bowl of ice in front of the customers. One of them patted her lightly on the ass to show his gratitude, but immediately turned his attention to the stage again. He missed the dirty look Haeun gave him.

“Haeun! Haeun, come over here!”

Haeun flinched as she heard her manager’s loud voice. She hurried over to him, smoothing down the apron on the front of her skirt. It was the only thing that clearly distinguished her and the other waitresses from the strippers and her manager had firmly ordered her not to take it off so that she wasn’t confused with them. Not that it stopped some of the older men from copping a feel. It made Haeun feel nauseous. “Yes, sir?” she asked, reaching the man who was waving her over urgently.

“How’s that table doing?” he asked her.

“Fine. They’ve had about four bottles of whisky so far and they seem to be going pretty strong-“

“Good, good. You’re doing a good job. Another group just came in. They’re regulars, and I’ve seated them at table 6. Help Mina take their drinks in to them. It would be better if you recognized their names and faces so that you know to give them special treatment from next time.”

Haeun bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.”

The manager sent her off, and Haeun went over to Mina, one of the older waitresses who was placing their drinks on a tray. Haeun cleared her throat to get her attention.

“Uh-unnie, the manager told me to help you…“

Mina gave her a sharp glance, before handing her a bottle of vodka. “Fine. But it’s technically my table so any tips are mine, is that clear?” she demanded.

“Okay.“

She followed right behind Mina as the older woman went over to one of the corner tables. It was one of the VIP tables that they reserved for special customers. The couches were pure leather and the table was more private than the rest. There was a group of about five guys sitting there and Haeun kept her eyes lowered as she helped Mina set the drinks out on the table.

“Thanks, Mina,” a familiar voice said with a chuckle. Haeun froze, her fingers still on the bottle of vodka as she recognized it. Shit, shit. What was he doing here? She felt a shiver go down her spine as she felt Jackson’s eyes travel towards her. Her face was lowered and in the dim club, she hoped that he wouldn’t notice her- “Who’s this? New waitress?”

Mina nodded with a pleasing smile. “She’s Haeun, she started earlier this week.”

There was a frozen silence. Haeun lifted her head and looked up, only to see Jackson staring at her with wide eyes. He hadn’t said anything yet. He began squinting, almost as if he couldn’t believe it was her. Haeun felt a rush of humiliation. Why does he have to be the one to see me like this? Anybody but him. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like she would rather her own mother see her working in a strip club than Jackson Wang. Hands trembling, she stepped back and made a polite bow before hurrying away from the table.

I have to get out of here. I can’t let him see me. What would he think? That the cocky, pampered Lee Haeun is reduced to a part-time waitress in a strip club? The girl who thought she was too good to let him fuck her because he might have STDs? The humiliation was suddenly too much to bear and Haeun had to blink tears away from her eyes. She’d never felt so embarrassed. Taking a deep breath and composing herself, she hurried back to the table of old men that she’d been serving before.

“Hi. Are you gentlemen doing all right, is there anything else I can get you?” she asked them politely, hoping her voice wasn’t cracking too much.

One of the men smiled at her drunkenly. He addressed Haeun’s breasts, despite the fact that he already had a stripper sitting on one of his knees. “We’re fine, darling. Maybe some more ice. This feisty little thing’s hot breasts keep melting it all-“ he teased, nuzzling his face into the neck of the stripper, who only giggled in response.

Haeun barely nodded, when she felt a firm hand grasp her elbow.

“Come with me.”

Jackson’s breath on the back of her neck sent a shiver down her spine. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, preparing herself for the humiliation she was about to endure. Then she turned around and faced him. “Jackson, I’m working-“

“Not anymore, you’re not.”

He grasped her arm firmly, and pulled her towards the exit of the strip club. They passed the manager on the way out and Jackson lifted a hand to greet the man. “Hyung! I’m going home early tonight. Bambam has my card, so he’ll settle the tab. Oh; and I’m taking Haeun with me. I hope she can cut out on her shift early for one night?”

The manager looked startled. “Uh- Jackson-ssi, she’s a waitress, not-“

“Yeah, I know,” he reassured the man, giving him a grin and a wave as he pulled Haeun along with him. She let Jackson lead her out of the noisy club before trying to yank her hand out of his grasp. They stepped out into the cool air of the parking lot. “Come on, my car’s over there-“ he insisted.

“I don’t want to go to your car.”

“You want to talk out here in the parking lot?” he demanded.

“I don’t want to talk at all. I have to work-“

“Haeun,” he said, the firmness in his voice causing her to fall silent. He was staring straight at her, hand still entwined with hers. Haeun felt her resolve breaking. She couldn’t do this anymore. She was tired, she’d never worked so hard in her life. She’d never had to deal with so much at once. The sight of Jackson looking at her with pity made her want to crawl in a hole and die. “Haeun, what happened?” he asked gently.

“What happened?” she repeated, shakily. She couldn’t believe he was asking her such a thing. “Pick up a newspaper, Jackson.”

“I don’t want to know what the newspaper says about your father. I want to know what happened to you. Are you okay? Where are you living? How are you dealing with all this?” he demanded.

“I-I don’t know.” Haeun voice cracked, giving herself away. Jackson placed his arms on her shoulders and leaned down to look at her. It suddenly struck Haeun that in the last few days, not a single person had genuinely stopped to ask if she was okay. The world was a cruel place. People either thought that she got what she deserved for having lived in luxury due to her father’s corruption, or didn’t care about her at all. Her shoulders began to tremble. The genuine concern in Jackson’s eyes made her want to cry.

“I don’t really know what’s going on, Jackson, it all feels like a bad dream right now.“

He pulled her into his arms, pressing her face into his chest as she let out a shaky breath. Haeun had been at the edge emotionally for a long time, and it didn’t take much to tip her over. He stroked her back gently as he whispered into her ear.

“Hey. Hey, don’t cry. I’m sorry I didn’t find you before. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything. Let’s go back to my place. It’s cold out here. Let’s go back and talk.”

She followed Jackson to his car silently, not having the energy to resist. Jackson found himself looking at the broken girl in his passenger seat, his stomach churning at the sight of her. He’d never seen Lee Haeun like this. She had always been strong. Slightly spoiled, yes, but invincible, like nobody could really get to her. But the girl sitting next to him in the waitress uniform was hunched over, trying to hide her tears and her exhaustion as she attempted to keep herself together.

There was a wary look in Haeun’s eyes when she got into the elevator and they went up to Jackson’s penthouse apartment. He’d been living here since he moved out after high school; it was all paid for with his Dad’s money.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked, as he pushed her to sit down in his living room. Haeun bit her lip. She’d never been in Jackson’s apartment before. It was extremely well-decorated and modern, with a largely black and grey theme. An enormous home theatre took up the entirely of one wall. Haeun sat down stiffly, her fingers brushing against the pure leather of the couch.

“Haeun? Are you listening to me? I can turn on the coffee machine. Or do you want some whisky-“

“No whisky, please,” she mumbled, her head in her hands. She had served enough whisky to dirty old men in that strip club to last her a lifetime. She never wanted to smell the vile drink again. Jackson said nothing, but the smell of coffee drifted in from his kitchen a few seconds later. He came and sat next to her, placing the steaming cup on the table on front of her.

“Haeun.”

She looked up at him.

“Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

Haeun bit her lip. She’d thought that she’d never be able to face anybody from her old life again, but Jackson was an exception. He seemed genuinely worried, so she allowed herself to spill everything on her mind as she clutched the steaming mug of coffee. How the regulatory authorities had come to her house to arrest her father, how his lawyers had gone crazy. She talked about how they had to bail him out of jail, and how her mother had been crying the entire time. Haeun felt her shoulders tremble as she remembered the dead look in her father’s eyes coming out of prison.

“They all agreed to do it together,” she explained shakily, referring to the group of powerful men that had attended the dinner party just a few weeks ago; while Jackson and Haeun messed around in the next room. “They were all fudging the accounts so the company would look better than it was. The point was to attract more investments. But they conspired against my Dad. Those men sold their stakes beforehand and then tipped off the authorities. My Dad was the only one left at that time. The whole scandal benefitted the others pretty well, because now his market share is up for grabs. They knew they were ruining him; they just didn’t realize how much.”

Jackson felt nauseous as he listened to Haeun explain what her family had gone through. He suddenly felt dirty, almost guilty, as if he had been the one who’d done it all. Wasn’t it his own family who had betrayed the man and led him to kill himself? What did all those cozy dinners in each other’s houses mean if they turned on each other so easily?

“Dad killed himself after they seized all the assets,” Haeun continued, tears spilling down her face. She’d never been close to her father, he’d always been too busy for her. But he was her father and she’d seen him hanging from a rope in his office. The image was etched into her mind. “We had the funeral last week. My Mom went crazy. She started screaming, throwing things around. To be honest, I don’t know what she was so upset about. The fact that he was dead, or that we had nothing left. She couldn’t take the press hovering around and following us, so she left for my aunt’s place in the countryside.”

Jackson reached over and squeezed her hand. He could tell that even the small gesture comforted her. He wondered how much hatred she had faced, how badly people had been treating her for even such a tiny act of kindness to feel like a gasp of fresh air. Haeun turned and looked at him with big eyes, answering the question he hadn’t asked.

“I couldn’t go with her,” she explained. Her voice trembled. “I couldn’t give up college. I have exams in a couple of weeks, I have research papers due next month. What am I supposed to do with my life if I just hide out in the countryside for god knows how long?”

Jackson bit his lip. “You could have tried to get away from it all for a while.”

Haeun shook her head. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “My dignity is all I have left. I couldn’t run away. I can’t. I need my degree if I’m going to make anything of myself. I never realized how important it was until now. So I sold some jewelry I had, and I moved in with a friend of mine. She agreed to let me stay with her, but I have to pay rent and my Dad can’t pay my college tuition from the grave so I needed a job and the strip club was all I could get on such short notice that would let me work nights-“

Jackson let out a soft sigh. “You should have called me before you did something that drastic.”

Haeun closed her eyes and bowed her head. She knew she should have called Jackson. All her other rich friends had left her. None of them wanted to associate themselves with the daughter of a disgraced businessman anymore. Jackson wasn’t like the rest of them, but there was still something that had stopped her.

“I’m not used to asking for help,” she admitted, ashamed. Her hands trembled. It was true. She’d never asked people for help, never had to beg for favors. Everything was handed to her the moment she wanted it, and Lee Haeun had never bowed her head in front of anyone before. “I… I’ve never felt so scared, Jackson. I never knew what a scary place the world was, how people treat you when they don’t need you anymore, when they suddenly decide you’re trash, I…”

She broke out into choked sobs, unable to say anything comprehensible. Jackson shifted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. His heart was breaking, watching her cry. It felt so real, so ugly, and he wished he could do anything to comfort her. Haeun didn’t deserve this. Nobody deserved this.

“You’re okay,” he told her gently. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. You don’t have to worry. I’m here for you. You have me. You’re not alone. Just say the word and I’ll take care of anything you need.”

Haeun clutched onto Jackson, unable to control her tears. It had been a long time since somebody had held her like this. After the whirlwind of the last few weeks, it felt oddly safe and comforting to have Jackson hold her tightly and whisper comforting words in her ear. His familiar scent, his deep voice was the only remainder of a life that had completely turned upside down. Her sobs slowly subsided and she wasn’t sure how long they sat in silence with him rubbing her back gently.

She slowly pulled away from him and wiped her tears.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong.”

There was a long silence. Jackson looked down at her and noticed that the cup of coffee he’d made her was lying untouched on the coffee table. He reached down to grab it. “I’ll heat this up-“

“Don’t go.”

He looked at her in surprise. Haeun was holding onto the edge of his shirt, looking at him with a broken expression. She didn’t want him to leave, didn’t want him to take even a step away from her. She knew it made her look pathetic, but Haeun was so desperate for human comfort that she would do anything at that point. Jackson looked down at her. “What’s wrong-“

“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered. “I thought I could handle it, but being truly alone is terrifying, Jackson. Please don’t leave me.”

Jackson grabbed her and pulled her closer before kissing her hard. He wasn’t sure what made him do it. Haeun was attractive, yes, but seeing her so vulnerable and broken in front of him made him suddenly want to protect her. For a moment, Jackson wished he could wrap her up in his arms and shield her from the outside world. Haeun’s confidence was sexy, but her vulnerability was heartbreaking.

Haeun let her fingers slide into his hair as she kissed him back. It felt familiar, comfortable to be kissing Jackson and she let herself melt into his arms. She knew it was stupid. Jackson couldn’t do anything to save her, but she wanted to pretend for a few moments that nothing had changed.

He gently pulled away, his hands coming up to frame her face as he mumbled. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Haeun bit her lip and nodded. “Yes.”

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Haeun woke in the early hours of the morning. The soft silken sheets were unfamiliar, but she knew exactly where she was. Pulling them up to cover her bare chest, she rolled over quietly.

Jackson was sitting on the bed beside her. His knees were pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them as he rocked back and forth slowly. Haeun felt something churn in her stomach as she saw the distant look in his wide-open eyes. Jackson’s mind was clearly far away as he stared steadily at the blank wall across from him. What is he thinking about? Why is he awake? She reached up and gently placed her hand on his bare back.

“Jackson?”

He jumped, turning to look at her. Jackson’s gaze softened at the sight of a sleepy Haeun blinking at him and he smiled. “Hey. You’re awake. Are you hungry? I have some extra toothbrushes in the bathroom so you can shower, and we can go out to get breakfast-“

She bit her lip, wondering if she’d imagined the troubled look in his eyes. He seemed fine now.

“I have work,” she admitted softly.

“What can you possibly do at the strip club on a Saturday morning?” he demanded, bewildered.

“Not the strip club. I got another part-time job at a café on weekends. I’ll work there during the day and after my shift at the café, I’ll go to the strip club.” Haeun sounded exhausted even as she said the words. Jackson gave her a sharp look. He was pretty sure that Haeun was overworking herself. Yes, she needed money, but she had gone from never having worked a day in her life to working two jobs along with college. It was quite clear to him that she was losing her mind, but he didn’t know how to tell her this.

“Haeun, do you really need two jobs?” he asked, incredulously.

Haeun felt a burst of irritation. “Do you think money comes out of thin air, Jackson?”

“No, but you can’t seriously expect to manage everything on your own. I know there are people who manage multiple jobs and college, but you’ve never been one of them, you’ve never worked so hard. You just lost your father and you’re not even giving yourself time to grieve. So take it slow. You might just kill yourself from exhaustion-“

“What should I do, then? Should I starve to death while I grieve?” she demanded, voice cracking.

Jackson gave her a pained look. He didn’t want to upset her, but her insistence on doing everything by herself was scaring him. Haeun didn’t seem to be aware of the limits of her own capabilities. “You’re not going to starve to death. Do you think I would let that happen to you? I wouldn’t. Just trust me and take things slow for a while, let yourself rely on other people-“

“How do you plan to take care of me? With your money? You mean the money you got from your Dad, who in turn got it by fucking over people like mine?” she snapped.

Jackson was silent. Her words struck him hard, and he suddenly felt a wave of shame. Who was he to tell her what to do? It was his family that had put her in this position. His father had tipped off the authorities and led Lee Jangkyu to kill himself in shame. He was the reason the girl in front of him was in shambles.

Haeun regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. “Jackson, I didn’t mean that-“

“No, you’re… you’re right,” he said softly. He gave her a hesitant smile. “You’re right.”

“I’m not.” Tears were building in her eyes and she blinked down at the sheets, avoiding Jackson’s gaze. She wasn’t sure why her emotions had been so volatile lately. Haeun usually kept calm but for the past few days, she’d been saying things she didn’t mean and hurting people she didn’t want to. “I’m not right. It’s not like my father was innocent, he tried to cheat a bunch of investors too. And you’re only trying to help me, you’ve been so understanding-“

Jackson reached out and gently brushed his thumb across her face. He couldn’t look at the broken girl in front of him, knowing that there was almost nothing he could do to help her. “I want to help you.”

“Why?”

The question made him pause. Jackson hadn’t thought about why he was so determined to save Haeun. Did he love her? It was unlikely. Why was he so determined to do something for the girl, when nobody else seemed to care about her?

It was at that moment that Jackson Wang admitted something he’d been too scared to admit to anyone else; possibly even himself. He took a deep, shaky breath before answering.

“Because you’re living my worst nightmare.”

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Once you reach the top, the only way left is down.

Jackson felt uncomfortable as he walked down the luxurious corridors of his father’s company building, past huge glass walls and smooth elevators with a city view. He usually avoided coming here. The atmosphere was too serious, the employees all whispered behind his back and looked terrified when he addressed them. Oddly enough, he used to love playing in these same corridors as a child and letting the employees fuss over how cute he was.

Until the day he came to realize what the building represented, and it made him feel trapped. Until the day he realized the nice employees weren’t there to play with him, they were working their asses off day and night just to please his family.

He reached his brother’s office and ignored Chansung’s pretty PA. The woman opened her mouth, but said nothing as Jackson walked past her. Jackson was a nice guy, but he had a reputation for doing what he wanted and not letting anybody stop him. It was fruitless to try and prevent him from entering Chansung’s office if he wanted to. Jackson walked inside and stopped in front of Chansung’s desk, where the older man was sitting in front of his laptop.

“Jackson?” he asked, looking only mildly surprised.

Jackson was stiff. “Hyung, I need to talk to you.”

Chansung merely leaned back in his seat and raised an eyebrow. He was busy, he had enormous amounts of work to do, but he knew Jackson was persistent. It was better to deal with him sooner than later.

“I figured I might see you,” Chansung mused. “I hear you managed to track down Lee Jangkyu’s daughter and even took her home. Sleep with her all you want, but be careful. Women like that can’t handle having their lavish lifestyle taken away from them; they’re always looking for a way back in.”

“We did that to her,” Jackson said stiffly.

“The man killed himself, Jackson. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. Like I told you earlier, I’ve been dealing with the aftermath of that messy scandal all week-“

“You mean counting how much money we made off it?”

Chansung placed his elbows on the desk, and frowned. “Yeah, we made money off it. Most of their clients and contracts fell to us once it was discovered that their company had defaulted. Why do you think father gave you the money to buy that new car last week? Look… forget about this and go get your girlfriend a gift to cheer her up, okay?”

Jackson closed his eyes. He knew that Chansung would show no sympathy. The two of them hadn’t gotten along in years. Chansung was almost always at work and Jackson never went anywhere near it. At least, not until now. He had decided that there was a limit to how much ignorance he could feign when it came to the man who sponsored his life. “What father did… it’s illegal, right? He sold his stake in Lee Jangkyu’s company because he knew it was going to go down once they exposed Lee Jangkyu. That’s insider trading.”

Chansung raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you know what insider trading is.”

“You’ve both committed a crime. What if the regulatory authorities get wind of that? How will we be any different from Lee Jangkyu and his family? Won’t we lose everything? Aren’t you worried?”

“I can see you are.”

Jackson hesitated. “That’s not-“

“You don’t make money in this world by playing fair, Jackson. It’s rather absurd that you’re 22 years old, and you don’t even seem to know that. Don’t worry yourself so much. Lee Jangkyu was stupid and trusting; father is neither. Besides, father’s been in a good mood since the scandal. Try asking him for that yacht you wanted last year and he might just buy it for you.”

Jackson felt sick as he walked out of Chansung’s office and stormed down the corridor into the bathrooms that he knew were at the end. He stood in front of the sink, feeling his heartbeat thud. He had known that his father’s company wasn’t exactly squeaky clean but the truth had never hit him this hard. One wrong move and I could be Haeun, he realized suddenly. This stupid company meant everything to his family and Jackson had no doubt that his family would fall apart just as badly as Haeun’s had, it anything were to happen to it. How would he live? How would he manage?

What if one day… it all just disappeared?

Jackson suddenly came to the realization that if things started falling, they wouldn’t just fall a little- they would crumble all the way to the ground, until all that was left was dust. He could suddenly picture it vividly in his mind. Authorities seizing his apartment, selling his car in an auction, his father being sentenced to prison while his mother cried, Chansung fleeing to another country to avoid prosecution. The papers talking about how the playboy Wang Jackson was now reduced to the streets.  

Oh, shit. 

Jackson wasn’t ready to lose everything. He just wasn’t ready.

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Haeun felt her head throb with exhaustion as she finally pulled the apron over her head and tossed it into the locker. The coffee shop was much easier work than the strip club. At least here, she was behind a counter and nobody could grope her. The worst customers could do was grumble if their order took too long. All the same, she’d been on her feet since 9 am and it was more than her body was used to handling.

I shouldn’t have stopped doing yoga, she mused to herself. She was suddenly reminded of the fancy, overpriced yoga studio that she and her ‘friends’ had frequented in her first year of college to get more fit. They ended up spending more time in the spa above it than doing any actual yoga. The memories seemed much farther away than they actually were; almost like a dream that was hazy.

“Oh my god. Haeun-unnie, there’s someone waiting for you outside. Do you have a sugar daddy, or something?” one of the younger waitresses chirped, coming into the back room with bright eyes. She had seen Jackson’s fancy sports car outside the café and freaked. “He’s so gorgeous!”

Another waitress scoffed. “Yah. If she had a sugar daddy, would she be working in a place like this?”    

“It’s probably just a friend,” Haeun mumbled, as she gathered her belongings quickly. She’d only been working here a week, and her co-workers had no idea that she was the daughter of Lee Jangkyu. She hadn’t been much of a socialite, and none of the papers which mentioned her after the scandal had managed to get hold of her picture. She wished Jackson could be a little discreet for once in his life. “I’ll be leaving. Good work today, everyone.”

“Good work!”

Haeun hurried out of the restaurant and saw Jackson’s sleek, black sports car in the parking lot of the café. She bit her lip and walked over to him. He stepped out and walked around the car, holding the passenger side door open for her with a grin. “Took you long enough to come outside. I thought that fellow waitress of yours was going to combust when she saw me.”

Haeun sighed. “Can you not come here and make a scene at my workplace?”

“What scene? I didn’t do anything. I was just waiting outside. Come on, it’s really cold out here. Get in.”

Haeun glanced warily into the car and sighed. She was tired, and she wasn’t sure if she was in the mood for whatever Jackson wanted to do. But he was giving her his usual cheerful grin and she couldn’t bring herself to say no. “Where to?” she wondered.

“Shopping. I need some new clothes and I want a woman’s opinion.”

“Jackson, I’m tired-“

“Come on! You’re one of the few people I know who has taste, and you’re the only female friend I have who isn’t a stripper. Not that there’s anything wrong with strippers. It’s just that the ones I know don’t have the best sense of fashion.”

Haeun got into the car, ignoring the wide grin that Jackson was giving her. She couldn’t say no. He was one of the few people in her life who actually seemed to want to spend time with her. She wondered how the ever-popular Jackson could be free enough on a Saturday night to want to go shopping with her.

“Am I seriously your only female friend?” she wondered, frowning.

“Let’s just say you’re the only one with class.”

Haeun folded her arms across her chest and grumbled. “I wouldn’t know about that. I stopped thinking I had class after the day I sucked you off in a five-year old’s bedroom at the Foreign Affairs Minster’s bungalow last year.”

Jackson turned and winced. “Yah. You think that was a good memory for me? I kept trying to look down at your face, but you were kneeling on a huge Winnie-the-Pooh carpet and I came to the sight of a fat, yellow bear belly.” He turned and gave her a cheeky grin. “Hey. I’d say you and I have fucked around in more rich people’s houses than anyone else in this country, wouldn’t you?”

Haeun couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Probably.”

There was a brief silence and Jackson turned to look at her with a surprisingly gentle smile. “But yeah,” he said finally. “You’re my only female friend. You’re one of my only friends. I think along with Jinyoung and Jaebum, you’re the person I want to spend time with the most right now. Maybe even more than them.”

She was a little surprised to hear him say this. She knew that Jackson didn’t have many close friends; she didn’t either. It was a common thing when you were among the elite to not have a peer group you genuinely cared for. Then again, Jackson usually said whatever was on his mind. “Of course you like me more. I’m pretty sure neither of them has ever given you the blow job of your life.”

“You really don’t let that go, do you?”

They pulled into the parking lot of whatever designer store Jackson wanted to go to. Haeun bit her lip as she followed Jackson inside. This was an extremely expensive place. She’d found a lot of the stuff here pricey, even back when she could afford stuff like this. Jackson didn’t seem to be bothered, though. He simply waved a hand and greeted one of the store employees who came running over.

“Bambam! Hey, how’s it going?” they exchanged a high five. Haeun watched as Jackson interacted with the slightly baby-faced (yet disturbingly tall) younger boy, wondering how they knew each other. This Bambam guy was even addressing Jackson casually as hyung, and they seemed close.

“Haeun, this is Bambam. Bambam, Haeun,” Jackson introduced them casually.

Bambam gave her a polite bow. “Is she your girlfriend, hyung?”

Haeun scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Trust me. If he had a girlfriend, he would not be allowed to visit strip clubs as often as he does now.”

“Strip clubs aren’t cheating.”

“Is that what you guys tell yourselves?”

Bambam looked at her with a big grin, seemingly amused at her snappy personality. He led them further into the shop, past rows of counters which were selling expensive makeup and perfumes. She took a deep whiff of something that smelled pleasantly flowery and smiled to herself. Jackson noticed and blinked at her. “You like the smell of that?” he wondered.

Haeun blinked. “Huh? No, it’s just… It’s Chanel. My Dad gifted me that perfume on my 13th birthday, it was the first perfume I ever owned,” she admitted quietly. She still remembered him giving it to her, expecting her to be happy and excited but all she had done was complain that it smelled too strongly of jasmine. Her father had looked slightly hurt for a moment, and Haeun had felt so bad that she’d followed him into his office to apologize and give him a big hug. It was one of the few good memories she shared with her father, and the only way she knew that even though he was never around, he tried to love her in his own way. The scent suddenly brought back those memories.

Bambam didn’t notice how Haeun had suddenly gone quiet and how her eyes had glazed over slightly. He just nodded, sniffing the air thoughtfully. “Oh yeah. Ah-Reum- the girl who works at the perfume counter- seriously loves that shit. She sprays the Chanel tester around like it’s air freshener, the manager’s always yelling at her. Do you want to look at some perfumes?”

Jackson nodded. “Yeah, let’s look at perfumes.”

“What? No-“

“Ah-Reum!” Bambam called out, getting the attention of a young female employee who was standing near the perfume counters and trying to pretend like she wasn’t eavesdropping on them. She had light streaks of color in her dark hair and a cute smile as she greeted them.

“Ah- hello- Jackson-oppa.” Ah-Reum greeted him politely. The girl’s cheeks were flushed slightly pink and Haeun wondered if most of the younger girls Jackson came across treated the rich, handsome heir this way. Jackson didn’t seem to notice how flustered she was. He simply gave her his usual friendly grin.

“Ah-Reum! I see your hair is purple this week. Did you get it dyed again?”

She flushed. “Yeah, I… I felt like a change.”

“It suits you. Actually, everything suits you except that bright yellow you once tried,” he joked lightly. He pointed across the counter at a display of perfumes that was spread behind her. “Is that the perfume? The Chanel one?”

“Yes, that’s Chanel No. 5. It’s a classic; it’s been around for a really long time and it has hints of sandalwood, which is really rare. Do you want me to spray the tester for you?” she asked eagerly, holding up the tester bottle which looked close to empty. Bambam was muttering something about how she’d sprayed enough of it in the air and they could all smell it already, but Jackson nodded.

“Yes, please.”

Haeun tugged at his sleeve. “I thought we came here to buy you clothes. Why are we looking at women’s perfumes?”

Jackson glanced at her sideways. “Okay, I lied. I don’t really need any clothes. I just planned to blow a shitload of money tonight because I feel like it. How much does this Chanel stuff cost? Excellent. Get me a bigger bottle of that, please, Ah-Reum. Hey. What happened to that guy who used to work in the jewelry department? Mingyu? Let’s go say hi to him…”

Haeun felt her stomach turn. “Jackson, what are you doing?”

He glanced at her. “I’m shopping-“

“No, who the fuck is that huge-ass bottle of Chanel perfume for?” she demanded.

“You, obviously.”

Haeun felt a burst of irritation. What was wrong with him? He’d brought her here saying he wanted her advice on clothes, but it was a pity trip? What the hell was she even supposed to do with an enormous bottle of Chanel No. 5? She opened her mouth to protest but Jackson was already walking away, following Bambam over to the jewelry section. She turned to Ah-Reum and gave her an apologetic look.

“Please don’t pack that. I can’t afford it,” she told her frankly.

Ah-Reum blinked. “I’m pretty sure Jackson-oppa’s paying for it-“

“No, please don’t pack it.”

“Oh-okay.”

Haeun hurried to follow Jackson, who was leaning over a counter with jewelry in it; unsurprisingly, women’s jewelry. He grinned at her as he pointed at a pair of pretty earrings with blue stones in them. “Yah. What do you think of those?” he asked. “Mingyu says they’re white gold, pretty classy, right? I’ve seen you wearing stuff like this before. Or do you like those twisty-looking silver ones better?”

“Can I please talk to you outside?” Haeun asked, her voice trembling.

Jackson barely glanced at her, his face almost pressing against the display glass. “Sure, but let’s pick one of these earrings, first. Oh! Show me those, I like the uh, those little dangly bits. What do you call those? They look pretty. Haeun-ah, try these on in front of that mirror over there.”

“Jackson.”

“What-“

“Is this funny to you?” Haeun asked, in a low voice. Anger was bubbling in the pit of her stomach and she suddenly couldn’t control it anymore. She would have slapped him, but she was conscious of both Bambam and Mingyu watching her closely. “Are you enjoying yourself? Throwing around your money and buying me perfumes that cost more than I could make in an entire year?”

Jackson blinked at her. “Yah. Can’t I buy my friend a present?”

“Not like this.”

“Why not? I buy Bambam stuff all the time. Right, Bambam? Remember that watch I got you last month?” he demanded, gesturing toward the younger boy who looked a little startled. Jackson turned and raised his eyebrows at Haeun. “Why can’t I buy you something? This money means nothing to me.”

Haeun closed her eyes. “I’m leaving.”

“What? Where are you-“

She ignored him, turning and walking out of the store without looking back. Her ears were burning in humiliation. What was wrong with him? Did he seriously think that the way he was behaving was okay, that he could bring someone who’d lost her father and her entire livelihood and show her all the things she’d never be able to afford again? Was he mocking her- look, you can’t afford this stuff anymore, you need someone like me to buy it for you? Haeun wrapped her arms around herself as tears came to her eyes. It was freezing cold outside and she’d barely made it to the end of the parking lot when Jackson grabbed her arm.

“Yah! Where the hell are you running off to- Lee Haeun! Stop!”

Haeun whirled around and glared at him, her eyes red. “Do you really think that your behavior back there was acceptable? Are you blind, or have you not seen me working my ass off, doing two jobs and giving up sleep and a social life in order to make minimum wage? Was I supposed to smile happily while you blew off money that could have bought someone groceries or food for an entire year?”  

Jackson looked angry. “I was trying to cheer you up-“

Haeun scoffed. “Cheer me up? I’m feeling humiliated because of you!”

“What’s there to feel humiliated about? I want to help you, I know you’ve been working your ass off and when I can afford this shit, then it means more to me that I can make you happy-“

“I don’t want your charity!”

There was a long silence. Jackson was quiet for a moment. His lighthearted expression had disappeared and his lips pressed together tightly. Haeun was staring at the ground in front of her, eyes filling rapidly with tears. He reached out to touch her shoulder.

“You are not charity.” His voice was firm.  

“It feels like it,” Haeun whispered. Her voice trembled. “Everything feels like charity. Nothing about this feels real anymore. I don’t belong here. I hate this life, now. I hate everything. I just want to get my college degree and get the hell out of this place.”

Jackson’s fingers on her shoulders tightened slightly. His gaze was soft. “You’re emotional. And that’s understandable considering everything you’re been through recently- with your father… your father passing, and-“

“Passing? He killed himself,” Haeun stated harshly.

Jackson flinched. “Yah, don’t-“

“Don’t what? Say it as it is? Reality has been hitting me pretty hard these days, Jackson. I’m tired of sugarcoating things. My Dad got scammed, lost everything he had and then hung himself in his fancy office. I have nothing left except my Mom; and even she’s losing her shit. I used to have two loving parents, my own car and chauffeur but now I take the bus alone, while people who used to know me stare at me with pity.”

Jackson lifted one of his hands to her cheek gently. “I’m not going to pretend I know what you’re going through-“

“Then don’t. Leave me alone. I can’t live in this world anymore. Stop buying me stuff. Stop trying to drive me everywhere in your car. Stop trying to make me feel like nothing’s changed. Everything has changed. I can’t slack my way through college like you. I have to take a student loan to pay the rest of my tuition. I have to work during all my free time.” Haeun took a deep, shaky breath. “Being friends with you is a luxury I can’t emotionally afford.”

“Are you stupid? Having friends isn’t a luxury, it’s-“

“Please.” Haeun’s voice was trembling. “Watching you spend money left and right while I have to work for every penny makes me feel bitter and jaded. I don’t want to resent you. You’re the only person that’s tried to help me since my life went to hell, but… I can’t, Jackson. Having you around is only making me more miserable.”

Jackson’s eyes flickered to the ground in shame.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I used to be just like you, at one point but I just can’t handle that-“  

“I’m scared, okay?” he blurted out. His hands were trembling and he looked up at her wide eyes. Haeun paused; she had never seen Jackson look so vulnerable. His voice cracked as he spoke. “I’m scared to death. Everything scares me these days. I’m scared that you’re not going to be okay, that you’re going to hurt yourself trying to manage everything on your own. I want to help you, I want to get you out of this situation you’re in. But then I remember… what the fuck can I possibly do for you? If things had been just a little different, it could be me in your place. It could still happen to me. I can lose everything just the way you did, so how can I possible guarantee you anything when I myself have nothing to my name?”

“Jackson…”

“I want to help you feel more secure,” he whispered. “I want to get you out of this, I want to make you feel safe again. But I realized today that I can’t do that when I’m so insecure and unsafe myself. When my own fortune and life could slip away from me any second.”

Haeun bit her lip. “Yah. These things don’t happen to everyone-“

“Don’t comfort me. I’d feel pretty pathetic seeking comfort from you, when you’re the one suffering in all of this,” he said, running a hand over his face. Jackson took a deep breath and looked at her, pleading. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess. But please don’t get mad at me and walk away, I can’t handle that.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You just weren’t listening to me.”

“I’ll listen. I’m sorry.”

Haeun stepped forward and hugged him, her arms tightening around his waist while he nuzzled his head into her neck gently. She could imagine how vulnerable Jackson was feeling. To be poor, to have to work hard to pay bills… that was one sort of difficulty, but living in a constant state of fear that you could lose everything was almost equally painful. She stroked his back gently, closing her eyes and letting herself fall into his embrace.

Once you reach the top, the only way left is down.

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Haeun wished she could spend time with Jackson more often, but she just didn’t have the time.

As her graduation neared, her academics were getting more difficult. She had to submit papers, give exams and manage her GPA; all while avoiding the fact that she was the college’s hottest gossip. While all of Seoul might not have been able to recognize her, the chaebol Lee Jangkyu’s daughter was popular enough in her own University. It wasn’t easy to walk around campus alone, feeling eyes watching her every move with pity and disdain.

Her phone rang just as she reached the bus stop, books heavy in her arms.

“Jackson?” she answered.

“Hey!” he sounded more cheerful than he usually did. “Where are you?”

“Uh, I’m at the bus stop near my university. Why-“

“Stay there, don’t move.”

She sighed and hung up, smiling to herself at Jackson’s overdramatic personality. He often seemed frivolous and overbearing but Haeun had started to see Jackson differently in the past few weeks. Maybe because he was more sensitive than everyone seemed to think, and she’d caught a glimpse of the insecurities he hid so well under his mask of cheerfulness. Maybe his overbearing personality and tendency to pester people were only because he was afraid to be left alone.

Maybe, like Haeun, Jackson was really lonely.

He pulled up near the bus stop in his black sports car, and opened the passenger side door for her. Haeun got in, giving him a small smile. She hadn’t seen him much since the past couple of weeks, but Jackson had a huge smile on his face. He glanced at her books and rolled his eyes playfully.

“What’s with all those? Are you coming from the library? Nerd. All you business majors are the same,” Jackson complained. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I have a test tomorrow,” Haeun admitted, as Jackson started the car in the direction of her flat. “I haven’t seen you in a while. I tried calling you over the weekend but you didn’t answer. Is that how Jackson Wang really is? He bugs the shit out of you when you’re busy but ignores you when you actually want to talk to him?” she demanded playfully.

“Yah… I was busy,” he whined.

“Doing what? Irritating people other than me?”

He sighed, and shook his head lightly. “You know, one day you’re going to learn how sharp your words are, Lee Haeun. Anyway. I was in the area and I thought I’d drop you off at home. What are you doing tonight? Don’t tell me you’re going to study or I swear to god, I will drive this car into that tree.”

Haeun gave him a small smile. “It’s Friday. I have a shift at the strip club.”

He nodded. “How’s that going?”

“Fine. Considering the manager is convinced there’s something going on between us, so he never dares to scold me and all the other waitresses hate me. I think one or two of the strippers think I’m intruding on their territory too. But other than that, yeah. It’s all sunshine and rainbows.”

Jackson gave her a sideways glance. “I would sound like a really big jerk if I told you that I didn’t like you working there, right?”  

Haeun shrugged. “Not if you can find me another job that pays as well and lets me work nights.”

“Yeah, fine. I won’t interfere. But there’s something that I kind of want to talk to you about. Although maybe tonight wasn’t a good idea anyway, Jaebum asked me and Jinyoung to have drinks at his place. His girlfriend’s out of town and he’s been all needy.”

“Jackson Wang is going to talk about being needy?”

He laughed sarcastically, rolling  his eyes. “Yeah, fine, laugh at me. Seriously, though. Give me a call whenever you have some time, okay? It’s kind of important. And a little urgent, too.”

“Now you’re scaring me.”

He chuckled as he pulled up near her apartment, giving her a soft smile. His eyes were shining slightly and Haeun suddenly realized that there was a glow in them; something she had never seen before. For the first time since she’d met him, Jackson looked truly happy. Maybe he wasn’t smiling as widely as he usually did, or laughing as loudly but there was something different about him.

“Jackson,” she said gently.

He blinked at her. “Hmm?”

“Nothing. Thanks for the ride. I’ll give you a call, okay?”

He nodded as she got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of her apartment, glancing back at the black sports car that was sitting still at the side of the road.

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Haeun sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples as she cleared away the used glasses from the table. She’d gotten stuck serving a huge group of girls who seemed to be on some kind of bachelorette party; they certainly weren’t going easy on the male strippers and drinks. They were pushing one girl in particular (possibly the bride) to keep taking shots of tequila and Haeun was mildly worried that the girl was going to puke all over the table soon.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked, trying to be heard over the girls’ squealing as one of the male strippers on stage neared them.

Luckily, one of the girls heard her. “Yeah! We want more tequila. Let’s see. One for the bride, two, three, four… Cho Hee, will you drink another one? No? Okay. Four shots of tequila please!” she ordered happily.

Haeun nodded and headed back to the bar, just in time to see a new group of people enter the club. Her eyes brightened as she recognized Jackson; hadn’t he said that he was going to meet friends? He spotted her almost immediately with his quick eyes and waved at her happily. “Haeun! Over here! Hey guys, meet Haeun. This is Jinyoung and Jaebum, my best buddies!”

Haeun greeted them politely with a slight bow. Jinyoung looked extremely smart; he wasn’t really dressed for a club, wearing a comfortable beige sweater and a pair of glasses that suited a trip to the library more than a night at a strip club. Jaebum looked a little cooler in a plain shirt and leather jacket; but Haeun’s eyes widened as soon as she saw him.

“Oh; Jaebum-ssi, haven’t we met before?” Haeun asked lightly.

Jaebum blinked at her. “Sorry?”

“I’m Park Miran’s friend from high school, you both came to my birthday party last year. How’s she doing? I haven’t heard from her in a long time. Although I’ve been kind of busy, so-“

Jaebum wasn’t listening to her. He was looking around the strip club nervously, eyes lingering a little too long on the strippers that were dancing on stage. He cleared his throat and turned to her with wide eyes that seemed slightly drunk already. “Strip clubs aren’t cheating, right? Is it okay to be in a strip club if you have a girlfriend?”

Haeun hesitated. “Uh…”

“Yah, relax. You guys go get a table,” Jackson told them, clapping Jaebum on the back and sending both him and Jinyoung away. He turned to Haeun with a big grin. “Yah. Can you serve our table? We’re not going to drink a lot, we pre-boozed already. I just wanted to show this place to my buddies because they never come out with me.”

Haeun shrugged. “Sorry. I have my hands full with that bachelorette party over there. You guys will probably get Mina. Be careful with her. She cussed you out last time when you didn’t leave a big enough tip. I don’t think you’re her favorite customer anymore.”

Jackson nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you around. Take a break and sit with us if you have time. This might be my last time coming here and blowing money on this place.”

Haeun stared at him. “The last? Why?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m thinking I might stop spending money on stuff like this.”

“You’re not… you’re not dying, are you?”

“Very funny,” he said, rolling his eyes before he turned to leave. “I’ll see you later.”

Haeun nodded, turning around to get the tequila for her table. The bachelor-party girls were getting wilder by the second, and a couple of them had diverted their attention from the strippers and were eyeing up Jackson and his friends. Haeun couldn’t help but giggle as she watched the boys down more and more drinks from a distance. So much for ‘not going to drink a lot’. Haeun was amused as she passed Mina, and the older waitress looked annoyed.

“What the hell is wrong with Jackson’s friends?” she complained. “The broad-shouldered one starts freaking out whenever one of the strippers gets anywhere near him; you’d think they were going to rape him or something. The nerdy one seemed cute but he literally hasn’t said a word all night and he looks like he might just murder the bachelorette party.”

Haeun giggled. No wonder Jackson’s friends were as eccentric as him.

“Yeah? Well, we should start taking the final orders. I feel like we might have to get the bouncers to make the bachelorette party leave so that we can close up; they’re not done partying yet. The bar’s going to close  in ten,” she pointed out. Mina nodded and hurried away to inform the other customers that the bar was going to shut and that it was the final performance of the night. Haeun winced as she realized that one of the bachelorette girls had actually managed to puke in a corner; she was going to have to clean that up now.

Great. She sighed and went to get a mop and baking soda to clean it up, while the bouncers ushered the girls out. She had just begun to clean up the mess when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist lightly. She jumped, but the familiar smell of cologne and the expensive watch on the hand that was resting on her stomach told her that it was just Jackson.

“Yah. What are you doing?” she asked with a small laugh.

Jackson hummed lightly against the back of her neck. His voice was slightly slurred. “Hugging you. You’re kind of soft and warm. Have I ever told you that? You’re really soft. I love how soft you are. You’re really soft, Haeun. I’ve always wanted to hug you but I thought it was kind of weird.”

She felt her cheeks flush, but rolled her eyes. “I thought you weren’t going to drink much?”

“I wasn’t, but Jaebum kept drinking and I couldn’t lose to him.”

“Isn’t he still dating Park Miran? Is that why he seemed so guilty about being at a strip club?” Haeun wondered, thinking of her high school friend. They hadn’t seen each other in a while. She wondered if she should call Miran. It might be a little amusing to tell her about the antics her boyfriend had pulled while she was out of town. “Jackson, let go of me.”

“You’re soft. And you’re really pretty,” he hummed.

“I’m cleaning up puke, Jackson. If you push me forward any further, I’m going to step in it.”

“You’d be pretty even if you were covered in puke.”

Haeun bit her lip and pushed him off her lightly. Weirdly enough, even though Jackson was a flirt and had no qualms about proposing sex, he’d never called her pretty before. His words were making her flustered and she pushed him to sit down in an empty chair before finishing cleaning up the puke. He watched her silently, an unreadable expression in his slightly hazy eyes. When she was done and put away the cleaning materials, he stumbled to his feet.

“I’ll take you home-“ he began to say.

Haeun laughed. “Yeah, very funny. You are not driving in that drunken state. Hand over your keys, mister, I’m driving you home tonight.”

Jackson pouted but handed over his car keys obediently. They began to walk towards the entrance, Jackson stumbling slightly on his own feet. They had barely reached the door when the manager called out for Haeun to meet him. She sighed and glanced at Jackson. “Wait for me outside,” she told him firmly, before heading over to her manager.

“Good work today, Haeun,” the manager told her, handing her a white envelope.

She blinked at him. “Oh. Thank you. Uh, and this is…?”

He looked slightly amused. “It’s pay-day, darling. That’s your salary. Now get out of here, it’s getting late.”

Haeun nodded, turning to head towards the door as she held the white envelope between her fingers. She bit her lip and stared down it for a moment. She’d never gotten a salary before. It was the first money she’d made on her own, the first time someone had paid her for her hard work. It felt… unusually satisfying. Haeun smiled to herself as she tucked the envelope into her purse and found Jackson waiting outside, shivering in the cold.

“So much for drinking,” he grumbled. “This weather sobered me up in an instant.”

“I’m still not letting you drive.”

“Fine, whatever, just open the car so my balls don’t freeze and fall off,” he complained, jumping into the passenger seat as soon as Haeun unlocked his car. She smiled and started it up, pulling out of the parking lot as a thought occurred to her.

“Yah. Have you eaten?” she asked him.

Jackson blinked. “Not really. I was drinking most of the night. Why?”

“Let’s grab dinner.”

“It’s 2 am.”

“We can go to one of those all-night diners. I know one a few blocks away from here that’s always open, and they serve the best burgers. It’s my treat.”

He raised an eyebrow, a small smile appearing on his face. “Your treat?”

She blushed and bit her lip. “I know it’s not much… but I got my first paycheck just now and I want to treat you to something. It’s not that great and the cheap burgers just might give you indigestion at this time of night, but… I kind of want to do it. Please?” she asked softly.

Jackson glanced at her, before turning to glance at the window. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “Well, if you asked me like that then I’d even give you a kidney. Yeah, let’s go to your diner.”

Haeun smiled as she turned the car around and headed towards the diner. She knew it was kind of stupid, but she wanted to share her first salary with Jackson. She probably wouldn’t have managed to make it this far if it wasn’t for him. Haeun had been on the brink of giving up and running back to her mother’s hometown in the countryside when Jackson had found her and showed her she wasn’t alone. A few burgers weren’t enough to make up for that, but it was a start.

They slipped into the near-empty diner and ordered their burgers before scooting closer to the heaters to warm up. Jackson was letting out rather odd-sounding moans as he pressed his frozen fingers to the warm machine and the waitress was giving them uncomfortable looks. Haeun couldn’t help but giggle.

“Yah. Shut up, you’re being too loud.”

Jackson ignored her. “I don’t care, I’m in heaven right now. Oh wow, this thing is so warmmm…”

“Why am I friends with you again?” she complained playfully.

“Because I have a heart of gold, and you know it. It could also be because of the sex. Is it the sex?”

Haeun flushed. “Shut up-“

“Oh, don’t give me that pretty blush like you’re all innocent, there’s nothing I don’t know about you,” he told her firmly, as he continued to press his fingers against the heater. Haeun leaned back in her seat and nodded. Maybe that was true. Jackson had seen more of her than she’d ever revealed to anyone else before… and he still seemed to like her. The thought made her feel warm inside. He was being a cocky drunk, but it was true. Jackson did have a heart of gold.

“Here are your burgers and coke. Enjoy,” the waitress placed their orders in front of them and then hurried away, probably disturbed by Jackson’s odd noises. He ignored her and stuffed the burger into his mouth, taking two huge bites and swallowing them fully, before he heard a soft sniffling noise from across him. His eyes widened as he looked at Haeun, her head bowed slightly as she stared at the burger she’d just nibbled.

“Are you crying?” Jackson demanded, sobering up faster than he had out in the cold.

Haeun laughed slightly and shook her head, reaching up to wipe away a tear and looking embarrassed. She sniffled as she hid her pink cheeks from him. “No, I’m not. I just…”

“Does it taste that bad?”

“It’s the first food I’ve ever bought with my own money,” she admitted quietly. She was aware that Jackson was staring at her, and she suddenly felt a little stupid. It was a dumb thing to cry about, wasn’t it? People ate with their own hard-earned money every day, nobody got all sentimental about it. She tried to blink back her tears and focus on the burger in front of her. She barely noticed that Jackson had stood up, walked around the table and slid into the booth beside her.  

“Jackson, what are you-“

“Fuck, why do you have to be so adorable?”

He kissed her, softly. His lips tasted slightly of alcohol and mayonnaise, but Haeun still felt her heart leap in her throat. It was a gentle, loving kiss that made her heartbeat thud. She’d never seen the look of adoration in Jackson’s eyes before and it made her entire body tingle with warmth. He chuckled slightly and pressed his lips to hers again.

“You deserve the world,” he told her softly, fingers coming up to stroke her cheek. “And you don’t know how badly I want to give it to you.”

Haeun bit her lip. “You don’t have to,” she whispered. “I think I’m happy right now.”

“Are you really?”

She looked at him and gave him a soft nod. “I miss my father,” she admitted quietly. “And the way he died still haunts me, because I loved him, but I think I can eventually learn to accept the way things are. What I miss most is the sense of security he always gave me, but… I think I can find that elsewhere now. I know that I can take care of myself and that I can survive in this world. And I know that I have you to survive along with me, so it’s okay.”

Jackson’s eyes shone. “I’ll always be next to you.”

“I know. I believe you. You’ve never let me down.”

“Will you let me love you?” he whispered.

Haeun felt her heart leap at the thought. It felt like a dream. A few months ago, the thought of Jackson Wang saying this to her would have made her laugh. The idea of love would have freaked her out; she had never been ready for something like that. Then again, life had thrown a lot of things her way when she wasn’t ready, and she’d managed them all.

Haeun gave him a soft smile. “Will me saying no really stop you?”

He grinned a little playfully, the smile on her face relaxing him. “I’m only asking out of politeness. It’s really too late to turn back at this point.”

“Then sure. Love me all you want.”

“Even if I couldn’t do anything for you besides love you?”

“I don’t want you to do anything for me besides love me.”

He kissed her again, and Haeun kissed him back this time, her fingers sliding into his hair and pulling him closer gently. His lips caressed hers softly and slowly until he finally pulled away and took a deep breath, blurting out the words that had been on his mind for a couple of days. He’d been looking for the right moment to say them, but there was no time like the present.

“I’m breaking away from my family.”

Haeun blinked at him. “What?”

“I don’t want to be a part of what they’re doing. I can’t live on the money that they got by cheating people and defrauding others; sitting and waiting for the day that they get caught for it all. I want to live by myself. The constant fear that it could all disappear…” Jackson took a deep, shaky breath. “I know things aren’t easy in the real world either. I could fail and lose everything either way. But I’d rather it was my own fault and because I couldn’t do it despite trying my best, than because I sat on my ass and didn’t do anything.”

Haeun stared at him. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly.

He nodded. “I’m positive. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks, now. I thought about what I could possibly do to make a living for myself and whether I could manage giving up all the luxuries I got because of my Dad. I realized that I could sacrifice just about anything… except for one.”

Haeun blinked at him. “What’s that?”

“Organic green tea.”

Haeun couldn’t help it; a giggle bubbled up in her throat and burst out. Jackson looked slightly offended and gave her a small pout. She was laughing at him. It took her a few seconds to digest the absurdity of his statement and realize that he wasn’t joking. Her smile fell as she stared at him. “You’re serious.”

He pouted slightly. “I am. I was wondering what the hell I could possibly do with my college degree in health sciences; I only majored in it so I could use it as an excuse to spend a lot of time in the gym. But I know a lot about organic food and healthy living. I noticed that this diner across the gym had closed down and the space is up for rent and I talked to the realtor. It doesn’t cost as much as you would think, they don’t have any takers.”

Haeun felt her heart skip a beat. Jackson was serious about this. For once in his life, he wasn’t joking at all. She could tell by the look in his eyes. “But… where will you get the money?” she demanded. “Are you going to ask your father?”

“I went to the bank for a business loan.”

“And?”

“And I talked to Chansung-hyung. He agreed to sign a guarantee for the loan. I know it’s not ideal, I wanted to break away from my family completely, but it’s not like I’m taking any money from him. He’s only signing as a guarantor in case I can’t pay it back. He probably thinks I’m going to flake out and come begging to him to repay the loan for me. But I won’t. The bank says they’ll grant me the loan once I get the document with Chansung’s guarantee and a concrete business plan.”

“But you don’t know anything about business.”

Jackson smiled. “I know. You’re the business major.”

Haeun stared at him for a long moment, as his words sunk in. Jackson was giving her a hesitant smile… he looked nervous, his eyes were wavering as he tried to maintain eyes contact with her. Haeun took a deep breath. “So you mean… you’re asking me to…?”

“Let’s do this together.”

Haeun felt her throat constrict. “It’s… it’s not as simple as you’re making it sound. Your idea is wildly optimistic at best. We need to do a lot of research first. Are there other organic stores in the area, how will we manage to attract customers? We’ll have to spend a lot on advertising, and importing organic goods from abroad could get expensive because of taxes. Although stuff like green tea is mostly non-perishable and has a long shelf life so we wouldn’t face any immediate losses even if we couldn’t sell and we could expand into perishables later…”

He gave her a soft smile. “See? That’s why I need you. Are you going to let me fuck this up by myself?”

Haeun nodded.

“Hell if I will. Let’s do it.”

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Haeun felt exhausted as she weaved through the crowded club, carrying trays of drinks and trying not to drop them despite drunken patrons bumping into her. They were having a special event for New Years’ Eve and the club was more crowded than Haeun had ever seen it in the few months she’d been working here. All the same, she’d managed to get herself a pay raise by working extra hours and staying behind to clean up.

The last few weeks had been hectic. She and Jackson had spent hours holed up in that stuffy all-night diner after her strip club shifts, drawing up business plans for the store. Jackson didn’t know much about handling a business or finances, but he learned quickly and deferred the major strategic decision-making to Haeun. On the other hand, his people skills were excellent. It was only after he’d made friends with the realtor and gotten the rent of the store reduced by almost a third that Haeun realized they made an excellent team.

Of course, things hadn’t been easy. Jackson closed the bank account into which his father used to deposit money, and sold his car. He even moved out of the penthouse apartment, shifting into a more modest apartment with Jinyoung. Jinyoung grumbled a little about how messy Jackson was as a roommate, but he didn’t seem to mind too much. It was only temporary until the store opened and started making some profits.  

“Haeun! Clean up table 4!”

She rushed to the table to clear it quickly, feeling her head spinning. She was exhausted. After her classes, she’d gone straight to the store where they were renovating the repainting the whole thing. Jackson was doing a lot of the physical labor, but there were other things to look into. Haeun mechanically cleaned up the table and tossed the trash away, when her manager grabbed her arm.

“Haeun. Do you want to leave?” he asked her kindly.

Haeun froze. “Can I?” She’d been roped into working tonight because most of the other waitresses were unwilling to work on New Year’s Eve and she couldn’t deny the bonus. But she was exhausted and it was nearing midnight and she really just wanted to see Jackson. “I thought you needed me to work, we’re not closing yet-“

“Mina turned up, she doesn’t mind taking the rest of the shift. Her date for the night stood her up, apparently.”

Haeun nodded. “Okay. If she wants to…”

“Okay. Finish that clean-up and you can leave.”

She beamed and rushed to finish it before tossing her apron in the back room and hurrying out. She was in a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt that she’d been wearing all day, but she didn’t particularly care. She grabbed her phone and stuck it between her shoulder and her ear while tying her hair hurriedly.

“Hey, baby!”

“Jackson! Where are you? Are you still at the pub with your friends?”

“Nah, those bastards all left me for their girlfriends already. I’m near the park because I heard there was a fireworks show starting at midnight. Aren’t you working?”

“I just got off,” she told him happily.

“Seriously? Well, hurry up and come to the park, it’s almost midnight!”

“I’m coming!”

Haeun half-ran to get a cab and hurry over to the park, where a lot of people were already gathering for the firework show. She managed to spot Jackson standing alone near a tree, arms folded across his chest as he looked up at the still-dark sky. Haeun rushed over to him and snaked her arms around him from behind, giggling lightly.

“Hi, handsome.”

Jackson turned around and beamed at her. “Hey! Damn it, I thought you would miss the firework show because you had to work. I was getting ready to pity myself for being all alone on a magical night like this, and everything. I even brought some booze in a paper bag to seem more lonely. Look.”

Haeun huffed. “Jackson, there are children here. Put that away.”

“Sorry. I just wanted to look the part.”

“Of what, a hobo?” she demanded, rolling her eyes. Her wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled into his side and inhaled his familiar scent. They sat in silence for a few moments, as Haeun’s mind whirred. It had been a long day but she was relieved that they could finally spend New Years’ together.

“Considering that we’re going to open the store soon after graduation,” Jackson pointed out, stroking her arm gently as he looked down at her. “And we’ve been drawing up the business plans and renovating and painting the place and working so hard… I think it’s time we get to the fun part.”

Haeun blinked at him. “The fun part?”

“Yeah. Naming the place. Now I’m thinking that it would be kind of cool to have our names on it, kind of old style. Like Wang and Lee’s Organics or Wang and Lee’s Health Store, what do you think? It sounds classy, right? Like those old stores which have since 1874 written on them, and stuff.”

Haeun laughed. “Jackson, you can name the store whatever you want.”

“No, this is important, because we need to place an order for a light-up signboard and those things are expensive, okay? You can’t waste money on one if you suddenly decide to change the name. Which kind of got me thinking…” Jackson trailed off which a cheeky grin. “It might cause a problem if we get married. We’d have to get the signboard changed because it wouldn’t be Wang and Lee, it would be Wang and Wang. But that just sounds stupid. So I say we play it safe and just go with Wang’s Organics.”  

“Your idea of playing it safe is to remove my name from the shop?” she demanded, one eyebrow raised.

He cleared his throat. “No? So marriage is off the cards?”

Haeun smiled up at him and pressed her lips to his cheek. Jackson was flushing slightly and Haeun suddenly realized that he had been serious. Her heart swelled with affection for him and she ran her fingers through his hair gently.

“Jackson, I love you. But let’s take one reckless, life-changing decision at a time.”

He grinned down at her. “Sorry. I got a little cocky there, didn’t I?”

“A little,” she admitted, giving him a light frown. “Because even if you did propose and I did agree to marry you, nobody said anything about changing my name. I like the way Lee Haeun sounds. You can rest assured that even if we do get married, you won’t have to spend money on a new signboard. Happy?”

Jackson sighed. “All right, you’re the one running the show, boss lady.”

She smacked him on the arm. “Yah! Don’t-“

They were cut off by the sound of the countdown starting; people began chanting as they counted down from ten. Haeun beamed as Jackson joined in, excitedly counting down at the top of his voice before the first fireworks exploded into the air. They both turned and looked at the bright colors exploding into the sky, with the promise of a better year ahead. For the first time in the past few months, Haeun felt happy. Not hopeful that she would be happy in the future, but happy in that very moment.

Jackson turned and looked down at her gently.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her gently. Their lips pressed together softly as more fireworks exploded loudly into the sky. Haeun wrapped her arms around Jackson tightly and let out a relieved breath.

“Thank you for catching me on the way down.”

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A/N - I’m sorry this one took so long!! I’ve been crazy busy. Hope you guys enjoyed it all the same. I’m thinking of doing Jinyoung or Youngjae next… what do you guys think? 

[shawol9196]

Poly AU 6/?

“Well, first we talked about how things have been since we last saw each other. I haven’t seen him since I graduated high school.” Minho pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. “He’s getting married in May, before he takes over as CEO. He wants to introduce me to his fiance and provided we get along, they want me to go to the wedding.”

(Warning: rated HN for mentions of self harm and neglect)

When they hear the knock on the door, Kibum assumes that Minho’s forgotten his keys once again. Thirty minutes seems pretty late to remember and come back for his keys and the lack of shouting makes Jinki doubtful. When Kibum opens the door, it’s not quite Minho standing before him but the resemblance is uncanny.

“Hello. Does Choi Minho live here?” the man asks. His suit and professional demeanor make Kibum nervous.

“Yes he does, but he’s not in at the moment.”

“How long before he’ll be back?”

Kibum pauses, unsure of how much to reveal. Jinki comes up behind him.

“What’s your business with Minho?” he asks. He’s put his important professional voice on and it only adds to Kibum’s nerves.

“I’m Choi Minhyuk, Minho’s brother. I want to speak with him, it's a personal matter. Something I wanted to talk about in person. I don’t mind waiting but I also don’t want to intrude.”

Kibum takes a breath to tell him off, but Jinki puts a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Minho should be home in a little over an hour. You can come in if you like, but please be aware that if at anytime we feel that you’ve come with the intent to hurt or upset him I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“I would expect nothing less of the two of you.”

Jinki pulls Kibum out of the door so Minhyuk can enter. Once inside, Kibum shuts the door.

“Would you care for a drink, Minhyuk?” Jinki asks.

“Just a water will be fine, thank you. You're Jinki correct? And you Kibum?" he asks, turning to each.

They nod and Minhyuk looks relieved. When Jinki comes back with a water for Minhyuk and soda for Kibum, they all sit down, Jinki and Kibum on the couch and Minhyuk on the armchair closest to the door.

“So...how many years are between you and Minho?” Kibum asks, attempting to be polite.

“Nine. I’m the eldest of us. Minwoo is second and Minseok is third, they’re seven and five years older than Minho, respectively.”

“Why such a big gap between Minho and Minseok? Jinki and I have asked about you guys but he always finds a way to change the topic.”

Minhyuk sighs and puts down his water.  “He wasn’t exactly part of our parents’ plan.”

“So what do you do for a living, Minhyuk? I assume you’re part of the company.” Jinki asks before Kibum can go further.

“Yes, I am. I’m set to take over my father’s responsibilities as CEO in June at the end of the quarter.”

“As expected. My father was telling me about it the other day when we had lunch. He said that the board of trustees are looking forward to it; they feel your father has had the role too long and is losing his touch, that some new blood will help give the company a boost.”

“I’m glad that’s the feeling, I’ve been working hard with the board to ensure that we’re both reaching for the same goals. But I’m sure you’re very familiar with the pressures of being the heir.”

Jinki nods with a smile. Because of his carefree ways and almost simple personality, Kibum often forgets that he’s dating one of the most powerful sons in the country. His parents own Lee Family Corporation, which has been one of the top ten highest grossing companies since Jinki’s father came into the position of CEO.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Minhyuk, how did you know where to find us? Minho said that your parents didn’t even ask him where he was going when he said he was moving in with us?” Kibum asks.

“Who do you think sends the money every month? Surely not our parents. I may not be close to my brother by any means but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him or don’t keep tabs on him.”

Kibum and Jinki look at each other.

“Oh. We had always assumed it was from them.” Kibum explains.

Minhyuk laughs bitterly. “When Minho said he was going to college, that he wasn’t interested in the pity position in the company that father was willing to offer him, they cut him off. Minseok happened to be home when that discussion took place and he called me to let me know. I didn’t think it seemed right that they make him forfeit his allowance just to follow what makes him happy. They don’t know that I send it. I hope you didn’t think it was improper of me or that it was pity money. I didn’t quite know who he was dating when you guys first got together and I didn’t want you to be in any sort of financial straits.”

“We appreciate it, Minhyuk. We’ve been putting most of it in a savings account for him, in case anything happened, since Jinki’s got us covered as of now.” Kibum explains. Though he was initially angry at his coming, the more time passes, the more he tries to be nice.

“How is he doing? I hardly ever hear of him from the family and though I have kept track of him, I’d feel awful just having someone following him around, so it’s only the lightest of surveillance, just to make sure he’s still alive and not in any trouble.”

“He’s doing well. Or at least he was until your father’s birthday. He’s gotten his GPA up to a 3.0 now that he’s done with math classes, though he’s still a semester or two behind where he should be. He was a bit rough when he came to us but he’s settling nicely. He’s finally putting weight on after being on my cooking for almost two years. At this rate he’ll be of a healthy weight by the time he’s thirty. He likes to nap and be babied.” Jinki explains.

Minhyuk looks relieved at the news though still concerned at the birthday mention.

“Did he go to see father? I’ve been overseas for the last two months and haven’t heard much.”

“He went to see him and was told he was an embarrassment and shouldn’t have gone.” Kibum snaps, anger getting the best of him.

Minhyuk puts his head in his hands and sighs. “I told Eunji at the front desk to try and keep him away. He doesn’t deserve the way they treat him.”

“Minhyuk, can I ask you about something? About a habit of Minho's?” Kibum says, unsure of himself.

“Of course. Just know that I might not be able to answer. I unfortunately haven’t been able to be as there for my brother as much as I would’ve liked or he needed.”

“It’s just that sometimes he does this thing...” Kibum trails off, unsure of how to ask without revealing too much, on the offchance that Minhyuk doesn't know.

“The scrubbing?”

Kibum nods.

“Is it still bad? What sets him off?”

“It's gotten better over time. When he’s stressed, if he feels he’s disappointed someone, if he gets more than slightly dirty, even rain can set him off. Anytime we go anywhere, we take a extra change of clothes and babywipes just in case.”

“When did you first see it? Have you been able to get him to work on it at all? I tried to, years ago when he started, but I never got very far.”

Kibum tilts his head, trying to think of how long it’s been.

“Jinki was the first one to notice his skin, but I was the first one to come home to him actively doing it. He’s finally starting to open up to me about it. I had a lot of special bath scrubs and that kind of thing from before we dated. When we found out about it, we put them all in a lockbox. It worked fine for a few months.”

“What happened after that?”

“I came home after a long day, he’d broken the box open.” Jinki explains, taking over before Kibum makes himself cry. “We had to take him to the doctor it was so bad. Kibum ended up throwing all of his stuff away so the temptation wasn’t there.”

Minhyuk sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“How long has he been doing that? What started it?” Kibum asks.

“How much has he told you about before he met you two?”

“Not much. Just that he’s the youngest of four and that his parents don’t love him. He didn’t even tell us about the company, I found out about that through my dad.” Jinki answers.

“How long before he gets home? There’s some stuff I’d have to explain before that and I don’t think he’d like to come home to that conversation.”

Jinki looks at his watch. “About 45 minutes. He’ll text us when he’s on his way home so we’ll have about a ten minute warning.”

“That should be good,” Minhyuk says with a nod. He takes a drink of water before starting his explanation.

“When our parents decided to have children, they wanted three sons. One to take over the CEO position, one to take the COO position, and one to take the CFO position. Luckily for them, that’s what happened. I’m set to become CEO, Minwoo has been acting as Assistant Chief of Operations for two years now and will take over when Mr. Kim retires, and Minseok has been acting as Chief Financial Officer for a little over a year now. They didn’t want anymore after us. And then five years later, Minho came along. When mother got pregnant, even though they were already disappointed in the pregnancy, they were hoping they’d be lucky again and have a daughter that they could use as basically a bartering tool. Someone they could use to help with a merger. They were completely disinterested in Minho from the moment that the doctor said ‘it’s a boy.’”

He pauses for more water and in the pause, Kibum reaches for Jinki’s hand.

“Mother nursed him for maybe sixth months at the most and then they brought a nanny in for him. Nanny Yeongja. While it’s in the basic description that a nanny cares for and raises a child, she really treated him as her own. Mother and father wouldn’t hardly look at him unless they had to but she would praise his every move when allowed. She and Hodong, our butler of sorts, were really the only reliable affection he had growing up. They're probably the only reason he made it out of childhood alive. The three of us would try to play with him, but he was always so little and we’d get in trouble for wasting our time on him. I never really understood why our parents were so cruel to him; he was always the most wonderful child. Sure, he could make a fuss, but if I were ignored like that I’d make one too. It’s such a shame that such a sweet thing was born into this family, he deserved and deserves so much better. Anyways, back to the scrubbing thing, every year we have this big company picnic where our family and the families of the trustees and all the other higher ups would get together. I think he was about twelve at this particular picnic. Anyways, he was allowed to go play with some of the other children; he’d always been so small, he looked more like an eight year old. I wasn’t actually at the picnic, but apparently some of the older boys got a little too rough with him and knocked him into this terrible mudflat. He was completely soaked in the stuff. To make it worse, they just left him there. Minseok was at the picnic too and went looking for him and according to him it’s a miracle he didn’t die. By the time he was able to get him out and back to the our parents, the mud was practically dried solid. Mother and father were so furious that he’d ruined his clothes and ‘embarrassed’ the other families by being a victim that they told Yeongja and Hodong to take him home. He was to get all the mud out of his clothes and off of himself without help from her or Hodong. They said that if they got caught helping him, they’d be fired without any sort of severance. When they got home, Hodong called me. I came home as fast as I could. Yeongja had him locked in the bathroom and I could hear her weeping from the time I got in the front door. When she gave me the key to get in, he was in the bath trying to clean himself. His clothes were somewhat cleaned though obviously not anywhere near pristine. He was scrubbing so hard that there were full patches of skin missing to the point the bathwater was turning pink with blood. I’ll never forget the way he screamed. I got him out and did my best to bandage the skin. There was so much hardened mud in his hair that I had no choice but to cut it all off. I did as much as I could and had Yeongja take him to put to bed.”

Minhyuk pauses, obviously shaken from the story.

“How could they do that to him?” Kibum asks incredulously. Minhyuk shakes his head. After a few breaths, he continues.

“When father got home I tried to confront him about it, said that he was being unusually cruel when Minho’s only crime against him was being born. He told me that it was none of my business what went on with him and that if I intervened again, he would throw me out. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to tell him to screw off, to leave and take Minho with me, but I knew I couldn’t. Father knows enough people that I’d be ruined and then where would we be. So I gritted my teeth and kept going, if just to be able to keep watching Minho. I had to leave again that afternoon, and when I came back three days later, it wasn’t much better. His skin wasn’t healing and they hadn’t even gone in to check on him once. When I asked them if they were planning on taking him to the doctor they said no, that they didn’t want a big fuss being made about it. Yeongja said that he was complaining about his ankle and that it was swollen pretty badly, so I got Hodong and we took him to this friend of mine who’s a doctor. Hodong went back to the picnic site while we were at the appointment. His ankle was broken, so he set it and put a cast and gave us a prescription for a special soap and some medicated cream to treat his skin with. When Hodong came back, he said that the mudflat had dried solid; he’d asked someone from the property about it and they said that there was at least one bag’s worth of concrete mix in that mud due to some bizarre accident. That’s why it was so hard to clean him up. When we got home, I told father about it. He said it was too bad ‘but at least it happened to the spare.’ He started overloading me with work so that I couldn’t come home often and make sure Minho was okay after that. When Minho was fourteen, Yeongja was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. I took him to live with me for a while after that, so that he’d have a place to mourn properly. It was only six months but he made such progress in that time. Then dad came and took him again and ruined it all. During that time that Minho was with me, it was made clear that Hodong was no longer welcome in our household, after he made a stand against my father. I’ve been looking for him for three years now and every time I almost have him, he disappears again.”

There’s a lull for a moment. All three have teary eyes, not sure of what to say. Minhyuk sips at his water.

“I don’t know what you two think of me,” he says, voice more fragile than before, “but I honestly do care about my brother. I know there’s so much more I could’ve done and should’ve done but I was just doing the best I thought I could. If he’s happy and healthy with the two of you, then that’s more than I ever hoped for him.”

There’s the sound of keys outside the door and when it finally opens, all three stand. Minho’s picking up his keys off the ground as it swings open, but he drops them and his backpack when he looks up.

“Min...minhyuk?” he asks, voice thick with disbelief.

Minhyuk nods but seems unable to move, as does Kibum. Jinki walks to the door, picks up Minho’s things before closing it.

“Minho, baby, your brother came. He wants to talk to you.” he whispers, taking Minho’s hand. Minho looks at Jinki, then at Kibum, and then at Jinki again, before looking at Minhyuk.

“You...you came to see me?” he asks, voice on the verge of breaking.

Minhyuk nods again; he’s doing his best not to cry, but tears are still breaking loose as he smiles fondly at Minho. He reaches his hands out and takes a step towards Minho. Jinki gives Minho a pat, urging him forward. Minhyuk takes Minho’s face in his hands, examining him. After a moment of hesitation, the two brothers embrace. Minhyuk starts apologizing and soon both are fully crying. Jinki retreats to the kitchen and Kibum soon follows. Minho and Minhyuk sit on the couch after a while, though they remain quiet. Jinki walks over to the couch, puts a hand on Minho’s shoulder.

“Kibum and I are going to go sit in our room so you guys can talk in peace, okay? If you need us, just yell, okay?”

Minho nods with a smile, kissing Jinki’s hand.

*

Once they’re in their room and the door shuts, Kibum immediately makes his way into Jinki’s arms and starts crying.

“That explains a lot about our baby, doesn’t it, sweetpea?” Jinki says softly.

Kibum nods but continues to cry.

“Shush now, sweetpea,” he coos, rubbing Kibum’s back in a bid to calm him down. “We don’t want baby to hear this, now do we?”

Kibum takes a few deep breaths and gets his crying under control. Jinki pulls his shirt up to wipe Kibum’s tear soaked cheeks.

“It’s just....my parents didn’t have the capability to take care of me but at the end of the day they still cared. How could you treat your own child like that?”

Jinki shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, sweetpea. But there’s not much we can do about that now, except be more mindful of baby.”

Kibum nods and sighs. They sit on their bed, Jinki pulling up a movie on his laptop to watch to pass the time. He’s doing his best to eavesdrop on the conversation in the living room, but between the movie and Kibum’s continued sniffles, he can’t make much out.

* After a little over two hours, Minho knocks and then pops his head into their room.

“Everything okay, baby?” Jinki asks.

Minho nods before coming in. “Minhyuk just left.” he explains, before crawling onto their bed and snuggling up between them.

“What did he want to talk about, baby?” Kibum asks. He’s mostly calmed down now but it’s still clear that he’s cried.

“Well, first we talked about how things have been since we last saw each other. I haven’t seen him since I graduated high school.” Minho pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. “He’s getting married in May, before he takes over as CEO. He wants to introduce me to his fiance and provided we get along, they want me to go to the wedding.”

“That’s wonderful, baby!” Jinki says, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Did you two set up a time?” Kibum asks.

“He said that all three of us are welcome to come over on Saturday night. We’re supposed to bring wine and a dessert. He’s explained us to his fiance so she already knows and we don’t have to pretend that we're just friendly or anything. Apparently she’s excited to meet me.”

“Everyone should be excited to meet you, baby, and anyone would be lucky to.” Jinki says. Minho blushes and buries his head in Jinki’s neck. Kibum gets up and heads out into the kitchen to give Minho and Jinki a few minutes alone.

“What were you three talking about when I came home?” Minho asks after a minute.

“Minhyuk was telling us a little bit about you when you were younger.”

“Good things?”

Jinki kisses his cheek again. “Good things about you and bad things that happened to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what, babylove?”

“That you had to listen to that.”

Jinki takes Minho’s hand in his own.

“Don’t be sorry, baby. We asked him. We wanted to know more about you when you were little so we can learn to love you better now.”

Minho looks down at their intertwined hands, refusing to make eye contact.

“Are you upset with us for asking that, love?”

Minho shakes his head.

“Are you upset with Minhyuk for telling us?”

Minho shakes his head again, finally looking up at Jinki.

“I’m...I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself.”

“It’s okay, baby. I wouldn’t want to talk about those things either, if I were you.”

Silence falls between them for a minute.

“Minhyuk said that he’s ok with it, the three of us being together. That he’s happy for us.”

“He told us that too.”

“Dad doesn’t want me to go to the wedding, but Minhyuk really wants me there. He said that it might be better if just one of you come as my plus one, so that dad can’t make as big of a scene.”

“That makes sense, baby. Are you wanting to go? No one will be mad if you don’t want to.”

“I...I want to go.” Minho pauses, cuddling up closer to Jinki again. “Would you go with me? I love sweetpea and I want him to go but I know that he’s going to be uncomfortable with how fancy it is and I don’t want him to be upset.”

“Of course, love, I’d be honored to be your plus one. Maybe I’ll get my papa to come over and he can give us some pointers to out class your dad. How does that sound?”

Minho softly laughs. “I’m scared, honey.”

“I’m sure you are, baby. Let’s just focus on getting through this week and Saturday’s dinner, okay? Baby steps.”

[multifandom-kpop-scenarios]

could I have a scenario with Boyfriend's Donghyun where he ans his girl make plans but work comes up and he has to cancel so she surprises him, bringing food to where he's at so they can still spend time together (and of course she brought enough for his members/kids too).

Hello, and thank you for sending in a request. I am glad that someone sent in a request for Boyfriend. I hope that this scenario captures them well. Please enjoy~

Admin KZ

Word count: 2,175

PS-We are always open if you have any questions, kpop related or not :) 

  Having a relationship with an idol can be hard. Time was the worst enemy with these particular relationships. However, the key to keeping any relationship going strong is understanding, at least you thought so. You thought this because you were dating an idol for almost 2 years. Kim Donghyun was probably the greatest boyfriend you could ask for. You tend to joke that it is no wonder he was a part of a group called Boyfriend.

  Donghyun was the type of guy who would always make time for you to be together. Most of the time these plans worked out, but there were times when an unforeseen schedule would pop up cancelling any plans the two of you had. He was always worrying about letting you down when these unexpected events came about, but you always reassure him that you were never upset and that you understood he has a prior commitment to fulfilling his dreams.

  So, It wasn’t totally unexpected when Donghyun called you a couple days before you both had plans to go out and have a day to yourselves just before his schedule became too busy from Boyfriend’s comeback. “Hey, ______. It’s me” he simply started. You could tell that his tone was already preparing an apology. Much like the times before, he continued with a sigh, “The photoshoot that was scheduled for next week had to be moved to this week. Something about a hot new rookie group, having only our original time to make it in. So they asked our manager if we would take an earlier date.” You didn’t need much more explanation to get where this conversation was going. Before he could continue you said, “Donghyun, it’s alright.” You  smiled in hopes to make Donghyun feel better, even though he couldn’t see you at this very moment, you hoped he could hear it.  “______, I promise I will make it up to you.” His words instantly made you feel warm, and you chuckled in reply “You always do.”

  A silence took over, it wasn’t awkward, but rather comforting. It was comforting because you could hear him breathing, and suddenly the distance between you both felt so small. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as he felt a similar relief that you experience. “I miss you” he said, “You know that, right?” Your reply was instant, “Of course. Even if you didn’t tell me.” You continued on quietly, telling him the words you only wanted him to hear, “I miss you, too.” He continued to talk about his upcoming schedule with the boys, and a little part of you grew worried since it was so busy. However, you knew this wasn’t the first time his schedule was like this and it would hopefully not be the last, so he knew how to take care of himself and the ‘kids,’ as he called them.

  Before you knew it, an hour passed and it was probably a good idea to end the phone call here. “It’s getting late,” you said to bring this call to its end, “Don’t you have practice tomorrow?” “Yeah,” he said with a small sigh, “but it feels like I just barely started talking to you.” You laugh lightly, understanding exactly what he was feeling and simply said, “I know.” “I guess I have to let you go now.” In response you joked, “Don’t miss me too much.” “Too late,” was his instant reply, and you were left with a faster beating heart and cheeks dusted a faint red color. ‘It’s been two years,’ you thought, ‘and he still manages to make me feel the same feelings as day one.’ “I love you,” he said shortly after accompanied with, “See you soon.” You replied the same words, he insists on ending every parting, be it a phone call or when we are together in person, with see you soon instead of goodbye or bye because it will “always hold a promise to see each other again soon.”

  After the call me ended, you took a moment to really process everything Donghyun had told you. You couldn’t help it. You were a little upset that your date with Donghyun was postponed. You definitely were not upset with Donghyun, he couldn’t help it, but rather the situation. It was while thinking that, when an idea popped up in your head. Donghyun always made it up to you if a plan had been cancelled, but this time you were going to make it up to him, after all it wasn’t just you that missed out.

  First you needed to discreetly get the information for the photoshoot, and you couldn’t simply ask Donghyun. So, you decided to text the one member we who would best keep your plans quiet and you were set.

——

  You arrived at the building were the photoshoot should be currently taking place. You waited outside, which was quite the task with hands and arms loaded up with bags full of food and drinks. You weren’t waiting long as one of the back doors slowly opened and the head of your accomplice popped up. He smiled when he saw you standing there, “Hello, _______. Have you been waiting long?” “Not at all,” you replied as you entered through the door. He grabbed a majority of the bags you were carrying, easing the weight you were carrying. “Thanks, Jeongmin” you said in gratitude. “ I just couldn’t let you carry all these bags, besides what would Donghyun say if I didn’t help you out.” You smiled, “I was thanking you for helping me set up today, too.” He continued to lead you down a hallway and you could faintly hear music and the flashes of a camera in a room ahead, your destination most likely. He flashed you one of his bright smiled and said, “No problem anything for you, sister-in-law.” All of the Boyfriend members would call you that, mostly to tease, but that didn’t mean you got used to hearing it. You turned away from Jeongmin, in an attempt to hide your slightly flushed face, but that only made him laugh. In order to draw the attention away from you you said, “So no one besides you knows I am here.” “Nope,” was Jeongmin’s reply, “I had to really insist  that I wanted to order the food today, in place of Donghyun. He let me do it, but I think he thinks I am up to something…which is right.” He explained and you laughed. You finally get to the open door of the photoshoot and Jeongmin takes you to a table where a couple members sat. “Look what I brought,” Jeongmin said in a sing song voice. “Food~,” came Hyunseong’s reply, though he didn’t realize your presence yet. “________, I didn’t know that you were coming today.” Minwoo said as he saw you approach. This caused Hyunseong to turn to you, “oh, ______. Donghyun didn’t say anything about you coming today.” You set what little bags you were carrying, “He wouldn’t have said anything because he doesn’t even know yet.” Hyunseong laughed after hearing your statement, and said, “Hyung is going to be surprised.” Minwoo then said, “Your plan is going to help more than you know.” Minwoo pointed behind you in the direction of the photographer, but from your angle you couldn’t see who was getting photographed. Minwoo continued, “Donghyun hyung has had a difficult day. They said his photos aren’t turning out well.” As soon as he stopped, Jeongmin added “But Hyung will feel better after eating and seeing you here.” You felt your ears warm up, “I doubt that. If anything he will feel better after the food.” Jeongmin tilted his head at your response, “Is that really what you think?” You stared at him, not really sure how to answer, before you could say anything you were cut off by Hyunseong. “Donghyun still talks about you like he did before you both started dating.” He chuckled, “Like when he asks if he looks okay for your date. Or if you would like to go to this place or eat that thing. There are also the times when he comes home and he can’t stop talking about how cute you were.” Now your face felt hot, and you could only imagine how red you looked , you instead leaned towards the table and started to pull out and distribute the food. You heard a light *smack* and an “ow” from Hyunseong followed by Jeongmin telling him, “Now you embarrassed her.”

  You set up the food and sent off the other boys to distribute the extra food and drinks to the staff. You were then quickly joined by Youngmin and Kwangmin, who were both surprised to see you there. Kwangmin asked, “Noona! When did you get here.” Youngmin then said, “Thank you for bringing food. You and Donghyun hyung are the only ones who get it right.” They didn’t talk much as they dug straight into the food, after a quick “We will eat well.” It didn’t take long for the others to come back, you were surprised, however, when you saw Donghyun approaching followed directly by Jeongmin, who’s hands were busy covering his Hyung’s eyes. You almost laughed at the questions the confused Donghyun was asking. “You know, Jeongmin. It’s not much if a surprise if I already know you ordered food. I also saw that you bought enough for the staff, while that is surprising, I already saw.” Jeongmin stayed quite as his hyung continued on, “Yah, Lee Jeongmin. Don’t ignore me. Why are you covering my eyes?” At this point, they already reached the table and Jeongmin positioned Donghyun in front of the couch right next to you and pushed him into a seated position. Just as soon as Donghyun finished his question, Jeongmin released his eyes. Jeongmin grinned, “I am not covering your eyes.” Donghyun had not noticed you yet, and turned to Jeongmin with a look clearly questioning his antics, Jeongmin laughed and with a shrug of his shoulders he said,  “Well, not anymore.”

  He held eye contact with Jeongmin and turned back to face the table. With a shake of his head he scooted to the edge of the couch, reaching out to remove the lid on his box. You felt bad. As you looked at your boyfriend you couldn’t help but worry. He looked exhausted and a little frustrated, no doubt blaming himself for his bad day. He pulled his chopsticks apart and took his first bite.

  He was preparing to take the next bite when he suddenly stopped, having noticed that the other 5 members of Boyfriend, who were sitting or standing across him on the other side of the table. They had their eyes on him, waiting for him to finally realize that his girlfriend was next to him. He stared up meeting each of their eyes, when they didn’t turn away or continue eating he asked, “What?”. It was at this moment when you saw Jeongmin flickered his eyes to you, who was on Donghyun’s left, and back at his hyung , when Donghyun became aware of the sixth pair of eyes gazing at him.  He quickly turned and meet eyes with you. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but he didn’t really need to, his eyes told it all. He quickly pulled you into a tight embrace, ignoring the kids who were laughing. His arms were warm and your head was rested on his shoulder. You turn your head, bringing your lips close to his ear and say, “Rough day?” He chuckles lightly and pulls away, keeping his hand in yours. “It was,” he smiled, “But I have a feeling it’s going to be better now that you are here.” You can feel yourself get a little warm, “I wanted to surprise you. Just because our plans for our day together got cancelled doesn’t mean we still can’t spend it together.” His reply came after with a laugh, “I definitely was surprised. I didn’t expect the one person I needed to sitting right next to me. What would I ever do without you, _______.” It wasn’t really a question, but more of a statement. The members all “Awed” and Donghyun turned to them, “Eat quickly so we can finish the photoshoot off strong.” The members all replied with a yes and began eating talking about random things. Donghyun also picked up his chopsticks, and grab a roll of kimbab. He turned in his seat to face you as he said “ahh” and held out the roll in front of you mouth. You pulled back slightly, too embarrassed to take the roll you said, “No it’s okay. You take care of yourself first.” He shook his head, still holding out the roll in front of you, “No. Knowing you you were too busy caught up in you surprise, and probably didn’t eat before coming here, right. Besides,” he smiles, “Taking care of you is the best way to take care of myself.”

[minwood-blog1]

i. black tears 🥀 personal;

“I know I need to be sure about me, and I know I need to stop repeating, wondering. It’s hard, it will always be: I’m fully aware of it.” — HYUKOH, "I HAVE NO HOMETOWN”

"It was getting harder to hide... my scars and you. So I just broke it off so you'd be safe."

How often had Minwoo waited to hear anything that loosely resembled this? Too long to count, roughly 2 years. Yet still, it didn't bring him the peace he thought it would've. Instead it just plunged him deeper in his thoughts. It destabilized him. Sure, his life hadn't been perfect after Jongin. He had to force himself to carry on as if nothing was wrong, but he didn't think just a sentence could shake him to his core and destroy the perfect little lie he’d created for himself. After all these years... Jongin had the same effect on him. He had the ability to break him into a million pieces with but a few words. He wondered if it would actually go away some day... he hoped. Hwang had been purposefully kept out of the loop, and suddenly he wondered how much Jongin had been hiding from him all these years. He felt his eyes brim with tears as he read the other's text. "I can't do this sober..." he mumbled to himself, hopping off his seat and wiping his eyes as he walked to the fridge.

The next thing he knew, Minwoo was completely drunk. And I mean hammered, stalking Jongin's Facebook. He did mention a new lover, so why couldn't he find anything on his page? He wondered for a split second if he had been blocked, but forced the thought out of his head, bringing his 6th bottle of beer tonight to his lips. He grabbed his phone, composing Kwang Soo's number.

– "...Minwoo? Do you know how late it is?" his friend had replied with a sleepy tone.

– "Do you know how long I've loved Jongin?!" Hwang suddenly shouted, earning silence from the other end of the line. "How much I've wanted- how much... I needed to know what happened!"

– "Minwoo... are you drunk?"

– "No, I'm not! I'm your hyung, stop babying me, Kwangsoo. Fucking stop it!" he covered his mouth, a few quiet sobs escaping from him. "Why didn't you tell me what happened to him? Why didn't you?!" he snarled, panting heavily.

– "...he didn't want you to know, I respected his wish", Kwangsoo calmly explained, trying to assess the situation as best he could.

– "He was my boyfriend, Kwangsoo! I loved him... I love him! You know I could've helped him, you know I would've made it right!"

– "Minwoo goddamn it, it's been 2 or 3 years! You need to move on... please. You're one of my best friends, but this isn't healthy for you or Jongin."

– "You want me to get over it? Then give me his name."

Minwoo's words were received with nothing but quiet static.

– "...whose name?"

– "The motherfucker who hurt Jongin! Tell me his name now, and I'll consider forgiving you."

– "His name... his name is Byun Kyungsoo, don’t do-"

But before he could continue, advise Minwoo to drink some water and go to bed, the latter hung up on him. "Byun Kyungsoo..." he muttered to himself, grabbing his laptop and opening Facebook again. His heart twinged as he saw Jongin's smile again, blinking a few tears that had pooled in his eyes. Without more hesitation, he typed in his assailant's name. Lucky for him, it wasn't a very common name and only got him two results, now he just had to find out which one was the asshole. "I got you..." Hwang whispered, identifying the correct male through the high school he went to. "Hey, I'm Minwoo... I heard Jongin's back in town and I know how you destroyed him last time", it physically hurt him to just write these words. "How about we meet up and talk about doing it again?" Sent.

The new few minutes felt like hours, years even, but finally Kyungsoo responded. "Yeah man I saw it on the news, let's meet in front of the bar on the 5th in 10." And there it was, an opening. For a second, he wondered what Kyungsoo meant by 'the news' but he figured he'd worry about it later. Minwoo had the time to inhale 2 more beers before he got a reply, but he wasn't about to give up now. He swiftly called a taxi, rushing to grab a coat and put his shoes on. During the whole drive there, Hwang tried to think of both what he was doing, and what he'd do when he saw him. His heart was pounding through his chest, and he could hear Jongin’s voice in his head telling him not to do it. But with liquid courage coursing through his entire system, that voice got quieter by the second.

"This is your stop", he suddenly heard, snapping out of his reverie. He quickly paid the taxi and got out of the car, and that was when he saw him. He was just standing there, without a care in the world. And it bothered Minwoo to think that such an atrocity of a person could live with himself after the pain he inflicted onto others. The younger male waved at him from the other side of the street, a wide smile tugging at his lips. "Minwoo hyung! Over here..." The purple haired man breathed in and out before crossing the street to meet Kyungsoo. "Hello, Kyungsoo", he forced the best smile he could afford, to which the other bowed. Well, I guess he was better at hiding his feelings than he thought. "We shouldn't talk here, come..." Kyungsoo beckoned him, walking down the street. Minwoo followed him quietly, looking around to make sure he hadn't been ambushed. Kyungsoo truly didn't seem to know him, which was kind of a relief. Maybe Jongin had done one good thing by pushing him away, but he couldn't think of this right now.

"So... the news, eh?" Minwoo started hesitantly, which earned him a groan from Kyungsoo. The latter stopped in his tracks to look at Hwang, a genuine look of disgust on his face. "I know right? Sungki Bang's family friend, what a joke! I'm ashamed to admit it but I was friends with this fag, and I know damn well Sungki Bang wasn't part of his family. He's probably gay too. God... and to think my younger sister has a crush on him!" The tall man tried to contain his rage as he listened to Kyungsoo speak, nodding and chuckling as if to relate to him. But his hands were balled into fists, so much so that his knuckles turned white. "Yeah... what a joke..." he mumbled half convincingly. Kyungsoo turned again, laughing brightly as he continued walking before turning into an alley. "I know man! It's crazy!"

Minwoo followed him close behind, abruptly drawing his hand back and smacking Kyungsoo across the head, causing him to collapse into the brick wall with a loud groan. "Dude! What the fuck!" the other sprung up quite fast: he definitely had experience with fighting. He threw his fist forward, managing to strike Minwoo straight in the face. "Agh!" he crouched momentarily, guarding himself with his arm to absorb the next blow. "...you're one of them, uh? You're a-" but before he could say it, Minwoo pushed him onto the ground with both his hands. He panted heavily, his face stinging as all hell but he couldn’t back down now. He kicked Kyungsoo in the ribs as he lay on the ground, causing the other to yelp in pain. As he tried getting up, Minwoo stepped on his chest, putting half his weight down on him and keeping him to the floor. “I can’t believe you... what a hateful little twerp”, Minwoo hissed, kneeling down and grabbing him by the collar, slamming his fist in his face again. Kyungsoo’s hands reached out, attempting to wrap his fingers around Hwang’s slender neck, but with every blow to his face, he lost his fighting spirit.

Minwoo, on the other hand, was seeing red. He was groaning and putting everything he had into this, the sensitive flesh of his knuckles starting to rip and bruise with each blow to the other’s face. Even as he watched consciousness evade from Kyungsoo, he couldn’t stop himself from ramming his fist in everything he could reach, screaming at the top of his lungs as warm tears pooled in his eyes. As he watched him, his nose visibly broken and eyes closed, he couldn’t help but think of Jongin, and the pain Kyungsoo had forced him to endure. When Byun’s arms fell limp to his sides, Minwoo let go of his collar, standing up to wipe a few tears with his sleeve. He took a few steps back, his chest heaving up and down as some more tears threatened to pour out of his eyes, which were widened in panic. 

What had he done? Through all the rage and his ideas of revenge, he hadn’t realized he’d went way over the line. “Oh god...” he cried, kneeling next to Kyungsoo. He hesitantly reached out and pressed his index to the younger male’s neck: his heart was still beating, he was breathing. Just... really fucked up. Hwang gasped sharply, his vision growing blurry as he let himself fall forward. He covered his mouth to muffle a scream. That’s all he could do right now: scream. He deserved it, he kept repeating in his mind. But nothing seemed to make it right. The purple haired male took out his phone from his pocket: 6 missed calls from Kwang Soo. He dialed the first number he thought of. “H-Hello...? Yes, I found someone unconscious...” he explained to the telephone operator. He couldn’t hold in a few sobs as he gave the person on the other end of the line his current location before hanging up. “I’m sorry...” Minwoo whispered, scrambling himself back and running away.

And for a while, that’s all he could do. Run through the empty streets, warm tears running down his cheeks and his chest shaken by sobs. He was beyond drunk, and he found himself wondering why he did that. What possessed him to? His anger issues... he’d had them under control for a while. But Jongin... just hearing his story opened up wounds he thought were long gone, and he wondered if they would ever truly heal. He shut his eyes tightly, images of his ex flashing in his mind. Swollen eyes, broken bones, glued to a hospital bed... He couldn’t handle it. His heart clenched just at the thought. But above all: Jongin had wanted to protect him. He never stopped caring. 

Without even realizing it, Minwoo’s feet had brought him to a familiar place. A big red door. He slammed his bloody fists onto it, crying out. “Open up! Please... open up!” He let himself fall to his knees, blinking out a few tears as he openly sobbed. Soon enough, the door opened to a visibly sleepy Kwang Soo. “Minwoo-yah!” he exclaimed, kneeling in front of him, throwing his arms around him and holding him close. 

“What did you do?” 

[bulletproof-heaven]

The Angel In Pink - Chapter 3

Chapter: 1 2 3 4

The door opened to reveal Jin, who looked half asleep, wearing a baby pink pyjama set, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Namjoon cursed at himself for not realising that the sun had already set and that Jin probably finally got some sleep after a long shift. At the same time, he couldn’t help but stare at how adorable the man looked; all droopy eyed. Namjoon opened his mouth to introduce himself but Jin started speaking, no longer tired look but instead, the man was glaring. “You have some nerve coming back here…”.

The doctor shook his head before turning to walk deeper into the house as he continued to talking. Namjoon took this as a ‘please come in’ and walked in, closing the door behind him. He took off his shoes and was careful to not to bleed all over the expensive carpet. He quickly followed the elder’s still ranting voice into the bathroom, entering the room just as the elder turned around to face him. “…I don’t care about you so what makes you think I’m going to help you this time?”

“Um…” Namjoon had to hold in a chuckle; to him, the man was so precious when he was trying to be mad, “because you let me into your house and you already got out your first aid kit?”

Jin looked down and indeed, he was holding the box of medical supplies. He glared at the ground for a moment to yell at his body for moving on autopilot before glaring at the man in front of him, “Sit. Not another sound from you”.

The gang leader kept quiet, sitting on the edge of the bathtub as the doctor stitched him up. He knew that Jin was still angry with him because everything he let out a sound of pain, the doctor would mutter something under his breath. It took a while but Namjoon was finally all patched up. Jin sighed when he finished, washing his hands, water running red. “Go sit in the kitchen. I have to clean up”. Namjoon looked around; his bloody button-up laid discarded on the tiled floor surrounded by a few cotton balls also soaked with blood and the kit laying opened, supplies everywhere. He started to reach down-

“Don’t even think about it” Jin stated, back still facing him. “I don’t want you to rip open your stitches”.

Namjoon stood back up and gave him a goofy smile through the mirror. “So you do care about me”.

Jin turned around as he scoffed before rolling his eyes. “If your stitches come undone, I’ll have to spend another 20 minutes of my life redoing them. No, thank you”. He then proceeded to push Namjoon out the door. “Kitchen. Go sit”.

It took Jin exactly 7 minutes and 38 seconds, not that Namjoon was counting, to return to the kitchen, sitting on the counter chair next to the leader.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Namjoon decided to break it. “I didn’t think you’d remember me”.

Jin scoffed, “please, I’m a doctor. I always remember my patients, especially disrespectful ones who disappeared without so much a note”.

Namjoon gulped, nervously.

“So, you better answer all my questions honestly to repay me for my generosity,” The doctor narrowed his eyes at the other, “got it?”.

The leader nodded quickly and Jin smiled, “Good. What’s your name?”

“Kim Namjoon”. The words gushed out of his mouth before he could stop it. The leader mentally slapped himself for being so weak against a guy who looked like he couldn’t even throw a decent punch.

“Well, Kim Namjoon…” Jin smiled for it quickly slipped off his face, “Wait…Namjoon…Namjoon” The leader furrowed his brows. Why was he repeating his name? “…NJ!”

Oh. That’s why.

“You!” Jin’s glare returned, “You’re the one who sent all those flowers”.

Namjoon gave a goofy smile, “Do you like them?”

“Yes-” Jin blurted out, “I mean, no-”. Namjoon frowned. “I mean; one bouquet would have been nice but you fill up the entire reception area everyday.” The doctor gave him a small smile, “It’s kind of turning into a safety hazard”.

“Oh…” Namjoon stared down at his hands in gloom. “I didn’t think of that. Sorry”.

“Seriously though, thank you for the flowers but please don’t send anymore…”.

He looked back up, eyes widening at Jin’s smile. To Namjoon, it seemed like there was a glow around the other man.

“…why flowers though, people usually send fruits baskets?” Jin added quietly as an afterthought, more to himself than anyone else.

Namjoon closed his eyes mentally slapping himself for not realising sooner; Jin liked flower but he loved food. The leader remembered back to how the doctor loved to spend his time-off trying different restaurants. He glanced at Jin with a smile, “Okay, I won’t send anymore flowers”.

“Good” Jin replied, “So why were you stabbed?”

“Um…” Namjoon hesitated for a moment seeing as he couldn’t say ‘so I could come see you’. “My hyung stabbed me”.

The doctor’s eyes widened before exclaiming, “What kind of hyung is that?”

“The closest kind” The leader grinned. Jin shook his head. This guy was not right in the head.

“That night…’ Namjoon started to ask, “did you happen to see a small box?”

Jin looked off to the side and tried to remember the night two weeks ago before nodding, “Yeah, I remember seeing it. Why?”

“Was it in my pocket when you found me on the street?’

“Yeah, it was”.

“Do you know what was inside?”

Jin nodded again, “A USB. The box fell from your pocket when I was stitching you up and the USB came out of it. I put it back though. Why?”.

Namjoon released a sigh of relief before shaking his head with a smile, “Don’t worry about it”.

“Okay, you sure are a weird one” Jin said with a certain tenderness in his eyes.

They continued to stare at each other for a few moments; Jin was basking in the comfortable silence while Namjoon was slowly wrecking his mind. He tapped his fingers against the marble countertop, inhaling every couple of seconds like he wanted to say something but just ended up biting his bottom lip to stop himself.

“Is there something you want to say?” Jin asked, slightly concerned about how the other was acting.

In his mind, Namjoon said ‘fuck it’ before blurting out, “Would you like to go on a date with me?”.

Namjoon came bursting through the front door into the living room where everyone was resting with a giant smile on his face. “I told you it wasn’t Jin” He said more to Yoongi than to the couple.

“Well, look who’s back” Hoseok teased, head in Taehyung’s lap as the other typed away on his computer that was perched on the couch’s armrest.

“That doesn’t solve our current problem, does it?” Yoongi drawled, ignoring Namjoon’s obvious ‘ha, I was right’. “We still don’t know who took it and we don’t have the information”.

“Yeah, that’s true…” Namjoon trailed off. In the last two weeks, he hasn’t really spent much time on ‘gang’ stuff, not that there were much to do in the first place. The clubs basically ran itself, they had people who collected shipments for them, there was nobody on their hit list yet, and nobody was trying to kill them. The only major issue was concerning the USB and the information which they found out today. Normally, he would have thought of a solution already but he was a bit occupied.

“Just tell whatever-his-name-is to send another one. Also get him to send us the location when the USB is accessed” Taehyung stated absentmindedly and everyone else stared at him. “What?”

“That is a genius idea, babe” Hoseok gave him a giant kiss.

Namjoon continued to start at the kid, “That was so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe it’s because you mind was filled with your lover boy” Yoongi teased.

The leader just ignored his comment before pulling out his phone and calling Minwoo. “Minwoo, you have a tracker on that USB, don’t you?’

“Yeah…why?” Minwoo asked cautiously from the other side. He still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he was stabbed by Yoongi.

“I want you to send us the location when it gets accessed”.

“Okay, I can do that”. He quickly agreed in fear that Bangtan was going to kidnap him again and stab him some more if he didn’t.

“Also, send us another one” Namjoon ordered.

“Heck no,” Minwoo replied sharply, “I’m not losing another delivery person. If you want the information, go to Taiwan yourself. I’ll text you the details”.

And with that Minwoo hung up. Namjoon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What did he say?” Taehyung asked.

“He’s not gonna deliver it. We have to get it ourselves”.

“Okay,” He nodded before glancing at Yoongi, “Hyung can do that”.

Yoongi shot up in his seat, “Why are you looking at me? I’m not going”.

“Come on, hyung” Taehyung whined, “You’re the only that can go. Namjoonie hyung can’t because he’s the leader. Hobi is afraid of flying, and I… well, I have to take care of security stuff so you have a safe flight.”

Yoongi scowled, knowing that the kid was right. “Fine, book me the flight, I’m leaving tonight”.

[pixieminutes]

Seven Years | LMH (1)

genre: fluff, slight angst, singleparent!reader

members: lee minho x reader

warnings: vomiting, mentions of a shitty ex-husband

a/n: lots of time skips in this one as well

16:11 (haon’s dinner time)

“haon!” you shouted, “haon! dinner’s ready!”

the seven-year-old looked back at you from where he was on the climbing frame. he quickly got down and ran across the road when he heard your call.

“what’s for dinner?” he asked, walking in the house, trying to see if he could smell it.

you chuckled, “you’re not a dog, haon, stop it. and it’s kimchi jiggae.”

“yes!” haon cheered, throwing his bag down and running to the kitchen table.

you smiled, scooping the rice out into a bowl and placing it in front of him before placing the steaming pot of kimchi jiggae in the middle of the table, kissing your son’s head, “eat a lot, okay? you need to grow big and strong!”

“so i can protect you, mama!” haon cheered.

you sighed, “haon, we’ve spoken about this. mama doesn’t need protecting.”

haon paused, “but what if someone like daddy comes back? you said he was a horrible man.”

you nodded, “he was a horrible man. but, we don’t think about him anymore, do we?”

haon grinned, shaking his head so vigorously his brown hair flopped about on his head.

you smiled, “good boy. now eat. mama’s gonna go and tidy up.”

“mama, you need to eat too!” haon exclaimed.

“i will, baby, later,” you reasurred him.

haon shook his head, a pout on his lips, “lets eat together, then when i’m doing my homework, you can tidy.”

you sighed, looking at his saddened expression, “okay. but only cause i didn’t have any lunch.”

haon smiled, going back to his food as you scooped out a bowl of rice for yourself before sitting opposite your son, watching as his hamster-like cheeks filled up with rice and soup, some of the red liquid escaping his lips.

you chuckled, wiping it with your thumb.

“ah, mum!” he whined.

“fine, fine, i won’t.”

11:17 (time for haon’s second lesson of the day)

“how much for the white radishes?”

“250 won for 100g.”

“i’ll take 200g please,” you smiled.

“mrs y/l/n!” her son shouted, running out the store.

you gasped, looking at the little boy, “hey minwoo, why aren’t you at school, huh?”

“i don’t feel well,” minwoo shrugging, coughing slightly, “but is haon coming to the arcade after school?”

“maybe,” you smiled, “it depends how much homework he gets today.”

“oh haon gets no homework,” minwoo nodded.

you chuckled, “really?”

minwoo nodded, “yeah. really.”

“okay, i’ll keep that in mind,” you nodded.

“500 won please.”

you handed over the money, taking the bag of white radishes and bowing before continuing on down the market street.

at the end there was a convience shop, one you were very familiar with, and just like every day, you stopped in to pick up some melon-flavoured milk and a choco pie for haon.

you walked along, picking up two bottles of melon-flavoured milk before going to pick up the choco pie. but as you laid your hand on the small brown packet, so did someone else.

you looked up to see a man. he looked vaguely familiar, but not so much that you knew him immediately, you thought he may have just had a common face, but looking now, he was far too handsome for that.

he had dark brown hair that fell perfectly despite not being styled. his eyes were cat-like and there was a mole on the end of his nose.

“sorry,” you said, bowing as you took your hand off the pie.

he bowed back, not saying anything as he took the pie and went to the cashier.

“what?!” you muttered, watching him casually buy the pie and walk out the store.

you sighed, paying for everything and piling it into your bag before walking out the store and back home, ready to start work.

“who does he think he is? didn’t even say thank you, or pretend to offer it to me. tssk. i’m gonna have to make something for haon no—“ you muttered, breaking out of your angry haze when you walked into someone, “watch where you’re going!”

“sorry, but i think it was you who was looking at the floor,” the man said calmly.

you looked up to see the same man from the convience store.

“you!” you exclaimed.

the man looked around before pointing at himself, as though it was a question.

“yes, you,” you scoffed, “you’re welcome, for the pie.”

he smiled, bowing slightly before he bent down, helping to pick up all your shopping.

you sighed, “so you’re not going to thank me?”

he stared up at you for a moment, blinking, “thank you.”

you chuckled, “are you always like this?”

you took your shopping from him and began putting it back in your bag.

“i think so,” he said before shrugging, “how am i suppose to know, though?”

you tilted your head to the side.

“i have never met someone as strange as you,” you said.

the man pulled a face, “is that supposed to be a compliment?”

you shrugged, “a backhanded one, yes.”

he smiled, chuckling slightly, “then, thanks. i guess.”

you nodded, “you’re welcome.”

you turned around to walk away, but were stopped by the man once again.

“wh-where are you going? maybe i can walk you there?”

your heart raced and you could only hope your face wasn’t bright red.

“i-i’m just going home,” you said, “i work from home.”

he nodded, “i’ll walk you then. as a thank you.”

you chuckled, turning round to face him, “okay, then. let’s go.”

15:01 (the end of Haon’s school day)

“ah, it’s three o’clock, i should get going,” minho sighed, checking his watch.

“three o’clock?!” you exclaimed, “oh my god, i- i need to go.”

you apologetically smiled at minho as you crossed the road, unlocking your car as you did so, “it was so nice to meet you, minho! i-i hope we can see each other again but i—“

“wait! can i have your number?!” minho exclaimed.

“i really need to go!” you exclaimed, “i-i’ll see you tomorrow okay? same market!”

minho sighed, but nodding, waving as you drove away, “bye y/n.”

he just couldn’t help but think of you all night.

03:18 (the time when haon should be in bed)

“mummy! mum!”

“coming!” you called, eyes still closed as you got out of bed, “haon? you alright?”

“i think i’m gonna–“

haon’s sentence ended prematurely as he covered his mouth, running out the room and to the toilet, throwing up all the contents of his stomach.

“it’s okay, shh, shh, it’s okay,” you soothed, rushing over and rubbing your son’s back as he started to cry, “it’s going round, huh?”

“mummy i don’t like it,” he sobbed, leaning his head on the toilet bowl.

“i know, i know it’s not nice,” you pouted, “now get your head off of there, it’s dirty. look i’ll help you brush your teeth.”

you helped him stand up, pulling off his t-shirt before going to his bedroom and getting a new t-shirt out the drawer. when you went back to the bathroom, haon was back over the toilet, retching.

“shh, it’s okay,” you hummed, pulling him up and sliding the t-shirt over his head before you helped him brush his teeth, “i think someone should stay at home today, huh? go back to sleep and when you wake, mummy will make you some nice soup, yeah?”

08:11 (the time haon should be at school by)

“coming!” you called, drying your hands as you ran to the front door, “o-oh! minho!”

“i couldn’t wait until the market,” minho blushed, “i’m sorry, i know this is creepy but i like you a lot y/n. and it doesn’t happen to me often.”

you smiled, “i like you too minho, but... i don’t think that it’s good for you to get involved with me.”

“what? you a member of the mafia or something?” minho laughed.

you chuckled slightly, looking down at the children’s shoes in your doorway, sighing, “we can be friends though, minho. i do like you. a lot.”

“why don’t we just get to know each other?” minho offered, “i’m better than you may think.”

suddenly, as if it were a sixth sense, you could hear haon getting out of bed, “mum—“

“i’ve got to go!” you exclaimed, shutting the door in minho’s face as you went to haon’s bedroom, “sweetie! you’re awake!”

“who was that, mummy?”

you sighed, “no one, no one. do you want to go watch some cartoons? i’ll bring you some soup.”

09:43 (saturday - time for shopping with haon)

“mum! can i get some melon milk?” haon asked.

you hummed, looking around at the mostly empty store, “go and grab it and come straight back here okay? i’ll be waiting.”

you sighed, watching him run out the aisle before turning back to the freezer, deciding what type of meat to buy for dinner tonight.

it had been two days since you last saw minho, and although you were sure saying that you should just be friends was the right decision, you just couldn’t shake the thought of him out your mind.

maybe you were wrong. maybe you and minho should be more.

“mum?”

you were snapped out your daze, turning to face haon’s slightly confused face.

“oh, yes?” you asked.

“i got strawberry milk for you as well,” he said, putting both the bottles in the trolley.

you smiled, “thanks, bub. let’s go get some snacks for school next week, yeah?”

haon giggled, grabbing onto the end of the trolley and running down the aisle, “hurry up, mum!”

“coming!” you chuckled, running to catch up.

13:19 (haon should have eaten lunch by now)

“mum. i’m so hungry, when are we going to be done?” haon moaned.

“now,” you sighed, letting go of the flowers and walking in the direction of home, “come on, i’ll buy you some dumplings.”

haon cheered, skipping ahead, already heading in the direction of the dumpling store.

you glanced back at the flowers– orange roses –they weren’t your favourite, but you liked appreciating their beauty.

they were often forgotten about, and maybe that’s why you liked them. many people enjoyed red roses, or pink roses, maybe even yellow roses. but orange weren’t appriecated as often as the rest.

maybe that’s why you liked them.

“mum, hurry!”

19:57 (haon’s bedtime)

you sighed, lining up haon’s shoes neatly in the shelf where they should’ve been all day.

as you finished with the last pair, the doorbell rang and you sighed again, getting up slowly before walking to the door.

you opened it to see minho, looking bashfully at his shoes.

“you never know how to give up, do you?”

“i’d call it enthusiasm,” minho said.

you smiled, chuckling slightly.

“i just– i haven’t seen you for the last couple of days when you said you’d be there and you shut the door on me so suddenly and i don’t know why that’s not pushing me away because surely, those are signs that you don’t like me but i really, really like you and i have this weird feeling that you might like me too?”

you sighed, nodding, “i do. i really like you, minho.”

“then...” minho paused, “why—“

“there’s something you need to know,” you said, taking hold on minho’s wrist, “come in.”

minho walked in, taking his shoes off quickly as he pulled the door closed behind him.

“wow, your shoes,” minho chuckled, pointing to haon’s school shoes, “wait.”

“yeah, that’s um...” you trailed off, “yeah. minho, i have a son.”

minho’s eyebrows raised as he nodded.

“i’m sorry. i know– i know this is gonna deter you but he– i—“

“why would it deter me?” minho asked, “i like you, a lot, y/n, i just said that. also, i have three cats so i kind of know how you feel.”

you laughed, “wow. wow, minho you’re really something.”

“so... how... is he?” minho asked, “wait.”

you shook your head, laughing again, “no, no i understand. his name is haon y/l/n and he’s seven years old. born 19th of february. pisces. um... he likes sports, melon milk and chocopies.

“oh that’s—“

“yeah, you took my son’s chocopie,” you nodded.

minho tried not to laugh, standing up and bowing, “i’m so, terribly sorry.”

you laughed, smacking his shoulder, “stop it!”

minho laughed, sitting back down, “so um... so, does he have a...”

“a dad?” you asked, minho nodding awkwardly, “well of course he does.”

minho rolled his eyes.

you took a breath, “he doesn’t know his dad. i was never married but i had this boyfriend when i was younger and haon was conceived back then. but he wasn’t a great person. long story short, he wanted kids at that time and i did not.”

minho nodded, “i’m sorry to hear that.”

you shrugged, “it’s nothing much. he just thought that women should have several children and stay at home bearing him while he went out and worked and at the end of each day there should be a clean house and a nice home cooked meal and– god he was just a bit of a dick.”

“well, i’d love to meet haon,” minho smiled, “if you let me.”

part 2

[kdreamscenario]

The Boss’ Girl: Ch. 7

Lee Minwoo (Shinhwa) X Reader X Jungkook (BTS)

Office!AU

Rated M: Smut, Vibrator, Thigh Riding

Word Count: 2645 Chapter 6 | Chapter 8

Over the rest of the night, Jungkook thought over the things that happened.  He’s not sure if Minwoo was really aware of who his crush is or not.  Either way he has his approval and encouragement.  He might as well take it and really pursue his interests.  Perhaps even take it a step further.

The rest of the week Jungkook puts cute sticky notes on the papers he brings you.  They wish you a good day or have a cute drawing on them.  No one needs to know that you keep them all in your desk drawer.  

Friday at lunch his department make plans to go out to the bar as usual.  That afternoon Jungkook rushes up to your office as soon as Sooji gives him the papers.  He really wants to know if you are coming out with them tonight.  He really hopes you will.  

The elevator doors open just wide enough for him to step out.  He’s practically bouncing over to you desk.  It’s not an unusual thing for him to be so chipper but it is curious.  

“Good afternoon Mr. Jeon.”  “Hello Secretary.”  He smiles and hands you the papers.

“No sticky note today?”  You notice in a glance.  His smile falters.  “Oh.  Sorry I forgot.”  “Something on your mind?”  “Nothing really.  The others are talking about going out tonight and I was wondering if you would be joining us.”  

Jungkook gives himself a mental high five for how smooth that went.  “Thanks for the offer but I’ve already got dinner plans this evening.”  “With CEO Lee?”  The words blurt out of his mouth before he can think.  That mental high five is now a face palm.  How stupid could he be.  Mr. Lee is just on the other side of the door.  

By the look of regret you can tell Jungkook didn’t mean to say that outloud.  “Yes it is with CEO Lee.  We have a business dinner with one of our partners.”  “Oh, well have a good evening then.  You’ll still be leaving at the usual time?”  “Yes I’ll still be leaving at the same time.”  “Okay, I’ll see you then.”  “Thank you Mr. Jeon.”  Jungkook bows and defeatedly takes his leave looking much different than how he came in.  

Ten minutes of work pass and your intercom beeps.  “Secretary Y/L/N could you come in here please.”  Minwoo’s voice comes when you press the button.  “Yes sir.”  You answer and head for his door.  You don’t bother knocking but stop just inside.  “Come in.”  He beckons you over.  

“The vice president would like to join our dinner party tonight.  Please call the restaurant to add a person to the reservation.”  Minwoo asks you without looking away from the papers spread over his desk.  “Of course sir.”  You wait.  There must be something else he wants.  He could have asked you that over the phone.  

Minwoo finishes reading the page he’s on then opens the bottom right desk drawer.  That instantly piques your interest.  Especially at the sight of the pink silk bag he takes out.  You take it when he hands it to you.  “I think pink is the color for today.  Why don’t you go slip those on?”  He asks with a nearly straight face.  You easily match his cool demeanor.  “Yes sir.”  

With a bow you take your leave and Minwoo goes back to work.  Looking around you check to make sure the office is clear before passing to the restroom.  The first piece of this set is a pair of silky baby pink panties with a built in vibrator.  They are controlled by a five speed remote or by the cell phone application so Minwoo has complete control over it.  The anticipation of when he’s going to first turn them on is nerve wracking but exciting all the same.  

Today Minwoo keeps you strung out for a long time.  At the end of the day he informs you that he’s meeting with the vice president to present the dinner meeting topics.  You are to come meet them out front at 6.  He leaves right after without once turning the panties on or even mentioning them.  

When he’s gone you go about your closing business.  Everything is set out on the desk ready for monday morning.  5:43, you’re gathering your things to leave when Minwoo decides to finally click them on.  He goes past the first setting right to the second.  You squeak out in surprise and grab the edge of the desk.  The initial shock doesn’t take long to grow into pleasure.  

After a long afternoon of anxious tension it feels so good to finally receive that stimulation.  You’re not worried about really letting yourself enjoy this.  The point of the pink set is for Minwoo to make you cum as many times before bed as possible or until you’re begging him to stop.  You know he’ll be waiting outside soon and very well might scold you if you don’t get in your first orgasm before coming down to meet him.  

To help speed things along you slide your hand down over your skirt to press the toy a little firmer against your clit.  Still gripping the edge of the desk, you move the small toy around in small circles.  The movement really helps the pleasure build.  It should be embarrassing just how quickly you’re reaching your peak, but in all fairness it’s been more than a week since your last session.

You’re so focussed on getting off that you have forgotten about a certain someone who comes to get you everyday.  The blood rushing in your ears makes you nearly miss the sound of the elevator bell.  The sound registers in your head just in time for you to drop your hand away but not before Jungkook sees you bent over clutching the desk.  He automatically thinks something is wrong and rushes over to your desk.  

“Secretary Y/L/N! Are you okay?”  He reaches out for you.  Stiffly you stand straight and step away from him.  You clear your throat and fix a loose strand of hair.  “Yes, I’m fine.”  It comes out a bit snappish but of course, he’s come and ruined your orgasm.  It doesn’t help that the toy is still buzzing against you.  At least you’re not worried about him hearing it.  It’s a high quality item and super discreet.  If it weren’t touching you there’s no way you’d hear it at this low setting.  

If you can manage to straighten up and get out of there, Jungkook should have no idea what’s going on.  Obviously he’s skeptical right from the beginning.  “I don’t think you’re okay.  Your face is all red.”  He continues to watch you carefully.  “Yes I’m fine just stretching out a knot in my hip.  I must have been sitting too long today.”  You deflect without looking him in the eyes.

In an attempt to get out of there you toss your phone into your bag and make to walk away.  This of course is the moment that Minwoo decides to click up the remote another setting.  You trip a step, Jungkook reaches out to catch you, and you land right in his arms with your bag smacking to the floor.  

You’re clutching onto his shirt with your head bowed, resting on his chest.  You know you should excuse yourself and walk away but that’s physically impossible.  You were so close to your orgasm before that the increase in speed has you right back on the edge.  Your legs are too shaky to move.      

Jungkook holds your arms and starts to panic.  He’s also expecting you to step back right away but you’re clinging to him and practically shaking.  “Secretary?  What’s wrong?”  You keep your head down and shake it back and forth.  There’s no way you can answer him and not moan out loud.  

Now you start to panic.  You’re about to cum right in front of the young intern and there’s no way now to stop it.  

Jungkook is more worried when you don’t answer.  Your shaking and panting makes him think that you’re crying.  One of his hands smoothes up your arm and tris to turn your face up to see what’s the matter.  Goosebumps spread along your arm following his touch.  You’re fighting with yourself to turn away from his hand holding your chin but your body wants to lean into the touch.  

He tries again to turn up your chin and damn the strength of his hand shouldn’t turn you on so much.  You can’t resist it.  The two of you make eye contact and it finally clicks in Jungkook’s head that you’re not really upset, you’re aroused.  The glazed look in your eye reminds him all too well of the wet dream he had.  It makes his heartbeat rush and pulse the blood south very quickly.  

The embarrassment and arousal threaten to break you.  Your eyes really do well with tears and a pathetic whimper slips from your lips.  Jungkook’s mouth drop to mirror the “o” shape of yours.  The moment is tense.  Something needs to be said, anything to explain yourself but words are now beyond your reach.  The strong grip holding you in place, the solid chest you’re clutching, the delicious smell of his cologne, and the shocked but lustful look in his eyes are clouding your senses.        

“Jungkook...please.”  The shaky whisper leaves your lips without permission.  You’re not even sure what you’re begging for.  Do you want him to do something more about this or do you want him to magically disappear and not have any clue about the situation?  

Jungkook takes a moment to also consider what it is you need.  He makes a rare gutsy move and runs a hand down to your hips.  Calculating every one of your reactions he pulls you in closer to have your body flush with his.  With this proximity he can sort of feel the vibrations of your toy.  His eyebrows tilt in genuine confusion as to why you’re buzzing.  You really want to look away but his other hand is still holding your face to watch you closely.  

He shifts your hips to the side and presses a thigh between your legs to figure out more about this mystery.  The toy is now trapped between his thigh and your clit and pressing it firmer.  You moan at the electric feeling that rolls down to your toes.  

Jungkook finally figures out what’s going on and his shock doubles.  The stiff bulge in his pants twitches against your stomach.  He’s in disbelief that you would actually do something like this at work but it’s ridiculously sexy.        

The toy pressing perfectly clears your last shred of hesitation.  Your hips roll forward tentatively to chase it just a little more.  Jungkook feels like your small movements are out of hesitation.  He wants to see you really let yourself go.  He let’s go of your chin to help guide your hips with both hands.  You let your head fall back down to his chest.  He loves the feeling of your hot breath panting through his shirt.  

“Noona.”  Jungkook groans, his voice deeper than it should be.  The term sort of slips but he’s been wanting to call you that for so long.  He really expects you to stop and be angry about it.  Instead it turns you on even more for some reason.  Your whine in reply encourages him to go on.  

“Noona.  Go ahead and let go.  It’s okay.”  The words pass his lips in a low whisper like a secret.  If he weren’t practically towering above you they might have be spoken right in your ear.  Just to keep a little of your dignity you would’ve liked to hold off a bit more.  No your body can’t hold it anymore.  You cum right after like your body obeys his very words.  You bite your lip to hold at least some of the moan back.  Your body curls in on itself and shakes all over.  

Jungkook loosens his grip on your hips to let you ride it out the way you like.  It feels like you’re falling forever with the relentless buzz of the toy prolonging your high.  Eventually it gets to be too much and your orgasm is rolling into overstimulation.  You have no control over stopping the vibrator but at least you can lessen the feeling if it’s not pressed against you.  

Your shaky limbs try to push you away from Jungkook.  He gets the hint right away and practically carries you over to sit on your desk.  Something really needs to be said now but the toy is still carrying on and you’re out of breath.  Jungkook doesn’t even know where to begin and it’s hard for him to think with a hard on like this.  

In some sort of miracle the toy turns off.  You can finally catch your breath for a moment.  You close your eyes and try to pull yourself together.  Before you can fully compose yourself your phone rings in your bag.  Jungkook quickly takes it out for you.  Of course CEO Lee is calling you.  A quick glance at the phone clock before answers says it’s 6:08.  

“Yes, sir.”  You answer trying to sound as solid as possible.  “Y/N dear where are you?  You’re almost 10 minutes late.  Is there a problem?”  “Sorry, Sir.  No problems. I will be right down.”  “I’ll be waiting.”  With that he hangs up.  Jungkook frowns at your answer and how you’re leaping onto your wobbly legs and grabbing your things.  He nearly expects you to rush out the door without even goodbye.  Of course after all that there’s no way you can just dash out like that.  

“Jungkook-ssi, I’m very sorry for this.  It wasn’t meant to happen this way I promise.  It was foolish of me to forget your arrival.  Please act as though this never happened.  I would greatly appreciate it.”  You speak directly to him just like you always had.  He hates it.

How could you change into your cold professionalism when he’s still standing there with a boner?  It’s really too much.  He scoffs at your little speech.  “No Secretary I’m afraid I can’t do that.”  This bold manner is very unlike him and it surprises you to see any bit of defiance in him.  You’re really not sure what to say but he beats you to it.  

“I know you’re well aware of my feelings for you.  There’s no way I can forget about you using me for your own pleasure whether you cared that it was me or not.  I’ll expect you to take some responsibility for this but not now.  I know he’s waiting for you so just go.”  He turns away with the last words and gestures vaguely to the elevator.

You take a few steps to stop beside him.  “Again I apologize Jungkook-ssi.  I hope that on Monday we may sort this out.  Have a nice weekend.”  You wait for him to look at you but he refuses to even answer besides a put off huff.  With that you take your leave.  The elevator doors close with you inside before Jungkook makes a single move.  

He curses and looks disdainfully at his bosses office doors.  What a mess he’s gotten into again.  Why does he keep getting caught up in your playing with CEO Lee.  It’s a constant cruel reminder of just how unattainable you are to him.  

Angry and still fairly turned on he takes the stairs down one flight to the bathrooms.  Thankfully with most people gone for the night it should stay empty.  He locks himself into a stall to rub one out.  Of course while imagining the way you looked just now no matter how much he hates himself for it.

-E.최 

A/N: Jungkook is finally getting a bit more in on the action.  Things will really pick up from here.

[kdreamscenario]

The Boss’ Girl: Ch. 3

Lee Minwoo (Shinhwa) x Reader x Jeon Jungkook (BTS)

Office!AU

Rated: G

Word Count: 1397

Chapter 2

The next morning the two of you had your usual light breakfast and coffee.  Minwoo goes to the gym and you go downstairs to your own apartment.  You are in dire need of a long day of relaxation on the couch.

Turns out you need two of those days to recover enough to not be limping into the office Monday morning.  Not that you’re really complaining.  The soreness is a blissful reminder of the good things that happened.

On your way up to the office you thank the building the thirtieth time for having an elevator.  The office lights flick on and you’re surprised by something sitting at your desk.  It’s a large bouquet of flowers in a glass vase.  They look and smell beautiful.  

You set down your things and admire them a little closer.  There’s a card sitting right in the center on a prong.  To see who they’re from you open it.

Secretary Y/L/N and CEO Lee, please accept these flowers on behalf of the interns.  With the mystery cleared up you put the card back in place.  You smile at the thoughtful gesture though you do wonder why they put your name on the card first.

Minwoo arrives at his usual time and is also pleasantly surprised by the flowers.  It’s not uncommon for him to receive thank you gifts but it’s a first for something so simple as a welcome party.  

Besides the flowers the rest of the day goes like any other Monday.  5:45 comes and you’re finishing up the materials for tomorrow.  Your things are in hand and ready to leave when you hear the elevator ding.  Who could be still here come to see Mr. Lee?

With somewhat slow and hesitant steps Jungkook enters the office.  He’s too preoccupied looking around the room to notice you standing in front of your desk.  You clear your throat to get his attention.  “Jungkook-ssi?  Can I help you?”

It’s sort of cute the way he startles at your voice and looks at you with wide bunny eyes.  “Oh, secretary Y/L/N.  I’m glad you’re still here.”  Jungkook smiles.  “It’s nothing really important.  I just wanted to know if you received the flowers.”  He says a bit sheepishly.  

That’s certainly not what you were expecting him to say.  “Yes, they’re really lovely.  Thank you. Please tell the other interns I said thank you as well, would you?”  You answer while looking at the bouquet.  “I’m glad you like them.  I would tell the others but um, they don’t know that I sent them yet.”  Jungkook mumbles the last bit and looks away.

You turn your attention back to him.  The boy is actually blushing a bit.  “Then do let them know when you do.”  Jungkook’s lips flatten out into a tight smile.  It’s obvious that he’s not used to being spoken to in this curt and formal manner.  “Yes, I will.”  He answer trying to match your tone.  

“Was that all?”  You continue and take a few steps toward the door.  His eyes snap up to you again with the same sad bunny look.  “Yes that was all.  Sorry to keep you here.”  He sounds crushed for some reason but you won’t let it get to you.  

Before you can get out your parting words Jungkook speaks up again.  “I’m also on my way home.  If you’d like I could walk you to your car?”  It’s a polite gesture that you have no reason to decline.  “Sure, that’s very kind of you.”  Your answer pushes all of the sadness out of his features.  

Once you’re both in the elevator you decide to ask him about the card.  “Jungkook, I’d like to ask you.  Why is it you put my name first on the card?”  Again he startles a bit at your voice.  “Just being polite.  Lady’s first and all.”  He lies easily but it’s enough of an answer for you.  

The rest of the elevator ride is quiet.  At least for you it is.  Jungkook on the other hand is having trouble keeping his heart from pounding right out of his chest.  The blood has been rushing around since he got in this elevator on his way up.

It gets even worse when the two of you walk through the main lobby.  The poorly concealed stares of the receptionists have another blush on his cheeks.  If this is what it feels like to walk with you through the building he’d love to do it every single day.  

Jungkook’s happy moment gets cut short right outside of the building where your car waits with Minwoo’s driver holding the door open for you.  Before getting in you turn to say your goodbyes.  “Thank you for walking me down Jungkook.  Have a good evening.”  Your words are just as short as ever.  

“Have a safe trip home Secretary Y/L/N.”  Jungkook bows with his parting words.  The driver closes the door for you once you’re inside.  Jungkook waits for the car to drive off to start walking his way to the bus.  The flutter in his chest and wide full toothed grin stay with him until he goes to sleep that night.  

After that encounter, Jungkook’s intentions are obvious.  Increasingly more obvious as the week progresses.  He’s managed to find a way to visit your office everyday.  

Tuesday morning when you come in there is a coffee and a pastry at your desk by the flowers.  You have your suspicions where they came from.  Those suspicions are proven correct when Jungkook come up to your office at the end of the day.  He wants to know that you got them and if you liked them.

The gesture really is sweet and both are just to your liking.  (He had asked some of the others what you liked.) You do have to ask him not to do it again.  You explain kindly that you need to get CEO Lee’s coffee every morning anyway and that’s when you also get yours.  

Jungkook is sort of bummed about the fault in his plan.  He was fully prepared to buy you coffee everyday if it meant seeing you.  No matter he’ll quickly think of something else.

The slight frown he had at your answer lasts for only a moment.  He then offers to still walk you down to your car again.  That you can’t say no to mostly because of those pouty bunny eyes.  

Not even a day passes that Jungkook has a new way to visit.  He’s happily appointed himself as his department's messenger.  Anytime they need something taken up to you he gladly goes.  Now you’re seeing him multiple times a day.

His co-workers are baffled by his behavior. Newbies never want to go up to the daunting boss’ office.  The way Jungkook is nearly begging for a reason to go is curious.  

You know all too well what his game is but you can’t bring yourself to be mad at him.  To his credit he always keeps things professional.  He comes in with what he needs to give you, says a simple greeting, explains the papers, gives a charming smile, and goes back downstairs.  

The only things slightly out of line is that he always comes at the end of the day to ride down in the elevator with you and walk you to your car.  Even that isn’t a bad thing really.  He’s always a polite gentleman who wants to see you off after work.

The looks and whispers of people in the lobby still make the boy blush and beam.  Wednesday of the next week you find yourself flustered because you’re waiting for him to come up before you leave.

Jungkook comes barrelling in 10 minutes later than usual.  He looks a frantic mess, worried that you’d left without him.  To find you leaning against your desk with your things in hand is a blessing.  He definitely smiles a little brighter that day.

It all leaves you rather puzzled.  For longer than you’d like to admit, you think about Jungkook that night.  How had he wiggled himself into your life and routine this way?  Why does it not bother you as much as it should?

Tomorrow is Friday night.  You decide that you will consult the two things you know will help answer your questions.  Alcohol and the other secretaries. 

-E.최 

Chapter 4

[kdreamscenario]

The Boss’ Girl Ch. 1

Lee Minwoo (Shinhwa) x Reader x Jeon Jungkook (BTS)

Office!AU

Rated: G 

Word Count: 3343

A/N: Here’s the first chapter for the Jungkook project I’ve been working on.  It’s mostly just an introduction so bare with me on this one.  Warning!!! This is going to get very smutty!!!  Lots of Dom/Sub, slight BDSM, and all kinds of kinky stuff.   I feel a bit stupid I’ve had this idea all planned out since the Celebrity Bromance episode the two of them did together but just never sat down to write it.  Please give some feed back if it’s something you guys are going to be interested in?

7:55 AM you come into your boss’ office.  His morning cup of coffee placed on the coaster by the phone.  ¼ cup half and half, two teaspoons of raw sugar, and ¾ cup of Starbucks dark roast coffee in his favorite mug.  By now there’s no need to measure it out because you know by sight and muscle memory.  

The three leading business journals and newspapers are stacked in just the right order on the right hand side.  The days tentative schedule typed with checkboxes lays on top of them.  It’s also on both of your tablets but he likes the paper copy just for the satisfaction of checking the boxes when something is accomplished.  

After giving the desk and room a look over to be sure everything is neat and in place you head for the front of the office.  Your watch clicks to 8:00 AM and the elevator dings.  Like an interminable coo-coo clock your boss comes through the door with a pleasant good morning though his forward pace never stops for the greeting.  

You click the door back shut and follow along behind him.  Back in his private office he hands you his suit jacket that you hang on the rack.  He takes his seat, a small sip of coffee, a sigh, and picks up today’s agenda.  While he gives it a thorough read through you stand beside him with the tablet in hand for instructions.  

“Not too much going on today outside the office.  That’s good.  No major messes to clean up or meetings.  Also good.  And just the two of us for lunch today?  Very good.”  He finishes off his thought with a wink in your direction.  

“Alright dear, unless anything of importance comes up, which I hope it doesn’t, I’ll see you at 11:45.”  He smiles and barely waits for your “yes sir” before picking up the first newspaper.  Nothing more is needed to be said for you to excuse yourself out to your own desk.

Day after day for the past three years has been exactly this way.  Being the personal secretary for Lee Minwoo has been a blissful and stable life.  Most of the time it was almost too easy to help your very predictable boss.  The man loves order and simplicity and it shows in every aspect of his company.  

That is to say he likes those things in his work life.  Lee Minwoo outside of work is a very different person.  Once he was out of the office for the day his adventures were ever changing.  He loves to try all sorts of new things with his friends.  As his work secretary there is only one part of that Lee Minwoo that you ever really get to see and that is his love life.  Mainly meaning you.  

It’s no secret to even some people outside of the company that you are Lee Minwoo’s girl.  Not a girlfriend or arranged fiancé or anything of the sort, just his girl.  His favorite play thing when he could have any number of nice toys.  That is exactly how the two of you like your relationship to be.  

Your common day ends quickly with your phone alarm buzzing 4:55 PM.  You rise from your seat and head into Minwoo’s private office.  He doesn’t look up at you until you’re in your place beside him with the tablet.  He’s quick to tell you all the things that got done today, which of course is the whole checklist, and tell you what to put on the list for tomorrow.  

“I see here that we have some new interns coming tomorrow?”  He adds glancing through an open e-mail.  “Yes sir, four new ones.”  You answer.  “Good let’s go to meet them at 1:30 after we return from lunch with the accountant firm then.  Make sure you’ve got my favorite suit and red tie ready for me in the morning.  You know how I like to intimidate the new blood.”  He adds a devious chuckle.  

5:00 PM on the dot hits and he’s got his jacket on and out the door.  His office looks like he had never been there at all.  You make up and print out the checklist for tomorrow, send an e-mail to the downstairs main secretaries to inform them of the bosses meeting time with the interns, and make a phone call to Minwoo’s housemaid to pick up and prep the suit for tomorrow.  Another perfect day finished.  

The next day begins the same as all the others.  You work diligently at your desk until 11:45 when the two of you head out for the business lunch.  Normally a secretary wouldn’t dare eat with the important businessmen but Minwoo always insists you stay right beside him.  When he first started this habit the other men were appalled at you being there but over time they grew used to your practically non-existent presence.  

It was all boring business talk that you payed just enough attention to so you could keep mental notes for Minwoo later.  Beside that you simply tuned them out and politely ate your lunch in peace.  On the very rare occasion that Minwoo or one of the other men spoke directly to you it wasn’t hard to make pleasant small talk until they ignored you once again.  

The oldest generation of wealthy individuals could never get comfortable with the thought that you simply were just a secretary and not a love interest.  Many of them push the question at each meeting if the two of you were engaged yet to which you both always declined.  Anywhere that Minwoo was invited to he would bring you along when everyone else brought their dates or wives.  It made their heads spin with gossip and questions.  

Even today the old men around the table would continue to give furtive glances in your direction any time they thought you weren’t looking.  One of them even had the nerve to try and make you look like a fool by asking you a quite difficult political opinion when they thought you weren’t paying any attention.  All of them are greatly disappointed when you give a very fair and witty response.  

“Nice job in there as always my dear.  I do love the way we make their poor little heads spin.”  Minwoo purrs in your ear when you’re in the car on your way back to the office.  You give him a coy smile to let him know you enjoy it just as much as he does.  “Such a good pet I have.”  He hums and runs a light touch along your neck.  You figure he must be in a particularly good mood today to be giving you this kind of skinship before 5 o’clock.  Though he doesn’t push it much farther than that, only keeping a firm hand on your thigh for the rest of the car ride.  

Back inside the building he’s all conservative business again.  The desk secretary lets him know where the interns are before you both head that way.  He checks his suit and hair in the hallway mirror and steps into the waiting elevator.  The two of you step into the third floor office precisely at 1:30.  

Everyone in the office is already standing at attention and bows as soon as you enter.  Only moments after five people stand in front of you.  The four interns and their supervisor bow and greet Minwoo again.  “Thank you so much for taking the time to greet the new interns sir.”  The supervisor says.  

“No problem at all!  It’s important that they know who it is they’re working for.”  Minwoo sends them a charming smile that makes the exact effect he wanted. The two girls visibly swoon and the two men smile awkwardly in return.  “More importantly is you know miss Y/L/N my secretary, she’s what really keeps this company ticking.”  Minwoo turns and gestures to you.

The four bow and greet you individually.  One of them sticks out to you more than the others.  The way his hand trembles a bit when he bows to you and the way his large doe eyes can’t seem to stop staring leaves an impression of innocence.  It’s fairly distracting the way he keeps stealing glances at you while Minwoo continues to speak to them.  A few of them you’re pretty sure aren’t glances at your face.  Was it wrong to think it was cute?  

Minwoo finishes his rousing speech and you’re ready to leave.  “Oh sir, the office is holding a small party to welcome the interns tonight if you’d like to join us.  I’ll send Y/N an e-mail of the details.”  The supervisor informs you before you can leave.  “Very good, hopefully I’ll see you there then.”  Minwoo beams with that sinister grin.  You know exactly what he’s thinking.  

At 4:55 you’re by Minwoo’s desk with the tablet in hand.  “The party is at 8:30 dear so please be at my door around 7:45.  I’ll have Mrs. Chang bring down a new dress for you around 6.”  He finishes off what he needs for you to do and is out the door.  

Once Minwoo was sure that you would stay at the company as his secretary he had asked you to move into the same apartment building.  It made last minute work and your night flings a lot easier.  Simply saying it was more efficient and he loved that.  He lives in the top penthouse suite and you live two floors below.

You’re in front of Minwoo’s apartment door at 7:43.  He answers a moment after you ring the bell.  You knew he would be ready to go once you arrived.  “Hello dear, you look lovely as usual.”  He adds while looking you over.  

The dress he sent is a flowy pink cocktail with silver heels and a silvery satin shawl for your bare arms.  Your hair in a low chignon and shimmering pink eye make-up finish the look.  It is incredibly feminine just the way he likes you to be.  

Minwoo makes sure the passcode is set to lock the door and then you head for the lobby.  The driver is waiting in front of the building like usual and helps you to get in.  It takes around twenty minutes to get to the party venue and it’s spent in comfortable quiet.  The way Minwoo has a wide grin across his face and keeps a hand on your thigh is all you need to know how fun tonight is going to be.   

It’s not good for his image as the boss if he’s the first to arrive at the party.  Of course you arrive exactly 10 minutes after it starts.  A majority of the company workers are spread through the familiar room.  It’s a venue they often use for this sort of party.  

A large open room with wall to ceiling windows on one side overlooking the city.  In the center is a table of all kinds of finger foods.  Tall tables line the windows while short tables and sofas are mixed around the room.  The bar lines the right wall and a karaoke stage sits in the far corner.

As soon as the two of you enter the room quiets for a moment.  Minwoo leads you straight to the bar, everyone bowing in your direction as you pass.  The bartender pours the two glasses of wine Minwoo orders then passes them over the counter.  There’s an unspoken rule that no one starts a conversation with Minwoo before he’s gotten his glass.  

Once the two of you have your glasses in hand the usual party flow begins.  The upper management small talks with Minwoo, then the lower management.  Finally he’ll go to speak to certain workers who he has an interest with lately.  Someone who’s moving up or has done an excellent job of something.  

Tonight that group is the interns.  The four of them are chatting with some of the older interns when the two of you approach.  They all bow and greet the two of you equally.  “Good to see you all could make it.  I’d like to welcome you again to the company for the year.”  Minwoo starts with a genuine smile.

Their reactions are the same as they were this morning.  The two girls giving Minwoo heart eyes, the two boys standing proper, and the one wide eyed boy focusing more on you than his boss.  Maybe it’s the wine but you let yourself take a better look at him.  

He has such a young and pretty face that doesn’t exactly match the sharpness of his jaw line.  Matter of fact it doesn’t match the rest of his body much either.  Even through the button up shirt and slacks you can tell that he’s very well built.  

Minwoo also notices the boy’s physique.  “What’s your name son?”  The boys turns his attention to Minwoo for the first time with the question.  “Jeon Jungkook, sir.”  He speaks politely.  “Jungkook-ah, you’ve got quite a good body.  You must work out a lot or play a sport?”  

“Yes, Sir.  Mostly just going to the gym.”  Jungkook answers with his head lowered.  “That’s good to know.  I’m always looking for extra people on our sports teams.”  Minwoo looks thoroughly pleased.  New blood to help his teams win and playing with his workers gives him another place to show off.  

Jungkook agrees quickly to join any game they play.  Minwoo asks the older interns to take care of the new ones then the two of you move on.  The rest of the evening goes similarly.  At some point you step away from Minwoo to chat with some of the other secretaries.  It’s good you to keep in the loop about office gossip and projects.  

A few hours in and two glasses of wine later you’re about to ask Minwoo if he would like to head home.  That’s when the interns start causing a bit of a ruckus.  The new interns were playing rock paper scissors.  The loser, one of the girls, walked up onto the karaoke stage.  You had almost forgotten the company tradition of making the interns start the karaoke.   

That was usually Minwoo’s cue to leave.  The office workers started to really party and let loose once the singing started.  Minwoo is a great boss.  He knows how to socialize well with his workers and also knows when to give them space.  

A popular song starts on the machine and the girl starts to sing along.  You tune her out and walk over to Minwoo.  He doesn’t break his conversation when you arrive at his side.  There’s a slight nod and wink in your direction.  

That’s the cue you’ve been waiting for to send the pick up text to the driver.  As usual the driver say he’ll bring the car right around.  Out of the corner of his eye Minwoo catches the small nod you give in answer.  

In a natural manner Minwoo wraps up his conversation and gives his farewell.  The two of you step away and he hooks his arm in yours.  The gesture is innocent but it still surprises you.  You make barely two steps before you hear the opening to a familiar song beging on the karaoke machine.  

You’d know that song anywhere.  It’s one of you absolute favorites.  Out of curiosity you stop and turn back.  On that small stage of course is Jeon Jungkook.  In the past few hours he’s rolled the sleeves up and undone a few buttons of his dress shirt.  Just that extra bit of skin makes you see the boy a bit differently.  His sharp collarbones and veiny lines of his forearms aren’t what you were expecting from the nervous looking young man.

Then you’re completely shocked again by his voice.  His tone is so different from the original singer of this song but in a twisted way you almost prefer his.  He has a delicious soft tone to his voice that sinks into your skin.  

Here’s a boy who has been staring at you all day like God himself was in the room, singing your favorite song, and looking like absolute sin.  You don’t know how to act for a moment.  You’re enraptured by his crooning voice like he’s stopped time for everyone but himself.  

You really can’t figure it out and you look to his face for some sort of answer.  It’s not exactly an answer, more of a complication.  You look up away from his body to find him staring at you all the same.  Your eyes lock and he holds your gaze to continue his beautiful song.  

He’s nearly on the second chorus by the time Minwoo gives a light tug to your arm.  The time spell Jungkook had over the room is broken.  You look to Minwoo who’s giving you a knowing yet curious expression.  You clear your throat and bashfully let him continue walking you out of the venue and to the waiting car.

Loud cheers ring through the room when Jungkook finishes his song and heads back to the table of other interns.  He’s blushing at all the compliments and he politely declines the demands for an encore performance.  Instead he settles in and keeps sipping on beers and enjoying his new co-workers.  

Half an hour later the girls all go to the restroom leaving the guys at the table.  Jungkook clears his throat to get the attention of Namjoon the guy next to him.  He’s one of the older interns from earlier this year.   

“Hyung, can I ask you something?”  Jungkook is sheepish again.  Namjoon turns to him.  “Of course.  What’s up?”  He gives an easy smile that helps Jungkook relax.  “I’m just curious.  Does Secretary Y/L/N always go everywhere with CEO Lee?”  

Namjoon looks a bit confused by this question as it seems obvious.  “Well of course she does.  That’s her job.”  He answers.  That’s not really what Jungkook meant to ask.  He tries again to be a bit more specific.  

“Well yeah at work but like right now they aren’t working but she left with him?  Does she always come and go with him?”  He knows the exact question he wants to ask but he’s going the long way about it.  

Namjoon looks at him like he’s lost his marbles and nods slowly.  “Well yeah. This is a work function so technically it’s work?”  Jungkook had heard the Namjoon was considered a genius but right now he seems a bit dim.  Jungkook sighs internally then just goes out and asks what he wants to know.  

“So are they like, dating?  Do you know?”  He asks in as cool of a tone as he can manage.  Finally Namjoon gets what’s going on here.  “Oh… um not exactly dating.  No one is really sure what they are but just consider them both as taken.”  Namjoon watches Jungkook carefully.  

“What does that even mean?  Are they dating or not?”  Jungkook huffs a bit annoyed.  Namjoon smirks at the boys reaction.  “If you’re interested in Secretary Y/L/N get uninterested right now.  She won’t ever look at anyone but CEO Lee I can guarantee you that.”

That’s definitely not the answer Jungkook wanted to hear.  There’s also no way he’s just going to give up like this.  He’s not even really started.  Namjoon doesn’t like the defiant look in Jungkook’s eye.  “I’m serious man.  So many guys in this company have tried to get her but she just walks all over them and tosses them away like trash.  Don’t get your huge pride deflated by the ice queen.”  

Jungkook and Namjoon let the conversation drop after that but Jungkook thinks long and hard about it even after he’s back home.  There’s no way in hell he’s going to just give up.  He can’t do it.  Jeon Jungkook doesn’t back down on anything.  He just needs a really good plan to melt this “ice queen.”

-E.최

Chapter 2