#hyunin moments

[yang-innie]

HyunIn Moments [1 of ∞] Racha Log Ep. 09

[noonaracha]

[one of] my favorite Hyunin moment[s] for @wisteriya!

[channieblossoms]

the way i watched an hour long hyunin video last night and i’m still like wow i miss hyunin people should make more hyunin videos…..

[yangjeongin]

random hyunin moments

[tasteleeknow]

HELLO STRANGER. PART THREE.

PAIRING: minho ft. hyunjin x fem!reader GENRE: smut, angst, fluff, soulmate!au. enemies to lovers. jealousy. pining. unrequited love. CHAPTER CONTENT: 18+ minors dni. mention of violence. minor injuries. blood mention. WORD COUNT: 6k

masterlist and taglist ♡ pt.1 | pt.4

It doesn’t take Hyunjin long to catch up to you. Your pace is slow, stumbling over tree roots and rocks as your eyes blur with tears. He moves in front of you, holding your shoulders to catch you just as you stumble again. When you look up at him he pulls you into his arms, practically holding you up on your feet. His chest moves against yours as he sucks in deep breaths, recovering from his chase. You can’t remember the last time someone held you like this, like you could just relax every muscle in your body and trust yourself to them entirely.

“Why does he h-hate me so much?” you sob into his shoulder. “He was meant to love me.”

It’s an embarrassing outburst, the pain finally flowing over the dam walls as your friend holds you tightly. Hyunjin is quiet, letting you wet his t-shirt with tears and lifting you up the few times you attempt to collapse into the dirt. You don’t want to walk back to the carpark and find your way home. You want to collapse into bed. You want to rewind to the day you were matched. You should have known that this wasn’t for you. You wonder if you had known, deep down, if the three weeks of hesitation and procrastination was actually some gut instinct telling you this wasn’t right. When your tears dry up and a dull throb starts pounding behind your eyes, you pull back to rub at them. You wish you had tissues as you sniff and pull the collar of your shirt up to attempt and clean yourself up a little. 

“I’m sorry,” you murmur eventually, not wanting to look up at your friend's face—suddenly overwhelmed by the shame of it all.

He says nothing. You glance up to find him looking over your shoulder, a crease between his eyes where his brows pull together. It’s Minho, you know before you turn. He stands a few metres behind you, looking extremely awkward. You consider marching up to him and pushing him into the dirt, like your friend had done to you when you were five and fighting over the swings. It’d be satisfying. Childish, sure, but standing over him as he looks up at you from the ground? The image of it alone is almost enough to tempt you. 

Instead you turn back to your friend. “Can we go?” you ask. He keeps his eyes over your shoulder for a moment more before looking at you. 

“Yeah, we can leave.” 

When you get back to the car you climb into the front seat, alone. “We’ll just be a sec,” Hyunjin had said as the car came into view at the end of the track, handing you the keys. You watch Hyunjin speaking to him, too far away for you to hear anything they are saying. A family with two young children are the only other people around. A screaming boy runs around the empty car park as he waits for his parents to get his sibling ready for their hike. You miss it, being taken care of. When you look back across the carpark Minho has his head lowered, staring at his feet. Then Hyunin shoves him, palms to his chest. It catches Minho completely off guard. He stumbles back. It looks for a moment he might fall over into the dirt but he catches himself. He looks up at his friend in shock. Hyunjin says something and then turns, heading towards you. 

It’s all over so fast, you’re still processing it when Hyunjin opens the driver’s door and climbs in. He holds his hand out for the keys silently. Minho stands where he left him, arms hanging limply at his sides. “Are we—?” you start.

“We’re leaving,” he answers, starting the car. 

You can’t help turning to watch your soulmate as his best friend drives away, leaving him to find his own way home. It feels like pushing him into the dirt. The swing was yours. 

—

“What did he say to you?” Hyunjin asks after a while. You’d noticed him looking into the rear view mirror long after he’d pulled away, like he was still looking for his friend—standing there alone.

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“It matters.” 

Did it matter? It feels like nothing mattered less. You’re drained, so drained it feels like you’ll never care about anything again. You sigh, knowing rationally it’ll pass. You’ll feel normal again. 

“He didn’t tell you?” you ask. “I saw you push him.” 

You watch his hands as he readjusts them on the wheel. “He wouldn’t say anything,” he mumbles. “Not a word.” 

“He… blames me for Sana leaving him.” 

Hyunjin frowns, turning to look at you briefly before returning his eyes to the road. It wasn’t your fault, you remind yourself. She’d have left him even if you’d never signed up; if you’d never met him he’d be in the exact same situation.

“Did he… change after she died? I mean after what happened to you?” you ask, watching your friend’s expression carefully for any sign of discomfort. 

“Minho?” he asks, looking at you briefly to see you nod. His brows furrow, clearly lost in thought for a moment as he watches the road. “He broke it off with her for a bit, just kinda stuck to himself after we got back from Europe…”

After his reaction today you can’t imagine Minho ever wanting to break it off with his ex. But then, he was unpredictable. You felt you were prepared now. You knew to expect anything. To always approach him like he was a cornered animal, ready to strike at any moment. 

“He, uh, he was eligible for the program around that time,” Hyunjin continues. “Got the notification and then the next day he went over to her place and I didn’t see him for the whole weekend. Then, that was it. It took me a long time to convince him to sign up.” 

It was a multi-step process, being allowed into the program and then being paired with your soulmate. First, you had to wait to be found eligible. It took years to process after you turned eighteen, then it could be years after that before your soulmate was found. Most people didn’t wait time hesitating like you both had. 

“He… found out he was eligible… to find me… and then he went back to her?” 

“Yeah.” 

You scoff, turning from Hyunjin to look out the window. “Of course he did.” 

—

“More?” you ask, holding a bowl of huge strawberries out to Hyunjin. He says nothing, gazing out the window at the heavy rain. He’d been spending more time at your place since the hike. Mina was on her honeymoon and you had the place to yourself. It was nice to have his company. 

“Jinnie?” you prompt. 

He turns. “Huh?” 

You hold the bowl up to him. He takes one, wrapping his lips around the juicy berries and offering you a smile when he finishes chewing. “They’re nice.” 

“Mm. I got up early to get them.” 

He nods, turning back to the window with no further comment. You sigh, placing the bowl gently on the table. He hadn’t been himself in the past few weeks. Sure, he had his bad days usually but he hardly had good ones recently. You can’t help feeling at fault. It couldn’t be a coincidence. It was the fight you’d had with Minho that had triggered it, you were sure of it. 

“Do you want to come for a walk?” 

“In the rain?” he questions. 

You nod, smiling. “I have umbrellas.” 

He looks back at the heavy rain, then to you. “Alright.” 

It’s a brief walk to the nearby park, the heavy rain against your umbrellas preventing any real conversation between you. A small gazebo in the centre offers you shelter finally, allowing you to drop your arm. It had started aching a little. 

“Doesn’t it smell nice?” you comment, turning to find Hyunin sitting on the small bench that lined the shelter. 

“The rain?” 

“Mm, ya know it pulls the pollution out of the air? That’s why it smells so clean,” you suck in a deep breath. “It literally is.” 

Hyunjin stands, joining you at the edge of the gazebo. He sticks his hand out into the rain, watching the droplets bounce off his palm. “Do you like the rain?” he asks. 

“Love it. I wish it rained everyday.” 

He huffs out a laugh. “I think you’d change your mind if it did.” 

You shrug. “Maybe.” He’s quiet next to you, palm still held out in front of him. “Do you like it?” you ask. 

He hums. “It’s alright.” 

Alright? The rain was one of the things that made you happiest in the world. You couldn’t accept ‘alright’. You grab his hand, pulling him out into the downpour before he can react. He attempts to pull back once he realises what’s happening, instinctively seeking shelter. “What are you doing?” he shouts. “You’re getting drenched.” 

“So?” you laugh. “It’s cleaning us.” 

When you refuse to let go of his hand he gives up, accepting his fate. He reaches up with his free hand to push his wet hair off his forehead. “Ya know, I think showers do that just fine.” 

“Showers don’t smell like this,” you argue, tilting your head back and closing your eyes. Hyunjin’s hand is warm in yours and when you open your eyes he’s copying you, head tilted back to let the rain fall onto his face. 

You smile, watching him. A droplet of water rolls down his neck and you reach up to wipe it off. You’re not sure why. It makes no difference, both of you soaked through. 

He looks at you after a moment. “You’re right,” he says. Then he grins, blinking the rain from his eyes. “It’s nice.” 

—

Mina moves out the week after she gets back from her honeymoon. 

“Are you sure you won’t move in with us for a little while?” 

“I told you, I have a place. I’m fine, really.” 

You didn't have a place, you had a hotel room. But she was happy. She was starting her life with the person she loved most in the world. You could survive living in a hotel room for a while so she could have her happiness without you getting in the way. She’d insisted on living with you until now because she knew you couldn’t afford the place alone. You’d held her back long enough.

The hotel is closer to your work. It’s the only positive thing about it. You’d avoided telling Hyunjin as long as possible but he’d made it a habit over the past few weeks to spend time at your place. He’d asked what was going on once you’d turned him down one too many times. 

“We can get a place together,” he says now.

“And leave Minho?” 

He waves his hand in the air dismissively. “He’ll be fine.” 

“I’ll be fine, too. Don’t worry about me.” 

“You can’t just make someone care for you and then say don’t worry about me.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” 

He grabs your wrist, halting you. “Just… think about it, yeah? If you don’t want to live with me permanently you can come stay with me until you find a place.” 

“It’s not that I don’t want to live with you, Jinnie. I’ve disrupted your life enough, I’m not separating you both completely.” 

He frowns. “Disrupted? Only in the best way.” 

You smile, swinging his arm back and forth. “I do have a favour to ask.”

“Mm?” 

“I can’t take Luna. I’ve been sneaking her in but I don’t feel good about leaving her while I’m at work.” 

“We can take her. Minho’s cats are friendly.” 

“You think he’ll… I mean I don’t…” 

“He’ll be happy about it.” 

“Even though he hates me?” 

He frowns, lips pressed together. You regret the words instantly. 

“Just ask him for me, yeah? Don’t pressure him. And don’t tell him why, please? Just…tell him I'm somewhere temporary where I can't take her. He doesn’t need to know anything else.” 

“Alright.” 

—

It’s a month later when a knock at your door distracts you from the book you’re reading. When you open the hotel door to find your soulmate standing on the other side, your first instinct is to drop your jaw and huff out a disbelieving laugh. The second is to slam the door in his face. Unfortunately, he catches it—palm pressed flat to the wood. 

“Please,” he says. “Just…give me a chance to speak.” The next words from his mouth make you both more angry and simultaneously convince you to let him in. “For Hyunjin’s sake.” 

You stand aside with a sigh, letting him into the small room you’d occupied for the past two months. When you shut the door and turn, he’s standing awkwardly by the bed—surrounded by boxes of your belongings. 

“How’d you find me?” you ask. 

“I uh…asked Mina,” he says, distracted by the sight of the messy room. “Hyunjin gave me her number.” 

“Did he tell you to come here? To apologise to me?” 

He frowns, looking at you again. "No. He doesn't know I'm here."

"If I ask him the same thing he'll agree?"

"I'm not a liar,” he says, offended.

"I don't know you. You might be."

He sighs. "Look I just... I know what I said was cruel—"

"You called me an infection and blamed me for your breakup."

He winces. "I was angry at her... for choosing them. Her..." he trails off, unable to say the word.

"Soulmate," you finish for him, sick of his fear of the word.

"Yeah. I was angry at her for it and you were the...closest thing to it. To all of it. I know.... it's not your fault. You didn't deserve it."

"No, I didn't."

"I'm sorry."

You nod, not sure what to say. You didn't forgive him. You didn't like him at all. He was angry and cruel and he'd hurt you more than anyone else you'd known in the short time you'd known him. 

“You’re here for Hyunjin?” you ask after a moment of heavy silence.

He nods. “Have you… noticed… I mean has he been a little different recently?” 

You take a step back towards the bed, collapsing onto the edge of the mattress. “He’s had more bad days.” 

Minho nods, rocking back and forth on his heels a little. “He’s better after being with you. He gets home and he’s… brighter than when he left.” 

You can’t help warming a little at the thought. You weren’t close to many people, weren’t used to being valuable to anyone like that. 

“He hasn’t talked about what’s bothering him?” you ask.

“We haven’t been talking a lot.”

“If you came here to ask me to tell you what’s bothering him, I don’t know. I wouldn’t tell you if I did. You should talk to him about it.”

He reaches up to hold the back of his neck, failing to look you in the eyes. “I didn’t… that’s not why I’m here,” he mutters, barely loud enough for you to make out. “You…need a place to live.”

“Obviously.” 

He looks up at you now, a little desperation in his eyes catching you off guard. “He’s happier with you. If you…moved in he’d be happier.” 

You huff out a disbelieving laugh. He’d called you an infection. Compared you to a fly, buzzing around his life and the people he cared about. “I’m not living with you.” 

He takes a step towards you. “I’ll leave. I’ll find somewhere else.” 

“You called me an infection.” 

“Please…” he begs. “I don’t know how to help him. He… needs you. I’m—I’m making him unhappy.” 

“I think we’re doing that together,” you mumble. 

He says nothing.

You sigh. “I can’t kick you out. Whether you believe it or not right now, I know he needs you.” 

“I’ll stay. You can move in. I won’t bother you. You’ll hardly see me. Luna is happy. The four of them get along,” he’s speaking rapidly now, the desperation dripping from his tone.

“If only we took after them,” you smile sadly.

He takes a step back before collapsing into the one chair in the room. “Do you really…believe in that whole thing?” he asks, waving his hand in the air.

“Soulmates. It won’t hurt you to say it.” 

“Soulmates. You believe it's real?” 

You shrug. “Maybe not for everyone.”

He stands abruptly, bumping into one of the boxes as he backs up towards the door. “Right, well… You’ll think about what I asked?” 

“Yeah.” 

He pauses in the doorway, holding the door open and looking back at you. “You can come visit Luna, whenever.” 

“Thank you.” 

He nods, then he’s gone. It takes you the rest of the day to process the interaction let alone consider what he’d asked. It’s not exactly how you’d imagined moving in with your soulmate. But Hyunjin made you happy. He was the person you were most comfortable with now that Mina was starting her own life. If Minho was right, and you really did make him happy too. It would be nice to live with him. Minho? He would be an unavoidable pain. Would seeing you both have your inevitable conflict do Hyunjin more harm than your presence would do good? It was a lot to consider. 

When you see Hyunjin for dinner it doesn’t take him long to notice your heavy shoulders and short responses. He puts it down to your living situation until you mention Minho had dropped by. 

“He what?” 

“You didn’t send him?” you ask.

“No. Did he apologise?” 

“He asked me to move in.” 

Hyunjin bursts into laughter, throwing his head back and nearly tipping in his chair. You lead forward to grab his arm, worried about him falling backwards. You’re unable to keep your own laugh back at his reaction. 

“What?” you question through your laughter. “Stop it.” 

“He… called you an infection and then dropped by to ask you to be his roommate?” 

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went.” 

He chuckles again, rubbing his eyes and then taking a sip of his iced coffee. 

“So… I’m taking that as a no,” you say.

He chokes, dropping his cup back on the table and smacking his chest. “You’re considering it?” he chokes out between coughs. 

“I don’t have a lot of options… and spending everyday with you is a hard offer to refuse.” 

“Careful,” he smiles. “Don’t fall in love with me.” 

You sigh, propping your chin in your palm and gazing at him longingly. “Too late.” 

He sighs dramatically. “This face is my biggest burden.”

“Are you sure it’s not your grinch of a roommate?” 

He smiles. “He’s a close second.” 

You’re both quiet for a moment, sobering a little as the heaviness of the conversation returns. “If you think you’ll be okay—living with him—I'd be happy to have you. You know that.” 

“I… don’t know if I will,” you sigh. “He was polite enough. But he feels like… a stranger every time I've spoken to him. He’s either dismissive or distant or cruel. I don’t know what to expect from him.”

He nods, looking a little dejected. 

“I’ll try it,” you sigh. “I don’t have much to lose at this point.” 

“I’ll leave him on the mountain again if he hurts you.” 

You smile. “We could get a lock for his door. Locks from the outside only.” 

“Or that,” he laughs. “When can you move in?” 

You shrug. “Tomorrow?” 

—

Being startled awake by a knock at your door in the very late hours of the night is unsettling at the best of times, but when you’re alone in a crappy hotel? You find yourself backing into the corner, scanning the crowded room for anything that might be used as a weapon. Then they’re knocking again. They can’t get in, you reason with yourself. Just… walk over and use the peephole. You don’t move until whoever it is knocks for a third time. When you bump one of the boxes and a large pot falls out and hits the ground, the thin hotel carpet does nothing to muffle the noise. You freeze. 

“It’s me,” comes a voice from the other side of the door.

Minho. Your eyes flick to the bedside table where a red 2:22 glows from the cheap clock. What the fuck was he doing here in the middle of the night? 

You march across the room, fear switching rapidly to irritation. When you swing the door open, you’re mouth is open—ready to ask what the fuck he was doing here. Instead, you freeze—taking in the sight of him. 

“What the fuck did you do?” you breathe. 

He scowls. “I didn’t do anything.” 

You’re tempted to slam the door in his face. Scowling at you after showing up at your hotel room at 2am? Hyunjin loves this guy, you remind yourself. You should help him, for Hyunjin. You cross your arms, waiting for him to speak. You weren’t going to waste breath attempting to pull an explanation from him. 

His sour expression drops from his face when he realises you aren’t going to speak until he does. “I shoved some guy and he had a lot more friends than I thought, that’s all.” 

Your eyes trace over his face, the split lip, the dried trail of blood from his hairline down the left side of his forehead. “So you did do something,” you say. “You shoved someone.” 

“Can I come in?” 

“Go home.” 

He looks to his left and the expression that crosses his face sends a small shiver down your spine. He looks haunted, like you could peek around the doorframe and find he’s watching a ghostly figure approach him from the other end of the long hallway. He’s quiet, contemplating his options—you assume. 

“I don’t have my key. I’d have to wake Hyunjin.” 

“So… you decided you’d rather wake me?” 

He nods.

You aren’t sure how to interpret that. He cared less about you losing sleep? He cared less about what you thought? Either way, it didn’t feel good. Still, taking him in would mean Hyunjin wouldn’t have to deal with him. You sigh, stepping aside. 

He steps in so quickly you’re almost tempted to check if there really is something down the hallway. You close the door after him instead, sliding the security chain across for good measure. When you turn he’s already made his way into the tiny bathroom and closed the door. “Not even a thanks,”, you grumble as you plod back to bed—scooping up the large pot on your way. A potential weapon, you note. You place it gently beside the bed, in case someone who wasn’t your grouchy soulmate decides to make a late night appearance. 

You don’t pull the covers over you, a little unsettled by Minho’s presence. You didn’t feel unsafe around him, just guarded. He’s a snake that could emotionally strike at any time. You have to be prepared from now on, you remind yourself. 

When the sound of the water running finally stops, you expect him to emerge. He doesn’t. You climb out of bed and take a few steps to the bathroom door. “Do you need anything?” you ask, hand hovering over the doorknob. 

The door swings open. 

“Do you have any…any band aids? They won’t stop bleeding,” he says, holding his bloody knuckles up. 

You snatch his wrists and take a step towards him, forcing him back into the bathroom. The fluorescent lights let you get a look at the extent of his injuries for the first time. He looks like he’s been attacked… and fought back… and lost.

“What the fuck happened?” you mutter, taking in the scrapes and cuts littering his body. His eyes flick between yours and then he tugs his wrists free from your grasp. 

“There were more of them than I thought.” 

“Yeah, you said that. Why did you shove someone?” 

He rolls his eyes, like you were being the irritating one in this scenario. “Bandaids?” he asks again, turning to shove his bleeding knuckles under the tap. 

You shake your head, watching him scrub at his skin like it wasn’t actively raw and bleeding. “Mina took the first aid kit. I tried… to pack light,” you finish as you snatch his wrist again, stopping his clumsy attempt at cleaning his wounds. “Would you stop that,” you snap. “You’re making them worse.” 

He doesn’t look up at you, eyes fixed on the bloody water dripping from his skin into the sink. “He’ll ask me what happened. He won’t stop asking until I tell him,” he says suddenly, a hint of panic in his tone. 

You have no idea how to approach whatever is happening right now. You don’t know him. He’s the most unpredictable, confusing person you’ve ever met in your life and now he’s in your bathroom, bleeding into your sink… and looking extremely vulnerable. It feels like a scale is tipping back and forth in your head. Help him; help the person Hyunjin cares about most in the world, or protect yourself. Back off and let him deal with whatever this was alone before he says something to hurt you—like he always did. 

“What happened?” you ask reluctantly, keeping your grip on his wrist. Moving at all felt perilous. 

“Her brother. I haven’t seen him since… since he told Hyunjin to stay the fuck out of his life. That’s what sent him over the fucking edge again. He… got so fixated on this soulmate shit afterwards. On me finding you… it—it was so fucking cruel. I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t even know what was happening until I was on top of him.” 

You're not sure what to process first. Who’s brother? Was his anger all still related to being forced to meet you? Or for his hurt friend? Both? The irony of him calling someone cruel for doing something that reminded you very much of what he’d done to you only weeks ago. Before you can ask for any clarification he’s speaking again. He speaks like you aren’t there, or like it doesn’t matter who you are at all. A passive audience. 

“He was just getting better…we’d just gotten back…” 

“Who’s brother?” 

He looks up into the mirror, making eye contact with you. “His soulmate,” he says, the word slipping from his lips easily for the first time since you’d met. “Aera. Her brother was the only connection he fucking had to her and he hurt him so badly I—” 

You watch as he closes his fist, his arm shaking a little in your grasp as he squeezes tightly. You lift his fist up so you can attempt to pry his fingers up. “Stop it,” you scold. He relaxes instantly. You reach for the tap and turn the water off before pushing Minho back towards the closed toilet lid. It only takes a small shove for him to collapse onto it, knees buckling under him. “Just, calm down while I deal with this, yeah?” 

He nods, eyes downcast. He’s quiet as you collect your pot from the side of the bed and the salt from your small box of cooking supplies. When you return to the bathroom, he hasn't moved. When you leave to collect your kettle, he still doesn’t move. When you fill your kettle and leave to set it boiling, you return to find him in the same position, still. “Why’d you come here?” you ask, looking at him through the mirror. He’s slouched behind you, eyes still fixed on his raw knuckles. “You don’t have anyone else to bother?” 

He shakes his head. It’s hard not to feel bad for him, to pity him. Pitiful was exactly how he looked at this moment, sitting on the toilet lid in your shitty roadside hotel at three in the morning—bloody and sad. He’d been polite earlier, when he’d asked you to move in. Still, you couldn't trust him. You didn’t know him and he was unpredictable. He’d hurt you. 

You sigh as you lift yourself onto the bathroom bench, legs swinging over the edge. “You’re lucky, both of you. You… clearly love each other. Some people don’t have anyone like that, to worry about them the way you both do.” 

He looks up at you. It takes everything in you to not display any reaction to the tears streaming down his cheeks. 

“His soulmate died,” he says slowly. “Lucky?” 

“I’m just saying you both have someone who loves you more than anything. It’s a good thing. You are both always so… sad about it. He’s always worrying about you and… being sad. You’re here all.. sad because you love him so much. It should be a joyful thing: love. ” 

You think you’re prepared for anything. Cruelty. Dismissiveness. Anger. You’re not prepared for him to smile, his split lip reopening.

“What?” you question. 

He shakes his head, huffing out a breath of laughter and dropping his gaze to the floor again. He mutters something to himself, something you can’t make out. Then he looks up at you. “You don’t think you’re the lucky one? You have nothing to lose. Nothing to… fear losing.” 

You frown. “Having something to lose means you have something you value. I’d rather… risk losing something valuable than never having it at all.” It seemed so obvious to you. Why the fuck would it be better to have nothing to lose. That was always when people were at their lowest. Collecting things and people that matter to you, wasn’t that the entire point of it all?

His brows draw together a little as he studies you, eyes flicking across your face like there’s something worth analysing. The kettle flicks off, signalling the water has boiled. You jump off the bench, happy to escape his scrutinising gaze. It’s odd, what this hour of the night did to people: how it made them vulnerable and open, like nothing was quite real in the same way, like you’d both wake up the next day and pretend it was all a dream. 3am wasn’t real. You hesitate before re-entering the bathroom, taking a second to remind yourself that it was real, that you had to be careful. 

He’s quiet when you enter and begin pouring the hot water into the pot. “What are you doing with that?” he asks, clearly nervous. 

“I’m improvising something to clean you up with, so you don’t get any infection. Boiling water then adding salt: homemade saline.” 

“But you’re letting it cool first, right?” he asks. You chuckle at the fear in his voice. 

“Yes, it’ll cool faster in the pot.” 

He’s quiet again, apparently satisfied. You watch him in the mirror, only briefly—before he notices. He hasn’t wiped away his tear stained cheeks. You wonder if it would be odd for you to do it for him as you clean his cuts. Perhaps you could do it subtly, make it seem like you’re working on his wounds. 

“How’d you know to make that?” he asks.

“Luna had an infected cut a few months ago, the vet explained how to keep it clean.” 

“So I'm getting veterinary medical care.” 

You turn to face him. “You showed up at the cheapest hotel in town in the middle of the night and now you’re being fussy about the medical care on offer?” 

“No.” 

“It’ll take around 15,” you say, gesturing to the cooling water. “I have UNO?” you offer, feeling a little dumb the moment the words leave your lips. 

He laughs softly before standing. “Alright. I have to make up for my loss.” 

He doesn't. He loses three times by the time the water has cooled. Okay, so your soulmate was bad at card games. Another puzzle piece you could add to the picture you were gradually forming of him in your mind. He sits on the bathroom bench as you prepare the water, stirring the salt into the pot as he swings his legs. You realise, in the silence, that this might be the longest you’ve gone without verbally colliding since the day you first met. 3am, it did strange things to people. 

You set the pot beside him and move between his spread legs, careful not to brush against his thighs at all. His hands are the best place to start, you don’t have to look at him. You’d dug out a clean cotton shirt from your laundry to use as a cloth. After soaking it in your improvised saline, you begin working to gently dab and wipe at his knuckles. He doesn’t wince or pull away, just sits quietly—perfectly still. It reminds you a little of how he’d come across the day you’d met. He’d seemed calm and collected; sure of himself. You’d felt ridiculous in comparison, practically vibrating with nerves. 

“Do you ever get anxious?” you ask, emboldened by the 3am atmosphere. 

“What?” 

“Anxious… ya know, nervous, scared.” 

“I know what anxious means,” he grumbles. You don’t dignify it with a response. 

He’s quiet and you assume he’s simply dropped the topic, uncomfortable with your line of questioning. Fair enough, you were practically strangers.

“Yes,” he says finally. “All the time.” 

You look up from his hands, satisfied with your work. “You do?’ you ask, beginning work on his face with a clean side of the fabric. His lashes are long and thick, framing his deep brown eyes in a way yours don’t  without layers of mascara. You’d thought he was pretty, when you’d first walked into that room all those months ago. You remember thinking he was too pretty for you. You can see it again now, when he’s not spitting cruel words at you.

“You don’t?” he asks in return.

You huff out a breathy laugh. “You don’t remember me shaking the day we met?” 

“Anyone would be nervous when they’re meeting their…” he trails off, predictably.

“Soulmate,” you finish. 

“Yeah.” 

“Were you?” 

He frowns, electing not to answer. You find you don’t have anything to say to that, so you focus on your task—ensuring each cut and scrape is cleaned as best you can without hurting him. Neither of you say much after that, silently moving from the bathroom once you’re finished and finding yourselves faced with a dilemma. 3:41 the alarm clock reads, too early to start your day. 

“I can sleep in my car,” Minho says, breaking the silence. 

You should agree, lead him out the door and bid him goodnight. But you’d just spent the last 40 minutes painstakingly cleaning the man up. He felt like your project now. Then his haunted face flashes through your mind, the one he’d made as he’d looked down the empty hallway before you’d let him in. 

“It’s fine. Just, stay on top of the covers,” you sigh, climbing into the bed. “It’s not a big deal.” 

He stands there awkwardly, bloody and bruised.

“Now,” you snap. “I’m tired.” 

He moves quickly, crawling onto the bed and lying down as far from you as he possibly can without falling off the edge. 

“I might get blood on the sheets,” he says once you’ve turned the lamp off. 

“They probably already have some. You don’t wanna know how little I paid for this place.” 

“Did you decide? About moving?” he asks. 

You nod before realising he can’t see you. “Mm, spoke to Hyunjin about moving in tomorrow.” 

He doesn’t say anything in response. It feels odd, lying here in the dark with him. Dangerous. You feel things bubbling to the surface, things you know you shouldn’t say. 

“Was he happy?” he whispers after a moment, pulling you from your thoughts. 

“Hm?” 

“About you moving in.” 

“Oh, yeah. I mean… I think so.” 

He’s quiet again. You roll over and close your eyes. Not how you’d imagined sharing a bed with your soulmate for the first time. 

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[hyunbunlix]

Penance [hitmen!HyunIn]

Characters: Hyunjin, Jeongin, Felix, older fem!OC, Changbin (mentioned), Bang Chan (mentioned), Lee Know (mentioned) Rating: A/O for Adults Only Content Warnings/Tags: murder, negotiation at gunpoint, threesome, switch (dom-leaning) Hyunjin, switch (sub-leaning) Jeongin, switch (dom-leaning) OC, cunnilingus, spit roasting, throat fucking (f. receiving), fingering (f. receiving), creampie, overstimulation, riding, power bottom Hyunjin, thorough aftercare Word Count: 10,179 Summary: To Hwang Hyunjin, separation from the people he cares about is a fate worse than death. After breaking Blackbox's and I.N's trust in him, Hyunjin would do anything to earn it back, including murdering an ex-girlfriend and handing over Felix. Note: This is part of a larger John Wick AU, which can be found here.

Other than a text from Jeong In telling him to fuck off, Hyun Jin had had no contact with him or Blackbox since they’d left Korea days ago. Blackbox’s phone was either off, dead, or she’d blocked him, because all his calls went right to voicemail. He kept a residence in Seoul for downtime, and right now, he was pacing it like a caged animal. Felix was in the guest room, attached to his heating pad like a surgical fixture. Hyun Jin didn’t feel right about letting Felix stay in his home after he’d tried to kill Blackbox not once but twice, but he couldn’t stand being completely alone, either. He and Felix had been close, once.

            Hyun Jin’s phone buzzed once and he jumped, startled. He swiped it off the coffee table, seeing the first communication from Blackbox since she’d called him immediately after Felix’s second attempt at assassinating her. Despite Hyun Jin trying to both text and call her an arguably obsessive amount (it was not actually arguable), this was the first response he’d gotten, and it had nothing to do with anything that mattered.

            Jessamine de Laire is on her way to NYC. I’ll route details if you want them.

            He hit the call button, shaking with near rage.

            “Yes?” She sounded exhausted, her voice quiet and low in her throat.

            “Why the hell do you think I give a fuck about what Jessamine de Laire is doing right now when you haven’t spoken to me for four days immediately after an attempt on your life?” he demanded.

            “I thought you would want to know,” she said, not rising to his challenge like she would have in the past. Felix hadn’t managed to kill her that night, but she was shaken. “She was there, the night you all freed Chang Bin. I didn’t have a chance to tell you then. I thought you would want to know.”

            “I couldn’t give less of a fuck,” he said. “Why didn’t you answer any of my messages? I’m worried about you. Why are you ignoring that? Ignoring me?”

            “I was catatonic most of these last two days. You were right. I’m not like you, or I.N. Turns out being nearly killed by the same man twice damaged my psyche. I didn’t answer you because I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything. This is the first day I’ve been up,” she said. She didn’t sound sad, or tired, or upset. She sounded empty.

            “I’m sorry,” he said instantly. “I was scared. I thought I had finally fucked up for good this time. I thought you were never going to speak to me again.”

            She was quiet for a long moment, and Hyun Jin’s panic rose again.

            “I’m about an hour away from NYC,” she said finally. “If you come and take care of Jessamine, I’ll let you see me. The night of the operation, she implied she wanted you back. It made me mad. You said she’s the only cheating ex you failed to kill. Rectify it.”

            “Consider her dead,” Hyun Jin said, his voice steel. It would be the easiest kill he’d ever made.

            “I’ll send the details,” she said. Then she finally faltered, emotion creeping into her voice, though Hyun Jin couldn’t quite identify what it was. “I . . . I’ll see you soon.”

            She hung up. Hyun Jin shoved his phone into his pocket, and a second later it buzzed again. She must have had the details ready to go, awaiting his consent.

            Hyun Jin went to the guest room, knocking but opening the door before receiving a verbal assent. This was his damn apartment, after all, and Felix was on thin fucking ice. Felix stirred, bleary eyes peering through messy blond bangs. Once they got to the States, it would be easier to secure him stronger painkillers. He was going to need them after what Hyun Jin required of him.

            “Are you ready to atone?” Hyun Jin asked, arms folded as he leaned against the doorframe.

            “I am,” Felix said, sitting up. He didn’t even bother to ask where they were going, what they were doing.

            “Good. I need you to help me topple an empire and deliver it to Blackbox,” Hyun Jin said. Felix nodded, looking resigned.

            “And after that,” Hyun Jin went on, “I’m going to deliver you.”

            Felix sighed, his eyes straying from Hyun Jin, but through the haze of pain and defeat, there was no room for anger or betrayal. This was Felix’s own fault and he knew that.

            Felix nodded again.

For someone who lived on the other side of the world, Hyun Jin had a pretty good idea of what was going on in New York City. Between running with Blackbox and Lee Know, Hyun Jin was well aware of how hotly contested the territory was. After the fall of the Tarasovs and the failure of the D’Antonios, the de Laire family had swooped in to take control of the region, giving them footholds in Western Europe, East Asia, and North America. Lee Know had been on the road to destabilizing the de Laire family as a whole, an attempt at taking Chang Bin back. Now that Chang Bin was once again a free man, Lee Know didn’t care about them as much.

            Blackbox, on the other hand, wanted them expelled from New York, and Hyun Jin was going to see it through.

            “You know your function, right?” Hyun Jin said to Felix as they closed in on Jessamine de Laire’s location, a high-rise office building like so many others in New York City. Felix still looked like shit, but he was moving all right. Hyun Jin planned to handle combat on his own, though Felix was still armed for his own safety.

            “Yeah,” Felix said. “Take out the birds and steal everything that’s not nailed down.”

            By that, of course, he meant taking down security and making a digital copy of everything he could find to give to Blackbox. Everything about the de Laire’s operations, illicit and otherwise, past executions, future plans, and most importantly, what the hell had happened to the patriarch. Everything right down to where Jessamine had buried her father would be in Blackbox’s possession before the week was out. A peace offering from Hyun Jin and Felix both.

            “Perfect,” Hyun Jin muttered. It had been a long time since he and Felix last did field work together, but the roles still fit like well-worn gloves. There were few places Felix was unable to get into, and the de Laire headquarters was no exception. Most of what went on there was on the up and up; everyone needed a front of some kind—even Blackbox daylighted as an investment broker—and New York was the perfect place to invest resources into the transportation sector. Cars, planes, trains, even infrastructure—the de Laires had their fingers in all of it.

            Once inside the building, they split up. Felix promptly disappeared while Hyun Jin went directly to the front desk.

            “Good morning, how may I help you?” the administrator asked, in English of course. Hyun Jin would respond in kind.

            “Is the matriarch in?” he asked, carefully enunciating the title that would let the administrator know which world he came from, and some idea of why he wanted to see the boss.

            “She is,” the administrator said quickly, “but she’s booked out for the day. I can try to squeeze you in for tomorrow if it’s urgent.”

            “I don’t think that’s going to work for me,” Hyun Jin said. “Tell her Hwang is here to see her. She’ll make the time. I’m happy to wait.”

            The administrator’s eyes widened a little, recognizing Hyun Jin’s working name right away.

            “I’ll let her know,” she said, a little tremor going through her voice. Hyun Jin smiled like he wasn’t about to commit a murder in the next few hours.

            “Thank you so much,” he said, then went to take a seat and wait.

            Sure enough, they sent someone to escort him to the CEO’s office within the hour. They didn’t even bother to search him first. This stupid bitch really thought he was here for her best-case scenario, after what she’d done.

            That, or it was a trap. Hyun Jin was equally enthused by both options. Felix had no doubt made his way nearly to the top floor by now after skimming information throughout his ascension. Hyun Jin was silent on the elevator up.

            When he entered the office, Jessamine rose from her desk, the wall of windows behind her showing the rest of the New York City skyline. She looked happy to see him. He smiled, an easy thing. God, he was so excited.

            “Hwang,” she said, a little breathless, like his smile alone could knock the air out of her. For a time, it had.

            “Jessie,” he said back. She pressed her lips together to keep a full grin off her face. She truly wasn’t cut out for this line of work. With her father gone, there was no one left to protect her from her own naïveté. She was pretty good at the business side of things, but as for the shady back-alley dealings? The old man really had sheltered her too much.

            “To what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, coming around the desk, approaching him rather than the other way around. Why did she still let him have so much power over her? Why was she acting as though she hadn’t betrayed him before?

            “I heard you wanted to see me,” he said noncommittally. He had to stall until Felix showed up. “So here I am.”

            Jessamine laughed quietly. “I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to come here,” she said. She didn’t even ask who had told him that, as though she was still smitten with him. As though he might have forgiven what she’d done.

            “I like what you’ve done with the place,” he said, sidestepping her to take a better look at the office. Mostly, he was checking her security measures, but he made it look like he was examining her decor. “The old man never had nearly this much color in here.”

            “No, he didn’t,” she said, her voice holding a bit of frustration. “There were a lot of things he got wrong.”

            “On that we can agree,” Hyun Jin said, picking up a silver desk ornament in the shape of a horse and examining it. Jessamine had always been a horse girl.

            “Are you still upset?” she hazarded. He turned back to her, leaning against her desk and raising his eyebrows.

            “About what?” he asked, his demeanor growing a little more serious.

            “About what happened,” she said. “Before . . .”

            “No,” he said. “I’m not still upset.” It was true in its own way. He’d hardened his heart against her a long time ago. He wouldn’t kill her in a fit of passion like he had so many others. No, the blood he spilled today would be cold. It had been cold for a long time.

            She sighed in relief, and that made Hyun Jin want to strangle her. Jessamine de Laire was so used to getting everything she wanted that she hadn’t even registered him as a threat. She was so fucking frustrating.

            “That’s good,” she said softly. “Now that my father’s dead, there’s nothing stopping us from getting back together. I’ve called off my engagement.”

            Hyun Jin fought to keep the anger off his face. Her second engagement, to the replacement for the man Hyun Jin had murdered when he’d found Jessamine fucking him. A man her father had approved of, unlike Hyun Jin, who was too unstable to marry into an esteemed empire like the de Laire’s.

            Before Hyun Jin could blow his cover entirely, the electronic locks on the doors clicked and Felix entered. There was a smear of blood on his cheek and a cut above his left eyebrow; he looked pissed. He tended to mask pain with anger. Clearly, the double-up of ibuprofen and acetaminophen wasn’t doing a good job. He needed something stronger, and soon.

            “Is it done?” Hyun Jin asked. The security cameras, he meant.

            “Yeah,” Felix said, leaning his back against the doors. There would be no escaping that way. Jessamine paled. She clearly recognized Felix, the hamster wheels in her brain turning.

            Finally, the fun part.

            “Don’t you want to know who told me you wanted to see me . . . ?” Hyun Jin asked, too soft, too close to her ear. She whipped back around to face him, finally recognizing him for the carnivore he was.

            “That woman . . . She was with you both,” Jessamine said. Hyun Jin’s lips tugged toward a gleefully unsound grin.

            “Would you like to know who she is?” he asked. Felix leaned his head back against the door, letting his agony show on his face now that Jessamine was no longer looking his way. He’d clearly gotten in a fight on the way up and aggravated his back. The message was obvious. Hurry up. Felix’s stamina had been greatly diminished, and if they had to fight their way out of there, he needed to conserve it.

            “Who?” Jessamine asked.

            “Blackbox,” Hyun Jin said, and his grin was cruel now. “She knows what you did to me. She told me where you would be today.” He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind Jessamine’s ear. “Blackbox always gets what she wants.”

            “Blackbox took out a hit on me?” Jessamine asked. Hyun Jin let his tongue poke between his teeth.

            “I’m not getting paid to do this if that’s what you’re asking. Blackbox does co-sign your death, though. You offended her by insinuating I would ever leave her for you,” Hyun Jin said. Jessamine looked back at Felix, then at Hyun Jin again.

            “She’s no better than me,” Jessamine said. “I saw her with him.”

           “Yeah,” Hyun Jin said with a chuckle. “She gives a damn good blowjob, that’s for sure. See, Blackbox never agreed to be exclusive with me, Jessamine. She doesn’t make promises she has no intention of keeping. Don’t you dare compare yourself to her. Only one of you is a woman of integrity.”

            Finally, she was rendered speechless.

            “Now then,” Hyun Jin went on, “in the interest of time, I would like to give you a choice. Either let me kill you, or do it yourself.” She glanced at the gun in his hand, suppressor on the muzzle, smoothly and casually drawn. He then gestured with his free hand to the wall of windows behind them, implying she jump.

            “Lady’s choice,” he said softly, like this was the biggest favor he could do for her.

            “You’d love it if I did it myself, wouldn’t you?” she snarled. “Absolve yourself of any blame?”

            He laughed for real then. “You clearly never knew me very well if you think I wouldn’t relish killing you with an audience,” he said. Then, turning almost wistful, he added, “You want to know how Blackbox got my attention?”

            “No,” Jessamine spat. “I don’t want to hear anything about that bitch.”

            “She sacrificed forty-seven people to me. Let me kill them right in front of her, one after another. She let me do it, watched the whole thing without flinching, then masturbated to thoughts of me that same night. Blackbox accepts me, my nature, the way you and yours never did. You liked me because I was pretty, because I was good in bed, and you ignored the parts of me you felt were beneath you. Blackbox told me where you were, the times of your flights, where you got your fucking coffee this morning. Blackbox knows everything, who you are, what I am, and she hasn’t betrayed me the way you did. Blackbox gift-wrapped you and ensured this would be your last day on Earth. Now choose.”

            Jessamine’s gaze was hateful as she went to her desk, opened a drawer. Hyun Jin practically rolled his eyes as she drew the handgun and moved to very obviously aim it at him rather than her own head like a sensible person. Hyun Jin put two bullets in her skull himself, and she crumpled. He sighed.

            “I don’t know why I liked her in the first place,” he muttered as he took door-guarding duty over from Felix. Felix moved to the desk to copy as much as he could off Jessamine’s electronics. Hyun Jin kept his gun out, ready to defend Felix should anyone come in. No one did.

            Felix worked quickly and silently, no doubt eager to be done with this.

It was around six in the evening when Blackbox’s phone buzzed with a call from Hyun Jin. Jeong In quickly came into the living area from the kitchen to listen.

            “Is it done?” she asked.

            “It’s done,” Hyun Jin confirmed.

            “Where are you now?”

            “The Continental.”

            “Is Felix with you?”

            “Yes and no,” Hyun Jin said, his voice steely. “I brought him to the States, yes, but we have different rooms on different floors.”

            “I see,” she said, though she couldn’t quantify exactly how she felt about it just then. She’d had a feeling Hyun Jin would recruit Felix to help him get this done. He had always been a vengeful man; there was probably a part of him that delighted in making Felix work while he was supposed to be recovering.

            “Felix has something for you,” Hyun Jin went on. Jeong In was looking at the phone like it might bite.

            “What is it?” she asked.

            “He scraped Jessamine’s devices. A few other people’s, too. He wants you to have the data. So do I,” Hyun Jin said.

            She remained silent for a few beats. Jeong In looked like he’d bitten into something exceptionally foul, but she couldn’t tell from looking at him what his exact opinion was.

            “Very well,” she said finally. “I’ll send you an address tomorrow morning. Bring him to me.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Hyun Jin replied. “I look forward to seeing you.”

            “I know you do,” she answered, then ended the call. To say Jeong In looked displeased would be an understatement.

            “You’re not going to have them come here, are you?” he asked.

            “I don’t have much of a choice,” she said. “I need the location to be secure, and we can’t meet at the Continental.”

            “Why not?” Jeong In asked. He probably thought meeting on Continental grounds would keep her the safest. He was shortsighted that way when it came to her.

            “Because I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to shoot Felix, and I’d rather not face the punishment for conducting business on Continental grounds,” she said, her voice low. Jeong In gave a humorless chuckle then, but his shoulders relaxed in the knowledge that she was taking this very seriously.

            “When you put it like that, I understand completely,” he said.

            “Besides,” she added, reaching to touch his arm. “I’ll have you with me the entire time. Even if Felix tries something, and even if Hyun Jin has truly decided to betray me, I know you won’t let it happen. You said you wouldn’t lose me again, and I could feel how much you meant it.”

            His expression softened further as he stepped closer to her, putting his hand on her neck, his thumb on her cheek. “I did,” he said, his voice so incredibly tender, “and I do.”

When Felix and Hyun Jin stepped into the condo, they were unarmed. They’d both left anything even vaguely threatening in their rooms at the Continental. Hyun Jin had insisted on searching Felix before they left, which Felix found both incredibly annoying and perfectly understandable. When the Gumiho let them in, Blackbox was sitting at the dining table, handgun on the surface in front of her. As she stood, she picked it up, primed it, and took aim at Felix. It was perhaps the most casual he’d ever seen her look—jeans, camisole, long cardigan—if one could ignore the gun. He eyed the firearm, and his lips parted in surprise when he realized it was his, the one I.N had confiscated from him during the standoff in the stairwell.

            “Search them,” she said in Korean to I.N, who promptly obliged, his expression dark. I.N, too, was dressed down from his usual attire; today he wore a navy blue t-shirt tucked into black pants with an obvious gun holster on his right hip. Clearly, both he and Blackbox were ready to drop Felix at a moment’s provocation.

            “I find it hard to believe you would allow me here just to kill me,” Felix said, holding perfectly still. I.N’s search was thorough; he was in the same line of work, so he knew every single spot to check, no matter how unlikely. Satisfied, he moved on to Hyun Jin. Blackbox didn’t remove her aim from Felix.

            “You don’t know me very well,” she said.

            “Yeah,” he agreed, “but you didn’t kill me before, so why would you do it now?”

            “I don’t kill unconscious men,” she said. Felix clenched his jaw. His spine was still brutalizing him with pain signals regardless of the hot patch and KT tape doing their best to hold him together. The sixteen-hour plane ride and going into the field with Hyun Jin hadn’t helped.

            “All clear,” I.N said, straightening and returning to Blackbox’s side. Hyun Jin had a particularly wounded look on his face.

            “Yeah, I suppose you don’t,” Felix muttered. “You have dogs for that.”

            She crossed the floor slowly, her expression as dark as I.N’s.

            “I do,” she said, moving the conversation into English, ensuring her every word was exact and could not be misconstrued. “And you are lucky I chose to call the one I did that night.” She put her right hand on Hyun Jin’s shoulder then, and Felix watched the tension abruptly leave the line of the other man’s shoulders. He hadn’t been exaggerating before; he was like a drowning man and she his air.

            “The Gumiho would have killed you on sight, and I knew that,” she said. “So I will repeat myself: I don’t kill unconscious men,” she said, enunciating the last five words very carefully, grazing the barrel of the gun just under Felix’s chin. Her finger wasn’t on the trigger, but that could change in an instant. Felix was abruptly hyperaware that he was the shortest person in the room.

            “You should thank me for my mercy,” she continued, “and I.N for his. He’s had no fewer than three chances to kill you now, and he’s forfeited each one because I willed it so. He wanted to go back for you that night and finish the job, but I asked him to stay with me instead. He wants you dead so badly, and I am the only thing standing between you and him. Not even Hyun Jin could save you now. He wouldn’t dare.”

            Hyun Jin stiffened, though her grip on his shoulder hadn’t changed. He was watching her so closely, and even in a situation like this, Felix could see the adoration bleeding from his eyes. He’d already told Felix he would bury him if it meant staying at this woman’s side, and right here, right now, Felix truly believed it. She was actively threatening Felix, and Hyun Jin looked relieved by the mere implication that she trusted him to be on her side.

            “Why did you allow me here, then?” Felix asked. He hadn’t moved a muscle save what it took to talk. He knew better than to press his luck with a loaded firearm in someone else’s grip. “If you’re just going to kill me, why do it here, under your own roof, when you could have had Hyun Jin kill me where I stood this entire time?”

            “Because this is personal,” she said. “You tried to smother me, Felix. You had the audacity to kiss me, to put your cock in my mouth, knowing the entire time you meant to kill me that night. That’s fucked up, even for the Smiler.”

            “The blowjob was your idea,” he countered.

            “And you should have told me no,” she said. “Knowing everything you did, you should have refused me. But you didn’t. You took advantage. And you’ll pay for it.”

            “How?” he asked. “I can’t undo it.”

            “No,” she said, “you can’t. But you can make it up to me with your life.”

            She released Hyun Jin’s shoulder then, and without a backward glance at Felix, he stood aside, nearer to I.N than to Felix. Felix fought to keep any emotion off his face.

            “What do you want from me?” Felix said, voice a little strained now, close to panic but not quite there.

            “You have a month-long recovery ahead of you, correct?” she asked. Felix didn’t bother to ask where she’d gotten that information. Probably Hyun Jin. He nodded. “That means no more field work, yes?”

            “Yes,” he answered.

            “Is Lee Know aware yet?”

            “No,” Felix answered. “He knows I failed, and that’s all. I haven’t contacted him since the night it happened. He doesn’t even know I left the country.”

            “Good,” she said. “You’re going to keep it that way until or unless I instruct you otherwise. You’ll use this month to pick up what I’ve missed while dealing with Lee Know and Bang Chan and all their petty shit I couldn’t possibly give less of a fuck about anymore. And by the time the month is over, you’ll have either repaid your debt to me, or I will take the remainder from you.”

            He eyed the gun in her grip. She wasn’t left-handed. The message was clear; he was beneath her, and wouldn’t require her full effort to put down. Hell, she probably wouldn’t even have to do it herself. Felix met I.N’s cold eyes over her shoulder for just a moment.

            “I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said, his mind numb with resignation. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do.

            “Oh?” she said. “And why’s that?”

            He fished his phone out of his pocket and held it out to her. She eyed it suspiciously, but took it with her free hand. She held it back over her shoulder, and I.N relieved her of it.

            Then, Felix got to his knees and bowed his head.

            “Because what I did to you can’t be rectified in a single month,” he said. “I know an impossible task when I see one. What I’ve done is unforgivable, and there’s nothing less than my life itself that can repay it.”

            He paused long enough to take a breath and steady himself. From his other pocket, he drew the Marker, a physical representation of the oath he was about to make in blood. The Marker was little bigger than the average pocket watch, yet it felt brutally heavy in his grasp.

            “So it’s yours. The rest of it. If that means you have to make me look dead to the world, so be it. If that means I have to be your eyes and ears for the rest of my life, so be it. What I tried to do to you is one of the worst things I’ve ever done in my life. And if the way I make up for that is by never holding a gun again and doing only as I’m told, then so be it. I surrender.”

            She was silent for a moment. “Then I will consider this next month your audition. You know what will happen if you disappoint me.”

            “I do,” he said, head still bowed. He wouldn’t dare look at her, not right now, not until she said he could.

            “Get up,” she said. He rose, and registered that her free hand was open for the Marker. Silently, he opened the metal disk and jammed his thumb onto the protrusion at the top. Compared to his back, this pain was nothing. He pressed his bloody thumb into the inner recess of the Marker, lifting it away to leave his crimson thumbprint behind. Then he handed it to her. She looked at it for a long moment, then snapped it shut, putting it into her own pocket.

            “Hyun Jin,” she said, though her eyes didn’t leave Felix, “escort Felix back to the Continental.” She’d switched back to Korean to better include everyone in the conversation. “Felix, you are not to leave the grounds until I send for you, personally or via I.N or Hyun Jin. Am I clear?”

            “Yes,” Felix said.

            “Then get out of my sight.”

            Hyun Jin approached Felix but hesitated. He turned to Blackbox; he looked like he was barely holding himself together. Blackbox had made both him and Felix a wreck for completely different reasons.

            “After I take him, may I come back?” Hyun Jin asked. There was a faint tremor in his voice, terrified by the prospect of remaining estranged from her. Over Blackbox’s shoulder, I.N looked like he wanted to maim Hyun Jin for his audacity.

            “You may,” she said. Hyun Jin sighed, his eyes closing for a moment. His relief was a nearly physical force, changing the color of the whole room. He got a hold of himself a moment later, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder and ushering him back out the door. It locked and bolted behind them.

            “Was that your personal phone?” Hyun Jin asked as they made the elevator. Felix twisted the rose-gold band around his right ring finger, careful not to get blood on it. If Blackbox had noticed he was wearing her ring, she hadn’t given any indication.

            “Yeah,” Felix said.

“I can’t believe you would be that reckless,” Jeong In said softly. She turned away from the door, making her gun safe and unloaded once again.

            “Not reckless,” she said. “Calculated. We don’t get anywhere in this world without taking risks.”

            “But to let Hyun Jin come back . . .”

            “It’ll be all right. You’re here, and I know you won’t leave me alone with him no matter how hard he begs, not until he’s earned it. Besides, I don’t want to risk leaving him with Felix any longer. They were close, once. I don’t want them rekindling anything until or unless it suits my needs.”

            Jeong In hadn’t seen her like this in a long time. Frigid, sharp, willing to manipulate even those she cared about if it meant keeping the upper hand. But Felix and even Hyun Jin had forced her, and Jeong In added it to the long list of reasons why he was glad to be on her good side.

            “Besides,” she went on, setting the empty firearm and its magazine back down on the table, “Felix knows where I am now. If he tries to come back and kill me one last time, Hyun Jin will have the chance to prove his loyalty. Should he fail that test, you’re welcome to eliminate them both.”

            Jeong In approached her then, gently cupping her face in his hands. He’d thawed entirely once the other men left, earnest and open, just for her. He knew how much it had to hurt her to turn her back on Hyun Jin like that, even hypothetically.

            “I trust you more than anyone, Jeong In,” she said softly, gripping his arms like he was her lifeline. “No matter what happens, it’s you and me . . . I don’t have the words to describe how grateful I am to have you here . . .”

            He folded her into a hug then, holding her close for a long few minutes, letting her come down, back to herself, the version of her that was only human rather than a force, a terror.

            “I’m not going anywhere,” he said against her hair. “I promise.”

            “I know,” she said, finally pulling back from him. “Now, let’s see what’s on that phone.”

            When Jeong In fished the smartphone from his pocket and handed it to her, the first shock was the lack of security measures enabled. A quick look at the settings showed that Felix favored the fingerprint scanner and face I.D. plus a PIN. All of it was disabled.

            She took a seat on the couch and Jeong In sat beside her. Even just a cursory sweep would take hours. Contacts, text messages, emails, photos, notes, documents. It would take cumulative days to comb through everything here.

            “Is it legitimate?” Jeong In asked.

           “Looks like it,” she said. “Even if he made a copy, which I can almost guarantee he has, this is incredible.” Biting the corner of her lip, she navigated deeper. “There’s so much shit on the de Laires in here . . . I could root them out of New York with this, easily. I don’t even have to touch their global holdings if I don’t want to.” She backed out of that folder and tapped into a document about Lee Know. It had been created two days ago, an unorganized stream-of-consciousness dump that read like Felix jotting down everything he could think of regarding his former boss. The timing couldn’t be coincidental.

            “Do you think any of it is a trap?” Jeong In asked, looking directly over her shoulder to get around the privacy screen protector on the device.

            “I don’t know, but we can verify it later. This is going to take at least a week of dedicated time to go through, maybe more,” she said.

            They were still combing through the data when Hyun Jin knocked on the door nearly three hours later. They both knew it was him because he knocked exactly the same way every single time.

            “Let him in,” she said, and Jeong In got up. Sure enough, there was Hyun Jin, his overnight bag slung over his shoulder.

            “You can take the second bedroom,” she said from the couch without moving or looking up. Jeong In saw the hurt crease Hyun Jin’s expression but felt very little in the way of sympathy. The only thing Jeong In could think about was Hyun Jin’s hand on her neck and his gun to her head, all to save the fucking Smiler.

            “Thank you,” Hyun Jin said, leaving his shoes by the door and retreating to the second bedroom. Jeong In, of course, had been sleeping in the master with her this entire time, so the extra room had remained untouched. He went back to the couch, sitting beside her again, his leg resting against hers just to let her know he was there if she needed him. She patted his thigh but didn’t look up from the phone. A few minutes later, Hyun Jin came to the living room and took a seat in one of the plush chairs perpendicular to the sofa. He watched her carefully, but still she didn’t look away from the phone.

            “Why are you here, Hyun Jin?” she asked finally. There was a distinct lack of emotion in her voice that made Jeong In think of Bang Chan when he dealt with clients. They both had an air like they were larger than life, never to be trifled with.

            “Because I missed you,” he said. “Because I was worried about you. Because for almost a week I was under the honest to god impression I was never going to see you again for more than a few minutes.”

            Finally, she lowered the phone and looked at him. “I wouldn’t do that to you without a reason.”

            “You have reasons,” he said, his voice so soft it almost didn’t carry. Jeong In didn’t think he’d ever seen Hyun Jin afraid before, but there was no other way to describe his demeanor now.

            She was silent for a moment, then handed the phone to Jeong In. He pocketed it. She gestured for Hyun Jin to move to the couch, and he obeyed, sitting on her other side. Then she straddled his thighs.

            Jeong In felt no jealousy seeing them like that. He felt a little angry, because, in his opinion, Hyun Jin hadn’t earned this privilege back yet, but that was all. She and Hyun Jin looked gorgeous together; they always had. They were both beautiful in their own rights, but together they were beyond enticing.

            Hyun Jin stared up into her face, his hands tentatively coming to rest on her hips. His expression was wide open; she could have asked anything of him and he would have done it without question.

            It was what she needed. It was what she deserved.

            “I have reasons to the contrary, as well,” she said. Then she kissed him. Jeong In felt the same about that as he did about her sitting on Hyun Jin’s lap—not jealous, merely critical. She could do with her body as she pleased; they’d all talked about it already. Even finding out about the impromptu blowjob she’d given Yong Bok hadn’t been that much of a shock (though it had grossed Jeong In out). Jeong In didn’t feel threatened. He never had.

            Hyun Jin moaned against her mouth, his hands tightening on her hips, pulling her closer. Her hands were on his jaw now, deepening the kiss, and Jeong In watched her tongue slip into Hyun Jin’s mouth. No matter how much he distrusted Hyun Jin right then, no matter how ready he was to shoot the other man at the slightest provocation, he still derived pleasure from looking at them like that.

            “You know Jeong In isn’t going to let us have a moment alone, don’t you?” she said against Hyun Jin’s mouth. Hyun Jin opened bleary eyes to look first at her, then at Jeong In.

            “I know,” he said, meeting Jeong In’s eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t think he cares, either.”

            “Anything you have to say or do with her, you can do in front of me,” Jeong In said. A threat and consent in one. Both Jeong In and Hyun Jin had slept with her already, but they’d never watched each other, never done anything as a group. Jeong In couldn’t help the way his cock twitched at the prospect.

            “Oh, please, Kit,” she said softly, looking at Jeong In and using the nickname she’d coined for him years ago when he’d first joined the life, all so she could refer to him affectionately in mixed company without jeopardizing his identity. “You’re not really planning just to watch are you?”

            Jeong In moved his gaze from her to Hyun Jin. Hyun Jin didn’t look bothered by the prospect of actively sharing in the slightest.

            “I’m just happy to be included,” Hyun Jin said, answering the unspoken question. “You know I didn’t just miss noona, right? I missed Jeong Innie too.”

            Jeong In pressed his lips together, but no matter how much he tried to harden his heart, he couldn’t make those words meaningless. He hadn’t just gotten used to Hyun Jin’s presence in their lives; he liked having the older man around. That’s why his perceived betrayal had hurt so much.

            “Missed me enough to see my dick?” Jeong In asked, forcing his voice to sound detached. Hyun Jin let his eyes dart down to Jeong In’s crotch, a faint smile crossing his lips.

            “Yeah,” he confirmed.

            “It’s a great dick,” she said, also eyeing Jeong In’s growing erection. She’d fucked him only a couple days before and yet looked ready to devour him again. This woman was positively insatiable.

            “Better than mine?” Hyun Jin asked, obviously playing. She made a soft tsk noise, playing along.

            “I thought the whole point of this arrangement was that I don’t have to choose,” she said.

            “The only choice you have to make is whose goes where,” Jeong In said, entirely committed at this point. “I got your mouth and your pussy earlier this week, so I’m not picky.”

            Hyun Jin pouted. “You mean to tell me I had to go kill somebody and he was here stuffing you full?” he asked. This was one of Hyun Jin’s favorite roles to play—the pouting, wounded prince.

            “Mmhmm,” she said. “If it makes you feel any better, knowing you took out the last foundation of the de Laire Empire makes me find you five times sexier.”

            “It does, actually,” Hyun Jin said. “I’ve wanted to kill Jessamine de Laire for years now, and you practically gift-wrapped her for me. You must like me a lot.”

            She shifted her hips against his, and Hyun Jin groaned. Jeong In resisted the urge to touch himself just yet.

            “I do like you a lot,” she said, then turned to look at Jeong In, too. “I like both of you a lot.”

            She then leaned over to unzip Jeong In’s pants. Hyun Jin put his hand on her neck, turning her face back to him so he could kiss her again. While they devoured each other, Jeong In undid his belt and levered his cock out of his pants, stroking slowly, enjoying the show they put on. Hyun Jin’s lips eventually trailed down her neck, making her put her head back and sigh in bliss. Jeong In studied the column of her throat, imagining either his or Hyun Jin’s cock crammed down it. He groaned quietly, speeding the motion of his hand.

            Hyun Jin moved her then, laying her back on the couch, her head resting on Jeong In’s thigh. Hyun Jin lowered his hips between her legs, grinding against her. He claimed her mouth with his again, and them making out mere centimeters from his cock made Jeong In moan louder, a throb of need going down the length of him. She raked her fingers through Hyun Jin’s hair with one hand while her other yanked his shirt up, exposing his leanly muscled back. Hyun Jin took the initiative and sat up long enough to pull the shirt off and cast it aside. He moved down her body then, tugging her pants and underwear down and off so he could bury his face in her cunt. She moaned so sweetly at that, and Jeong In used his free hand to tug her shirt and bra askew, playing with her tits the way she liked, which only made her moan louder and squirm against Hyun Jin’s face. Hyun Jin, in answer, took firm hold of her thighs to keep her still.

            “Fuck,” she whined, thoroughly trapped between them. They kept her like that until she came, her hips bucking against Hyun Jin’s mouth, her head pressing back into Jeong In’s thigh while she mewled her pleasure.

           “Nothing like an orgasm to get our pussy nice and wet, huh?” Hyun Jin said as he sat up, his lips and chin glistening in wet, his eyes skating over her to land on Jeong In.

            “I just want to know who gets to have it first,” Jeong In said. Hyun Jin eyed Jeong In’s hardness, and Jeong In glanced over the insistent outline in Hyun Jin’s pants.

            She made the decision for them, rolling onto her knees, throwing her remaining clothes on the floor, and putting her mouth on Jeong In’s cock. Jeong In moaned instantly, his eyes falling halfway shut. He was barely cognizant of Hyun Jin stripping the rest of the way down and stroking his cock while he looked them over.

            Jeong In did notice when Hyun Jin, impatient as ever, sank his cock into her, causing her to whine around Jeong In’s. Jeong In hissed an exhale, his cock throbbing in her mouth. Hyun Jin didn’t take long to pick a rhythm, and Jeong In got to his knees to make it easier on them. Every time Hyun Jin slammed home inside her, her body rocked forward, pushing Jeong In’s cock deeper down her throat.

            Hyun Jin couldn’t pick a focal point, shifting between his cock fucking her cunt, her mouth on Jeong In, and even Jeong In’s face from time to time. It was a little weird at first, having Hyun Jin look at them both with similar avarice, but everything else felt so good that Jeong In found he honestly didn’t mind. Who gave a fuck if a man as gorgeous as Hyun Jin liked looking at him? That was a compliment.

            As Hyun Jin continued with his brutal rhythm, she tapped Jeong In’s thigh, and he immediately withdrew his dick from her mouth. She coughed a little, catching her breath, wrapping her hand around Jeong In’s slick cock and pumping instead.

            “A little eager there, Hyun Jin?” she asked, meaning to tease him though her voice was husky with pleasure and probably the beginnings of a sore throat.

            “I told you I missed you,” Hyun Jin said, leaving his cock buried all the way inside her after an exceptionally long and sound thrust. “I figured I could show you, too.”

            She fidgeted her hips a little, silently begging Hyun Jin to move. It drew a smirk to his lips.

            “If you don’t fuck her properly, I’ll do it for you,” Jeong In snapped. Hyun Jin’s eyes met his.

            “By all means,” he said, pulling out. “Switch with me.”

            Jeong In didn’t have to be told twice. They traded places, Jeong In shedding his clothes in the process. Jeong In wasted no time sinking his cock into her; she was so fucking slick that it required almost no effort on his part.

            “Fuck,” she moaned. She almost dropped her face onto the couch cushions, but Hyun Jin coaxed her back up.

            “I want you to taste yourself,” he said, and she nodded, opening her mouth for his wet cock. Jeong In groaned at the sight, speeding the motions of his hips. While he wasn’t quite as brutal with her as Hyun Jin had been, Jeong In was eager, and they once again found a rhythm that had her rocking forward, gagging and drooling around Hyun Jin’s cock. Somewhere in the middle of all that, she came again, a euphoric fluttering of her core that made her feel even warmer and wetter around Jeong In. He moaned, leaning over her until his chest was pressed to her back, his hips snapping sharp, short thrusts into her to prolong her orgasm. She had to push Hyun Jin away so she could breathe, her moans turning into sharp, ragged cries when Jeong In refused to relent.

            “Jeong In— Jeong In, stop, stop,” she gasped, and he obeyed in an instant.

            “What is it?” he asked, straightening up and looking her over. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

            “I’m fine,” she said, then laughed a little, breathless. “But I know how you fuck when you’re about to come, and if you get semen on my couch I’m going to be pissed.”

            Hyun Jin had the nerve to laugh, though he did shove his face into his elbow to try to muffle it. Jeong In glared at him, but there was no real venom behind it. Reluctantly, he pulled out.

            “That’s fair,” he sighed. “To the bedroom?”

            “Yes, please,” she said. Both Jeong In and Hyun Jin helped her stand up. Jeong In was pleased to see her stride wobble a little as she walked into the bedroom. She flopped onto the bed and rolled over with her legs spread and her head hanging off the edge.

            “You may continue,” she said, then simply left her mouth hanging open.

            “Oh my god,” Hyun Jin groaned, and immediately went to the end of bed to make use of her open mouth. Jeong In took his time making his way onto the bed, watching intently as she got Hyun Jin’s cock slick all over again, choking it down bit by bit. What Jeong In had pictured when this all began—a cock filling her throat—came to fruition, Hyun Jin’s length sliding in and out of her slowly, visibly. She’d put herself at the perfect angle for it, probably on purpose.

            Jeong In teased her with his fingers first, both to make sure she was still physically able to take him and so he could take some of her wet to prepare himself again, too. Hyun Jin had increased his pace just a little bit more, careful and eager all at once. Jeong In watched, listening to her hum around Hyun Jin’s cock while Jeong In jerked himself with his wet hand.

            “You might want to get to work,” Hyun Jin said, tearing his eyes away from the throat fucking to look at Jeong In. “As great as this feels, I like coming in her cunt better.”

            “Don’t rush me,” Jeong In shot back, but it was quickly rendered a moot point when she reached down for his cock herself, stroking him and all but demanding he put it inside her.

            “You know how much she hates being empty,” Hyun Jin said, and she hummed an affirmative. Jeong In couldn’t resist after that, shooing her hand away so he could enter her again. She gave a longer, lower hum then, a little shiver going down her body. He gripped her knees, pushing her legs back and open to take him better, and then he started to move again.

            Jeong In had no idea where Hyun Jin had gotten his restraint from, because Jeong In personally didn’t seem to have any left. With her cunt slick and open and taking him so easily, Jeong In picked up immediately where he’d left off, fucking her with fast, short thrusts. She tapped on Hyun Jin’s thigh and he pulled his cock out of her mouth, her loud, ragged moans filling the room. Hyun Jin immediately moved onto the bed and took one of her breasts in his mouth, turning her moans into cries instead as Jeong In refused to let up. She came yet again, and watching her eyes roll back in her head was the last straw for Jeong In. He orgasmed hard, barely able to focus his own eyes while he fucked them through it, making a royal mess of them both. She’d been right to move out of the living room.

            “Fuck, Jeong In,” Hyun Jin said, looking over the frothing mess Jeong In had made of her pussy. “You said you had her like two days ago, why so greedy?”

            “I always want her so bad,” Jeong In panted, trying to catch his breath. “I’m always greedy for her.”

            He pulled out, and everything was sticky. His cock, her core, the bedspread.

            “I’m greedy, too,” she whined. “Hyunie.”

            It wasn’t often that she whined in desperation like that. Jeong In watched in real-time as Hyun Jin’s expression shifted from playful to predatory, and made the smart executive decision to move out of the way before Hyun Jin could physically push him.

Hyun Jin leaned over her body, kissing her sloppy and deep while he purposely rubbed his messy cock against her stomach, refusing to enter her right away now that he knew how desperate she was. He was equally desperate, but after being apart from her for days and in limbo for weeks, hearing her beg for him by name hit him hard in a way he hadn’t known he could feel.

            She’d missed him, too, and he reveled in that.

            “Hyunie,” she whined again, “please.”

            “Please what?”

            “I need you inside me.”

            “What part of me?”

            “Your fucking cock.”

            “Good,” he said, and then moved them both. He peeled her off the bed and lay down under her instead, fitting her to his cock and pulling her down hard, forcing her to take all of him with the help of gravity. She all but shrieked when he did it, sitting on him motionless for a moment, dazed while she tried to get used to him filling her already hypersensitive core. He loved seeing her like that, knowing her senses were overwhelmed and it was all his fault.

           Well, his and Jeong In’s, in this case. Hyun Jin couldn’t wait to add his cum to the total.

            “Fuck me, noona,” Hyun Jin said, his own desperation coming to the fore. “Fuck me like you missed me.”

            “I did miss you,” she said, and she didn’t bother to start slow, either. He knew her, knew that when she rode that hard, it was because she was chasing an orgasm. She’d already come multiple times this session, but not on Hyun Jin’s cock, and that was one of her favorites. She had to be exhausted and dehydrated, but she wanted this, wanted him badly enough to try. Despite the vulgarity of the situation, she softened him in a way no one else could manage.

            She was sweaty and messy and every stroke of her along his cock made a wet slap against his pelvis. His hands were tight on her hips, helping her rhythm when she faltered. She shook her head, looking like she was going to cry in frustration.

            “I can’t, I—”

            Hyun Jin pulled her body down, putting her face in his shoulder while he braced her hips at the perfect height for him to fuck up into her. He did his best to copy her angle, her speed, trying to hit the same spots inside her that she would have hit herself.

            “Please, noona,” he panted, his voice strained. “I want you to come on me so bad. I missed you so fucking much and I need this, too.”

           She fell apart, sounding like she might start crying any second. She was shaking so hard, and every contact point between their bodies was slick with sweat. She’d given him everything she had left, and that was enough. He came too, his last few shuddering thrusts accompanied by long, high moans. This was the first time he’d gotten off in weeks; Jeong In hadn’t let Hyun Jin be alone with her since the stunt he’d pulled with the hostage situation, so the last time he’d come had been sometime before that. Hyun Jin had completely lost interest in masturbation months ago; it didn’t feel half as good as being with his partner did.

            His partner.

            She still wanted him. She hadn’t decided he was a worse version of Jeong In and gotten rid of him.

            “Thank you,” he murmured as he came back to his senses. “Both of you,” he clarified, looking for Jeong In over her shoulder. The younger man had caught his breath by now and was looking at them with widened eyes.

            “Do you always fuck like that?” he asked. Hyun Jin glanced at the fucked-out woman on his chest. She looked like she was trying and failing to string a coherent thought together, like they’d shattered her mind completely.

            “Pretty much, yeah,” Hyun Jin answered. “Is that bad?”

            Jeong In shook his head. “No. I mean, she seems to like it. I just mean you fuck like you’re never going to get to do it again.”

            Hyun Jin shrugged. “Knowing this life, one day that’s going to be true. I’m not going to half-ass being with my favorite person in the world even once.”

            Jeong In’s gaze softened a little, going over her spent body. She looked like she might fall asleep, which meant it was up to them to keep her awake long enough to clean and hydrate her. Jeong In swallowed hard, and it was abundantly clear that she was his favorite person in the world, too.

            “If you start getting her cleaned up, I’ll go get water,” Jeong In said. It was a small concession, his willingness to leave the room for even a minute and work together with Hyun Jin on literally anything, but Hyun Jin would do whatever he needed to rebuild the trust he’d broken.

            “Yeah,” Hyun Jin agreed. Jeong In left the room, and Hyun Jin carried their partner into the master bathroom. He got her to stand, her hips leaning back against the counter, and got to work.

She closed her eyes in bliss as Hyun Jin tied her hair up and out of the way.

            “That was a lot,” she murmured. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling softly.

            “No kidding,” he said. One of the reasons she liked sex so much was because it was one of the only things that could get her to stop thinking even for a little while, forcing her to live in her body rather than her brain. Having both Hyun Jin and Jeong In at the same time had certainly eliminated any rational thought.

            Hyun Jin took several washcloths and towels from the linen closet and wet one in the sink with warm water. It would be easiest to wash her off in the shower, but in her current state, she wasn’t sure she could handle that without falling over or passing out. Hyun Jin, intuitive of her as ever, clearly knew it, too.

            Jeong In came back with water bottles, and she thanked him and drank greedily. Hyun Jin ignored his, focused on his task.

            “I put the kettle on the stove,” Jeong In said, watching Hyun Jin’s motions closely. He didn’t seem as suspicious as he had before, but he clearly hadn’t forgiven Hyun Jin yet, either. “I figure you’re going to want to counteract the sore throat before it happens.”

            She chuckled. “That’s why you’re the smart one,” she teased. Jeong In snorted.

            “Yeah right,” he retorted sarcastically. “I just know how many times you can deep throat in a week before it bothers you.”

            “Is it peppermint?” she asked.

            “Of course,” Jeong In answered. She reached toward him and he stepped closer. She gently traced his jaw, his neck, the line of his shoulders. His whole body was tight from physical exertion, his hair a mess. Jeong In always looked good, but post-fuck Jeong In was a specific kind of good.

            “Thank you,” she said, and meant a lot of things. In answer, he kissed her forehead, then went back to gulping down his water bottle, which she paid undivided attention to. He left again when the kettle started to whistle.

            Hyun Jin coaxed her legs apart to get to the worst of the mess now that the rest of her had been wiped clean of sweat and spit and various other fluids. He wet a fresh washcloth to use.

            “Thank you,” she said to him, too. He glanced up at her, then put his eyes back on his task. He was so gentle with her now; he always was, after.

            “You don’t have to thank me,” he said softly. “I want to do it. All of it. I missed all of it.”

            “I know,” she said, her voice just as quiet. “We’ll figure it out.” It was the most she could promise right then.

            Jeong In came back into the master bedroom and dropped all their discarded clothes into a pile on the bed. “I don’t know if anybody plans on putting any of that back on,” he said.

            “Probably not. We can just empty the pockets and put it all in the washer. Please tell me you brought more than one outfit, Hyun Jin,” she said, teasing him now.

            “Or what? You’ll be miserable having to see me naked for a couple more hours?” he snarked right back. She snickered, and Jeong In snorted as he squeezed past them to get in the shower.

            “Anything but that,” Jeong In needled over the water.

            “Yeah, I have more clothes,” Hyun Jin said, tossing the second used washcloth in the sink. “Once you finish drinking your water, you should get in with Jeong In just to be sure everything’s clean.”

            “Okay,” she said. “Would you mind throwing all that in the washer? Including the blanket? It’s connected to the guest bathroom.”

           “Got it,” Hyun Jin said, leaning to give her a gentle kiss on his way out of the bathroom.

            Once everyone was clean, dry, and in some state of decent dress, they all met back up in the living room. She sipped her tea. Jeong In was to her right attempting to find something worth streaming on TV. Hyun Jin had started out sitting to her left, but he’d since laid down, put his head in her lap, and let her stroke his hair.

            “How long are you staying, Hyun Jin?” she asked. He shrugged.

            “Until you kick me out or Lee Know summons me, I guess,” he said.

            “Are you okay with that, Jeong In?” she asked next. Jeong In also shrugged.

            “I guess. But he has to stay in the second bedroom,” he said. Hyun Jin whined, and she sighed.

            “It’s a fair concession,” she said. “He could ask you to go back to the Continental.”

            “I know,” Hyun Jin grumbled.

            “Just try not to do any other stupid things,” Jeong In said, “and we can get through this a lot faster.”

            “Yeah, I know,” Hyun Jin said softly. She glanced down at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were closed, and he looked so, so tired. “I think I’ve learned my lesson.”

[blue-jisungs]

whats a fav experience or exchange you've had with us (aka ur moots)

oh my god lyly what a specific question 😭😭 tbh it’s hard to chose one thing bc literally everything we do together is fun n amazing :(( but i tried 🫡

@slytherinshua watching dramas!!! zanna introduced me to so many new actors n singers n dramas bc of us watching them together ++ it’s so peaceful n calm but also chaotic (esp when we scream abt the actors hehehe)

@weird-bookworm when we both get confused both by my typos and your sarcasm that somethings takes me a moment to understand 😁😁😁 i also really liked the food convo we had today :DD and samosas from the sims —-

@wheeboo @rubywonu @etherealyoungk @fairyhaos @eternalgyu when we planned the bank robbery LMAOODJ i swear i was losing my mind 😭😭😭

@l3visbby daily podcast fr!!!! and tbh i love it when either of us sees hyunin and goes "us!!" like hehehe >.<

@malarign i still remember when u first hit me up and sent me those silly jake memes 😭😭😭 also i love it when we suddenly switch to polish mid convo while rbing 🤭

@icyminghao THIS IS SO SILLY but i love when we call each other those silly little goofy nicknames :(((

@enluv interacting with you in general 😭😭 i love ur humor sm you don’t even understand!!! my braidsmade on my wedding with wonwoo fr!!! cocoaxe 🔛🔝

@mirxzii HELP that one time recently when you asked me to help you with your chem assignment it was so silly but i felt smart for once 🤓☝️ in general i also love chatting w u, u r so funny 💪💪

also a bonus 😭😭 (i hope u don’t mind me posting this)

[blackr23]

Hyunin Unit [Jenga Game Q&A] at SKZ JP Season's Greetings 2024

🥟: This is Hyunjin from Stray Kids

🦊: This is I.N from Stray Kids 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

🦊: We'll play Jenga, right? I'm not good at it, but I'll do my best...!

🦊|🥟: Let's go!!

🥟: Let's do the best we can

🥟: to STAY! Let's get started!

🦊: Yes!

🥟: I'm coming, am I done?

🦊: You know you have to shoot after a touch, right?

🥟: Of course, I'll do it at once ~

🦊: Are you shaky?

💬 Acrostic poem using “STAY”

🦊: 1 2 3 "S"

🥟: Y | stay

🦊: 1 2 3 "TA"

🥟: TA | from birth

🦊: I already imagined it, 1 2 3 "And"

🥟: And | Was it that beautiful?

🦊: I'm going to the next one

🥟: Did you already imagine that?

🦊: Yes, it's easy to understand

💬How do you spend your holidays?

🦊: Lately these days I'm usually lying in bed... or lying in bed... lying in bed

🥟: Aigo... It's the best rest

🦊: I love you bed~~♡

💬 What do you want to do together with your unit partner in 2024?

🥟: What should we do... let's get married once and for all

🦊: What are you talking about? ha ha ha

🥟: Let's get married

🦊: Have you lost your mind...?

🦊: Then I will choose one

🥟: Choose well and wisely~

💬 What do you expect in 2024?

🥟: Wow.. What is I.N waiting for?

🦊: I'm looking forward to the title track that we will return with in 2024

🥟: That's right

🦊: Actually, it's not out yet, but

🥟: Do you always look forward to it?

🦊: I look forward to it every year

🥟: A true Idol...

💬 What do you want to achieve by 2024?

🥟: Have less sleep

🦊: Impossible to beat

🥟: I hope that by 2024 I will be less tired

🦊: I can't do that

🥟: Nooooo (They dropped the Jenga)

🦊: Yes!! Hoooo!!

🥟: Hooo ㅜㅜ

🦊: This is the end!

👤: Let's choose some more?

🥟: Oh, do this

💬 What is the first memory that comes to mind from your childhood?

🥟: When I look at I.N's baby photos, he seems like the type who doesn't listen to what they say

🦊: One thing that came to mind

👤: There is a microphone, so be careful

🦊: Yes

🥟: It's ASMR

🥟: Everyone, A helicopter is passing overhead

🦊: When I was little, I was playing in the park with my dad and there were no cars on the street that day, so I thought, "I want to walk down this street!" and I tried to get out, but my dad scolded me saying it was dangerous and caught me

🥟: I can imagine you as a child just by talking about it

💬What country or place would you like to visit in the future?

🥟: I would like to go to Switzerland

🦊: Switzerland is so beautiful

🥟: One of the things on my bucket list is to take a nap while looking out over the vast landscape of Switzerland. I would like to do something like that

🥟: Next!

🥟: I.N! Do this~!

💬 Mission: Wink x2

🥟: Then wink for STAY~

🦊: Yes, where should I look? Over there

🥟: Aiñ..!! Oh how cute~!!

💬What is my rule that I can't break?

🥟: Lately it has become difficult for me to live my daily life if I don't drink three cups of coffee. I try to avoid drinking as much as possible, but at the moment I can't reduce the amount of coffee I drink

🥟: Kim Seungmin, please don't say anything else

🥟: Well, it's time to announce our aspirations

💬:: We will announce our ambitions for 2024

🦊: I will do my best to exercise for my health!

🥟: Exercise!!

🦊: Exercise!!

🥟: Yes, I... I want to practice more!

🦊: I have to sign it~ I also have to write my name, right?

🥟: Look forward to seeing us in 2024!

🦊: Stay ~ Let's make lots of memories together in 2024!

🥟: Yes!!, This was Hyunjin

🦊: And this was I.N

🥟🦊: Goodbye!!

[rising-angelx]

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ catching up: a selection of memories. solo in chicago, again.

tw for mentions of abandonment, depression, anxiety, and depiction of a panic attack

୨୧

deciding to spend the first half of her break back in chicago was a decision made somewhat impulsively. her first run in her former city had been a mess of ups and downs for her, but she had hoped that with time to relax instead of running around with practice and performances and a legion of managers and security, she would actually be able to enjoy her time. not to mention, one of her closest childhood friends had just returned from a long-haul work trip in shanghai, and she could not miss the opportunity to see her again.

hannah oh, or as dahye knew her better as, hyunin, was practically the only friend she had outside of her ragtag group of musically inclined friends. she was the youngest daughter of the only other korean family in her building, and her first friend in america. she had helped her learn english outside of school and acclimate to the brand new world she never asked to suddenly belong to. dahye had tried to keep up with her friend after she left, and occasionally got to see her when she was in korea, visiting family or handling business, but it had been a few years since she had last seen her. now, she sprawled across her plush couch in the brand new high rise she had taken up residence in, sipping on a sweet moscato probably fresh from some fancy california vineyard, catching up on lost time. 

their cheeks had already begun to heat to a soft pink, a couple of glasses already passing through their hands over laughs and light stories. angel had been in the middle of one about making an embarrassing mess out of herself at the last company party on valentine’s day.

“y’know, i was crying about my family and like… all the ways i’d been wronged by love, all that dramatic stuff. i almost…” she paused, remembering the main cause of her drunken grief that night being a past relationship her friend knew about well. “my friend, you remember danbi, she told me she found me when i was uh,” she sighed, hanging her head slightly with a bout of shame hitting her system. “i was trying to hunt down malachi. make him apologize for leaving.”

hannah’s eyes widened in realization, a hand flying to her lips in a gasp. “i heard you’re working with him now! oh god, i remember the day after he left like it was yesterday,” she sighed, recalling the phone call she had gotten from angel, only hearing broken sobs on the other end when she picked up.

dahye took a slow sip of her wine, rolling her shoulders out as if the memory was a fight she was preparing for. maybe it was. “yeah,” she sighed. “me too.”

୨୧

that week in 2013 was a warm spot as the colder months began to come to an end. angel remembered the day before, her band making plans to skip their last class at school and head to some spot by the river someone had found before going to ahmed’s to rehearse. they had a gig coming up in some dingey bar they had booked once before and wanted to be invited back again. she didn’t remember anything off about that day, about the way kai acted or spoke to her. to any of them. she never would have guessed that it would be the last day of her life as she knew it. 

she didn’t notice anything odd until the next morning when she woke up to no new messages from her boyfriend. he had always stayed up much later than her, and she would often wake up to some of his 2 am thoughts. it didn’t really bother her, figuring he had actually allowed himself to fall asleep at a decent time the night before. it didn’t really bother her when she didn’t see him at school either, his truancy record definitely not spotless. none of the small things started to bother her until she saw ahmed in the hall, a sad looking scowl on his face. he didn’t even seem to notice her as he passed, a stark contrast to the way he would gleefully yell her name down the hall with a larger than life wave the moment he saw her head bobbing in the crowd of kids. 

that’s when the anxiety began to slowly eat at her insides. one thought disturbed her brain, distracting her from the entire rest of the school day. where was malachi? 

the next thing she remembered was at the meeting spot by the river. she didn’t remember the likely anxious journey there, oddly lacking kai, or even arriving. she only remembered the unusual quiet that sat amongst her friends, downcast looks across all of their faces. she remembered asking, “where’s kai?” she remembered the way her heart plummeted when someone said “he’s gone,” death coming to mind before the idea of malachi willingly leaving her without a single word. she hardly remembered the careful voice of felix explaining the situation, only a few words standing out in her memory. kai. left. for korea. with daniel. what angel did distinctly remember was all five agonizing stages of grief. 

denial. “he wouldn’t do that. he would never leave without saying could by. he wouldn’t leave me.” refusing to believe it in any way her friends tried to explain it to her. “he told me he wasn’t going to go with them, why would he lie to me?” refusing to believe her boyfriend, the undeniable love of her life, would up and leave her for the empty promises of some recruiter from the other side of the globe. most of all without saying anything.

anger. “how could you let him do that?” she remembered the hurt look on ahmad’s face when she shoved him, and the strange gratification she got from it. “how could you let him leave? just walk out of our lives like we’re nothing?” she remembered the way she blamed daniel, the friend who had left before kai, to follow his dream the very same way. “he convinced him, didn’t he? to go? i knew daniel was a fucking rat, he left us first.” most of all, she remembered the anger he felt at the very source of loss. “why would he do this to me? how the fuck could he leave me? how could he lie to me and tell me he loved me and disappear without a fucking word?”

bargaining. “did i do something? did he just never want to see me anymore? can i fix it?” she remembered the way her mother held her in her lap, allowing the tears to soak her shirt as she gently pet her hair. at the time, the woman would have done anything to console her daughter, her own heart breaking seeing her in such pain. but really, there was nothing to be done but be there for her. angel remembered her aunt’s opinion on the matter clearly. “it wasn’t your fault, darling. surely he realized you were far too good for him in the first place. the only thing he knew how to do was run.” it was harsh and it hurt her heart to hear such things about someone she held so dear. but at times when she would have cursed his name to all powers earthly or not, it helped. it helped to put the blame on someone else’s shoulders.

depression. the worst of it. when the school year finally ended and she had no reason to force herself out of bed in the morning. she didn’t remember any of it. days melted into each other and she was sure now that everyone near to her was worried sick, but at the time she couldn’t have brought herself to care. kai was gone. her reason, her future. the depression was the hardest to escape.

acceptance. the most ambiguous of all. she didn’t know when acceptance set in. maybe it was when she could get out of bed of her own accord. maybe it was when she could look at her guitar without tears tugging at her eyes. maybe it was when she started seeing her friends again. maybe it was falling down the same path he had taken. she wasn’t sure if it had ever even set in at all. 

୨୧

“what was it like seeing him again?” her friend asked, peeking at her over the rim of her wine glass as she took another sip.

heartstopping. 

୨୧

tidal had been at some music show or another, promoting another comeback. she couldn’t remember the details. but in the back halls of the production, among all the bustle of stylists and managers and producers and idols big and small, she saw him. the group had just gotten off stage and it was just for a moment. she wasn’t even sure it was him at first, but there was no mistaking the angled jawline and pointed nose. he didn’t even see her, as far as she knew, but it was enough. enough to freeze the air in her lungs, her heart feeling like it was nearly going to burst. it had been three years since she had last seen him, but the wound still felt as jagged and fresh as ever, tearing her apart from the inside. she could feel her body shaking as she tried to catch her breath, but she could barely force any air into her lungs. her vision started fuzzing around the edges, the world spinning much too fast for her liking. she stumbled into the first empty dressing room she could find, clutching her head, her chest. the outfit she was wearing was far too tight, her hands clawing at the choker that she had admired in the mirror earlier but she was sure in the moment that if she couldn’t get it off she would die in it, right there on the floor, backstage at musicbank or wherever the hell they were. 

angel had known it would happen eventually. they were a part of the same small world once again. in fact, there were times she’d hoped she would see him again. sometimes she imagined a soft reunion, warm embraces and maybe a few tears. maybe a few kisses. other times she imagined herself walking right up to him and socking him in the face, career-ending scandal be damned. what she never imagined was spiraling into a state of panic at one glimpse of him from across a busy room. 

she wasn’t sure how long it took to calm down, for her chest to rise and fall at a relatively normal rate again. it was dae who found her, curled up on the green room couch with her head buried in her hands, cheeks streaked with melted makeup and tears she hadn’t even realized had fallen. it felt ironic, looking back at it. but at the time it was just her leader and friend, taking care of her at such a low moment. 

angel hadn’t thought about that day in such a long time. she couldn’t even remember what she had told her worry-stricken bandmates as to why she had gone m.i.a, returning shaking and tear soaked, but she knew it wasn’t the truth. 

୨୧

“kind of horrible,” she elicited a laugh alongside the understatement of the year. “just really jarring, y’know? it had been like, i dunno, 3, 4 years? but seeing him felt like he had left me all over again. it sucked,” she sighed, swirling the sweet red liquid around her glass.

hyunin nodded in understanding. she had been through her fair share of heartbreaks, but she knew the way kai had shattered dahye’s couldn’t compare. “how is it now though? like, do you see him a lot?”

“well… its really complicated.” she set her glass down, adjusting her legs tucked underneath her. “at first, when our companies merged, i avoided him like the plague,” she laughed at the notion, almost as literal as it sounded. “but we have the same friends, we had to work it out eventually. it was just this thing festering and it wasn’t…” her voice faded, her thoughts dissolving into a deep sigh. “plus,” she raised her eyebrows, awaiting the reaction her friend would have to the following news, “he’s with my group’s leader now. dae.”

hannah’s jaw dropped, making angel laugh at the comical expression. “no!” she cried, clutching angel’s hand in the dramatics of it all.

“yes!” the guitarist nodded. “i want to be happy for them, of course, but it just makes me feel so… watching them… its like some fucked mirror of what could’ve been, right?”

“100 percent,” her friend agreed, patting her leg in comfort and support. “does she even know? about how you two were?”

“i mean, i haven’t told her. so, i can’t blame her. as much as my heart wants to sometimes, it's not right.”

“but you’re over him.”

“the way we were… so dependent on each other like that. so… well, i would say, in love. and the way it ended with so little closure after a whole… fucking decade. i don’t think there is any being over him. i don’t have those feelings for him anymore, and i know there’s no future there, but his presence just lights me on fire. i can’t stand next to him without thinking about all of the could’ve should’ve would’ves between us.” she had never spoke so honestly about this before. she could feel her words beginning to stick painfully to her throat, but she fought to get them out. she needed them to finally be aired.

hyunin listened carefully, nodding along. “speaking honestly, hye-ya,” she began, holding her hand between hers once more. “i think what you two had was a little unhealthy, the way you clung to each other… but the past is the past, right? i really hope you work it out,” her eyes held her genuinity, carefully attempting to convey the words straight from her heart. “back then, i never thought i would ever see two people so connected. but i know you can start over.”

a start over. that mythical desire of everyone hurt by the past. would it ever find her?

[nettlestingsoup]

i promise i’m writing things even if i just appear to be starting new projects left right and centre. here, have an excerpt from the lake district au to prove that i am actually putting words on a page (when i have time!)

Despite his fears, Hyunjin keeps heading up into the hills to paint. There’s something about the landscape that draws him back in, he thinks, some need to paint the river and the heather and the pale grey sky over and over until he understands it.

Until he sees what lies beneath.

Paintings stack up in his house, forgotten as soon as they’re finished so that he can begin another; the same scenery, the same shades of rusted red and subtle, hollow green. The same paths, winding up and up and up through the bracken and the marshlands until they meet the sky.

He never tires of it. The wildness of it all. He thinks he never will.

[jeonghoneyss]

I’m working on the second chapter of my dulcet fic, and my outline only takes me up to the second chapter, but... it doesn’t really make sense?? I planned out half the first scene and then wrote “Jeongin goes :0″ and left it at that?? So I guess I’m winging it from here jdsfgldfs

[hyunjinhour]

Stray Kids ships.

I’ve been a stay for around a year now and I thought let me talk about the skz ships I have been screaming abt.

1. Hyunchan when I first noticed them it was during one of their online concerts and I was like ohh hold a minute. Pre-red lights here, I would say Hyunchan are not overly loud so you might not notice them from the go ahead. I did notice that the way they act around each other is different from how they act around anyone else. They also do this thing where they put their hands in each others chests lol and they do that a lot. 

There was a comment that said “Hyunchan is secretly a married couple but they are too shy to show their relationship.” This sums Hyunchan up perfectly.

Also Red lights, gosh when they were talking abt a sexy rnb song I didn’t think we would be attacked like that. Oof too hot.

Hyunchan are such a Hot pair. Also, it’s the funniest thing when Hyunjin flirts with Chan and Chan gets soooo shy.

2. Seungbin - This ship has just attacked me recently. They are soooo loud but they are so underrated. With Seungbin what I have noticed is that Seungmin goes to Changbin to give him backhugs (like a lot) or like when he was resting his head Changbin’s shoulder and it feels like Changbin is Seungmin’s comfort space. It’s really cute.

And also Changbin is wildin, especially with Seungmin (My Changlix heart cries lol) (Like the last talker Seungmin was going to give Changbin a high five and Changbin went in for a kiss lol Wildin. Need I mention the two dance practices where Changbin was on top of Seungmin and I was like shocked the first time I saw those moments and then I proceeded to rewatch them 10 more times.

3. Hyunin are so cute. Hyunjin is still ever so whipped with Jeongin and it’s just so cute. They are so comfortable with each other. It’s cute to see.

4. Minjeong - This is a contribution of this video and reading a fic that had Minjeong and then realising that Lee know has a soft spot for I.N and I just love how Minho teases Jeongin. It’s so freakin cute.

5. Chanmin are soo loud especially when you watch the skz talkers. I think Chan is very comfortable with Seungmin and he is always hugging him and back hugging him. It is so cute. 

6. Hyunsung are the ultimate enemies to lovers like to the story they told us back in the day to them now they seem really really close and it’s so cute.

7. Minsung - They are married, couple goals. They are just too cute. Lee Know is really touchy with everyone including Han. The thing that gives Minsung away the most is how Han reacts and acts when around Leeknow. Like they give themselves away too much. We luv it.

8. Hyunlix - I feel like Felix has such a soft spot for Hyunjin or a little crush and I feel like this time he is guarding himself but he slips up sometimes and we see it. I am torn because I feel like Felix still likes Changbin but he has more feelings for Hyunjin now. 

The first skz ships post I made here. 

[willwriteforhugs]

just a sniffle!- hwang hyunjin

boyfriend! hyunjin x reader- one shot !

word count: 1.6k

genre: fluff, domestic scenario

synopsis: after your boyfriend comes home from a long day, you swear you can detect a scratch in his throat... but he insists he’s fine. fast forward 12 hours, and hyunjin is practically bed-ridden with fever. and now what...

warnings: sickness/a high fever (obviously), minor cursing

a/n: this prompt was requested by an anon!! i hope i didn’t take too long to put this out- it takes me forever to edit when the fic in question is a request, because i just want it to be perfect :’) anyways, to my lovely anon: thank you for the request, and i hope you enjoy!

- - -

earlier, when hyunjin had told you he’d be able to get off early, you’d been over the moon- it was a rare occurrence, after all. your boyfriend has- as many idols do- an extremely hectic schedule, with practices often going late into the night. so when he’d said the two of you would be able to spend the evening together, it had taken all your self-control not to start cheering right then and there. but you had managed to stay calm- and still devise a thorough, detailed plan of how the night would go.

you would make dinner, and it would be ready by the time hyunjin got to your place- because who doesn’t love being welcomed by a warm meal? then, after you eat, hyunjin can run and get cleaned up while you do dishes. when that’s all done, the two of you can get down to business by binge watching all the drama episodes you’d missed. (you never watched them without him, even though you usually fall way behind in the show, due to his lack of free time. he insists that you shouldn’t wait- but you love to watch them with him, so you always let them pile up...)

now, in the moment, you scurry aimlessly about your apartment. dinner is ready, waiting to be served in the kitchen, so you walk around your front room. you know that everything is clean- this is the fourth time you’ve checked. but still, this isn’t an everyday thing, and you want the place to be tidy for your boyfriend. (you also know he doesn’t really care all that much- but it’s the thought that counts, right?)

your train of thoughts ends abruptly when a knock sounds from the front door. already smiling, you rush to answer it- and sure enough, there he is.

hyunjin stands in your front entryway, tilting his head as he looks at you. a smile toys at his lips, and he extends an arm. fighting your own glee, you lean into his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent.

“hey,” you say into his chest. he hums in reply, and you stand there for a moment, simply appreciating each other. after a beat has passed, you speak up again. “let’s go inside.”

the two of you enter, hyunjin closing the door behind him. he’s wearing a casual outfit, made up of just black sweats and a hat. you assume he’s already showered, too, because, well- you won’t lie- he usually doesn’t smell that great after a long practice. but he seems clean, and all for the better- that just means the schedule gets sped up, and more time for the two of you! 

as he usually does, your boyfriend wanders into your bedroom to set down his things, not lingering. he meets you back in the kitchen as you begin to serve the food. you see him smile at the spread, and finally he speaks: “wow, babe. that’s a lot of food.”

at the sound of his voice, you start a bit. it’s much lower than usual, and you detect a bit of scratchiness in it. without looking up, you make your inquiry: “are you feeling well? you sound a bit froggy.”

hyunjin snorts at your description. “froggy? you really are something...”

you smile, bringing two servings of food to the table. as you begin to eat, the two of you settle into comfortable silence. 

as the meal continues, though, you feel yourself begin to frown. despite his obvious attempts to hide it, hyunjin seems to be having trouble swallowing his food. with every bite, you see your boyfriend flinch just a bit. 

not being able to take it any longer, you set your chopsticks down. “really, hyunjin-ah. you don’t seem well, are you getting a cold?”

your boyfriend makes a mocking pouty face at you. clearing his throat, he responds: “i’m fine, y/n. i really am, so don’t baby me.”

you give a half hearted glare. “fine. but if you wake up tomorrow feeling like shit, don’t say i didn’t warn you.”

- - -

you had been right, of course.

and, for the record, you had warned him.

it’s 6:48 in the morning, and both of you were awake. you lean over in bed, switching on the light. laying in a pathetic lump on your other side, hyunjin groans loudly. you turn back around to face him. “hyunjin-ah, seriously. let me feel your head, you’ve been coughing all night!”

the lump that happens to be your boyfriend shifts to face you in bed. you frown once you can seem him clearly- his face is red, and his eyes are watery from the coughing. you place your own cool palm on his forehead, and almost jerk back in surprise. “babe, you’re burning up!”

flinging your blankets away, you spring out of bed. “hyunjin!” you groan. “i knew you sounded off, why wouldn’t you say anything?”

he coughs again, finally managing to clear his throat. in his raspy voice, he manages: “i didn’t want to ruin your night. i knew you were excited.”

you sigh, knowing the feeling, and hating the understanding. hyunjin was overworked, truly. he shouldn’t have felt the need to lie just to spend time with you, no matter how excited you were...

“c’mon.” you say nudging him in the hips. “sit up, i’ll get you some painkillers and water. are you hungry?”

he grunts in response. when you don’t move, he finally mutters into his pillow: “i don’t know.”

a smile tugs at your lips at this. “that’s alright. i’ll get you a bit anyways.”

you know that hyunjin’s dramatics are probably a conductor to this situation, but a tiny part of you is excited at this opportunity to spoil him, even if it’s at his expense. 

in the kitchen, you dig around for the promised medicine and some snacks, then pour a glass of water.

when you re enter your bedroom, you see hyunjin has managed to sit up. his tall figure is slumped as he leans against the headboard of your bed. nonetheless, he smiles as you enter the room. “you’re so pretty in the mornings,” he mumbles.

you gently smack his head as you set down the water glass. “oh, shut up. at least take the meds first so you’ll be able to defend yourself later on.”

at this, he chuckles- but the joy quickly dissipates as the laugh turns into a pained cough. you use your palm to rub circles over his back as he regains his breath. the fit passes, but the tension in the air doesn’t. 

in perfect unison, the two of you sigh.

hyunjin breaks the silence. “i’m so sorry, y/n. i should have just told you i wasn’t feeling well last night... maybe we could have caught it before it got this bad.”

you give him a bittersweet smile. “your pride can be a weakness, my love.”

at this, hyunin puts his hand to his chest in fake shock. “i can’t believe you’d say such things to me. and while i’m ill!”

“it’s just a cold, your highness. take the tylenol and see how that helps.” you pause, knowing that he is probably in more pain than he’s letting on- you can tell because he was covering it with humor, something he rarely does. “do you- do you want a washcloth or something? an ice pack?”

your boyfriend’s expression is warm. his voice is still uneven, and he responds in an almost whisper: “is that alright?”

your heart stutters at his demeanor. “yes, that’s alright.”

when you return with the cold washcloth, hyunjin has slid down a bit- now only half sitting up. his eyes are closed, though you suspect he isn’t asleep, at least not fully. but you can tell he’s exhausted from being up all night with his sneezing and coughing... maybe he really is asleep...

you make your way to him, and pause to admire his peaceful face. he truly is beautiful... you reach over and gently sweep his long hair away from his forehead, allowing your fingers to linger. he’s still very warm to the touch, and you can’t help but worry for him. after a moment, you swap your hand for the washcloth, draping it gently across his already damp forehead. 

you aren’t really sure how to properly care for a sick person, but a cold compress seems to be what all the dramas suggest. so you sit back down and hope for the best. 

a few minutes pass- hyunjin breathing peacefully in the bed, and you in a nearby chair watching him. suddenly, your counterpart’s eyes flicker open, deep brown eyes meeting your own. “y/n-ah?” he rasps.

you almost launch out of your chair. “yes? are you alright?”

hyunjin gives a half-hearted snort as his eyes drift shut again. he continues to speak without seeing you. “i’m fine. but- will- do you mind sitting with me? over here?”

you stare at him for a moment, processing. then you smile. “yeah, i can do that. as long as you don’t get me sick.”

“no promises.”

and with that, you crawl back into bed with hyunjin, his back to you. you scoot up a bit, positioning yourself so you can hug him from behind. you’ve never been the big spoon before- but honestly? you love it, and you bury your face in between his shoulder blades, filled with an overwhelming rush of affection.

“y/n?” comes hyunjin’s voice again, very quietly.

you don’t move, answering into his back. “yes?”

“i love you.” 

and with that, hyunjin slips back into sleep, this time nestled in your arms.

[cutiequokka]

Psycho pt. 2 (Hyunin)

Genre: Smut

Word Count: ~1.2k

Warnings: Masturbation, Hyunjin's being the pervy one now, unintentional voyeurism, not much else

Summary: Hyunjin knew exactly what he was doing.

A/N: Ok I lied, this will be a 3 part series, with this chapter being dedicated to Hyunjin's perspective from part 1 (which if you haven't read that, I HIGHLY suggest you do or you won't get a lot of the references). Anyways, enjoy horndogs.

Hyunjin wasn’t an idiot.

Sure people called him gullible, overdramatic, a little ditzy at times, but he certainly was no dumbass.

Jeongin, however, seemed to have failed to understand that.

It had started with the Psycho dance practice, Hyunjin being sure to perform his absolute best to show off to the maknae and Stays on the live watching. Another casual day of stealing people’s hearts, he thought to himself happily, making a particularly suggestive face at the camera. Little did he know just how true that had become.

Hyunjin knew Jeongin couldn’t be straight, not with the way he blushed whenever he bumped into one of their shirtless male backup dancers in the hallway in the JYP building. And sure, Hyunjin would be lying if he said he didn’t find the boy absolutely adorable in every way possible. His cute giggle, the way he faked annoyance at the member’s teasing but secretly smiled, the way he made sure to do his absolute best as to not let people down. To say he had a crush wasn’t quite the word, he preferred to say he was “whipped” as Changbin had told him one day at practice when Hyunjin had spent a little too long staring at Jeongin’s face when he laughed and ran his hands through his sweat-slick hair. But not only was the boy cute, he was also just so damn sexy. Sure the members babied him, but they couldn’t deny the fact he was growing up at record speed. Less baby bread, more toast, Hyunjin thought to himself as he watched Jeongin roll his body dramatically while practicing the Back Door choreo.

And now, in the dance studio, as Hyunjin glanced over at Jeongin for approval while performing, he was met with a sight that nearly made him choke.

The boy was blushing like crazy, ears practically glowing red in the fluorescent lights of the dance studio. One hand was grasping his thigh, the other the chair that had the phone propped up, as if to ground himself. But his eyes. Oh my god, those eyes. They were so wide, so full of a delicious mixture of fascination, admiration, and pure lust. Hyunjin almost drooled at the sight, but he quickly realized that that may not be the best decision at the moment.

By the end of the dance, Hyunjin’s ego had certainly been boosted immensely. Jeongin let out a hurried praise that Hyunjin pretended not to hear a stutter in. A grin plastered on his face, he dramatically bowed, catching the way the younger’s eyes followed the soft hair flopping around against his face. But just as Jeongin was about to end the live, Hyunjin got an idea.

A mean, merciless, genius idea.

“Hey, do you want me to teach you some?”

Hyunjin fought the urge to giggle as Jeongin’s face immediately flushed, looking back at the older boy in shock. Cute, he thought to himself. Now, Jeongin was caught between choosing to let Stays down or put himself through personal self-control hell. Of course, the adorable boy chose the latter, never wanting to disappoint his fans. He stuttered something about Stays needing to sleep soon and reluctantly got to his feet, allowing Hyunjin to explain the dance to him.

And Hyunjin made sure to demonstrate.

Very thoroughly.

Thrusts, grunts, facial expressions, the whole nine yards. Hyunjin even made sure to brush against Jeongin’s thigh while placing him in the correct position. Of course, it didn’t take the maknae long to squirm away, saying he’d learn it on his own so it could be a surprise. Hyunjin shrugged, doing his best to hide his smirk as he waved by at the camera, then quickly wrapped his arms around Jeongin as the boy made a break for the door in record time.

“Innie? Why are you in such a hurry?” Snake a hand around his waist, make sure your lips brush his neck. “You promised you’d hang out with me.”

He could practically feel the heat radiating off Jeongin as he tensed. “I’m tired, hyung, it’s been a… it’s been a long day.” And with that, he scrambled out of the studio.

Hyunjin smirked, perfectly happy with how his little shenanigans had played out, and sauntered out of the studio.

“Hey Jinnie, where you been?”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “That’s hyung to you, and I was at the studio. Jeongin was doing a live and I crashed it.”

Seungmin snickered, his eyes still glued to the video game in front of him. “He’s gonna be pissed about that.”

Doing his best to hide a smirk, Hyunjin merely shrugged, plopping down on the couch next to him and picking up a controller to (hopefully) beat his ass virtual style.

They only had been playing for a few minutes when Hyunjin’s phone buzzed in his pocket, alerting him that is was about to die. “Go ahead and do a solo round Minnie, I’ll be back in a sec, he said, starting down the hallway to grab his charger.

But then something caught his attention.

Moaning.

Hyunjin was hearing moaning coming from the maknae line’s room.

Holy shit, he had even more of an affect on the boy than he thought.

To be fair, Hyunjin considered turning away, but the sweet sounds were just too enticing. They were muffled, like they were trying to be silenced by biting down on something, and for some reason, Hyunjin’s mind was suddenly filled with how pretty Innie’s lips would look wrapped around a ball gag, the thought making his dick twitch in his pants. Pressing his ear to the door, he suddenly heard a groan of what sounded like frustration, and the sound of skin hitting soft sheets. A long break of silence followed, and Hyunjin silently wondered if Jeongin had simply given up.

But then there was a noise. An unmistakable, beautiful noise that made Hyunjin’s jaw practically drop.

The opening notes to Psycho.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

The song continued, just quiet enough for him to be able to hear the sound of skin on skin and the shallow grunts of the boy inside who had resumed jerking off. Is he watching me perform?? Hyunjin thought, wanting nothing more than to be able to know what exactly Jeongin was seeing. His erection grew, one hand coming down to palm himself as he listened to the maknae whimpering and groaning along with the music. He wanted to bust open the door and help, he wanted to kiss him and touch him, he wanted to fuck him into the mattress until he was begging for permission to cum around Hyunjin’s cock.

Fuck, he wanted so many things

Finally, there was a low, drawn-out moan, floating through the air deliciously. The video was then paused and the very faint sound of panting reaching Hyunjin’s ears. Just as he was about to pull away from the door and book it before Jeongin came out and saw him, he heard the boy’s raspy voice mutter.

“Shit.”

[hyunnie]

HYUNJIN’S 2021 BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN: D-03

FAVORITE MOMENTS IN CIRCLE

(elaboration underneath)

textures: look at how he waves and then snaps into sharp pops wowowow. the way hyunjin dances with so much texture and dynamic...how does he do it man. and like it’s a pretty drastic contrast of moves too and he does it so powerfully wow jinnie wow!!

fluidity: i love the way he emphasizes the rhythm of the lyrics here. i also love how he connects the sharp movements in his arms by flowing his body and his legs. and wow that release with the wave at the end, it’s so simple but so powerful thank you choreographer-nim lol

body lines: first of all the way his head circles around and then joins the diagonal his body is making yes jinnie yes. also love how his shoulders circle into the line as well. each angle his body makes as he isolates and snaps into that diagonal line is so beautiful.

subtlety: somehow he manages to make small delicate waves look so...dramatic? it looks like he’s barely moving, but you can feel the energy coming off of him. and he does this after doing an intense flinging motion too. it’s really interesting how he can give off the same amounts of energy with his big and small movements.

drama: facials, yes. that small wave, yes. he snapped off people my god!! i like how he builds up the energy with an intense stare and then during the climax of the song he does this move. and then he even gives us time to process what just happened by releasing the tension with a wave. wow thanks jinnie for giving us time to breathe lol

suspension: i love the control he has when he falls to the floor, and also how he suspends for a hot second when he gets back up. gravity has nothing on hwang hyunin he will defy you gravity.

[sleepylixie]

I Hate to Admit

College! AU Bang Chan X fem! reader

Imperium Universe || Jisung || Seungmin || Chan 

2k (I’m so sorry), fluffiest fluff 

Request? Yes! Hope you like this, Anon!! Apologies about getting a wee bit carried away. >.<

Warnings: None!

A/N: I liked writing this, even though it’s waayyyy longer than I expected it to be oops. This is an extension of the same universe as this Jisung fic and this Seungmin fic, but you can definitely read this as a standalone! Do let me know what you think about this fic, I’d love to hear feedback!! ONTO THE FIC :D

Requests are open for SKZ and BTS! || Masterlist

The skate park right outside your campus was always an interesting sight. There were always a lot of people around, enjoying themselves on the gentle slopes and plateaus. You were always mystified by the way the skateboarders could so easily throw themselves into the air, seemingly unafraid of taking a tumble to the concrete floor.

You’d pass by the skate park thrice a week in the early evening, on your way to a part-time shift at Imperium- the closest bar to your university. Your shifts ran late sometimes, bordering on midnight when you’d step out of Imperium’s back door.

More often than not, you’d encounter the same lone figure in the skatepark on your way back- an average-sized, lean figure who had a way with the skateboard that you’d never seen anybody have before. The first time you spotted him, you stopped and watched for a few moments as he made his way up the slopes like it was nothing at all- he was that good.

Skateboarding wasn’t your thing as much as people watching- there were so many interesting people in the world, so many different kinds of personalities that you couldn’t get enough. You would write them into stories of back-alley romance, tales of rippling fantasy and chronicles of traitorous woe,  reveling in the way your worlds and characters built themselves up along the plot.

It became an unconscious habit, seeing the boy(it seemed like a boy, judging from his impeccably built shoulders and a penchant for extremely sleeveless muscle tops.) on your way back from your late bartending shifts.

He was curious, you decided. Who only visited the skate park when it was at it’s emptiest despite being so good? Did he not like attention? Was he shy? You made a mental note to try and talk to him one day- you weren’t hesitant with your curiosities. Someday, when you weren’t bogged down by your already numerous Works in progress and university, you would approach him and find out more about this midnight skateboarder.

But as it turned out, you didn’t have to wait too long.

//

“Y/N! Where were you, it’s almost 1 a.m!” Your sorority sister Chaeyoung sat up on her bed as you walked into your shared room. Her short blonde hair fluttered around her face as she slipped off the bed, bounding towards you. “I had a longer shift than normal, Imperium was weirdly full.” You responded, pulling your bag off your shoulder.

“Alpha Phi Alpha is throwing another rager. Do you want in?”

That’s when you heard it. You’d been so absorbed in the music from your own earphones that you didn’t even noticed the deep bass thumping through the air, the muffled cheers and screams of enjoyment. Of course there was a party going on, it was a Friday night.

Life next to a fraternity house wasn’t the most peaceful, but you didn’t mind it. Your sorority, Delta Kappa, was housed right next to the Alpha Phi Alpha frat house, close enough to share a fenced wall.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was the most sought after fraternity on campus; acceptance meant instant skyrocketing of social worth. It was all extremely cliché: the best frat on campus, filled with the smartest, most attractive guys, throwing the most memorable parties and yet maintaining their stellar record of being good at pretty much everything.

“Sure, why not? I have some energy to let off.” You smile, throwing open your shared wardrobe. Chae’s eyes shone wickedly, she was sold by the idea of any kind of party. “Are any of the other sisters coming??”

“Jennie, Lia and Yeri already left. I thought I’ll wait around for you.”

“How nice of you, Chae,” You huff out another laugh as you held out an outfit for her to see. “Ooh, I like it. Now hurry up, right?”

“Okay, okay!!”

20 minutes later, you were walking into your next-door frat house with Chae, already warmed by the electric vibe. “Y/N!!! You’re here!!”  There he was-tall, blonde and devastatingly handsome. Also seemingly tipsy, by the looks of it. Hwang Hyunjin was one of your closest friends, but he had a hard time handling his liquor, even though he would stoutly disagree when sober.

“What took you so long?” He slurred slightly, slinging an arm around you and giving you a tight, alcohol-smelling hug. “Unlike some of you, I have a job, Hyunin,” You quipped, returning his embrace and pecking his cheek- your usual greeting.

“Whatever, you’re here now.” He scoffed and ruffled your hair. “ We just made some new additions to the frat, you should come and meet them.”

“Sure, why not?” So Hyunjin took your hand and led you through the throngs of partying people. Soon enough, you stepped onto the roof of the frat house, a fairly clean space for being set up by a troupe of boys. Fairy lights left the people on the terrace bathed in soft yellow lights, a rather aesthetic sight.

There were around a handful of people lounging around on the couches and carpets, but Hyunjin led you to a particular group of people nearest to the railing, laughing and talking in a circle. You knew he had a gang of friends from all over the campus that just seemed to have an inexplicable pull towards each other.

You knew some of them by appearance from other ragers- music major Jisung with the cheeky smile, law student Seungmin with the puppy-eyes and an acidic tongue, Changbin with his almost flawlessly built body (you always paused for a second to admire his physique) and Minho, the guy who for some ominous reason always had bruised knuckles.

“Y/N! Hey!” Jeongin exclaimed, eyes brightening up in an endearing smile. “Hey Innie,” you grinned, happy to see another familiar face in the junior from the same major as you. “Yes yes hello and all that, Innie,” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, ignoring the look of mock offense he got from Jeongin. “I brought Y/N to meet Chan, coz he’s new to the frat, and my favorite sorority girl should be the first to know about the new fish.”

He threw an arm out, pointing to one of the guys leaning against the railing of the terrace, all smiles and black hair. You extended your own smile towards him, already giving him a casual once over- He wasn’t too tall, with impeccably built shoulders in a muscle top….wait. The question was out of your mouth before you could stop it.

“Are you the weirdo that goes skateboarding at midnight?”

A pause rippled across everybody in the circle, the smile on Chan’s face reducing to an incredulous splutter as Jisung choked on a giggle- that did it. All of the guys dissolved into peals of laughter, loud and unrestrained.

“Sorry about that,” You said, letting out an embarrassed sigh as you stepped around the circle to get closer to Chan. “I’ve seen you in the skate park when I’m getting back after work.”

He shrugged, his handsome features still splashed with sheepishness. “It’s fine, it was just a matter of time, I guess.” Over the laughter, you could hear how smooth his voice was, like melting chocolate.

“If it counts for anything, I thought you’re really good at it.” You weren’t the beat around the bush with your words. “You made it look so easy.”

A light blush reddened his ears as he grinned at the compliment. “Thanks.. Y/N, was it?”

You spent the rest of the night with the boys, caught in easy banter- but particularly, you got to know Chan. He had been living off campus until he’d decided to apply for the fraternities on a whim, ending up with an acceptance to Alpha phi Alpha. He was a business major, with a creative minor in music producing- just like Changbin. He was a natural extrovert, effortless with conversation and people skills, a man married to his work-to the point that he regularly lost sleep over it. He was also a bit of a dork, you noticed, with his random bursts of exaggerated hand movements and lame jokes.

The sun was beginning to rise when you decided to get back home. “It was nice getting to know you, Channie,” you grinned, pulling him into an easy hug and pecking his cheek.

“Likewise, Y/N.” He smiled his captivating smile at you, before walking you to the frat house door. “Before I go, what do you say about exchanging numbers?” You asked. He was a good sort, the kind of guy who’d make a really good friend. Why not?

Chan agreed amicably and sent you off with promises to catch up soon, leaving you feeling light and happy.

To your surprise, he ended up dropping by your sorority the very next morning, asking if you were up for waffles at a nearby café. You happened to be awake at the time and decided to tag along with him- even though it was 6 in the morning.

“The guys refuse to wake up early and join me,” he complained, holed up in the café with plates of waffles and orange juice in front of you. “Chan, be honest,” You chuckled. “The only reason we’re awake at ass o’ clock is because both of us can’t sleep to save our lives.” He rolled his eyes in amusement. “Stop wise cracking and get on eating, Y/N.”

That café run cemented your day-old friendship into one of peaceful camaraderie, a safe space for each other within the chaos of your friend circles.

//

Winter melted slowly into spring, bringing tidings of new beginnings, assignment and semester exams and subsequently, end of semester parties. As always, Alpha phi Alpha was throwing a rager of a party that was expected to be the best all semester.  Your entire sorority had received invitations and were all excited to drown out the stress of exams week. You, on the other hand, were also thinking about something else. Someone, rather-Chan.

You and Chan had only grown close over the course of the past months,  gradually bonding over ungodly morning cafe runs, late night texts between breaks and video calls asking for outfit opinions.

You frequented the frat house more often, a fact that Hyunjin rejoiced (and teased you relentlessly) over. Chaeyoung only gazed at you with a suggestive look in her eyes when you slipped into the room at 2 a.m in the morning with one of Chan’s many black hoodies hanging off your shoulders. What, it was winter, it was cold on your way back from Imperium and he offered! Chan, to his credit, seemed to be just as invested in this newly growing friendship as you were. He walked you back from Imperium whenever he was at the skatepark, invited you on his midnight skate runs,  even almost breaking his arm trying to teach you how to balance on his skateboard.

It was an outlet for his energy, he explained one day. Sometimes working on music or going on a run didn’t give him the same sense of calm that skateboarding did. It wasn’t about the attention for him- with Chan, it almost never was. Not surprisingly, you liked that about him.  You liked Chan, for all his insomniac, stress skateboarding, black hoodie hoarding self.

The party was already in full swing when you and Chaeyoung knocked on the main door. One of the frat boys you didn’t know opened the door, smirking at you before yelling over his shoulder. “Yo, Chan, your girl’s here!”

Your eyes widened, exchanging an amused glance with Chae, who was openly laughing at your expression. Chan’s girl? Not that you hated the sound of that.. But you were just a friend- a friend who had a crush on him.. Right??

Chan hurried to the door that very instant, shoo-ing his frat brother off. “Sorry about that,” he murmured , exchanging hugs and cheek kisses with you and Chae. “To the usual spot?” he grinned, comically offering you his arm.

“Of course, my dearest,” you gushed, the two of you bursting into a fit of giggles as you linked your arm with his, allowing Chan to steer you towards the staircase leading up to the terrace. Once on the rooftop, you were met with a familiar sight- 7 boys giggling and talking amongst themselves in a loose circle near the railing. “Chan, don’t hog all of Y/N’s attention, she’s here for the party, you know?” Jisung called out the second he spotted the two of you heading towards them.

Amidst a gale of laughter, Chan frowned indignantly, opening his mouth to give Jisung a tongue lashing before you broke in, a sly smile stamped across your own face. “Who says I’d mind it??”

A chaotic chorus of 7 male voices responding to you had you laughing aloud, scanning Chan’s face for any discomfort. But he only had flaming ears, shifty eyes,  and a shy smile trained on you- a smile that shifted from shy to teasing in split seconds.

“If that’s the case, then I’m stealing Y/N for the night, you guys!” He declared, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the door the two of you had just walked through. “Chan, what are you doing?” You breathed out in amusement, not pulling your hand away. Your heart was beating out of your chest at everything going on, especially with Chan’s warm hand enclosing yours and the way he’d just smiled at you-

“Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now,” Chan’s voice was exactly as you knew it, smooth, warm melted chocolate. “Come with me to the skatepark. Just for a while.” Who were you to say no to that voice?

//

Chaeyoung opened the door to the sorority early next morning, squawking in laughter when she saw who stood in front of her. You in Chan’s hoodie, your hand in his, your lipstick staining the side of Chan’s jaw and the kicker- you hugging Chan, quickly landing a soft kiss on his lips before skipping into the house.

Chaeyoung could only look at the adoring look on Chan’s face as you disappeared into the house and close the door, laughing quietly.  Ah, young love.