#i want to put kang in a jar and study him

[sunshinechay]

The flashbacks in this episode were…something. I’m going to likely be that person who goes against popular opinion and say that I actually liked the use of the flashbacks. Were there too many? Absolutely! However, I do appreciate what they were trying to be. A way of visually showing Kang contexualizing his feelings for Sailom as they happened. Most of the time, when a character in a drama realizes that they like another, there is that montage of romantic moments of the two characters growing closer to each other. The big difference is that while there is usually only one, this time, the editors seem to air on the side of being too heavy handed with the metaphor.

Kang spends the episode conflicted about his feelings about Pimfah, about Sailom and about Pimfah’s feelings about Sailom. Love triangles are tricky things to do and I liked this one. I even liked how quickly it started and got resolved. Going too deeply, and spending too much time lingering in, Pimfah’s feelings for Sailom would have slowed the show down in a way that wouldn’t have worked (and yes I do agree that the show needs a bit of a slow down). It also risks turning Pimfah into a character she isn’t. She isn’t meant to be a jealous girlfriend nor a competitor for Kang. She is her own character with her own storyline (*looks at Pimfah and the student teacher* Harold they’re lesbians). She also serves as a narrative device to help Kang and Sailom get close (Guy also serves this function within the episode). Kang needed to see her feelings for Sailom in order to confront his own about her and Sailom.

Each flashback serves this function. Every time something happened, it would be accompanied by a flashback and more often than not, a pensive look from Kang (a part of me would very like to know exactly how many times Perth got “now I need to stare thoughtfully into the middle distance” as an instruction). Kang had to rethink and recontextualize just about every interaction he’s had with Sailom since being forced to be tutored by him. Kang does not have much in the way of emotional intelligence (which is the result of many factors both within and outside of Kang’s control) so he doesn’t, can’t, figure it out quickly. Kang himself has said that it has been told to him since he was young. He has to grow up, find a nice woman, get married and have children to carry on the family name. He doesn’t believe he can deviate from that path. That it’s the only path that will make his father proud, that will make his father pay attention to him and love him. It’s the only path that will make him feel worthy of something he should be getting already, his father’s love.

Which also brings to a thought I’ve been having since the beginning. I don’t know how many other people have thought this, but I don’t think Kang has ever actually liked Pimfah. They get along fine and are friends, but I don’t think Kang has ever actually had anything in the way of romantic feelings for her. I think he just decided on her because she was a safe choice. She is his friend, one he knows he gets on with, she seems to like him well enough and also, she is the daughter of one of his father’s business associates. There is no way his father would disprove of her. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Kang’s father has mentioned something about Pimfah in the past or Kang and Pimfah’s fathers wouldn’t have tried to get them together a few years down the line.

Kang has buried how he really feels so far down. He has to take the time to truly dig it up and come to terms with it and I honestly don’t even think he really did that before he kissed Sailom. He figured it out sure, but he hasn’t come to terms with it. He just knows that if he doesn’t act now, he’ll lose Sailom to someone else, whether that is Pimfah or Guy or someone else. It also hasn’t escaped my notice that both of the possibly “love rivals” Kang has had have been characters that are a part of the shows secondary ships, which I also absolutely think is intentional.

The flashbacks are a narratively and visual tool to help the audience go on that journey with Kang. There were too many of them sure, but even that works in this situation, because it shows that Kang isn’t just going off of instinct. He is re-examining his feelings, even if he always jumps to the wrong conclusion in the end, but hey denial will do that to you. This show does have its issues and I think a lot of them do stem from the philosophy of “airing on the side of too heavy handed for it’s own good” in its use of tropes and pacing but in this particular case, even if they were kind of annoying by the end, I think it still worked.

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 31: Flowers

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

It's time for the CHOICE. You reminisce, finally get the truth of that big memory. Maybe getting a little bit closer to Kung Lao. There's a storm coming and it's time to get ready.

A/N: Wow, the choice is here! I told you it was a weird normal choice haha. I hope you guys enjoy, this has been a blast. Each choice WILL be different enough that the story is still worth reading on both ends. They will have dramatic differences, honestly. Thank you guys so much for reading. This has been such fun.

Schedule change: The Oncoming Storm will diverge into two separate stories here- Firestorm and Lightning. Lightning updates on Monday and Firestorm on Friday. I have a few new stories in the works too so this will give me more time to plan and write. It's only one less day posting, honestly.

Part 30 Lightning Part 1 (Kung Lao) Firestorm Part 1 (Liu Kang) Volcanic Charge Part 1 (Both) Chapter Index

You tried to rest, you really did, but you were having a hard time being alone with only your thoughts for company. For some time, you sat at your desk and tried to read but you couldn’t focus on the notes. Plus, you had terrible handwriting. Liu Kang had been right. You wound up, instead, playing with the flower that rested nearby. You decided you’d cherish it a little bit longer before finding a way to press it and keep it preserved.

Sitting still was torture so you decided to take a walk. A short walk. You didn’t even bother putting on your shoes to try and discourage from going too far. Twisting the stem of the flower in your hand, you walked until you realized you’d gone much further than intended. Oh well. You weren’t pushing yourself too hard. You’d needed a change of scenery and fresh air, that was all. You found a balcony nearby and took a seat near the edge so you could watch the world across the ravine.

It was beautiful.

You twisted the flower between your fingers, admiring the purple petals. It was a small and frail thing. Small but also a sweet reminder of things long past. Those memories were so far from you now in your adult life that it was more like remembering pages from a book rather than scenes from your own history. The story, as distant as it was, was still precious to you.

Memory was a funny thing.

You’d replayed that day over and over in your mind for years after it had happened.

Your grandma had a love-hate relationship with Kung Lao at the time. She’d loved that you had a friend but had hated that the boy had been so rebellious. Your grandma had said things like ‘when you married that boy’. Once, on her deathbed, grandma had asked if you were still with Kung Lao. You’d told her yes because it had made grandma happy.

Your grandmother had always called you sensitive because of your visions, you supposed. You always had the distinct feeling that she’d known more about what was happening to you than anyone else had.

Back then the word sensitive had felt like an insult.

As an adult, you understood that it just wasn’t that simple. Grandma had always loved you even as sensitive as you were. Your mother and father had never been able to look you in the eye after it had begun. You had no doubt that they loved you, but it had been different. At nine years old that had been a lot to process. You would probably benefit from therapy but the monks in Raiden’s Temple were such gossips you were certain you’d have to outsource.

The flower spun above your fingers, and you held your other hand around it to protect it from the wind.

You were out of breath as you chased Kung Lao up the hillside through the thick and overgrown brush between the trees. He was almost constantly just far enough away from you that you couldn’t seem to catch up. Your legs were wobbly, fingers going numb, lips tingling.

Yesterday had been a mess.

You’d fallen in the kitchen while having a fit and had hit the back of your head on the counter. Grandma had taken care of you, but you’d still felt sick that morning. Then Kung Lao had wanted to see you. You’d fought with grandma about it. You begged and pled. After having such a bad day you’d only wanted to spend time with Kung Lao and feel normal.

But then Kung Lao had been funny all day.

He was even a little mean. You wondered what you had done wrong.

“Keep up, weirdo!” He’d called back to you teasingly and you nearly stopped in your tracks. He had never once before called you any of the awful names that the other kids in town had called you. To hear the insult from his lips was jarring, so much so that you thought you’d heard him wrong or imagined it.

“I need a minute! You have to slow down!” You called to him while you caught your breath. You leaned against the tree nearest you and gasped. Your heart felt like it was going to burst, and your mouth kept filling with sick spit. You were uncomfortable. Grandma had made you promise to take it easy. You were going to get in so much trouble if grandma found out that you were running through the woods that far from home.

Kung Lao reappeared through the trees, and he was smiling but still not himself. “What? Are you weak, Y/N? Gonna fall over? Can’t even make it up a little hill?”

“You’re being a jerk.” You coughed and his expression changed, but only briefly. He then turned away from you.

“Keep up, weirdo!”

“Don’t call me that!” The names stung. He’d never hinted that he’d believed those things about you so why was he saying them now? He’d been adamantly against the other kids giving you a hard time because you were different. Now there he was doing the same. Something was wrong but you didn’t understand what. Kung Lao was always difficult to understand when he was acting funny. He kept secrets.

You ran to catch up with him, stumbled over a loose stone, and then fell. You caught yourself in the dirt but hit hard. Your palms scraped against the ground and so did your knees. You sat there panicked and not breathing. Not because it’d hurt. You’d gotten good at handling pain over the past year. It was because you were bleeding and that had become a problem. When you bled, you just kept bleeding instead of healing. You were going to be in so, so much trouble when you got back to Grandma’s.

“You’re too slow, weirdo!”

Your eyes filled with tears.

This had to be a bad dream. Kung Lao would never treat you like this. You got up and watched the blood drip over your torn tights and then ran back through the trees toward your grandma’s farm. You didn’t want to hear those horrible words in his voice anymore. You’d had enough. Everywhere you went they called you terrible names or looked at you like you didn’t belong.

The only place that you had ever felt like you belonged was with Kung Lao and today he had made you feel like everyone else had.

An alien.

A freak.

The farm came into view and so you stopped at the tree line. If you went back, then grandma was going to be upset with you. She wouldn’t yell but she would be disappointed which was worse. Then you wouldn’t be allowed to watch television. It would be just you and the studies left behind by the tutor that came during the week to help you keep up with your education.

You took off your shoes and your tights, then replaced your shoes before using the tights to wipe the blood from your knees and your palms. The blood was quickly replaced. You leaned against one of the trees, hiding behind the bushes in a place where you had often snuck away to read or hide from your family.

The last time that you’d fallen, you’d skinned your elbow and it had gotten terribly infected. You’d been sick for weeks. Your parents had been so upset that you’d felt like you’d broken a rule just because you’d fallen on the way to the doctor. They’d reassured you that it was an accident but the disappointment that radiated from them when they looked at you spoke differently.

Grandma had never once blamed you for the things you couldn’t control. But this had been in your control. You knew that Kung Lao had been pushing you too hard, but you also hadn’t told him how sick you had been that morning and the night before. This was your fault. You should have told him that you weren’t up to the task of hiking wherever he had been dragging you. He’d said it had been a beautiful surprise.

The trip had been a surprise, alright, but not in the way that you had hoped it would be. It felt like a nightmare.

You hadn’t meant to fall! You’d been winded and now your hands and knees were scraped, and you’d be in trouble. Your tights were ruined too. Grandma had threatened to wrap you up in a bubble wrap before sending you off to play with ‘that boy’ and now you wondered if you’d ever be allowed outside to play with him again.

He’d called you names.

For the first time ever.

He’d called you those awful names that the other kids called you.

Tears dripped down your cheeks, your nose was plugged up and you sniffled, burying your face in your arms as you pulled your knees closer to your chest. You cried. You didn’t cry much those days, not anymore. When you’d first gotten sick, you’d cried all the time. Now you reserved your tears for hiding in your closet where no one would see. Your dad would get angry when you cried, something you’d never wanted.

Now you hid your tears.

Footsteps crunched on the grass and leaves beside you, and you wiped your eyes furiously to hide your tears but you was too stuffed up to do it well. Kung Lao sat next to you in silence, arms folded against his knees, watching you. You sniffled and frowned, trying to look mad but you weren’t sure it was actually working.

“We better get you cleaned up or you’re going to get in trouble again.” Kung Lao poked the side of your knee, and you scooted an inch away from him. He scooted with you.

“I don’t need your help.” You held your destroyed tights over your bloody knees to keep them from dipping down your leg. The scrapes weren’t that bad, they just seemed to bleed more than everyone else’s scrapes did.

“Well, it’s my fault.”

“Just leave me alone, Kung Lao.” You tried to shoo him away and he tried to pull the tights away from your knees so that he could take a look. “Stop it.”

He pouted and crossed his legs, hands at his ankles as he rocked forward and then back, letting his hands catch him as he leaned back. “I’m sorry.”

“Go away.”

“I know that those names are mean. I wasn’t thinking. You never react to them when anyone calls you them. They don’t seem to bother you.” He shrugged, looking off to the side as if embarrassed. You relaxed a little bit. “I don’t think I realized how mean it was until I saw how hurt you were just now.”

You sniffled.

“I’m dumb sometimes.” He slumped his shoulders. “You always act so strong. I didn’t think it’d hurt.”

You were used to being called mean names by others but coming from him it had hurt. You were only strong when you heard those names because their opinion of you hadn’t mattered. Kung Lao’s did.

“Can I help?”

“Yeah, I guess.” You sighed. Kung Lao jumped to his feet.

“I’ll go get some bandages!”

“Okay.” You wouldn’t fight him. He ran off, presumably to climb through your bedroom window and get the bandages that were kept on your side table. You wiped your eyes and willed away your upset. Kung Lao often acted before he thought. At least he’d apologized even if it had still hurt your feelings. You were, admittedly, sensitive after the night you’d had.

It didn’t take him long to return. Together you cleaned the scrapes with the little wipes that your grandma had bought and then Kung Lao placed little sticky bandages on your knees. It was sloppy and not how you would have done it, but it was sweet of him to try. Together you wrapped your palms with gauze and he did a much better job with that.

“Grandma is probably going to notice.”

“I don’t know. Your grandma doesn’t see very well. She doesn’t even notice when I’m in your room half the time.”

“Yeah, even so, mom’s going to notice when she visits tomorrow.” He wasn’t wrong. Grandma didn’t have the best eyes. Even with her glasses she struggled to read instructions and usually asked you to do it. But your mom noticed when you had so much as a loose thread on your dress or if your hair was even a little messy.

“You can blame it on me.” Kung Lao grinned. “That way you won’t get in trouble.”

“Mom already doesn’t like you.”

“What? Why not?”

“She thinks you’re a bad influence.”

“I could see that.” Kung Lao laughed.

“I won’t be allowed to see you anymore if I blame it on you. I’d rather just get into trouble for falling.” You picked up your tights. You’d get in trouble for that too. Your mom would go on and on about how money didn’t grow on trees. You’d never liked tights anyway. Besides that, your parents never seemed to be happy with you anymore anyway. What was a little extra trouble?

Kung Lao stood and offered you his hand. You took it and got to your feet. Together you made your way the short distance back to the farmhouse. A fence surrounded the old field behind it that your grandma hadn’t tended to in years. It was overgrown with weeds mostly now.

“When are you going to be allowed to go back home?”

“When I’m better.” That was what your parents had said every time you asked.

“You should just lie and say that you’re better then! Then we can play in town. This is a long walk for me.”

You laughed and climbed beneath the gap in the fence. You had wasted most of the afternoon and if you didn’t get back inside before dark then you were going to get in trouble for that too. You were pretty sure that you were already going to get in trouble. You weren’t a good liar. Every time you tried, you stuttered and got nervous and wound up giving yourself away so you didn’t really try anymore. Except for when it came to lying about if you were okay or not. You’d gotten good at pretending that you weren’t upset when you were.

“I have to go home, Kung Lao.” You waved to him and turned away.

“Wait, Y/N!” He called to you. You hurried back to the fence that he was leaning against, arms folded.

“What?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a battered purple flower. Then he offered it to you, averting his eyes and looking shy for maybe the first time you’d ever seen. You stared at the flower in surprise. You’d seen that kind of flower before, but they were mostly red or white. You’d never see it purple before.

“It’s why I wanted you to follow me.” He shrugged and his cheeks were redder than you’d noticed before. Maybe from their afternoon of sunshine or maybe because he was embarrassed. Why was he embarrassed? “I found them the other day and they reminded me of you. I wanted you to see them. Then I was a jerk and you ran away instead so… I brought one back for you.”

You didn’t know what to say. Had he been mean because he’d been embarrassed to do something so sweet? You didn’t know what any of it meant but it was cute to see him acting this way. He was usually so confident.

“You’re terrible.” Was what you went with. He laughed. “Making fun of me just to do something sweet.”

“Yeah, I am pretty terrible.” He beamed, back to his old self just like that. You took the flower from him and twisted the stem between your fingers. It was crumpled up from being in his pocket but it was still special and beautiful. You decided that you’d hide it. Your grandma wouldn’t let you keep it after it died, and you wanted to keep it forever.

“Thank you, Kung Lao.” You smiled and then used the fence to lean up to his height and give him a kiss on the cheek like you’d seen girls do in movies. You’d never done that before to anyone but your mom, sister, and grandma. His face turned beat red and you took a step back, holding the flower close to your chest. He grinned from ear to ear. “I have to go! Goodbye, Kung Lao!”

“Consider lying so that you can come back to town!” He shouted after you and you laughed before returning to your grandma’s house.

You twisted the stem of the flower in your hand just as you had done as a child. There had been so much of that day that you’d forgotten. It wasn’t like you sat in the memory all the time. That next day your mom had come to visit and had brought the terrible news that Kung Lao had died.

You’d been heartbroken, or that was the word that your grandma had used to defend you when your mom had told you to grow up. You hadn’t understood the notion of heartbreak at that age.

That had been what it was though. Heartbreak. Grandma had known your heart better than you ever had.

After that you’d refused to date for a long time. When you turned sixteen your mother had begun to set you up with boys from town or from neighboring towns. You’d fought with your mom about it every time and had reluctantly gone on the dates but had made it clear you weren’t interested. Your mom had told you that Kung Lao was dead and your idea of him was going to keep all other men out of your life. You’d never become a wife or a mother at that rate. You’d fought that wasn’t true or fair to accuse you of. But in the same breath you’d sabotaged every relationship you’d ever had. Your mom hadn’t been completely wrong.

You had ruined every chance at marriage that you’d had until you and your mother had become so estranged that by the time that she’d died you had barely spoken. Your father had stopped talking to you long before then outside of pleasantries around the holidays and only because your sister forced him to be polite.

Every relationship that you’d had outside of your mother’s meddling had ended with you being unable to commit. You’d never liked the idea of becoming a housewife and that was what most men that you met had wanted. You probably hadn’t given them the proper chance to prove that you’d be more than that either, though. Your older sister had settled down with a nice man from the neighboring town and had a daughter. This had continued her long running streak of being the family favorite.

You were okay with that.

Your sister had never been mean to you. In fact, she had only ever defended you. You hoped that she was doing okay. You’d been close. It had probably crushed her to think that you had died.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You turned very suddenly at the sound of Kung Lao’s voice, eyes wide and panicked. It was jarring to hear the voice of another person after being so lost in your memories.

“I’ve been standing here for like five minutes. You didn’t notice?” He was leaning against the wall of the entryway to the balcony. You felt your heart slamming in your chest. He was alive and that was still wild to you sometimes. You tried to hide the flower like a moron, like you hadn’t been mooning over your memories of him. It was too late for that. Kung Lao sat next to you. “I broke into your room when no one answered. Sorry.” He grinned and it was that same grin that a much younger him had worn after you’d kissed his cheek. “You were gone so I checked the infirmary, and you weren’t there either. That one monk, your friend, said that she’d left you earlier in the day and wasn’t your keeper. I don’t think she likes me much.”

“Chen.” You offered him her name. “I heard that you were very annoying while I was unconscious so that’s probably why she was snippy at you.”

“Well, you were unconscious for three days and I wanted to see you even if you couldn’t respond to me.” He puffed up his cheeks and pouted as he turned his gaze. You smiled and looked back down on the flower that you had hidden just beneath the hanfu you’d put on.

“Thank you for checking in on me so much. It’s sweet.”

“It’s not sweet. Purely selfish.”

“It’s sweet.” You repeated.

Kung Lao pulled the cloth away from where you’d hidden the flower and carefully took the stem from your fingertips. As you had suspected, there had been no point in hiding it.

“Wilting, huh?” He turned it over in his hands.

“Yeah, that’s what flowers do.” You shrugged and watched the ravine as he studied the flower. “Their beauty fades.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Kung Lao rested it in his palm carefully, as if worried that he would crush it. You sat silently watching the ravine. “I would fill your room with flowers if it meant that you would be okay.”

You looked to him in surprise and then at the wilted flower in his palm. Your eyes burned with the threat of tears, and you fought them.

“I like having just the one.” You smiled. He cocked a curious eyebrow. “It makes it special. Only one. And the memory of the other.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He offered you the flower and you took it carefully. “Do you remember that day?”

“Every second of it.”

“You were my first kiss.” He grinned.

“Well, technically it was only a kiss on the cheek, Lao.”

“It counted. To me it counted.” He looked too proud of it to argue with him. How could you? It was incredibly sweet. You gently nudged him. “Are you okay?” He asked, his voice a bit more serious, a rare thing that you both treasured and feared.

“Yeah. I’m sore and tired.” You averted your gaze.

“And…?”

“A little scared.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

“Are you okay?”

“Well, that was terrifying, and you almost murdered us.” He considered and you snapped your head to him in alarm. He was smiling, even if there was still sadness behind his eyes. “Watching you struggle with this is all too familiar. I’m just glad that you’re okay now. Feeling more determined than ever.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.” Kung Lao stood and offered his hand and you felt your heart skip a beat. This really was far too familiar. “Come eat with me. You haven’t had real food in days.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Three days, Y/N!”

“I was unconscious and on an IV.”

“Come eat with me anyway. Maybe Liu will join us!” Kung Lao took your hand and you reluctantly let him and got to your feet. You avoided his eyes as they studied you. “Liu’s fine, Y/N. It’s just a scrape.”

“I was covered in blood, but whatever you say.” You tucked the flower within the folds of your hanfu. “We can go get food but I’m not hungry.”

“Let’s go.” He held your hand for a time as you walked but after a few minutes he seemed to become aware that he was holding it and let go. Then he shoved his hands instead in his pockets. Your feet were sore without your shoes, and you were tired by the time you made it downstairs to the dining area. He helped you grab a plate filled with food and you found a spot across from each other at one of the long tables. You mostly poked around at your food. Kung Lao filled the silence, as he often did, telling you stories about shenanigans that he and Liu Kang had gotten into as teenagers. He spoke so animatedly that you would have smiled no matter what kind of story he was telling you.

You poked at the eggroll on your plate with your chopstick and then pushed a few vegetables aside. Nothing looked appetizing and your stomach was sour.

“You’re not eating.” He pointed to you with his chopsticks, mouth full.

“Oh?” You didn’t think that he’d been paying attention. “I did say several times that I wasn’t hungry.”

“You should eat.” He spoke between bites. “And you shouldn’t worry so much. It’s going to be okay.” He picked up the eggroll from your plate and took a bite out of it with a grin. “If you aren’t going to eat it, then I am.”

“Hey!” You swatted at his hand with your chopsticks, and he stole a mushroom from your plate before eating it with a smirk. A few other monks came to join you but sat tables away from you to avoid conversation. You ignored them but could feel them looking at you every so often before conversing. Chen hadn’t been kidding. This really was far too familiar. You ignored them and you chatted casually before Kung Lao walked you back to your room.

He looked like he wanted to say something before he left but instead, he gave you a hug and promised to see you the next day.

Days past and while you hadn’t see Liu Kang even once since you’d woken up you were getting used to seeing Kung Lao and spending most of your days with him. Even so, you were worried about Liu Kang. Kung Lao had reassured you that he was just busy but you couldn’t help it. Your brain was mean.

On the fourth day after you had woken up, the temple was buzzing with excitement. The remnants of a strong typhoon would be hitting around nightfall. It would go on for a few days. You spent much of that day helping the monks prepare for the big storm. By nighttime you were all to be safely inside because of the lightning and the rain.

In the infirmary, you helped put away the last of the extra supplies they’d gotten with word of the storm. Then you helped the monks that were near the main entrance to the temple, making sure that everything was put away and secure. It felt good to be of use and while every so often someone would whisper about you, they were also kind to you.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as evening approached. It sent chills down your spine. This would be the first storm you’d seen since coming to Raiden’s Temple. It would be a doozy.

You loved what most people would consider gloomy weather. Maybe it was because so many people disliked it that you were happy to see it. No matter the reason, you were excited. You’d been drawn to bad weather like a moth to every light it came across.

Back home you would sit on the patio of your dojo and watch the rain and listen to the thunder until the lightning got too close and dangerous. You missed that.

You should have probably found a safe place to watch the storm from but the view from the front of the temple would be unbeatable. After a few days rest you were feeling more yourself and decided that watching the storm would be a treat.

Now you just had to decide where to watch it from.

The front of the temple? (Liu Kang)

Or somewhere safer inside? (Kung Lao)

You run into Chen (Both)

[leejungchans]

— delicacy.

juliet’s masterlist

note: words in bold are spoken in english

set in late april, 2021

summary: in which juliet makes lets dino try an australian delicacy for the first time.

a/n: idk where this idea came from but i’m not regretting it one bit bc i think this came out pretty cute 👉👈 also this gif 💔 god i’m not your strongest soldier

“Wait, how many of them are home?”

Juliet’s hand, outstretched and holding the key to their dorms, pauses as she turns to look at Chan, noting how he has gotten even more nervous since they got into the elevator.

“Not all, some of them are still at the company,” she reassures. With her free hand, she reaches for one of his, though it’s not easy with the bags of takeout he’s holding. “Besides, you’re our senior! If anyone should be nervous, it’s them,” she jokes.

“Wrong,” Chan says sulkily as she turns away briefly to unlock the front door. “When we’re at work, then maybe. But now I’m your boyfriend, not their senior, so it’s different.”

“You’re right,” Juliet agrees, as they step in and remove their shoes. She looks around the common space to find it empty. “But they like you a lot already, so there’s no need to worry. See? No one’s here—”

As if on cue, they hear one of the bedroom doors open, and Yunho walks into the living room seconds later. “Oh, hi!” he says cheerfully when he sees Juliet and Chan by the front door. “Just make yourself at home!”

“Where are you going?” Juliet asks, setting the takeout bags on the kitchen counter while she watches him put on his sneakers. Next to her, Chan takes off his mask before washing his hands at the sink.

“They sent me to go get food.”

“Who’s ‘they’?”

“Yeosangie, Wooyoungie and Jongho.”

“Why not just choose the delivery option?”

Yunho smiles bashfully. “Because we’re idiots and forgot.”

This earns a small snort from Juliet. “Okay, fair enough. Be safe!” she calls out as Yunho heads out with a wave. She turns back to Chan with a grin. “See? That wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Yeah... just seven more to go. Then again, you had to meet all twelve of them at once,” he says with a small smile, referring to his own members. “So it can’t be worse than that.”

“That’s the spirit!” she cheers, beaming at him before she grabs the bags and moves them to the dining table.

Juliet is in the middle of laying out all the takeout boxes when she hears him ask, “Uh... what’s this?”

She turns around to see Chan fiddling with the iconic yellow jar as he attempts to read the English labels. “Vegemite. Have you had it before?”

“It’s the Australian spread, right?” Juliet nods. “I think I’ve seen it before when we were on tour in Australia years ago, but I didn’t try it.”

“Do you want to?”

What was Chan supposed to do? Say no to those eyes? When they’re now ten times more sparkly?

He watches adoringly as she eagerly grabs two slices of bread from the counter and practically skips over to the toaster, popping the bread in before leaning over the machine in favour of glaring at it intensely. 

“Is that gonna make them toast quicker?”

“Oh, shush,” she says, rolling her eyes at his teasing. “Come over and help me.”

“Help you... watch the toaster?” He’s already behind her despite the skepticism in his tone, arms wrapping securely around her waist and chin coming down to rest on her shoulder.

The two stand in comfortable silence for several moments as they continue to gaze at the machine. Nothing happens other than the smell of toasted bread beginning to waft through the air.

“Still think staring at it makes it work faster?”

Juliet makes a tiny humph sound. “This toaster is an exception.”

“Mhm, sure,” Chan mumbles against the fabric of her sweater, “whatever you say.”

She cranes her neck to throw him a halfhearted glare. “You can go get the butter from the fridge if you’re so impatient.”

“No, I like it here.”

“Then don’t—shit!” Juliet yelps, flinching in his hold when the toast suddenly pops up with a loud clunk. Her cheeks flush pink when Chan starts laughing, and she wriggles out of his arms to grab a butter knife. “Stop laughing at me!” she whines, throwing open the refrigerator doors in search of the butter.

“Sorry, you’re just adorable,” he says, putting the toast on a plate before following her to the dining table.

Juliet shakes her head in mock exasperation at him, spreading a thin layer of butter onto both slices before doing the same with the vegemite when at that exact moment, Yeosang and Wooyoung walk by them.

The former wrinkles his nose when he notices what she’s doing. “Your boyfriend comes over for the first time and you’re giving him... vegemite?” he teases.

“What is that supposed to mean, Kang Yeosang? Also, we’re obviously not having vegemite toast for dinner,” Juliet defends, gesturing to the food on the table. “We bought takeout. I’m just letting him try it.”

Wooyoung snorts. “Blink twice if you need help.”

Chan glances at Juliet, now slightly concerned. “Is it really that bad?”

Yeosang grabs a bottle of juice from the fridge and pours some into a cup. “It’s the only food in the house that no one other than her touches, and we literally eat everything else. Do what you will with that information.”

She gasps, scandalised. “Excuse me, Seonghwa-oppa said he likes it!”

“Trust me,” Wooyoung interjects playfully, “he wouldn’t be saying the same if any other one of us offered it to him. He only said it because it’s you.”

“Whatever, I’m not standing for this vegemite slander,” Juliet huffs, shooing the two boys away. “Enjoy having no taste.”

Wooyoung flicks her forehead lightly before pulling Yeosang along with him, nearly causing the older boy to spill his drink. “Have fun, lovebirds!” he yells over his shoulder. “But not too much fun!”

Juliet turns back to Chan with an unimpressed expression. “You see what I have to put up with?”

He grins in response. “Maknae struggles.”

“Maknae struggles,” she agrees, holding a piece of the toast to his lips. “Well, bon appétit.”

Somewhat warily, Chan takes a bite and proceeds to chew slowly, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar taste. Juliet peers at his expression in an attempt to gauge what he’s thinking.

He swallows. “It’s good.”

“Liar,” Juliet says affectionately. “You don’t like it, do you?”

He grins sheepishly. “Okay, you got me. Not that it’s disgusting, it’s just... not bad... but not good.”

“You’re so cute,” she says, pinching his cheek gently. “You don’t have to finish it, by the way, I’ll eat it later after we finish our food.” Then she remembers something. “Wait, I have something for you in my room.”

“You can just grab it after dinner.”

But she’s already out of her seat and halfway down the hall. “No, I’ll forget later! I’ll be back in a few seconds!”

A few seconds turns into minutes as she rummages through her overflowing closet whilst grumbling to herself, the fact that she left Chan defenceless in the living room completely slipping her mind. She’s not a disorganised person, especially when it comes to her clothes and closet organisation, so she blames their hectic schedule for its current state.

Eventually, she finds his lavender hoodie squished between two of her own, and heads back to the dining room when she sees—

“Choi Jongho, what are you doing?”

He turns away from Chan to smile at her innocently, wholly unaffected by her narrowed eyes. “Nothing.”

“That didn’t look like nothing.”

“Oh, would you look at the time,” Jongho says, looking down at the imaginary watch on his wrist. “I gotta go feed my pet fish. See you!” And with that, he disappears back into his room as quickly as he had appeared.

They don’t have a pet fish.

Sighing, Juliet sits back down next to Chan. “Sorry about that, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” he reassures with a soft smile. “He was very sweet, though he did give me a friendly reminder to never hurt you. But I don’t mind, it just shows that he cares about you a lot.”

She returns the smile. “Yeah... he does. They all do. By the way, here’s the hoodie I borrowed from you last time,” she says, holding out the folded garment. “It’s washed and everything.”

Chan grins, setting it down on a spare chair. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to see it again when I gave it to you.”

“Excuse you, I’m not a thief! But... does this mean I can have it?”

a/n: okay so a few years ago i went on a study tour to australia and the host family my friend and i were staying with let us try some and we both thought it was pretty good ahjshwjs 🤩

i hope you guys like the fluff in this update bc this is the calm before the storm hehehe 👉👈 anyways gn besties lemme know what you think of this 🥺💗 thank you for reading and i hope you’re doing well!!

[unknownarchiviste]

➸ playlist 01: track 03 of 05

➸ ONEUS - A Song Written Easily

➸ Kang Hyungu X OC

➸ angst

➸ word count: 911

➸  tracks: 01 ┊02 ┊04 ┊05

➸ playlist navigator also found at the end :)

A timeline of the moments we were in love

Like one scene two scenes of a movie

In the end a sad ending

“How is it?” Yena asked carefully.

She watched her sister take another bite of the strawberry shortcake and chew it carefully. Her sister paused for a while and showed her a surprised expression. “This is so good!”

Yena laughed. “Thank you! It will be the last addition to the cake list.”

“I’m honestly thrilled that we’ll be coming back home to Korea,” her sister said as she finished the slice. “I miss our hometown and I’m kind of excited for that bakery of yours.”

“I’m happy about going home too.”

Her sister gave her a knowing look but she just laughed it off. “Of course I want to see Hyungu! I want to meet with him as much as I want to meet my old friends. It’s been years since I last spoke to them.”

Her sister shrugged and chuckled. “I heard he’s a great architect.”

Yena smiled. “That’s not surprising.”

The moment of ending things with Hyungu was probably the easiest part of the the breakup. The days that came after were the hard ones. Every sad song seemed to be telling her story. Every quiet moments at night made her reminisce their memories. And sometimes, she hoped for a call from him.

She was not only missing him. She was missing what they used to be.

Nevertheless, after high school she flew abroad to study at a university where her sister was taking up a master’s degree. She was supposed to take up architecture but when she was preparing for her enrollment, she thoroughly thought of what she really wanted. That led her to finishing a business degree and taking up baking classes during breaks.

Now, months after her graduation, she’s coming back to Korea to start up a business of her own.

“You ready?” her sister asked once they settled down their seats in a plane going back to Korea.

“Very,” she grinned.

She looked out at the window and as the plane took off, her mind brought her back to Hyungu.

If she was being honest, she still misses Hyungu. And she was sorry, too. She was hurt but wasn’t he too? If she had kept her own insecurities, pains, and heartaches in a jar, what had he kept in his own jar? And if she chose to break it off, what was his reason for letting her go without a fight?

Although there are still some wounds in her heart, thinking back to that time made her really thankful to him. Their story didn’t end happily but it was the ending that led her to where she is now. She graduated studying something she love. She found a career she’s passionate about.

Time... it surely does wonders.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

“Yena is coming back?”

Hyungu stopped from his work and looked up at Yeorum who’s comfortably sitting down the couch of his office.

Yeorum put down her cup of coffee and nodded. “I heard from some of our mutual friends.”

The last time he saw her was during the night of their breakup. After that, he knew nothing about what happened to her. Some of their mutual friends mentioned that she flew abroad but other than that, he knew nothing more.

Was she now an architect like him? Does she have a good career abroad? How much has she grown?

Is she happy?

“Do you think I can invite her in my wedding?” Yeorum asked confidently.

“That would be awkward for the both of you.” Hyungu laughed and shook his head.

“Don’t you want to meet her again?”

He leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Beneath Yeorum’s confident facade was the guilt she always hide whenever they talk about Yena. Although he told her the breakup wasn’t her fault, she just couldn’t let it go especially since he hadn’t been in another relationship after that.

“It’s not your fault, Yeorum,” he sighed and continued his work. “We’ll meet if we’re meant to meet. Just focus and enjoy on your wedding preparations.”

Yeorum spent some more time hanging around his office before leaving for a client meeting. When he was finally alone, he started thinking of Yena again.

On the night of their breakup, he didn’t even take a step to stop her. But as the days passed by, he found himself wanting her back beside him. He knew he made the right choice but do the right decisions really have sorrow as an aftermath?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that though he made the right decision, he had regrets about their relationship too. He felt bad that he failed to give her the time she deserved. He felt sorry that while he was busy reaching his dreams to try to be at par with her, he was losing her in the process. And imagining her difficulties while she’s with him hurt his heart.

He felt really sorry for how the things between them ended. Beneath that, he also felt glad that he was matured enough to let her go—to set aside his own feelings and allow her to walk away.

But sometimes, especially during the times he allowed himself to be true to himself, he just wished for her to come back. So that he could say sorry. So that he could ask her the things he failed to. So that he could tell her how much he missed her.

And so that finally, he could heal.

navigation┊ ⇄ ◁◁ II ▷▷ ↻ ┊

[dnkaus]

Fateful Visions | Ch. 6 Hidden Jealousy

Namjoon x Reader (OC)

Summary: Idol Namjoon meets a grad student, Maya, but he experiences strange visions each time their eyes meet and they touch one another. Fate plays a magnetic role, & keeps bringing them together. Are these visions a sign that they should stay away or stay together?

Genre: Angst, Fluff (eventually)

Previous Part: Chapter Five Next Part: Chapter Seven

 End of 2017

It was near the end of the year, over a month after AMAs incident when Maya found out that her grant that she had applied for was approved. This was the same grant that she had told BTS about back when she went to meet them at their Wings concert. The grant would now fund her to go to Korea and study Korean fiction and cultural history for an entire year, just like she wanted. They would pay for her housing and school, as well as her living expenses. This was truly a dream come true.

Maya left for Korea immediately after her winter semester ended in Arkansas, because Korean colleges started much sooner than American colleges. This meant she needed to be in Korea at the beginning on January. To Maya, this was going to be a whole new adventure as she didn’t really know anyone in Korea, unless you count the ever-famous BTS. However, after the AMAs incident and Namjoon’s apology, the group had barely shown their faces in public and even Taehyung stopped contacting Maya. It was sad for Maya to see how much the incident had affected them, but she assumed this was just how celebrity life worked.

Maya landed in Seoul 2 days before New Years Eve’ and settled into her new apartment. She had found this apartment on Google, and had mainly focused on how close it was to her new college. She wanted a place that was close enough to the college so that she could just walk there. The new apartment, in her opinion, was perfect because it was not only located close to her college, it was also located near lots of convenience stores, which made it perfect since her cooking skills were subpar at best. She knew she would be living off of ramen and kimbap everyday.

The next 2 days were spent setting up the place. She had to figure out the transportation system so she could go shopping. She had to set up her internet and electricity. She had to make sure she was properly enrolled in all her new classes and was ready to start the new semester. She had to do all that before New Years’ eve  as she knew everything would be closed on New Years.

By the time, New Years eve arrived she was mostly settled. She had a new bed and a couch and some basic appliances. Just the bare essentials that would allow her to survive. Except in all of the chaos, she never went grocery shopping, which meant she would starve for the night unless one of the convenience stores near her were open, since most places would be closed.

Maya’s apartment was on the second floor of the building, so she came downstairs and started walking towards the convenience store where she had eaten lunch the day before. She liked that convenience store because the cashier was a really sweet old lady, who was the first person that didn’t judge her based on her skin color.

It was true. Ever since she stepped in Korea, every where she went, people gave her weird looks, as if they had never seen a dark skinned person. Maya had expected that this would happen, but it was astonishing how often it would happen to her. Maya had experienced similar things in America, as she was a minority, but she didn’t give much attention to it. She never thought of herself as any different from everyone else. She was just Maya. However, being  in Korea reminded her more of her dark skin color than ever before. In Korea, she was not just Maya. She was Maya, the darker skinned foreigner. To find that sweet lady at the convenience store was no less than a blessing for Maya.

Maya walked hastily towards the convenience store to see if the lights of the stores were on. When she got there she let out a sigh of relief, when she saw the lights were indeed on. She quickly walked inside and bowed at the sweet lady.

“Hi, ma’am!” She said while bowing.

“Oh, you are here again? What are you doing here on New Year's Eve?” the sweet lady said.

“I just landed in Korea a few days ago, so I don’t really have many friends here yet, so I decided to have a date with ramen instead” Maya laughed as she grabbed ramen and started putting it in the microwave that was available at the store.

“Well, you are not the only one….seems like all the young people have forgotten what the word fun means anymore. ” the lady replied.

A man that was sitting with his food near the windows of the store suddenly began speaking “Ms. Kang, I told you, it’s not that I don’t have friends, but actually I just wanted some time to myself since  I am always working.”

“You and your celebrity friends always intrigue me. You could be eating at any expensive place in Seoul and here you are with your cup of ramen.” Ms. Kang responded.

“Ms. Kang, everything is closed tonight, so you are literally my last hope.” he responded.

By this time Maya was finished warming up her ramen and so she came to sit down at the tables where the other man was sitting. He turned towards her as she put down her cup.

Maya was shocked as she saw his face. She had never in a million years thought she would just casually run into this man at a convenience store, and yet here she was sitting only 2 chairs away from him. The man was none other than EXO’s leader, Kim Junmyeon, A.K.A Suho. Maya immediately got off her seat as she made eye contact with him. She wasn’t sure whether she should even sit there or not. This could not be happening. This must be a dream. It couldn’t be him. It was probably someone that looked like him. Maya knew of EXO even before she knew of BTS. She wasn’t a huge EXO-L, but ever since getting into BTS, she also listened to a lot of EXO songs. But seeing the leader of EXO at the convenience store was far from what she would ever imagine.  She kept staring at him like she had seen a ghost, that was until Ms. Kang interrupted her thought by coming up to her and putting a jar of kimchi next to her cup of ramen.

“Here, try this. I made this at home so it’s probably better than the stuff you kids eat at the store,” Ms. Kang said as she put the jar on the table. Maya wanted to say thank you but she was still too much in shock about who was sitting only a few feet away from her. Was this a dream? If so, this was the strangest one she had had until now. That definitely can’t be Junmyeon, right?

“Oh, and don’t forget to give some to Junmyeon, otherwise he might start a riot.” Ms. Kang continued and began laughing. Junmyeon. This was Junmyeon. This was EXO’s leader, Junmyeon. Maya’s brain began to spin.

“Is everything okay?” Junmyeon asked. Maya hadn’t realized she was staring at him the entire time and she was now just awkwardly standing there with her ramen and the jar of kimchi.

Maya didn’t initially respond, until she realized he was asking her a question. “uh...yeah...I am...I am okay. I am great. Thank you” Maya shyly replied and hesitantly sitting back down in her seat. She sat there wondering whether she should stay there or not.

Maya slowly picked up her chopsticks tried to open her packaging around them so that she could start eating, but her hands were shaking so much that she dropped them. Of course, as all great stories go, the chopsticks just happened to land near Junmyeon’s feet. How convenient.

Before Maya could get off her chair and grab another pair, Junmyeon bent down and picked up the chopsticks and  handed her the ones she dropped.

“Here you go. They are still unopened, so you can still use them,” he said politely and gave her a smile.

Maya gulped. She couldn’t think straight at all at this point. “Uh...thanks,” she muttered before going back to her seat, again.

“So, are you gonna use the kimchi, because I would like the jar, if you don’t want any…” Junmyeon asked after a few minutes of silence. At this point Maya was just eating and was in her own thoughts.

“Huh?” Maya said as she hadn’t really heard what Junmyeon said.

“Oh...the kimchi...can you pass me the jar?” Junmyeon asked again.

Maya became frazzled. “Oh...oh my gosh...I am so sorry! Yes! Of course…” Maya said frantically passing him the jar.

Junmyeon laughed. “You know who I am, don’t you?” he suddenly asked while he put some kimchi in his ramen.

Maya’s heart began beating faster as she heard his words. “Well, yes...uh...you are Junmyeon....leader of EXO. I am sorry, I just didn’t know I would be running into you here tonight.” Maya responded.

“It’s okay. Relax. Most of us idols don’t bite,” Junmyeon casually responded. Maya couldn’t help but laugh, at her own luck.

“I know…” she said smiling, thinking back to BTS and the entire lake house trip. The time spent there had left her with some really fond memories. She wished she could go back to those moments, even though for BTS, those moments were probably their lowest point.

Junmyeon thought it was a weird response, but he assumed the woman in front of him had probably met other idols before, considering the location of the convenience store. Yes, as fate would have it, Maya had picked an apartment in the same area where many of the idols had their dorms and unlike common beliefs, idols ate a lot at  convenience stores and other common places. They just made sure to go at night, when there would be less people. For Junmyeon, New Years’ Eve was his day of freedom. He could freely walk around in this part of Seoul, because everyone would be out partying.

Seeing Junmyeon’s friendly nature, Maya began to feel less intimidated. Junmyeon also carried that authoritative tone to their voices, when they spoke.  What was with her and these boy group leaders? She thought.

Maya continued to eat and surprisingly her and Junmyeon had a really nice conversation over their dinner. Maya told him about how she just moved to Seoul and how she is studying Korean culture and Korean fiction. She also told him about how she is originally from L.A. and moved to Arkansas for graduate school. Junmyeon was a great listener and so he listened to all of the information Maya told him. In return, he also told her about EXO, and how they are currently on break for the holidays and how his members are all out partying, but he decided to stay home. He also told her about how he comes here often because this is the only convenience store in the area, where he doesn’t really need to hide himself since he doesn’t run into a lot of fans. In fact, along with Junmyeon there were many other idols that would come in here for a quick dinner or lunch. It was their sanctuary away from the glamourous world.

As they completed their meals and paid for their food, it was time to bid their goodbyes. “It was nice meeting you, Maya-shi” Junmyeon said slightly bowing.

“Oh, it's really nice to meet you too, Junmyeon-shi. I feel like I must have saved a few countries  in my past life to get the opportunity to run into you like this.” Maya laughed.

“Ah, this is only your 3rd day in Korea. I am sure we’ll meet again. I come here at least once a week,” Junmyeon replied.

“Oh really? Well, I guess I will see you again then.” Maya responded back.

“Sounds good.”

Junmyeon was right. Maya did end up running into Junmyeon again at the same store. In fact, she ran into him much more often than she had thought. Those coincidences turned into routine, where Maya and Junmyeon would essentially meet for dinner almost twice or three times a week, if Junmyeon didn’t have any schedules. They initially would sit at least 2 chairs apart at the table in the store, but then it became 1 chair apart, and eventually they begin sitting next to each other.

Their friendship blossomed as the new year began and Maya began her new journey at her new college. She would complain to Junmyeon about her day and in return he would tell her about the new show he was working on. Maya also made another new friend at the convenience store through Junmyeon, a female medical student named Han Bi. The duo turned turned into a trio as Han Bi, Maya and Junmyeon would now all meet up to eat dinner together. However, since Han Bi was a med student, she often spent her nights at the library studying so sometimes it would just be Junmyeon and Maya.

Meanwhile, BTS was busy trying to recover from the incident and had began focusing all of their energy into their new music and their collaborations that were on-going with American and Korean artists. By the end of December, it seemed that the public had moved on from the news, at least for now. However, BTS remained quiet for a few more weeks just in case. In the middle of January, BTS resurfaced again for the Seoul Music Awards. They gave another amazing performance and even ended up winning another daesang.

Maya had watched the award show, and was intrigued that not only had she met BTS, she had now also met Junmyeon. Seeing BTS against EXO for the award categories felt weird. A feeling she had not felt before when BTS had won other awards. She knew she would hear from Junmyeon about the loss the next time they had dinner together, and she already began to wonder what she would say to make him feel better.

On the other hand, ever since the incident, Namjoon had began working even harder in producing songs so that he wouldn’t think about other things. He worked so much, that at times the members even worried about his health. He would trap himself in his studio and would skip meals. Once he almost fainted during the practice and had to be taken to the doctor’s.

The night after Seoul Music awards, Namjoon had decided to go get something to eat after a long day at his studio. He was tired and didn’t really feel like eating anything at the dorms. Recently BTS had moved into new dorms, which were located right around where other idols lived. He would often go out to the restaurants nearby when he didn’t want to be at the dorms. That night, he was just craving kimbap, so he decided to go to the convenience store that was located right down the block from the dorms. He was walking right towards the store when he saw a familiar figure sitting by the store window. He paused before crossing the street, as he began to realize who it was. Maya. Maya was sitting in the convenience store that he was planning to go to.

Namjoon stood there for a while, just observing. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was Maya really in Korea? How come no one told him? In December,  Maya actually had told Taehyung she was coming to Seoul for a year, and he had texted her back at the beginning of January saying that they should meet up.  However, Taehyung became busy with their schedules, so he never informed the other members that Maya was in the same city as them.

Now, Namjoon was directly looking at the woman he had only seen in America sitting and eating ramen at a convenience store only a block from where he lived. Was she stalking him? Namjoon’s eyes shifted to the person sitting next to her, and that person surprised him even more. She was eating dinner with Junmyeon. Was he seeing things correctly? Was Maya really eating with Junmyeon from EXO? What in the freaking world was going on? How many idols did this random girl know? Namjoon decided he would go eat somewhere else, as he wasn’t sure he wanted to face her yet.

As he walked away from the convenience store, various thoughts took over him. He figured if Maya was indeed in Seoul, it was none of his business. It’s not like she was really his friend, right? She just helped them a few times, but that didn’t mean he should expect her to notify him that she was in the city. Was he angry? No, he had no right to be angry. He didn’t know why, he just felt strange around Maya. To Namjoon, Maya was an enigma.

Namjoon ended up eating at another convenience store that night and pretended he hadn’t seen Maya with Junmyeon. He had forgotten about the incident and managed to avoid them until 3 weeks later, when he decided to go to the same convenience store again, and saw both Maya and Junmyeon again at the place. Again, they were eating together and were enjoying a soju too. Maya seemed happy. Junmyeon also had a smile on his face. Namjoon saw Maya casually hit Junmyeon’s shoulder, and was laughing hysterically. He must have said something funny. Namjoon tried to remember when was the last time he had seen  Maya laugh like that? Ah, it was the night of the campfire at the lake house. Namjoon again stood there across the street observing them. Who was the real stalker? Maya or him? Namjoon thought to himself. He didn’t know why he was standing there, he just did. Then he  suddenly had a weird thought: Wait, were these two dating? Nah, that’s absurd. But then again, why else were they meeting so often? Namjoon was confused by Junmyeon and Maya’s relationship. Yet, he wasn’t sure why it mattered to him anyways.

Namjoon debated whether he should go in or whether he should just walk away. He then began walking towards it, except he noticed that Maya and Junmyeon were both coming outside. Namjoon stopped in his tracks as they came outside and began waving goodbye to each other. Namjoon quickly put on his face mask and his hood so he wouldn’t be recognized. However, Maya and Junmyeon were in their own little world as they started heading their own ways after saying goodbye. Namjoon stood there a bit longer, watching as Maya began walking in the opposite direction than Junmyeon. She pulled out her headphones from her bag and started connecting them to her phone. Namjoon also started walking away from the convenience store and away from the direction that Maya was heading.

Another man came out of a dark alley that Maya passed on her way home. Maya was untangling her headphone cords and didn’t notice as the man was behind her. However, after a few feet she did notice the footsteps behind her so she decided to look. The man gave her a scary glare which made Maya walk faster. Her heart was beating fast. She then suddenly remembered that she had felt this way before. She remembered her heart feeling like this and the fear that she was feeling in that moment. She started walking faster, almost running. The man continued following, and Maya began to run. He was running after her. She was running faster. She was running as fast as she could, she felt like she was going to explode. She suddenly remembered the scene, she knew that there would eventually be someone who would grab her from one of the  other alleys. She panicked was that person the same man that was following her? Is this how she dies?  She was sprinting at this point, tears spilling from her eyes. She was trying to press 119 on her phone, but her fingers were trembling. She knew someone would eventually grab her hand, but she didn’t know which alley, so she had no choice but to keep running. Maya’s intuition was right. Someone did reach out and grab her hand and pull her into a narrow alley between 2 buildings. But, who was it?

[wannawrite]

Wanna One As People At Your Christmas Party

• part of the collab with my girlies

• posted very very late, apologies and this is 110% crack

Yoon Jisung: host and the one who is in charge of the food. constantly yelling his greetings from the kitchen because Susan fcked up and bought a cold turkey instead of the heated kind. Put a lot of effort into arranging the buffet table and even bought a $58.99 limited edition tablecloth to ‘spice things up’. Will yell at you if you turn up with unseasoned food - everyone will. His presents are always high-quality DIY things and wrapped with love - ribbons, stickers and a handmade card. Makes a praiseworthy Christmas pudding. His casserole is the only one that won’t end up in the trash or thrown out by the kids. Will fight you if you talk bad about his cooking or his party. Once stayed up two nights just to perfect the batter for his Christmas log cake.

Ha Sungwoon: gossip uncle/aunt, he knows everything about everyone. A sly savage/mean. ‘Oh, Anna, I heard your daughter ran away from home because you wouldn’t let her date that junkie of a boyfriend she has, pity. Hope to see her soon.’ *saunters away with a wine glass in hand* in charge of bringing the wine and alcohol every year. ‘Sungwoon sweetie, isn’t that your fourth glass?’ ‘Ahh, Patricia, is that your fifth husband?’ Is drunk and has to be driven home but he remembers the whole night in detail and will tell stories about it. Buys a PS4 for your brother but a pair of Daiso socks for you because it was last minute when he remembered you existed. Stirs up a mean cocktail but will only offer it to Minhyun or Jisung. Orders more food when they seem to be running low - he has a knack for knowing things like that.

Hwang Minhyun: the uncle who you didn’t know about until 2 days before the party. Single. Quiet, drinks his beer in a corner. Only talks to his brother and close cousins. Stays close to Jaehwan and Sungwoon. Dresses extremely well, a chaebol and always has a colour scheme. After a couple of drinks, he’s hogging the karaoke machine and belting out 80s bops. A rich uncle who gifts unnecessarily expensive gifts. ‘Uncle Minhyun...you do realise that the Gucci sneakers you gave me are-.’ ‘Shush, accept it.’ He spoils all the young kids because he doesn’t have any of his own. Gifts each one baby Yeezys.

Ong Seongwoo: the fun young uncle everyone loves to see. The kids love him and dash to greet him immediately because they know he’ll play with them all night. More like a brother than an uncle. He and his girlfriend/boyfriend always rival Minhyun for the title of ‘best-dressed’. They always coordinate their outfits. It’s cute. A fun uncle who plays pool with you and won’t tell your parents if you pick up a can of alcohol. The uncle you can rely on if you’re dead drunk. Allows you to eat more even when you’re dieting. Will follow your wish list exactly so you always expect to receive it from him. He makes ramen even after walloping his share of the buffet. Offers to add chicken and beer to Sungwoon’s FoodPanda/UberEats delivery. ‘Pepperoni pizza sounds good too.’

Kim Jaehwan: strange uncle but very talented so he leads everyone in carolling or praise and worship. The conductor of the church choir so he brings his skills to the living room. ‘A 5,6..a 5,6,7..8! Jingle bells, jingle bells - TIMMY! YOUR NOTE IS TOO AIRY LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN.’ Gossips to Uncle Sungwoon a lot. ‘Listen, I heard Martha fought with Grand aunt Ellen over a fcking curtain.’ Will talk to you about random or embarrassing things - probably in front of your parents. ‘Hey, I heard you got a tattoo on your underwear line, did it hurt?’ Unintentionally. Says he’s full after one plate of the buffet but hogs the snack table. ‘Is there any more salsa?’ You love him. Gifts really random but useful things such as mall vouchers. Like it’s a standardised gift for the nieces and nephews of this age.

Kang Daniel: cousin you just got out of his National Service and tells everyone war stories about it. Pats you on the back every time he sees you. He’s just glad he made it out of army alive and that his electric fly swatter didn’t get taken away from him. Host number 2 but no matter the location, he makes sure to bring his beloved cats along. The kids throw a fanfare when they spot Daniel taking his pet carriers out of his backseat. Also takes care of bringing games, be it board games, computer games, he’s got them all. Provides snacks. If he got the job of feeding his baby nieces and nephews, he’ll tempt them with jellies. ‘If you finish this now, I promise I’ll give you a gummy bear later and won’t tel your mother.’ A professional at ‘Just Dance’.

Park Jihoon: the hot cousin who is responsible for organising this whole event. Surprisingly good at his job. Got the colour scheme, games, presents, food and activities all in check in a week. Greets everyone with a hug. His Christmas outfit is rather questionable though....but moving on! The whole family swoons at his good looks and everyone throws a huge fuss when he says he’s single. Jihoon Instagrams and Snapchats the entire party the whole night so the world knows that the Park family Christmas is LIT. Only allows award-winning songs/artists to be played. Gets very competitive when Daniel wants to play ‘Just Dance’. - there’s fury in his eyes. Yet he’ll get all shy and blush when a small cousin asks him about kisses and mistletoe. If the family plays ‘Murderer’, they’ll have a hard time because all Jihoon does is wink.

Park Woojin: oh gosh. the awkward cousin who came back from studying abroad and has an accent. Everyone thinks he’s faking it because uhh how does your accent change in just 5 months ? Only talks to Jihoon and is almost quieter than Minhyun. That’s until he’s warmed up and now you can hear him screaming as he’s playing tag with the kids. ‘HELP SOMEONE SAVE ME.’ Is surprisingly good at playing pool and ‘Just Dance’. Daniel’s spot as dance king is suddenly heavily threatened. A sweetheart who compliments everyone on their effort and Jisung is practically glowing from the praise his turkey received. Engages everyone with story time of his studies abroad. ‘Oh...we don’t have that over there but we have...’ that sort of thing. Smiles really brightly for pictures and when giving out gifts it gives people heart attacks

Bae Jinyoung: the cute but super shy friend of your cousin who tagged along for the party. Hides in the kitchen or pretends to be getting something from the table every time you try to talk to him. A total cinnamon roll - will help you take food or get more drinks if you mindlessly complain about that to your aunt. Keeps stuffing his face with cookies so that he doesn’t have to talk. Too shy to volunteer to play ‘Just Dance’ but your cousin pushes him up there anyway. EVERYONE WAS SHOOKT HE IS SO TALENTED. Also received recognition for his good looks. ‘So,,,Jinyoung right? I have a child around your age, would you be interested?’. Everyone wanted to become his friend. Blushes easily, especially when you bumped into him under the mistletoe, poor boy ran for his dear life. Spends most of the night with Daniel’s cats.

Lee Daehwi: the nephew who decorated Jisung’s house for this occasion. Put effort into making everyone an ugly Christmas sweater. Each and every year, gifts from him are packaged differently. Has a crush on Jinyoung. Over enthusiastic, he arrived at Jisung’s house at 10am to ‘get ready’. Becomes super happy and cheerful while decorating. Stole a couple of cookies from the jar before the party even began. Unfortunately, he gets flustered and upset when no one pays attention to his obvious Christmas joy...or when he’s too short to reach the top of the Christmas tree to pin the star. How cute. Has a different prop for each carol he sings. Acts more of a host than Jisung is and never forgets to give a cuddle to the cats, he even slips them bits of turkey or ham. Takes this opportunity to catch up with all his extended family and see if anyone has connections to the party planning world.

Lai Guanlin: your youngest ‘tween’ cousin who regrets coming. Anti-social, only answers questions and talks to the elders out of respect. On his phone the whole time, probably Tweeting about how much he doesn’t want to be here. ‘Mum,,,can we go yet?’ He’s only here for the food and presents. Wore all black even though Daehwi and Jihoon cleared stated that this year’s colour theme was GOLD. Cheers up a little after feasting but he won’t indulge in conversation immediately. Likes to secretly tune into Jaehwan’s and Sungwoon’s gossip. Watches Minhyun’s Kdrama behind his back and observes how cuddly Ongniel gets. Jihoon refuses to let him be the DJ or choose the Christmas movie and it’ll stay like that for a long time. He only gets soft and cute when Daniel’s cats are around. Most likely to get the most expensive gift from Minhyun.

[101scenes]

Wanna-One Bae JinYoung - Together

✽ featuring: bae jinyoung

✽ genre: fluff

✽ word count: 1693 words

✽ summary: your strong and masculine front that you put on everyday with your group of friends has suddenly dissolved into nothing from the touch of his hand.

the incident happened during our third year of high school

having moved to new classes, you were separated from your usual group that you hung out with ever since freshman year

i guess you could say they weren’t the greatest of influences

you usually hung out with a group of 6, consisting of 2 girls and 4 boys

you and kang daniel were the alphas of the group, leading the group into causing a commotion around school

this consisting of bullying people from the top academic classes

one time, you 6 were up to it again

bullying some poor boy, pushing him around after school, making him drop his materials and stationary

jinyoung, your class prefect, was doing patrols around the school after school that day

hearing something odd just attracted him to the sound

after seeing your inhumane act, he quickly barged in to diffuse the situation

“hey! you six again, lay off him. mrs kim is just in the next room you know,”

the act of him exercising authority made the group of you scoff

one by one, the group of 6 left the scene

however, when it was your turn to walk past jinyoung, he snickered

“its the 4th time for you, y/n, before you get suspended”

“yeah yeah whatever,”

with a simple wave of a hand, you signalled for him to leave your sight

he ran towards the victim to help him up

joining back the 6, you heard them talking about jinyoung

“tch, he’s such a good-two-shoes,”

“no shit sherlock, he’s a prefect”

“i hate those people”

this made the group of you laugh

after that incident, you noticed jinyoung started to pay attention to you more

he probably just wants to find fault in your actions in school just to get you suspended

his slight smirk on his face as you pull out a packet of sweets during class just says everything

did i mention he sits beside you during class? i guess that makes it worse doesn’t it aha

you tried to avoid all forms of contact with him after that

but that failed after your teacher paired you two up to conduct a chemistry experiment in the lab

for some reason, you felt a bit tense

its probably because of chemistry right? it was your first experiment that year, maybe its that

once the experiment was signalled to commence, you two faced each other

“i’ll get the retort stands, burettes and pipettes okay? you can set up the acids”

ok, jinyoung wants you to set up the solutions. not that difficult right?

as you read the instructions, you just could not determine the type of acids used

as you tried to analyse the instructions page as if it was morse code, jinyoung was just staring at you

“tch, its hydrochloric acid, you slowpoke”

he reaches over you to grab the bottle of hydrochloric acid, allowing you to take a whiff of his cologne off his sleeve

{what the hell am i doing?}

the rest of the experiment had to be guided by jinyoung as you were not especially bright in chemistry

for some reason you just could not figure out what was on your mind

why am i feeling this way?

questions of wonder clouded your mind, preventing you from writing the formula correctly and performing the experiment effectively

“you okay? you look like you have just seen a ghost,”

jinyoung said, as he peered from behind his retort stand

you didn’t reply him, only to look around frantically and nod slightly

he noticed something was wrong, and slowly approached you

placing his warm palm on your forehead, he tried to check if you were having a fever as you were oddly different today

“your face is pale today, you sure you don’t want to take a rest at the sick bay or something? you can get an excuse letter from the teacher,”

during this point of time, your faces were unnaturally close to one another

your heart pounds your ribcage, trying to force its way out

{what is going on with me???}

your face burns

(oh no, am i blushing???????????)

“i-i’m fine!” you said as you pushed his hand off your forehead

you looked at the ground in shame

your strong and masculine front that you put on everyday with your group of friends has suddenly dissolved into nothing from the touch of his hand

you felt so inferior, you had no idea what this feeling was

“okay then, if you need to stop and take a rest, tell me okay?”

you nodded and looked away

trying to begin the experiment, you stood up

but unfortunately, your legs were as weak as jelly

your hands were shaking as well

so trying to pour the acid was a hard task

and apparently your hands thought it was a hard task too

and you spilled some hydrochloric acid on your hand

“oh my god, shit!”

you ran towards the sink, placing it under running water

it burns your wrist

jinyoung notices, and runs over as well

“what happend?”

he glanced over at your lab table, only to see some spilled hydrochloric acid on the table and a open jar of acid accompanying it

he glances back at your hand, sighs and takes it into his hands

still under running water, he proceeds to rub the burning spot

your stomach churns

his hand is so warm and soft??? is this even a boy???

your heart skips a beat

actually multiple beats

you could have died on the spot right there

carrying your hand to the side-benches, he reached for a towel and slowly dabs the spot

“does it still hurt?”

you shake your head

“you should really sit out on todays experiment, you’re not like your usual self today,”

“i’m fine,”

you glanced away again, only to feel your cheeks turning bright pink

“are you sure you’re okay? i can help-”

he reaches for your hands and this shocks you

you turned to face him, letting him see the bright pink that has burned through your cheeks

seeing that, he let go of your hands and rubbed the back of his neck as he turned pink as well

“a-ah, sorry, let’s carry on with the experiment,”

he walked swiftly past you, and carried on with the experiment

after that, he started communicating with you more

and you didn’t seem to avoid him anymore

he would say hi to you in the halls

and you would say hi back

which kindoff confused your lil rebel squad

you tried to amend your rebel ways, so you stopped hanging out with the squad

you started spending your lunch breaks with jinyoung in the library as you found out his group of friends were in another class with a different lunch break timing

so you decided to accompany him

he would be studying, and you would be beside him, probably sleeping

while you sleep sometimes he would just glance at you, seeing how cute you are

but immediately feels bad as he thinks he’s taking advantage of you and he looks away in shame, all red-faced

as he always comes to school early to complete homework, you would surprise him from the back

after school he would have student council meetings and you would wait for him to walk home together

this one time you guys were walking together and he told you you needed to extend your skirt (you shortened it as you thought it would be cool in le rebel squad)

you immediately turned red as you thought it was some kind of way to make a move on you

but he realised what he said and took it back

“i-i mean its part of my duty as a prefect! it’s like, violating the dress code..”

this created a lil playful relationship between you two

and obviously he likes you a lot

so he would try to find ways to confess to you

once you two were walking home together through a park

your hands were only inches apart, which sparked the idea in him to hold hands with you

but when he tried to move in, you literally used that hand to point to some bird in the trees

this kindoff made him retract his hand and make him think about what he almost did

but one final time he decided to do it was during lunch break, in the library

while you were busy sleeping, he slipped a note into your skirt pocket

your hair also draped onto your face, so he would use his fingers to shift it behind your ear (wow what a kdrama action)

and you would wake up from it, so he acts like nothing happened

once you got to your last class of the day, you were rummaging through your pocket and found the note

you read it and it basically had his entire confession written on paper

you were super happy!!

you almost screamed and interrupted the teacher

when jinyoung left the class to help the teacher to carry books, you slid a note back under his biology textbook

when he came back, as usual you were waiting for him to finish packing and fell asleep (girl you need some slEEP)

no one else was in class

he noticed and read your note, which made him super bubbly

he slowly approached you

seeing you peacefully sleeping always made him warm inside

sitting on the chair in front of you he pulled over to you

he laid a small kiss on your forehead, waking you up

once you woke up, you rubbed your eyes, only to see jinyoung looking at you with a loving face

he took both your hands and brought it to his face

“want to go to the dessert shop today?”

you smiled and nodded

yAy yALL are cUtE

dates with him are super adorable

you would go to sweet shops, the amusement park, and lil cafés

he loves to tease you and make you all flustered because thats cute af!!

he loves to spoil you with desserts and win you toys in like claw-machine games

ahh boyfriend goals

✽ it moved from a story to a bullet-point thing

✽ i guess its my style??

✽ suggestions boxes are always open~

-crmbs