#interactions: haneul x heart

[honey-boyyoongi]

Pairing ➪ Reader x Yoongi| Part 23//??

Word count ➪ 1.7k

Warnings ➪ None; except it’s not beta-ed

Summary ➪ Min Yoongi, is a simple man. He likes his coffee black and iced, he enjoys his job, and he loves his baby girl. But what happens when the new neighbor, quite literally, drops into his life?

A/n: Heyyyyyyy~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope y’all enjoy this update 💕 As always feedback is always appreciated and if you want to be added to the tag list please let me know💕

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-

Hani’s kitty papa

08:50

Please let yourself in when you come over.

-

Yoongi has been up since 6 am, he’s not nervous, just precautionary. He deep cleaned his home the night before, also giving a last run through of his home once he decided to crawl out of bed. He shopped for the items he would need for their brunch, triple checking his list. He made fresh rice that morning, and an array of side dishes the night before. Yoongi decided a traditional breakfast would suit them. Haneul loved to eat anything with rice, and ___ would try more of his cooking, so a win-win in his book. He ordered some pastries from the bakery, along with some milk for Hani. If there’s no setbacks everything should be done 15 minutes before his parents are due to arrive.

Yoongi hasn’t been this nervous in a very long time. It’s not every day he introduces someone new to his parents, let alone a female friend. He never really counted Minji, since they were together when she met them. The last female friend he introduced was the Hwang twins' mother, Jisoo. It took him a long time to prove to his mother that no they weren’t together, she’s happily married actually, and her kids are best friends with Hani. He knows it’ll be harder to convince his mother otherwise with Bee. She’s single, loves his daughter, knows his friends, and is attractive. He’ll never admit that last one to anyone, but something about her makes his chest warm up. Maybe it’s the way she lights up every time they run into each other. She’ll automatically crouch down so his daughter can access better for a hug, or how she’ll update him on Haneul without asking. Maybe what started this spark was seeing ___ take care of his daughter with so much love at her parents home. She always included Haneul in everything she did with her family. It made Yoongi tear a little later that night. For a moment him, and Haneul had a little piece of family. He always thought he would have that regardless if Minji stayed or not, but things didn’t work out that way.

He’s happy with the support he has. Things wouldn’t have been as easy without Jungkook or Seokjin by his side. He’ll always be thankful for them.

Yoongi wants his parents to see that she's dependable, especially his mother. Min Bora is a woman that lets her thoughts be known. He respects his mother’s advice and he takes her opinions with a grain of very very fine salt. He never hears the end of it when she doesn’t like someone, just as she won’t stop bringing up anyone she takes a liking to. His father is easy to please, as long as he knows the person is genuinely good they’re fine in his book. His dad has always made it a habit of getting to know Yoongi’s friends, as spare as they were. He always liked to watch them interact with him in a relaxed environment.

Yoongi is taken out of his thoughts, when he hears Bee tumbling into his home. The rustling of her reusable bags and shoes livening up the quiet space. Haneul would usually be up by now; either singing along to her favorite nursery rhymes, or watching Yoongi prepare their breakfast. Today, he wanted to let his daughter sleep in from the amount of interaction she’ll have.

___ walked into the kitchen, hauling her largest bag onto the kitchen table. Yoongi chuckled, “Did you bring your whole kitchen?”

Bee pouted, making Yoongi’s already fragile heart skip just a little, “I know you said you only wanted help, but I remember you saying you were doing a traditional breakfast. So, I thought I’d make.. some side dishes.”

“Side dishes? How many did you make,” Yoongi asked.

___ blushed up to her ears, “A few.”

“How much is a few, Bee?”

“Uuuuuuhhhhhh, a few,” ___ took out the tupperware from her bag. Yoongi awed at the different side dishes she made; spicy cucumber salad, blanched spinach with scallions and sesame, seasoned soybean sprouts, braised lotus root, stir-fried fish cakes, and braised quail eggs. “How long did this take you to make,” he asked.

“A few days, really what took the longest was the braised quail eggs because they have to marinate. Lots of prepping,” she answered.

The warmth in Yoongi’s chest grew stronger, “Wait, don’t you hate boiled eggs?”

___ looked at him confused, “I do, but you and Hani love boiled eggs. I thought your parents might too so I made them.”

Yoongi could feel his heart wanting to burst from his chest, “You didn’t have to, I planned to make a rolled omelette since you liked it the last time we had dinner,” he took the containers to the kitchen, placing them next to his already prepped side dishes. They have so many, but he’ll make it work. “I’ll still make the omelette, I haven’t really introduced Hani to braised eggs since they tend to be really salty. Plus you really like it.” ___ thanked him, excusing herself to wake up Hani.

Yoongi’s heart wouldn’t slow down the entire time he waited for his parents. Haneul skipped to the kitchen, halted by Bee to prevent his daughter from hurting herself. She was squeaky clean, hair clipped back by little butterflies, and ecstatic to be with her favorite people.

They go through their routine as usual, when ___ is over. Yoongi plays a Disney soundtrack, today's choice is Encanto, and talks with his girls. Haneul goes on excitedly about the Hwang twins’ rabbit, and how she absolutely has to have one so they can be best friends. ___ asks her, “What about cloud bub?” The toddler nods in acknowledgement, “Bunny and cloud can.. can be fwiends Bee.” Yoongi and ___ shared a look, they hoped this bunny idea wouldn’t be too much of an issue.

As Yoongi finished the last of the food, he felt less nervous. Hearing his daughter be happy, and being so close to Bee, he feels complete.

-

Min Yunho loves his wife, son, and granddaughter. So when his wife came to him a few days ago, saying that she and their son had made up, he was relieved. When Yoongi texted him the night before to confirm the time they would come over he was confused. He asked Bora, who passively answered ‘Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you we’re going over for a late breakfast at Yoonie's.’ So, here hee was making the three flight trek to his son’s apartment, hoping, pleading that everything goes right.

-

Yunho’s hope for a calm breakfast is squashed when he’s greeted by Haneul’s giggles while a young woman gives her a juice box. He can practically feel his wife’s mood dampen the room. Yoongi introduces the young woman as Hani’s sitter, she’s very polite, very mannered. Haneul greeted them, but stayed close to her sitter. He could tell Bora was a bit miffed about it, normally Hani would attach herself to her grandmother and talk her ear off. This time she kept to herself, sporadically giving him and his wife hugs, and sloppy kisses only a toddler can give.

___ helped Yoongi place the hot food and side dishes on the table, joking to his son that he made enough for an army. ___ claimed it was her fault. “I wanted to make some side dishes to help Yoongi out, but I got carried away,” she explained, “I had also forgotten to tell Yoongi I was making them, so now we have this much food.” ___ pointed out what she had made herself, Yunho going straight for the braised quail eggs. His wife didn’t make these often from the amount of salt they have, but he could eat multiple bowls of rice with braised eggs alone.

Yunho praised ___ on the taste, grabbing a few more eggs for himself. His wife scolded him, he can’t eat just braised eggs when Yoongi worked hard on the food. Yunho asked how she got the eggs to be so good, and said they tasted as good as his wife’s. ___ says she got a really good recipe online and hoped for the best. Yunho was curious, had she not tasted them.

“___ doesn’t like boiled eggs, Dad,” Yoongi says.

“Then why make them if you don’t like them,” his wife asked. The table stood quiet, except for the sound of Haneul’s spoon hitting her plate.

“While I myself do not like them, I know Yoongi does, and so does Hani. I figured if they like them so much, maybe you would as well. It seems Mr. Min does, and Yoongi as well, he’s sneaked at least three of them since I came over,” ___ answered. “The side dishes I made are all foods I’ve seen both Yoongi, and Haneul enjoy. I hoped I would make them delicious enough for all of us to enjoy.”

While he could not speak for his wife, Yunho silently gave his approval. ___ kept earning his approval throughout their breakfast as well. She was attentive to his granddaughter, and to them as well, though that should have been his son’s responsibility as their host. But it seemed she didn’t mind. ___ tried to get to them, asking about his shop, and his garden. She asked Bora about the community center, and what the different events they have. They asked about her family, work, and hobbies. ___ talked about a family cookout she had invited Yoongi to, and how her niece and nephew got instantly attached to Hani. They loved her so much they had a weekend long sleepover, and FaceTime almost every day. Hani tells him all about how much she loves her ‘Bee’, and how she wishes she could stay with her all the time.

Yunho has had enough life experience to know when a person is disingenuine, but he never felt that with ___. She was genuinely happy to spend time with his family. The gummy smiles on his son and granddaughter brought comfort to his heart. He hasn’t seen a genuine smile from Yoongi, that wasn’t directed to Haneul, in years. When he and his wife leave late that afternoon, he’s warm with happiness. Yunho knows his son and granddaughter are in good hands.

Tag List: @unicornbabylover @halesandy @supernoonanyc @aianloveseven @hannahdinse8 @lyndseygoregasmxo @aunoiire @brbkpop @nochuwastaken @tinyoonsblog @borahae-reads @jinscharms @phenomenalgirl9 @yoongiigolden @girlwithluv0613

Fic Masterlist

[nct-lian]

relationships outside of sm

JENNIE + LIAN: JENLI

so iconic omg like how they do it, i have no idea

they hang out all the time and lian is literally ALWAYS on jennie’s instagram

the two of them once had an instagram story conversation over pigtails

like,, jennie posted a picture of lian’s pigtails for that one bicycle performance on her story and captioned it “pigtail baby” and then lian reposted it on her own story with a picture of jennie’s pigtails, captioning it “pigtail eomma”

speaking of eomma, jennie is genuinely her mother

jennie takes her shopping all the time

and in return, lian buys her food

the interactions these two used to have at award shows were SO CUTE

everyone remembers when jennie pretty much yelled out lian’s name and she just came running over to the members of blackpink after taeyong let her leave :(

i’m crying just thinking about it help

jennie also posted a full on instagram post for lian on her birthday and had such a sweet caption with it

it was something like “my daughter is finally 21 today! i hope she has an amazing day and i can’t wait to see her later tonight to give her a gift :) haneullie, lots of love from jennie eomma”

SPEAKING OF THE GIFT,, jennie bought her a whole ass $9000 necklace from chanel because she knew that lian was looking for more

IM IN TEARS AND SO ARE YOU ADMIT IT RN

jenli kpop bestest duo

dispatch once thought jennie was on a date with a girl but it turned out to just be her walking lian home after going shopping with her so they never posted anything about it

they were embarrassed they got something wrong so i get it

omfg when news came out that lian and jinwoo broke up mama jennie was threatening to punch the shit out of him

KEVIN + LIAN: LIMOON

what i’ve been waiting to write for so long okay here we go

so mf chaotic like there are compilations made of these two that scream “go crazy go stupid”

their time as guest mc’s for inkigayo was probably some of the best kpop content we’d gotten in a long ass time

KEVIN IS CAUTIOUS WHEN LETTING HER MEET HIS MEMBERS

cause she’s such a good friend to him and wtf why would he wanna share

“mine mine mine mine” constant dory vibes 24/7

lian thrives off of calling him by his korean name because she knows it annoys him

he’s constantly teasing her for having bagged milk in toronto so he deserves it

the one time lian and jacob talked to each other they seemed to be getting along too much for kevin’s liking so he really went:

“okay lian isn’t it time for you to go” because he WAS GETTING JEALOUSJCLSJX

their styles are pretty much complete opposites and everytime they take pictures together kevin never forgets to mention how off it all looks

“tf is that why are your clothes so boring”

“okay sNaKe pAnTs” because of that one eric moment on kpop daebak show where he said kevin had pants with snakes on them

ALSO BTW LIANS CLOTHES ARENT FUCKING BORING SHES JUST FANCY LIKE THAT

i’m getting heated let me calm down.

they normally speak in english to each other but since lian seems to be stuttering over her words when she isn’t speaking korean, he mixes in a few korean phrases every now and then to help her out

kevin is arguably the most hype every single time lian performs, like he really thinks there isn’t anything better

LIAN MAKES SURE TO UPDATE HER INSTAGRAM STORY WHENEVER TBZ HAVE A COMEBACK SO NCTZENS GO SUPPORT THEM

LIA + LIAN: LILIA

more lian x the canadian line WOOHOO

lia spent her trainee days really looking up to lian and she’s even mentioned before that she’d love for itzy to get the chance to collab with her for a song

she really has her fingers crossed for that btw

they actually met during an award show when ryujin, chaeryeong and yuna all had to leave because it was past curfew

lian decided to sit next to them and during all the intermissions between performances she, lia and yeji conversed to pass time

they ended up growing a friendship together but lian has a stronger bond with lia

she loves all the girls either way but yk

lia and lian love going to cafes together and taking adorable pictures :(

like whenever lia posts on itzy’s instagram midzeys don’t exactly know whether or not lian would be on it too :0

like lian normally posts all the scenery pictures she gets to keep her instagram pleasing whereas lia posts the pictures the two of them take together

my heart </3

lian treats lia like a whole daughter because it isn’t often she finds girls that are younger than her

*screams in the fact that majority of sm’s female artists are all from 2015 and under*

like when i say lian SPOILS her i’m not joking

she will randomly call lia up like:

“hey i’m gonna get you out of that dungeon, come get some chicken with me”

and then they’ll just hang out together

but only if lian is out of the dungeon herself because wbk she ain’t treated very well </3

EUNWOO + LIAN: WOOLI

their chemistry is fucking insane holy shit

like their acting for past to present was seriously so praised, netizens found it hard to believe it was all just for the show

dating rumours follow these two everywhere,, like everywhere

it’s one of the most popular ships inside ncity when it comes to lian and other idols

i kid you not one tweet said “chanhyeok treated jihye so well in past to present, i’m only wondering how well eunwoo would treat lian 👀”

LIKE STOP PUTTING IDEAS INTO PEOPLES HEADS YOURE KILING ME HERE ISTG

but yeah they do look really good together

and they’re an amazing pair for acting

when eunwoo started working with inyeop for true beauty, he said:

“hyung’s dating my girlfriend” because of the fact that both of them have acted with lian and BOTH of them dated her in the dramas

what a coincidence though

we all cried when we saw chanhyeok and jihye kiss for the first time DONT LIE

EUNWOO FOLLOWS HER ON INSTAGRAM

and they wished each other happy birthday on their instagram stories

there’s actually people who like to think that they dated while filming for past to present andddd they radiate big delulu vibes

like you know liskook shippers? wooli shipped are kinda the same, but not as intense (thank god)

BUT CAN WE BLAME THEM LIKE THEIR CHEMISTRY? THE WAY THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER? PLEASE

they took a lot of cute pictures together behind the scenes (ノ﹏ヽ)

MOMO + LIAN: LIMO

DANCER DUO DANCER DUO

this ship isn’t actually as popular as we would like it to be, but nonetheless people love limo

a lot of interactions during award shows !!

like for example momo’s fancams always captured her dancing perfectly to lian’s choreo

and lian smiling in momo’s direction

i love them

when lian found out about heechul and momo’s relationship, she asked momo if she was her mom now because of how much of a father figure she considers heechul to be JDFJK

“i mean sure”

they’ve actually done a vlive together before (ᗒᗨᗕ)

it was when lian visited her at the twice dorms and they ended up getting bored so they decided to do a vlive in the living room

THEY PLAYED DARE OR DARE AND LIAN HAD TO DO THE TEARS CHALLENGE (so chan whee) ON MOMOS KARAOKE MACHINE

her throat was dry for the rest of the night

after seeing momo’s hair for the i can’t stop me era, lian actually wanted to cut it like that

but she decided against it because she loves her long hair too much

the two of them met on hit the stage where they competed against each other in a freestyle dance battle

after that they just started casually talking over the phone and became great friends

with the way momo talks about lian, you’d think they’re dating-

“oh, lian- she’s so pretty! i love her a lot!”

and the same goes for lian, she loves talking about momo’s dancing skills

JACKSON + LIAN: JACKLIAN

her dad :/

adopted her with amber liu like a year ago so now she’s just his daughter

supports each other like crazy not even joking

jackson promotes her on instagram and twitter 24/7

THEY HAVE SO MANY INTERACTIONS THANK GOD

lian was once given a ridiculously short dress while attending an award show and jackson gave her his jacket to wear over her legs because she wasn’t provided a blanket :(

(keep in mind, she went there without the members!)

lian added all his music to her playlist :)

once got drunk together and spent like three hours doing karaoke but it’s okay cause it was fun

speaking of getting drunk, jackson’s the cool dad that lets her do whatever she wants

he has his protective moments where he’s like “ma’am where are you going on that short of a dress” but he’s also like “hey wanna go get chicken and soju”

they both appeared on a radio show together as guests and they ruined the whole broadcast because they were too loud

like they kept getting out of their seats to go wave at all the fans outside the window and they were just fighting back and forth about whether or not lian’s extensions look real

according to jackson, they’re “NOT AUTHENTIC ENOUGH- LOVE YOUR HAIR FOR WHAT IT IS, LIANNA HANEUL BAE.” lian’s hair lives matter :/

PLSSS WHEN HYOSEOP AND LIAN STARTED DATING- no

jackson was so proud that his good friend was smooching his other good friend but the protective dad instincts really kicked in

“break her heart and you die no cap”

was surprisingly chill when they broke up though, he was just glad lian didn’t cry

SUNMI + LIAN: SUNLI

SUNMI IS HER MOM OHMYGOD

so many interactions

honestly took lian under wing once she debuted as a soloist

female kpop soloists gotta have each other’s backs in this industry man :(

sunmi calls lian her princess SOBS

lian always hugs sunmi at award shows, like if they’re sitting close together

or if they’re standing next to each other on stage

you bet your ass lian is gripping onto sunmi for dear life

did a photoshoot together for marie claire korea

they’re so hot bro

BUT THEY FIRST MET ON WEEKLY IDOL NOT LONG AFTER LIAN DEBUTED AS A SOLOIST

they were kinda awkward ngl uh

but by the end of it they were besties :DD

and they’ve been besties ever since

lian is the ceo of doing dance covers for sunmi’s songs

cmon lian we’re waiting for tail 👀

sunmi has actually met lian’s grandma </3

like her and lian were hanging out at the dorms while the boys were out on a schedule and her grandma just randomly showed up with homemade food so that was definitely a win

BANG CHAN + LIAN: LICHAN

they’ve been friends for a LOOONGGG time

and chain’s known her since dating back to like, smrookies era when lian was still a red velvet member

like at that time she had no idea he existed, but he was keeping up with her daily :(

chan plays her music on vlives all the time and he always knows the dance moves

like he just dances along in his chair and mumbles the lyrics

we love to see it

a lot of fans ship them together

SURPRISE SURPRSIE AH

only because chan gives off big pining energy

lian only looks at him like “:D” whereas he looks at her like “♡•♡”

kinda sad but

lian promotes him on live so often HVKSVU

“my friend chan is coming back with his group soon, you should check it out! :)”

and the way she just says “my friend chan” LIKE ITS SO OBVIOUSLY A FRIENDZONE BUT HE THINKS ITS ADORABLE

he once got a comment on a vlive to react to lian moments, obviously complying because who wouldn’t

there was this one clip of her saying “my friend chan from stay kids!” and whoever edited the compilation added in squishy noises right after while zooming in on her face

AND CHAN BLUSHED SO HARD NOO

“oh- hahaha, uhh, she’s so cute aw hahahah”

ASHLEY + LIAN: ASHLI

oh god not another lian x mom ship

ASHLEY LOVES LIAN WOAH

like she’s submitted lian’s resume to bm so many times so they could be part of the big tiddie committee together

ashley is constantly, and i mean constantly, reposting all of lian’s posts on her story with captions like “LOOK AT HER GO”

and lian has even discovered all the cool instagram filters because of ashley, and now we get the quality content from her that WE DESERVEEEEE

back when lian’s album came out, all ashley’s story really was was just screenshots of her streaming all the songs and calling them bops

when they first met in person after texting back in forth, ashley spammed her instagram story with pictures of lian that she took without her looking

these two radiate a lot of “YES GIRL WORKKK ITTT TURN THIS WAY OKAYYY POSE POSE POSE” energy

lian’s been featured in one of ashley’s youtube videos and it was when they met for the first time :)

they exchange a lot of gifts through the mail

like lian once found a mug when shopping with doyoung and she thought that it would fit ashley’s taste so she sent it to her apartment

and ever since then they just send random little gifts to each other’s houses

it’s so cute

MATCHING BUCKET HATS THEY HAVE MATCHING BUCKET HATS !!!!!!

ashley talks about lian all the time

she always says that for someone so young, she’s accomplished a lot and she’s really proud of her

they wanna do tiktoks with each other but they never have the time </3

lian spam comments on ashley’s instagram like “WOAH” “OKAYYYY” “YESYESYES”

[arieswonjin]

my go-to (barista/cafe au)

pairings: goo jungmo x reader

genre: fluff, enemies(?) to lovers if you squint

summary: dealing with customers has never been your favorite part of being a barista. especially customers like goo jungmo. and now you have to train him to become one? that’s just great. 

word count: 3.2k

warnings: none

song inspo: 커피를 마시고 coffee - reprise

masterlist | request here! | how to request |

"sir, may i ask if you’re going to order or not? you can step aside first if-"

"wait, wait. how different is the iced latte from the iced caramel latte?" says the man while still looking up at the menu overhead, lips parted, eyes squinted, and hands on the side of his neck, mid-scratch. you tapped the cash register impatiently and took note of how his sharp jaw moved as he scrutinized the menu. was it possible to hate someone at first sight? he was only your first customer of the day yet your blood was already boiling. either finals season was getting to you or this guy had a knack for testing your patience.

you walked to your part-time job every day at the break of dawn just in time for you to see most of the commercial establishments opening. people were going about their own mornings preferring to be undisturbed, you included. earphones in, you savored the few peaceful moments you had to yourself before the chaos of a morning shift.

more often than not, your shifts were totally and utterly uninteresting: you would be prepping ingredients to be used for the rest of the day and office employees or the occasional student running late for a 7 am class would be walking in and out to get their morning fix. there was also a bunch of cleaning left for you. the night-shift employee was simply not thorough enough to distinguish which mop to use for the spills. to this, you did your first of many eye-rolls for the day.

that being said, you weren’t exactly the most patient among your colleagues; however, the laid-back atmosphere this friendly neighborhood cafe had when it was not teeming with customers around the early afternoon almost made you forget about your subtle hatred for human interaction.

but today, as you started your shift at 6 am in the morning with your eyes barely open and a man who has been standing in front of you for more than three minutes, you remembered just why.

"well, sir, obviously, the caramel latte...has caramel." you had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at the stupid question, whispering the better part of your sentence to mask your tone. but as they all say, the customer is always right. what a nonsensical saying.

"give me a second. i’ll just call a friend to ask what to order here.”

to your distaste, the older male leisurely took his phone out from his brown coat and scrolled through his contacts like he had all the time in the world. oh, if he could only hear your inner thoughts.

“wait-” he flashed you a friendly smile while fumbling with the gadget. “hey, serim-hyung-"

the man flinched, almost too dramatically, when you placed both your palms on the counter with just the right amount of force to shake its contents. he expected to see you fuming but instead saw the softest expression on your face which, frankly, was scarier.

"one caramel latte, hot, with an extra shot of espresso and a pump of dark chocolate for?"

"goo jungmo." he replied, suddenly alert, phone still pressed to his ear. the dull sounds of a confused friend on the other line now went unnoticed.

"...goo jeonmo. coming right up," you punched in the order while holding a fake smile that started to hurt your cheeks and exhaled a breath you didn't know you’ve been holding. breathe, y/n, this will be a fine morning. he’ll be out of here in just a few minutes.

“it's actually goo jung-"

"5,000 won, please." you extended your palm to him without making eye-contact.

jungmo just stared at your hand for a few seconds, still dazed with your outburst. could that even be considered an outburst? how strange. "oh. here." and it just started to sink in that you practically made his order for him.

"hey, i didn't ask for a-" he leaned in to take a peek at the monitor, ready to protest against the sudden turn of events. all he wanted was to get a new kind of morning coffee at this new place before walking to the university, yet it seemed like the way you two met was enough to shake the morning drowsiness out of the both of you.

"it's good. it’s my go-to. consider it a secret special," you said nonchalantly and turned the monitor away from him. you handed him the receipt and gestured him towards the claiming counter. "next customer, please."

jungmo slowly slid to the side as he placed his hands inside his pockets. he just shook his head, trying to wipe away the amused smile he now unconsciously had on his face while thinking about the humor in this encounter.

“oh shoot. sorry, hyung. did i wake you? my bad... but i guess you have to get up now, huh?” he laughed mischievously, getting back to the phone call left unattended a few moments ago. “oh, it was nothing! i’ll tell you about it later. it’s funny, really.”  

with a quick glance at your nameplate, he started to think about what other interesting encounters would take place in this cafe in the following mornings. maybe he just found his new pre-class route.

the rest of the week was uneventful to say the least. your encounter with the unrealistically good-looking yet annoyingly slow customer was now far forgotten. as per usual, university kept you busy outside of work.

you’ve always thought your part-time job jived well with your college degree. after all, there’s nothing like the scent and taste of coffee to keep a pre-med student awake in front of their brick-like pathophysiology books. all those extra shots of espresso and doses of dark chocolate are enough to keep your eyes open and your mind running for countless all-nighters.

and that was exactly what you were planning to do tonight. clad in your most comfortable sweater which replaced your coffee-stained apron, a cold drink in hand, you made your way to the haneul university library.

seoul started and ended its day just like any other famous metropolis. jungmo observed this everyday as his feet took him to where he needed to be like it's second nature. but that one wednesday when he broke his routine and entered a new side-street cafe, his morning became unlike any other stroll to the university and he was sure to go back.

for two very unexpected reasons.

first, because he was surprisingly offered a part-time job (a funny coincidence. who would’ve thought the cafe owner was his father’s high school bandmate?) and second, well, because he found himself craving your go-to drink. that genius mix really got to him. and to think that he didn’t even order it himself.

he pondered dropping by the cafe before his first day of barista training tomorrow as he stood up to exit the university library. jungmo just spent most of the evening finishing a 10-page world history paper, his last agenda for the day.

“agh… my back hurts.” he stretched before grabbing his jacket and the last of his things from the study table.

“y/n? the book you were looking for was just returned here,”

jungmo involuntarily snapped his head towards the front desk, reacting to the name called out by the resident librarian. he scratched his neck in confusion as he looked for the source of the voice.

“ah, thank you. i’ll take this,”

so it’s really that y/n from the cafe? he followed you with his eyes as you walked back to the library table that you were occupying alone. jungmo, his mouth frozen in a small ‘o’ at yet another coincidence, might just have a change of evening plans. haneul university was truly full of surprises. and good ones.

“long night?”

you abruptly looked up from the stack of notes you were studying intently, unable to properly respond to jungmo’s small talk. nonetheless, the look of recognition on your face was enough to urge him to continue.

“one caramel latte, with an extra shot of espresso and a pump dark chocolate for y/n. but you seem to be having it iced now?” he looked over at the drink on top of your desk, trying to use his wide smile to start a conversation. it’s how people almost always immediately warmed up to the charming and childlike goo jungmo. he silently hoped you were not an exception, even if he straight up just mocked your lines.

“you study here?” you asked when you recovered from the sudden greeting, if you could even call it that.

“well, obviously, i do.” jungmo mocked you again, all in good fun. he successfully replicated the tone you used with him during your not-so-pleasant cafe encounter.

you sighed in defeat. you really did feel sorry for the way you acted. it was a good thing you still even had your job. “i’m sorry for how i acted that morning. i guess it was the stress getting to me. jeonmo, right?”

“goo jungmo, actually.” he laughed, finally succeeding in correcting the mistaken name at which you just facepalmed in embarrassment. “no worries. i was really slow, wasn’t i?” he scratched the back of his head, a tinge of realization crossing his facial expression. you nodded with pursed lips.

“but hey, at least i got three good things out of that morning in bt cafe.” he casually sat on the chair next to you and pulled up three fingers, counting down while he spoke. “the drink was good, and i got a new job there, and...”

“wait, you’re the new recruit i have to teach?! you know i have to work nights now, right?”

maybe it was the way he sat down beside you so comfortably or how adorably foolish he looked with that habitual scratch to the neck, but holding a casual conversation with this jungmo wasn’t hard at all. the first impressions my 6 am-self created are really unreliable.

“you make it sound so sketchy. it’s a cafe job, not some underground cult.”

you rolled your eyes at his joke and scoffed, internally thanking the heavens for his humor that’s making this sudden interaction so light-hearted. he waved the previous statement off and continued. “turns out bt cafe stands for boys in trouble, my father’s band back in high school.”

“your father is mr. kim’s bandmate?! he talks endlessly about his band phase!”

“shhh!” both of you bowed to the librarian who was peering at you through the shelves on your far-left.

“best bandmate, mind you. it’s the reason why i picked up some guitar skills growing up.” jungmo gets immersed in your now-hushed conversation, making himself lean back on the library chair despite not having any work to do. you did the same, unconsciously leaning in to hear more about your boss.

your pending tasks were left undone for the meantime and you and jungmo were subjected to about three more glares from the librarian that night.

night 1: bt cafe

the training starts.

“coffee beans. they all look the same.” now wearing an apron identical to the one you had, jungmo stood in front of the cafe pantry trying to decipher the coffee beans you’ve been introducing to him without their respective labels.  

“that’s what amateurs always say,” you teased. from the previous night, you already established how fun it was to see his reactions to even the smallest attempts to irritate him. it was a good thing trainings took place in the early evenings when you actually had the energy for a bit of fun.

“well, i am an amateur. that’s why you’re teaching me, sunbae.” jungmo jabbed back and followed you around the main counter, hands clasped together as he tried to act like a cute and enthusiastic junior.

you pretended to cringe and broke in laughter when he whined. “back to the coffee beans…”

night 7: bt cafe

within a week, jungmo got the hang of working the bulky and stubborn espresso machine. he has yet to produce a perfectly good batch without burning himself, though.

“i’m surprised you even have the time for a part-time job, pre-med.”

“i could say the same to you, mr. pilot. don’t you have plane diagrams to memorize--ow! that’s hot!” you retreated from the hot cup he was handing to you.

“shit, did I burn you?” jungmo instinctively took your hand and started to look for any redness and swelling, turning your hand over in his. “where does it hurt?”

“.....i’m okay.” you looked up at the much taller male and slowly slid away, finding the sudden proximity quite foreign.

“a baristas hands are precious. let me get a cold towel,”

you followed his retreating figure with your eyes, noting how easily he blended in with the rest of the cafe, apron and all. with a shake of your head and a repressed smile, you might have just thought about calling him cute.

night 10: bt cafe

“....then, after that you just let the coffee drip by itself for about 15-20 minutes- yah.”

“hmm?” jungmo straightened up from having his head on his palm, elbows against the counter. “sorry. you kinda looked...cute...when you were focused.” he said softly without making eye-contact as he mimicked the coffee drip set-up you just made. he realized that it was a weird feeling, suddenly being timid like this.

“tch. focus.” you turned your back to place some ingredients back on their shelves, taking this opportunity to smile and recollect yourself before going back to watching jungmo’s progress.

night 14: university grounds

"you really don't have to bring me these to track your progress..." you saw jungmo waiting outside the biology laboratory for the third time this week, thermos clutched in hand. a few days ago, he insisted on buying his own coffee drip set to get some practice at home. talk about being thoughtfully extra.

"i mean, yeah, we're together every night but you have to see how i do it on my own!"

"shh! people will take that out of context, idiot!" you looked around at the waves of people piling out of the laboratory, worried someone might overhear. jungmo just teased you by wiggling his eyebrows, earning him a smack to the shoulder.

night 20: bt cafe

“yes, y/n, to what do i owe this pleasure of a phone call from you?” jungmo answered his phone after several rings. you were beginning to worry that he got into an accident. why was he so late to his training tonight?

“where are you?”

“i might not come tonight. important presentation tomorrow and we might have to pull an all-nighter. don’t worry! i already told our boss. wait, you’re actually looking for me.”

“i mean, you’ve been coming every night so…”

“y/n misses me.” you almost hear his teasing face through the phone lines. jungmo heard your eyes roll in turn.

“uhm, no, thank you. i’m hanging up.” you put your phone back inside your pocket only to retrieve it after a few seconds when you received a message notification.

don’t worry! i miss you too!

night 30: haneul university library

“agh. how am i ever going to save lives like this?” the sound of resignation in your voice made jungmo look up from his laptop. aside from the regular trainings, you and jungmo have arranged regular study sessions. it’s safe to say that you’ve been spending a good fraction of your week with your fellow haneul student, workmate, and, as it now seems, a special friend.

“you’re keeping me alive just fine, though, doc.” jungmo walked over to your side of the library table and ruffled your hair while your face was still buried in your textbooks. his previous statement went unnoticed. “you should go home early tonight. i’ll take you.” he pulled you up by the arm, shaking you to encourage you to stand up as you grunted.

“thanks, mogu.” 

he just nodded at you with a smile and held out his arm to drape around you while you walked. “let’s go.”

night 40: university garden

“hey, you never told me about the third thing.” you sat on the garden bench, stopping jungmo’s strides and pulling him to sit too.

"hmm?"

“the third good thing you got from that day at the cafe. you got a good drink, got a job and….?” you urged him to continue, expecting the answer to be something trivial. after all, it was something he told you on the first day you properly met. would he even remember what the third thing was?

“that? the third thing is that..." jungmo took his time and pretended to fix his jacket, intentionally stalling until you glared at him.

"....i met you.” the casual tone in his voice and the giggle that accompanied it made it seem like it was something he said everyday.

"liars go to hell. and you're full of cheese."

"but you love cheese." he shrugged. knowing you couldn’t deny this, jungmo stood up and pulled you by the hand, ready to walk you home like what the both of you have gotten used to.

night 50: bt cafe

“so you sold your coffee drip set to wonjin because…?” you were fixing up the last of today’s orders with jungmo waiting beside you to place them on their cup holders.

“i don’t need to make coffee for myself anymore. you speed up my heart just fine throughout the day now.” he secured the cups and held them out to the waiting customer. “come again!”

“goo jungmo.” you turned bright red and hid your embarrassment by slapping jungmo’s arm. “don’t fool around like that.”

“ey. i just confessed, can’t you be a little more accommodating?” jungmo ran to the door and flipped the cafe sign from open to closed. “should i have written it in latte art or something? i like you. would 8 letters fit in that tiny cup?”

“you call that a confession?” this earned the iconic whine from goo jungmo. "hey, idiot!" you called to him from across the empty cafe and scratched your neck like he always did, for effect. "i like you, too."

night 77: bt cafe

“shift’s over. what are you doing?” you leaned on the counter to take a peek at what jungmo was doing. there were no customers anymore so you were wondering what was keeping him so busy.

“one caramel latte, iced, with-“

“—an extra shot of espresso and a pump of dark chocolate...” you continued his sentence, nodding your head in time with the words.

“...for my y/n,” jungmo finished and handed you a cup with both hands. you took it with a playful squint of your eyes. 

you took a sip, keeping your eyes on the expectant jungmo. a moment of silence ensued.

“jungmo. i love you….but-”

“i love you too.” he hurriedly replied without hesitation.

“…but i still make the best version of this.” you smiled victoriously, sticking your tongue out at him before drinking the rest of the latte which you admitted tasted pretty close to your specialty. jungmo just raised his hands up in defeat and proceeded to watch you drink his version of the go-to drink that brought you two together in the first place.

“if i get to see you smile like that, do i really want to get it right?”

[the-hotter-otter]

(6) Sweeter Love || ATEEZ Fanfic

Choi San x Gender-neutral OC

Idol AU

17:56 (6) || 19:12 (7) || chapter list

suggestive interactions in this chapter, wouldn't consider it as smut tho

17:56

San had been visibly worried ever since you jumped onto the counter and started scrolling through your phone without even a glance in his direction. “Haneul? Baby?”

You haven’t been answering and it only made him feel worse, but he knew pestering you would only piss you off even more. For the meantime he had been attempting to make blue frosting, he had no idea what he was doing, but surprisingly it turned out to be somewhat acceptable despite it’s unusual consistency.

“Baby, look I made it.” San said in his usual cheery voice and bright smile only for it to drop when you had your head in the clouds of social media. San took a step towards you, parking himself in between your dangling legs, his hand slipped away your phone and you had no choice but to look back at him. “Are you still mad at me?”

You tried to shrug away his hand that landed on your shoulder, but instead it travelled to your neck, leaving smears of icing and food colouring that remains on his fingers. It was difficult to ignore his cooes and nicknames that he directed to you, you hated how whipped you were for this man.

“Talk to me Pumpkin.” San whispered, “pretty please.”

Your stubborn ass didn’t budge, making him sulk, but of course, he didn’t stop. You grimaced when San began to dot and mark your face with blue frosting. With every mark he made he called you all sorts of love sickening words.

“Dear. Love. Pumpkin. Cutie.” San whispered softly. Your heart was running at Mach speed right now, you prayed to God that he hadn’t noticed or else you’d never hear the end of it.

Last but not least he smothered your lips in the remaining cream on his finger, “Haneul.”

You blinked rapidly, this wasn’t supposed to happen, you weren’t supposed to give in so easily, but you did. Not only that, but you also gave into the sweet kiss he planted on your lips.

You gave up instantly, melting into his touch as he pulled you closer from the hips and cupped your face in his other hand. You could taste the sweet frosting he put on your lips as it mixed in with the kiss that was slowly turning into a full blown make out session, his tongue met yours and you hummed at the connection. Sure, San may lack in cooking, but he most certainly knows what he’s doing now. This was his secret forte and only you got to experience it.

You wanted more, you were so desperate for more, which is why you whined out loud as soon as he pulled away. “I thought you were mad at me.”

“And you expect me to turn down a kiss?” You mutter, you try to dive for another kiss but your attempts prove to be futile as he puts a hand between you two. As embarrassing as it was you didn’t really care, it’s been far too long since you and San had gotten intimate.

“Desperate now hm?”

“Fuck off.” You sass, the sight of him makes your legs quiver. How could your boyfriend be so damn fine with a tinted nose and strained voice? You’ve always been obsessed with his jawline and cat like eyes, everything about him was so defined and sharp. You let out a heavy exhale as you took in the sight of his hourglass torso, you were silently in love with his slim waist, and no one could blame you.

San chuckled in a low voice, a voice he’d only use when things were getting heated. You felt his lips peck at your temple, whimpering at the way his tongue collected the bit of frosting he smeared there not long ago. He kept kissing away the frosting in the most sensual manner you could imagine, you would tighten your hold on his shirt every time his tongue dragged ever so slightly along your smooth skin.

Yeosang can fuck off, his advice doesn’t mean jack shit anymore.

Suddenly a muffled moan came from the depths of your throat causing San to let out a breathy sigh on your neck. He was practically eating at you, from swirling his delicate tongue along the frosting to nibbling and sucking at every spot he could. If he kept going, you’d turn out more purple than the cake itself.

You shuffled closer, desperate for more, to your disappointment, San was nowhere near as aroused as you were. Unlike you, he wasn’t having any problems in his pants.

San could tell you were searching for his hard with the way you kept subtly grinding your hips on his. What you didn’t know was that San was most definitely turned on, he just couldn’t show it, his body was already feeling down as it was. As much as his heart pounded at your vulnerable state, sex was that last thing he desired.

“I’m sorry baby.” He whispered when you began pouting, “I can’t today.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault.” You tried to hide your disappointment. Your hands moulded around his biceps and traveled around his stomach just to feel his fine figure and to entertain your suggestive thoughts, to which he didn’t complain. You don't expect San to bring it up a notch, despite his overall improvement, the male was still having an occasional coughing fit and sniffly nose.

If the beeping oven didn’t stop you, you two would have probably been making out for another straight hour.

You reluctantly pushed yourself off the counter and opened the oven only to be attacked by a heat wave as you pulled out the cake. San took his rightful spot behind you with arms wrapped around your waist as you two admired the disaster in front of you.

“It's burnt.” San observed, you give him a raised eyebrow.

“No shit, it looks like black charcoal.” You sigh, the entire top was crisp and as dark as night. “Maybe it tastes good?”

“You do the honours.” San nudged you closer to the cake, you slice at a small part of the top, to your surprise the inside was dyed a vibrant purple with a pretty velvet texture. Maybe there was hope for you two. “Hey, we did it, it looks good!”

“Ya, I don't trust this.”

“Why not? It looks like a real cake.”

“Looks like a cake, will taste like shit.”

[lubdubsworld]

I....

I'm processing. Processing... and trying again to process the fiery whirlwind that first part to the Tae fic was. Like. Processing still.

Cos... the PLOT?! THE DETAIL?! THE CHEMISTRY UNDENIABLY STRONG BETWEEN HANEUL AND TAE?! THE ANGSTY CLASH AND SIZZLING TUG TO ONE ANOTHER?!! EVERYTHING IN FACT??

Cos... I know this is only a 2 part fic but I want to give a standing ovation to the DETAIL and precison and mastery you write with. Haneul is HEALTHILY accepting that her mindset had been toxic, that she'd been wrong and apologising was the first step. Kudos to her. It takes a lot of guts to admit you were wrong and four years later with having begun to heal and process and grow past it despite raining HELL on Tae's life she comes back to apologise when in all earnestness he has the right to tell her to leave and never come back.

But again the chemistry, the connection, the desire and longing remains... burns guiltily in her heart and fuels his behaviour to her.

LOVED LOVED how jealous he got of Seojoon, how he couldn't keep his eyes off her being touched by someone that wasn't HIM. Loved the growly possessive protectiveness of her being stuck in a job like this. Didn't love the low move with Jisoo's drink Tae 😤 that was A LOW LOW BLOW OF YOU TAE!! Made me all GRRRRRR and also how he was trying to get her to quit her job, no matter if it came from good intentions or jealousy or possessiveness... her choice Tae. HERS.

LOVED LOVED LOOOOOOOOOOVED the scene where he's tryna figure out if he can call her during his VIP hired appointment and she just holds the power looking like a QUEEN, busy with another appointment ENTERTAINING and if that wasn't powerful enough of a hold over him it's with YOONGI. YOOOOOONGI. TAE’S BROTHER YOONGI. The way I audibly GAAAAAASPED 😂🤭

Loved how he can't do anything but watch her go. GO GIRL GOOOOOO! Now. I have no clue whether that OC x Yoongi question earlier was for Haneul but he did mention a hotel room so 👀 who knows? And YOONGI.

GODDAMN MIN YOONGI.

So POWERFUL. I felt my breath catch and BRRRRR the power, the aura, the ALLURE. I'm not quite sure how I'm alive after that chapter.

LOVED the visuals too!! With Tae's club outfit and the WAISTCOAT!! AND Yoongi. SUITED YOONGI. End me now..

AND THE TEASER WAS FROM HERE. AND YOU SAID IT WAS JUST CONVO... I DID NOT EXPECT FOR IT TO GO INTO A VERY PUBLIC RISKY AND RISQUÉ PINNED HALLWAY SCENE WITH DOMINEERING TAE.

Now. Now I'm questioning whether one of your posts earlier about soft DOMINEERING Yoongi and hard domineering Tae were the two sides of power and sex were gonna see with their interactions with Haneul.

But you know what? I'm READY and so not ready for however the next part goes. I'm READY.

Also... thank you lovely for sharing it with us.

It might seem like people don't say this enough... according to me it's NOWHERE near appreciated enough how much effort and dedication of yours go into writing every piece so thank you. Thank you for sharing Shyn.

Now I need to lie down. 🥴

ahhhhh thank you so much ... like I am so glad you could pick on honestly everything I was trying to show?? What better compliment to a writer honestly than to know that the story in my head has reached you in full piece and exactly as I envisioned and honestly I have to thank you because you always give me that assurance with every single fic I post and I appreciate you taking the time to write these wonderful wonderful commentaries on my stories, i love and adore you for it !! Thank you thank you thank you..

as for the next chapter you have a very very short wait ahead of you!!

[peonybane]

Beyond the Veil: Part 1

Pairing: Choi Youngjae (GOT7) x Psychopomp!Reader

Word Count: 8.3 k

Genre: Fantasy, Fluff, Angst, Psychopomp AU, Doctor AU

Warnings: Mentions and depictions of death (I don’t know how to word this as… this is a story about a Grim Reaper), Pining (so much pining)

Summary: Life is a gift. Every Spirit of Death knew this. They weren’t allowed to touch Life — weren’t allowed to experience it. Every once in a while they can, the unspoken rule being that Death can only fall in love once with Life. And never again.

Author’s Note: Thank you to everyone for your patience with me on this. Especially since this was suppose to be a one-shot and I’ve learn my lesson that it is not. Thank you to the platonic love of my life, @ropeseok​ for putting up with me through this whole process.

If you’d like to notified/tagged when PART 2 comes out, please reblog this part! 

White. Sterile. The overwhelming use of anti-septic burned your nose slightly. A hospital. Here you were again. You practically lived here. Though, you supposed there was worse places you could end up as a Spirit of Death. You could’ve ended up like some of your brethren, always seeming to be summoned to battlefields. Or worse….

You shook the thought from your head. No, things could be far worse. Besides, Death was inevitable. No one could run from it. No one could fight it… not really. It was just a matter of how each soul would meet their escort.

You wandered the halls, the humans not noticing you at all. Looking down, you watched as the threads of your dress — thin, wispy grey tendrils, really — swayed and snaked around you, eventually fading away into nothing as they connected to the souls that you’d eventually escort, all varying shades of grey. One of the threads pulsed and darkened — this was the reason why you were here today — you were here to escort a soul.

Wandering around the hospital, you kept an eye on the thread — you had some time before you had to collect the soul. No need to rush being a voyeur to pain and grief. 

Instead, you wandered over to the ward that was your secret pleasure: the maternity ward.

Babies were… fascinating to you. After all, most of those you interacted with were the aged and sick. You dealt with the inevitable. But birth… birth was practically magic to you. Despite the tales told by humans, your kind was not omnipotent — you just knew a few more certainties than humans did. But birth… was the greatest mystery of all…. 

It was the greatest forbidden fruit.

But more than just the babies, you came to this ward for a particular reason: Dr. Choi.

You nearly missed him — his back facing towards you, the white lab coat obstructing his figure before he turned at the last moment. He was excusing himself from a patient’s room, just down the hall from you. You probably would have missed him entirely if it wasn’t for his laugh. The place where you should’ve had a heart gave a small pitter patter when you saw him. He was… so full of life. The dedication he had for his patients. His zest for life. His laugh. He fascinated you in ways you never knew was possible.

He still made you feel the way you had the first time you saw him. 

You got lost, actually, ending up in the wrong operating room. As an OB/GYN surgeon, he was skilled as he performed a c-section. What fascinated you was that as he was performing the operation, he kept speaking to the mother, reassuring her of how well she was doing. Even cracking a joke or two when he realized she was starting to freak out. 

You were so distracted in that moment, you almost missed getting the soul you needed to retrieve, lest their soul wander free and reek havoc, haunting the world as they looked for their bodies or searched for the Forest.

Dr. Choi (you’d yet to hear his first name, you didn’t want to, you didn’t want to get too attached) adjusted his sterile blue scrubs before he made his way towards his office. You were tempted to follow him, just to watch him from afar… just like you always had.

“If you stare at him any harder, you’re going to set him on fire.”

You jumped at the sound of Jaebeom’s voice. “Dammit, Jaebeom! Don’t do that.”

You turned around, staring up into the dark eyes of Jaebeom, a named Spirit of Death — your brother in some sense. His shaggy, long black hair was pulled away from his face, showing off his piecing dark eyes. He smirked down at you, his stance utterly relaxed under his own Death Shroud, a duster jacket. On his shoulders, his Bombay feline familiar, Haneul, laid across his broad shoulders, her sleek, black fur almost disappearing under the blanket of Jaebeom’s own hair, her bright yellow eyes staring at you sleepily.

“Long time no see, little Morana.”

You rolled your eyes at him. You hated it when he called you that. Though to be fair… you didn’t have a name. None of the Spirits of Death did; instead — they’d take on a title of sorts, using names the humans made up if need be. The only way to have a Name, one that no one could take or abuse, was to live a Life.

A Life which Jaebeom lived to the fullest.

“It’s good to see you, Jaebeom.” You looked around. “Where’s the kittens?”

Jaebeom laughed. He reached into the deep pockets of his jacket and with withdrew his two other familiars, Yugyeom and Kunpimook. The older of the two, Kunpimook was lovingly called BamBam for all the trouble he caused as a lanky, white haired, green-eyed Oriental Shorthair. Yugyeom was a giant, blue eyed, fluffy, grey Maine Coon. Both of them looked at you, almost angrily, having their naps disturbed.

You smiled as Jaebeom passed off Yugyeom to you, the big boy immediately purring into your arms. Jaebeom smiled as he cuddled BamBam in his own arms. “He missed you.”

You smiled a little. You couldn’t hear Jaebeom’s familiars. Only he could. His mind was connected to theirs, their bond cemented when the foursome was human.

“I can tell.”

Everything was silent for a moment. Even the sound of nurses wandering around the ward seemed to have quieted down for a moment. You hadn’t seen Jaebeom for a while. Not since he came back from living amongst humans. You, Jaebeom, and Haneul were inseparable for the first few years after Haneul died, helping Jaebeom return to his previous duties as a Spirit of Death.

“What are you doing here, Jaebeom?”

Jaebeom practically bristled. Well, Haneul did anyways. “It’s your 1,500th year, right?”

You sighed. Of course. That was why he was here. 

Yugyeom nuzzled further into your touch, smushing his face into the crook of your arm. Jaebeom continued. “I just... I heard that you were thinking about not accepting Hermes’ gift for once. You’ve always accept his gift before. Do — Do you want to talk about it?”

Sighing, you looked away from Jaebeom, no longer able to meet his gaze. He leaned down to be eye level with you. Haneul pushed off his broad shoulder a little to head butt you to get your attention. “Do you want to talk about him?”

You scoffed. “I’m not in love.”

“Could have fooled me. Besides, I never mentioned anything about love.”

Biting your lower lip, you asked, “Am I actually in love with him? Or do I just want what you have and see him as a means to an end? Either way — I shouldn’t tempt Fate.”

He was silent as he thought about it. “Only you can answer that. But I would give him a chance, either way. I wasn’t sure if I was truly in love with Haneul. But I trusted my instincts. How could I not take a chance when I couldn’t take my eyes off her? How could I not want her with me forever from the moment her gaze fell upon me? Not through me.”

His voice grew softer as he continued. “Our existence is a lonely one. Do you know why Hermes lets us live as humans for just one day every 500 years? Or why we’re allowed to live amongst them for a single lifetime?”

Swallowing, you shook your head. In comparisons to Jaebeom, you were practically a baby. Hermes was distant. He didn’t interact with his… children too much anymore. 

Jaebeom stroked your hair, his gaze growing soft and tender. “Because he wants his children to have what he never could: to experience Life. To find companionship. There are nearly a million of us. But each of us is alone; our existence just an inevitable truth. A kindness. A tragic truth. We are alone, even when we’re together. But a lifetime with humans — the memories are fulfilling. We can fall in love —“

Haneul nuzzled Jaebeom, purring. In Life, they were married. For a moment, you wondered if their souls (or at least whatever your kind had) were entwined from the beginning of time. “— We can have a family.”

His gaze fell to the cats happily snoozing in both of your arms. In Life, they were Jaebeom and Haneul’s adopted sons, Jaebeom never being able to father any.

“Please… talk to me. Out of all our nameless brothers and sisters, I worry about you the most.”

Sniffling, you wiped the tears threatening to fall from your eyes, nearly dropping Yugyeom in the process. “I — I don’t want to condemn him. Like you said, our existence is a lonely one. And — And he’s just so full of Life. How could I surround him by death? Human always see us as a horribly dark thing.”

Jaebeom kissed your forehead. “Don’t make that decision for him. Let him choose.”

You opened your mouth to reply, to argue, then you felt the pull. 

It was time. 

It was time to collect the soul.

As if sensing it, Jaebeom took Yugyeom from your arms again, cradling the two overgrown kittens like babies. Your dress slowly started to change. From the simple dress, your Death Shroud changed into that of a military uniform, the grey threads unweaved themselves then reweaved, forming the new garment as it paled, turning white. Like it always did when it was time to guide a soul. 

You no longer felt your body change — you had long since lost interest in the change. Your form changed to whatever the soul needed from you to find comfort. Sometimes it was just your face. Other times you might physically regress back to the form of a child, making the tragic loss a little less painful. At times, you might have ‘aged,’ providing comfort in being a quiet companion in their final stroll. And on rare occasions, your sex would change — a moment of familiarity or perhaps even safety, a small reassurance that everything would be ok — that you were nothing like the monsters they were finally escaping.

Glancing up, or rather, to, Jaebeom, your gaze no longer turned upward to meet his piercing eyes. Ah, probably meant you either resembled someone much taller than you’d normally stand, or  your apparent sex had changed.

Looking you over, Jaebeom gave you a solemn nod. “Whatever you choose, little one….”

“I know,” sounding the same to your own ears, but probably vastly different to Jaebeom’s as his eyes widened slightly.

You gave him a casual salute before walking off in the direction of the soul you needed to collect. Glancing around, you tried to catch another glimpse of Dr. Choi. But he was nowhere to be seen. You let out a small sigh, disappointed before you headed towards the intensive care ward.

You phased through various walls until you found yourself in the right place. You could practically smell his soul becoming weaker and weaker. Your gaze following the thread that led from your Shroud, the thread this time at your left wrist, to his right hand, having wrapped around it along his life line.

There, in a hospital bed, laid an old man on a ventilator, his wife sitting next to him, her hand clutching his. His heartbeat grew slower, his eyes glassy. Slowly, you joined the two of them as you stood to the opposite side of the bed of his wife. He let out an exhale as his eyes focused in on you, finally seeing you. 

It was time.

Leaning forward, you pressed your lips to his forehead. He took his last breath, his eyes falling closed. The heart rate monitor flat lined; his wife began to sob. 

As you pulled away, you grasped his now lifeless hands, gently coaxing his soul from his body. Standing before you was not the withered, old man that laid in the bed. No, instead, it was a man in his prime, adorned in a perfectly maintained uniform and various medals on his chest.

You smiled at him. “On your feet, Captain. It’s time for your next mission.”

He looked around, dazed. He seemed solid enough. At least until he reached out to touch his wife, his hand going right through her. Staring at his hand, he asking you, shakily, “Am I dead?”

Gently, you replied, “Yes,” taking his hands in yours.

His eyes grew large. You squeezed his hands, trying to help him keep calm. “What… What about my wife?”

You glanced over to the woman, still weeping for the loss of her husband as a nurse entered the room. You were not her guide. You didn’t know when exactly when she’d die. But you could tell… she had a few years left in her.

“Do you have children? Grandchildren?”

He nodded. “Three daughters. Four grandbabies with two more on the way.”

You smiled at him. “She’ll be ok. As long as she has them, the rest of her life will be good. Even as she misses you. But you’ll be together soon. You just have to wait for her on the other side.”

He nodded again, slowly. He let go of your hands, turning back towards his wife. He leaned over and did the best he could, kissing her forehead. He whispered, “I love you, yeobo. I’ll wait for you.”

Turning back towards you, stood at attention, saluting you. In turn, you returned the gesture. “Shall we go, Captain?”

“Yes.”

You nodded. At your hip, you reached for your Sickle. Instead of the small, practical instrument that usually hung at your hip, it too had transformed to accompany your Shroud. At your hip was a ceremonial saber. How appropriate, you couldn’t help but think. 

Unsheathing it, you admired its elegance. A small part of you wished your Sickle could have been a sword or a saber. Perhaps then humans wouldn’t fear a monstrosity of a sickle, fearful of it taking their souls by force. Taking a deep breath (despite not really needing one) you swung it in front of you, it’s blade cutting through space and time, opening a hole to the Forest.

The portal expanded, the edges shimmering as you sheathed the saber once more. You held your hand out again for him. “Come.”

As he took your hand, almost hesitantly, you led him through.

The Forest. Or, at least, that’s what you called it. Like everything else, it was nameless. But it had to be called something. Some called it Eden. Shangri-La. Arcadia. Xanadu. Yomi. Purgatory.

So many different names… and yet none of them quite correct. Perhaps the closest was Axis Mundi— where Life and the Afterlife met.

Your charge looked around the Forest in wonder as you closed the portal. You were surrounded by giant trees — trees that were sturdy even before Hermes began his sacred duty. In their bark was inscribed with uncountable names, each one belonging to a single soul that’s passed over. Their large leaves overhead provided ample shade, creating the illusion that there was a blue sky and shining sun above you. But there was nothing. It was just an endless void up there.

But that didn’t matter.

Not with the thousands of flowers blooming at your feet and the countless tendrils of ivy and moss dancing across the multitude of trees. Between the trees, you’d sometimes catch glimpses of other psychpomps out of the corner of your eye, finding themselves in comfortable silence with their familiars — whether as beasts or as humans. Wind rustled the leaves above, creating a sweet, comforting melody as it engulfed you in the familiar, loving smell of the flowers that were in eternal bloom. But there was no chattering of squirrels or the jubilant song of a bird, just the sound of leaves rustling and the bubbling of the creek up ahead.

No.

This was no place for them. This was no place for the living — no matter their form.

Your charge turned back to you. “Is — Is this Heaven?”

Smiling, you shook your head. So, he was the hopeful type. “No. This is only the threshold between your Life and what comes after this. Come.”

He followed behind you as you led the way down a very well worn path, the grass and flowers long gone. Even the top soil had been eroded away, leaving an almost polished alabaster stone path exposed. You led him down the path towards a creek, a bridge, born from the over grown roots of many trees, running over it.

“What… What is this?”

“Like this Forest and me, it has no name. But, I suppose humans would think of it as something like the River Styx. It’s a threshold into the Afterlife.”

His voice was strained as he looked between you and the bridge. “What — What comes next?”

You sighed, gazing at him in sympathy. You hated this question. “I don’t know.”

His anger fueled gazed turned its wrath upon you as he cried, “What do you mean you don’t know?!”

“I’m a Spirit of Death. I am bound forever to this plane, this side of the threshold between Life and what comes next. I cannot ever know what is beyond this point. But, I can tell you that you will not cease to exist. There is something after this. I just don’t know what it is.”

He seemed to have calmed down a bit. “Can I wait for my wife?”

You shook your head. “If you wait here, your soul will become restless. You’ll forget who you are. You’ll wreak havoc not only here, but also in the human world. You’ll be condemned to wander for eternity until one of my kind must Reap your soul.”

He glanced at the saber at your hip, understanding your meaning. “And your wife will not have you with her.”

He swallowed, absorbing what you’re saying. “So… do I just crossover? And that’s it?”

You smiled at him, nodding. “Yes. I’ve heard that supposedly, someone will be on the other side of the creek to greet you.” 

He saluted you, one final time before he headed for the bridge. You stood there, watching him as he found his footing on the bridge. Your Shroud and Sickle slowly returned to their natural form, your body shifting as well back to its natural state. 

As he walked further and further away, he began to glow, his luminosity increasing, a light that almost rivaled the sun until… he disappeared. The thread of your Shroud connecting you to him snapped, the sound as sudden and as loud as thunder. It took you awhile, but you at least no longer jumped at the sound.

Walking forward, you reached your hand out towards the bridge. You stopped just short of it, your hand shaking as you slowly tried to cross over that threshold, muscle memory reminding you that this wasn’t a good idea. And just as it had the few dozen thousand times before, the barrier zapped you, forcing you to retract your hand. You hissed, holding onto your slightly burnt fingertip as you glared at the barrier that now shimmered and rippled.

“I see you still haven’t learnt your lesson.”

You jumped, turning to face Hermes. He stood before you, intimidating and beautiful as always, this form suiting him well… even if the sight of him set you on edge. 

Ebony skin glowed, a stark contrast to his billowy white cloak. His hood framed his lovely face as he looked down at you, almost making him appear angelic. And in a way, he was. At least in the sense that humans would think of him. It instead set you on edge when he changed his form to be… more ‘approachable.’ Like everything else here, he had no name — instead choosing to take on various mythical mantles: Hermes, Azrael, the Grim, Charon, Anubis, and so many others. You knew him as Hermes.

From his back emerged a pair of large, iridescent, black wings, the feathers fluttering with the wind. You couldn’t help but notice how a couple of the feathers were barely hanging on, signally that once they’d fall from his wings, new Spirits of Death would rise from them.

Bowing your head, you said, “No, Lord Hermes. But I want to answer their question. Almost all of them ask me the same thing over and over again.”

His deep voice rumbled, “And I wish I could give you that answer. But I cannot. I do not know what lies beyond the Veil. And we will never know.”

You nodded in understanding. The same answer… as always. He continued, “I heard that you do not want to accept my gift. Why is that?”

You cringed. You completely forgot about that. Silent, you hesitated to answer.

He sighed. “What are you afraid of? Is it answering the question of what comes next? Are you afraid of rejection? Are you afraid to Live?”

You shot him a glare. You hated this. Hated that he knew. Hated the fact that Hermes was connected to all of you, knowing your deepest, darkest secrets. All because he shed you as a Feather.

He smirked at you, crossing his arms across his chest. “Ah… I see. You’re afraid to Live.”

You hissed back, “I can’t live! I was never alive to begin with.”

“You are very much alive, my child. You just have to go and discover it.” He waved his hand, a gust of wind spiraled around you. Instinct took over, raising your arms to shield your face from the cyclone of wind and leaves. But still, you glared daggers at Hermes as he took away your choice once more.

Irony dripped from his lips as he muttered, “Happy Birthday.”

—~—~—~—

The sky was still dark in Seoul. The sun hasn’t risen yet. But you could see the sky taking on intense shades of blue and grey — the world quiet and still outside of the temple you found yourself in. 

With a groan, you stood up from the cold wooden floor, goosebumps rising on your skin uncontrollably. You shivered. At least when you weren’t masquerading as human temperature never bothered you. 

“Ahh. I thought her vision didn’t sound quite right. I’ll go get you a different set of clothes.”

Turning around, you came face to face with the caretaker of the temple, a young priest. Slightly bowed, his obsidian black hair barely hid the darting of his eyes, looking everywhere but you. He was dressed in a simple, traditional hanbok as he stood there, a pile of red clothes in his arms.

Ahh…. A seer must have mistaken you for some other kind of spirit. Some sort of Pyro or Asmod if the colors and style were anything to go by.

The priest continued to look everywhere but you. You tilted your head in curiosity before you remembered — oh, humans and their modesty. Glancing down at yourself, you noted breasts and the small patch of hair upon your mons pubis. Oh, good. At least this time you’re in your preferred form it seems.

Clearing your throat, you said, “Thank you, Priest — ?”

“Jinyoung. Park Jinyoung.”

You smiled at him, covering up yourself as much as possible, for his sake. You didn’t particularly care. “Thank you, Jinyoung-ie. And yes,” You glanced at the clothes he held tightly in his hands. “I would like a different set of clothes.”

He gave you a curt nod before scurrying off to get you something more appropriate.

You sighed.

24 hours. 24 hours of being human. The last time you were human… you were in Venice. Boy was that an interesting time with the Renaissance and all. Had… had it really been that long?

There was a knock on the door. This time it was a girl’s voice. “Grim? I’ve brought you your clothes. I’d also like to apologize for the mistake in my vision.”

Grim. Out of all the things humans called your kind… it wasn’t the kindest… nor the most horrendous.

“Come in.”

The door opened and a girl entered, her gaze was to the ground as she held a bundle of light grey clothing. She looked young, perhaps no older than 20. Certainly not of the age to know exactly what she was seeing in her visions. She had no control of what she’d see. She would probably just be finishing learning how to identify various demons and spirits from her visions if you had to take a guess.

She knelt before you, laying the clothes on the ground before bowing. “My name is Chaewon. I’d like to apologize, Grim. It was my mistake that my brother brought you the wrong type of clothes.”

You picked up the bundle of clothing, starting to dress yourself. “There’s no need to apologize. You’re the youngest seer I’ve seen in a very long time. I’m curious though, what did you see?”

Chaewon looked down, her face flushed and she turned red all the way to her ears. Oh?

Her voice shook. “I... I saw a man. He was naked. His face covered in shadows. And he made,” she paused, turning even redder before she continued, “a noise. A very… happy noise.”

“Oh.”

You felt your own face heat. 

You may have lived for well over a millennia, but you still had some sense of shame. Or at least hers made you hyperaware of your own. As you finished dressing, you replied, “In that case, I don’t blame you for thinking I was an Asmod. A vision like that… I don’t know if I would have chosen any differently.”

“But I should’ve —“

“How old are you?”

You knelt down in front of her, your simple cotton dress pooling slightly around you as you knelt to get down on Chaewon’s level. She finally looked you in the eye. A small thrill went through you — the Living never looked you in the eye. 

“Seventeen.”

Just as you thought. “You’re young. Younger than I would have expected. Despite your age, you interpreted what you saw well. If you saw sex, anyone would assume that it were an Asmod or some other daemon.”

She did not look reassured. You continued. “Do you what my kind typical do on our one day amongst the Living?”

She quickly shook her head. You smirked a little.

“We wander. The one day we’re allowed to interact with the Living, we tend to do what we did before: observe. Perhaps, we’d join in on festivities. Perhaps, we spend the day at a park, watching children play. Perhaps, we play with them. But sex? Sex is not something we are particularly interested in. You interpreted correctly.”

She didn’t say anything, but you knew she understood — that she didn’t make a real mistake. She interpreted what she saw correctly. But what she saw… concerned you. Why? Why you would you have… sex? It was such a… human activity. Your kind, especially those who had yet to live a Lifetime, didn’t understand it. It wasn’t like you could reproduce, so it never really made sense to you.

Your quiet moment was broken by Jinyoung clearing his throat. You looked up at him, he had changed into ordinary clothes. “Grim? Please let me know where’d you like me to take you. I’ll take you anywhere in the city.”

Standing up, you nodded. “Thank you, Priest. Lead the way.”

You made your way past Chaewon, following the young priest down the hall. He brought you to an entryway, several cubicles lined up with shoes. He indicated for you to take a pair. As you sat down to slip on a pair of black, flat ankle boots, he rejoined you. When did he disappear?

In his hand, he held a bag. “These are for you, Grim. Inside you’ll find money and other amenities you’ll need.”

You took the bag from him, looking at the contents. “I’m surprised you’re able to give me this much. Especially since I’ll only be here a day.”

He shook his head. “The Guardian Spirit of this temple makes sure that when you return to the Veil, the things we gave you find their way back here in due time. There is no need to worry.”

Smiling, you nodded. You stood up, ready to follow him. Nodding, he lead you out to a car. It wasn’t the fanciest car in the world, certainly not one of those sports cars you never bothered learning about. But it looked well taken care of. 

Jinyoung opened the passenger side door for you. You nodded to him in thanks as you slipped inside. After shutting your door, he quickly made his way to the driver’s side. 

After a brief explanation on how and why you should be wearing a seatbelt (How were you suppose to know that, at the very least, you could get him in trouble if you didn’t wear one?), he drove you out of the temple.

“Where would you like me to take you?”

Biting your lip, you hesitated to answer. Did you want to see him? Or did you want to avoid him completely. Before you could completely think it through, you found yourself replying, “Jung-gu. Near the hospital.”

He made a small noise of confirmation, taking you towards the district.

—~—~—~—

The drive was longer than you had expected. Who knew Seoul traffic was so congested?

Glancing out the window, you caught a glimpse of yourself for the first time, nearly jumping out of your skin. Normally, you had no reflection. The rare times you’d ever see your own reflection would be if you caught a glimpse of it mirroring you in the creek back in the Forest. Staring at yourself in the passenger side mirror, you couldn’t help but touch your face, brow knit together in concentration.

“So it’s true then.”

The sound of Jinyoung’s voice made you jump. Phoenix farts, why were you so jumpy lately? Turning to him, you noted the smirk on his lips and figured that behind those sunglasses his eyes were full of mirth.

“Is what true?”

“That you don’t see your reflections.”

You swallowed. “Rarely. Very rarely. Even when we do… they’re not quite as… solid as they when we’re occasionally human.”

He made a small noise of understanding, turning his full attention back on the road. Outside of the car, for a brief moment, between the shadows of buildings, you caught a glimpse of the hospital. It was an unusual feeling, but your heart thundered in your chest. You couldn’t tell if you were excited or scared. A part of you wanted to beg Jinyoung to take you somewhere else in the city. Anywhere. But another part of you, the stronger part, wanted to be there, to be near him.

All too soon, Jinyoung pulled into a parking space. You struggled for a moment, thinking that just tugging on the seatbelt would set you free before putting two and two together that there was a button. Heat flared up in your cheeks out of embarrassment — such an unusual feeling, not one that you’re sure you’ll ever get used to, you don’t think. Stepping out of the car, you politely bowed, ready to walk away from Jinyoung. 

It’s a shame really… even as a human you would have been able to see the thread wrapped around his hand, following the pattern of his life line if he was a soul you were to collect. You would have liked to speak to him once again.

“Saja-nim!”

You paused. There was one you hadn’t heard in a while. A rather polite one at that. “Yes, Priest?”

His gaze was almost painful as he looked you in the eye. It was unnerving really — having someone looking directly at you like this. With utter certainty, as if he just knew, he cryptically said, “I look forward to speaking with you again.”

Before you could inquire further as to exactly what he meant, he reached across the passenger and pulled the car door shut and practically shot out of the parking space like a bat out of hell. What a weird priest.

Stepping away from the street, you took in your surroundings. The sun was out, filtering through the buildings of Seoul, this part of the city still relatively quiet though, still just early enough for most people to have not quite left home for work. It was peaceful. It was Life. And you could close your eyes, take a deep breath, and take it all in — truly take it in.

A piercing cry of “COCO-YAH!!!” broke your peace and quiet.

Turning towards the voice, you lost your footing as small white ball of fuzz on four legs bolted towards you, or rather, attempting to bolt past you. Attempting was the operative word. As you teetered backwards, sort of regaining your footing, the almost panicked ringing of a bicycle bell was the only warning you got before making eye contact with a startled bicyclist.

If you weren’t fighting instinct, perhaps you would have moved. But time and time against, you never had to worry about moving — danger would just move right through you.

But not now.

No, your brain had shut down in shock. Of course you would get hurt the one day you were human.

Before the cyclist could collide with you, you were harshly pulled out of his way. Instead of someone colliding into you… you were the one doing the colliding.

Foot catching on uneven cobblestone, your center of mass shifted, your body landing against a very warm, soft, yet very solid body, nearly taking him to the ground.

A sweet voice, one that sent shivers down you spine — one that you almost dreadfully recognized — asked, “Are you ok?”

Hesitantly, you looked up, holding your breath, trying to imprint this memory of his warm hold on you forever into your skin. When yours eyes met… you finally understood what Jaebeom was talking about.

You were absolutely and utterly fucked.

It was the moon-like face you’d seen from a distance more times than you could count. Except unlike the moon, he was close enough to worship with your lips if you tried. From afar you had always thought he was handsome, but up close, he was deadly — the combination of soft and sharp features were too tempting and dangerous.

Your eyes flicked for a moment to his lips, his breath faltering for a moment across your face before you dared to finally look him in the eye.

Definitely fucked. Hopeless fucked, really.

His eyes were gentle, in spite of their sharp, intense shape. So curious. So full of concern. And there was something else. You had seen it before, though you couldn’t place it where. All you knew was that you could get lost in those eyes… and happily so.

The spell was broken as his large wire-framed round glasses slowly slipped down the bridge of his nose. You pulled away from his hold, regaining your footing as you cleared your throat, hoping to buy another moment to clear your mind. Get a hold of yourself, you said you wouldn’t get involved with him. But, oh, the thought was so very tempting.

Your voice cracked. “Ye — Yes. Thank you for catching me.”

He nodded, wiping his hands on his pants, almost unsure of himself. At your feet, a couple of small barks got your attention. The little white dog from earlier was at your feet, barking, her little tail wagging as she gazed up at Dr. Choi.

Dr. Choi exclaimed, “COCO-YAH!!!!!” as he picked up the little, almost contrary, cotton ball.

Lifting her up to eye level, he asked, “Yah! What was that for? I lose my grip on your leash for a moment to grab the mail and you just bolt? No! Don’t you try that sweet act on me, you spoilt, little princess.”

He sighed in defeat as she wagged her tail, tongue flicking out to lick his nose, his face scrunching up cutely in response. You couldn’t help but laugh as he brought her in close, coddling her even as he continued to look exasperatedly annoyed.

He turned his gaze back on you, his eyes soft as he took a moment to wet his lips. He held his hand out to you. “I’m Choi Youngjae. And this little, fluffy, white hell spawn is Coco.”

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—

This was the last thing you needed. You swallowed, a poor attempt at controlling your breathing. You placed your hand in his. 

“It’s nice to meet you.”

There was a pause for a moment before Youngjae — no — Dr. Choi (he had to stay as Dr. Choi), smiled gently at you. Bending at the hips, he lowered himself just enough so he could tilt his gaze up to look up at you, a small smile on his lips as he cutely asked, “And what is your name?”

The usual spike of anxiety that would come with this question never came. Instead, automatically, almost as if you had answer this questions hundreds of time like a human, you gave him a name. 

Not Morana. Nor Saja. But an actual name. It was… your name. 

He repeated it quietly to himself. It struck you like lightning. This must be the feeling Jaebeom told you about so many times but never understood.

For a moment it was silent between the two of you. You wanted this feeling to last, whatever it was. You had never known such an inner warmth. What you wouldn’t give to have him whisper your name once more.

Of course, Coco had to ruin the moment, having had enough. She started wriggling around in his hold, desperately wanting to be free to reek havoc like she had before. Dr. Choi sighed, bending down further to place her back on the ground. A firm hold on the leash this time.

As he straightened up, he looked at you shyly from behind his glasses. “So, umm, where are you from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before?”

You swallowed. Never in a million years would you have thought you’d have to answer such a simple question.

You blurted out, “Visting! Umm, just for the day.”

“Well, umm, I guess I should let you get back to it then. I’m sure you must have plans.”

He went to turn, his shoulders slumping. “No!”

Dr. Choi turned back to you, eyes wide and eyebrow raised at your outburst. More calming you repeated, “No. Umm, actually, I don’t have plans. Despite wanting to come here for a while now….” You laughed out your response, “I have no idea what I’m going to do now that I’m here.”

A moment of clarity graced his features before the brightest smile you had ever seen revealed itself.

“In that case, how would you like a local to show you around?”

A smile found its way onto your lips. “I’d like that very much.”

He offered you his hand. You hesitated, glancing between the soft and dexterous hand and his hopeful face. “I know a great dog friendly cafe near by if you’d like to join me.”

You found yourself squeaking out a reply, barely above a whisper, “I’d love to.”

You placed your hand in his and for a moment, you swore sparks flew. His palm was warm, a stark contrast to your own chilly one. Dr. Choi gave a small laugh. You glanced up to him, brows knit. He licked his lips almost nervously before he shyly replied, “It’s just something my mother used to tell me: the kindest, most caring people are so worried about everyone else that they don’t even notice when their hands are cold.”

For some reason… him just saying that… it created a pressure in your chest, an almost overwhelming feeling, as if you were a pitcher ready to overflow with emotion. It was… it was gentlest thing anyone had ever said to you.

You felt the tears threatening to overflow, but you kept them hidden. After all, why would anyone cry at that? 

All you could do was purse your lips as you look down at the ground, half-heartedly nodding your head, hoping that it was enough to hide the emotion threaten to escape. If Dr. Choi noticed, he didn’t say anything. He simply made a hum of acknowledgement, squeezing your hand before gently tugging you to an unspecified direction. 

Little Coco couldn’t seem to make up her mind on whether or not she wanted to be carried or to lead the charge. Either way, Youngj — Dr. Choi — seemed to give in to her each time, never letting go of your hand no matter what. Coco was in his arms when she realized where we were and she started swimming frantically in the air, barking excitedly.

You couldn’t help but giggle as Dr. Choi sighed in defeat, setting the little hellion on the ground as she tried to mush her way through the people trying to go about their lives as she focused in on one target: MeongMeong Cafe.

The little cafe was on the ground floor, almost tucked away between the buildings, the light pastels and sepia tones a strong contrast to the grey buildings around it. The sun rise hadn’t quite yet turned this part of the city golden, the tones still a cool blue, just waiting to be woken by the spell of the sun. But that little cafe, with its little picket fence surrounding a small area of grass and it’s sepia shingles waiting for the sun to bring them to life, was already bustling to life inside. The cafe owner you presumed, was running about inside, setting up tables for the day and placing bread in the display cases. 

As you approached the cafe, through the window, you saw the cafe owner look up, a look of surprise graced his features before a gummy smile took over as he opened the front door to the three of you. “Youngjae-yah!! Coco-ssi!! Welcome back!”

Dr. Choi returned the warm greeting, letting go of hand for a moment to wave at him, leaving your hand almost unbearably cold. “Hello, Mark-hyung! How’s it’s going?”

Coco’s barks suddenly came more rapidly as she pulled Dr. Choi after her even harder as a small (but most definitely larger than Coco), white poodle looked around the corner of the door. The shop owner, Mark, muttered something as he looked down at the dog at his feet, prompting the dog to sit down at him feet, its little paws tapping in excitement as it sat there.

Mark shook his head with an exasperated sigh, smiling slightly as Coco continued to lead the charge towards the cafe. “You know how it is, Youngjae-yah. But that’s besides the point.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “Who is this lovely lady?”

Your face flushed with heat and you couldn’t help but look down at your shoes. Youngjae — no, Dr. Choi — gently entangled his fingers within your own, giving your hand a very gentle squeeze in assurance. He introduced you to Mark. “She’s from out of town and I’m giving her the local’s tour of the city.”

Mark’s eyes crinkled in the corner as he shot you a smile. “Then welcome to MeongMeong Cafe.”

You muttered your thanks as Dr. Choi led you inside to a table in the corner.

Sitting down, you noted that the cafe was the same on the inside as it was on the outside with pastel and sepia colors furniture all over the place. Nothing was a matching set it seemed, almost like repurposed yard sale items, but all dog friendly. In the corner of the shop was a blackboard, the menu items scrawled across it in different colors with their prices trailing after it.

Mark wiped his hands on his apron before pulling out a notepad from his apron pocket, the poodle (while Dr. Choi affectionately greeted as ‘Mimi’) following him, seemingly waiting for a command. He shot Dr. Choi an almost pointed look. “The usual for you and the cottonball, I take it?”

Dr. Choi glanced sheepishly at you before turning his gaze back to Mark. “Yeah.”

Mark hummed his understanding and jotted it down then turned to you. “And for the lovely lady?”

Your insides clenched in anxiety? What did you want? You looked past the two of them at the chalkboard covered in what felt like hundreds of choices. Did you want something sweet? Savory? Salty? Sour? Did you like bitter? 500 years was a long time between meals.

Dr. Choi placed his hand over yours, grabbing your attention. “If you’re up for it, I suggest the mocha latte and the croissant of the day.”

Mark piped in, “Which is Eggs Benedict, by the way.”

You swallowed looking between the two of them. “Um, then I will go with that then.”

“Alright then. Come on, Milo.”

Mark smiled as he jotted down your orders on his little notepad before making his way back towards what you supposed was the kitchen, Milo hot on his heels. You turned your attention back to Dr. Choi and you found yourself shrinking in on yourself, blushing under the intensity of his gaze.

Is this what it was like to be human? Is this what Jaebeom felt like? To feel constantly overwhelmed?

“Since you mentioned that this was the first time in Seoul for you, where do you live?”

For a moment your reply caught in your throat. Nowhere, just a forest between life and death.

“Busan! Yes, it took quite a while to get here.”

Dr. Choi smiled. “Ahhh. An overnight train ride then. I love Busan: the architecture, the food!”

You couldn’t help but giggle at that. He leaned back in his chair as he hummed. “And the people, so it seems.”

You knew that wasn’t true, but nonetheless, heat rose to your cheeks like an inferno. Youngjae — no, stop it — Dr. Choi asked, “Tell me about what you do for a living?”

Yeah… ‘living.’ Laughable.

Chewing on your bottom lip for a moment, you thought on how to answer it. “I’m in the family business.”

Dr. Choi sat forward, interest piqued as Mark returned with two coffees on adorable little plates, decorated with watercolor paw prints. “What does your family do?”

Before you could think better on it, you spat out, “Funerary services: cremations, burials, wakes, and the likes.”

Mark… poor Mark paused, his expression unreadable before he quietly excused himself. Dr. Choi on the other hand surprised you; he laughed. You stared at him, jaw slack and brow knit.

“I’m sorry…. I shouldn’t have laughed. I found it ironic. You give souls their final farewells while I welcome them into the world.”

Again, your heart gave a stuttering tap as a tsunami of emotion washed over you. How could he know the words you needed to hear? Or at least the ones that made you feel real at the very least. You took a sip of your coffee to try to distract yourself from the squall of emotion in your chest, only to hiss as you burn your tongue.

Dr. Choi is immediately at your side. “You ok?”

You touched the back of your hand to your mouth, looking away. “Yes, I was just being stupid.”

He laughed again and you couldn’t help but shoot him a pointed look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. Just that, some times watching you do things is like watching a child discovering something new for the first time.” He smiled down at you sweetly. “I think it’s endearingly adorable.”

Your throat felt try and your face hot and your chest felt heavy. Adorable? You? You looked away from him, trying to appear as if his words didn’t do anything to you. As if your attention was taken up by something else on the far side of the shop. 

But out of the corner of your eye, as he raised his own cup of coffee to his lips, there was a twinkle of mischief and mirth in his eye. Taking a chance, you lifted your own cup to your lips, blowing on it before taking a tentative sip. Immediately you hummed in appreciation. It was delicious.

Mark came back over with another set of adorable plates, one was your croissant (looking absolutely delicious covered in Hollandaise sauce) and Dr. Choi’s waffle. From the pocket of his apron he produced some sort of gourmet dog chew setting it down on the ground for Coco to try to conquer. You thanked Mark, who gave you a gracious but overly exaggerated bow before he excused himself.

You turned back to Dr. Choi as you mentally went over a game plan on how to tackle your delicious looking (and smelling) food. “You said you welcome souls into the world. What do you mean by that?”

You knew what he did. Did it count as stalking if you’re not alive and they’re just a form of entertainment between reapings? But you had the forethought to be mindful of that. You didn’t want this illusion to burst by muttering something suspicious.

He hid a small laugh as he took a bite of his waffle. “You promise not to laugh?”

You mimicked the way he cut into his waffle, the same way with your croissant, albeit it didn’t go as smoothly as his. “Promise.”

He took a moment to chew, almost thoughtfully before he said, “I’m, uh, well… I’m an OB/GYN. I deliver babies.”

You smiled at him as he tried to hide his blush behind shoveling food into his mouth. Barely above a whisper, you replied, “I think it suits you perfectly.”

He shot you a brilliant smile, looking away from you as his cheeks began to glow a nice shade of pink.  As you sat there in the golden hours of the morning, you admired his features, realization dawned on you.

You were hopelessly in love with Youngjae.

Want more like this? Check out the following:

STAR-CROSSED, a science fiction series with Jackson Wang of GOT7

As always, reviews, comments, asks, and tags are always loved! ~Peony

Also, please note that I do NOT do tagging lists. Please see my FAQ for why.

GOT7 Masterlist

Masterlist

All rights reserved. © Copyrighted 2021.

[mydayy]

My Starry Sky | Part 11 |

Paring: Lee Seunghwa x Reader x Hong Dabin

feat. Christian Yu

Summary: They say time apart makes the heart grow fonder but is that really the case after years of miscommunication and silence. You encounter one another again in a unexpected way and many different situations arise.

< Previous | Next >

She breathed out a sigh, as she recalled the many fleeting memories that circleded within her heart, and mind. With the sudden curve of her lips a smile gently filled her delicate features. Her gaze focused out towards the vast sky as the clouds moved. As the breeze flew, her hair ruffled around her cheeks, gently caressed her breath taking features. As she looked upon the small figure that ran forward, her eyes held a emotion that could be only described as tenderness and warmth.

The child ran toward the two figures, he grasped a hold of both their hands. And trailed them forward as directed. The small child let out a soft giggle towards the two, as he received a smile in return. Seeing such gentleness and care with each interaction, a comforting warmth filled the air.

With a hearty smile the young child approached them and pointed in the direction of a tall tree branch. As they look out upward, they saw branches and feathers of all different varieties of colors and sizes.

The smaller one held a excited expression on his features as he held his gaze forward. He takes both their hands in his and voices out his no longer pending thoughts.

‘Look, birdies.’

Said the younger one.

‘Ah your right.’

Said the older one.

With a slight curve of her pouting lips she takes a long breath and releases a smile.

“Ah your amazing you found a bird’s nest, Haneul.”

They all broke in laughter as they continued to admire the nest filled with the russling birds.

She embrace the uncertainty.

With all her heart.

Because some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives, won’t have a title until much later.

And this was one of them.

Falling down from their branches, the leaves left a yellow and orange coated over the earth. The crisp sound of the leaves blown by the wind, where a sweet melody. The young child started out at a fairly low pace, then as continued he left and ended up pacing at a faster speed down the stone pathway.

Suddenly a bold of impact caused the smaller figure to fall. The small figure stayed there for a few seconds before he suddenly raised to his feet again.

With a slight curve of his mouth the small child began running back towards the voice that had called out his name.

As he stood up to walk he couldn’t get her voice out of his head. Her features roamed wherever he saw. He felt like her gaze lingered on him, and he felt his heart catch itself in the back of his throat. He takes a step forward, but it seems like he’s back at where he started.

He sees, the most beautiful smile that shined so brightly it blinded him. He saw her embrace a smaller figure and cup his face in her palms as if a mother would. He saw a larger build figure accompany her and lean up to hold her in a gentle embrace. He felt his heart drop, she looked like her, she was so beautiful and happy. She was the most precious thing that happened to him, and he let her go. If only he could have stayed and maybe he’ll come back to her like that. And be filled with the warmth of her embrace and the light of her breath talking smile. He dreamed of her beauty and the gentle warmth that filled her eyes everytime he looked into her eyes.

She was his dreams, his past and his present. And he had to learn; If you really love that person, learn to wait. Maybe you are not meant be together today, maybe not tomorrow, but if it was meant to be; waiting a lifetime didn’t matter. Because if they were meant to be together, they would cross paths even as star crossed lovers one day. He dreamed he would see her, even if just for the briefed moment, he had hoped to see her. To love her once more and if she’ll let him, vowed to never let her go. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, like he once did many years ago. He had that hope for the future, he dreamt that they could be together someday. Somehow. But he knew all to well she wouldn’t return. She was like a star, shining bright in the dark night sky; seen, but never reached. So he could only hope.

-

His eyes resembled the sky, both stained with a vast openness as his mind drew a blank. He was consumed with unexplainable emotions and thoughts. All he could do was linger in the suspense of the unknown. His eyebrows shifted upward as his face resembled that of a clouded sky.

‘So what’s wrong?’

Asked the older male.

“Nothing. I’m okay.”

He replied to his friend.

‘Are you sure.’

“Yeah.”

He didn’t know if they’ll return later. Or if it’ll be the end of just another chapter once again.

But all he could do was wait.

Masterlist

[juliea-moon]

Heaven

Characters: Yandere guardian-angel!Joshua x OC (Haneul)

Type: One-Shot, Angst (?)

Word Count: 1435

A/N: My first Seventeen one-shot on this blog. I hope you guys like it!

(The mood board is done by me, but credits of the individual pictures belong to the owner.)

“Now we can be together, now you are truly my human. And I will make sure that no one will ever be able to take you away from me! Not life, not fate and certainly not death.”

Everyone was told of having a guardian angel, someone who was watching over them to make sure they were and would be alright. Someone who would try their best to protect everyone from harm's way and let them live a peaceful life. 
Everyone who ever mentioned guardian angels would also say how one wouldn’t be able to see them and or interact with them, not after growing up from being a toddler. They were invisible for the adults, only babies having the ability to see them.

Haneul was different. She started to see her guardian angel, like anyone else since she was a baby. He would watch over her with a gentle smile, his eyes screaming adoration. And he wasn’t even that much older. Guardian Angels were actually growing up together with the human they were guarding and protecting. 

When Joshua was introduced to Haneul, he was only a child himself. His body still not grown fully yet, his wings smaller than that of an adult angel. But that didn’t mean that she was in danger because he was still young, not at all. Joshua was one of the most protective angels, having developed a deep affection for her quite fast, even with his young age.

Babies are cared for more protectively by their parents which is why in the early stages a guardian angel was like a playmate for the baby, someone that interacts with them and make them smile.

However, Haneul was not supposed to still see him when she grew to walk on her own, when she started to form real words and started to figure out the names of things in her surrounding. 

She wasn’t supposed to introduce her ‘friend’ Joshua to her parents who they couldn’t see and figured was only her imaginary friend she made up with her young mind.

She wasn’t supposed to see him when she started to draw more precisely and more details of his wings and his smile and the way he would always look at her with utter love. She simply wasn’t supposed to see him at all anymore. 

But with the years Haneul grew from 12 to 16 to 18 and then to 22, she was too invested in Joshua, him being too invested in her life as well.

She already figured out what he was and that she was the only one who was able to see him, but that certainly didn’t stop her from interacting with him. It wasn’t hard, she could even talk to him in public while putting on earphones to make it seem like she were on the phone, calling someone.

Joshua himself was thrown off as a young child when Haneul could still see him. He was told that she would forget and lose the ability to play with him and it broke his heart. He wished so desperately for her to never forget him to always be able to see him and not shut him out unintentionally. And when Haneul grew up and still saw him, he was more than happy and grateful. He was ecstatic. There was simply no reason to question what was a gift for him.

And while he was happy for most of her life, there was a part of him that was growing dark. Seeing her interact with real humans, with people who were able to touch her, he saw red. 

Why were they allowed to touch her, able to feel her warmth and soft skin? Why was he not allowed and able to do so as well. In the end, he was the one who looked after her. Who protected her and cared for her more than anyone else ever would.

So whenever someone tried to approach Haneul, he made sure they left. When she wanted to go out, he convinced her to stay in, to not meet up with anyone, to pay only attention to him. Haneul started to feel suffocated by his actions that were confining her into her room. She wanted to go out and get fresh air, but Joshua would not allow it. Not anymore.

Locking the door of her own apartment, he made sure she couldn’t leave, wouldn’t leave.

“Where do you think you are going?” He raised his eyebrows, his expression grim.

Trying to open the door, Haneul frowned confused. “Joshua, open the door. I want to take fresh air!”

“I’ll open a window for you, there is no need to go out for something like that sweetheart,” he mumbled calmly. The once endearing pet name just made her feel unsettling, her tummy quenching weirdly. Haneul felt on edge like something wasn’t right. But he was her loving and dedicated Joshua, her guardian angel she shouldn’t be scared of at all.

“Why are you not letting me leave? Joshua, what is going on?” Haneul whispered, her breathing quickening as she felt his aura. It was different, more heavy, more…dark.

Smiling gently, he shook his head. “Nothing at all, why should there be something wrong?” He asked back, making his way to her figure in front of the door.

Trying to get as much space between him and her as possible, Haneul back collided with the door. But that didn’t stop Joshua from stepping closer to her figure as his body pressed against hers. The smile he was giving her now, the one that would always tell her that everything is and will be alright was making her feel scared. Her breath quickened as a consequence.

“Why are you doing this?” Haneul’s voice broke in the end, her eyes forming tears.

Wiping the first leaking tear from her cheek with care, Joshua’s smiling face turned sad at her shocked one. Pulling her into his arm, finally, he pulled her off the door and engulfed her completely, nuzzling his face into her neck to take in the scent that was so unmistakably her. 

“Because you could get hurt because the world out there is dangerous. The people are scum and they wouldn’t bat an eyelash to hurt you. I am only protecting you, caring for you. Because I love you, Haneul. So much.” His breath ghosted on her your skin, making her shudder as she silently trembled in his arms, too occupied by his touch, the heat of his body, the small caress of his lips on her neck as his hands trailed small circles and patterns on the back of her torso where his hands sneaked into her shirt, trying to coax her to relax her muscles and give in to him. Give into the strong feeling of want he was igniting with his touch in her, just as much as the caress was arousing him.

“What did you do Joshua?” Haneul asked as she tried to get out of the spiralling feelings, the effect his touch had on her, breathing hastily like she wasn't getting enough oxygen into her lungs as she saw the dark gaze of his eyes. She felt overwhelmed. By the situation, his change and especially his touch and proximity. “How are you touching me? You couldn’t before, how?”

“Calm down, love,” he chuckled, his voice suddenly deep and husky as he leaned his forehead on hers. “Why would I want to stay a guardian angel if I can’t do what I was always craving? Why should I be something that was hindering me from being with you, caressing you, having you in my arms and seeing the reaction my simple and small touch has on you? It was an easy decision to make, even though the initial change hurt. But I would do everything for you, even if that meant taking my own life.” He chuckled lightly as if he wasn’t talking about anything serious.  

As if nothing but her mattered.

And then she saw it, his wings. 

The once clear white beautiful wings were now nothing but the darkest shade of black she had ever seen. And even though she absolutely adored the white feathers, the black wings were mesmerising, breathtaking as it oozed with a kind of power that was astonishing and new to her.

“Being a dark angel is so much easier, baby,” Joshua whispered into her ear, his lips slightly trailing down her jaw towards her neck and then to her shoulder where he left one single wet kiss. “Now I can touch you, be with you, hold you, have you. Now we can be together, now you are truly mine. And I will make sure that no one will ever be able to take you away from me! Not life, not fate and certainly not death.”

And before Haneul could complain, try to fight her way out of his embrace, his wings encased them both and in the next second, they were gone.

[blkpnkwriting]

little sky

Jennie x Reader

fluff

Word count: 1,311

     He was the sun in your sky you never thought you’d have.

requested by anonymous: “Hello!! Can you do a scenario with jennie and her wife coming home with their baby(adopted or one of them giving birth whichever you're more comfortable with) for the first time and just being so happy to start a family together and, thank you!”

    You couldn’t remember ever being this happy.

    Of course, there was the day you first met Jennie. How you fell in love at first sight with her long dark hair, that flirtatious smile, those doll eyes. No matter how cheesy it seemed, you knew it right away, and you just had to have her. Flash forward three weeks of awkward interaction whenever you both happened to be at the coffee shop, and you finally asked her out.

    Who knew two years later you would be marrying her.

    There were those instances. They were like Polaroids in your mind, memories you could visit again, and quite often did. They were amazing monuments in your life, a life you never thought would turn out as blessed and wonderful as it was now.

    You couldn’t remember ever being this happy.

    But you could remember the pain.

    The pain of sitting beside Jennie, hand clutched in yours so hard that you felt her fingernails piercing the back of your hand. That didn’t matter. The agony of her hold was nothing in comparison to the way your heart broke. Tears streaked her cheeks, sobs riddling her chest. She couldn’t breathe, and neither could you. The news shocked the both of you, and it ripped right through your wife. You were completely powerless, useless. There was nothing you could say or do. There was nothing anyone could do.

    The news that Jennie would never be able to conceive a child was the worst day of your life.

    The person you brought home was a shell of a woman with hopes and dreams of starting a family. Of raising beautiful, talented children. Of opposing all the odds society placed on you as a same-sex married couple. You didn’t need to ask to know that in more ways than one did she feel disappointed. Hollowed out. Something had been taken from her long ago, without her knowing, and she had lived all this time for a day that she could bring to life a part of her. Only to realize there was nothing.

    Months passed, and Jennie eventually recovered. It felt as though you were both mourning a baby that had never come to pass. The day she smiled at you again, over breakfast you had fashioned, you thought that just maybe there was hope. Hope for something. A chance. Whatever it might be, it was there, you could see it in her smile. You kissed the breath from her.

    And you vowed that she would be given a chance at a family like she always wanted.

    You stole Jennie’s hand one day, a day that you both had free to spend. You remained as mysterious as you could, despite the incessant questioning of your wife. This was one surprise you wouldn’t give up easily. She sat beside you in the car as you drove, completely unsuspecting. Even when you arrived at the establishment, a clean and grand home, she had no idea.

    It wasn’t until you were inside the halls that Jennie gripped your hand again. Almost as tight as that day... but not quite. You met with a kind, elderly woman. You spoke of options, of applying, of giving Jennie, your perfect wife, a family. When you left, Jennie was crying again. But the tears rolled down cheeks to a giddy smile, and she hugged you until you thought your ribs would snap.

    So maybe you could remember being this happy.

    Mail arrived one afternoon, and Jennie sprinted into the living room. She came barreling towards you, jumping into your lap in a cute little ball, and together, you opened the letter, or more like tore it open.

    Approved.

    It took a couple seconds, a couple minutes maybe, for the both of you to process this. But when you did, you were screaming and crying and jumping and kissing and just happy. Again. You were happy. Even more importantly, Jennie was happy.

    Haneul was the perfect addition to your little unit. And the name Jennie picked couldn’t have been more fitting. Sky, she told you it meant. It made you think of bliss and free spirited. Haneul certainly deserved his name. His smile made Jennie’s whole world. His little baby fingers curling around your thumb made you want to faint with joy. The way he was utterly content being cuddled between the two of you sealed together all the broken pieces left behind before him. Now, there was only him.

    At night, when Haneul would frequently wake up and cry for attention, you were the one out of bed. Jennie had long and hard days, and the least you could do was put the baby back to bed so that she could get that extra hour of sleep. It wasn’t too bad a gig anyway, since the moment you would enter the room, glowing with his tiny night light, he would start giggling. You would pick him up in your arms and kiss his chubby cheeks, wondering how you could ever be so gifted.

    You also wondered how someone could have given him up. The adoption house you had visited told the two of you that he was surrendered on account of being unable to care for him. It was a young couple, too young, and there was no way Haneul would have had a fulfilling life with them. They tried to do what would be best for him. You could understand that. But when you looked down into his eyes, saw them shining for you, it was always completely undermined. How anyone could have given him up was beyond you, but you counted your lucky stars that you and Jennie were the ones to give him a home. A family.

    You came home one day to find Jennie asleep on the couch. A loving smile spread across your lips then as you saw curled up on her chest, Haneul, wrapped up in his mother’s arms so that even in her sleep, she prevented him from falling. You wanted nothing more than to join them, but the fear of waking them up from this moment kept you from doing so. Instead, you snapped a Polaroid, capturing the beautiful splay of chocolate hair across the pillow, and a tiny fist right over her heart. When it was developed, you clipped it onto the mobile you had installed in Haneul’s bedroom. It was a keepsake Jennie and you planned to add to through the years, and you were told to hang only the most important memories. Let’s face it, if it were up to you, the thing would be crammed full already. But this just had to go up there.

    The day Haneul learned to walk was the day you truly felt like a mother. While work remained important in your life, you tried your hardest to balance it with raising your son. As it were, you sat at the couch, scrolling through documents on your laptop with one hand, while Haneul stood wobbly at your side. He had gotten the knack of standing already, a great milestone by the fact that Jennie cried and said it was happening too fast, and you held your other hand pressed to his back to keep him from tipping over. Jennie entered the room, lighting up as she always did at the sight of her child, but before she could even motion for him, the little guy was taking a step. A pause. You whipped your head away from the computer screen. Another step. Your fingers remained on his little shoulder, but then he took another step, breaking contact. He was walking. Mostly. A couple more feet, and then he was plopping down on his bum and clapping.

    Jennie cried again. But as long as it was out of happiness, you were okay with it.

    You couldn’t remember ever being this happy.

[vixxscifiwritings]

The Fan Sign

AU - Fanboys!AU Genre - Fluff/Comedy Warnings - None Word Count - 1619

Summary - In which Hakyeon decides to drag along Taekwoon to a fan meeting and his bias definitely notices him.

Find all parts here

"What am I even doing here?" Taekwoon asked as Hakyeon clicked away with his DSLR camera to check the angles and lighting.

"You are being a supportive friend" Hakyeon told him.

"I don't see why I need to attend the fan meet. You're the fansite master. You go scream yourself hoarse over 6Keys" he grumbled.

"You do realize that I have a photo of you from three years ago when they held their first fan meet and only thirty people turned up so you got to stand next to Minah right?" Hakyeon asked with an angelic smile. "So stop lying. I know you wanted to be here."

"Fine. I was the one who introduced you to 6Keys but whatever" Taekwoon grumbled.

"They’re here!" Hakyeon said excitedly as a black van pulled up to the parking lot.

The fans began to scream as Minah stepped out. The intensity had surprised her and she stumbled backwards a little, bumping into Haneul. Taekwoon smiled to himself at her cute behavior. Hakyeon giggled too because the vocalist x rapper otp was famous.

"It's just the two of them?" Taekwoon asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Bora and Haru are in another fansign while Ara and Miya are filming a drama" Hakyeon explained.

"How are you here and not in Bora's fan meeting?" Taekwoon teased.

"I have no idea what you are saying" Hakyeon replied with a blush. For a long time, Haneul had been Hakyeon’s bias with him being noticed by her as a regular attendee as well. But of late, Taekwoon had noticed signs of bias wrecking. Of course Hakyeon would never admit it. Taekwoon grinned smugly because his bias was Minah and he had stayed loyal.

"Do you think we will get picked for the sign event?" Hakyeon asked him. Taekwoon shrugged. The girls were on stage and ready to start.

"Hello everyone, I am 6Keys leader and rapper Haneul!" Haneul started, bowing as the crowd cheered. Taekwoon smirked at how smitten Hakyeon looked.

"Hello everyone, I am 6Keys main vocal Minah!" Minah said, waving to the fans. She did a small bow as well before Haneul pulled her into making a heart. It looked cuter today to Taekwoon who hadn't taken his eyes off Minah.

"Don't die by her charms Taekwoon!" Hakyeon said dramatically.

"Pfft. That's you not me" Taekwoon protested while there was mental screaming going on in his head.

Hakyeon got busy as the girls continued the introduction. Haneul got Minah to rap her parts from their new song and the organizers made them play a game of dumb charades. While Minah managed to guess everything Haneul acted out, Haneul failed to guess two out of six and got a bop from the toy hammer as punishment. She went down dramatically, entertaining the crowd.

"Cha Hakyeon and Jung Taekwoon?" someone called out.

"That's us" Taekwoon said, pulling Hakyeon along.

"Ah Hakyeon! Long time no see. I thought it was you!" the person who had called out to them said.

"Nice to see you too! Taekwoon, this is Song Hwanhee. She organizes the fan meets" Hakyeon said introducing him. Taekwoon bowed in greeting, not surprised that the organizers had recognized Hakyeon too.

"The good news is that you both were chosen for the sign. I need to verify your ids and take you to the line" Hwanhee told them. Hakyeon mini cheered before holding out his driver’s license. Taekwoon used his college id since he hadn't passed his driving test yet. Hwanhee gave them directions, signaling the guards to let them through.

"I'm so excited" Hakyeon said, pulling out two albums from his bag. Taekwoon nodded in agreement as he took a copy.

"Whoa. They look prettier up close. The pastel shades really suit them" Hakyeon thought out loud. The fan in front of him agreed vocally so the two of them got talking while the stage was being set up.

Taekwoon zoned out, choosing to look at Minah who was waving to a baby in the front line. He couldn't help but smile at the interaction. He had always believed that Minah was the best with children. Of course Haneul was the more strict mother type but Minah was the fun mother. The type who would teach her children good behavior along with spoiling them. Why didn't 6Keys have it's own Hello Baby season yet?

And that wasn't the only thing Minah was good at. She was silent but wise and good at problem solving. Her interaction with the maknae Miya were always the funniest. She was a supportive friend and member to the rest. And did he even need to talk about the singing? Her high notes were the highlights of any 6Keys song. The agency should really give her a solo album contract, he added with a frown at the pavement.

He looked up at the stage again only to see Minah and Haneul looking in his direction. He immediately averted his eyes, missing the look Haneul had given and the way Minah had blushed. They took their places at the table which had markers set up along with flower crowns that the girls immediately put on their head, posing for pictures.

"Gaaaah. I wish I was on the front line. I could have taken those photos" Hakyeon lamented.

"You can ask them for a picture in person in ten minutes" Taekwoon pointed out. They were twelfth or so in line and they would be on stage very soon. Taekwoon could feel his ears grow warm. Why was this suddenly so embarrassing?

"Ah, it's Haneul first and then Minah" Hakyeon pointed out. Haneul was sitting to the left and Minah to the right and the fans would enter from the left entrance, meeting Haneul first. Taekwoon thanked the gods for that.

Hakyeon kept moving, obviously excited to meet the two. He had frowned when he had realized that he had been too broke to buy them gifts for the fansign but he had been happy about attending nonetheless. The line moved at a decent stage and pretty soon it was their turn. Hakyeon went up, dragging Taekwoon along.

"Hello!" Haneul greeted them. "Hakyeon right?" she asked Hakyeon who broke into the widest smile Taekwoon had ever seen.

"I recognized you from the earlier events! Thank you for all the nice pictures! You made me look really pretty" she said with a smile. "Oh look. We're matching today!"

"Isn't pink your favorite?" he asked her. Haneul nodded and the manager had to remind her to actually take his CD and sign it.

"I hop you enjoy the fan sign! It was really nice meeting you again!" Haneul said while writing down a message for Hakyeon as well as the sign. Hakyeon beamed radiantly and might have skipped ahead to greet Minah happily though he would later deny it.

"Hello! What's your name?" Haneul asked as she leaned forward to talk to Taekwoon.

"Jung Taekwoon. I've been a fan since the beginning" he added shyly.

"Thank you for supporting 6Keys! Taekwoon can I ask you a question?" Haneul asked mischievously.

"Yes?" he asked, unsure of what she wanted to say.

"You're Minah biased aren't you? You're totally her fan!" she pointed out. Taekwoon blinked, caught in the act and unsure of what to say. How had Haneul known?

"Hakyeon! Please back me up here! Taekwoon totally likes Minah right?" Haneul asked, leaning towards Minah and interrupting their conversation about Minah’s pet dog Kero.

"How did you know?" Hakyeon asked surprised while Minah blinked as well.

"I like all of 6Keys" Taekwoon answered weakly.

"Too late. You hesitated!" Haneul sang as she signed his album. "Minah when he comes over, please give him a heart and draw loads of cute things in the album!"

Minah protested indignantly while Taekwoon just wanted the stage to split open so he could fall through and die of shame. Haneul just high fived Hakyeon making the fans wonder what was happening on stage. The manager had to remind them not to take too long as other fans were waiting so Haneul just shot Taekwoon an angel look and he frowned before moving to Minah.

"I am so sorry about Haneul" Minah apologized.

"That's okay" Taekwoon said. He was blushing as he handed over the album to Minah who looked shy as well.

"I think its because she saw you looking when I was talking to the baby in the front row. She just likes teasing people" Minah laughed.

"I thought it was kind of cute" Taekwoon said before he could stop himself. Minah smiled in reply and he felt extremely warm and happy seeing it.

"Thank you for coming to the fansign" she said. Minah attempted to make a heart with her hands, managing an awkward shape. The fans cheered when they saw it and Taekwoon covered his face, pulling his cap further down to cover his face.

"Taekwoon si, please keep supporting us!" Minah said with a small smile. He nodded taking the album and rushing off stage before he could be escorted off.

"Is your heart still beating?" Hakyeon asked receiving a glare from Taekwoon. He groaned, jumping up and down to work off his embarrassment. He ultimately gave in and Hakyeon hugged him out of pity, smiling for his friend.

"I was going to drag you to the Hi Touch event next week but I don't think you will survive it now" Hakyeon said cheekily.

From the stage, Haneul looked over to the side to see Hakyeon pat Taekwoon’s back as he regained his composure. She nudged Minah to make her look. Minah did so and caught Taekwoon’s eye again making him groan and look away again, making Hakyeon and Haneul laugh.