#kai txt

[bandgie]

okay but could you do gamer beomgyu and fem reader only this time it’s him trying to distract the reader??

a/n: dduuhhhh, but imma tweak it just a bit

synopsis: Having your boyfriend game while you read is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. You both get to be in the same room while doing your own things. That's until he's done playing though, and wants to play a new game with you.

warnings: MDNI 18+, oral (f!rec), use of teeth, fingering, pussy slapping, dom-ish gyu, crying (f!), cumming in pants (m!), hint at PIV

1.6k words

The sound of aggressive clicking and swearing was static in your ears as you read. Beomgyu sits in his chair, eyes focused on the screen as you lay on his bed. The book kept you occupied where your boyfriend couldn't, not that you minded. It felt rather nice to feel his presence while you both were in your little world. 

From the bed, you could see his monitor flash black with the words 'YOU DIED' written in large, red letters. His screaming makes you giggle from behind your book.

Beomgyu turns his head to you, a scowl on his face. "What are you laughing at?"

He gets off his chair and plops on the bed dramatically, head against your shoulder. Your boyfriend scans the page quickly, "You think this is fun?"

Your eyes dart to the fluff on his head then back to your book. "What? Reading?" He nods. "I do think it's fun, yes. Why?"

Beomgyu whines and reaches for the book. You're quicker than him, however, pulling it away from him and raising it above your head. "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored," he pouts. He lazily reaches for the book again, resulting in a soft bonk as you slap the book on the top of his head. "Ow!"

"Gyu, you just got off. Let me at least finish this chapter." You shrug him off and place the book on your chest. There's a playful glare in his eyes as he slides down further on the bed. You think he's going to play another match when you feel him between your legs instead. You peek from over your book, watching as he spreads your thighs apart.

This piques your interest, an eyebrow rising as you watch him lower himself to your cunt.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

Beomgyu lifts his head at the sound of your voice. "Showing you what real fun is." As much as you would like to retort, you can't deny the excitement that bubbles in your stomach. His hot breath fans over your bare thighs, his long hair tickling your skin.

"I'm reading." You try to sound stern, but your voice is too breathless, too wanting. Your lover picks up on this immediately, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Well don't let me stop you."

Your eyes go back to the page, but you've totally lost focus on what you were reading. What was the book even called again? All you can pay attention to is Beomgyu's slender fingers pulling your sleeping shorts down. You raise your hips to help, making him chuckle in response. 

A blush appears on your face, but you ignore his reaction. Beomgyu tosses the shorts on the floor, returning to his original place rather eagerly. Soft pink panties, his favorite. The sight makes his mouth salivate. Even more so when he can see a damp spot right where your pussy is.

Beomgyu pushes your thighs up so your feet are planted on the bed. His hands grope and squeeze your plush thighs, planting soft kisses on your even softer skin. You bite your lower lip, concealing a sigh. As nice as it feels, you don't want him to know how much you're liking it when he just started. It would feed his ego a bit too much.

His lips go lower, finding your aching pussy behind the panties. Beomgyu runs his teeth over your clothed core, tongue poking out to make your underwear more damp. You can't help the involuntary shiver that runs through you from feeling his rough mouth. His tongue grows brave, planting it flat against your clit as he moves it in circles. 

You're clutching your book so hard you fear you might rip the pages. The words twist and blur together as you try to read, but Beomgyu's fingers hook at the side of your underwear. The cold air hits your bare pussy in no time, mixing with Beomgyu's hot breath.

Your boyfriend kisses the top of your clit. His lips are soft and warm against the flesh. Your hips rise off the bed in response, and Beomgyu grabs you by the waist to pin you back down. 

"Stop moving." He all but mumbles below you. This makes you scoff, a scowl on your flushed face. "How can you expect me to stay still when you're doing that?" Beomgyu pulls away from your pussy to look into your eyes. "Do you want me to stop?"

"I didn't say that."

A gleeful smile appears on his handsome face before descending back down. Beomgyu isn't as gentle as before. You find him dipping his tongue until he finds your entrance, then bringing it back up. He sucks and gently bites against your nub. He holds it between his lips and pulls, watching your legs tremble. 

You moan, the book lying against your face. "Fuck."

A hand reaches down to grip his hair. You guide his face against you, hips moving in a similar motion. The slick gathers on his chin, and his nose, but he still buries himself deeper into you regardless. 

He can't get enough of your taste. Your soft pussy is overly welcoming in his mouth. Beomgyu wants to drink you in, to feel his lips mix with yours, spit on slick. The bed rocks slightly from how you've started humping his face, how he's started humping the bed.

Beomgyu gives a hard suck on your clit before pulling away once more. You whine at the loss, hips chasing his mouth. 

He soothes you by using his middle and forefinger to rub you in circles. "So," there's a subtle rasp in his voice. "What page are you on?" 

You only moan in response. His fingers grow soaked immediately from touching your pussy. He rubs and pinches you, too distracting from any thoughts, let alone sentences. 

Beomgyu isn't having it though, and he withdraws his fingers to land a smack on your cunt. You cry out and sob as your lower body reacts violently. Your legs tremble, pussy feeling raw, and the sparks of pain turn into pleasure. 

There's not an ounce of remorse in your lover's expression. Beomgyu smiles and laughs giddily at your response. "Should've answered my question."

You pick the book from your face and scan the page for a number, but Beomgyu seems no longer interested. He dives back in and laps at you. His mouth is the total opposite of his fingers. Beomgyu's gentle, loving, almost cautious when his tongue traces over your folds.

Then he'll pull away again to slap your cunt brutally. Your cries turn into moans when he kisses your cunt apologetically. He's laughing in the midst of this, hearing you babble im sorry! while your pussy begs for more. 

It's not until it's red and swollen that he begins to feel bad. Hot tears stream your face and you're beginning to think that maybe you should have let him snatch the book out of your hand. Beomgyu pushes two of his fingers into you once again, but this time he'll make sure to stay inside. 

He pumps you slowly, getting you used to his slender fingers before latching his tongue on your clit. He stills in fingers and pushes upwards, in a somewhat beckoning motion. Then he goes back to deeply thrusting, then stilling. 

The tears have stopped falling, holding at your waterline. Beomgyu's lips pucker and rub over your nub, not enough pressure to overstimulate your clit. 

You're gushing over his fingers, legs crossing around his neck to still him in place. Beomgyu grunts at the sudden restraints but finds himself loving the suffocation between your legs. 

It builds in your stomach, burning hot inside before traveling down. The book you were trying to read is lost on the floor as your hands pull and tug at his hair. Bringing Beomgyu closer and closer to you before finishing. 

He can feel your walls clench and squeeze his fingers, how your clit twitches in his hot mouth. Beomgyu lets you ride out your high on his face. He buries his fingers as deep as they can go, rapidly moving them up and down to ensure you get the most out of your orgasm. 

It's not until you're reduced to twitches that Beomgyu pulls away. There's a sheer coat of fluid on the lower half of his face. His fingers are coated in white cream that disappears when he sticks them into his mouth. 

Your tired eyes watch as he rises to his knees, a wet stain on his sweats. 

For a moment, you think that you squirted. It must've landed all the way to his joggers. If that was the case though, why is it only on the crotch part?

Oh, you giggle. 

Your legs reach out to wrap around his waist, forcing him close. "Is that a cum stain I see?" 

Beomgyu flushes a deep red, and an embarrassed smile finds his lips. "No!"

The both of you laugh, though it sounds much more tired on your side. Beomgyu leans down and finds your lips and noses touching before he kisses you. You can taste yourself on him immediately, and you tilt your head for more. 

You moan into his mouth, pulling away just enough so your eyelashes touch. "It's a shame," you start. "You could've cum in my pussy instead." He raises an eyebrow at that, pursing his lips. "Who says I still can't?"

"You think you can go another round?"

This makes Beomgyu scoff as if you've asked him the dumbest question. He pulls his joggers down enough to see his cock outlined in his boxers. He's hard again, and he most likely has been since you've kissed.

"For you baby? As many as you want."

a/n: omg I feel like I lost the plot somewhere oopsies

[ahtae]

inexperienced (h.k)

Guiding inexperienced Kai through his first kiss. Kissing him softly at first as you turn his head, hand tangled in the hairs on the back of his neck as you motion in tandem with your lips. Kai awkwardly puts his hand on your hip, afraid to grab you. "You can touch me you know," you tell him, wrapping his fingers around your hip. Kai gasps, nimble fingers smoothing the flesh of your hip.

You kiss him again, releasing his head as he starts to get the hang of it. You run your hands under his shirt and he gasps at the coolness of your fingers. You pull it off him, and retty moans drip from his mouth as your fingers twinge his nipples. "Like that?" You tease, knowing damn well he can't get a single word out. All his dumb little mind allows him to do is whine a small "mmhmm" as he grips onto your shoulders.

When you move a hand down to his waistband, poor boy jerks. Your touch just makes him so sensitive what's he supposed to do besides buck up into the softness of your hand? When he ends up finding a pace, you pull his hair. "Kai baby I thought you said you hadn't done this before, hm?" You give his strands another tug. "Guess being a slut is just natural to you."

"N-no," he protests, brows furrowing as he grips your forearms. You pump him faster, allowing a thick glob of spit to drip onto the head of his cock.

Kai's eyes roll as the room fills with sloshing sounds. You smirk, relishing in the way his eyes are squeezed shut. He whines when you stop, but suddenly shuts up when he sees you stripping. Kai's eyes are as wide as saucers as your tits pool out of your bra.

"Want me to show you something, baby?" You coo, cupping his cheek. Kai is quick to nod, leaning into your hand.

You cup both your titties together, and slide his cock inbetween. Kai gasps the sight overindulgent. You bounce your titties on his cock, the sound of skin fwaping together fills the room. Kai whimpers, gripping onto your shoulders as he watches you bounce your titties up and down.

"Huh, you like that big boy?" you berate, feeling his cock twitch against your titties.

"Ha...Ha...yeah..." Kai breathes, nails digging into your shoulder blades. He lets out a particularly high whine, "gonna-gonna cum soon," he blurts, body jerking and eyes closing.

"Come on pretty boy, give it to me. Don't you wanna cum all over my titties?"

Kai erupts, streams of white cream shooting from his cock and all over your tits, a bit also landing on your face. You take his tip into your mouth, licking up the little bit of cum still releasing from him. Kai lets out a guttural moan, your hot mouth making him see stars.

When you lick his cock clean, you look up at him. "Come on big boy you can take another round can't you?"

Poor Kai had no idea what his first time was about to contain.

[gigittamic]

ིུ ⠀𐔌 🎀 ⠀ ✦⠀♪ ूੂ ❤︎ ूੂ

kaisito huensito nin-gkai dllkai

kairibbon ningsita huekaig cttning

masitakai itokai huellita ningell

[perfectsunlight]

𝗬𝗡'𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵

𝗬𝗡 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: (𝟮𝟮) 𝗷𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰'𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿. 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗔, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘇𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝘁.

𝗞𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡: (𝟮𝟱) 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹" 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰'𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄. 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀.

𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗬: (𝟭𝟵) 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰. 𝘆𝗻'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗷𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰.

𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘: (𝟮𝟮) 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮'𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 she went 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼. 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮.

𝗞𝗔𝗜: (𝟮𝟭) 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗻'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗫𝗧 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘂𝘁. 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝗳 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿.

[kosmokai]

𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙾𝙵 𝙲𝙾𝙺𝙴 ✵ 𝙷𝚄𝙴.𝙺𝙰𝙸

𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙰𝙼 𝙸 𝙶𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙼𝚈𝚂𝙴𝙻𝙵 𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾?

𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜—

𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎.

𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚁𝙴/𝙰𝚄?

𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃, 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍!𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚏𝚎𝚖!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚞

𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙴𝙲𝙷 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃?

𝟹,𝟺𝟸𝟷 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

𝚆𝙰𝚃𝙲𝙷 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙿!

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚖𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕 (𝚏𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎), 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝, 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕, 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚗𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 (𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗!!), 𝚍𝚘𝚖!𝚔𝚊𝚒, 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚎𝚡 (𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢), 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚔𝚊𝚒, 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚝, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚏 𝚒’𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝙰𝙼𝙱𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴?

𝚒𝚏 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 — 𝚗𝚘 𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚍𝚗𝚌𝚎

𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 — 𝚍𝚘𝚓𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚝, 𝚔𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚜

𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 — 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢.

𝚘𝚑, 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜, 𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚓𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐. 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜, 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚓𝚘𝚛𝚜. 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚣𝚣 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝. 𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍, 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚔.

‘𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎?’ 𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢. 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙, 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙? 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝— 𝚘𝚑. 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎. 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎, 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍.

‘𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙 𝟹𝟶 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎?’

‘𝚜𝚖𝚑, 𝚒 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚋𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐??’

𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍.

‘𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜?’

‘𝚙𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚢. 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚜. 𝚜𝚘𝚘, 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙?’

𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘? 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚖𝚜 _____ .” 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎.

“𝚞𝚑𝚑.. 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚒 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢��𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜, 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍. “… 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. “… 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚢.” 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍, 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚐𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜.

‘𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘????’

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖, 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎.

‘𝚞𝚑.. 𝚒 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠.. 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎??’

𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎? 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜. 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝, 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚊𝚢, 𝚢𝚎𝚜..!

‘𝚋𝚛𝚘, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖, 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢’

‘𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢’

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

‘𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢’

✯⋆｡‧₊˚✵˚₊‧｡⋆✯

𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑. 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚔𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚝.

𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚢, 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙? 𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗, 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗, 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍, 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 .. 𝚗𝚘𝚠.

𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎.. 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢.

𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍. 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝.

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜. 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.

𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚊𝚛, 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝.

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎’𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍—

“𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘..? 𝚔𝚊𝚒?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢. 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐? “𝚑𝚖?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛. “𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚎?” 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎. “.. 𝚢𝚎𝚜..?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍, 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖.

“𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎, 𝚜𝚘.. 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎?” 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚋𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒’𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎.

“𝚢𝚎𝚊, 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎.” 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚖, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑, 𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛.

“𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢. 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗’𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚒’𝚖 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 ��𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝟷𝟸 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎, 𝟷𝟶?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝, 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚌 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛—

“𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘, 𝚒 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚝, 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚊, 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗, 𝚛𝚢𝚞𝚓𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛.” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚓𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚋𝚛𝚘. 𝚒 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚗—“

“𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛. 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐.”

✯⋆｡‧₊˚✵˚₊‧｡⋆✯

𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚝. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗.. 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍’𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚗.

𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎-𝚜𝚊��𝚍𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚘𝚗.

𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍. 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢.

✯⋆｡‧₊˚✵˚₊‧｡⋆✯

…

…

… 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

… 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗.

… 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎?!

𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚙 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝, 𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎. 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢, 𝚛𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚖 𝚟 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚍𝚐𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜, 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚋 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚙𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚛𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖… 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍.

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘, 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝? 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗.

‘𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢, 𝚒𝚏 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚒’𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎’ 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚋𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚢, 𝚑𝚘𝚠, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 .. 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜?

“𝚑𝚎𝚢, 𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚔𝚊!” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢.

“𝚘𝚑, 𝚑𝚎𝚢!” 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚠𝚘. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜, 𝚘𝚋𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚘𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍. “𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝?” “𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑.. ‘𝚝𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢.” 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢.

“𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞.” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎, 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢— 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞. “𝚒’𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔.” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝— 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗.

𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚋𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚏𝚏. 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚘𝚋𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖.. 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝.

𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚞𝚙.. 𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚜 ‘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍’ 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍, 𝚠𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐- 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝, 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚔? 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖.

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗 𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗.

✯⋆｡‧₊˚✵˚₊‧｡⋆✯

𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗, 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛.

𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜, 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗. “𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝!” 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.

𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚖𝚎𝚍. 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚒𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗’𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚙, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚛, 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚙.. 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢, 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗.. 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚒𝚝.

“_______!” 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏.. 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠. “𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜.

“𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚞𝚙?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕-- 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚖, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚎𝚍, 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖, 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚍 𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜. “𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎, 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍.

“𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝..?—“ “𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚋 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎.” 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚢 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝. 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍? “𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚔𝚊.. 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒 𝚍𝚘?”

𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎, 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜, 𝚙𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚐𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚜. “𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔..,” 𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎. “𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝, 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗, 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝.. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐.”

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜. “𝚊𝚗𝚍?” 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐’𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢.

“𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔..?” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎, ______. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒’𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎.”

𝚊 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑.

“𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜. 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚏𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎..”

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚞𝚋 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚝. “𝚗𝚐𝚑, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, 𝚗𝚘?” “𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢, ______.”

𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜, 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎, 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚢, 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚗𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛, 𝚍𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚜.

𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜, 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖.

𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚐𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖. 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑.

𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚎𝚢𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚞𝚙.. 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

“_____…” 𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚏𝚏, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚍.

𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜.

𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎.

𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝, 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐.

“𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎..” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚢, 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍. 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚊𝚕, 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚠. “𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎..? 𝚒 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘—“ “𝚗𝚘, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚒 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝..”

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚏𝚏, 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚢. 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚒����𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚜. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚐𝚎, 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚕𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚊.

“𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢.”

𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜. 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗.

𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚎. 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’

“𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔..” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒’𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎, 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚗. 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔, 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜. 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎-𝚌𝚞𝚖 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝..

𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚍, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚙. 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞- 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚋 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍. “𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢.”

𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝, 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚊𝚐 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘. “𝚏-𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔..!” 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚊𝚐.. 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢.

𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢, 𝚜𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚜, 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖. “𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚑— 𝚖𝚖𝚏𝚐𝚑𝚑—“ 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚒𝚐, 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚜.

“𝚖𝚖, 𝚏-𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝-𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢..!” 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑, 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝.

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚍, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚞𝚖 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝, 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚘𝚏𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚌𝚑.

𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎.

𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗, 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝.

“𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚑, ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚏-𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚢𝚎𝚜, ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜-𝚘 ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚐𝚊𝚑𝚑, 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 ‘𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚙!’ 𝚖-𝚖𝚎!”

𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝. “𝚐𝚑𝚑𝚐𝚑𝚐𝚐—“ 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚝𝚞𝚋, 𝚜𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚊𝚒, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎.

𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚠𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚞𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚒 𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚖’𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢.

“𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚑-𝚐𝚐𝚐𝚑..!” 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚜𝚘𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚞𝚗𝚝. 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔, 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛, 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛.. 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜.

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝, 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚒𝚣𝚣𝚢, 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍.

“𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚑𝚑, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋-𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚝, 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚘-𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎, 𝚊𝚑, 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐-𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎, 𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚑—!”

𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝, 𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚖 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗, 𝚖𝚘𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚞��𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕��𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝, 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎, 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚢, 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐.. 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜.

𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚋𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔, 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. “𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚍, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑, 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝.

“𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚜- 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚔𝚊..!” 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜.

“𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔.. 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢.” “𝚜𝚘-𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚗-𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, ‘𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢 𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚔𝚊, 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢.. 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, ‘𝚜𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚕𝚎’ ‘𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢..”

𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚜. “𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢? 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜? 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑?” 𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚞𝚗𝚝.

“𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚑- 𝚗𝚘, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑- 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚜 𝚜-𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚒𝚐 ‘𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 ‘𝚗 𝚙𝚛-𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢, ‘𝚑𝚒𝚌, 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙, 𝚠𝚊𝚗’ 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑-“ 𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍, 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍, 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚔.

“𝚞𝚙. 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝚗𝚘𝚠.”

𝚖𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚑𝚎’𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚜?

𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚝, 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

☞︎ 𝙺✵𝚂𝙼𝙾 ⋆ 𝙺𝙰𝙸 ©

[beomie3]

to the mountains - huening kai

pairing: best friend! hueningkai x reader

summary: your friend group decides to take a weekend getaway trip to the mountains, but it isn't until you stay in a cabin in the woods that your crush on one of them begins to make itself known. mutually :)

wc: 5k

content: best friends to lovers, cozy woods fluff, the rest of txt is mentioned, light cursing, handholding, cuddles <3, and smooches ^3^

♬🌲soundtrack:

to the mountains - lizzy mcalpine

meet me in the woods - lord huron

let’s go outside - far caspian

apple cider - beabadoobee

evergreen - richy & the coal miners

home - edith whiskers

calico - haux

alps - novo amor

sparks - coldplay

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

you trailed your fingers along the soft wind; feeling it grow colder as you watched rows and rows of pine trees line the road, ears popping as the car climbed elevation.

you looked over at the dark-haired boy next to you; your best friend kai who was in the driver's seat, both hands clutching the wheel. a laugh erupted from your mouths when his voice horrendously cracked as he attempted the high note to a song playing on the radio, his contagious dolphin laugh echoing through the car as you both laughed your asses off.

“maybe i should've taken taehyun up on the vocal lessons," he says once he catches his breath, mentioning your guys’ other friend, who also happens to be the best singer you'd both ever met.

you snorted, patting him on the shoulder. "i mean you could right now, he's in the backseat," you motioned to the back where your friend taehyun lay sound asleep, headphones snug as he leaned on the window.

kai muffled a laugh with his hand, looking at the sleeping tae through the rear-view mirror. "oops! i totally forgot he was here," he giggled quieter now, trying to forget how he was once screaming the lyrics to a song.

"kai- we planned that taehyun would come with us and that the choi's would all follow us in yeonjun's caravan. actually- i wonder if they're there yet." you leaned against the window, checking the “six lo$ers” group chat to see if your other friends had arrived to the cabin.

"oh, no, we're definitely getting there first, i need to make sure i get dibs on the room with the comfiest bed," kai stepped on the gas, determined to reach the destination before the other three boys who would surely compete for the same thing. you laughed, rolling your eyes. this is going to be fun.

~

with a minute to spare, kai pulled into the gravel next to a large pine tree in front of the cabin you’ll be staying in, quickly opening your doors and running out of the car once he took the key out of the ignition.

“crap where’s the key?!” he patted his baby blue hoodie frantically, seemingly unable to locate the key to the cabin’s front door. your heart nearly stopped when you heard the familiar honk of a black caravan pulling into the driveway as well. shit! it’s our competition.

"kai hurry!" you held his arm, pulling at his hoodie impatiently as he was starting to panic and screaming his loud, usual screams you were long used to. you stuck your tongue out at beomgyu as he was quickly unfastening his seatbelt and went to open the car door but it was locked, turning to yell at yeonjun which was silent from where you stood.

“quick get in!” at the last second kai found the key in his jean pocket, quickly unlocking the door and shutting it behind the two of you before beomgyu could reach it as he was sprinting towards you. all you heard was his pounding fist and yells on the other side, telling you to open the stupid door!

you and kai stood shoulder to shoulder, backs to the door huffing and laughing as you made it inside first. you didn’t think the shenanigans would start this early on in the trip. but all six of you together? it's certainly bound to happen.

you give kai one look before he grabs your hand, pulling you into the cabin which is quite larger than what you expected. you didn’t quite get the chance to take it all in since you were being pulled down the hallway by your best friend, but it’s warm, wooden interior and cozy ambiance certainly made you feel right at home.

“quick! we need to find the room with the comfiest bed. they have a spare key and they’ll get in soon,” kai whisper-yelled as he pulled you into the nearest room, adrenaline pumping, jumping onto the bed together and rolling around in it before moving to the next.

the next room was a bit bigger, but the moment you hit the mattress, you felt as you had just fallen face down on a rock. “solid no!” you jumped up laughing and the two of you moved to the next room excitedly.

soon enough, you heard the front door rattle and you both jumped on the last bed, immediately hitting jackpot. before you knew it, beomgyu ran into the room with a mischievous look on his face, grimacing at kai. “they’re in here!” he motioned to the other two boys, immediately sprinting over to the bed.

beomgyu jumped right on top of kai, wresting one another and you helped kai by pushing gyu’s arm off, failing miserably when yeonjun also piled on top. soobin just watched from the doorway, shaking his head. “you realize there are other beds right? and where is taehyun?” soobin’s question made everyone stop in their tracks and look at one another.

“he’s still asleep in the car.” kai laughed and you all ran out to wake the poor boy up.

~

the warmth of delicious soup soothed your vocal chords after hours of karaoke in the living room with the boys, eating it on the back patio with kai as the rest of them were either inside napping or doing silly little things in their own world.

the two of you lounged on folding chairs like a storybook elderly couple on a sunday morning, basking in the crisp forest air as you observed the vibrant green trees. occasionally spotting an exuberant looking bird and excitedly pointing it out to one another.

“shh!” kai quickly shushed you as you were in the midst of slurping your soup, stopping abruptly with wide eyes.

“do you hear that?” he leaned in closer, pretty eyebrows furrowed as he cupped a hand to his ear. you shook your head, quietly setting down your soup.

“i think it’s…running water?” he looked over at you quizzically and you really tuned into the noise, at first only hearing the occasional chirp of a bird or wind through the pines, but then you began to faintly hear it. like white noise. water trickling down upon rocks in the distance.

your eyes lit up and kai was quick to notice, his bright smile spreading from cheek to cheek. “wanna go look for it?” he nudged your foot with his, both sporting mismatched fuzzy socks.

“what kind of question is that?” you scoffed, raising a brow; you didn’t even have to explain yourself for him to know it was a solid yes.

kai had a habit of grabbing your hand and pulling you along with him, that’s how your friendship separated itself from the rest of the boys since long ago. he was known to be the closest to you out of everyone, considering you were always practically attached at the hip.

and so he did his usual; grabbed your hand and pulled you into the cabin to get on shoes before heading out in search of this mystery body of water.

beomgyu lay asleep on the floor like an old watchdog, missing his opportunity to tag along when you and kai soundlessly slipped out of the front door.

you followed right behind him, quick footsteps in the gravel and then onto dried leaves and twigs snapping beneath you once you reached the forest. you both swiveled your heads all around and above you, infatuated with the way the tall evergreens and pines tower up into the sky, nearly disappearing into the foggy clouds.

the fresh, pine-scented afternoon air tickled your nose as it was much colder than what you were used to down in the city, but it was more refreshing than anything. it felt good to get away. to be in silence. especially getting to see all these amazing sights with kai.

you only whispered to one another, needing to be extra quiet to be able to hear in which direction the water was coming from. the sound did indeed grow louder, signifying you were getting closer.

kai beckoned you over to where he stood, eyes wide. you jogged over, crunching leaves under your feet as you reached him. low and behold, you had stumbled upon a tall, but gentle waterfall, it’s water cascading down upon large rocks.

your head reached his shoulder when you stood next to him, always a perfect place to rest it as you both looked up at the shimmering water, astonished smiles on your faces.

you made your way over to the body of water surrounded by rocks at the waterfall’s base, occasionally getting splashed by cold droplets that ricochet off of the large boulders.

“kai? what are you-” you shot him a confused glance as he bent down to take off his shoes and socks, slightly rolling up his shorts.

“we’re getting in silly!” he threw his leg over one of the rocks bordering the edge, screaming when his feet were submerged in the ice cold water.

“we’re?” you crossed your arms over your chest, raising an eyebrow at him as he held his hands out to you. you knew kai pretty well— he wouldn’t sabotage you by throwing you into the water like the others would. you trusted him to be gentle and civil with you, as he was more sincere than anything. of course, he loved to joke around but he knew you would despise getting thrown into ice cold water.

you removed your shoes and rolled your pants up before taking his soft and warm hands in yours, feeling his attentive eyes on you as you carefully dipped your foot in, the breath leaving your chest at how freaking ice cold it was. of course, your penguin-like friend was able to get in effortlessly.

“this is impossible ningning!” you grabbed his shoulder for support as you clenched your jaw and stepped all the way into the ice-cold water. he hid the small blush on his cheeks of the endearment of his name he so loved hearing you say.

the two of you waded over to the waterfall, hands occasionally brushing as you were careful not to slip over the moss and small pebbles under your feet.

your necks swiveled to look up at the waterfall, cold water pelting you as you stood mere inches from the cascading water. mesmerized, your hand drew out to run your fingers under the cold stream; kai following as he smiled at the icy sensation.

you watched your hands under the falling water, the only sound in your ears of it plunging in front of you, too loud to hear anything the happy boy next to you had said. you wiggled your fingers under the cold stream, numb by now that you didn’t notice the tips of your fingers had trailed onto huening’s under the water.

he stood there, a bit surprised, but subconsciously moved his fingers slightly closer to yours, hand nearly on top of yours. it wasn’t until he turned to look at you that you felt the need to hide your face, feeling your cheeks grow red and afraid he would notice.

something about the air. about being alone with kai in the forest. you had always found him pretty but right now— right now his beauty struck you in a way you felt your heart beat in your chest. sunshine radiating behind him like a golden halo over his dark locks, dreamy eyes and a smile to melt over. what is happening?

with a shy smile he interlaced his fingers with yours, opening his mouth to say something but not even bothering because what he had to say would be drowned out by the waterfall. so he began to pull you under the waterfall with him, your eyes widening when you realized what he was doing, but your heart took over and inevitably followed.

it was like ice, drenching your right shoulder and then your head and down your hair, then your left shoulder and you were completely submerged, mouth open at the sheer shock as it took the breath from you.

your best friend’s hair had matted down completely to his forehead, covering his eyes completely which drew a hysterical laugh from you. he reached up with your conjoined hands to sweep the hair over his forehead.

he showed you a toothy grin and you couldn’t help but examine his face through the sheen of water, beginning to fawn over droplets scurrying down his pretty nose.

you thought maybe you’d been staring for too long, darting your eyes away from him and over to the rocks around you, curious about the small flowers growing between the cracks.

yet, you caught him staring at you from out of the corner of your eye, small smile on his lips as his eyes darted around your face. you couldn’t avoid the small flutter in your chest.

you and kai were usually on the silly side. prolonged eye contact and blush on one another’s cheeks not exactly what you two usually share.

“whatttt?” you yelled over the roar of water, tilting your head to one side, noticing his apparent nervousness when he shyly looked down at your hands.

taking a small step forward, leaning in close so you could hear him over the roar of water around you, chest nearly pressed to yours.

he opened his mouth to say something and nothing came out but a small laugh, apparently nervous to say whatever it was. you cupped his cheek as to comfort him, suddenly aware of your gesture and shocked as to what you were doing. you’d never touched kai in such an affectionate way.

“you can say it, kai.” you assured him, your voice loud enough for him to hear. how couldn’t he hear you anyway? his face was a mere 3 inches from yours. you felt slightly uneasy at this proximity but you also kinda really liked it? your emotions buzzing all over the place at this unprecedented tension.

but kai didn’t say anything, he just stood there, looking at you like you were the beautiful waterfall in the forest, taking in all of your natural beauty.

out of no where, you leaned closer, standing on your tip toes and pressed your lips to his cute nose. what a stupid, stupid idea. what the hell am i doing?

but he found it absolutely adorable, face scrunching and high pitched laugh exiting his lips.

“you like my nose?” he asked you quizzically, and you nodded, having to look away with a slight tinge of embarrassment, squeezing your eyes shut.

then grabbing your chin to angle your face back to his, still flustered, he musters up the courage to look you in the eyes, flicking them down to your lips and back up to admire you.

you were simply overtaken by his dark brown eyes; noticing the way his pupils dilated as he focused nearly into your soul, sinking into the dreamy trance that you never knew your best friend was capable of pulling you into in this way.

in a million years, you never thought you'd share a kiss under a freezing cold waterfall in the middle of the forest with kai kamal huening. but here you were, leaning into him, the nearest proximity you ever had since knowing him, not paying any mind to the occasional shivers and goosebumps pelting your body.

he closed the small gap that was left between your lips and you stayed there, slightly squeezing his hand as your heart felt it would beat out of your chest. the kiss was short and sweet and you almost wished it had been a little longer. but kai pulled away slowly, his cheeks the reddest you had ever seen them.

“and i like your lips.” he giggled, eyes nearly shut with how big he was smiling. you never knew kai felt the same way about you until now, dropping small hints along your friendship that you didn’t quite pick up on until now, only now getting his message with a sweet peck to your lips.

by now, your body was frozen and you pulled kai out of the heavy stream with you, not able to withstand it any longer since the adrenaline was wearing off and you could now begin to realize just how cold you were.

you wrapped your arms around your body to withhold as much body heat as you could, violently shivering with how cold you were. kai was cold too, but he made warming you his priority, wrapping his arms around you to hopefully try and help.

“here, stand on my feet,” he requested and you did just that, balancing on the tops of his feet as he walked the two of you over to the exit, helping you over the rocks and getting your shoes and socks for you.

you smiled, the only warmth in your body provided by his kind gestures that would melt anyone’s heart.

“race you back?” you looked down at him as he tied your shoe for you, his eyes flicking up quickly at the sound of those words. and before you knew it you were sprinting after kai in the woods; feet numb but heart warm and racing just as fast as you were after him.

~

“never seen that hoodie on you, is it new?” yeonjun asks as he stirs his hot cocoa, gazing at him from your spot in front of the fire place.

“oh it’s kai’s, actually!” you sip your apple cider, snuggling into the oversized baby blue hoodie that kai lent you a couple days ago once you returned from your freezing cold adventure.

“oh so now you’re wearing his hoodies hmm?” beomgyu nudged you, a mischievous grin on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows at you suggestively, exaggeratedly winking at yeonjun from where he stood in the kitchen.

the boys had began to notice your closeness with hueningkai especially recently on this trip, due to the fact you two would sneak out at random times and leave them without a clue as to where you two were.

of course, they knew you were always close in comparison to everyone else, but recently, they hadn’t even seen you two much because of how much time you were spending together out who knows where.

they made conspiracies that you guys were secretly dating and would go out on little cute dates everyday, that’s why you wouldn’t tell them. yet they secretly cheered kai on because he was so happy lately. and when kai was extra happy, everyone was extra happy.

and to be honest, that conspiracy didn’t sound too completely far from the truth. ever since you and kai had kissed at the waterfall, you had grown even closer; your bond deepening and tangling so much that it was almost confusing. you hadn’t felt this way for anyone before and it confused you that it was your best friend; you didn’t want to ruin what you had.

but you wanted to be with kai every second of every day. and he wanted to be with you.

~

and at sunset, you and kai escaped again. hand in hand running into the woods as it was now your favorite place to go.

each time you ran off into the forest, you found something new about each other that you hadn’t known before. hell, you had even discovered what each other’s lips feel like the very first time you even ran off.

you spent your time climbing trees and sharing snacks amidst a deep talk and of course laughter, then carving both of your initials in whichever tree it was, marking it yours.

when you got too tired of walking, kai would carry you on his back, not minding at all. he enjoyed it actually, always offering to give you piggyback rides no matter how tired he got.

you would occasionally go back to the waterfall, sitting on the rocks or skipping stones across the water to see who’s would go further.

today kai wore a loose, earth-toned wool jacket with nothing under but a dainty silver necklace, zipped up enough to expose a bit of his chest. it drew your eyes like a magnet to his pretty collarbones glowing in the setting sunrays.

“i like this jacket on you,” you gingerly traced your fingers along the woven material, a shy smile on your lips. your compliment made his heart skip.

of course, you two were still bestest of friends, doing goofy things and blabbing about anything and everything. but when you caught his eye or exchanged a small compliment, you both got so shy and quiet and blushy around each other.

you were both aware of another option you had now, completely new and foreign to your relationship; the small kiss from a couple days ago. you held the memory fondly since the moment it happened, warmth spreading across your chest at the thought.

your head rested on his shoulder, watching the waterfall together as you decided to look up at him, eyeing the plush of his lips.

“can we..try it again?” you sort of beat around the bush, hoping kai would pick up on what you were throwing down. you felt too shy to ask your best friend directly if you could kiss him.

“what, race to the cabin?” he furrowed his brows and you laughed, head falling back onto his shoulder.

“i meant-”

“i know y/n, just messing with you,” he nudged you, a sweet smile on his lips.

somehow, it felt natural, like this had been something you had both long wanted to do. like something you were made to do. you kept the comfort of your head on his shoulder and he leaned down to place his lips on yours, slowly melting into the kiss with your eyes fluttered closed.

you could sense everything better now; the warmth of his soft lips, the subtle taste of the watermelon you had snacked on earlier whilst sitting atop a tree, the subtle cool breeze blowing pieces of your hair astray. you enjoyed it even more now, since the first was a bit interrupted by the freezing cold waterfall.

after a few moments, you broke the kiss with an interrupted thought, staring into his eyes and then trailing your gaze to the water where you stared at your reflections. his broad shoulders like a large blob in the water, then yours a smaller blob. it was always like this; next to one another for as long as you could remember. you love kai. and you don't want to ruin what you have.

“this…this won’t ruin our friendship, right?” you were hesitant to look up at him in the eye as you slowly look back up at him, almost worried he would regret it.

but he only smiled, shaking his head.

“never, y/n. you’ll always be riiight here,” he pointed to his chest, at the spot right over his heart. you warmly smiled, finding him the absolute most adorable boy in the world. how could you not have the biggest crush on him?

it all made sense now. kai was everything you wanted and needed in a partner, in a friend, in a lover. but you always pushed away any sort of feeling in fear of losing him. but how could you lose him- how could you lose him if he's always been by your side through it all.

“forever.”

~

the front door creaks as you both sneak back into the cabin, completely pitch black as the boys had gone to sleep, considering it was half past midnight.

you both tip-toe down the dark hallway, finding every room was closed and in use except for the one at the end of the hall; the one you and kai had claimed on the first day.

you could see his pearly smile faintly in the dark, silently cheering that they didn't all steal the room with the comfiest bed. you held onto his arm as you blindly walked down the hallway and into the room, flicking on the dim night light to provide just enough light to see his soft facial features, hair slightly tossed by the breeze seeping through the window.

you two were long past the i'll sleep on the floor so you can have the bed phase of your friendship, so you shared the bed as it was normal for the two of you. and through all these years, never once had it felt uncomfortable even in the slightest. all you ever did was look up at whoever's bedroom ceiling in deep conversation and occasionally kick at each other's feet under the covers.

tonight, a certain tension blanketed the two of you as you lay next to one another, pinkies interlaced under the sheets as you stare up at the high ceiling of the cabin, listening to the subtle whir of wind through the trees.

you felt cozy here, in this little cabin tucked away in the wilderness with your best friend(s). you almost wanted to snuggle into him, but that had yet to be established.

“i like you, kai.” your voice suddenly emerges lowly from the still room, the sound of his rustle under the blanket apparent as he tightened his pinky around yours. turning to face you, you did the same, facing one another with cheeks squished to the pillows.

"a lot." you whisper with a growing smile, just inches from his lips as you stare into the chocolate glimmer of his eyes. you could feel your heart pounding in your chest and drumming into your ears.

with a gentle finger, he lightly tucks away a stray piece of hair behind your ear, bringing intense warmth to blanket your cheeks. you couldn't quite see in the dark, but his were dusted with a rosy tinge as well.

“does this mean we can cuddle now?” his voice comes out shyly, smiling and red in the face at his own question.

you giggle, nodding and smiling so big that your eyes are nearly shut, slowly scooching closer to kai. almost unsure as to go about this, considering it's your best friend you're cuddling.

but you just go for it; pressing your chest to his, wrapping your arms around his torso, snuggling your head into him, cheek pressed to his warm neck and filling the space under his chin perfectly.

he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, silence filling the room again once you both find the spot you are most comfortable in. you can hear his heartbeat as you breathe him in; warm calico fabric like fresh laundry. the closest you've been to this comforting scent that you wanted to be engulfed in eternally.

"i'm glad we agree, but i like you more," he adds. you giggle, burying your face into his warm chest and you can feel his smile grow with the way his voice flows like it always does when he's brimming with happiness, picturing his cute face in your mind and what he looks like right now.

"at the waterfall i did what i've wanted to for so long." his voice vibrates on the crown of your head, feeling his chest sink as he exhales, relaxing into you; relieved to confess what always weighed on him. eyes fluttering shut as he enjoys your warmth and the scent of your hair curling into his nose, tracing light circles into your back.

you pull your head away to the beautiful sight of his face, looking up at him and finding his eyes shut but then flutter open to look down at you, his lips curled into a pretty smile and slightly parted, looking too good not to kiss.

and so you lean up slowly, inviting him to lean down and close the gap for your third kiss, feeling his heart pound against yours. you're infatuated with the way his hand always comes up to cup your cheek, savoring every moment he had with you. in this moment, your love grew for your special boy, falling for him evermore.

~

"kai over here look!" your feet patter against the snow as you run towards familiar rock formations, sprinkled with snow as you point at it, covered in white.

he runs up, giving you a large hug from behind, his large wool jacket engulfing you in its warmth, a kiss to your cheek; now a normal thing.

summer and autumn had passed twice and your souls had intertwined more than you could even fathom; ever since your best friend had become your boyfriend, your life became filled with so much pure happiness that you could easily mistake any day for a fairytale.

with the help of his grasp, kai hoists you up so that you sit on the rock he had brushed the the light dusting of snow off of, threading his arms through yours to hold your waist as he places his chin in the crook of your neck.

it just felt so natural, like this was what the two of you were born to do. always destined to be together and never, ever apart.

the bitter winter breeze wasn't so bad with his warmth seeping into you, cradling you so good and you swear you'd never felt comfort until you fell in love with this boy.

after a few moments of enjoying the view of the frozen waterfall, kai pulls his arms away from you and instead dangles his dainty necklace around your neck, the same one you noticed two years ago in this same place.

the small bead at its end weighed down onto your sweater, drawing your eyes down to the sparkling jewel; noticing it was the shape of a heart. a token of his diamond love for you.

"i wanted to give this to you then," he whispered, a sweet smile on his lips when you turned to face him.

your eyes said it all, holding the words i’ll love you forever in them without having to say a word. he just knew.

“my heart is yours.” he says as he embraces you, hardly able to contain your emotions as you hug him even harder, as hard as you could, for that fact.

his love felt like warm blankets on a cold morning, a crackling fireplace as you sip warm apple cider, cuddles during a midnight storm, the much-needed hug after a long day. he felt like home.

"race you back?" he tilted his head with a sly smile, helping you down before disappearing off into the woods. you chased right behind, sure to beat him this time.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

a/n: this is a very late hueningkai bday fic!! i share an august birthday with him so i wanted to write a comforting fic for our bdays lol :) hope everyone enjoys and happy late bday to anyone who had one in august or having one soon (yeonjun fic coming soon)!! 🥳 love u all <3

[jenoddity]

[prplocks]

ᴄᴏᴍᴇʙᴀᴄᴋ: ᴛxᴛ

minisode 3: tomorrow

reblog if you save

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

[anastcie]

' ★ ¡ ㅤㅤ hueningkai lockscreen's

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ like/reblog. ࣪𓇻ㅤnot repost.

[froopis]

baby you don’t gotta be shy 👉👈

[bandgie]

Before Class

virgin!hueningkai x fem!reader

synopsis: You were Kai's lifelong bully, and you weren't planning on stopping your harassment towards him. As you have got older though, you've had to change your strategies. Now that you're both in college, there been quite a few tips you've learned on how to humiliate Kai.

warnings: MDNI 18+, DUBIOUS, college au, public oral (m receiving), handjob, bully reader, kai is sensitive (he doesn't have a backbone), cum eating, degrading, genital degradation (m receiving), begging, dom!reader, sub!Kai, mentions of Yeonjun, idk

2.6k words

Getting to class early was a must, parking was horrible after a certain time. You sat on the second floor of the library pretending to work on your assignments. Instead, you were observing his large frame hunched over a desk. Kai hadn't seen you when he walked in, and you're grateful for that. Not because you were nervous or embarrassed for what you did to him just a few days ago, but because it left you room to plan. 

Making Huening Kai cry was always a goal of yours. It was so easy when you were in elementary school. All you had to do was pull on his hair, throw some sand in his eyes and the waterworks would begin. As you've gotten older though, it wasn't as simple. You resorted to cursing him out, getting other kids to join in on you, but he was a tough cookie. 

There was just something about his tears that excited you. How red his nose got, the quiver in his bottom lip. Like art honestly, he was beautiful in his rawest form. There was something wrong with you for sure, maybe you needed to see someone for your obsession with Kai. How could you though, when he made it so effortless for you to keep harassing him?

You briefly thought of letting him go today, but your resolve was quickly dissipated when someone approached him. She was cheery, seemingly happy looking at Kai. He stood up quickly and awkwardly smiled at her. You assumed she must be a classmate talking about work, but when she made him laugh, your chest tightened. 

They had to be more than classmates, it wasn’t like it was often someone would approach you outside of class either.  Friends maybe? But with how pink Kai's cheeks had gotten, you think there might be a little crush going on. You hastily pack your papers, shove your notebook and folder into your backpack and standup from your table. 

Jealousy is probably the right word to use, but there was no way you would admit that. You just can’t stand seeing Kai smiling, hate how his lips curl and his teeth shine in the artificial light. He would look  much better sobbing, and you are planning on making that happen sooner rather than later.

Your wedges click on the ground as you approach the two. You can feel your blood rising hearing Kai's soft responses. You don't even need to speak to announce your arrival, you can see Kai's eyes widen in fear. 

Good.

"Oh Kai! I just wanted to pop in and say hi," you smile sweetly at both of them. She spins to see you, returning a friendly smile. She opens her mouth to speak, mostly likely to introduce herself, but you don't think you can fake your persona much longer. "I just needed to steal him from you if you don't mind." You reach for Kai's sleeve and pull him towards you. 

He hesitantly trudges to you, his eyes begging at his friend to save him. "Oh when were you going to be done? We had to work on-" You spare her a glance to interrupt her, "Actually, I think it'll take a while. Isn't that right Hyuka?" 

Kai stiffens at the sound of his nickname, one he hadn't heard in years. His terrified eyes dart to your own before turning back to his friend. "Y-Yeah," his voice is shaky. "I'm sorry, it'll just be a- a moment. I'll catch you after class." The girl eyes you warily, her gaze landing on your grip on Kai's sleeve. Rather than voicing her concern, she nods, "Sure. See ya soon then.”

You turn on your heels and pull Kai along with you. Kai can easily keep up thanks to his long legs, but he's trying to subtly slow his steps so he can delay his bad treatment. He has no idea what you have in store for him, and to be honest, neither do you. All you can think about is how easily he spoke to her, how eager he seemed. Kai has grown into an attractive man, that much you can admit. You just hate knowing he's beginning to catch the eyes of others. 

It's selfish, but you want him to think about only you. Whether it's from fear, anxiety, hatred, you need him to think about you as often as you think about him. After all, it isn't fair that you're the only one obsessed.

You spot the all-gender restroom and quickly take cover there. There’s nobody inside, it’s still early in the morning. You shove Kai into a stall and squeeze/crowd in yourself before locking the door. 

Being this close to him is nothing new, but being in such a confined space is definitely something you hadn't done before. Kai's figure towers over you, he could easily overpower you and leave. Instead, he keeps his hand by his sides and nervously eyes you. He's expecting you to berate him, to remind him of what a loser he is and how no one could ever stand the thought of him.

Instead, you drop to your knees. Kai's eyes widen in disbelief. You grab his belt, quickly loosening it. He moves to block you, gently pulling your hands away. "What are you doing!? Wait! Don't-" You look up at him and sneer, "Don't fucking tell me what to do. Move your hands."

For the first time in ages, Kai disobeys. He shakes his head and locks his arms over his crotch. "You can't," his voice is pleading. "I have to go to class, an-and I haven't... no one’s really..." He trails off. The redness in his face says it all. "Oh I get it," you smirk. "Are you a little virgin?"

At first Kai doesn't answer, but the pinch of your nails on his hands make him yelp. "Y-Yes..." his voice is small, weak. It sends shivers down your spine. You peel his hands away and leave them at his sides. He lets you, too petrified from his confession to really care anymore. 

"I shouldn't be surprised," you start. "You're probably too busy jerking off, watching porn like a loser. I bet you don't even have feeling in your dick anymore." You unloop his belt from the holes and slowly unbutton his pants. Kai clenches and unclenches his fists. You can hear him breathing heavily above you, and as pathetic as it is, it turns you on.

You pull his pants all the way down to his ankles and face his navy blue boxers. Experimentally, you let your hand rub over his crotch. You grip and rub over his limp dick, hearing him inhale sharply. "You're liking this huh? Hah, telling me to stop when you wanted it the whole time." Rather than answering, Kai bucks his hips to you.

You laugh at him, still making sure to apply pressure to his groin. "Fucking slut, bet you'd let anyone touch your cock. That lonely huh?" You grab the waistband of his boxers with your other hand. He stops you before you can pull them down. "Please," he begs. You look up at his glossy eyes, his sweaty forehead, the hair sticking so prettily  to it. 

Growing irritated with his refusals, you give a soft flick to his cock. Kai jolts at the sensation, even whimpers from pain. "Ask me that again, I'll bite it off," you threaten. This time he doesn’t fight when you pull his dick out. The space between your legs throb at the sight, and you lick your lips eagerly. 

His cock is twitching from stimulation, a flushed pink at the tip. There are a few blue veins that pop out from the paleness, a stark contrast to the dark pubes above it. At least he trims, you think. You didn't want pubic hair stuck in your teeth once you were finished with him.

Kai's legs tremble in anticipation, and you run your hands up and down his thighs. You carefully take his tip in first, letting the salty precum cover your tastebuds. The warmth of your mouth has Kai jolt, the feeling completely foreign to him. You steady yourself on his upper thighs as you start taking him deeper. The back of your throat opens for more room, and it doesn't take long to feel him stretch it out. 

Your movements are slow as you drag your lips down Kai's length. His cock feels smooth in your mouth, and you place your tongue on the underside of him. He groans when you deep throat him, and his hips slightly thrust upwards to chase your mouth. A surprised gasp tumbles out of your mouth from the force, making you pull away completely.

You angrily look up at Kai's flushed face, "Did I say you could move?" Kai lets out a soft sob and shakes his head, "No! I'm sorry. Oh fuck I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." You can see the tears in his eyes, the blush on his face. It's tempting to keep making him feel bad, to get those salty tears down his face, but you take pity on him. Your hand reaches for his dick and gives it a few pumps. 

He twitches and moans, still apologizing for his behavior. "I'll let it go this time since you're a virgin or whatever," you start. "But do that again and I'll leave you with your small dick like this, and no one will help you out like I am." Kai nods absentmindedly, his focus completely on your fingers. 

It's hard to admit, but you really like hearing Kai moan. His breathless whimpers, his choked sobs, the way he says your name like he's begging you to stop and keep going. There was no way, after years of bullying Kai, that you would willingly place yourself between his legs. Yet here you are, knees bruising up from the hard tile and your pussy throbbing from neglect. 

A wet sound comes out  when you place his cock back where it was in your mouth. It's lewd, but the noise is easily drained out by Kai's groans of appreciation. You can tell he's focusing on remaining still with the way his hands are bunching up his shirt. A smile finds your lips when a harsh suck makes his cries echo in the bathroom. 

"You're lucky no one's in here," you say when you briefly pull away. One hand strokes him and the other plays with his balls simultaneously. "Imagine if that bitch saw you now? You think she'd still like you after seeing what a whore you are?" Kai shakes his head at your questions. "N-No."

You hum in satisfaction with his admission, placing kisses on his cock. Before you have the chance to take him back in your mouth, you hear the door to the restroom open. Footsteps echo through the previously empty room, and Kai looks like he's seen a ghost. He looks down at you, a small desperate shake in his head. Don't.

You only grin in response, eagerly forcing his cock down your throat. Kai jolts and his mouth flies open in a silent moan. Your movements are much faster now, magnifying the pornographic noises coming from your mouth. You push even further. You unhinge your jaw and take him deep, bruising the back of your throat. 

Kai's pubes tickle your nose when you hit his pelvis, and you gag around his girth. Spit dribbles down your chin, landing on your thighs and the floor. You feel nothing but arousal when you realize the unsuspecting witness has stopped moving, attentively listening to the lewd sounds echoing from your stall.. Kai notices too and shakes his head aggressively. He can’t control the tears collecting at the corner of his eyes anymore, sending waves of pleasure to your core. 

"If you're gonna fuck, can you do it somewhere else? People are tryna piss," the bystander finally calls out. You recognize the voice immediately, and so does Kai. Yeonjun sounds rather irritated, not bothering to wait for a reply as he leaves. Kai slumps in relief when he hears the restroom door swing shut again, only managing to let out a groan when he tries to speak.

Even without the extra audience you still put your best show on for Kai. Your fingernails are gripping his thighs, drool hanging off your bottom lip as you keep throatfucking yourself on Kai's dick. Kai bites his lower lip so harshly he thinks it'll bleed, but that pain is nothing compared to the pleasure you're giving him.

You can feel your arousal seep through your underwear, down the inner parts of your thighs. You think about fucking him, how good his cock would feel stretching you out. He probably wouldn't even know how to fuck you right. You might have to bounce on his cock while he sits on the toilet. As dirty as that thought is, there's more pleasure in watching Kai writhe above you.

His length twitches in your mouth. You use your hand to stroke the parts your mouth can't reach, and you maintain a steady rhythm. Kai's whines get more and more out of control and without thinking, he brushes the hair out of your face. There's a delicate moment when he locks eyes with you, making sure to get a good look at your face as he cums in your mouth. 

The hot spurts make you gag, but you force your mouth to stay on his cock so as to not waste a single drop. Kai looks like bliss with his eyes slanted and mouth open in a long moan. He’s still looking at you, almost as if he actually wants to see you.  The thought makes your stomach flip. 

You purposely take a long time pulling your mouth off his cock, his cum still settling in your mouth. Your knees scream in protest as you stand to face Kai. You wrap your hand at the back on his neck and drag him down to your height. Your other hand finds his mouth and pulls it open as you purse your lips. 

"Say ahh..."

Kai's cum leaks from your mouth in thick globs, landing on his tongue. He grimaces at the taste but keeps still. His lips are so close to your own, and for a second you debate kissing him. But then you’d miss how he swallows his own cum, how he would cough as the thick substance slides down his throat. 

You spit the remaining cum into his mouth before licking your own lips. Kai covers his mouth and squeezes his eyes as he tries to swallow it all without gagging, tears sliding down his face. Your thumb wipes one away and you bring it to your mouth, adding to the salty taste. 

"It tasted good huh, Hyuka?" 

He opens his eyes and shakes his head pitifully, making you laugh. You do the honors of pulling Kai's pants and boxers back up and adjusting his belt. You tap his clothed cock a few times just to see him flinch from the sensitivity. 

Your cunt is still sopping wet, crying to be touched. You might have to ignore it for now, but you know this won't be the last time you play with Kai. Kai silently watches as you pull your makeup out of your bag, fascinated by how quickly you make yourself look normal again despite being wrecked on his cock mere moments ago. 

You snap your mirror closed and open the stall door, sauntering away without a second look. "Better get to class then Hyuka. You don’t wanna be late.”

a/n: I love huening kai and I feel like there's not enough writings about him!! I'm planning on making this a little series, so stay tuned for that!

proofreader/editor: @then-make-me (thank you!!)

update!: second part here

update 2: third part here

[junoswrlld]

✧˖° 🐧kai bf texts ୨୧˚

huening kai x reader smau warning swearing & lowercase intended genre fluff, established relationship, crack junos note for the wren pookster!!!

mini synopsis -- more silly yn

note... i like the beomgyu one better but wtv *cries*

perm taglist: @run2seob @n034sy @jaemoris

[kimbappykidding]

At first you only did it to tease Bahiyyih.

Don't get the wrong idea, you did think Kai was good-looking and liked him but seeing Bahiyyih's face while you flirted with him was so funny you had to keep doing it.

You and Bahiyyih were famously a Tom and Jerry of Kep1er. You loved Bahiyyih a lot but were very different. She was a lot more composed, quiet and thoughtful...you were none of those things. You got told the reason you'd debuted was because of your personality and took that as a compliment. You were loud, charming and confident. So it was always a clashing of worlds when you and Bahiyyih came together and you loved nothing more than to tease her or push her buttons and one day a new idea of how to do that came to you.

You were at a party and loving it! The idol life was still new to you so every party was like an insane VIP event you'd snook into and Yujin was constantly having to remind you that this was your life now but the excitement still hadn't left you yet. TxT were also here and they'd always been so kind and supportive to you from the start because of Bahiyyih's brother. You knew him the most out of the boys but hadn't really spoken to him or the guys one-on-one ever. So when you joined the line for the bar and Yeonjun waved you to them near the front you were pleasantly surprised.

They asked what you wanted and then added it to their order. "Don't worry I can get my own" you said feeling bad but all the guys brushed that comment away. "It's okay Kai's paying for it" Beomgyu explained and your eyes widened "I can't make you do that!" you cried but Kai just smiled at you "don't be silly of course you can. I'd act like this if I saw any of my sister's friends". "Really?" you asked smiling "you're a real modern-day gentleman?" challenging him slightly. "I like to think so" Kai replied and Yeonjun nodded "yeah he is pretty nice, that's why all our female staff loved him so much". "Isn't that just because he's cute?" you asked and then paused because that came across as way flirtier than you meant. Beomgyu and Taehyun burst out laughing and Kai blushed. Yeonjun and Soobin looked very proud and you laughed too. "Sorry I didn't mean for that to come across so forward" you told Kai who shook his head "don't apologise, it's not like it's a bad thing to hear a pretty girl thinks you're cute". You smirked "are you sure you're Bahiyyih's brother?" which made Kai laugh and you happened to glance back to see Bahiyyih staring at you.

That's when the idea came to you and you turned back to Kai who seemed very pleased by your comment. "Kai is full of surprises!" Beomgyu told you and you smiled sipping on the drink he'd just gotten you "I'm starting to see that, thanks for the drink Kai. I'll get the next one and totally not as an excuse to talk to you again" and with a wink walked away.

When you got back to your table the girls could tell something had happened...the TxT guys clapping Kai on the back and staring after you with huge smiles was probably a bit of a giveaway.

"What was going on over there?" Xiaoting asked and you smiled "oh nothing just chatting to Kai and his friends". "Looked a little more than that" Bahiyyih said and you smiled "hey I can't help it if your brother's hot" and Bahiyyih paused "I'm sorry he's what?". "He's hot!" you cried "everyone knows it, right girls?" you asked looking for backup but even Dayeon didn't dare to agree. So you were on your own but didn't mind that. "Well they won't admit it but Bahiyyih your brother's hot and I think I've got a shot with him". "Got a shot?" she asked "so are you trying to...wait never mind. I don't want to know what you want with him". You smirked "I'll keep you in suspense" and caught Kai's eye across the room. He blushed and shot you a small smile which you returned. You caught Bahiyyih watching and gave her a big smile. This was going to be so much fun.

Bahiyyih watched Kai with you the rest of the night and could tell he was into you. The two of you spoke a few more times and Kai's eyes were glued to you each time. He laughed at everything you said and you'd definitely taken an interest in him which he loved. Out of all her members, Bahiyyih supposed you were pretty much Kai's perfect type so she shouldn't be surprised...but it still took her back when Kai came to her about you a week later.

They'd met up for breakfast to discuss their sister's birthday and what they were going to get her. Once that was done Kai shot her a look "so Y/n" Kai said and it took everything for Bahiyyih not to react. "Yeah?" she asked trying to act calm and Kai looked down shyly "is she seeing anyone?" he asked coyly. Bahiyyih hesitated "why? Are you into her?". Kai blushed and Bahiyyih gasped "omg you are! You fancy my member!". "I wouldn't say fancy just she's really pretty and we got talking the other night. I like her confidence and don't remember you saying anything bad about her". "Because there's nothing bad to say" Bahiyyih admitted "she's cute, funny and talented. Sure she can be a little loud and reckless but I've never found her to be too much" she said begrudgingly. Kai smiled "do you think she might be into me?". Bahiyyih nodded "yes" but didn't elaborate and then feeling the obligation to be the good sister she added "I'll send you her number".

Kai had texted you before Bahiyyih had even got home from their dinner. She came to warn you and found you already in a string of texts with him. "I'm so touched" you told her as she went to leave your room and she froze. "Why?" she asked and you smiled "because you could've forbidden him from texting me but you actually gave him my number. You must think I'm such a great person to set me up with your brother" you said grinning at her and Bahiyyih rolled her eyes. "Sure if you want to see it that way go for it" she said "can I just ask you one thing?" and you nodded "sure!". "Just don't hurt him" she said and you paused "what? What makes you think I would?". "I don't know at first I couldn't tell if this was all to get a rise out of me but if it is please stop. Kai may seem strong and hides it well but he's vulnerable and soft. A girl like you could destroy him". "A girl like me?" you asked and Bahiyyih nodded "confident, cool, sexy. Someone who has her pick of guys" she sighed "don't break his heart please?". "I won't" you promised "I have no intention to hurt him...atleast in a bad way" you said with a wink and Bahiyyih groaned but your joke did its job, it lightened the mood.

You and Kai texted for a week before you suggested meeting up. It wasn't anything deep, you just asked if he wanted to grab a coffee when you had a longer lunch break and he agreed to help you pass the time. Plus you were still getting a kick from being friends with a member's brother and Bahiyyih's reaction when you announced you were leaving to see Kai made you smile all the way to the Hybe building. Kai offered to come to you but you fancied a walk and a nosy around Hybe. Kai had given your name to the man at the front desk and you were let straight through. You took the elevator up to the correct floor and ping, you were here.

The doors opened and there you were! Kai's heart did a little leap because he'd been nervous about this since you planned it and now here you were! You shot him a big happy smile and walked confidently over to him. "Hey, thanks for having me over!" and Kai smiled "oh it's not problem, if you ever need to waste some time just let me know". You nodded "but spending time with you is never wasting time" and walked into the cafe without any hesitation. Kai followed just a second behind you and watched as you took everything in. "It's a pretty nice cafe and not too busy so we can sit anywhere" Kai explained, feeling like he was stating the obvious but you nodded. "How about by the window?" you asked and Kai followed you nodding his head.

You both went up to order and you ordered first and moved to the other side of the till to get your drink. Kai was waiting to pay for his drink when your presence became known.

"Who let you in?" Kai heard someone ask aggressively and worried some security person had thought you'd snook in. He turned around panicked, but saw it was Enhypen or specifically Jay, Jake and Sunghoon. They were all around you but you had a smile on your face so seemed fine. Regardless Kai quickly paid and rushed over to find you were explaining the situation.

You saw Kai and smiled "see, here he is!" and the guys turned to look at Kai. "Did you really invite her in here or is she lying like she always does?" Jay asked and Kai felt himself bristle. "Yes I invited her here and she's never lied to me". Jay paused but you and the others laughed. "See! You're clearly the problem" you said pushing your way to Kai's side "now you owe me an apology!" you said to Jay. "I'm sorry" he said smiling sweetly "I just figured you were here to see me".

Kai's eyes widened slightly at the flirting but you just snorted "please you'd be the last person I'd be here to see" and you turned to Kai "we're all in that 2002 group chat right? I know them from there". Kai nodded as if he hadn't stopped checking that chat a few weeks after being added to it. "Jake and Sunghoon are good friends" you said smiling at the two boys and purposefully leaving Jay out. When he started to protest such treatment you simply said you and Kai had to go and steered a very relieved Kai away from the group.

Things got better once you sat down and actually started talking. Kai's heartbeat returned to a normal level and he realised how much he liked having your attention on him when someone else stole it.

Fromis_9 spotted you when they came in for a coffee and they all rushed to greet you. Apparently, you knew more Hybe members than Kai and they all gushed over you and demanded you come visit them too. "Yeah why does Kai get a visit from you and we don't?" Jiwon asked and Kai blushed at the question but you just smiled. "Because Kai's special" and gave him a small wink. Kai was on cloud nine and even waved as all the girls walked away.

"Wow you know everyone!" he remarked when his brain started functioning again and you laughed. "Yeah I can't even deny it! The girls claim I'm a natural social butterfly and I think they're right. I just love people and start conversations with everyone around me. That's how I become friends with so many people". Kai nodded "wow I can't even imagine that, I'm not the most outgoing person". "Nonsense! You were so friendly when I met you at the bar!" you said and Kai shrugged "yeah but I had the guys with me. I can be quiet on my own". "Well good things you'll always have people with you huh?" you asked and Kai hoped you were insinuating you'd be around him more. "Plus it's nice to be a little introverted, I can be like that too. When I get home I just like to hide in my room for a few hours and be alone. You can't always be on the go and it's nice to do nothing sometimes". Kai was so relieved you said that and nodded along enthusiastically "I couldn't agree more".

Your lunch break just flew by and before you knew it, you had to head back to work. "You know, you're a very nice person to be around" you said as Kai walked you to your building and he blinked "I am?". You nodded "you're simultaneously chill and warm. As in you're very calming but also nice. It's a nice mix". Kai smiled "nobody's ever told me that before but I'm glad you feel that way". "So would you like to meet again?" you asked "maybe spend more time together on a date or something?". Kai's eyes widened and he nodded vigorously as his mouth seemed unable to catch up with his brain. "Yes I'd love that!" he finally said and you laughed "great! Text me?" and Kai nodded "definitely". With a cute laugh, you waved to him and disappeared into your building. Kai let out a large cheer and then covered his mouth, worried you might've heard him. You did but thought it was funny.

When you got back to work you walked inside with a bounce in your step and Bahiyyih looked at you. "You're in a good mood" Dayeon said and you smiled "I had a good break" and that was all you said about your cafe date but it was enough. Bahiyyih heard you had an official date with Kai the next week and was nervous all over again. She just had to hope you'd keep your promise.

Kai was very surprised when you said you wanted to go to a museum for your first official date. From your personality he expected you'd want to go to some bar or loud party but you explained they'd added a few new exhibits since you'd last been and that you liked the environment. So pleasantly surprised, Kai met you outside on a crisp autumn morning. He spotted you coming as soon as you came around the corner but pretended to be on his phone so as to not seem too eager (even though he was). You called his name and came right over to him confidently. "Hey it's good to see you" you smiled going in for a hug and Kai hugged you back. "You too! I always loved museums but haven't been to this one so in excited". You smiled "then let's not keep you in suspense any longer!" and led him inside.

Kai remembered Yeonjun saying ages ago that with social events, it's not where you go but who you go with that makes it enjoyable and Kai had thought he was wrong...until you proved him otherwise. You made going to a museum such an exciting enjoyable thing and Kai wasn't even sure how! You were just so funny and charismatic. You knew exactly when to crack and joke and also when to be quieter and he loved it. You laughed a lot and Kai liked that. You weren't too serious and seemed to just go with the flow. He could see how you'd got chosen for the group and everyone who came into contact with you seemed charmed by you. He felt lucky to be out on a date with you and whenever you smiled at him his stomach did backflips.

You went to dinner together afterwards and Kai got to ask you more about your life and he found you fascinating. You'd done so much and seemed to throw yourself into any situation with determination and optimism. You'd become a kpop idol by chance. You auditioned for the group purely because your friend dared you to and you actually got called back to the next stage! You hadn't prepared any song and just sang your favourite one. When they asked why you wanted to become an idol you were honest and said you hadn't planned to come today but it looked fun. Kai had personally planned for ages for his audition and loved the idea of you just showing up randomly and killing it. He found your confidence so attractive and honestly thought everything about you was hot. You stayed talking for 2 hours before Kai had to leave to go to a fitting and he must've been very obvious in not wanting to leave because you asked him out for a second date right there and then. Kai of course said yes.

Bahiyyih of course remembered the day of your date and when you came into work the next day she was eyeing you trying to work out how it had been. Finally, Hikaru asked how everyone's day off had been and Bahiyyih leaned in expectantly. "It was good" you smiled "I had my date with Kai and I won't talk about it too much Bahiyyih don't worry but it went well". The girls all began to cheer but didn't get much out of you which was typical. The one-time Bahiyyih wanted you to talk about her brother you didn't. You did say you had a second date next week though so she knew it had gotten off to a good start.

2 weeks later TxT were at an event. Kai was calmly watching the different idols file into the party when Beomgyu hit him. "Hey Kai it's your girlfriend" Beomgyu cried and Kai's hand reached out and slapped him. "Shhhh we've only been on 2 dates!" he cried and Beomgyu gasped "I was joking she's not even here". "Oh that's okay then" Kai said and Beomgyu glared "for you!" massaging his arm. "You did provoke him" Yeonjun said and Taehyun nodded.

You actually did enter the party a few minutes later and Kai's breath caught but you didn't spot him straightaway. You were chatting with a few guys from Ateez and his expression must've given away his thoughts because Yeonjun laughed. "Don't worry she's just friends with Wooyoung and Jongho". Kai smiled and tried to laugh it off "what? Who is? Oh you mean Y/n?" before realising it wasn't working. "You think?" he asked and Yeonjun nodded "yeah Wooyoung's mentioned her before, plus she's friends with tons of guys so no reason to think she's interested in them in particular!". Yeonjun realised that might not have helped the situation when he saw Kai's face. "What Yeonjun means is she's just a social person, hanging out with someone doesn't have to mean anything" Taehyun explained. "Then does she just think I'm another friend?" Kai asked feeling like an idiot.

The guys all rushed to assure him that wasn't the case but Beomgyu (still feeling a bit pouty about his sore arm) figured the best way to get rid of Kai's doubts was to get you in front of him. As you came nearer their group he turned and called "oh hey Y/n!" loudly making you look over at them. Kai went pink as you looked at him and smiled. You said something to Ateez and they nodded as you left them and came over.

"Hey Beomgyu! Any reason you shouted my name out like that?" you called out. "I'm just so happy to see you!" he said and you smiled "hmmm so It was because you were trying to make Kai blush or anything right? Because that's not nice and I'm sure you wouldn't like it if someone did it to you". "Nobody can make me blush sweetie" Beomgyu replied and you smiled "really?" and stepped closer. "What are you doing?" Beomgyu asked but you cut him off, putting your arms around his neck. "Wow you're really good looking Beomgyu. You're the perfect balance between beauty and masculinity. You've got a great body and your arms look amazing. Your skin is just flawless, your eyes sparkle so much and your lips...." you trailed off looking at them and biting your own before smiling "they just look delicious, can I have a taste?". Beomgyu went bright red and began stuttering while the guys busied themselves laughing except for Kai who was stunned, turned on and a little jealous all at once. Luckily though you turned away from Beomgyu quickly and looked at Kai "Hey, want to get a drink?". He nodded "sure!" and you led him away linking your arm through his.

You stayed together for the rest of the night and Kai was really pleased you wanted to spend time with him so publically. You weren't joined at the hip, both his members, yours and a bunch of idols you knew fluttered in but you never went far from him and carried on chatting to him all night. He liked being around you and although he was growing more and more comfortable with you that excited feeling never went away which made him happy.

You asked Kai if he wanted to grab some air with you about 3 hours in and he happily stepped outside with you. The two of you found a bench and sat down together. "I can't believe haven't told you this but you look really beautiful" Kai said and you smiled "thanks I like outfits like this" you said looking down at your beautiful trousers "they make me feel powerful without worrying about my ass hanging out like I do with stage outfits". Kai paused "yeah I would definitely hate for that to happen to me on stage" and you laughed. "You look really nice tonight too" you said "but now I can get the image of you in a miniskirt out of my head". "Hey I'd pull it off! I have nice legs" Kai said and he went to move his leg onto the bench when you stopped him with a hand on his arm. You smiled "I believe you, you don't have to prove it. You seem to have nice everything" and you gave him a once over "nice eyes, nice smile, nice hair" you said "nice lips". You looked up at him as you said that and Kai got your meaning and leaned down to kiss you.

The second you kissed him back Kai knew for sure you did like him and he was on top of the world! This beautiful girl wanted him and he sure wanted you. It was of course your first kiss as a couple and Kai loved how natural it felt. Thinking back, he couldn't believe he'd been the one to move first. Sure you'd pretty much set it up for him to follow but he was still impressed he had that confidence. It was pretty simple though, he kissed you because he wanted to and there had been nothing else on his mind at that moment.

It was a good kiss too. Kai had figured with you he might be a little out of his depth but he wasn't. You seemed more experienced than him but he kept up well, fuelled by his feelings for you and when you both pulled back he wasn't the only one flushed.

"That was nice...really nice" you smiled and Kai agreed. He wanted to keep kissing you but you rested your head against his shoulder and he really just wanted to make you happy so wrapped an arm around you and relaxed. It was the best night of his life!

The guys could all tell something had happened because Kai was beaming and in an excellent mood the rest of the night. He laughed at all of Beomgyu's jokes and was singing softly to himself in the car on the way home. "What did Y/n say to make you so lovesick?" Taehyun finally asked and Kai blushed "she didn't say anything we just kissed". "You kissed!" Yeonjun yelled nearly giving Soobin a heart attack. "Yeah we had our first kiss...no big deal" Kai said but the huge grin on his face showed it was. All the guys were thrilled because Kai had never dated before and he seemed really happy! His smile was so genuine and joyous that the guys decided then and there that they liked you. Anyone who made their maknae smile this much had to be good news.

After your kiss, you knew you and Kai were something and figured you should update Bahiyyih. You were sure Kai wouldn't tell her about the kiss but didn't want it to come up randomly and blindsight her. So you explained you'd kissed Kai and were seeing him again next week. Bahiyyih nodded "I figured when he came back inside looking like it was the Christmas he got a piano, so do you like him?". You nodded "of course! I wouldn't kiss him if I didn't". Bahiyyih nodded "and so what are you? Are you dating or just casual". "Just casual at the moment" you shrugged "it's so new, we haven't really discussed it". "Are you seeing any other guys?" Bahiyyih asked and you laughed "what is this 21 questions?". Bahiyyih sighed "I don't mean to be nosey but if you are seeing other guys just make that clear to Kai". You frowned "I think you're underestimating your brother. He's not a child". Bahiyyih nodded "I know he's not but I just don't think there should be any miscommunication. You can't do anything wrong if you were honest". "Well I'm not planning on sleeping with any guys between now and next week" you replied back feeling a little annoyed at Bahiyyih acting like you were guilty of something. She took in your cold tone and nodded leaving the room. Suddenly teasing Bahiyyih was becoming the least fun thing about this.

If it was obvious Kai liked you before the kiss, after the kiss he was just downright embarrassing. He'd literally stop walking when he saw you and even did this on stage. He couldn't resist smiling when he spotted you and Soobin had to keep nudging his foot with his own to stop him. Kai could talk about you for ages and Taehyun had to ask him to stop many times so he could go to sleep. So seeing as Kai was falling headfirst the guys decided they should meet you properly, just to make sure you were into Kai too and he wasn't being taken advantage of. Kai was THRILLED with the idea of inviting you around for dinner and you agreed happily. You liked being around people and TxT seemed so fun so you were so up for it. Plus you were craving time with Kai more and more so it was a win-win.

Kai drove over to yours despite you telling him you could drive yourself. He said he wanted to make sure you got here okay but really he just wanted to get some time with you before the boys steamrolled everything and he warned you a little bit about that. "So Yeonjun will be all over you but not physically" Kai said, blushing slightly "just Yeonjun loves people and they love him so you'll find him really easy to talk to. Beomgyu is an ambivert but he seems to really like you so he'll probably flirt with you and want your attention" Kai said "Soobin is introverted but the leader so he'll be all welcoming and make sure you're okay, you have enough drinks stuff like that. Then there's Taehyun who seems quiet but is actually extroverted and you really see that around us so I think you'll see a different side that you're used to".

You nodded "wow this is all so useful thank you! You know your members super well huh?". Kai nodded "yeah, we've been together a while and I tend to be the observer so I notice things". You smiled "that's true but I have seen some videos where you go chaotic Kai" you said "I love when you tease your hyungs". Kai paused "wait you watched some of our videos?". You smiled "of course! I mean I'd seen all your music videos but I also wanted to see what idol Kai was like and you're very funny" you said shooting him a glance. Kai's cheeks went full pink and he laughed a goofy happy laugh before blushing. "I also love your dolphin scream" you said and Kai burst out laughing making you laugh too. "I don't do it on purpose!" he cried and you smiled "I know that's what makes it so good! You're effortlessly great Kai" and he grinned. A compliment from you always made him smile.

Everything went down exactly as Kai said it would. Soobin greeted you at the door and was playing the role of attentive hostess when Yeonjun appeared and barreled over him. Yeonjun was charismatic and quickly established a connection with you based on mutual interests. Taehyun and Beomgyu entered next and while Taehyun gave you a polite nod and smile Beomgyu came right over to you and started flirting. As the night continued, you spoke to Taehyun more and discovered he was really cool! He also had a big presence despite being the smallest and you instinctively liked him too.

You were talking to Yeonjun and Soobin and smiled as Soobin asked if you wanted anything from the kitchen and Yeonjun complimented your shoes. "What?" Yeonjun asked and you shook your head "nothing just before I got here Kai gave me a rundown on how you'd all act and he was totally right. Everything you guys have done is exactly what he said". Yeonjun laughed "wait what did he say?" and you explained. "I am great with people" Yeonjun smiled and Soobin nodded "I am a good host" and you smiled at their happy expressions.

"It's just so sweet Kai notices this about everyone. He's so sweet and kind" you said watching him across the room with Taehyun, making Soobin and Yeonjun smile. "Yeah he is" Soobin nodded "and you've definitely caught his attention which for a person who observes everything is impressive". "It is?" you asked and Yeonjun nodded "totally! Like you said Kai notices everything so the fact he's into you shows he's only seen good things which means you're either a wonderful person or a cunning mastermind" he said frowning as he sized you up. You hit his arm "obviously it's the first one" and Yeonjun smiled "yeah of course...it's just you think he's sweet for noticing us. You should see how sweet he is around you". "Really?" you asked and Yeonjun went to jump into it when Soobin elbowed him and shook his head. Yeonjun did big eyes and some mental conversation between them was had. You got the gist Yeonjun could speak but not say too much so he turned to you. "We don't want to give anything away but he's basically a puppy in adoration with you" Yeonjun said and Soobin hit him "dude!" but it was okay. You found it sweet and were very very pleased. You had noticed some things in how Kai acted around you in particular but weren't sure how much you were reading into things, so to hear his members confirm things was reassuring of Kai's feelings.

You hadn't meant to find a sweet boyfriend going into this but life had thrown you some good luck...so it was only just that there was some bad luck on the horizon too.

I hope you had a nice relaxing Christmas!

This will be a two-part series and part two is out now!

[soubeomies]

oh my GOD. i love your writing!!! can we get like pure fluff heuning kai please. i need it. i have a few scenarios so have fun with these.

kai being on tour and he calls you every night trying not to expose the presents until he gets home and shows you stupid little things for the two of you (matching phonecases,,rings, bracelets, etc)

morning with kai (cuddling, staying in bed, random little talks so the two of you wake up)

AND!! the tiktok coquette bf bow trend with kai!! use any of these!!

pairing ; hueningkai x gn!reader

genre ; fluffiest fluff to ever fluff

warnings ; NONE HEHE :3

a/n ; OMG TYSM FOR BEING MY FIRST REQ! i'll do the coquette bow trend cuz i think its sauuuurrr cyuutee <3 ILY !!!!!

you were on the bed scrolling through tiktok as your boyfriend, kai, was in the bathroom showering since he just got back from tour a few days ago and decided to stay over at your place since he had a few days off. you were moving around to get in a comfortable position, your legs slightly tangled in the mess of your blanket.

you continue scrolling on your phone as a video pops up on your for you page. it's a video of a girl tying a pink little bow on her boyfriend's biceps, with a lana del rey song as its audio. you stare into the screen with a smile as an idea pops up in your head, maybe you should make kai do it?

you impatiently waited for him to finish showering and exit the bathroom. as you heard the bathroom door creak open, you practically whipped your head around to face kai. he looked at you with a hint of confusion in his eyes, he had a towel in his hand as he was rubbing the towel against his glistening strands of blonde hair. you quickly got up as you walked up to him, 

“hey baby .. ?” you said in a slightly persuasive tone in your voice, holding your phone behind your back. he looked at you as he laughed a little, “hm? what do you need this time?” he said gently. he looked at you lovingly, though you knew, whatever you asked him, he would probably do it. because according to him “he loves you too much to say no”.

you smile a little at him as you showed him your phone and the video you saw earlier, he watched the video fully as he looked at you. “you want.. me? to let you tie a pink bow.. around my arm?” he asked you with a slightly confused tone in his voice. 

you eagerly nod at him, “mhm! please? pretty please?” you pleaded. he laughed at your adorable behaviour as he nodded at you, “how could i say no?” he said whilst he smiled at you, he looked as if he was ready to do anything for you. if you told him to jump, he would've probably asked “how high”.

you dragged him over to a cleaner area of your apartment as you clicked stuff on your phone to get the lana del ray audio. you then set your phone down as you scurry around your apartment, looking for a pink ribbon to tie around his arm. you then opened a drawer as you found some pink ribbon. you cut a reasonable amount of it as you walked back up to him. you then tie it around his arm and tried to make the bow look as perfect as possible.

he looked at your focused face with a smile, “you look cute while being this focused by the way..” he muttered under his breath, a small flush of rosy pink gradually appearing on his cheeks. you smile at his comment as you finally got the bow tied perfectly!

you take your phone and started recording. as you were recording him, he practically couldn't stay still. he was giggling and laughing as he found it a little embarrassing. 

–

its been a few hours since you posted that tiktok, you’ve gotten comments saying stuff like

“OMG! IS THAT UR MAN GIRLLL???? DAMNNN”

“HUENINGKAIII????” “SO CUTE OMMGGG”

you smiled gently as you read all the cute comments you got from your friends as he was laying on your lap, asleep :)

[heart-net]

Best part *ੈ✩‧₊˚☾

Txt members'favorite part of your body ‹𝟹

WSFW HEADCANNON

YEONJUN

Everyone already knew yeonjun loved every single part about you. But what he loved the most was your cute plump and soft lips.

He would make out with you every chance he got, in the park, on the bus, in the bed like everywhere.

Yeojun said it himself, he would make out with you till he stopped breathing.

Your lips are best at use when they are around his cock though, He liked to face fuck you slow just to feel every single part of your lips slide on his shaft. Mouth is so big to talk but yet feels so tight around his cock, how?

SOOBIN

Soobin was always quite the tiddie man, he knew for a very long time and he was sure he was gonna stick by it. Once he laid eyes on the way your ass bounced in those damn leggings he knew he was changed.

The first time he ever saw you was from behind and once he got a glare of your round soft ass in those yoga pants his dick was standing straight up in his boxers. He had to see it bounce back on him he just had to and once he did all bets were off. Soobin loved back shots, and spanking. When you first let him fuck you he instantly bent you over, he even came within 2 minutes of fucking you. The way your ass bounced with every thrust made him bust right then and there.

Rest in peace to your ass cheeks every time he saw your ass he got the sudden chills and just had to smack it, it had become a hobby to him almost a routine to him.

And don't get me started on how many times he wanted to do anal with you.

BEOMGYU

Munch. One word I would use to describe him. He loves loves looooves eating you out. His dick could be on the verge of exploding but he still going to make sure he gets his daily dose of your cunt.

He sops it up like a ripe fruit off of a tree. He takes his time while eating you out, he wants to make sure you feel nice.

Beomgyu believed all vaginas are beautiful and needed to be pleasured and he always knew to do it yours. His tongue, fingers or cock, he needs you to feel good and have your juices on him.

KAI

Boobies. Kai could lay in between your boobs all day. He always needed them in his grasp. He loved the way other men would stare but he knew he was the only one putting those boobs in his mouth, only on his fingers and his dick.

No top on you while having sex his number one rule. He needs to see those tiddes bounce right in his view and in his face.

TAEHYUN

He was always the one to say personality but he knew he fucked your thighs every night.

He'd place his face in between your legs and take little bites and sucks at the soft plushy part of your inner thighs, dark purple and red marks all along the inside right near your cunt that he'd leave dripping.

He would fuck in between your thick thighs every time he got hard. when you were sleeping, plain just spooning, he would find his cock in between you. Dried cum stuck on your legs when you awake. Sometimes he has his face drowning in your skin between your legs when you wake up.

© STAR-NET 2023 — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[yunhoslvr]

𓈒 𓆇 ˚ 🔌 › ✶ ˖ ࣪ ⌅ ◦