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danceworshipper · 4 years

Text

Oliver Adams - HPHM Profile [redone]

(information is as of sixth year - shared universe with @ask-hphm-crew)

Identity

Name: Oliver Tyler Adams

Gender: Male (cis)

Age: 16

Birthday: May 28th, 1973 (gemini)

Species: Human/wizard

Blood Status: Halfblood

Sexuality: Pansexual

Alignment: Neutral Good

Residence: The family farm in the Irish countryside. It's huge, a bit outdated decoration-wise, and homey. His room is on the third floor, looking out over the field and he can see the sunrise if he wakes up early enough. The farm is so old and imbued with magic that Oliver can use underage magic without the Ministry finding out

Personality Type: ESFJ-A (the consul)

Magic

Wand: 13 3/4 inches of pliant pine wood encasing a phoenix feather core. The wand is thick and heavy, light in color, and with no defining marks other than Oliver's name carved into it with a knife. Doing this did not damage the wand in any way, but when Ollivander saw it he nearly had a heart attack.

Animagus: A mixed breed cat, Siamese/Ragdoll, similar to the stray cats that lounge around the farm

Misc. Magical Abilities: Legilimency and Occlumency, though he doesn't practice them often

Boggart Form: In earlier years, it was a werewolf, since one could be heard howling somewhere near the farm during full moons. As he got older and met actual werewolves like Chiara, Oliver lost his fear of them and his boggart changed to a mortally wounded vision of himself, having failed to save anyone from the vaults and meeting his own painful end

Riddikulus Form: The vision of himself is instead only afflicted with a concussion, with his Quidditch team mothering him as he insists he's fine

Amortentia (what do they smell like?): Oliver would smell like roast chicken, fresh tomatoes, and bright sunshine

Amortentia (what do they smell?): At the current point, Oliver smells the ocean, cat fur, and wood polish. As he has no strong romantic interest (though that may change very soon) the smells just make him happy and aren't related to any specific person

Patronus: Dolphin

Patronus Memory: His first time seeing the ocean. Nothing went wrong that day, and he got to see dolphins for the first time too. He and his family all had a great time together.

Mirror of Erised: His mother and grandparents standing proudly behind him. It's his graduation day, not an injury to him. Everything turned out okay

Specialized/Favorite Spells:

- Reficere Aspectu - temporarily repairs his vision. The spell he uses for Quidditch matches.

- Lumos, Aguamenti, Wingardium Leviosa - extremely useful spells for around the farm

- Arania Exumi - spider repellent is always useful

- Orchideous - he conjures flowers for his mother and grandmother all the time

- Reparo - the first Transfiguration spell he got on the first try

Appearance

[concept image made using the zepeto app]

Height: 6'3

Weight: 191 lbs

Physique: Skinny with noticeable muscles from all the Quidditch and farming

Eye Color: Light, slightly greyish blue

Hair Color: Dirty blonde, usually kept in a bowl cut that his mother gives him. Oliver knows it's not fashionable (Andre is constantly nagging him to change it) but he doesn't really care enough to learn hair charms

Skin Tone: Light, no freckles. He burns easily so when he comes back at the start of every year he's a bit pink

Body Modifications: His eyesight is atrocious. He wears round glasses most of the time and uses a temporary vision charm for Quidditch

Scarring: Oliver has a nasty scar on his back from being kicked by a cow as a kid, and some scratches on his arms and legs from the various animals and work around the farm

Fashion: This kid has no fashion. Andre is in hell. Oliver wears shorts whenever he can and t-shirts. If it's cold he'll add a flannel. Around sixth year he starts updating his wardrobe a bit, but keeps his usual clothing for around the farm. No point having decent clothing get all dirty and ripped up

Hogwarts

House: Gryffindor

Class Grades:

- Astronomy: E

- Care of Magical Creatures: E

- Charms: A

- Defense Against the Dark Arts: E

- Divination: E

- Flying: O

- Herbology: O

- History of Magic: A

- Potions: A

- Transfiguration: A

Quidditch: Keeper since year 3

Extracurriculars: Dragon Club, Gobstones Club

Favorite Professor: Professor McGonagall. She's his head of house, and she reminds Oliver a bit of his grandmother with her stern but kind nature. She encourages his love of Transfiguration, even if he isn't the best at it, and she's a huge Quidditch fan

Least Favorite Professor: Professor Dumbledore. Oliver is an easygoing, agreeable guy most of the time. He respects his elders as his grandparents taught him, but only when they deserve it. Dumbledore most certainly does not

Relationships

Mother: Katie Adams

- Katie is a shy, quiet woman. She was homeschooled for most of her life, receiving at-home tutoring in her later years as her mother Gertrude was unable to properly teach her what she needed to know, and she's only seen the inside of Hogwarts twice: when she sat in for her O.W.L.s and her N.E.W.T.s.

- As a mother, Katie made sure to raise Oliver to be kind and always drink his Respect Women Juice. She had him take on some of the farm duties at a young age to help teach him responsibility

- Oliver got kicked by a cow when she turned her back on him for no more than ten seconds. Katie's boggart is what would have happened had Oliver been standing slightly closer - he would have been paralyzed, as the kick would have hit his neck

Father: Kyle Donovan

- Oliver never knew him. He was a muggle who left Katie shortly after she became pregnant

- He was a decent guy in general, but the idea of being a father at the age of 24 scared him and he ran like a coward. He never knew about the Wizarding world, and even if he wanted to return to try and make amends he'll never be able to find the family farm ever again, thanks to Marvin

Grandfather: Marvin Adams

- Marvin is a cranky, slightly old fashioned kind of guy. He cares a lot about tradition and keeps telling Oliver that one day the farm will be his, and then his kids', and then their kids'. Oliver doesn't have the strength to tell him he's not sure he wants kids at all

- Marvin loves his wife. There were many times in their relationship where it looked like the marriage was about to fall apart, but they were somehow always able to get through them - mostly by him apologizing to Gertrude

- Oliver is able to hold his own in a duel thanks to Marvin. Despite being an old crud, he's got a lot of fight in him

Grandmother: Gertrude Adams

- Gertrude was horrified that Oliver was going to grow up without a male influence, which is why Katie never moved off the family farm with him. The old woman made Oliver learn to cook and sew so that he wouldn't be a useless husband in the future

- She's the type of person who'll say that she still dreams of marrying her teenage sweetheart and moving to an island with him, but she doesn't mean it. She loves her family and her life, but she does one day want to retire on an island

- After Oliver graduates Hogwarts and takes over the farm, Gertrude will finally be able to convince Marvin that they can retire without worrying over the farm, and they'll move to a lovely beach house. Her last ten years will be spent in her own little paradise

Love Interest: Isla Lyall @sapphicsaffir

- Isla is the twin sister of Vera, one of Oliver's closest friends in Gryffindor. Isla is in Ravenclaw, so originally they didn't spend much time together. However, Oliver always found Isla cuter than Vera

- People who didn't know them well thought Oliver and Vera liked each other, but anyone who did know them knew Vera would rather die, and that Oliver preferred the red haired twin over the blonde one

- Vera is the one who keeps pushing to get them together. She told Oliver that she knows Isla likes him, but he refused to believe it. Still, she kept trying, saying that if anyone had to be her brother-in-law she'd rather it be him

- In fourth year, Ravenclaw lost a crucial match and it took them out if running for the House Cup. Isla, a chaser, was disappointed, but went to the final match to support her sister and her crush

- Gryffindor won, and in the excitement, Isla ran up to Oliver and yanked him down so she could kiss him. Oliver understandably short-circuited, while Vera yelled "Finally!"

Best Friend: Andre Egwu

- When Oliver first met Andre, they didn't like each other at all. They were on opposing Quidditch teams, after all. But their mutual friends forced them to spend more time together, and now the two are practically inseparable. It makes little sense to most people.

- They're the kind of best friends who insult the living daylights out of each other to show their love

- They went as friends to the Celestial Ball. A few people got the wrong impression, but they've never considered dating each other. They feel more like brothers than anything else

Rival: Anyone on an opposing Quidditch team. Even if the rivalry doesn't affect them off the pitch, Oliver's instinctive reaction when he sees his opponents is one of distaste (ironic since both his best friend and his girlfriend are his rivals)

Enemy: Every last member of R

Dormmates:

- Charlie Weasley

- Ben Copper

- Jae Kim

Pets: a barn owl named Priscilla, and a sheepdog who stays at the farm named Sparky

Closest Canon Friends:

- Charlie Weasley

- Nymphadora Tonks

- Diego Caplan

Closest Noncanon Friends:

- Vera Lyall @sapphicsaffir

- The gang from @ask-hphm-crew

- Unnamed members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team

Storyline

- Oliver was raised a happy, carefree little boy. His incident with the cow never deterred him from helping his mum and grandparents around the farm, and he even gave the cow an "I'm sorry I provoked you" treat as soon as he could. He didn't ask about his father until he was ten, and Gertrude sat him down and told him what happened. Oliver resents the man that fled his mother. Gertrude knew he'd be angry and didn't tell him his father's name

- During his first couple years at Hogwarts, Oliver made friends and charmed his way into most of the professors' good graces. In year three Oliver joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and after his first match against Ravenclaw, he and Andre started butting heads until their other friends forced them to hang out more

- Oliver gets involved with the Cursed Vaults almost by accident. He has no cursed brother like the game says, but he does have a desire to help people, so when he hears of a group of students trying to save the school from certain doom, he gets involved right away

- His discovered Legilimency throws him for a loop, as no one in his family has that power. He rarely ever uses his mind reading without permission, but when it becomes necessary he's usually able to do it without the target finding out

- After Hogwarts, Oliver will take ownership of the family farm for a few years, but it's not his passion and he hates the idea of being stuck there for the rest of his life. At age twenty two he sells the farm to one of the farmhands with three young kids and uses the money to buy a bakery with an apartment above it. He grows some of his own ingredients and buys the rest at discount from the old farm, and also runs guitar lessons out of his apartment. His grandparents are a little disappointed, but they understand, and his mother reveals that she had a secret boyfriend who she moves in with and later marries. He's a nice man with a kid a little older than Oliver

- Oliver and Isla have a small wedding a little before the Battle of Hogwarts. A few years later, Isla gives birth to twin girls Kenzie and Kleio. Five years after that, their son Caspian is born

Extra Info

- Oliver is a family man through and through. If he had to, he would have stayed on the farm forever to support his family. When he has his own family, he's an extremely devoted father even though he was never sure he wanted children when he was younger

- Despite not moving on to play Quidditch professionally, Oliver does join a recreational team after he sells the farm, as does Andre, who starts up his own fashion line

- Oliver is a total house husband. Isla is a cursebreaker, and Oliver brags about her to whoever will listen. She often comes home to a fresh cooked meal/baked goods

- Oliver's a cat person. He adopts two stray kittens when he moves to the bakery and loves them with all his heart

- He can't be alone for more than a few days or he'll go crazy. He loves spending time with his friends or even meeting new people

- He starts playing the guitar at the age of seven. Marvin is the one to teach him. Later on he learns about the muggle electric guitar and buys one as soon as he can figure out how to get electricity into his apartment

- Oliver visits his grandparents at their beach house at least five times a year. He can't get enough of the ocean, even when it's too cold to go swimming (and he'll usually do it anyway)

- He's the tallest one in his immediate family. Oliver assumes he got his height from his father, but he actually got the height from Gertrude's side of the family

- Oliver will always prefer to cook himself than to go to a restaurant

- He's a fairly good dueler, but Diego could always kick his ass

- Oliver will try to arrange a big meetup with all of his friends at least once a year. Not everyone can make it every time, but he refuses to let their friendships fade into the past

- He loses the bowl cut in year seven, when Andre convinces Tonks and Diego to hold him down so Andre can fix his hair. Oliver ends up liking it and keeps it that way for years to come

#hogwarts mystery #oliver adams #character profile #hphm mc #zepeto

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luxekook · 5 years

Note

would you write tentacle smut about jungkook or tentacle smut abt TAEHYUNG

⇥ pairing: octopus hybrid!taehyung x reader

⇥ genre: hybrid au with fluff and smut

⇥ summary: tentacle smut with octopus!tae

⇥ word count: 1.3k

⇥ warnings: nc17+, tentacle smut (DUH), minimal cursing, some dirty talk, general crackfic energy (double DUH)

You were almost certain you were being hunted. As you made your way down another hall of the aquarium, you heard light footsteps stop and start along with your own. Yet, you weren’t scared; you knew exactly who it was. Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung had a tendency to escape his habitat more often than not. The night guard had also warned you about Tae’s bad habit in advance when you had switched shifts. You usually worked security in the mornings when the aquarium was brimming with bright eyed children and coffee-fueled parents.

You loved your job. You loved protecting the fish, the mammals, the animals, and the humans. But most of all, you loved protecting the hybrids. And that was what Taehyung was - an octopus hybrid.

The first time you had walked past Taehyung’s habitat, you immediately took notice of him. Why? Because he had been scaling the wall of his enclosure with his four human limbs and his eight tentacles in an attempt to escape through the vent in the ceiling.

He must have felt you gaping in his direction because he turned to face you and flashed you the biggest and most mischievous smile you had ever seen. Ever since then, you had taken to visiting Taehyung often. Especially because if you did not, he would come visit you.

You learned this lesson the hard way one day last month when you were mid-conversation with your cute co-worker Zitao. Taehyung had wrapped four of his tentacles around your body and tugged you away from your baffled co-worker.

“(y/n), you’re supposed to be spending time with me,” he had pouted, wrapping a tentacle around your wrist, “Not that human.”

You reminded him that you were also a human, but he had just scoffed, clarifying that you weren’t just a human - you were “his human”. This clarification had only fueled your growing infatuation with Tae.

It had not been hard to fall in love with such a handsome, charismatic, intelligent man.

You loved how Taehyung’s lilac skin blushed a deep violet when he was excited or embarrassed. You loved how his dark purple tentacles wiggled enthusiastic greetings at the children who peered into his habitat. You loved how his wide eyes sparkled whenever you were nearby.

No, it hadn’t been hard to fall in love with him, but it had been hard to imagine doing anything about it. In order to be with Taehyung, you would have to let him escape - for good. Were you prepared to lose your job? Did Taehyung even want to leave the aquarium? Did he even want to be with you at all?

All of these unknowns had led you nowhere; and so, as you trudged down the quiet corridor, you wondered what game Taehyung was playing with you right now. You decided it was probably best to find out sooner than later.

You stopped in your tracks. “Taehyung,” you said plainly, “I know you’re there.”

Taehyung shifted out from a shadowed corner and walked over to where you stood, “How did you know?”

You rolled your eyes, grinning, “You’re not exactly subtle, inky.”

As usual, Taehyung blushed deeply at his nickname you had coined for him some few months ago. “You usually don’t work at night,” he muttered, while a few of his tentacles wound their way up your body. This was a usual occurrence that he claimed was just friendly, but lately the tendrils had been veering closer and closer towards some very unfriendly zones.

You liked it… a little too much.

A tentacle dipped slightly under the back of your shirt, brushing your skin lightly. “Tae,” you sighed, “I switched shifts with Tally. Didn’t you notice she was here earlier in my place?”

“I did,” Taehyung’s eyes narrowed, “I thought you had left me.”

You drew back, caught off guard by his words. “Left you? What do you mean? This is my job.”

“Your job,” Taehyung repeated. He stepped closer to you, and your back hit the cool glass of the tank behind you. “Am I just part of the job to you, (y/n)?”

A tentacle wrapped its way around the back of your neck and you shivered, “N-no, inky, of course not.”

He hummed, clearly not believing you. “You know, (y/n), I don’t know how much longer I can wait around for you. My plans to escape have been pushed back long enough. I can’t live on display any more than I can’t live without you.”

You gaped at him. “Taehyung… what are you saying?”

Scoffing, he muttered something about humans being such simple creatures. “I’m saying that I’m in love with you, you idiot human, and it’s driving me insane.”

You kissed him.

He responded instantly, hands gripping your waist, tentacles gripping your neck, your hair, your curves.

He kissed you like you would disappear if he stopped. His tongue dragged over yours, his teeth nipped at your bottom lip, one of his tentacles slipped into your jeans.

You broke away and turned your head to the side, needing a moment. Taehyung took the opportunity to kiss your neck. “Can I feel you, my human?” He asked, lips brushing your neck. You could feel his tentacle inching closer to your wet pussy.

“Yes,” you whispered, “Please, Tae.”

His tentacle tentatively slipped under your panties, exploring your folds before pinching your clit experimentally. You moaned, and his head darted back so he could look at you with wide eyes. “Are you okay? What is this little button?”

“M-my clit,” your breath hitched as he gave it another pinch, “Keep doing that.”

Another tentacle entered the arena, this time it went right to your entrance and thrust into you.

“Mm, yes, Tae,” you moaned, “Harder.“

He thrust in and out of you rapidly, as he continued rubbing your clit. Your moans were swallowed up by his mouth as he kissed you again. His hands dug into your ass, lifting you up so your legs wrapped around his waist.

He fucked you faster with his tentacle, and then added another, stretching you.

The pleasure built up with each stroke of his tentacle on your clit and each movement of his tentacles thrusting into your pussy.

You felt your toes begin to curl as your orgasm approached. Still, Taehyung continued to push into you relentlessly.

“Taehyung,” you cried as your back arched. You came, clenching around his tentacles which continued to move in you, brushing your sweet spot, carrying you through your orgasm. After a bit, your fingers wound into his inky black hair and pulled. “Stop, Tae,” you begged, legs shaking with overstimulation.

His tentacles reluctantly drew out of you, and Tae brought them in front of his face to examine them. His tongue slipped out to taste a drop of your cum sliding down one of his bigger tendrils, and his eyes shut tightly. “Fuck, (y/n), you taste so good.”

You blushed at his words as he set you down gently. “So,” you hedged, “You’re planning on running away?”

“Not without you,” his pleading eyes held yours, “Please come with me.”

“But where? How?” Your mind tried to picture a viable option.

“I have money,” Taehyung shrugged, “It’ll be fine.”

“What? How do you have money?” Your words only made him smile that boxy grin you loved so much.

“Why do you think I escape my room so much?” He waved your own wallet in your face, “I’m not just a pretty face with eight extra arms, (y/n).”

“You’re such a criminal, inky,” You grinned back at your little pickpocket of an octopus, “Let’s go.”

#bangtanhq #drabble game #would you rather #taehyung x reader #hybrid taehyung #tentacles #hehe

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missinghan · 5 years

Text

dawn ⤖ lee minho

❖ genre : runaway! au; demon!au; fluff; angst

❖ word count : 10k.

❖ warning : explicit language, mentions of alcohol

❖ summary : it seems like everyone has their own guardian angel, everyone but you because you’ve given up on Jesus the moment you come down to Lee Minho’s level and shake hands with the Devil.

one.

Your dad is definitely not gonna approve of you hanging by the bar alone after midnight.

It all happened too fast, and you don’t even know where you’re going next. After a call from your manager, which you almost fell asleep as he rambled about boring paperwork, until he dropped the bomb. He said he was sorry for what he’s gonna say next and turned out the label wanted to cut you loose. The entire universe was completely shattered right in front of your eyes. You were utterly speechless when the line went dead so long story short, you packed your bag and ran away.

Like a coward.

You stare blankly at the half-empty glass of Martini in your hand before chuckling lowly. Because life is a little son of a bitch, who’s born with the power to pull on everyone’s strings as if people are a bunch of puppets for whatever gods up there to entertain themselves. Getting signed into a music production company right after your graduation swept your life over with joy. Your parents were… overwhelmed to say the least but they still wanted you to move to Seoul. Two years later, your life once again was flipped upside down because of a single phone call. They didn’t even bother to call you in and meet face-to-face.

“Cheers to this motherfucker.” You almost laugh at your own miserable state but suppress it and down the whole glass in one go. “Another one.” You tell the barista absently and he just sighs before starting to mix your drink.

“Tough times ?” He leans over the counter and slides your drink across the wooden surface.

You gratefully take the glass, words slurred between hiccups. “You have no fucking idea.” Your eyes travel down from his defined features gleaming under the neon light to the name tag hanging off his white dress shirt. It reads ‘Kim Woojin’. You shake your head to lure the weariness away while your right hand reaching inside your pocket to pull out some cash.

But before you can place them on the table, Woojin stops you abruptly. “Keep a hold of them. This last one’s on me.” He sighs defeatedly. Judging by how you look right now, he must have thought that you’re some petty college girl who just got into a fight with her boyfriend and now you have nowhere to stay for the night so essentially, he wants to be certain that you’ll have enough money for a cheapass motel of some sort.

Woojin pats his wet hands onto the black apron wrapped around his hip. “You’ll need them more than I do.” And you feel kinda bad for him, partially because this place doesn’t serve cheap vodka like most bars, and partially because you’re now a somewhat burden to the bartender. “Listen, no matter how much bad shit happens, I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Besides, looks like that punk over there has already had his eyes on you the whole time.” He winks at you playfully before walking over to his coworker at the other side of the counter.

Speaking of the Devil… literally, not even sarcastically, a hollow presence seems to come into sight the moment you place your lips on the rim of the glass. You automatically reach your hand backwards only to find exactly what you’re looking for. “Do not touch me.” You deadpan, normally you would have felt bad by now upon your sudden discourtesy but unfortunately you’re not in the mood to be kind today. Hearing his melodic chuckle, you yank his hand away rather harshly, the coldness of his touch still chills you to the bone.

“Why so sad, bunny ?” He moves over to sit down on the nearby wooden bench, lips curled into a devilish smirk. Out of 7 billion people on this glorious plant, he chooses to pester a mundane mortal like you. Out of 365 days of the year, he chooses to visit you on the worst day of your life. Lee Minho is worse than Lucifer, it’s official.

Not enjoying your dull state, he cocks a brow at you. “You’re jobless because that stupid label doesn’t need you anymore. And now what ? Are you gonna be petty and depressed about it for the rest of your life ? Because if so, you’ll have a really shitty life Y/N. Do you really want your demons to come out and conquer the path ahead like it’s their fucking playground ?”

You can’t help but roll your eyes. “Said a demon himself.”

“Then aren’t humans the closest things that we have to demons alive ?” Minho almost snickers at your suggestive remark, but he wouldn’t admit that it did sting a bit. After all, he is a demon, an epitome of a creature that’s second to Lucifer and his descendants generation, highly worshipped and exceptionally feared. And he’s low-key impressed that you didn’t throw yourself out the window when he stepped out of a wisp of black smoke the day you two first encountered.

You on the other hand didn’t know that he was too utterly soft for you to actually erase your memories. From then on, he would visit you occasionally at the godly hour when you’re close to kicking yourself in the process of composing or when you accidentally fucked up something. ‘Til this day, you still don’t know whether his concern for you is pure sincerity or he just finds your first world problems very amusing. You can’t tell either way.

Taking another sip of your drink, you groan slightly at the slight burn in your throat from the strong alcohol. “I mean ... fair point.” Your lips pursed unknowingly. “I don’t know Minho… I think I must have done something fucking messed up to be kicked out of the game like that. I wasn’t even thinking straight, you know, just packed my stuff and drove downtown. Ugh now I feel like shit.”

The demon in front of you glares at the glass of Martini coldly. He’s not letting you finish that shit after who knows how much alcohol that Woojin has permitted you to drink. “Do you think that overcoming cowardice is easy ? If it was that easy, everyone would go outside to get some fresh air, smell some flowers, meet new people; not fucking hide behind their screens and whatnot while talking trash about others like a bunch of scaredy-cats.” Minho spats, swiftly taking your drink away before you gulp it again.

Funny enough, you’re sitting at a bar with a demon, who’s obviously so done with your shit, but also the one that you have least expectations for listening and giving you advice. Just like how that one song goes.

Well, I shook hands with the devil

Down on the south side

And he bought us both a drink

With a pad and a pencil sat by his side

I said, "Tell me what you think".

Except that Minho didn’t buy you a drink, he actually stole yours.

“I may not know much about your world, but I’m confident that you’re very talented and passionate about what you’re doing. I saw how much effort you put into your work, staying up after midnight, heck, you barely got any sleep when you’re still working for that shitty company. I saw how much you care, Y/N and I don’t give two fucks about how much you’re doubting yourself because you’re so much more than that. I know you got this, you’re as stubborn as a human being can be, you’re not gonna let a tiny cut or bruised knee hold you back, are you ?”

You shake your head slightly, starting to acknowledge his words. You don’t get why you never noticed this but for a demon, Minho gives really good advice. In spite of his cocky personality because he thinks that he has every right to sass every human being out whenever wherever he wants to, his company always makes you feel fuzzy inside. It’s almost heartwarming but that makes no sense because demons are nowhere near ‘sweet and caring’.

A strange look flashes in his eyes when his eyes meet yours but before you can properly react, it vanishes. “You’re not drinking ever again… at least not for the time being.” He tells you off with his eyes before chugging the whole glass. Woah, good shit, he admits internally. And he’s mildly surprised that you’re taking this better than he’d thought. Other young producers would have been bawling their eyes out by now, not talking to a creature from the underworld.

“Alcohol helps me sleep.” You pout slightly, feeling the need to actually pay Woojin back when you get paid again. Oh wait… but you’re practically unemployed. “Insomnia is painstakingly arbitrary, like a needle that’s constantly pricking my spine whenever I’m trying to get comfy in bed. Guess I’m not sleeping tonight, thanks a lot.” You huff and lean over on the wooden counter, cheek pressed against your left upper arm.

Although Minho thinks that you look ridiculously cute right now with tinted pink cheeks and messy hair, he’s still not gonna buy you another drink. “They do say that insomnia is just another word for chit chatting with the demons during bedtime. And you’ve already wolfed down three fucking Vodka Martinis by the time I teleported here, aren’t you concerned about the stupid hangover tomorrow morning ? I swear to Lucifer— are you even listening to me right now ?”

Minho asks in disbelief when you stay unresponsive. The demon peels his eyes away from the empty glass and turns his head only to find you already fallen asleep, like a bear in hibernation. Your eyes are closed shut, chest heaving up and down rhythmically as you drift away from the cruel reality and into dreamland. Truth be told, you tend to fall asleep whenever he’s lecturing you a lot, and that gives him an excuse to stay for a little more than he should.

two.

Hangover hits you with a bang, almost knocks you out cold. But it’s not going to let you pass out, at least not before you start regretting the amount of alcohol that you chugged last night. Your eyes are still screwed shut, refusing to flutter open as your head throbs uncontrollably. Usually you would have been awake by now since you’re dumb enough to have white curtains instead of colored ones which helps the sunlight goes right through your apartment.

But something seems off today because there’s nothing that’s bothering your eyes. And you would definitely sleep in if it wasn’t for the strange feeling beneath your skin. Wait a second… A worrisome feeling runs down your spine, causing your eyes to open. You look down and check your clothes properly, everything stays the same except for… hold on, since when did you have a silky black sheet ?

“You woke up, finally. Be grateful that you’re on time for breakfast.” Someone’s voice booms in the distance when your eyes adjust themselves on the foreign surroundings. The studio apartment in front of you has your jaw dropped to the floor. Minimal yet modern pieces of furniture, a fully equipped kitchenette and an enormous window that gives you a breathtaking view of the whole city. This isn’t your apartment, is it ?

You groan loudly before pushing yourself off the bed and shiver slightly when your feet come in contact with the cold floor. “Tylenol’s on the table, you’re welcome.” Minho says nonchalantly as he has his back against you. You drag yourself to the dining table and pop the pills into your mouth before downing the glass of water beside them.

Yeah, no, you’re not drinking ever again.

“What are you doing ?” You ask him in a raspy tone and sniff your nose continuously at the aroma that’s filling the entirety of the apartment. Minho stays silent, deciding to fully concentrate on his current task. When you suddenly approach him from behind and place your head lazily on his shoulder, he almost drops the pot of freshly made soup. His chest swells a bit whenever you get close to his body, whether it is because it’s all in his head or just you having that kind of effect on him, he dares not to know.

“Tsk, you’re in my way, shoo.” He sneers, motioning for you to move so that he can transfer the pot over to the table in peace. Minho quickly scoops the thick liquid into a smaller bowl and gives you a look. You just stare at the hearty soup in complete awe, mouth slightly watered. No one has ever cooked for you before, much less a pot full of hangover soup. And you would be lying if you said that you’re not touched right now because you feel like it’s been forever since you’ve had homemade food.

Lee Minho never changes, still ever so caring.

He sits down at the table and pushes the bowl towards you. “Eat this and write me a 1000 words essay for instant feedback later.” Without a word, you automatically take a spoonful into your mouth, almost choking because of how hot it is. “Dude, it’s not 1945 anymore. If this goes on, you’re not gonna die from anything other than choking yourself.” He purses his lips at your eagerness, dabbing the excess soup away with a napkin on the corner of your lips.

After coughing furiously, you figure that your voice can finally function normally. “I didn’t know that you can cook, god this soup is everything.” In the next ten minutes, you finish inhaling the whole bowl as if you’ve walked through the desert, searching for an oasis for a week straight.

You’ve never let anyone cook for you other than your parents because one, none of your friends can cook, Changbin almost burnt your apartment down while Jisung came up with the idea to crack eggs with a knife; and two, you still remember a creepy story you once heard on a podcast vividly. Basically, there’s this girl who allowed her date to make her a meal on their very first encounter. She was hospitalized a week later, suspecting food poisoning but the test results came out as cannibalism. Yikes.

“Demons eat souls, not human flesh you paranoid bitch.” Minho reads your thoughts in a matter of seconds before taking his wooden spoon and smack you on the head. He looks unimpressed right now, he really does because he’s so over your delusional ass from binge-watching way too many investigation related shows at three a.m. “They’re not even that tasty, I’d rather have a boring sandwich.”

You scoff at him, rubbing the spot where he hit previously. “You can’t have mine then, it’s too dark for you.”

“A ‘thank you’ would be nice.” He almost grit, lips pressed into a thin line.

You stand up from the wooden stool and carry the dishes over to the newly renovated silver sink. “This is your place ?” You ask while turning on the faucet to spray water all over the dirty bowl. “It’s really nice, not gonna lie. Just not as nice as mine.”

When you’re having your back against him, Minho looks somewhat guilty. What would Hyunjin say if he found out that his roommate brought a mundane mortal home and even made her a bowl of hangover soup ? “For the time being, it is.” Whatever, Hyunjin’s staying in Italy for a good two weeks anyway. With a little bit more effort of ridding off your human scent and reorganize some stuff, Minho can pretty much pass without being suspected. “And what do you expect ? That I’m gonna leave you at the bar where sketchy people are getting wasted ? FYI, a demon doesn’t necessarily have to own a place where it’s just full of miserable souls swimming around. I take my beauty sleep very seriously, actually, all of us do. Even Satan.”

You carefully line the dishes up on the white rack next to the sink and sighs. “Beauty sleep ? I don’t know her.” When you turn around to face Minho, his lips are slightly curled upwards. “What, Minho ?” You ask, slightly annoyed.

He props his head onto his palms and cocks his head to the side. “What will you do now ? Going home is a no-no, obviously, and I believe that your coworkers/best friends are flipping the whole city upside down looking for you so your apartment isn’t really an option anymore. What’s next Y/N ?”

You think for a bit and hum. “Technically I’m running away ...so…why not make the best out of it ?” Then, something clicks and your eyes lit up in mischief. “I have an idea. It’s genius, a fucking genius idea.”

Minho immediately shakes his head furiously, looking like he’s encountering a panic attack. “Hate it.”

“You love it, don’t even lie to yourself.”

“It’s humiliating.”

You reach your hands inside your pocket to look for your keys. “Too late.” That’s when Minho knows that he doesn’t have a say in this.

three.

“You know what’s more fun than this ?” Minho supports himself on his knees as his breaths come in short, he feels like he’s gonna throw up. Being on a rollercoaster is most definitely scarier than attending a meeting with the Underworld Authority. He still doesn’t get why humans enjoy torturing themselves as a form of pure entertainment when they can do something like educate themselves by reading more books. “Hearing Lucifer play the fiddle, the Devil plays it damn good and a fun demon to hang around. He’s a real entertainer, trust me. Just hire a lawyer beforehand if you’re signing any contract with him.”

Minho’s making it sound like you’re planning on having ‘a thing’ with Lucifer meanwhile he practically follows you everywhere, watches your every move and you think that’s close enough for an example of the infamous slavery contract.

You run a hand through your hair and exhale in satisfaction. Since middle school, you haven’t really got a chance to come to amusement parks before. You’re far too caught up with the new tempo to life these days. “Come on, it’s not that bad. It ain’t my fault when you can’t teleport us both to somewhere further.” You almost laugh at his current state; disheveled hair, beads of sweat rolling down on his forehead, and he looks as pale as a ghost like he just saw one. Not like he’s terrified of ghosts or anything, actually, he might be scared of heights.

“You can’t teleport with me for fuck’s sake, even when I want to, you’ll end up disintegrating into dusts forever because your mortal body doesn’t have enough energy to recollect itself piece by piece.” Minho grits and shakes his head slightly to adjust the messy mop of hair on his head. He looks really cute, you think. Like a cat that’s trying to clean itself but can’t quite reach the itchy spot.

Upon your stubbornness because he knows too well that you just wanna see him being drowned in misery, Minho can’t help but roll his eyes. “And can you get any dumber ? You have a fucking Range Rover and a valid license. Technically, there’s no law against driving with a demon sitting in your vehicle. Ugh, I really should have left you at the bar last night.”

Right when you’re about to snap back at him with a witty comment, your phone buzzes loudly. And your eyes are about to jump out of their sockets the moment you open up the device. There are more than thirty missed calls, from your family and friends along with countless texts filled with nothing but concern. Changbin and Jisung both work under the same label as you so you assume that your family already knew everything. Now you feel guilty for running away so spontaneously because after all, you do have people who are always willing to be there for you.

[ 3:25pm ]

jisung | dude, I’m outside, open up

jisung | we know everything already

changbin | Y/N I’m bringing food over, you’re gonna binge-watch Netflix with us whether you want to or not

[ 3:27pm ]

jisung | uhm, hello ? Y/N ?

changbin | we’re breaking in if you’re not coming out, FYI

[ 3:35pm ]

jisung | you know I have the keys right, we’re gonna go in

changbin | this isn’t fucking funny

jisung | stop being such a stubborn piece of shit

[ 3:36pm ]

jisung | Y/N where the fuck are you ?!

changbin | …. look, just go home, your family are worried sick

[ 3:45pm ]

jisung | at least call me back ?

changbin | whatever you’re planning on doing, don’t do it

[ 9:23pm ]

chan | call me, I’m not going anywhere

Sensing your racing thoughts and seeing your tense posture, Minho swiftly takes your phone away from your hand and drops it into his pocket. The last thing he wants to see is you curled up into a ball and cry alone in the bathroom. “You’re so rude ? What kind of human are you, Y/N ? This is how you’re treating your date ?” He huffs, arms crossed in front of his chest like a little kid. But wait, a date ?

“This is not a date, Lee Minho, stop flirting with me.” You knit your brows together in confusion when his eyes twinkle. What’s with his demon nature being on steroids right now ? “Give me my phone.” You order.

“It’s a date when I say that it’s a date.” Minho reaches his hand outwards and links his fingers with yours. He quickly narrows the proximity between the two of you, backing you up against a wall. Utterly speechless, you find yourself dumbfoundedly melting into his touch. How can a demon possess such radiant warmth and tenderness ? Is it all just a facade or does he seem more human when he’s around you, you can’t tell either way. But what you do know is that when you relax a bit and let him hold your hand properly, it fits like a glove.

Minho cocks his head and cracks a smile. For the longest time, you’ve never noticed anyone looking at you with so much sincerity and affection. Maybe it’s all in your head after all. “What now ? You wanna watch a movie and put our hands into the popcorn at the same time to see what’ll happen or nah ?” You question, but it feels more like a question towards yourself.

Minho chuckles lightheartedly. “You’re so damn predictable Y/N.”

The rest of the night is absolutely magical. You feel like you’re acting in one of those One Direction’s music videos that’s not the typical ‘too good to be true’ kind. It really does remind you a lot of ‘Night Changes’ when Minho almost slips while holding onto you like a cat that just came in contact with water. Meaning, if it weren’t for your mediocre ice-skating skills way back from middle school, everything would have been exactly like the music video itself, in which you don’t mind. Because it’s Lee Minho, because his warm presence is something you never knew you needed in your life, because you always have this sense of comfort and happiness even when he starts cursing so loudly that your ears bleed. Demon or not, him being him is truly a blessing already.

Minho says. “I told you it’s humiliating.” He links your hand into his before stuffing it inside his pocket and drags you away from the front entrance. His hand’s got a lot warmer from staying inside his coat for so long and that makes him more human than ever. In which, makes you feel fuzzy.

“You freaking loved it, you can’t tell me otherwise.” You shake your head in denial.

“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes for the tenth time. “Let’s go home.”

four.

The next day, Minho somehow convinces you to drive back to your apartment for packing. Not for running away this time, he’s had enough of that shit. But for a trip back to your hometown instead ( you really should have gone deeper into his ‘let’s go home’ from last night ). The flight will take approximately ten hours or more so he only gives you two hours to pack before leaving. You basically spend half an hour picking out clothes from the messy walk-in closet and another ninety minutes to fit all of them into your suitcase while having a mental breakdown inside your head.

Because gosh, what would they think ?

You’ve scared them all shitless for the last two days and now you’re just gonna show up at the front door and go “Hey, I’m done being miserable now.” ? Sounds like a pretty solid plan but you doubt that your mom’s not planning to beat you up with her favorite broom that’s covered in nothing but dust and spiderwebs. Not to mention, your brother is definitely gonna grill your ass for causing such a commotion in your family. You can already imagine him waiting for you at the foyer with crossed arms, getting ready to lecture the heck out of you.

“Did you lose your favorite pair of shoes or something ?” Minho suddenly fades into your room, making you jump slightly. You’ve got used to his particular ways of intruding your personal space but the demon never seems to fail at surprising you.

You glare at him. “Look who’s being rude now.”

Minho purses his lips. “I didn’t know humans were notorious for being terribly indecisive when it comes to their belongings.” He almost sneers, leaning back against your bedroom wall.

“That’s not the problem.” Yeah, that’s not the problem because not every human takes pain in packing their stuff, it’s just a ‘you’ problem. “I’m coming home after scaring the shit out of my loved ones. I wouldn’t blame them if they hated me, it’s just that I don’t know what to say. What do I say in situations like this ? School didn’t teach me that.” A sigh escapes your lips as you kick your suitcase towards the door. And you’re kinda glad that Changbin and Jisung left your apartment last night, specifically when you called them at one a.m. because you were driving back with a demon right next to the shotgun window.

Minho politely grabs the doorknob and pushes the door open for you. Now that was a first. You almost smile at his out-of-nowhere kind gesture. Normally, he would have teleported to the front porch and complained about how you’re always taking so long. “Hurry up dumbass, we don’t have all day.” He raises his brow at your thoughts.

“Tsk, you’re not the one who’s driving.”

Minho can’t drive, sadly. Partially because he doesn’t see the point in moving around in a fucking box with four wheels when he’s fully capable of teleporting from one place to another within a snap of his fingers. And partially because he can’t afford erasing some cops’ memories because they might have some kind of innovative technology that’ll automatically record when things go down. Another reason is that he might or might not chug a whole bottle of whiskey while driving just because he feels like it.

“It’s cold, roll down the windows.” Minho reminds you when he enters your car because gosh, you always love to keep the temperature at a minimum of 71 degrees even when it’s freezing outside. His cold-hearted demon ass is quaking because another cold case remains another mystery for the entirety of humanity. “You’d be a badass demon, just saying. I’m surprised that you’re still alive at this point.” He shakes his head in disapproval and leans forward to turn off the AC. Not because he’s cold but he’s afraid that you’ll actually freeze to death before you two can even make it to the airport.

You kick the brake when the first red light occurs. “Just admit it, you’re cold. If anything, you can always hold my hand.”

“Okay,” He blinks numerous time at your reply. When did you become such a brat ? You’ve been acting like him these past few days and now he knows how it feels like. Woah, he does act like an old, bitchy cat. “Who taught you that ?”

You say, sparing him a slight smirk. “You know, only the best of the best.”

“Just don’t act like that in front of your parents, will you ?” Minho scrunches his nose at your particular way of having a civil conversation. “You did tell your parents right ?”

You nod. “Yeah, I told them that I was gonna go home sooner or later. I even texted Chan— OH MY GOD,” You let out the loudest gasp whilst trying to make sharp turn at an intersection.

“What the fuck is wrong with you ?” He gasps in disbelief at your sudden outburst, holding onto the side of your car for dear life.

“I can’t just bring a demon home !” You cry out. “You’d be considered safe if it weren’t for my brother. He just happens to be home for break. God, do you know how protective he is when it comes to bringing a guy home ?!” One time, you asked your desk mate from highschool to do a project at your house and Chan didn’t even hesitate to put him on trial. Luckily, they talked things out pretty smoothly and became friends later. Now Felix’s probably the only guy who wouldn’t be thrown off a cliff for breathing in the same room as you.

Minho stares at you weirdly for a full twenty seconds, and that makes you think he’s mentally judging you, which he totally is. “Wouldn’t me being your boyfriend the best option then ?”

“Are you dumb, or are you dumb ?” You haven’t dated anyone since elementary school and the relationship didn’t even last a week. And now out of nowhere you’re just gonna bring a ‘boyfriend’ home after running away ? That’s practically equivalent to adding fuel to the fire and you doubt that Minho’s comprehend the situation correctly. That’s it, you’re officially letting all hell break loose from here. “Yeah, go ahead and be my boyfriend if you wanna sleep with the fishes.”

He throws a look at you. “Is that a challenge ?”

“Better not dress like that in front of my family then.” You glance at his bold choice of a silky wine colored dress shirt along with leather pants and combat boots. Can’t have him walking around looking like a celebrity now, can you ? Although he does look good in them… so annoying.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

However, Minho’s outfit is most definitely the least of your worries.

five.

“Don’t tell me that you thought this through because-“

Minho says in a hushed tone. “I did think this through, baby. Loosen up a bit.” A devilish smirk blooms on his lips as he tucks some loose strands of hair behind your ear. He really needs to stop doing that because you’re already a blushing mess. He switched out his usual clothes and went for a comfortable hoodie with some jeans and sneakers. You hate him even more now because the demon easily pulled off the perfect boyfriend look.

Grimacing, you slap his hand away. “I’m not your fucking baby. And keep your hands to yourself, will you ?” And with that, you turn on your heels and make a beeline towards the kitchen where everyone’s busy setting up the table, leaving him in the living room alone.

Minho unconsciously plops himself onto the white faux leather couch and looks around in awe. Your house sort of symbolizes you because it’s minimal in the best way with a white color scheme and the occasional colorful tiny details on some of the decorative pieces. He starts pondering about how you never told him anything about your family in Australia. And although you grew up in a pretty well-off household, you didn’t flaunt your wealth. That makes you much more admirable in his eyes because not everyone can keep their mouth shut for more than two seconds when it comes to money.

Truth is, when your parents saw Minho for the very first time, they totally freaked out and drove to the nearest supermarket to shop for more ingredients. Now the house is filled with the aroma of a variety of grilled meat, vegetables, seafood and rice. He finally understands why you’re always homesick because gosh, who wouldn’t miss this kind of homemade food ? Minho props his head onto his hand as he watches your hard-working back figure from the living room, arranging the dishes onto the dining table with a smile on your face. And that stirs something inside him, he just doesn’t want to know it yet.

And Berry - your very much spoiled dog - is absolutely terrified by his dark presence. She keeps barking whenever he tries to pick her up, then ends up whimpering in the corner later. “Berry, don’t be rude ! He’s no stranger to us now.” Your mom nags while looking at Minho with an apologetic look. “Minho, honey, come join us. There’s no need to be so formal.” She offers him a seat at your family’s table warmly and he can already see where you got your smile from.

When he beams at her words and quickly takes the seat right beside you, you secretly roll your eyes at him. “I didn’t know dogs were supposed to be scared of demons. This is so obvious.” As you continue to complain about how he’s not acting naturally and all in a small tone, your hand automatically reaches for the chopsticks and picks out some lamb loin chops onto his plate. Minho simply brushes your words off, muttering a quick ‘thanks babe’ before pressing a kiss on your cheek.

Your eyes widen in surprise at his action, immediately darting towards your family members else whom have already gathered around. But before you can react properly, your dad cuts you off. “How sweet of you two.” He shows that signature ‘dad smile’ which never fails to melt your heart. “Don’t they remind you of us when we were young, dear ?” He tells your mom.

“Certainly, I still remember how—“

“Uhm, so, how did you two meet ?” Your brother - Chan - who’s sitting across the table tries his very best not to gag and changes the topic before things get out of hand. Your dad used to tell you about his first encounter with your mom, their first date and etc.. as an alternative version for the regular bedtime stories session. Chan has known too much already.

“We met at a dinner through a mutual friend during her business trip to Paris. I knew she didn’t come from Europe so if I didn’t ask for her number then, we would never meet again.” Minho has already made up a story during the dreadfully long flight, now all he has to do is read outloud. Easy mode. “We kept in touch and eventually, I moved back to Korea to meet her and stayed with her since then.”

Chan hums as a response, he doesn’t hate Minho yet, you can tell. “Why didn’t you tell me about him, Y/N ? Dad was so close to talking to Felix’s parents about setting you two up.”

You gulp slightly to hide your nervousness. Under the table, Minho squeezes your hand in reassurance, and that gives you enough courage to explain slowly. “I didn’t want to freak you out with our long distance relationship. You might go nuts knowing that I’m dating a guy who I’ve only met once and he’s nearly six thousand miles away.” And setting you up with Felix ? You would never let that happen. Not in a million years. It makes you shiver just thinking about holding your highschool deskmate’s hand while walking down the aisle. “And dad, Lee Felix ? Really ? I would rather be single.”

Your dad laughs. “Come on, he’s a pretty decent boy. Too bad he’s traveling overseas right now or I might invite him over.”

“So, Minho,” Chan sips on his drink. “What do you do for a living ?” When you two arrived at the front door, he finds such little amount that Minho’s luggage holds a bit skeptical, as if your relationship and the idea of coming home happens overnight. And how he wears clothes pretty casual too for a first time meeting the parents but Chan knows better than to judge a book by its cover. However, he wants to make sure that your ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t do drugs of any kind.

Minho doesn’t even hesitate. “I’m a dancer and owns a dance studio with my friend after when I flew back to Korea. I was in Paris for an internship over the summer.” You just sit there, blinking at him in disbelief like a total dumbass. Now you’re starting to wonder how it feels like to dance with the Devil. And if it weren’t for him kicking your leg under the table, your face would have given it away.

“Hmm, interesting.” Chan nods in acknowledgement. Well, at least he’s not unemployed… could have been worse.

Your mom advises thoughtfully as she walks over to the kitchen aisle and refills the plate of beef. “Oh, and be careful with the sauce for the lamb, it’s quite hot. If you’re not good with spicy food, just leave it out.”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, I can handle spicy stuff pretty well.. unlike someone over here.” Minho glances over at you. You immediately gut him with your elbow, earning a low grunt followed by a lighthearted chuckle of your family members.

“Minho can handle spicy things only because he’s getting old. His taste buds are losing their senses.” Your comment is partially true because he once told you that he’s been around for quite awhile. Definitely a lot older than the new batch of demons. He stopped counting at some point but ensured you that it’s somewhere from fifteen thousand and twenty thousand.

Minho looks at your sternly as the corners of his lips curled up. You’re already low-key mortified of what he’s going to say. “If you’re gonna act like a brat for the rest of the night, I’ll have to make sure that your legs will lose their sense by tomorrow morning.” Yep, there it is. You’re so used to his flirtatious remarks to the point that they don’t faze you anymore but having your family witness this is another level of torture. Minho’s definitely the type of guy ( if he were an actual human being ) who can’t be bothered about publicity and would straight up kiss you in the middle of the street.

And it doesn’t help either when Chan just doesn’t laugh loudly at your ‘boyfriend’s’ less than appropriate joke, he’s also on his side. Along with your parents. “I like you, not everyone can make her shut up like that.” Your brother nods in approval, clapping happily like a seal. Your parents even supply unhelpfully. “Try to keep it down and use protection, okay kids ?” Is this what betrayal feels like ?

You feel so adopted at that moment.

six.

“What the hell are you doing here ?” You try to groan as quietly as possible when you find Minho creeping up to you in the living room. “What part of ‘you can take my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch, wake up before everyone else then come back to my room later on’ couldn’t you understand ?” A compromise was almost made, and he fucking blew it.

He chuckles and looks at you dreamily. For a second there, you really thought that he was sleep-walking. His brown hair is in a bird nest, accommodated by a pair of plaid pants and white t-shirt. This prick never fails to make your heart skip a beat. You’re glad that at least he doesn’t sleep shirtless like your brother. It gives you major nightmares since middle school just by waking him up every morning.

“I can’t sleep on a foreign bed..” Minho pouts. He really can’t, especially when you’re not around. And he’s not risking the chance of one of your folks or Chan accidentally. barging into the room when he’s doing some voodoo shit either.

You huff tiredly and walk over to him, grabbing the pillow from his arms before throwing it on the couch along with your blanket. Well, lucky him, your parents just happen to love ginormous couches and you’re far too lazy to drag him back to your bedroom. “Come here.” You order after plopping yourself onto the soft surface, letting out a prolonged yawn. Minho takes a good ten seconds to look at you again. He can’t help but keep staring like a creep when you’re in an oversized t-shirt with shorts underneath, exposing your bare thighs. You’re too cute for your own good.

You say when he remains silent. “Hurry up before I change my mind.”

He obediently nods, quickly settling down under the blanket. You two shuffle around for a bit until no one’s uncomfortable with less than a few inches away from each other. And when you decide to flip yourself over to face the wall, Minho gently pulls your back flush against his chest. Your eyes fly open at the sudden contact. “What-the-fuck-do-you-think-you’re-doing ?” You turn around and stare at him square in the eye.

Even in the dark, his eyes are gleaming with a demonic glint of silver. He beams innocently at your threatening tone. “Get comfortable ?”

“I mean…” You hesitate for a few seconds. Because you’d hate to admit but it does feel kinda nice having his warmth radiating off from underneath his thin shirt. It makes you feel fuzzy inside, more secure, more like you’re finally home. “If you don’t mind then…” You gather up every last bit of courage and energy to scoot yourself towards him, your arms snaking around on either side and hug his torso closer, your face buried in his chest.

And it takes every single strand of willpower for Minho to not jump and teleport to the nowhere. His breath starts to quicken when your body is practically attached to his. He didn’t expect this at all. It might be because you’re exhausted from the flight so you’re just far too sleepy to be conscious of your own actions. But anyhow, he’s not against the idea of having you in his arms like this. It makes him more relaxed knowing that you’re safe in his sound right here.

So Minho drapes one of his arms around your waist to hold you in place and the other underneath his head, straddling his legs with yours to keep them warm since you’re only wearing shorts. “Thanks for dinner, by the way.” He murmurs into your hair, taking in the scent of your familiar shampoo.

“If anything, you should be thanking my parents. They looked like they just saw Jesus when you first arrived.” You say and snuggle closer to him.

He chuckles, sending vibrations to the tip of your nose. “Admit it, your family’s in love with me. Even your brother isn’t half as bad as you made it sound. I think he would actually have nothing against our wedding.”

You make a face and lift your head upwards to look at him. “Dude, it’s just really good acting. Such a shame how the other Lee Minho gets the title of an actor when you’re over here stuck with being a demon.” If you’re being completely honest, you’re kinda scared right now. Because one, all of this is just a big play and when you fly back to Korea, it may seem like nothing has ever happened. And two, if this goes way too far, your family might disown you for ‘breaking up’ with Minho when he wasn’t even your boyfriend in the first place.

“Actually, I’d be glad to take the title of being your boyfriend instead.” And the thumping force inside your chest picks up the pace as you can feel your cheeks heating up. His simple acknowledgement makes you flustered, absolutely moonstruck. No one has ever said that to you before, well, partially because you’re super single but you can’t help but let those words affect you tremendously. “Where do you want to go for our honey—“

“We’re not getting married.” You hiss at him like a snake.

Minho draws a cat-like grin on his lips, mischief glistening in his eyes. “Nuh uh too late. I’ll consider you as my own from now on, Mrs. Lee.”

You reply flatly. “You talk a lot for a demon who treasures their beauty sleep. You’re not vampires and you don’t watch people in their sleep, do you ?” The only person Minho watches in their sleep is you, but he’s not saying that to your face. And that was one time, one-time.

Upon his silence, you raise a brow. “Wait, you do ?”

“Who I watch in their sleep is none of your business, Y/N.” He replies with flaming cheeks.

You giggle. “I knew it, you’re related to Edward Cullen.”

“No, not that bitch Edward !” Minho makes a disgusted face but can’t contain his laughter for long. God, what are you doing to him ?

seven.

You wake up with a cold sensation wrapping around your feet. With body shivering slightly, you instinctively nuzzle your head into the nearest heat source, retreating your legs deeper into the fuzzy blanket. Groaning, you shake your head slightly to shake the weariness away. This is why you hate long flights with a passion because you’re never not gonna be jet lagged for the rest of your life.

“Why do you always wake up so fucking early ?” Your eyes shoot open at the hoarse voice only to find Minho squinting his eyes at you sleepily with his bedhead and wrinkled shirt. He looks so human right now you can care less about the fact that you’ve just spent an entire night on your parents’ favorite couch with a creature from Hell. Definitely boyfriend material.

“My feet get cold easily in the morning, and that wakes me up.” You pout and hold his torso closer. Minho tries his best not to flinch when your arm brushes over his as the strangest warm feeling bubbles up inside his stomach. And you’re glad that he doesn’t snore and isn’t a messy sleeper. Just sleeps like the death, which makes sense. Unlike your best friend, Seo Changbin who sleeps like a fucking starfish with his four limbs wide open. Give him a king sized bed and he can still manage to have his blanket on the floor by the time the sun rises.

Minho runs a hand through the messy bird nest on his head which takes the breath right out of your lungs because it looks like those too good to be true shampoo commercials with people who have shiny, luminous hair. But those models spend hours on a wooden stool for their stylists to make it look like they didn’t even try but they’re not even close to Minho’s league because he needs none of that in order to look attractive.

Finally, he sighs. “Go back to sleep then.” He pulls the blanket down slightly to cover your feet completely and hugs your waist closer so that your upper body won’t be bothered by the morning breeze. “I’ll make breakfast later, what do your folks usually prefer ?”

You look up at him in awe. No one has ever offered such a sweet thing to do when they come over to your house. Not even your relatives ‘cause they’re far too busy bombarding you and Chan with questions about your personal lives rather than helping your parents out with washing the dishes after a meal is done. Minho might look cold and all but it’s all really just the typical demon facade that he’s trying to maintain. He’s actually really caring and thoughtful, you’ve found more sense of morality whenever you look into his eyes deeply than when you look at other people.

“Lee Minho is making breakfast for my family ? What’s this ? Is World War III coming ? Is the world hanging on the verge of ending ?”

He shakes his head at you in disapproval. “I just wanted to do something nice in return to last night’s dinner. Your parents really didn’t have to go all the way to the supermarket just because of me.” And he secretly enjoys seeing you munching happily on the food that he makes. How your cheeks are bunched up when you accidentally take too much of a bite, how your eyes light up in joy when you melt into the taste. He loves you for being you, for going all out without trying to act like a lady, eating quietly and shit.

You think for a bit. “They all have a big appetite, plus they’re not picky so anything will do. Just try to work with things in the fridge that you find promising ?”

“Oh okay.” Minho shrugs before leaning forward to press a kiss on your forehead. “Go back to sleep please, I beg. Jetlag is killing me, or else I’m gonna have to kiss you again and again until you get tired of me and doze off.”

With coral cheeks, you muster the calmest voice possible. “Is that a challenge ? Because if so, kiss me before I kick you off the couch.”

He smirks at you. “If you’re willing to.” As he leans in closer, you can feel your confidence level decreasing dramatically, your heart feels like it’s running on a treadmill endless. You’re no longer brave enough to keep eye contact so your eyes are screwed shut at some point, waiting for his lips to collide with yours.

Suddenly his phone buzzes obnoxiously on the coffee table, making you two pull away in a hassle. “Sorry, I gotta take this.” Minho says sheepishly as he sits straight up and grabs his phone. The apologetic smile on his face drops when he sees the caller’s ID. He swipes right to answer, placing the cool device close to his ear. “Yeah, Hyunjin ?”

“Hyung, you’re going too far. Come back.”

eight.

It’s been a few weeks later, and your family can’t stop gushing over how lucky you are to find a boyfriend like Minho.

You start getting daily voice messages from your parents, asking if you’re taking good care of yourself, if Minho’s treating you well, if anything’s been hard lately. Oh boy you sure regret running away before because your parents keep checking up on you every two hours. If not for Minho, they would have made you move back to Australia for who knows how long.

With that being said, Minho is obligated to move in with you. But you’re not complaining at all because cuddling with him is naturally carved into you like second nature. Even Jisung and Changbin didn’t bother to question why you start to have two mugs by the sink, two pairs of slippers by the shoe rack and a foreign smell of cologne all over your couch. They’ve probably figured it out that you got yourself ‘a man’ since the night that you came back to the apartment in such a rush.

And from then, you wonder why you’ve never considered having a roommate before. There are always really shitty excuses inside your head like : what if your roommate has some kind of questionable habits, what if they’re secretly a part of some mafia organization ? But really, it’s because he’s Lee Minho, because you’re too utterly soft for him. Nonetheless, you did learn a few things from spending more time with him rather than locking yourself up with work.

The feeling of having someone waiting for you to come home is beyond heartwarming. And you’ve also learnt to use your time and effort on someone else rather than just yourself. It actually feels really nice because his presence brings more than just a sense of comfort and happiness to you. There’s something about him that’s irreplaceable. As if he’s your soulmate, that one person who adores you to the moon and back, who’s willing to bring out the best in you and deal with you when you’re at your lowest.

But the whole concept of soulmate is still debatable because life isn’t just peaches and cream, it’s roses and thorns.

“Something’s bothering you, tell me.” You make the sharpest of a turn to the left to snap Minho back to reality. You don’t like when people keep ignoring your questions.

“Nothing’s bothering me.” He answers flatly. Obviously, he’s lying because he’s only spoken to you seven words maximum since you started the car. “Follow-the-GPS-to-reach-the-destination.” That’s it. No more. No less.

You scoff. “Something’s clearly bothering you. I don’t need your mind reading crap to know what you’re thinking.” You’re trying so hard not to take an argument out on him, especially when you’re driving to somewhere you don’t even know. But Minho’s not dumb, you bet he already had everything planned out on his mind. There’s a reason for everything, so you don’t have anything against driving in the middle of the night, just because he insisted you to.

He voices. “I’m thinking about surprising you.” And when you glance at him sideways, there are those specks of playfulness glistening in his midnight orbs again. But there’s also something else, and it’s unfathomable. “Trust me, you’ll love it.” He reassures you with a somewhat forced smile, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Fine.” You sigh in defeat, carefully pulling over not to hit the tree by the road.

Minho jumps out of the vehicle first. “We’re here.” You roll your eyes at him playfully and follows not long after.

And the sight in front of your eyes leaves you speechless. Even in the eerie darkness, your eyes can still make out the vibrant display of multicolored flowers all over the green field. The sweet scent soon fills your nostrils, making your eyes go wide in awe. “Come on, over here.” Minho links his hand into yours and drags you along the dirt road, trying his best not to step on any flower. Once he stops, you realize that you’re in the middle of the field, surrounded by the most surreal things that you thought could only happen in fairy tales.

The sky represents a black curtain being draped over your entire universe, with milky swirls and glitter specks dancing elegantly in various patterns. It’s transcendental, you think. How the sight have all of your worries and concerns disintegrate into dust, how you’re here with him as time seems to stop when he looks at you with nothing but pure devotion in his eyes. You’re hanging by this moment, waiting for him to say something. “Do you like it ?” He breathes out ever so softly.

You nod repeatedly. “I love it, thank you, thank you, thank you !” Mixed emotions burst inside your chest and you unconsciously fall into his embrace as if you were meant to be there all along. You bury your head into the crook of his neck, letting his more than familiar cologne hug you like a warm blanket.

Minho opens his mouth to say something but snaps it close later on. The bitterness inside is making him nauseous, burying every last bit of courage to the bottom pit of his stomach. He has so much, so much to tell you yet nothing comes out right.

He’s the first to pull away. “I’m glad that you like it, Y/N.” Take good care of yourself, okay ?

“Of course I like it, it’s everything !” You smile, not noticing how there are tears brimming in the corners of his eyes when it’s so dark outside.

Minho tries to hide the shakiness in his voice. “Close your eyes, the stars will grant a wish to whoever has enough sincerity and purity.” You’ll be fine without me, will you ?

“A wish ? I guess…” You close your eyes, tightening the grip on Minho’s hands, accidentally ignoring how his hands are getting colder, and colder by the second. “There, I made a wish !” Your eyes fly open as you giggle happily. “We should come here more often, don’t you think ? Promise me that we’ll be here every week.” You extend your pinky finger outwards.

Minho nods, intertwining his finger with yours. “I promise.” I’ll miss you.

As a silent tear rolls down on his cheek, his orbs flash a shade of crimson red.

eight & ½.

Changbin cries out dramatically. “Y/N, a little help over here ? Hello ?” He’s struggling real hard to open the door while carrying the groceries all by himself.

You quickly snap out of it, running to help him with the whopping five paper bags in his arms. “Sorry, I just thought that I saw someone who looked familiar.”

He cranes his neck tiredly after stuffing the bags into the backseats of his Tesla. “Could be some guy who reached out to you before. You know how the industry works, if they want you, they gotta have you. So be careful, creepy people are literally everywhere.”

“Right..” You trail off and jump into his car, shutting the door close. Even when Changbin twists his key and drives away from the supermarket, you can’t help but turn your head constantly to see if there’s anyone. On the way out, you made eye contact with someone, who has an odd ray of red in their eyes. Normally, things like this would have crept you out but you found an unexpected sense of familiarity in those eyes. Perhaps you’ve met before ?

But why… red ?

“Hey Bin…” You start. “Do you believe in soulmates ?”

Changbin snickers. “What the fuck is wrong with you today ? Are you sick ?”

You wave your hand to brush the topic off. “You’re right, I stayed up until three last night, can really use a nap right now.” Maybe everything’s in your head after all.

But little did you know, from across the streets, the silhouette of a demon who once shared unforgettable memories with you is embedded onto the cold brick wall. Minho has his arms crossed in front of his chest, mind blank, eyes empty. He only dares to watch in silence as your friend drives you away, fighting back the voices inside his head that are yelling at him to just hug you, to see your smile, to hear your laughter.

Little did you know, he longs to be by your side again. Minho tried to force himself into hating you but he can’t. He can’t because you taught him how to love, because you mean far more than just the universe to him, because blaming hurts more than trying to forget you. But before things get out of hand, he managed to get a hold of himself and decided to cut ties with you for good.

This is for the better, he keeps telling himself.

People say that there’s no sorrow in the demons. Since joy and sorrow are like fire and ice, there’s no possibilities for them to exist in the same subject. Demons are believed to find joy in those who despise God’s commands, and rejoice over this kind of sinister power. Therefore, there’s no sorrow in the demons. Meaning, demons can never feel heartbroken because they simply don’t have one.

If so, then why can Minho hear something shattering into pieces inside his chest ? That’s because he’s experienced something other demons aren’t supposed to. He finally knows what it feels like to actually be ‘someone’ to someone, what it feels like to think of them all day and smile stupidly about it.

And that’s something other demons are fortunate enough to not get themselves into. Because they wouldn’t want to know how painful it is to not being able to be with their loved one. Demons attract other demons by their scents so if a demon fell in love with a mortal being, that one human will live in constant danger.

Not to mention, it’s going against God to fall in love with someone who’s so different, so out of reach. And Minho could never risk losing you to anything but he can risk it all to protect you.

“I just feel so fucking broken.”

“You’ll be fine.” Hyunjin gently places a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

But it is love after all… what can he do ?

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writingsilly · 4 years

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Underwater (ch. V)

Description: Your bad behaviour led you to stay the whole summer in your town of birth with your grandfather. The very first day, you went for a walk to the beach and had an encounter with a stranger that would change your whole life.

Pairing: Reader x Merman!Taehyung.

Genre: Angst, suspense, sci-fi.

Trigger warnings (!!!): Blood, swearing, angst.

Click here to read in AO3!

V: Information

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“You’re gonna accept what I just said just like that?” He asked.

That was a good question, actually. Taehyung had done nothing but show you how decisive and dangerous he was, but was he worth your trust? It did not matter how much time you thought about it, though. He had made a request and you had to follow it.

So you did not say anything. Your throat was still burning, even swallowing was unbearably painful.

Taehyung sighed and stretched his arm, displaying a golden bracelet right in front of your face. You would not have thought much about it if a little pendant had not shone in the moonlight. It was a little larger than a coin with a small wave carved in it.

“This may seem like a cheap piece of rubbish,” he said, “but it’s actually a family relic. It has been worn by several kings, and a queen, within generations. Now, it’s my turn to wear it.”

You leaned over, ready to touch the pendant to examine it, but Taehyung was fast to pull back his arm.

“This,” he spoke again, his tone severe, warning, “I’m doing it because it’s the only way for you to believe me. I need you to believe me, not to ask questions. Got it?”

With that being said, he took off the bracelet and grabbed your wrist, pulling it so that you would show your opened palm. He let the cold chain in your hand. You heard the clicking of the metal and wondered if that was real gold or some kind of painted metal.

But now that you had this, what were you supposed to do with it? It could be a useless accessory, for all you knew.

“This town holds more information on mermaids than you might think. You just need to know where to look. Not everything you might find is true, but, I have to admit, some humans have got close to us,” he let out the last part with some kind of sadness.

If you asked any questions, you knew that Taehyung would not answer them clearly. Even when he tried so hard to hide, be mysterious, you noticed certain things. You knew better not to test him or push your luck. Whatever he gave, you would have to work with it. So moments like these, where he would give information in exchange for nothing, were special and rare.

You looked at him, hoping for him to tell you more. His naked chest expanded while he turned his gaze to the night sky. He looked so lost in thought, maybe even memories. With his profile, unbelievably well-proportioned, being highlighted by the moon, you felt your eyes glued to his image. There was always something interesting to watch, to discover, being his tanned skin or the mole hidden between his inferior eyelashes. You could not lie and say that Taehyung was not a fair creature, but that was not a surprise. You may not be an expert, but if there was something you knew about mermaids it was that their beauty was undeniable, mermen were not the exception to that fact, you confirmed it after meeting Taehyung. The air around him seemed to buzz with the most elegant harmony you had ever heard and, even in the dark, he radiated a golden light. He was luminescent, all the time. A vibrating light followed his figure with every move. Such lively energy for a being so despicable.

Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him. The first one being; looks are deceiving.

“Look for information,” he simply added. “You might stop flinching every time I look at you if you know what you’re dealing with. You might also know the seriousness of my threats, too.”

You closed your hand around the bracelet. It was the only thing you could do if you thought about it. This pendant held more than what the eye could see, and if you wanted to get out of this alive, and save your grandfather in the process, you had to do whatever it took.

You could go home once Taehyung indicated you what he wanted you to do and told you, yet again, what would happen if you did not obey. According to him, he “did not want to be more time than necessary between impure humans, no offence.” Of course, you replied with a dry “not taken” because even when you were not sure what he and his people thought to know about humans, you could easily name a few things about your kind that fell on the category of vile.

Taehyung knew exactly what he wanted to learn, he did not hesitate to tell you point by point, which were simply three; friendship, family and love. If something came up in the middle of your lessons, he would ask, he informed you. You were just begging that it would not happen. The less you had to teach him, the faster he would go back to the depths of the sea to rule his underwater reign or whatever. You did not know him, at all, but something told you that Taehyung would be a cold-blooded king. He did not hesitate to make his point with you, you doubted it would be different somewhere else. And you did not know why, but you wondered if that was a good quality of him if you talked about being king.

Once in bed, you could not help but wonder about his world. How different it might be from yours, how humans affected it, because, surely, all those talks about global warming were not to be taken as a simple joke. Your world influenced theirs directly. But you also thought about his people. If Taehyung thought of you as such evil creatures, did the rest of them believe the same? Or were they just scared of the information they were given about humans?

That was when it hit you; they knew nothing about you, just as you knew nothing about them. When talking about knowledge of one another, it was like a dog chasing its own tail; someone had to step in, put an end to it, and Taehyung was doing just that, you guessed.

“Are you planning something for today?”

The already gooey cereal stared back at you until you decided you were done with it and pushed it away from you. The thought of you browsing books of mermaids and fairy tales, all under the gaze of these overly curious inhabitants of this town… Yeah, that seemed like a good way to spend your way if you did not want to die.

“I’m going to the bookstore,” you replied with a smile. And your throat still hurt. A lot. But you had you ignore it if you did not want questions you could not answer.

Your grandfather seemed excited by the idea, as his eyes lighted up and his lazy posture changed suddenly, as he leaned slightly over the table like he was about to tell you the juiciest secret ever.

“The best store in town is the one you went to yesterday,” he informed you with a wink, “Miss Kim has the rarest books, the ones that you can’t find on the internet, all for a good price. Tell her I sent you and she might lend them to you.”

Not that you were disappointed by the first thing he said, but when he mentioned Miss Kim, your eyes widened.

“You know her?” You asked, a little bit hesitant, to which he only replied with a shrug and a smile that annoyed you because of the lack of verbal confirmation.

You were under the impression that your grandfather never left his house unless he wanted to take a walk or to buy groceries, or something he needed with urgency, but with this new information, you were left in the dark. You had never thought of him as someone mysterious, but now you had to? Not that you blamed him. You were hiding things from him as well.

“That’s all I’m gonna get?” You asked again. “Fine. I’ll have to ask her, then.”

Another thing to look into, you would add it to the list.

The unforgiving sun was punishing you with all its force. Your cap seemed useless at this point. It just encapsulated the heat, and after a few minutes walking over the hot road, you started to wonder if your head could sweat this much, or if it could even sweat. Today, you had chosen to wear sneakers, not sandals, as you had gained a brand new appreciation for your feet over these three days. Once you thought you might lose one over a demon under a dock, there was no turning back from that, was there?

With your eyes literally on your feet, because you did not want to lose your sight by looking at the sky, you made your way to the book store. With Taehyung’s bracelet burning your skin from the back pocket of your shorts, just to make itself go noticed, you sighed. Luckily for you, you remembered the way well. Your life depended on it, so no biggie, right?

It was strange to walk around town and not to hear cars or people talking on their phones. You had grown used to the sounds and lights of the city. You could not quite decide if you liked it better or not. In the city, even when you had never thought of it as home like this town was, you never felt completely alone. Even when you tried to get away from everything and everyone, there was always the distant lights of the buildings, the cars, the busy streets to keep you company. Here, however, the only thing you received were dirty looks from silent people. In a town this small, everyone knew everyone, their story, some of their secrets, because they always get discovered one way or another. The story of the little girl who went to the city and came back years after. That must have been quite a piece of gossip when you left. So, you were sure they knew you were that girl. You were sure that they were wondering why you came back, and why your father was not with you.

It was weird to be in the middle of people who knew about you, but you knew nothing about.

“You came back?”

You turned around and found Namjoon, all dimples and baggy clothes that made you question his sanity and if his body felt how damn hot it was today. He walked towards you while he put his phone in his pocket. The height difference would have made you laugh if circumstances were different.

You nodded with your eyes on his. His smile grew only bigger, and you appreciated it.

“Glad to see you again, then. My grandmother is out, so…”

You already knew what was coming. He was going to say that you should come back another day, but the thing was, you did not have another day. You were meant to meet Taehyung tonight and give him his bracelet back. You could not let Namjoon say it.

“Is–” your voice cracked, and you noticed how Namjoon was taken back by your sudden interruption. You coughed to cover that up. “Is there any way that you could let me in? I wouldn’t ask, but I’m desperate.”

You could not stop to care about how pathetic you might have looked in Namjoon’s eyes, but it was not necessary because he let out a chuckle, his smile meeting his eyes, and reached his back pocket. The sound of metal clicking together had never felt so relieving.

“I was going to let you in, but hearing you beg is so much fun. Now, add a “please” and a “thank you” and I might open the door.”

“You’re enjoying my suffering, aren’t you?”

He hummed.

“Every part of it,” he confirmed. You glared at him and crossed your arms. Namjoon laughed. “Fine. Only ‘cause you came back.”

The moment you entered the store, the characteristic smell of old books hit you with full force. You had not noticed it before, but now you could see why your grandfather told you that this was the best bookstore in town (if there were more). Besides the numerous shelves full of books, they were also scattered all over the dusty floor, like they did not matter, forgotten.

“What were you looking for?” Namjoon asked while he closed the door behind him.

Hell, if you only knew...

The number of books was intimidating and you had not started yet.

The problem with Miss Kim’s book store was that it was a mess. There were books, of course, scented candles (some of them used), unlabelled boxes which awakened your curiosity. Without any help, you could be years looking for a trustful source of information. Something had told you that the internet was not going to be useful, so you chose to come here, but looking at this disaster, you were reconsidering reading that article on sea creatures you had found in liveyourfantasy.com.

No, books were more reliable.

“How many books do you have here?”

Namjoon frowned, surely asking himself why on earth would you be interested in that, but then shrugged.

“Grandma is always getting new books. The boxes are full of them.”

So that was what they contained. Now you were sure that there was no way you could find any book related to mermaids if you did it by yourself.

“Do you have anything about mermaids?”

Come to think of it, sea creatures were kind of one of the few attractions this little town had. Of course they were only a simple trick to lure tourists here, but you could not be the only one who had ever come here and asked for a book related to it. Although you were confident that Namjoon would not ask any questions, he allowed himself to look at you with a puzzled expression. And you could not exactly blame him. You had come here, desperate, and all for a book about mermaids? It seemed strange. You would have reacted the same way.

But anything Namjoon was thinking to ask, he shut it up, as he walked behind the desk and typed on the ancient computer covered in dust. It took some time, loaded with awkward coughs (mostly from you). While you waited, you stared at him. You noticed the eye bags, deep, that described an endless night. His messy hair confirmed it.

“Rough night?”

You did not know what came over you. Namjoon seemed like a nice guy, someone who you would like to be friends with if your situation was not so complicated. And maybe that was why you could not help but feel interested in him, in what he had done last night that kept him awake.

“I was actually with Yoongi and Jimin,” he answered with a smile, looking at you for just a second before returning his gaze to the computer screen.

“Your friends?”

“Yes. I asked them about that Kim Taehyung you told me about.”

You had completely forgotten about that little detail. Not that it mattered. Now you knew that his friends had never heard of Taehyung because he did not exist on the surface. All you had on him was his name… And the fact that he was a merman.

“Oh, well. Whatever they know...” you chuckled. Dismissing the subject, trying to make Namjoon forget all about it, that was what you wanted to do. “I gave up. I don’t think he’d like to meet me again, so–”

“What makes you say that?”

He sounded so surprised. He led all his attention to you. The atmosphere between shifted so quickly, it almost left you without air or words to say. One of the most sincere looks you had seen in a long time was Namjoon’s. Under it, you found yourself almost babbling as if you had done something wrong. He was waiting for your answer, though, so you pushed it out of your throat.

“No reason. Just a feeling,” you mumbled.

Once again, whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself. That only made you even more interested in what his mind held. You could tell, there were a lot of things unsaid in that head of his and you wondered if he would ever speak them out, if he would feel relieved or regret it if someone hears them.

“Oh!” He exclaimed out of the blue. “We have some books about them, actually. Thought we had sold them all. Are you looking for tales...”

“Informative works, if that makes any sense?”

A few days ago, it would not have made any sense to you. Things could change so quickly around here, it was scary.

“Well, information…” he hummed, and with a few clicks of the mouse, he smiled. “The book is quite old, but we have it in pretty good conditions, considering.”

He walked to a random shelf and ran his finger through the spines of the books displayed until he found the one he was looking for. It was almost at the end, waiting to be held and given a look. An ancient, worn-out book, all black, it was the kind of book that could have gone unnoticed easily.

As he checked it out to confirm it was, in fact, the book he was looking for, you read the spine of it. In golden, cursive letters, it read “Mysteries of the Sea”. Before handing it to you, Namjoon gave you a secretive look.

“This one is one of the oldest books we own. The author is unknown, but–”

“Unknown?”

You did not let him give it to you as a normal person would do, you just snatched it from his hands. It was heavy, and when you opened it, you realised that your first impressions were correct; the pages were yellow and a little crumpled. There were no chapters, just words and words with no division apart from paragraphs. It did not seem that it had an actual end.

As he had stated, there was no name of the author, which seemed strange. You had always thought that the best part of achieving something, like writing a book or directing a movie, was to put your name on it and make everyone remember it.

“I assume it was a woman the one who wrote it?” Namjoon suggested. “Some books were written by women, but their names are nowhere to be seen, it’s not uncommon.”

“Why?”

“With books this old, you can imagine, right? A woman writing and publishing her own work at that time? It would’ve brought embarrassment to her family.”

It sounded stupid, but the book felt much heavier after hearing that. There was no way you could confirm that story, but if it was true; if that woman truly wanted it published despite what her family might have thought, it had to be significant, something she had thought it may help others, not only her. In your mind, going against your family was not something you chose to do just because. There had to be something worth that courage.

With new determination, maybe even renewed hope, you clutched it against your chest.

“How much?”

Namjoon let out a long sigh, but smiled, and shrugged. “It’s yours if you want it.”

“But–”

“But, only if you promise to come back,” he finished your sentence.

“You mean to the bookstore or this town?”

“Let’s start with the bookstore,” he replied, “for now.”

The thing about Namjoon, he was sincere, he seemed sincere. He was the kind of person that made you trust. But not satisfied with that, the universe also gave him another quality; everything he said seemed like a promise. How many days had passed since you first met him? One. Nevertheless, he managed to make you feel like he had known you since forever.

And you could not say no to him. He had helped you a lot, and you actually enjoyed his company. Why would you say no? Because you did not want anyone involved with you until you could get rid of a certain someone.

The sound of the bell right above the door made you turn around. Two guys of the same height walked in with the same expression of confusion that you probably had. One of them, carrying a big paper bag, wet at the bottom, spotted dazzling blue hair and an oversized black shirt with ripped jeans and sandals of the same colour. The other one, three cups of soda in hand, looked straight out of a fairy tale, with pale pink hair and simpler clothes; a white t-shirt and black shorts and sandals.

“Who’s she?” One guy asked as he set the bag on the desk.

“Another grandchild,” Namjoon smiled. You belonged somewhere, even after you had left years ago, he made sure you knew that.

The answer seemed to be enough for him, because he looked at you, acknowledging your presence, and dropped all his weight on the chair. Unbothered, he proceeded to take out food from the bag; three complete burgers. When he noticed your stare, he lifted one close to your face.

“Want some?” A teasing tone that reminded you of Taehyung was not quite what you were expecting from a boy this short. It caught you off guard when a freezing shiver went down your spine.

Now, everyone in the room was looking at you. As much as you wanted to talk, your throat was shut, aching, itching. The pain made you simply shake your head.

“Yoongi, you’re making her uncomfortable,” Namjoon warned.

So he was Yoongi. Despite feeling like someone had punched your stomach, you gave him another look. He did not budge under your scrutiny. It was not hard to tell that he was a tough guy. Namjoon had come off like that too when you first met him, but he was fast to vanish that idea of him out of your head. Yoongi seemed like he was not going to do that any time soon. He even raised his eyebrows when he noticed that you were not redirecting your gaze elsewhere but his face.

“Whatever,” he finally said and broke eye contact with you.

“Well,” the other one, Jimin, you assumed, broke the tension, “if you’re another grandchild, join us!”

The bubbly personality of Jimin, which you were fast to notice, was so welcoming. You truly wanted to sit down, relax for a second, feel like Hoseok and Jungkook were with you again, but could you really do that when you felt Taehyung breathing down your neck?

“You can tell us more about that Kim Taehyung?” Namjoon suggested.

“Oh, so she’s the one you talked to us about?” Jimin exclaimed. He glanced between you and Namjoon. “Now, I see it.”

Namjoon cleared his throat and left the table saying something along the lines of “I’ll get you chairs.”

He was gone, and you could already feel Yoongi and Jimin’s curiosity drown the room. They wanted to ask about Taehyung, you knew that. Whatever they asked, though, you were sure you would never be able to answer. You were also looking for answers and the book that Namjoon had just given you might hold some, you hoped.

As you sat down on the chair Namjoon provided, you tried to avoid Yoongi and Jimin’s gaze. It was not like you did not understand why they were so curious about you. You were kind of expecting Namjoon so ask more questions, but you were grateful that he had not crossed that line yet. And even he did, there was nothing you could do, actually. You felt like running away as far as your legs would take you, but the thought of Taehyung being somewhere in the shadows, waiting for you to be alone was enough to clear your head from those runaway ideas. You were in that funny position where you did not feel safe anywhere.

“What you got there?” Yoongi asked, still chewing his burger, as he pointed at the book you were still pressing against your chest.

“She’s actually interested in mermaids and all that jazz,” Namjoon answered before you could.

Yoongi raised his eyebrows, still looking at you and you felt how your cheeks turned red and warm under those dark eyes.

“You sure you’re from here? Only tourists are interested in that crap.”

“Yoongi!” Jimin butted in.

“What? That’s the only reason people ever come here!”

You wished you could be like Yoongi, so clueless. The way he said things, like there were not a big deal, was something you envied. He walked around, no worries on his mind, not looking over his shoulder every time he heard something suspicious in the bushes. That was a luxury you could not afford anymore. Thinking it through just confirmed it; you could not bring new people to your life. It did not matter how nice they seemed, or how safe they made you feel. You could not include them in your mess.

“Leave her alone, Yoongi,” Namjoon chuckled. “She’s one of us now.”

But it was too late for that.

“It hurts to see her. When the sea is so calm, silent and transparent, it hurts to see her rise to the surface because I know she will have to go back in an hour or two, if I am lucky enough.

Her kind is mysterious. I know it because she doesn’t like to talk about her world underwater. I accept it because I choose to believe that with time, she will warm up to me and tell me all about her, her life, her dreams. Everything my heart desires is to know more about her. It was not only about her people anymore. It was just about her. All my life, I’ve been wondering why are people so interested in mermaids. It took about five minutes with her for me to finally understand the fuzz over these beings. I noticed that every once in awhile, she would accidentally slip up some detail about herself. I try to remember them all, but they are so simple that it only makes me want to cry whenever I try to put them on paper and fail miserably due to my poor memory. I can’t bring my dairy to out meetings in the dock. If she ever found out that I’m writing about her, she would be so furious. I’m scared that she won’t want to see me ever again if she finds out. Nevertheless, I choose to write about her. My life is boring, as you might have assumed. She is the only thing that keeps me from falling on a monotonous spiral of useless and meaningless tasks like going grocery shopping or helping with the bookstore. Sometimes I wonder if I’m as special to her as she is to me. Maybe I’m what she needs to scape her world. In the mornings, I often think about the reasons why she would ignore the dangers and come back to me. My world is not ready for her kind. I’m still getting used to her, how she looks, how different it feels to have her around. The mere thought of someone finding out about her existence is enough to keep these words to myself, under my bed. She often tells me that the ocean can be even crueller than the surface. She warns me that if I get too close to them, it might be dangerous. I don’t care, that’s what I always tell her. We always find a spot, a limit where both of our worlds meet so we can see each other. But I’m scared that the more I see her, the closer I get to touch her, the needier I’ll be…”

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fairygrdn · 5 years

Text

𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴 : #F41R13 // STATS » magnolia kim, ( two hundred & five ) twenty three, cis female, she/her, matchmaker. ATTRIBUTES » enchanting, impish, persuasive, deceptive. SEEN » seeping teabags for too long, trading secrets in whispers, dotting every i and j with a heart. DO NOT MISTAKE FOR » yooa ( shiah yoo ).

hello qts ! im xan and im late as usual but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles … 😔 im 22 , from the est timezone & i go by she / her pronouns ! i truly … never know what im doing with intros they just turn out super long & messy so aha … are u ready for this ? zimzalabim ! 😋

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ QUICK STATS !

full name : magnolia marie kim

nickname(s) : maggie , lia , mags

zodiac : libra sun , cancer moon ( click ! )

sexuality : bisexual .

occupation : self proclaimed matchmaker .

birthplace : undisclosed magical forest .

current residence : lunehaven , oregon .

pinterest : ( tba ! )

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ BACKSTORY !

born more than 200 years ago to a family often referred to as fae royalty , magnolia was the youngest of four girls . her parents were well respected animal fairies in the fae community , and because they were so efficient at wildlife conservation , magnolia and her family were never in one place for too long , always moving wherever her parent’s services were needed .

although her parents had little interest in the business of humans or other supernatural beings , that wasn’t the case for maggie and her sisters. the four of them were fascinated with everything outside the fae world , often neglecting their responsibilities for a chance to stick their noses into situations they really had no business meddling in .

as the youngest of the family , as well as the only weather fairy of the bunch , maggie often felt like an outsider or like she had to try extra hard to fit in and prove herself . her sisters eventually gave up their childish games in favor of following the family business and starting serious pursuits as animal fairies , which only left magnolia feeling more frustrated.

when her parents retire and settle down in schiltach , germany for a quiet existence , maggie tries to grow up . at a little over a 100 years old , a more experienced weather fairy tries their best to get her to take life more seriously and accept the fact that her abilities won’t ever line up with the rest of her family’s , teaching her the value in what she can do for plant life in her environment . and for a while she’s satisfied , but there’s a part of her that’s still interested in the lives of humans and other supernatural creatures , something she’d been advised against seeing as fairies often had bad luck trying to help anyone that wasn’t also a fairy .

like any stubborn teenager , though , magnolia swore she was different . she’d discovered a passion that had nothing to do with her fairy duties , and that was matchmaking . something about love had always just fascinated her , and she thought it would be a disservice to hide her gift from the world . in a small town like schiltach , maggie knew everyone , which meant she knew everyone’s relationship statuses . at first her meddling was innocent . setting two single people up on a date , mailing anonymous love letters only to whisper to the receiver that someone else sent them . the more she thought she was helping , the more confident she got that all the warnings she’d been given were overreactions .

things take a turn when she tries setting up a married woman with a man that wasn’t her husband . maggie really didn’t see the big deal , she thought her match was much better than the woman’s current partner but what she failed to realize was that there were real consequences to infidelity in long term committed human relationships . it became the scandal of the town , and all fingers pointed to magnolia . her parent’s were furious with her , disappointed that she hadn’t given up her childish pursuits and fascination with all things outside the fae world . not really knowing how to handle the repercussions , she decided it was time to experience life on her own for a few years .

mostly going places were her ability as a weather fairy were needed , magnolia spent the next 100 years of her life balancing her responsibilities as a fairy with her passion for love games . she expanded her services to other supernatural beings as well , which is how she ended up learning about lunehaven , eventually relocating . while her success rate in matchmaking may be shadowed by a trail of sticky situations and all around flops , maggie still wholeheartedly believes she’s helping more than she’s hurting . it doesn’t help that she’s awfully good at convincing people to give her a shot ( even when it might be in their better interest to run the other way ) .

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ PERSONALITY + TIDBITS !

oh boy oh man ... i won’t lie to u she’s kind of a handful 😳🙈 think chaotic youngest sibling vibe . probably the most irresponsible person ( fairy ? creature ? SDSDKWDNKW ) u will ever meet ... has never truly been held accountable for her actions before so she’s never learned how to own up to her mistakes which means if u tell her she did something wrong she will ignore u and maybe make it drizzle if she knows u don’t have an umbrella .

big im baby vibes ! thinks she can 🥺 her way through life bc it’s worked for the past 215 years so clearly that’s all the proof she needs she’s too old to change her ways </3 mischievous and way too nosy curious for her own good u can tell her to mind her business but she literally won’t . much like miss tinkerbell she needs attention to survive if she doesn’t get it or doesn’t feel like she’s getting enough she does act out ... that complex is high key because she misses her parents though /:

on the reverse of all that she’s an extremely sociable and friendly ��girl ! she’s generally easy to approach and befriend and she’s a big sweet talker . she loves love 😌 but she also doesn’t really understand it that well or at least she finds it hard to be objective when she’s matchmaking for others . oftentimes she’s considering her own preferences when setting people up but her intentions are almost always good SDJWDJWDW

she’s crazy loyal to friends and the people she cares about . would never hesitate to be there when you need her to be , and she’s really big on showing affection whether it’s through gifts or physically or mushy texts you probably did not ask for but better not complain about . can be a little dramatic and sensitive at times , and yes maybe she overreacts to criticism and negative situations , but she also knows how to have fun and get people to let go ! very good at bringing out the eternal child in u <3

despite her sometimes successful attempts at matchmaking , maggie’s own love life ? a big fat mess ! she’s still scared of serious relationships for herself so most of the time she finds a way to mess things up before it gets that deep . she’s also a huge flirt so settling down is a difficult concept to swallow SDJBWJDBWJ also ... still has those lingering childhood feelings of being different and needing to prove herself so perhaps she feels a little unworthy of true love ... that’s fine </3

she has the biggest sweet tooth in the world . she’s probably always hanging around the bakery munching on pastries . will eat dessert before dinner every time u can’t stop her

always always surrounded by freshly picked flowers and she likes to give them away to people , however she’s got a bad habit of telling people the flowers came from their admirer ( whose identity only she knows , of course )

has probably tried to set everyone’s muses up at least once

accidentally makes it rain when she’s extremely upset , although it’s rarer now that she’s had more experience with her abilities

still has a huge soft spot for animals even if she can’t communicate with them the way an animal fairy can

is on tinder ... get her some help pls </3

unironically throws tea parties in her woodland cottage. if she invites u and u don’t show up she’s going to hold that grudge until the day she dies ...

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ WANTED CONNECTIONS ! ( all open to all genders )

my brain is quite literally all rot rn im just gonna list stuff with minimal elaboration please vibe with me …

people she's done matchmaking for <3 pls give me all the plots where maggie keeps setting ur muses up on dates that don’t work out but she refuses to give up and ur muse keeps letting it happen for whatever reason ... OR maybe someone she tried to set up once and it didn’t work out and they never let her play matchmaker again and maybe they reset her for what happened and she feels guilty about it but doesn’t know how to deal with that so she just decides she’s gonna resent them back ... OR mayhaps a success story o:

ex infatuations that ended tragically lets get that angst (:<

a best friend PLEASE ...

she’s pretty upbeat so maybe an unlikely friendship with someone darker / quieter where at first they were annoyed by her but slowly through charm and time she grew on them much like mold might 😋

please give me a ridiculous enemies plot just someone who thinks she’s an absolute brat and she does everything to reaffirm that thought since the loathing is mutual and half the time they don’t even know what they’re fighting about they’re just always fighting

current hookups we love to see it there’s so many directions to go in maybe its purely a casual thing , maybe it’s casual for magnolia but not for them , or maybe she’s the one like worm maybe i would like more than sex , maybe it’s like a we only hookup when we’re partying thing , maybe it’s a we only get along naked thing , there r choices

older sibling relationships ! she also high key misses her sisters and being babied so i would love for her to have friendships that mirror that

someone she can be in cahoots with … go absolutely bonkers with knowing they won’t judge her and she won’t judge them

a we’re just friends ... unless ? plot

maybe someone who tries to get her to b more responsible and she’s just like UGH i will throw up if u dont stop but low key she appreciates the guidance

ppl whose places she’s always crashing at when she wants to be in town and not in the damn woods

i wont lie to u this got longer than i thought it would 😭😭😭 im sosososo sorry for the length … also i feel like my charas always change a lil once i actually start plotting & writing so sorry again if u see me finally writing as magnolia on the dash and ur like literally who is that … JSDBWJBDWBDJ PLEASE come message me on discord to plot ! if u prefer im’s that’s perfectly ok im just warning u now it’s gonna be a much slower process so if u want speedier replies ... u can message me @ glo lovecore ʕ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ#8172 maybe … give this a like if u wanna … plot hehehe thank u for reading all this ur so brave for that stay sexy x

#╰ ♡ . 𝒏𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚 ── ooc ! ┘#luneintro #did not proof read a single word of this .... lets see if that was a mistake #JWDBWJBDJWDW

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springday-aus · 5 years

Text

Untold Mermaid Tales: Sunmi’s Story

Fic Piece Written By: Admin Grandma of @springday-aus

Moodboard Link Created By: Admin Grandpa

Main Character: Lee Sunmi (formally known from Wonder Girls)

Additional Characters: (in order of mention) Kim Yubin, Park Jonghyun, Yoon Junyoung

Genre: historical, fantasy, mermaid!au, revenge story

Type: one-shot writing piece

Word Count: approx. 6.3k

Plot Summary: Sunmi dreams of leaving home to be a sailor. Her opportunity comes when her brother is sick and she’s sent to care for him overseas. However, the journey goes sour as the real implications of her presence are revealed and feelings get hurt.

Warnings: [lots of sexism] - sexual harassment, rape is implied, murder mentions.

For centuries, humans have believed that mermaids are nothing more than mythical creatures of the sea. It started from folklore and fairytales, like The Little Mermaid leading to their current portrayals in the media, such as Aquamarine or Ocean Girl. This is what essentially feeds humans the illusion of mermaids as beautiful beings who do nothing more than sing and swim, leading sailors astray from their paths.

While it’s true that these creatures are magical, in no way are they as enchanting as they seem. Mermaids may seem to be carefree and gentle because they don’t have a human life on land to worry about. However, they are beings filled with spite, fueled by revenge and bitterness. To understand why is too complex to explain, but they have one goal: to avenge themselves by dragging down the men who dared to have them thrown overboard.

Along the pier on the edge of Busan sits a young woman closely observing the sea. The waves crash lightly underneath her, the small mists of water spritzed itself into the air, splashing her every once in a while. The salty sea shimmers as it sways from a distance, sparkling against the limited light the sun provides. Just where the horizon starts to fully set lies the clothes of faded pinks, blending within the mix of pale yellows and light scarlet-orange. Despite the darkening sky, incoming ships continue to arrive in the docks, just a couple of blocks short from the pier.

Sumni sits upright and cross-legged, staring out into the never-ending waters—watching the fluttering sails continuously cut through the sunset with its’ shapes getting gradually bigger as time passes. Each one seems the same for everyone else, but to her, each is just as mesmerizing as the next.

As her thoughts lost themselves within the sea, another’s footsteps lightly taps on the pier’s wood, getting closer to her with each step. She doesn’t budge.

“Take a seat, Yubin.” She taps the empty spot next to her. “You and I both know I’m not going anywhere for a while.”

With a shake of her head, Yubin chuckles but takes the seat regardless. “At this point, you should sleep here,” she says. “You practically live on this pier.”

“There’s no point if I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Are you excited? You’re going to be an official sailor.”

“Of course, I’m excited—slightly nervous, but I’ve been waiting for this since I was ten.” Sunmi leans back on her hands, taking in the scene once more. “I need to see more than just what I’ve read. I can’t just stay here for all of my life.”

Yubin hums in response, nodding along to Sunmi’s words.

“Don’t be mistaken,” Sumni says. “I’ll miss you and my family.”

“But?”

“Something tells me this is my one chance—another opportunity like this won’t come.”

Yubin smiles fondly at her, before giving her a small nudge. “Well, at least you’re taking it. You’re lucky. You get to be more than just a housewife or school teacher. Nothing’s wrong with it, but…” She pauses, looking down at her lap. “You got a chance to do more.”

Sunmi huffs in response. Glancing around, she continues to speak, but with a lowered tone. “I have to confess though. It doesn’t feel right.”

“What are you talking about?” Yubin asks. “You’ll get to achieve your dreams to see the world beyond Busan, and who knows? Maybe, even meet a nice man, like your captain!”

“That’s just it though,” Sunmi says. “Captain Park... something feels off about him.”

Speak of the devil and he shall appear—as if on cue, Park Jonghyun makes his way over from his ship on the docks and along the pier. He jumps onto the sandy shore, breathing in the fresh, foreign air, since he and his crew just arrived from Japan. They’re on their way to Montréal to meet up with St. Laurent, but made a pit stop in the south for additional supplies and shipmates.

With his black boots thudding against the ground below him, his tall silhouette moves swiftly to gather some equipment to prepare themselves for their journey tomorrow morning. However, he stops in his tracks once he spots the two women nearby. Without a word to his crew, he heads over towards them in long strides.

His presence doesn’t go unnoticed. The ladies take notice of the man in uniform with the broad shoulders and firm thighs heading their way. The wind picks up, sweeping his dark hair back with grace—his eyes never wavering from them. Dear lord, he’s attractive, but it would’ve been better if he wasn’t aware of it.

“Ladies.” He bows his head down as if he’s tipping an imaginary hat. “Are you lost?”

Yubin looks enchanted. Whereas, Sunmi easily get sup from her spot, dusting off her pants. Straightening her shoulders back, she looks up to him with crossed arms. “No, but we were just about to head back.”

“It’s getting a bit dark, ladies—seems dangerous to be walking alone. Would you like an escort back?”

“No, thank you…” She quickly scans him from head to toe. “It’s more dangerous to get strangers involved.”

He simply smiles at her. “Captain Park Jonghyun.” He bows his head once more. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Yubin visibly perks up, suddenly realizing who he is. “You’re Captain Park?”

“Yes, miss. You are?”

“Kim Yubin, but you would be much more interest in my friend.”

Sunmi resists the urge to roll her eyes at Yubin’s side comment. “Lee Sunmi. I’ll be part of your crew as of tomorrow. It’s a pleasure to properly meet you.”

“The Sunmi?”

“Yes.”

“Ah,” he says. He looks off into the distance, brushing his hair out of the way. “I knew you were familiar. You’ve got a face that can’t be forgotten.”

It’s really amazing what connections can do for a woman in the ‘60s. When Sunmi’s older brother, Junho, fell ill, her father nearly collapsed from the news and her mother cried for days. Both parents feared the worst illness imaginable. Both parents were, and still are, always far more concerned for their son than their daughter. Granted, Junho was drafted into the war, but, in Sunmi’s defense, he came back in one piece. When he permanently moved to California, their parents acted as if he was off to war all over again.

Anyways, their parents insisted on having someone go to care for him and Sunmi was set to leave. It’s not like she has any complaints—she’ll get to see Junho and the beautiful places she’s only read about in her books. Once it was decided Sunmi would leave, her father pulled a couple of strings and called in favor to arrange for her departure.

Turns out, her father’s coworker’s cousin knew someone who happened to work for the Park’s family estate—a very high-profiled family with an incredible lineage of sailors who knew their way around the seas. Fortunately, Jonghyun was generous enough to let Sunmi come along.

“It’d be good for a woman to see the world,” he had said.

Since Jonghyun’s decision, her father had been directly contacted, which resulted with many letters from Mr. Lee to thank the Park family for letting his irrepressible daughter along Jonghyun’s trip.

Sunmi had also made contact with him, once he’d accepted her to be part of his crew. (Thank God for those English books.) They exchanged letters and pictures to keep one another updated as to how long the journey would take, where they would be stopping, when they would arrive, etc. Between the letter exchanges, she couldn’t help but feel a bit thrown off from Jonghyun’s manners. Even though she hasn’t met him before, there was a growing suspicion towards him—she couldn’t pinpoint what it is about him that makes him so... odd. Maybe it was how quick he’d accepted her onboard, or the way he complimented her on having a classy chassis when he’d first gotten her first photo—something was just off...

But, despite her apprehension towards him, she’s grateful for him—she’s had nothing else to look forward to until the past year, fearing that she would be stuck as some sexist’s wife. The 20th century has been progressive so far, but it’s not progressive enough for women to stop being passed as someone’s wife or sister—she isn’t getting much younger and her father would not stop stressing it. She knows had it not been for Jonghyun, she wouldn’t be allowed on a ship until another’s century passed.

“You’ve gotten by photographs,” Sunmi says.

“They don’t do you justice.” He takes her hand and kisses the back of it. “Lovely to meet you, little miss. I look forward to working with you. What brings you to the pier?”

“I’m always here—”

“And I’ve forgotten that you’re always here.” Jonghyun lowers himself to really look at her. “I was told by your father that you can be found in two places: an ocean or the river. Always drawn to the water, huh?”

She gives him a tight-lipped smile, feeling slightly put-off from the close proximity of his face. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

“That’ll certainly be handy when you’re actually out on the seas. It’s a dangerous journey, do you think you’re ready?”

“Of course I am, Captain.”

“Sorry to interrupt.” Yubin glances between them, before turning her full attention to Jonghyun. “But we should be heading back. Dinner’s ready and we all need some time to say goodbye to her.”

“Of course.” Jonghyun raises an eyebrow at the both of them. “Are you sure you don’t need a man to take you back?”

“No, thank you,” Sunmi says. “We’ll get back just fine.” She turns away from him, without waiting for a reply, and promptly yanks on Yubin’s arm to drag her along.

As the distance between them grows, she shouts back to him. “See you tomorrow morning, Captain!”

“He seems nice,” Yubin says.

“I guess,” Sunmi mumbles. It’s more towards herself than Yubin, who continues to babble on about what a dreamboat he is, but nothing seems to settle the nerves in Sunmi’s stomach.

Within a span of eleven hours, Sunmi’s dreams are finally going somewhere. At first, it doesn’t really settle in—even with her parents’ tearful goodbyes, as well as their stern warnings to not cause any trouble, and Yubin’s bone-crushing hug. It doesn’t set in until she stands at the edge of the pier at the break of dawn, with nothing more than her bag in hand, in front of the vessel known as ‘SUNRISE’. The adrenaline rushes through her veins. She can’t feel anything else but her heartbeat that continuously pounds in her chest with anxiety and excitement.

“Excuse me?”

She turns around, facing an unfamiliar man in uniform—almost the same as Jonghyun’s. However, she notes, he doesn’t have the captain’s tags and carries fewer metals. He stands nearly a head taller than her and his brown hair is haphazardly brushed away from his face with eyes that give her an almost-bored look.

Sunmi snaps herself out of her thoughts and manages to respond in time. “Yes?”

“You can’t be here, we’re just about to leave.” He waves his hand away, dismissing her as if he’s swatting away a fly. “Go back to your husband.”

She smiles at him, the brightest and fakest she can muster, despite the anger bubbling inside her chest. “Actually, I’m here with Captain Park. I’m supposed to meet him here at five.”

He scans her appearance, before returning the fake smile with his own. “I’m sure you were.”

A sudden arm wraps around the young man’s shoulder stops him from saying more. Jonghyun arrives in full uniform—unnoticeably breaking the brawl about to occur. Sunmi lets out a small sigh of relief from his presence; for once, she’s thankful for a man’s help.

“Junyoung,” Jonghyun says. “That’s how we treat ladies.” He turns back to look at Sunmi. “My apologies, he tends to be a bit rude to everyone.” He gives her a wink.

She gives another tight smile. “I understand.”

Without a response, Junyoung removes himself from Jonghyun’s hold and trudges back to the boat, mumbling curses under his breath. Sunmi secretly glares at his retreating back and asks Jonghyun. “Who’s he?”

“Co-captain Yoon—he’s a bit rough on the edges, but he knows how to handle a ship.”

She almost growls, holding back as much as she can, yet her irritation is dismissed. Jonghyun smiles at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Now, why don’t you let me show you the way around the ship,” he says. “Just to be sure you don’t get lost.”

Sunmi gives him a weird look, startled from the sudden touch, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he guides her towards the ship and make their way up to the bow.

“So there’s all sorts of different ships. Sunrise, here, is a vessel, which operates differently from a sailing ship. It’s essentially built for cargo, as well as passenger transportation. It might be smaller, but it’s equally as powerful as the others.” He winks at her once more. “Now, we are currently on the bow, which means the front of the vessel. The opposite end—right over there—is called the stern…”

Sunmi can only sigh, hoping he realizes she knows more than he thinks, as Jonghyun continues to talk. Oh, this is going to be an interesting month.

A week in and Sunrise has had nothing but smooth sailing—for the ship itself at least. Throughout the week and into the following week, the waters remain calm, the wind continue to steer them, and no damages have occurred. Unfortunately, Sunmi has had no such luck with the crew. It’s hard enough for her to adjust as the only woman onboard; she has gotten used to life on the sea, but the other shipmates still haven’t gotten used to her.

On top of all this, she still hasn’t learned anything on actually handling the ship, like Jonghyun promised she would be able to do—which is why she finds herself a couple of feet away from Junyoung, practically peaking over his shoulder, in hopes of getting a glimpse as to what he’s doing. Despite how openly sexist he is towards her, she oddly prefers him over Jonghyun because Junyoung just ignores her (for the most part). On the other hand, while Jonghyun’s clearly nicer, he has a certain aura that alludes whenever she gets close—it’s all smiles with him and his hand always finds a place on her body, whether it’s grabbing her hand or placing an arm around her shoulders. It’s disturbing.

Sunmi shudders at the thought of him and his behavior for the past few days. No, she needs to focus. Right now, Junyoung is readjusting some of the ropes tied to the lookout point. She takes a couple of notes into her notebook, from his movements to the aftermath of his actions.

Junyoung might not explain to her what he’s doing or why he does it, but she knows she’s smart enough to figure it out—she’s red enough books to figure it out on her own. The other sailors often laugh at her—telling her all those little notes are nothing more than useless memos and there’s no point in recording such mundane tasks. She doesn’t bother listening to their little jabs at her because, who knows, maybe later in her life, she’ll be able to use this information on one of her own future expeditions.

At least, that’s what she hopes.

Junyoung has already moved to something else, chatting away with another sailor—Eddy. Sunmi makes herself busy and double-checks her notes, not noticing the shadow that lures behind her.

“What’s this, doll?” Jonghyun asks.

She flinches, clutching a hand over her chest. “You scared me!”

He ignores her and takes the notebook out of her hands. He asks again. “What’s this?”

“My notes.”

“Why have notes when you have me?”

She lets out a long sigh, already drained from his presence and this conversation. She grabs the notebook from his hand. “Captain, you haven’t taught me anything new.”

He takes it right back and taps it on her head, as if she’s a puppy. “I teach you new things all the time.”

“With all due respect, sir, I would much prefer it if you would just let me—”

“A-okay, it’s set. If you have anymore questions, you can ask me directly.” He smiles at her once again, placing the notebook into his inner jacket pocket. “If you want this back, you come to me.”

She gives up quickly, knowing he’ll just continue to push himself onto her like this—as he has been for the entire week. “Of course, Captain.”

He smiles down at her. “How many times have I told you?”

She lets out another long sigh, but Jonghyun ignores it.

“Call me Jonghyun.” He places an arm on her shoulder. “We’re closer than that.”

She gives him a short, forced smile and removes herself from Jonghyun’s hold. She walks off to cool down by finding something else to reoccupy herself with. He’s the captain and she knows better than to walk into uncharted territory with him.

Just as Sunmi walks off, Junyoung comes back around, swigging an arm around Jonghyun’s shoulders. “Oh, Jong, Jong, Jong,” he says with a singing tone. “Just what are you planning?”

Jonghyun smirks. “Don’t be such a wet rag, Jun. I’m just having some fun.” His eyes easily find Sunmi’s figure from a distance. “She’s not easy…” His eyes roam her curves once more. “And I like a challenge.”

“And how do you plan on conquering this one?”

“With this,” Jonghyun says. He takes out Sunmi’s notebook with a tight grip, but lightly waves it in Junyoung’s face. “She’ll come for it sooner or later.”

Unfortunately for Sunmi, she comes sooner rather than later. It’s been about two days after, when Sunmi is in Jonghyun’s cabins, but she’s not alone. Junyoung stands next to her, clearly agitated from the whole situation. Jonghyun stands in front of them, slightly amused from Sunmi. According to the other shipmates, an incident happened—resulting with a handprint on Junyoung’s face from Sunmi.

“Okay,” Jonghyun says. “What happened?”

“Your crew is led by a big. That’s what happened.”

“That is not what happened,” Junyoung says.

Sunmi scoffs at his remark. “What a nosebleed,” she mutters.

“What did you call me?”

“Okay!” Jonghyun says. He steps between the two of them, patting Junyoung’s shoulder. “Yoon, you can leave. I’ll talk to Sunmi.”

“What?!”

Junyoung smirks at her, making her feel like smacking him up once more. He heads to the door and, before he closes it, he mouths to Jonghyun: “I’ll be back.”

Jonghyun nods at him, then turns to Sunmi once the door’s shut. He lets out a little laugh, then turns back to what he was originally doing. He stands over to a table, where a large map of the Atlantic lies.

Sunmi stays rooted in her spot, watching Jonghyun move around. “Captain? Can I explain?”

He finally looks at her, nodding to himself, then takes a seat. “Sure.”

She lets out a small breath of relief. “Thank you, Captain. Now, as I was going to explain—”

“Why don’t you grab a seat?”

She looks around, spotting a nearby stool and sits herself a couple of feet away from him. She takes a deep breath, trying to collect herself. There’s so much that had unfolded in so little time that she hasn’t had a moment to herself.

Jonghyun still hasn’t taught her anything throughout the time span that she has been here. How is she supposed to understand what should be tied to which knots and where? How is she supposed to know which direction they’re going in? What the hell did “jibe” mean? There’s so much she’s read to learn about, yet it doesn’t matter if she’s not actually getting the hands-on experience she wants—but trust Sunmi to know she wasn’t about to stay put and do nothing.

She made it a mission for herself to learn, since no one was willing to teach her how to actually operate the ship. That resulted with her to floating around, observing each sailor and the tasks they were assigned to do—to make mental notes as to what they were doing. Since Henry took away her notebook, she’s been trying to remember purely through memory rather than record. It’s the only notebook she brought with her.

On the other hand, the other shipmates originally thought she was there to care for them. For a while, she did—until she realized they were just ordering her around as if she was the maid. When she asked for an explanation as to why, Junyoung merely shrugged. “Boys will be boys,” he said.

She was originally planning on just ignoring him, knowing he was going to say something among those lines. But then, she’d heard him say to another sailor. “She needs to work from the bottom first. She’s already on her knees for the captain.”

Before she knew it, her anger had gotten the best of her and she slapped him. She doesn’t regret it. Enough is enough; it’s time for her to step up.

She’s taking this opportunity to bring up one of her bigger concerns. She doesn’t need to explain herself to some man who probably thinks she’s just being temperamental.

She sits straight with her arms crossed over her chest. She stares at Jonghyun, trying to figure him out before saying anything else. Eventually, after a few moments of silence, she finally speaks. “Captain, I am having trouble understanding something.”

He isn’t even looking at her. His eyes remain trained on the map in front of him. “What exactly are you referring to?”

“Sir, I’m here to learn. I want to learn how to sail, but I can’t do that if you aren’t teaching me anything.”

She’s gotten his attention now. He looks up to her, before straightening up to look down at her. “I teach you new things all the time. Remember when I let you ring the bell? That was a big responsibility.”

“I haven’t learned anything new, sir. I want to sail. I can’t just watch everyone on the sidelines. If you would let me pair up with Hyunsuk to help lookout, or even with Roy in the engine room—”

Jonghyun shakes his head at her. “If you get too involved, it could get messy and things would get harder—”

“Captain, please just let me—”

“—just stay put for now. Once we’ve settled, we’ll show you around on how things work, okay?” He gives her another pearly white smile, but her frustration is overpowering. She finds herself more annoyed than when she originally came in. If one complaint is going to be filed as trash, might as well add in another. Her shoulders loosen up and her arms are released to her sides—the displeasure from over the past week has officially caught up to her.

“What about Junyoung?” She asks.

“What’s wrong with Co-captain Yoon?”

Sunmi almost laughs. “He’s been spreading rumors about me for the entire past week and the other shipmates are just egging him on. I think something should be done about him.”

“He’s just joking. He does it to everyone—he doesn’t mean any harm.”

“Then what are you going to do about the rumors? Or about how the way the rest of the crew is treating me? They all think I’m some easy gal you got fast with.”

At this, Jonghyun walks over to him, causing Sunmi to follow as well. He stands close, but far enough to lower himself to her eye level, grabbing her shoulders lightly. “Doll, don’t worry about it.” His hand slowly trails along her arm and plays with her fingers, without breaking eye contact. “We can take care of those rumors right now, if you’d like. We can make a bit more true than false.”

She untangles her hand from him and smacks him away. “Forget it, I’ll deal with them myself.”

He reaches out to her once more. “Baby, I can take care of you.”

She shakes her head and steps back further from him. “I don’t need you to take care of me. I don’t need you closer to me.”

He grabs her wrist once more, except it’s a rougher touch than before. “Doll, you said you wanted to sail.”

“I do.” She yanks her wrist out of his hand once more. “But not like this. I don’t need you closer.”

Jonghyun goes silent for a while—his shiny pearls starting to shine a little less. “Now, Sunmi,” he says slowly. “Don’t get so emotional. I’ll give you some time to cool it. But…”

He scans her once more, his eyes lingering a bit longer on her body a it more than she would’ve liked and chooses to ignore. “You know where I’ll be if you change your mind.” He gives her another wink, insinuating exactly what she fears.

She blinks at him, not believing what she just heard, trying to shake his words out of her system. Turning around on her heel, she heads for the door at a leisurely pace. “Don’t get your hopes up, Captain. This over-emotional lady will be in her cabin. I want to be clear. That is not an invitation.” She looks to the side. “I need to be alone.”

She slams the door shut and he stands for a while, staring at nothing, before chuckling at her antics. Oh, her father’s wrong—she’s more than just a troublemaker. She’s pretty, which is worth bringing on the trip, but it’s not worth the inconvenience she’s bringing.

He walks towards his previous set up. His jacket is tossed somewhere in the room and his hair is messily tousled. He sits on his chair, resting his feet on the table. A couple of knocks on his door breaks his train of thought.

Junyoung enters a fresh case of glass bottled beers in hand. “I have returned.” He sets a bottle on the table. “I figured you would need this after talking to the ship’s mooncalf.”

Without hesitation, Jonghyun grabs a bottle and takes a swig. “And this is why you’re the co-captain.”

The two sit back and chat, figuring out some additional notes for the journey ahead—sorting out the food supply, the stop in California (and possibly a couple of islands), and all the other little details that can be worked out later. Eventually, they do address the source of their headaches. However, it was only after drowning down all the beers and a couple of bottles from Jonghyun’s oh-so special liquor cabinet.

“If she keeps this up for the rest of the month,” Junyoung says. “I might just toss her to the sharks.”

Jonghyun squints at him, trying to realign his vision to somewhat focus on the other man. “She’s really something man. She just—just… just insults me on my own god—goddamned ship.”

“She should consider herself lucky to even be here.”

“You see,” Jonghyun says. “That—I thought the same thing.”

Junyoung huffs. “She needs to be reminded where her place is.”

Jonghyun silently thinks for a moment. The gears start to shift, but with a sudden familiar gleam in his eyes and another shiny smile, he speaks again. “Say, Yoon. What shall we do if she does just fall off the ship?”

Sunmi tosses and turns in her small mattress as the boat continues to rock through the night. Granted, the smooth sailing wasn’t going to continue forever, as they continue on with the journey, but it shouldn’t be this bad. It’s the third sleepless night in a row, a couple of nights after being in Jonghyun’s cabin making it worse for her sleep needs.

Since the conversation, she’s been avoiding him like the plague, but he always seems to find her. She knows she can’t avoid him on a ship, but she just needs her space from him. With the lack of sleep, it’s clear she’s becoming more and more fed-up—at both the captains and the crew. It’s almost as if their behavior has gotten worse: something she did not think was possible. Jonghyun’s smiles have got slimier and Junyoung’s scowls are becoming a more permanent fixture on his face.

She groans loudly, not bothering to hide her annoyance, and attempts to calm herself down from her thoughts. Something that was supposed to be so beautiful has gone downhill so fast; she’s never missed home as much as now. Maybe instead, once she gets home, she’ll read up some more about sailing, study more on shipbuilding, and she’ll be able to construct her own boat with an all-female crew.

Oh, how she longs to be on her own—but, for now, she’ll keep these men on their toes with her rebellion and, what Henry calls, emotional outbursts.

In order to get some decent amount of rest, she closes her eyes, listening closely to the waters. She can see the pier once more, with its beautiful horizon and Asta by her side. She sees the ocean and its never-ending waves—she sees the opportunity to explore. And with that, she finally sleeps.

On the other side of the ship, a small bash for the captains is taking place. Jonghyun and Junyoung wanted to celebrate a full successful week of sailing. So, they gathered some of their most trusted crew members for a couple of drinks. They all came together at the stern near the starboard; the captains figured the open air would be better than one of the stuffy cabins.

The stars are out, light wind blew, and the waters rocks the boat at a calm pace. There are chairs set up for them to rest their aching feet and a bunch of drinks spread out for them to grab. It’s relatively calm, each chatting away about this and that. However, one sailor from the group spots the thunder clouds rolling in from the distance; it’s coming slowly, but surely.

“Oh, shit,” Roy says. “That storm’s comin’ in soon.”

“How bad is it?” Jonghyun manages to ask, feeling a bit tipsy from the drinks.

Junyoung waves it off, clearly drunk. “Let it come, it’s Sunmi’s goddamn fault anyways.”

“Yeah,” Hyunsuk says. “Who the hell let her on anyways? That girl isn’t good for anything but bashing ears.”

Eddy laughs, then speaks. “Capt’n here probably wanted a quick route.” He takes another sip of his whiskey. “He’s fast, but she ain’t easy.”

Jonghyun frowns, nearly throwing an empty bottle at him, feeling the sting of being rejected once more. Who knew this woman would cause so much trouble for them?

Junyoung laughs along with Eddy. “He isn’t wrong.” He looks over at Jonghyun. “This is what happens when a woman gets involved. Everything goes wrong.”

“Don’t remind me,” Jonghyun says, with a groan. “Jesus, this is harder than I thought.”

“You talking about her or your dick?”

Everyone laughs and this time Henry does throw something, but it’s an empty beer can that can do no physical harm. Jonghyun misses entirely, the can is flung into the ocean with a soft plop. Junyoung finishes his drink at that time, tossing it into the water as well.

The other guys start to toss their empty glasses and cans into the water as well, laughing as if it’s the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen. However, their laughter is cut short as they spot the storm rolling closer, lightning flashing against the dark sky and harsh thunder claps following afterwards.

“We’re fucked,” Roy says.

The rest of the boys sigh, but it’s Jonghyun who speaks up. “This is all her fault.”

Junyoung’s eyebrows furrow. “You’re right.”

“It’s because we have a woman on board,” Roy says. “The seas are upset.”

“We were fine before,” Eddy says. “Now, she causes a ruckus and now, a storm’s coming.”

Junyoung turns to Jonghyun. “So, Captain. What are you going to do about it?”

Captain Park smirks.

Not long after, Junyoung sneaks into Sunmi’s room with a few shipmates. They move in a quick-paced manner at his order.

“Tape her damned mouth shut, then get her legs,” Junyoung whisper-shouts. “We need her out of here.”

Hyunsuk wraps the rope around her ankles, tugging it harshly against her skin. Roy grabs her wrists, tying them together as well as her elbows. As the rope begins to burn against her skin, she wakes up at once. Started at the intruders, she tries to shout, only to be muffled by the duct tape wrapped securely around her mouth. She isn’t able to make out who was who due to the dark, but she is able to recognize the asswipe who’s been after her since day one.

Getting closer to her face, Junyoung smirks at her. “Sorry sweetheart. Captain’s orders.”

With her eyes growing wide, she finally realizes how much of a candy ass Jonghyun is, getting others to do his dirty work. She attempts to fight them off, but seeing as they’ve decided to gang up against her, she starts to tear up. She thinks about her family, Yubin, and the dreams that’ll never be accomplished—all because of some stupid men and their stupid pride and their misogynistic, androcentricism views.

Even with her struggling against them, they successfully move her from her cabin to the edge of the ship. The waters got rougher, splashing harshly against Sunrise—the winds blow more viciously, dark clouds roll closer as each moment passes and the lightning flashes behind them.

Junyoung steps back as the man of the house has finally arrived. With those black boots thudding against the wood, Jonghyun stands proud and tall, with another shiny, slimy smile as he looks down at her.

“Sunmi,” he says. “You should have just stayed in your place. Maybe then, neither of us would have to be put in this situation.”

She holds her head high, refusing to show an ounce of fear for this coward. She would have given him a couple of choice words if it weren’t for the tape.

He shifts his weight, placing his hands on his belt loops, before moving uncomfortably close to her. “Oh, doll. Such a waste of a pretty face.” He looks up to the other shipmates and nods at them. “You know what to do.”

He and Junyoung walk off without another word and they throw her off. She hits the water immediately, her body breaking through the top layer with the sound of a smack. As she sinks further into the depths of the Atlantic, she wiggles in an attempt to get the ropes off. But no such luck occurs as she moves her body along, trying to fight the current. She continues to struggle; the ropes continuing to burn against her skin and the current pushing her left and right. She wants to scream and cry for help that she knows won’t come.

She begins to give up; her body feels tired from the fight—her eyes begin to close and her lungs quickly fill up with water. She can no longer breathe; she can feel her heart beginning to slow down and she accepts her death, praying it’s as painless as possible. She has suffered enough.

Just when all hope seems lost, a bright light shines down on her. The water around her swirls, as if she’s the eye of a hurricane. From her peripheral vision, she can see different colors spinning around her—as if it’s protecting her. Her arms are freed, but aqua-purple blended colored scales shimmer against her skin to replace the rope burns.

Her eyes widen from the sudden colors appearing onto her skin. Her ankles remain locked together, but newfound finds replace her feet and her legs glow with that same bright light, as her skin becomes layered with the same colored scales from her arms. Her neck lines split, allowing her to breathe easily in the water. Her nails grow quickly and are sharpened to a point, whereas more teeth grows in, as if to feed on flesh.

Even as she fully transforms, the water continues to circle around her and the hurricane only grows stronger.

She’s confused. She doesn’t understand what’s happening to her own body—it feels new and foreign, yet it feels so right. Everything becomes clear; the water continues the ongoing storm, but the colors have stopped and she can see the figures of others. Her eyes grow even wider: there are others who are just like her. The mermaids surrounding her don’t say anything; they’re perfectly still. She locks her eyes on the one in front of her. That’s when she hears it—a voice that isn’t her own telling her: you must go.

Amidst all of this, Sunrise isn’t far off from where they dropped her, evidently getting caught in the tropical cyclone—moving gradually closer to the center. Some shipmates have been tossed off from the winds, while others have drowned from trying to escape. With a dozen already dead men, Jonghyun and Junyoung remain alive, but not for long. Both are still onboard with a death grip on the ship and screaming out of desperation for some god to help them.

Sunmi arises from the water, cackling as she sees the ship hurtling towards her direction—with her teeth bared, nails ready to stab, and her revenge as encouragement. Even with the storm, she couldn’t see anything but the rage that blinds her. The fire in her eyes say it all: they are going to pay.

#admin grandma #grandma writings #writings #historical #fantasy #revenge story #wonder girls #sunmi #sunmi fanfics #sunmi imagines #sunmi scenarios #lee sunmi #lee sunmi fanfics #lee sunmi imagines #lee sunmi scenarios #mermaid!au #mermaid!sunmi #member: sunmi

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crystaljins · 6 years

Text

Would I choose you? | 04

Characters: Jimin x Reader

Word count: 5.6K

Synopsis: Every year the graduating class of International Academy for Superheroes and Sidekicks are allocated to their future partner. They will work with their partner for the rest of their working lives.

Jimin, the star of your academy and picked as the favourite to succeed in life, is not pleased when he is allocated to you, the school loser.

Superhero!au.

Notes: My purpose in writing fics is to get to the point where feelings start to bloom. Keep your eyes wide open folks because feelings are starting to sneak in for our characters O.o

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Things go really well between you and Jimin after that distress call. It turns out that when he’s not ignoring you and furious over a failed mission, Jimin is a competent, capable hero and just a fun guy to be around in general. The two of you have an endless supply of distress calls and with each new call you are improving. You learn how to work with each other, and you learn how to handle the numerous situations a hero duo is expected to lend aid in. Jimin hasn’t brought up the dinner debacle since it happened but it seems the two of you are fine to leave it behind. You had been hurt but you hadn’t given Jimin a reason to trust you. He trusts you now and you’ve accepted each other as partners and that’s all that matters.

It’s not just as heroes that you find the two of you are getting along better in either. As a roommate, Jimin is wonderful! He sometimes cooks dinner for you, and he’s always happy to hang and watch a movie with you, and sometimes he will pick up food for whatever the latest injured critter you decide to harbor is on his trips to the grocery store. He even admits one night over dinner that he finds it charming the way you can’t leave any creature alone without trying to help. That admission has you blushing and smiling for far longer than you care to admit.

You can’t help but feel that things are going really well for you- the alley cat who wouldn’t stop swearing at you has warmed up to you as well. He’ll accept the food you leave out for him and sometimes he’ll come in through the window and nap on the little cat bed you secretly purchased for him. Val’s babies grow stronger every day and Ratbert will occasionally come to visit (though he keeps his family far from the clutches of the alley cat and they all have apparently settled in a new building a few blocks down). You’re happy.

The same cannot be said for Jimin, unfortunately. Because while you are content to leave behind the dinner debacle and pretend it never happened, he is not. Each new day his harsh words and desire to dismiss you as a worthy partner haunt him, especially since with each new day you prove your worthiness anew. You’re almost always exactly where he needs you (apart from the odd mess up since you are only human), you’re supportive and when things get hard or scary or difficult you’re right there with him to help him find a solution. You do sweet things like make him breakfast and you hum songs under your breath as you clean the living room and you’re always sneaking things you think he might like into the trolley when you think he’s not looking. It’s no one’s fault but his own- he let his own fears and insecurities and other people’s opinion of you distort his view until he missed what was right in front of his nose. A compassionate, determined individual and probably the only person he’s ever met who works harder than him. The question of how to begin to apologise for his earlier behaviour hovers over him like a dark cloud.

The conviction that he needs to do something to make it up to you solidifies the first time the two of you make it into the newspaper. You both successfully take down some bank robbers in the area. The photographer requests that Jimin move closer. As he slides his arm around your waist and steps in close, you offer him a tiny, private smile. He doesn’t know what about that smile sticks with him, but something about it makes him realise he can no longer avoid apologising because somewhere along the line the two of you had become friends and trusting partners.

It is while he is training at headquarters one day that he stumbles upon something- or rather, someone who can help him apologise. He strolls through the now-familiar winding corridors of the government-funded facility, fresh from a sparring session with a former classmate and he collides with none other than Kim Seokjin.

The only sidekick who rivalled your infamy at the academy was the man who now stands before Jimin. The two of you had had a bit of a reputation amongst the heroes- everyone dreaded being allocated to either of you. It had been a running joke amongst his classmates whenever something bad happened to say something along the lines of “Hey, it could be worse- you could be allocated to one of those two.”. And while Jimin himself had never participated in such disrespectful jokes, he had heard them and that is why he knows you and Kim Seokjin are thick as thieves. Seokjin offers Jimin an uncomfortably bright smile.

“Park Jimin, fancy seeing you here.” He says cheerfully. “How’s (Y/N)? I’ve been meaning to stop by and have lunch with her.”

Jimin rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck- Seokjin is just tall enough that he must tilt his head slightly to make eye contact and it’s not a great feeling.

“She’s well. Actually, this is great timing, because there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you about.” Jimin admits. Will Seokjin be mad when he leans of how Jimin treated you? Then again, you have probably already told him if you are as good friends with him as you have seem. Either way, Jimin tenses just slightly, prepared to catch a punch from the taller man if necessary.

“No problem. What do you need to ask, merman?” Seokjin questions cheerily. Jimin shoots him a look to signal the nickname is unwelcome but he ignores it like he seems to do with most things in his life. “Who rained on your parade?”

Jimin frowns.

“I... well...” he says slowly. He hesitates, mentally attempting to calculate the likelihood that he’s about to get slapped. Seokjin seems friendly enough.

“Is it about that whole dinner thing?” He asks suddenly. “And how you ignored her for a week after your first mission?”

“Wow she really tells you everything doesn’t she?” Jimin responds, equal parts nervous and impressed. Seokjin nods.

“If it makes you feel any better, I think one of her super powers is an inability to hold grudges. She doesn’t even hold grudges against our childhood bullies.”

“That makes me feel worse, oddly enough.” Jimin confesses sadly. Seokjin smiles sympathetically.

“I know the feeling. Kinda like you just punched Snow White in the face for being sweet enough to offer you some delicious baked apple pie while she cleans your house for you. It’s the whole Disney princess vibe she has going on- that’s her other super power. Tugging on your heartstrings like a wounded puppy.” He tells Jimin solemnly. “My guess is you want to know how to apologise?”

Jimin nods eagerly.

“I’m just not sure how to make it up to her, I guess.” He admits. “Can you help me, Seokjin?”

“First things first, call me Jin.” Jin tells him, clapping a warm hand on Jimin’s shoulder. “Second of all, I am a master of apologies.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good thing to be a master of-“ Jimin protests and the thought crosses his mind that maybe this isn’t such a good idea.

“Just trust me, Ariel. I got this sorted.” Jin cuts him off.

Jin does not have it sorted.

“Are you sure she likes these sorts of things? She doesn’t seem like the type to be big on video games.” Jimin asks hesitantly, setting down the bag of merchandise and games that Jin had coerced him into buying.

“Of course she is,” Jin tells him dismissively, reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the games. “She wouldn’t have the console if she wasn’t right? Besides, I’ve known her since we were kids, you can trust me on her likes and dislikes.” Jin selects one of the games and walks over to the console, popping it in. “She also likes chocolate cake- I’ve bought the ingredients if you want to get started.” He settles onto the couch and waves in the general direction of the grocery bags he had set on the counter. Jimin frowns- he can’t shake the niggling feeling that Jin is taking advantage of him.

“Can’t you just make one with your powers?” Jimin interrogates. Jin yawns, stretching widely.

“I’ve had a long day, see, and my powers aren’t as good when I’m tired. The cake might not come out well.” He tells Jimin over the startup music. Jimin sighs and rolls up his sleeves, pulling out his phone to consult a recipe.

This is how you find the two of them when you walk in an hour later.

“You’re eating it all!” Jimin protests as Jin practically spoons batter into his mouth.

“I’m just taste testing! I have to make sure it’s exactly to her tastes-“

“I feel like you were lying and you just wanted me to make you dinner! I distinctly remember her saying she likes fruity cakes- this is almost pure chocolate-”

“Jimin?” You call curiously. Both Jimin and Jin freeze. Jimin is coated in cocoa and flour and frantically wrestling Jin for a wooden spoon dripping with cake batter. Jin attempts to surreptitiously wipe away the icing and cake batter smeared across his cheeks. A game you’ve never heard of plays music in the background on the console he convinced your parents to buy for you for your graduation present. The console in question has sat untouched up until this point. “What’s going on here?”

Beneath the copious amount of flour and cocoa, Jimin flushes bright red and Jin takes the opportunity to shove the whole wooden spoon in his mouth.

“I… I was trying to do something nice for you.” He confesses, almost sweetly. Jin nods his support but does not remove the wooden spoon from his mouth. You raise an eyebrow at Jin and he pales. He recognises the face- it’s your ‘get of my house now and stop eating my food or I’ll send a lion after you’ face. You can thank Jin’s lack of boundaries throughout your childhood for the development of such a specific expression.

“I’ll just be taking my leave then. Good luck with the cake, Aquaman,” Jin says. He darts out of your shared apartment with a farewell salute and just like that you’re left alone with Jimin.

He still looks embarrassed, and you smile at him as you step forward and begin to help him shake the flour from his hair.

“Why were you trying to something nice for me?” You ask. “Not that I don’t appreciate it. And for the record, I do prefer cakes with fruit and I’m sorry Jin conned you into buying those games- he’s probably going to live on our couch with Hoseok for the next few months.”

Jimin chuckles, shaking flour off his forearms. He’ll probably have to vacuum the whole kitchen with the mess he’s made.

“I was trying to apologise.” He confesses. You pause in your adjustment of his fringe and meet his gaze.

“For what?” You ask, and your genuine puzzlement makes him feel a strange fondness. Jin wasn’t kidding about the not holding grudges thing.

“How I treated you, when we first moved in together. And that dinner where I…” He hesitates. “The things I said weren’t cool.” He confesses. “And you’ve been such a wonderful partner… And I really appreciate it.”

You hesitate, dropping your hand, before offering him a tentative, shy smile that causes an odd fluttering sensation to fill his chest.

“It’s ok.” You tell him, and you go to step away from him but he anchors you in place by reaching out and grasping your wrists with his hands. “You were stressed and we failed our first mission. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have reacted the same- it’s really ok.”

“It’s not.” He tells you firmly. He tilts his head slightly so that you are forced to look directly into his warm brown eyes. “It’s not ok- I was rude and misjudged you. I’m truly, truly sorry and I know it’s no justification but I acted like that because I was just afraid. Because so many people expect so much from me and I don’t deal well with failure. I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. And you may have moved on but I haven’t, so let me have this apology.”

He doesn’t know what prompts his next confession, but the words come pouring forth anyway.

“I really admire you. You’re so kind and genuine. When you told me why you wanted to be a hero… I think it’s so amazing. You’re so genuine and you want to help people so much and next to you I feel so fake. I’m only in this profession because of my parents- how can I be a genuine hero like that?” He confesses. He still does not release your wrists nor your gaze. You wonder if he can see the flush that rises to your cheeks at his words. You’re genuinely at a loss for words.

“You’re not a fake.” You almost whisper. Jimin looks like he’s about to protest so you cut him off. “I’m serious. I’m an empath- I can sense fakes from a mile away. That’s not what I sense from you Jimin.” You tell him sincerely. “I sense a-“ You pause, hesitating. You’ve never admitted this out loud to anyone, but it was part of the reason you had been so smitten with Jimin at the academy. Confessing it is scarier than you thought it would be, but you plough forward regardless. “I sense this churning desire to do the right thing deep inside you. It’s warm and it always surrounds you no matter what you’re doing. It never goes away. Someone who wants to help others that much can’t be a fake. I know you’re the real deal, regardless of who your parents are or why you enrolled in the academy.”

The look Jimin gives you following your confession is loaded with a lot of emotions you don’t understand. You could read him, but you have a feeling you still wouldn’t understand the emotions that flicker across his face. Instead you watch as he finally settles on a warm smile that makes your heart flutter a lot more than you want to admit.

“Give me a second chance.” He begs softly.

“What do you mean?” You ask, confused. You’d already forgiven him ages ago.

“At dinner. I want a second chance to do that dinner properly, like I should have. To get to know you, my sidekick and my partner, instead of what I actually did.” He asks. “Let’s have a redo.”

His words bring a hesitant smile to your face.

“Sure.” You say.

The smile he offers you in return is blinding.

The two of you settle on a date later in the week for dinner, but it is not to be. The morning of, Jimin receives a call from his mother. You don’t know what it’s in regards to, but you know it is nothing good. Since moving in together, you have noticed that Jimin has a lot of fights with his parents, from mundane things like whether he’d called that day to more severe things like their disappointment with his lack of progress in his career. Overall they’d just given the impression that they were overbearing and put a lot of pressure on Jimin. It shows when he comes out of his bedroom with a stormy expression. You can practically feel the hurt and frustration pouring off him in waves. You don’t have to actively reach out with you empathy- you can sense the way his distress darkens the room.

“I’m going to have to cancel dinner tonight. I’m so sorry.” Jimin tells you, apologetic. It is a tense apology though- you can tell he barely holds back his temper. You shake your head.

“That’s fine- are you ok?” You question. He pauses, like he’s surprised by the line of questioning. Then he shakes his head.

“I… I was just on the phone with me mother and she…” His voice catches and he curls his hands into fists where they hang loosely at his side. “I don’t really want to talk about it. Sorry.” He says after a long pause where you get the impression he’s desperately trying to control his temper by taking slow, concentrated inhales.

“That’s ok.” You reassure him. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Jimin stares at you for a long, uncomfortable moment. It is like he is searching for something but you do not know what that something is. Finally, he takes a long, deep exhale.

“She just wants to meet with me to discuss our partnership. Don’t worry though- I’ll disregard anything she says. It just means we have to postpone our dinner, which sucks.” He says with a sigh, combing his fingers through his hair. You smile weakly.

“That’s fine. I can sort dinner for myself. I don’t mind rescheduling.” You say. Jimin gives you one last long look before sighing.

“I really am sorry.” He apologises once more, before hoisting his gym bag up on his shoulder. “Anyway, I have an appointment at headquarters for a health check- I’ll see you when I get back from dinner tonight, ok?”

You nod and watch him go. It doesn’t bother you to have the dinner postponed- you know it would probably cause a huge fight if he were to refuse his mother’s plans and go to dinner with you. It’s more that it bothers you that his mother hates you so. If Jimin has warmed up to you to such an extent that he’s started including cat food on his grocery list for the alley cat you’ve befriended even though it keeps trying to bite him, then you feel that all his mother has to do is make an effort to know you and she’ll change her mind.

Either way, you shake the discouraging thoughts from your head and proceed about your day. By the time it gets to early evening, around the time you were meant to have dinner with Jimin, your mood has cleared and you’re settled in for the night to watch some Netflix and then head to bed early- you have an all day training session at headquarters the next day and you’d rather not tire yourself out.

Alas, it is not to be- it seems the universe doesn’t want Jimin to go out for dinner at all, for right as you have settled down with a plate of dinner after feeding the numerous animals you’ve taken in for the night, your phone begins to trill with a distress call.

Not long after Jimin calls.

“I’ll meet you there?” He questions as you pull on your uniform.

“Yup.” You tell him quickly. You don’t comment on the way his voice trembles darkly. You suppose the dinner had not been going well. “I’ll meet you there. Remember not to engage without me or I’ll report you.” You scold as you slip on your watch and program the location of the distress call into it.

“No promises.” And the simmering anger in his voice makes you hesitate. Perhaps it is not the best idea to answer this distress call. However, Jimin hangs up before you can voice your concerns and you sigh.

The distress call in question seems to be a minor villain trying to make a name for themselves. You watch the carnage of the doomsday device from the rooftop of a nearby building as you wait for Jimin to arrive.

He arrives quietly beside you, watching the chaos below. You can’t read his face because of his helmet and when you reach out your empathy all you sense is a cold, dark, swirling sensation. You couldn’t name the emotion he’s feeling but if you had to try it would probably be close to a cold fury.

You don’t get a word out before he is launching himself off the side of the building. You are about to cry out in protest but a pair of ice handlebars materialize in front of him and he grips onto them, using them to lower him to the ground. With a sigh, you allow him to do whatever it is he thinks he’s doing while you evaluate the situation and decide the best course of action.

The doomsday device in question seems to be some sort of large vehicle designed to inflict structural damage to the buildings around it. An ominous ray gun is built into the top and you wouldn’t have the slightest clue what it does. Perhaps you could have managed some reconnaissance to evaluate the threat it poses had Jimin not leapt impulsively into action as he had, but you push down your frustration. He’s stressed and he’s upset and really the blame is on you for allowing him to come out despite the emotional turmoil you knew he was experiencing.

Instead you focus your attention to your main duty as a sidekick: Reducing the casualties. You do not need special powers to facilitate an evacuation of the area, and it had been one of the most fundamental pieces of training you had received when you were in the academy. Protect the civillians above all else had been the fundamental lesson drilled into you. You rush out onto the street through the fire escape, immediately evaluating who needs help. A young woman is injured but she seems able to walk. A lot of people have already fled in panic and the only ones remaining are those who are too injured or too scared to go on their own.

You start with the young woman.

“What’s your name?” You asks her, and she looks up at you. She is deathly pale and tears streak down her face. Taking stock of her injuries, nothing seems too severe. A laceration on her cheek. A scrape on her arm and potentially a sprained ankle.

“E… Emma.” She says softly, her voice trembling with tears. She looks puzzled that you are here to help. You smile as sweetly as you can and crouch down to your level. She’s only your age, perhaps a little younger.

“Well, Emma, I’m going to get you some help, ok?” You say warmly, and a fresh round of tears spills down her dirty, blood cheeks.

“You’re going to help me? But I-“ She begins, but you cut her off.

“The first thing I’m going to need you to do is stay calm, ok?” You tell her firmly. “I can’t help you if you lose your head, ok?”

She seems taken aback, but nods with determination in her eyes.

“Ok good,” You say, already looking around and deciding what step to take next. Perhaps if you can gather more civillians who are actually able to walk, they can help you transport Emma. Authorities are already on their way but they cannot enter the immediate danger zone until the villain threat is removed, as per protocol. That’s really all on Jimin to do. Ideally, he would have helped you evacuate the civs first and then engaged in combat like he does now, firing ice projectiles at the large metal machine, but he clearly isn’t thinking straight. Besides, it’s too late- he’s already engaged and preoccupied and the villain will work faster now that she knows there are heroes in the mix. He needs to stop the machine and restrain the villain. A glance in the direction of the carnage tells you that will not happen any time soon. “Emma, what I’m going to do is I’m going to help you walk. We’re going to try and see if we can find any others, but I don’t want to leave you alone. Do you think you can do that for me?” She looks like she very much can’t, but that is where your empathy comes in handy. You send out a wave of calmness towards her and then determination steels her gaze once more. She nods her head.

You loop an arm around her waist and she puts her arm around your shoulders as you help her to her feet.

It is slow-going, hobbling with this injured person, but you aren’t game enough to leave a civilian unattended with a doomsday device on a rampage barely a hundred metres from where she’s standing.

“Hydro,” You call into your comms device as the two of you hobble through the streets. If you can get her just a block away, you can probably leave her there and emergency personnel could begin administering first aid. “Update me on your status. Can you neutralise the threat?”

“Not yet,” Comes back Jimin’s static-y voice. “They’re putting up a big fight. Artemis I’m gonna need you here- there are civillians in the immediate vicinity and I need you to help them.”

You frown- you cannot take Emma with you but you can’t leave her there.

“I have something to tell you-” Emma says suddenly, eyes wide. You pause.

“Hold on, ok? I just need to speak with my partner.” You quiet her before returning to speaking into your comms device. “I’m already clearing out the area. Maybe you should disengage and focus on bringing them to safety first?” You suggest to Jimin. Really, this sort of plan of approach should have been made before Jimin engaged. Perhaps you’d have more ability to evacuate civs if Jimin had been there to help. Neutralising the threat was meant to come secondary to removing all innocents from imminent danger, but Jimin in his anger had leapt straight into the ass-kicking portion of his job. You just hear static in the background- Jimin is too preoccupied to offer a response.

“Listen it’s really important that I- Over there!” Emma suddenly cries, interrupting herself with a startled cry and you look in the direction she’s wildly point in. It’s a young family- a woman desperately cradles her baby while her husband stands over her looking desperate and panicked. And then you realise the doomsday device is on a direct trajectory for them- it will run them over unless something is done.

“Hydro, red alert, red alert,” You cry. “The device is heading straight for a young family. You need to stop it! Disengage now, disengage now!”

“Affirmative! Taking action now!” Comes Jimin’s answer and you see an ice shield erupt in front of the machine. It is not enough though- it merely redirects the course slightly, but the ray gun is still pointing directly at the young family. You still don’t know what it does but you do not wait to find out.

You don’t think. You don’t plan. You drop Emma and race forward. You dive forward. Protect the civs is your mantra. The beam hits you in a concentrated ray.

The family remains untouched. They stare at you in shock. Then slowly it dawns on them what happened. You took the hit for them.

And then everything goes black. The last thing you are aware of is Jimin screeching your hero name in horror.

You wake up in a bed in the infirmary back at headquarters. You take stock of your injuries and realise you’re sporting of a lot of bruises and cuts that weren’t there before.

“You’re lucky,” you hear a voice call and you start violently. It’s just Jimin though, coming through the doorway with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. “It was a mind control beam. Not like a death ray or anything like that.”

You blink in confusion as you recall the events that lead to you waking up in the hospital bed. Your eyes knit together.

“A mind control beam?” You question. He nods, setting down the flowers in the table at your bedside. You can make out a card with Jin’s messy handwriting scrawled across it in their midst.

“Yup. Apparently she was trying to form an army to wreak chaos on the city or something,” He explains. “Which I suppose we would have known if I’d given us the time to evaluate the situation and do some recon.” The guilt is heavy in his voice. He settles into a chair beside you. He’s changed out of his super suit into some civilian clothes and he looks unfairly handsome. His hair is pushed back off his forehead from running his hands through it one too many times and his clothes fit him well. Will you ever be desensitized to his beauty? Probably not.

“So then… I was mind controlled?” You question. He grimaces but there’s something reserved and uneasy about it.

“Sort of. Apparently your refusal to do what anyone tells you to do is a very deep-rooted personality trait.” He tells you and there is a fond glint to his eyes as he recounts the story to you though it is diluted by the misery in his expression. “And so you put up a decent fight resisting it. Long enough for me to neutralise as many threats as I could. Uh… including the highly trained, combat ready soldier she had just hit with a mind control beam. Sorry. It wasn’t that gentle, taking you down.”

Well that would explain the bruises, then. Jimin had neutralised the threat- and while mind-controlled, you were probably the biggest threat. You nod, and Jimin raises his hand. You go eerily still as he pushes your hair off you face, revealing a large, purple bruise on your forehead.

“Never let me criticize your abilities again,” Jimin says, but his tone darkens with something. Perhaps guilt? “You can put up a fight when you want to. Anyway, once you were taken down and I knew it was a mind control beam I was able to focus on the important things pretty easily. And about the civillians...” He opens his mouth as if to say something but then he grimaces like he’s swallowed a lemon. “They’re all... They.... You see... They all came out fine.” He says, though he says it like the words pain him. Were you not still groggy with sleep and painkillers, you might have questioned him but as it is you miss his slight slip. “So everything worked out ok”

You nod awkwardly. Your hand is in a sling. You must have sprained your arm while fighting Jimin. His gaze darkens as he eyes your swollen wrist.

“I would tell you off for doing something as reckless as leaping in front of an unknown beam to protect a civ, but I feel like the blame lies with me.” He confesses. “I… I was off my game tonight.” He admits. “I leapt into things and acted recklessly and it got you and oth-” He aborts the sentence and clears his throat. “You got hurt and I’m sorry.”

The guilt pours off him so strongly you can sense it even without extending your empathy.

“I was just so… angry and hurt.” He admits. As much as you think it is important for Jimin to recognise what he could do better for his next mission, you are not a fan of the downward spiral you see him in.

“Jimin,” You say softly, and slowly. He lowers his gaze, shame painting his face.

“She called me useless.” He says in a low, broken voice. “My mother. She told me to get rid of you and when I refused she pointed out what a terrible hero I was. All the ways I’ve failed and all my shortcomings and she told me not to consider myself her son if that was how I was going to continue to perform.”

You are speechless as Jimin continues recounting the diner he’d had.

“And so when we got the distress call I was so determined to prove her wrong. But all I managed to do was screw up the mission and beat up my sidekick. I’m so sorry, (Y/N).” He cries. His voice cracks on the ‘sorry’ and so does your heart.

“Jimin!” You call urgently, reaching out with your uninjured arm to cup his face and force him to look straight into your eyes. He is surprised at the sudden movement and just stares dumbly at you. “Don’t beat yourself up. First of all, you’re an awesome hero and your mum is just trying to guilt you into doing what she wants you to do. Second of all, yeah, maybe today was a bust, but we’re only humans. Gifted or not, we’re gonna screw up every now and then. We have limits. Besides, I’m just as much to blame. I didn’t stop you from answering the call when I knew you weren’t in any state to handle it. We’ll just learn, Jimin. That’s why we start small. We’re working our way to the top in little steps, but we’re gonna get to the top. I can feel it in my bones, ok?”

For a second, he just stares at you, confused, and then his whole expression softens.

“You’re really something, you know that?” He says warmly. You grin.

Something in the air shifts between the two of you. You don’t know what causes it but suddenly the space that hovers between your faces is warm and tight. Why did you pull his face so close to yours? It’s suddenly hard to breath through the unnamed tension that thickens the air.

“Jimin,” You say slowly, as the smile slowly slides off your face. You don’t know what you planned to say next, because your attention is captured by his mouth. His lips are so smooth and soft looking. You like it best when they are curved upward in a smile, the kind that makes his eyes scrunch as they twinkle with delight. Currently they are pursed into a slight frown but the plush curve to them is still distracting. And you’re so focused on his lips that you miss the way that his gaze flickers downwards as well, anchoring onto your mouth.

And then he is abruptly pulling away, clearing his throat awkwardly and flushing bright head.

“Anyway,” He says, a bit more forcefully than the situation calls for. “Let’s get you home, ok? I’ll buy us some food on the way home to make up for my incompetence.”

You are too busy protesting his self-deprecation and so you don’t pick up on it on the journey home, but the flush never quite leaves Jimin’s cheeks.

The desire to kiss you never quite leaves him either.

#Jimin fluff #park jimin #jimin #jimin x reader #bts fluff #writing

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duncanwrites · 5 years

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All the books I read in 2019, reviewed in 2 sentences or less.

The annual tradition returns! These are all the books I read in the last year, and how I felt about them in two sentences or less.

Blue Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson: This was the final book of the science fiction trilogy that exploded my brain at the end of 2018, and the after-shocks lasted well into 2019. These books capture something essential about the relationship between place and politics that you can only do with science fiction.

Bark - Lorrie Moore: A thoroughly uneven book of short stories - when they were good, they were great, when they were bad, they were bumbling takes on the domestic side of the war on terror.

Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway: Maybe it's just my mood in the forsaken year of 2019, but I just have no tolerance any more for works of art that aestheticize the degradation of the human spirit. This book made me feel near constant disgust.

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf: In contrast, I think you can create works of art that dignify people even in their darkest moments, and offer a bridge into the experience of others that can be a passage into becoming a better person. It's always nice to read a book for a second time and realize you can keep reading it again for years to come.

The Asshole Survival Guide - Robert I. Sutton: We all have assholes that we have to work with, and sometimes it's necessary to have some external validation that it's not all your fault, and that establishing distance between yourself and said assholes is a good idea.

My Invented Country - Isabelle Allende: It took me until the very end of this book to realize there was a different memoir by Allende that I meant to read instead. This one was not so great.

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller: Gonzo literary comfort food.

The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker: I found this book charming enough, but it never totally wowed me at any particular point. I think it showed that the concept of two magical creatures from different cultural contexts meeting in turn of the century New York is an interesting thought experiment, but a struggle to land as a full narrative.

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami: Prior to this, the only Murakami I had read was What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, and it's safe to say that did not properly prepare me for the surreal darkness of Kafka on the Shore, which seems to never stop going deeper into the abyss.

God Save Texas - Lawrence Wright: There are very few books about modern Texas that don't try to valorize it, or douse it with excessive nostalgia, and this is one of them. A politically-astute, funny meander through the state as it is, not as it might have once been, or never was.

M Train - Patti Smith: Patti Smith is obviously a genius, but this one didn't leave a great mark on me. Worth revisiting some other time, I think, since it's my girlfriend's favorite book.

Working - Robert Caro: I am shamefully still putting off my years-old plan to read Robert Caro's LBJ series, and finish his book on Robert Moses. In the meantime, this is a thoughtful reflection on how and why to tell stories about power.

Feel Free - Zadie Smith: I love Zadie Smith, and if you haven't read her non-fiction essays, you are missing out on some of her most exciting and moving writing. This is her second collection of essays, and you can tell how much the decade since the first has taken its toll - so many more of the pieces are about fear and frustrations, and the language is much wearier, even while it is still penetrating and beautiful.

The Telling - Ursula K. Le Guin: A slim, late novel from one of the best to ever do it, this book projects the sense of engrossing calm that reminds me most of all of listening to a story well-told - not incidentally, an experience that is a key theme of the plot itself.

Stories of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang: On the other hand, the short stories in this book all came off as one note thought experiments that failed to build compelling worlds.

The Overstory - Richard Powers: Not just my favorite book of the year, but also one of my favorite ever, The Overstory is the book I talked the most about, and told the most people to read in 2019. The best way to explain it ('it's a book about people who become obsessed with trees') really undersells things, because it's also about forest ecology, generations of trauma, the terror and clarity of radical thought, and a soul-splitting vision of hope. It receives the coveted 3rd sentence in the review, because I just need to emphasize again that you should read this book.

The Flamethrowers - Rachel Kushner: Maybe it was the fate of any book that I read after The Overstory, but The Flamethrowers left me feeling cold. It wandered off into too many fanciful-seeming plot arcs that didn't develop all the characters to the depth they needed.

What is Populism? - Jan-Werner Müller: I re-read this book because I wanted to revisit his ideas about the strengths and weaknesses of populists ahead of the next election, and whether there is ever a version of populism suitable for the left agenda. I finished worried, and skeptical, respectively, on those two points.

The Great Derangement - Amitav Ghosh: I don't read many books about climate change - I find there are very few things that I really feel like need saying in the face of the obvious and overwhelming - but I'm glad I made time for this one, which focuses on both the global north-south dynamics of the issue, and the inability of storytelling to capture the problem in full. It's profoundly difficult to sum up in two sentences, but it's worth a full read.

There, There - Tommy Orange: I think this novel asks too much of characters that are too thin to hold what they are made to bear. Too busy at the same time as it's too ordered to be fully credible.

The Slynx - Tatyana Tolstaya: I somehow convinced myself that I had read this surreal post-apocalyptic novel set in Russia 100 years after nuclear winter, but not only had I not read it, I haven't read anything like it before. A wide-ranging nightmare about authority, literacy, and the power of fear, set in its own vernacular and kaleidoscopic distortions of our authoritarian world today.

The Iliad - Homer: I wanted to re-read The Iliad because I find the idea of a hero felled by a single, discrete flaw to be a fascinating allegory, not realizing that Achilles' fatal flaw is not his heel but his anger.

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood - Janisse Ray: There isn't much widely-read nature writing about the US South, and I think Janisse Ray's book dignifies and mourns the overlooked parts of the country that may not be wilderness but still contain bits of natural grace.

Sundiver and Startide Rising - David Brin: These two novels follow the same premise of humanity entering a universe of intelligent life as the only species to reach consciousness without patronage of, and servitude to, an elder species, and the power struggle that ensues. Sadly, the premise writes a check the execution can't cash, and while the first book, leaner and more focused, is solid, the second is over-long and distracted from what made the first fascinating.

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry: It took a lifetime of seeing this book (a signed first edition, from an Austin bookstore that has left no digital trace) on my parents' shelf to finally read Lonesome Dove, and it was a fitting welcome back to Texas. McMurtry's characters are fully-grown from the beginning, made of both broad archetypes and fine detail, and the narrative gives them the journey they deserve.

The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt: There are very few novels that convey big ideas in balance with pot-boiler plotting, but this is one of them and my only regret is not reading it sooner. How dare anyone blight this novel with a terrible movie.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin: What makes this book special is not that it's speculative fiction about a world with unique gender arrangements; that's been done before by many other authors. What makes it special is that it investigates that world with tenderness towards its inhabitants, and an understanding of how gender weaves its way into institutions besides the family or the bedroom

Gun Island - Amitav Ghosh: I had high hopes for Gun Island, but felt it never quite rose above being a thought experiment carrying out his ideas from The Great Derangement.

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P - Adelle Waldman: Your opinion of this book will probably hinge on how important you think it is to read books about writers in Brooklyn hanging out with other writers in Brooklyn. If you think that's still a useful world to explore, you will like that this book is merciless towards its characters, and startlingly accurate - but if you don't think that's important, you will be frustrated for the same reasons.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Mohsin Hamid: A gloriously rich experimentation in genre and contemporary global politics - playful, infuriating, and heartwarming, really everything you could hope for from a short novel. This is the second book by Hamid that I've read, and I'm going to set out to read all of them as soon as I can.

#books #book review #book list #2019

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smartbutuncertified · 5 years

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Movie Review: NoBody’s Perfect (2008)

I watched the movie noBody’s Perfect, filmed in 2008, by Niko Von Glasow. The main stars are Fred Dove, Kim Morton, and Bianca Vogel. It’s about a man who has a major birth defect due to Thalidomide trying to find others who have a Thalomide birth defect to make a nude calendar. The film largely concerns body image issues, but also touches on the idea of disabled people being whole and how abled people often disregard disabled people’s privacy and dignity for their comfort and curiosity. The act of participating in the calendar seems to be a large step forward for many of them, to seeing their bodies more kindly. It also has a large section devoted to discussing how little responsibility was taken in Germany by the company who distributed the drug, and continued to do so even after they knew what it did to fetuses.

It talks a lot about acceptance of your body and your differences, a subject that is very topical in our airbrushed world. Having a major birth defect is about as far from classical beauty as can be, and yet they find beauty and joy in themselves. So as a member of the general population living in the same cultural climate of our bodies never being good enough, it connects on that level. “My (short) arms are a part of me, they’re a part of my life, and that’s all right. But I am not ‘short arms’.” Sofia declares.

It hits home in a closer way as well. I also had a birth defect. Like a terrible country song, I was born with a broken heart. It was entirely internal, but saving my life left me with a distinctive scar on my chest nearly a foot long, distinctive enough that people who work in cardiology sometimes ask what I had fixed. I don’t think about it too much, but sometimes people mention it when I wear a top that shows where it starts. Perhaps I should be prouder of it. I survived.

Then there’s the abled people feeling like disabled people have some sort of duty to disclose their disability, another personal sore spot. Fred Dove, while being interviewed on a radio show, had his disability disclosed to all the listeners by the interviewer as a bit of - color commentary. I cannot politely express how livid that made me, but I wholly understand why Fred only spoke about it for a few seconds before changing the topic.

Sofia, an actress, recounted a disturbing event from her childhood where she was often forced to strip naked in front of a number of doctors, usually male, for inspection. “It was awful. I was surrounded by about 20 white coats” This reinforced my belief that it’s incredibly important to preserve the privacy and dignity of disabled people, children, and disabled children. There is no reason why a child not having an immediate medical emergency needs to be stripped naked in front of so many adults at once.

It’s stunning that Kim’s mother up and left her religion entirely when the minister refused to have Kim in church due to her visible disabled status. That shows remarkable integrity. It also illustrates a much larger dynamic present throughout the film, the importance of the individual over the system. Systems are useful, but if they no longer serve their intended purpose, for example, a holy place turning away an innocent child for looking odd, they need to be abandoned for the sake of those they should have helped, and didn’t. This aligns wholly with my view of how our relationships with institutions should work.

It’s notable and painful how differently the Vogel siblings were treated by their families, with the one not affected getting much more attention and praise from their grandparents. However, this doesn’t seem to have affected their relationship, they seem quite close. This defied the general narrative of the spoiled child becoming cruel to the maltreated one, and makes me wonder how much truth there is to that idea.

About forty percent of the way through, they reveal a horrifying fact. The company that made the drug knew what it did in 1961, and still kept selling it. Even worse, the pioneer of the drug knew that one of the ingredients was of a group often referred to as “monster makers”. The company compounded the error by having no female trials before releasing it to the public. The company has also never even apologized to the victims, let alone settled with them. One interviewee puts it best when he says “[…] let’s call them criminals, who committed their crimes in the greedy pursuit of profit.” I absolutely agree with that, the film is not the only thing making me want justice for the models.

I’m not sure how I feel about the constant presence of smoking in the film. Since it’s reality, it’s important to represent honestly, but I wonder what this says about addiction among the disabled. Either that, or smoking rates are much higher in Europe. That would have to be a whole other paper, honestly. I don’t agree with smoking, but vulnerable people pick their pleasures where they can get them.

I take exception to one interview where they talk about how when they talk about their issues in a public forum, the issues become detached from them. The interviewee seems to feel that in order to express oneself clearly, detaching yourself is the only way to do it. I would argue that this in fact muddies the issue, making it less about what is important: the people.

I was surprised by the interview with the gardener, which talked about another of the disabled models sexually assaulting women, and about him beating up kids his own age and older in school. It’s generally not considered that the physically disabled are also capable of assault, but they are whole people in every way, not just the positive ones.

I have very mixed feelings about the astrophysicist who reportedly grabbed women’s chests being presented sympathetically. I’m aware that this was a single report from another person, and that that isn’t the whole of who he is, but it still discomforts me that the film seems to brush over what it’s reported that he did. The film mentions that Thalidomide disabled about 7,000 children, surely there weren’t exactly twelve that were willing to pose nude?

It must be mentioned that nobody from the drug company was present in the film for any significant part, but that was not for want of trying on the director’s part. He did his best to loop them into the film for their side of things, and they refused to participate.

It addressed the whole topic of body issues incredibly, letting people speak for themselves about what made them uncomfortable and what didn’t. As one interviewee put it, “[My insecurity] is in my mind, it’s not in your perception, is it? It’s like, you look fine to me, but you’re probably unhappy about something that I don’t care about.”

The presence of ableism is felt throughout the film in many of the conversations and in how several of the models think and behave in regards to themselves. All of the models have varying levels of comfort with themselves and their disability. The director, Niko, is one of the least comfortable. It was interesting to hear that for Doris and Niko, they stayed away from other Thalidomide children for quite a while because they didn’t want to see themselves in them. They didn’t want to relate to others who were clearly different and know that they were just as different. It’s also mentioned that several of the models have had difficulty with romantic relationships because of their disability. But there are only two shown incidents. A child making fun of a wheelchair using model and a man and the end who is being interviewed on the street about the art installation saying that it’s “tasteless” for a disabled person’s naked body to be shown in public. Thankfully, both of these are framed with an immediate counterpoint by people who weren’t hired by the producers, showing that times are changing. These scenes were handled with care.

There was an interesting conversation where an interviewee that uses a powered wheelchair admits casually that he’s considered killing himself. It’s moved past quickly, but there’s something about the framing that makes it feel less like they did it to dismiss it, and more like they don’t want to dwell over it and overshadow the other complex facets that this person has. As someone who has struggled with suicidal impulses, I loved that.

The inclusion of the lesbian art teacher served as a pointed reminder of the intersectionality of disabled issues. Past the obvious, she also mentions founding a group working to protect disabled women and girls from sexual violence, something that’s not often thought of as an issue concerning the disabled specifically. But they are a uniquely vulnerable population to predation.

It passed the “who cares?” test with flying colors, framing the issue as one of pain and justice that crossed communities. I would say that it said that “who cares?” ought to be everyone who wants the world to be a safe place, for companies to be held accountable for their mistakes and “mistakes”, for people to be able to not fear what others think of them for things that are out of their control. Of course, the film may not hit like that for everyone who watches it, but it was good enough to win the German Film Award of 2009, so it’s clearly not just me.

The film opens on a scene of a man talking candidly to his daughter about being afraid to be naked in front of anyone because of his malformed arms. It was a good tone setter for the film, encapsulating the main issue, the joking, yet honest air, and how these people are not curiosities or strange creatures, but humans with lives and families. It was a beautiful way to ease into the film, and it flows well from there.

The theme of showing these people as complex and whole is possibly the strongest one in the film, arguably the film’s thesis. It was hard to hear that some of these people, as babies, were taken away from their mothers by the doctors with no explanation for days. One for two, one for six, and we don’t know about the others. I would understand wanting to monitor babies with a severe birth defect for further issues, but it isn’t that hard to keep the parents in the loop. They chose not to.

The film was art, but not art that is intended to make the viewer feel good. The art is put into making you understand, as much as you can, what happened to these people, and how they have continued on with what they have. You are allowed to have whatever feelings you like, but you must understand that they are whole human beings. They look incomplete to people who don’t know them, but they are anything but. You don’t need a certain amount of body mass to be human.

I must disclose that I personally watched the film largely in 20 minute increments, but that was largely because I kept stopping to note things down so that I could write this as well as possible, with plenty of accurate examples. If I was watching this for pleasure, I would absolutely have gone through it twice over without pause. I may very well do that at a later date.

Add to that that this film launched a successful campaign to increase German benefits for Thalidomide victims, and it’s done the thing all art sets out to do- made a notable mark on the world. I hope that all of the models benefited from this, as it’s hard to find out what happened to people whose last names you mostly don’t know. However, it was easy to find out that Niko is still thriving as a film director.

I thought that this film was stunning. I would view something by these people again in the future, because I love how things were addressed. I loved how they presented everything, how compassionate and thoughtful their framing of delicate issues was. But I would only recommend this to individuals above the age of fifteen who were okay with artistic nudity. There is explicit nudity, which may make some individuals uncomfortable, but it isn’t pornographic, just beautiful people being brave and naked. If you’re at all interested in disability issues, body issues, corporate accountability, or even all three, I would highly recommend this film.

#long post #my writing #nobody's perfect #writing #thalidomide #disabilities #disabled

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dat-town · 6 years

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destiny is jealous of us

final part of the destiny trilogy

Characters: Jeongguk & fairy!you

Setting: Beauty and the Beast au (part of my fairytale collection)

Genre: finally the happy ending i swear

Summary: With the war going on, he asks you to stay. With an aching heart, what will you say?

Warning: mentions of war and death

Words: 3.1k

Oh the irony.

The same long wooden table, the same throne room and the same people at the two ends. Or are they? Two years ago, an arrogant and selfish king was seated on the gilded armchair and in front of him sat a proud, powerful princess. By now the king has matured and became wiser while the princess went into hiding. They both lost a lot. They've grown by pain.

"Where's the Queen?" Jeongguk fills a crystal glass with red wine taken from the basement’s oldest section. His voice cuts through the thin canvas of memories swirling around them. They both remembered this place too well.

"Dead. The Kims killed her. They were really proud of it," the princess says in an emotionless voice, eyes hazy but her grip tight and white on her napkin. "You would know if you didn't isolate yourself totally."

There's a hint of mocking in her always all-knowing voice.

“Then aren't you the Queen?"

"The Queen of what?" The fairy princess snorts, laughing bitterly without an actual sound. "You need land you can rule over to have a kingdom to begin with. We lost and the island has been taken by the Kims."

Jeongguk nods, he's gathered that much but he didn't expect the royal ridiculing her own role in the equation. He knows fairies have never had many allies and the Jeons used to be their last hope. The king couldn't help but wonder if that was the reason behind the disappearance of the curse's symptoms. Fairies are said to be naturally manipulative creatures after all and he learned not to trust in the Princess, even if she says she wants to help. But everybody deserve a second chance, don’t they?

"So that's the reason you really help me? Because you need me."

Even though he knows it's not wise to accuse a possible ally of something like this, Jeongguk also knows that fairies can't lie and he has to know the truth before agreeing.

"No, I help you because you're a better person now and you have the potential to be a wiser and more just king than any of The Kims," the Princess says and she looks like she actually means it.

Jeongguk considers it and runs his fingers through his soft brown locks. He still couldn't get used to that he's back in his original form. In the mirrors he still expects a monster to look back at him. But his own reflection in the glass is just as fine as the wine according to what he hears of whispers behind his back. He paid a huge price to learn to be considerate and humane. But he wasn't the only one, the Princess paid her part too.

Out of simply curiosity he asks: "Do you regret it?"

"What? Not marrying you or cursing you?" The fairy sounds amused but her darkened blue eyes are solemn. "No to both. Then your arrogance would have ruined us. Maybe not so soon but eventually."

And no matter how much it hurts his pride, Jeongguk has to agree with her.

It's been days and each one feels like a decade as looking back, you realize you had absolutely no chance to spend some alone time with the king. He has daily strategic meetings with the general of the knights and long politic talks with the Princess. Day by day, fairies keep coming upon hearing the news that your Court is finally formed again after such a long time. Everybody is hopeful around you but you can't help your blue mood.

Of course, you're aware that Jeongguk has no choice and it's not his fault. To win this battle is the only chance to get back what's his... And your kind's. Yet, it hurts to be neglected.

"Were you waiting for me?" A familiar, melodic voice reaches your ears in the dead of the night and you whip your head towards the entrance of the greenhouse. At first you don't even believe your eyes because Jeongguk look so ethereal under the moonlight like he was from another world. Even if he’s just standing still among the beautiful flowers you and your kind helped to bring back to life. You couldn't stand ruined greenery around you.

Your traitor mouth curls up in a smile without your own accord and even though you could play around with words and find a way to deny his statement, you don't even try.

"I hoped you'd come by," you admit with a small shrug. Your fingertips touch the colourful petals of flowers on your way to the king. You feel nervousness seep into your veins and bones which is ridiculous, isn't? He's the same then why are you so afraid to look him in the eye? Maybe, whispers a little voice inside your head, you fear that your eyes can't lie either.

"It's just that you have been busy with royal affairs and I wouldn't..." want to be a burden.

You ramble, trying to take your mind off the heavy truth when Jeongguk steps a bit closer and your breath hitches. He looks like a vision: tanned skin glowing under the silver hues, skin flawless and velvety. His hair is messily styled, it's obvious how often he ruffles up the stands. The brown of his beautiful eyes is like liquid walnut cream, sweet and soft, genuine. He wears leather pants with boots, a sword on his belt and his white shirt is unbuttoned on the very top. He's so dreamy and yet, there so much human vulnerability in him as he nibbles on his lower lip trying to form the right words.

"I missed you," he blurts out and your heart sings the same song. Isn't it funny to miss one who's so close you could touch their face?

But as the matters stand, you ought to be careful.

"Oh. I'm not sure the Princess would be happy to hear that," you mumble and it's unfair. If it was anyone but her, you could be angry, you could be jealous but you respect the Princess too much.

According to your laws, she could have anything anyway. She has the right to claim and take anything from another fairy of her Court, everything they have. For the first time you think it's too much.

"What does she have to do with this?" The king sounds utterly and genuinely confused but you know humans are great liars. Maybe he thinks he can spare your heart from hurting by not telling you but there are curious ears and talkative mouths at every corner.

"Well, you will marry her, won't you?"

At that Jeongguk's face falls as if you told him about something dying.

"I..."

"You don't have to lie. Carrick told me about your history with the Princess. She rejected you but now she needs land and you need soldiers, it's perfect. I'm happy that it works out, I really am."

What you aren't happy about is what it means for you.

Upon hearing your statement, Jeongguk falters, words frozen onto the tip of his tongue. He has so many things to confess, secrets to whisper to the night and the lulling truth he wishes to kiss into your soft skin. You smell like wildflowers that grow in the greenhouse and he yearns to bath in your closeness.

"I want to show you something," he says the safest of all the things he could say. He offers his hand, a pretty hand with long fingers without burgundy scars and painful thorns. Pianist fingers. Oh how you wish you could hear him play or chase after his talented movements in a piano piece written for four hands.

You let him lead you through the castle. Up the stairs, through secret passages behind paintings, laughing at almost tripping in a threshold and not letting go. There are unfamiliar walls around you since you've never been in this part of the castle, in the highest place of all, the stargazing tower.

"Where are we– oh. It's beautiful," you mumble in awe as soon as you step out in the open and see flowers pullulating over the fence. The blossoms are red like the blood moon.

"It's the bush of the rose the Princess gave me when she cursed me. She told me that if I cannot break it until my 21th birthday when the last petal falls, I will stay like that," Jeongguk explains but it broaches more questions than answers. The wild rose overgrown the whole tower looks far from dying. It's beautiful and in a way it reminds you of the king's heart protected by huge glass walls.

"You never told me how you broke the curse," you wonder out loud while your fingers curl around the fence.

"I've wanted to tell you but we didn't have time to properly talk... you know since the..." appearance of the royal head of Court and her people.

"Oh. Right," you nod. True. He also noticed it then. For some reason it makes you happy.

"After my parents died, I became cold. I didn't care about anything just about winning the war. I thought it's the only way I could make them proud but I lost myself, I forgot what it meant to genuinely care and it's not something you can force on yourself, so I thought there's no chance to fight the curse. But then you came, stubbornly stayed in my life and showed me so much empathy, patience and care. It hurt when you left."

You suck in a breath. It hurt you, too. You remember the anxiousness bubbling in your stomach, the urge to look back and turn around so strong you had to physically strain yourself to keep going. A part of you wanted to stay but you weren't sure you were welcomed to. You're still not sure what it all means.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Jeongguk lets out an awkward laugh like doesn't know what to do with himself. There're so many emotions in his reply: hope, trust, affection. He looks straight into your eyes.

"When it's over and if we both survive, would you stay?" With me?

The weight of the question crashes down on you and it scares the hell out of you.

"I– I can't. My family..."

"They can come too. I need you to keep me sane," Jeongguk pleads and even though you know he'd never take advantage of the situation, it disgusts you how others would look at you if you stayed in a castle with him and the fairy princess.

"I won't be your mistress," you snap at him harsher than you want to and all colours drain from his face.

"I never asked you to. It was never about that. You can leave, of course, but you made me want to be a better person and you taught me a lot about kindness and love. I'd like you to stay."

His words are just what you wanted to hear but not enough, never enough.

"It's your home, Jeongguk, not mine..."

"It can be ours."

"Jeongguk..." His name falls off your tongue as a cautious warning but he doesn't let you finish your protest. He can see it all in your eyes: fear, worry and uncertainty.

"You didn't look at me any differently in my monstrous form or knowing that I'm a king. Why are you looking differently at me now?" Desperation bleeds of his voice and it's choking you. He has no idea how much you actually want to stay but you know better than to believe in a mirage

"It could never work, Jeongguk. I'm just a simple fairy, I can't be a queen."

"By your laws maybe but you can be with mine," he says finding all the loopholes but the hard lines of your agitated expression doesn't change, so he sighs burying his face in his hands. "You don't want to be my queen, you don't want to be my mistress. What do you want then?" Even with his hovering closeness, the heat of his human body, you tremble at the sound of my queen. Oh you're so weak.

"I want you. Without titles," your tongue takes control and your confession has no end as you dive in deeper. It feels like freefalling as you speak and Jeongguk's eyed soften around the edges. "I didn't plan on falling in love with you but I couldn't help and I could imagine staying here, just the two of us, but now it's too much. You have a war to win, a kingdom to rule. You have greater things on your plate than to worry about a mere fairy. I don't want to hold you back.

And it’s out, there��s no way to take it back now that the king stares at you so intensely.

"You don't. Please listen to me..."

"Your Majesty!" One of the watch guards stomps up on the stairs ruining the intimate moment. You can feel Jeongguk’s arm brushing against your shoulder as he turns around.

"I'm busy," he grits his teeth and the knight ducks his head down in apology but doesn't waver.

"It's important."

"Can't it wait?"

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty. The attack is here."

You lock eyes with Jeongguk knowing that you don't have a choice to prolong this talk. A moment later the war horn rings loudly.

The Kims only sent a small army since they didn't expect big confrontation, especially since they attacked at night. Even with this dirty trick, the horde of fairies manages to surprise them. Still, it's a bloody battle, each one is. Jeongguk gets nauseous just thinking back when his general pleaded him through the door every single day to come out and reassure his people, to fight with them. But back then he was too proud and too much of a coward, so instead he locked himself up in a room. And one day the visits stopped, the castle turned quiet and lonely. Eventually Jeongguk came out but it was too late.

This battle lasts for three days and the utterly demolished mainland army's single survivor leaves with a written offer: the Kims either let them have the province and Jeju or they will fight until their last breath.

Jeongguk has been distant in these days but you found him easily at a balcony. Your balcony. It reminds you of all those mornings you spent together when the war happened only outside the gates. It all seems so long ago.

"Jeongguk?" you step closer and take a look at the pile of paper scattered around him on the table. His handwriting is pretty on the parchment.

"I hate numbers," he admits in a rough voice and jabs on each paper with his index finger. "The dead, the wounded, the gunpowder, the assets. We won one battle but in a war like this, there'll always be more and we'll lose more than what we did now."

"It's okay to focus on today's troubles, you can worry about the rest when you get there," you tell him softly and pry his cramped fingers off the pen as you sit down beside him. His right hand is bandaged, so you’re careful with it but seeing him well is a great relief. You heard he got that deep cut on his palm but otherwise he's untouched and it seems confirmed right now.

When his eyes snap at you, his gaze settles right away on the bloody strain you have.

"Did you..." get hurt? Jeongguk gently touches your temple where a sword grazed you because you were too careless.

"It's just a scratch, nothing serious," you whisper and wish to cup his hand, to pull him close and never let go. You remember clearly how scary it was, the very thought of losing him.

"I can't ask you to stay out of the fight, right?" There's a hint of smile in the question. He knows you too well, your cold fingers, warm eyes and enchanting smile. He's fallen for all of it. And what is a greater love than letting you be yourself and fight your own battles even if he doesn't want you to?

"No, you can't. It's my fight too."

Jeongguk nods, understanding and his hand warm yours as he’s blowing hot air on your pale knuckles in the chilly March weather.

"You said you would want me without titles but... I can't do that. I've already let my people down once," he whispers still not letting go of you. Hesitation is swimming in his eyes and you hate to be the reason of his inner conflict.

You take a deep breath.

"I know. That was silly of me. This is your rightful place. I can't care for you any less as a king than I'd care otherwise," you slowly press a kiss on the back of his hand sweetly after you overcome your own fears and stupidity. In the last days out in the battlefield, you realized there are scarier things to be afraid of. "If the Kims come back with a bigger army and let's be honest, they will, we can die any day. I don't want to have regrets."

The king, young and foolishly in love, looks at you with big doe eyes and takes a sharp breath as he leans his forehead against yours, pulling your whole body closer. You can almost taste the apple tarte he ate on his lips and his name trembles on yours.

"Jeongguk."

"Hm?" His hum resonates through your bodies as you place your palm over his rapidly beating heart following the rhythm of yours.

"When it's over and if we both survive," you echo his earlier words," ask me again."

His kiss is the softest promise you've ever tasted.

Months pass, the empire of the three Kims falls apart as the fairies – your family too – join the resistance from all over the country and the old residents of the former Jeon Kingdom also go back home to fight against the invaders. By the Fallfirst Festival, they have to sign the pactum and ensure the autonomy of the country.

Summer has been blazing hot so far and rained rivers of blood but the season of withering not only brings colder breezes but peace, too. It celebrates the king's birthday with newly picked grape and cherry wine, performances of his heroic acts during the war, a statue of him in the French garden but he doesn't care about it at all. He's hiding in the ballroom, playing a four hand piano piece with you and his off-key ending note, a chaste kiss on your rosy lips takes you by surprise.

Then, with stars in his eyes and the slightest doubts in his heart, he asks again:

"Would you stay with me?"

"Always."

#btswriters #sfwbangtan #bangtan bookclub #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts scenarios #beauty and the beast au #fantasy au #fairy au #royalty au #stories #series: destiny trilogy #series: once upon a fairytale #thank you for sticking with it! <3

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farfanfiction · 6 years

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Loyalty to the Pack: Part 8

Pairing: John Seed x Joseph Seed x Reader x Jacob Seed

AUs: Omegaverse, werewolves

Warnings: Angst, cursing, reference to smutty stuff, cheating, drugs (bliss), kidnapping, gun violence, physical violence, blood, manipulation

Word Count: 2,889

A/N: Happy holidays everyone! I hope you guys have a fantastic Christmas, Qunzah, winter solstice or whatever you celebrate. This chapter will be the last I put up until the new year and it's pretty plot heavy. All I can say is, I’m sensing a little smut in the very near future... And like always, give me some feedback on what I could do better or what I did alright, where you wanna see this whole mess go, or something you just don’t understand. The gif is not mine.

Masterpost My Omegaverse Rules

The Deputy closed his brown eyes and pinched his nose. There was only one sensible option at the moment. He had to take you, even though you belonged to John, giving you up was a fucked up decision. No one deserved to be given to the Seeds, no matter how bad. It wasn’t like he was already on their shitlist, this would make no difference.

“I’ll take her with me…” It was painful as the Deputy spewed it out. Nick just looked at him in pure shock. Never in a million years would he ever expect the big, bad Deputy to take on something like this. Save a couple people, sure. An easy job. But saving an Omega from a maybe manipulative pack was something far more important. All Nick wanted was every Omega safe and loved, much like his Kim, but he knew deep down, that would never happen. It was an ungranted wish.

“Man, thank you so much.” The Alpha hadn't felt this excited since Kim announced she was having his pup, nearly seven months ago. At least that Omega would be going somewhere safe and hopefully far away from John. “I’ll go get her. You just grab anythin’ you need to help ya!” Nick was already sprinting before the Deputy had any time to reply. What the fuck did he get himself into?

At first, this was just a cult of religious extremists that needed to be put down, now he was learning that it was also a pack of highly dangerous werewolves. The type of creature that eats people and turns every full moon. If someone would have told him this before he came here, he would have laughed in there face. Now Nick, a very trusted friend of his, was telling him it was all true and he was also one. But, the Deputy just shook his head once again and waited for the Alpha to come back.

Nick sprinted up the stairs and carefully opened the door to his bedroom, afraid of scaring both Omegas inside. He quietly peeked inside to hear Kim talking to you in a hushed whisper. Thanks to his better quality hearing, he could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, but at least it was better than most human hearing.

First, it was about Hope county in general, then it moved onto more serious topics. You discussed about living under the pack and John and how draining it was to be offered to such an Alpha that was so bad yet you desperately wanted. Just hearing someone talk about John like that caused Nick’s stomach to churn.

Deciding he heard enough, Nick lightly tapped on the wall and both your heads turned. Your (e/c) eyes grew wide at the Alpha standing in the doorway. He didn’t look or smell familiar. He smelled far more like an Alpha than John, not hiding his natural masculine scent with stupid fucking chemical cologne. “(Y/N), this is my Alpha, Nick. He’s going to help you.” Kim said this slowly so you could understand. Since when did you need help, it wasn’t your decision to be driven away to this unknown location.

It even seemed like you were gone for a pretty long time, long enough to worry John, hopefully, or even better, the Father. Oh, god what if you angered the Father?! You would definitely pay for this when you go back... if you go back.

“How is he going to help me?” You asked trying not to sound bitchy. If they were in the same situation as you, they would sure as hell bitch too.

“I have a friend that will take you far away from that… cult.” Nick tried to choose his words carefully, he had no idea what the people on the inside thought they were involved in. For all he knew, you would have thought it was a normal pack. Joseph could be a typical image of an Alpha to you and the way they treated Omegas could be the same.

A cult. You had heard from Joseph during multiple sermons that the people on the outside thought you were all involved in a cult, it didn’t seem like it to you growing up. When people are raised in a particular environment, they believe anything is true. No one in your family acted like they were controlled, Gabriel never mentioned anything to you about it, or your parents, siblings or heralds. Everyone just wanted to survive the collapse.

“If it gets me away from John, I’ll do it.” You would do just about anything to get away from him at the moment.

You knew the risks, if you went back to join the pack, John would no doubt find out about it and bring you back to that hell hole he calls a lodge. Spending eternity in that little bedroom, waiting for the collapse. Only to be ushered into a tight bunker to be herded off like any other member of the pack. You wouldn’t be by John’s side, that’s Holly’s place. You wouldn’t have the opportunity of walking through Eden’s Gate together as the Father had promised. This one promise was what kept you going. As that believe began to disappear, a cocktail of doubt, envy, and ever great sins began to twist and turn in your belly, replacing the blazing heat from before. He promised…

“Great, come down stairs, I have someone ya need to meet.” You gave a look to Kim and she just offered a kind smile, ushering you out of the room and down the stairs. The man at the bottom of the stairs scared you more than Jacob first did. Black hair, olive skin… It was the Deputy. The guy that invaded your room earlier today and was causing a big hassle for everyone. If there was a Hope County’s Most Wanted, he was your guy.

“The Deputy will escort you to Fall’s End and he’ll get ya settled from there.” There was no fucking way you would get in a car with him. Not again, nope! For all you know, he would drive off a cliff with you still in the car or shoot you in cold blood in the front seat. This guy hated every member of the pack and he wasn’t afraid to kill. You had seen the death on John’s manicured front lawn. No normal man would kill so many people without a reason.

“Oh, hell no. I’m not getting into a car with him!” You yelled, ready to run back upstairs to Kim. Before you could, Nick grabbed your arm and gave you an Alpha stare. A stare that held such domination and authority. The same stare Jacob always gives.

“Fine…” You had no other choice, John or the Deputy and the Deputy seemed way better than the Alpha at the moment.

Nick gave a sigh of relief and helped you to the Deputy’s truck. Your heat was still there and you weren’t in the best condition at the moment, with the lack of affection and a knot from a willing mate, your body would only get weaker and weaker until you eventually died.

That’s definitely what you needed right now, a nice, fat knot. The thought of a knot stretching your slicked pussy inspired images of, believe it or not, the oldest Seed brother. Fucking Jacob. You could just imagine how fit he was underneath all those clothes. From what you could feel when he carried you, he was pretty sturdy. These fantasies distracted you from the main factor, gunshots. They sounded like the same gunshots from the previous night. Loud and piercing.

You slowly let yourself out of the heat-induced fantasy to see multiple Eden’s Gate trucks surrounding the Deputy’s own truck. The Deputy pulled out his handgun and shot two men straight through the head. You winced a bit as the bodies fell into the dirt on the side of the road. This was definitely disgusting. It made your stomach twist into knots of the mear sight of the corpses and the slick blood. It was not nearly as bad as the night before, but still horrible.

One lucky shot pierced the steel of the truck. The deputy toppled onto the steering wheel and his eyes began to close. “Deputy? Oh, come on! Get up.” You tried to shake him awake, but he wouldn’t budge. That was the last thing you remember before feeling pain on your left side and surrendering to the cold embrace of the dark.

The minute you woke up, you were underwater. You could feel your head spinning as the bliss tried to invade. It was not as gentle as it was before. Joseph was not performing the baptism. There were no warm hands or soft caresses. Only the high from the bliss was there and the cold stream of the water as it soaked through your white dress and onto to your already slick soaked skin.

All of a sudden, you were pulled from the cold water only to see John first. A shiver ran up your spine at either the sight of him or the cold, you had no idea. The mear smell of him put your brain into a frenzy. You didn’t know what to think. Was it hate? Lust? Or even, love? All these emotions wanted to burst out, but you kept them at bay like you always did.

The man who dunked you led you to John, who reached out and took your shaking hands into his. He looked at your soaked figure but said nothing. He rubbed his long, warm fingers from your forehead, down to your tinted blue lips and across your (s/c) cheeks. He looked you straight in the eyes, his blue eyes piercing into your own (e/c) ones. He knew who you were and he was going to do nothing about it.

It wasn't long before the Alpha gave one last look and walked to the Deputy, his perfumed Alpha scent still lingering as he walked. You gave a sniff and gave slight smile at the comfort the scent brought you. God, were you feeling like a piece of shit.

The man who treated you like you were unimportant, even though you were meant to be the most important person in his life, still made you weak in the knees. Ever since you were young, you’ve always admired the youngest Seed, that admiration was still there and blinding you from the real truth. The man is an utter asshole.

You were soon lead to a van loaded up with baptized civilians and as well as a member of your pack. The wolf paid you no mind as you all sat in silence, waiting for the Deputy. Unless he was a Beta, there was no way he was not smelling you right now. With your encounter with John still on your mind, your scent was probably through the roof at the moment.

The back door to the van opened minutes after, the Deputy pushed in by another pack member. He too sat in silence as the man across from rambled on about what was going to happen you all. These people had no idea. The church wasn’t as bad as they thought, they just wanted to help. They would be saved, either way, it was the wish of the Father, no, the wish of God.

The ride to the bunker wasn’t long, you had only been there once, to accompany your stubborn Alpha father on a pilgrim to see John. But, luck was never on your side. Bad luck just had to follow. The van crashed and just you and the Deputy survived only to be saved by a man with a Bible and a gun. No one helped you, no one seemed to care. You sat in the reck of the van and waited among the dead. If this was where you were going to die, so be it. That was how you were going to go anyway, mateless and pupless, an Omega’s worse nightmare come true.

Yet, after a while, the gunshots stopped and there was silence. Finally, peace… Until the crunching gravel was heard. Multiple boot covered feet searched upon the wreckage of the van and a face popped inside. You stared at familiar light blue eyes and a haze of misted green bliss. Was that, was that Gabriel’s mate?

It sure was. The Alpha’s eyes lit up with the most emotion you’ve ever seen him express. He shouted something to you, but you simply couldn’t hear it. It was as if your hearing was gone. He leaned into the van and pulled you out, lifting you into his arms. You looked all around you to see multiple demolished vehicles, only a few still standing. The most obvious was John’s fancy white truck. The same truck he drove you Seed Ranch with.

Gabriel’s mate carried you to the truck and handed you to John. You hardly had any energy to deal with him at the moment and just drifted off, waiting to be carried back to John’s hell hole of a house.

Instead, when you woke up, you spotted large steel support beams. The last time you remember, there was no steel beams in the lodge. John would definitely say they didn’t match his aesthetic.

This was probably the bunker from the look of it. All four walls of the room were made from slightly rusted green tinted metal and the floor was pure concrete. You gave your eyes a slight rub and looked around the room. It was brimming with computer monitors and machines, each one giving off a different sound. But the most confusing part was John. He sat next to your cot.

“Thank God, you’re awake.” He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned back into his cushioned chair. His usually slicked back hair was wild and his sunglasses were nowhere to be seen. His beard looked unkept, this was very unlike him.

“I thought you would have been dead with those sinners.” He actually sounded concerned for once.

“Why would you care?” You tried to put on the tough act once more, hoping to cover the whirlwind of emotions that continued to brew.

“You were given to me by Joseph, of course, I would care about you. You are my Omega, I am your Alpha it is my duty to care for you.” He sounded as if he knew this the whole time.

“If you're my Alpha why don’t you act like it!” This was really pissing you off, he had no right to act innocent.

“I know I have treated you unfairly, I cannot be forgiven for that. When God had deemed us a match, I was scared. I have never been given something so precious in my life, the one thing I didn’t feel like taking advantage of, I didn’t know what to do with this kind of gift. But, Joseph had shown me the path, he was right about walking through Eden’s Gate together. All of God’s words are truth. He has seen great things in you, something that shouldn’t be tainted by the Deputy and something that shouldn’t be tainted by me. He hears whispers from the voice of pups, mates, and mostly, the Mother.” He blue eyes held such sincerity as he said it. The Mother, what the fuck was that!?

“These sinners need to be redeemed in the light of God and in order to do that, you need to be by our side and walk with us. Walk the path and believe the Father's holy words and soon enough you will see and speak the truth, much like Joseph.” That heat from before swelled within you, it wasn't lust, it was love. Whether this was true, you didn’t want to know. All you were sure about was you didn’t want this feeling to end. John seemed to agree as he leaned in to touch his soft lips to yours.

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

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coffeeandyoongi · 6 years

Text

Underwater V

Prompt: The sea holds lots of secrets, are you ready to reveal them?

Word count: 4.6k

Pairing: Taehyungxreader

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[Masterpost]

“You’re gonna accept what I just said just like that?” He asked.

So you did not say anything. Your throat was still burning, even swallowing was unbearably painful.

You leaned over, ready to touch the pendant to examine it, but Taehyung was fast to pull back his arm.

“This,” he spoke again, his tone severe, warning, “I’m doing it because it’s the only way for you to believe me. I need you to believe me, not to ask questions. Got it?”

But now that you had this, what were you supposed to do with it? It could be a useless accessory, for all you knew.

Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him. The first one being; looks are deceiving.

“Look for information,” he simply added. “You might stop flinching every time I look at you if you know what you’re dealing with. You might also know the seriousness of my threats, too.”

“Are you planning something for today?”

“I’m going to the bookstore,” you replied with a smile. And your throat still hurt. A lot. But you had you ignore it if you did not want questions you could not answer.

Your grandfather seemed excited by the idea, as his eyes lighted up and his lazy posture changed suddenly, as he leaned slightly over the table like he was about to tell you the juiciest secret ever.

Not that you were disappointed by the first thing he said, but when he mentioned Miss Kim, your eyes widened.

“You know her?” You asked, a little bit hesitant, to which he only replied with a shrug and a smile that annoyed you because of the lack of verbal confirmation.

“That’s all I’m gonna get?” You asked again. “Fine. I’ll have to ask her, then.”

Another thing to look into, you would add it to the list.

It was weird to be in the middle of people who knew about you, but you knew nothing about.

“You came back?”

You nodded with your eyes on his. His smile grew only bigger, and you appreciated it.

“Glad to see you again, then. My grandmother is out, so…”

“I was going to let you in, but hearing you beg is so much fun. Now, add a “please” and a “thank you” and I might open the door.”

“You’re enjoying my suffering, aren’t you?”

He hummed.

“Every part of it,” he confirmed. You glared at him and crossed your arms. Namjoon laughed. “Fine. Only ‘cause you came back.”

“What were you looking for?” Namjoon asked while he closed the door behind him.

Hell, if you only knew...

The number of books was intimidating and you had not started yet.

No, books were more reliable.

“How many books do you have here?”

Namjoon frowned, surely asking himself why on earth would you be interested in that, but then shrugged.

“Grandma is always getting new books. The boxes are full of them.”

So that was what they contained. Now you were sure that there was no way you could find any book related to mermaids if you did it by yourself.

“Do you have anything about mermaids?”

“Rough night?”

“I was actually with Yoongi and Jimin,” he answered with a smile, looking at you for just a second before returning his gaze to the computer screen.

“Your friends?”

“Yes. I asked them about that Kim Taehyung you told me about.”

“What makes you say that?”

“No reason. Just a feeling,” you mumbled.

“Oh!” He exclaimed out of the blue. “We have some books about them, actually. Thought we had sold them all. Are you looking for tales...”

“Informative works, if that makes any sense?”

A few days ago, it would not have made any sense to you. Things could change so quickly around here, it was scary.

“Well, information…” he hummed, and with a few clicks of the mouse, he smiled. “The book is quite old, but we have it in pretty good conditions, considering.”

He walked to a random shelf and ran his finger through the spines of the books displayed until he found the one he was looking for. It was almost at the end, waiting to be held and given a look. An ancient, worn out book, all black, it was the kind of book that could have gone unnoticed easily.