#some of my best friends are korean street food

[themancorialist]

Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.

[minkkumaz]

I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, TEACH ME?

the basic idea of romeo and juliet's balcony scene is the feeling of loving someone you aren't supposed to love. so why is idol kim seungmin knocking on your second - story window? why does he keep coming to you even though he knows it's forbidden?

PAIRING kim seungmin x fem!reader WC 1.7k TAGS forbidden love trope. friends to lovers. fluff. angst if you squint. intense kissing. cussing. OMI NOTE my first work here <3 i really enjoyed writing this but it's definitely not proofread aha.

the tragedy of romeo and juliet, a play written by william shakespeare. there’s a famous scene within the sonnet, where juliet sits atop the balcony that connects to her bedroom; where ultimately she ponders as to why must her one true love, romeo, be apart of her rival family. they’re forbidden to be together, yet their love for one another is so immense.

it was almost as if you were living some parts of the story when you found out kim seungmin was a well - known idol. you felt like the two of you were destined to be together, like it was written in the stars. but it wasn’t going to work out, you knew that.

you heard him calling behind you that night he got recognized by two girls. you were internally grateful that they didn’t even notice you because of how blinded they were by him. the pavement was damp with nightly mist, and the sound of your heavy footsteps ultimately drowning out his voice.

as soon as you arrived home, you kicked off your shoes at the door and ignored your parents’ questions such as, “where have you been, y/n? your curfew ended ten minutes ago.”

you never entered your bedroom with such a heavy heart. pulling out your laptop and violently typing up the name kim seungmin, only to be met with millions of search results.

kinfo.com: kim seungmin is one of the eight members of south korean boy group stray kids, under the company jyp, leader in entertainment.

straykidsupdates.com: has everyone seen seungmin in the most recent comeback? he’s totally cute and definitely carried that s-class pre chorus! instagram.com/realstraykids: stray kids (스트레이 키즈) official instagram

you closed your laptop before falling back into the pillows on your bed and letting out a heavy sigh. heartbroken was an understatement, you were so upset. if he had told you earlier you wouldn’t have let yourself fall in love with him.

the day you met seungmin was a run in at a small cafe you were wanting to try out (which now made so much more sense considering it was across the street from the jyp building). he wasn’t paying attention to where he was looking, causing him to bump into you and make you drop your food. you were not looking for any payment whatsoever, but he was insistent.

before you knew it, he was paying for your food and sitting down in front of you to make small talk and apologize. 

the conversation you had with him went on until the sun barely peaked over the horizon. it was starting to get dark outside and the cafe cashier was getting very sick of the two of you. with full stomachs and happy grins, he walked you home.

afterwards, you met almost every week for months just to talk and hang out. you grew to love the person he was, and the feeling was most definitely mutual. despite this, he never bothered to share his work life and you never bothered to look him up on google.

now, you sat extremely frustrated and crying. your pillows grew a wet patch from your tears. how could you forget him? the blankets you snuggled with did an adequate job at comforting you, though you knew seungmin was the best at that.

barely an hour passed before there was a quiet knock at your window. at first you thought it was the wind, but your suspicions were proved wrong when it knocked a little harder and less infrequent.

you got up from you bed and trudged to open your curtains, being met with a very familiar, puppy - dog - like boy. your eyes went wide.

“what the fuck? seungmin what are you doing at my window?” you whisper shout, feeling the cool air blow through your bedroom as you opened the window.

“you weren’t answering your phone, and you never let me explain.” seungmin panted a little, lodging himself between two thick tree branches.

“it’s unsafe to be climbing this tree! it’s been here longer than i’ve been alive. what happened to the front door?” you pulled him into your bedroom, trying to be as quiet as possible.

“we both know you’ve broken curfew three times this past week, your parents would never let me inside to talk to you.” he sighed, sitting on your windowsill.

“jeez, seungmin. you’re such an idiot…” you mumble with defeat.

“listen, i’m so sorry i haven’t told you about being a whole idol thing. i was going to, trust me, i just never got around to it.” “way to go for an explanation. you know we can’t do this min.” “why do you think i never told you? so i could lose the one person that actually liked me for the person i am, rather than the things i could provide?” he admit.

“i don’t think i can mentally date a kpop idol, seungmin. i really really like you but, theres so many complications.” you turn your back to him so he can’t get too close of a look at your puffy face.

suddenly his hand interlocked with yours, pulling you back a little.

“y/n, come out with me. let me show you that we can work. that this is worth it.” 

you couldn’t bring yourself to fully look at him, scared that his cute pouty face would convince you. “i can’t sneak out seungmin… my parents would kill me.” “then let them kill you, don’t give up on us, please. just this one night for me to show you how dear you are to me.” he lifts your chin up with his hand, frowning at the tear marks on your face. 

“but i’ve never done this before, will you teach me?” you sniff sadly.

“i won’t let you get caught. just follow my lead okay?” seungmin let go of your face and went to stuff pillows under your blankets, making a somewhat believable body. whilst doing so, you slipped on a different pair of shoes quickly.

he made sure to click off your lights before leading you towards the window. it wasn’t too bad of a climb down, but you were nervous nonetheless. 

“hold onto my hand, i’ll tell you where to step.” he gently held onto you so you could safely get down with him. as soon as your shoes hit the grass, a sense of euphoria overcomes you. there was so much excitement about disobeying the strict rules your parents laid on you, but you couldn’t hide the underlying worry.

“see? and that was the hard part.” he smiles at you, still hand and hand.

seungmin takes you to a parked car a few houses down from your own. the top was pulled down and there was an extremely prominent bouquet of lilies in the passenger seat. when it came into view, you squeezed his hand and grinned.

“how’d you know i liked lilies?” you replaced yourself with the flowers, sitting down comfortably with them in your lap.

“i didn’t, but i’m glad i made the right choice.”

the houses of your neighborhood passed by in a blur, all of them merging together as the car sped up. the breeze was cold, but you didn’t seem to mind. there was a feeling of warmth you felt when you were with seungmin, and this wasn’t any different.

there was a comfortable silence between you guys. neither of you bothered to say anything, basking in the presence of one another.

when he pulled up to the parking lot of a nearby park, you finally spoke.

“you took me to a park in the middle of the night to prove how much you want to be with me?” you ask.

“here, you’ll see.” seungmin took off his seatbelt and crawled into the back seat, motioning you to join him. 

you abide, leaning over the center console towards him, still being careful not to ruin anything. as you plop yourself next to him, he pulls you to snuggle up against his chest. you could hear his heart beating a thousand miles per minute, but you could argue that yours was beating faster.

“look up.” he points towards the sky and your gaze follows.

stars. they dazzled, lightening the velvety night sky. they vary in size and brightness, forming intricate patterns that make you dizzy. 

“it’s beautiful, seungmin.” you look over at his face, illuminated by the moonlight above. his features look much more perfect when you’re close.

“we’re all so similar to stars, y/n.” he started, rubbing circles into one of your hands, “there are so many that shine brightly in the sky, but you’re the only one i really care about.”

“gosh seungmin, you’re such a flirt.” you laugh, “but you’re an idol, you were trained to be charming.”

“i’m serious, y/n. you’re right in the sense that dating as an idol is really fucking hard. but my love for you is so real. shouldn’t that overpower it? nobody but my friends and the company have to know.”

you move your head away from his chest to look at him,”you love me?”

“of course i love you, y/n. i would be a fool not to.” he lifts you closer to him so you’re straddling his lap. when you move your hands up to cover your blushing face, he stops you. “you’re so pretty.” he whispers. “we’ll figure out everything i promise. i just need to be with you.”

“then be with me.” you affirmed, taking a small step closer to his face.

the distance between you and seungmin narrows slowly, and you can smell the sweet scent of his cologne, making you even more aware of his presence.

there are butterflies swarming in your stomach, convincing you that none of this is real. but as soon as his lips connected with yours, you were absolutely sure it was.

for the first few seconds, it was sweet. but the overwhelming feeling of so much love quickly turned into desperation. 

something that he’s been waiting for in all the months of knowing you finally was his. the kiss lasted for what seemed like forever, evident by the redder your lips became.

it wasn’t until you were interrupted by a buzzing that shook the car seat. a mere string of saliva connected the two of your bruised lips. you looked around cluelessly before your phone, before seeing recognizable caller id.

“fuck, my dad’s calling me.”

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[eepuniverse]

Hexel's World Tour Week 6 – Seoul

Everyone, I'm home. I know it sounds so cliche, but the moment I got off the plane in Seoul, I felt like I was coming home🇰🇷❤️. I already knew I could speak Korean, so getting through the airport and to the main city was a breeze (but can we talk about Incheon airport? It is so cool. I could literally spend a whole day at just the airport). I quickly got to my hotel in the middle of Seoul and it is way too nice. I feel like an imposter staying here hahaha.

There are some parts of the city that feel so familiar to me, even though I can't fully remember them. One day, I ended up just walking instinctively to this hole-in-the-wall kalgooksu restaurant and had the best noodle soup ever! 🍜(or I think it's the best I've ever had. It also felt so familiar!) Another place that felt super familiar was Dongdaemun and the Design Plaza. It kind of looks like a spaceship, but I knew exactly where to exit the subway station to get there. It was like instinct. The markets in Dongdaemun are so nice! They have so much fashion and accessories 👗 it was all so overwhelming. But I was able to buy gifts for Georgia while I was there

Talking about cool shops, I just wandered around Insadong for like half a day. There are so many side streets with cafes and small shops that you wouldn't even know were there unless you went to explore. From Insadong, I ended up walking to Bukchon traditional village. Both Insadong and Bukchon are known for their traditional hanok houses. And you all, I could LIVE in one of these. They're so beautiful and smell amazing like wood and paper! I found a place in one of these hanok houses called Aromind which lets you design your own perfume scent! It was so cool and I made one for Krista (hope she likes it!) 🎁

I also wrote down all the food places I loved to go with Dustin if we ever come to Seoul together, including this place that does bbq ribs DIPPED 🍖🧀 in melted cheese and a jjajangmyeon place that handrolls their noodles! I wanted to get Dustin a whole package of Hanwoo--prime Korean BBQ beef (did you know you could buy those?!)--but I was worried about getting it through customs, also, it was a lot to ship back to the US. So I got Dustin some green tea from Ossulloc 🍵, I know it's not technically food, but it's food adjacent! And their tea house in Gwanhun-Dong was so gorgeous with all the traditional ceramics and the little displays about how the teas are roasted! Plus, they're right by Jogyesa Buddhist Temple. They told me Jogyesa is the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The building dates back to the late 14th century! And you can write your wish on a piece of paper and hang it like a little flag. All the wishes fluttering in the air were so beautiful!

I didn't mean to organize my tour around Seoul based on buying the perfect gifts for my friends, but it turned out that way. So I knew I had to find something amazing for Mac, and I did in Gangnam! That neighborhood kind of reminds me of midtown New York with all the skyscrapers and the fancy hotels and buildings. They have the flagship store to this amazing sunglasses store called Gentle Monster. But they don't just sell sunglasses, they also have amazing art displays that the store clerk told me rotates regularly! In fact, lots of the cool high fashion stores do fun artsy displays in Seoul! From there, I just popped over to Lotte World Tower and bought ALL the duty free skincare! I can't wait to try all my facemasks with the band! Apparently Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea. And they even have an aquarium in there!

[littlewolfieposts]

Only One Way to Find Out (Little do they know #2)

word count: ?

pairing: kang taehyun (txt) x moon seo-yeon (female!idol!oc)

summary: a tipsy conversation leads to some discoveries for Taehyun as things start heating up between him and Seoyeon.

warning: talk about sex, first times, suggestive conversation, not revised

disclaimer: minors dni

________________________________________

Ever since Taehyun's first blowjob experience, things shifted in the relationship.

Although shy sometimes, Taehyun was more confident in taking initiatives on physical interactions with his girlfriend. His hands stayed on her longer, venturing more, his lips were bolder, and he became a pro in leaving her breathless and panting for more.

Unfortunately for them, sexual activities didn't progress as well as that since either schedule or their members would interrupt their private moments.

Seoyeon was getting frustrated. Since she had a taste of him, it felt like a new gate opened up, and she wanted more, so much more. The feeling of his lips moving against hers, sliding down her neck, his fingers grazing against her skin, hands grabing her hips, pulling you close... Her fingers and vibrator did the best they could with those imageries, but in the end, she still wanted more.

He wasn't much different. Everytime he needed to relieve himself, all he could think about was Seoyeon on her knees, taking him into her mouth so pretty. All he could imagine- more like remember, was her eyes looking up at him, asking how he felt as her hands slid up and down his cock. He remembered the warmth of her mouth and the desire to want to feel that again was enough to make him cum in the shower, noises muffled away from his members.

He wanted more. He wanted to experience more with you. Have her experience more with him. He really wanted to repay her favour to him, but most of all, he really wanted to have sex with her.

Taehyun wasn't the most emotional out of his friends, rather describing himself as more pragmatic and direct than that. He didn't see his virginity as something so profound and special that you have to lose and gift it to someone, and he couldn't imagine himself preparing to lose it in a candle lit room with roses on the bed - he would leave that to Yeonjun. He didn't care much about the concept of virginity and losing it, but at the same time, he knew he only wanted to have sex with someone he felt connect with, not really finding the appeal of doing it with a random person.

He told Seoyeon as much in one of their dates after his first sexual experience with her, after they pondered venturing more into this aspect of the relationship before being interrupted by his members barging into the dorm.

The two were in TXT's living room, sitting by the coffee table with a variation of korean Street food and soju in between the two.

The conversation surrounding the topic didn't feel as awkward anymore, and Taehyun decided to take advantage of it.

Sipping on his maekju, he asked, "How experienced are you?"

Seoyeon wasn't a virgin, that much he knew, but he couldn't phantom the extent of her knowledge in this area, and he was curious.

"Hm," she mumbled, feeling her face heat up as she took a shot to dissipate de awkwardness. Seoyeon wasn't used to talking openly about it, but seeing the look and genuine curiosity from Taehyun, she didn't feel as uncomfortable. "Not that much, really. I had a somewhat relationship before, as you know, and most things I did was with him"

"Was he... your first in everything?"

"No," she shook her head. "My first kiss was with somebody else, but he was my first time, yeah"

Taehyun nodded quietly, processing her words.

"Was it special?" he asked. Pausing for a moment, he followed with, "Nevermind. Don't think I wanna hear about you having sex with another guy"

Seoyeon laughed at that, watching amusedly as Taehyun averted his eyes, hair falling over them as his cheeks darkened a little, and his lips formed a pount. Cute.

"It was very awkward, actually," she said, gaining his attention back.

"Really?"

Seoyeon nodded, "First times are usually awkward and not that great, even more so if it is the first for both. So, yeah" she shrugged. Picking up her chopsticks again to take a piece of tteoppokki, she throw a question, "How would you like your first time to be?"

Taehyun mouth fell open in surprise, an 'ah' falling from his lips as he thought. Mind running wild as his heart skip a beat, sending blood downstairs at the thought.

"I... I don't really have scenerario in mind," he shrugged. "If you are there, it's perfect for me"

"Oh," Seoyeon bit her lip hard to prevent the smile from blossoming on her face, blood rushing to her cheeks as she subtly clenched her thighs together. "You don't want a nice date before, maybe candles and some nice music?"

Taehyun shook his head with a boyish smile, "Only you"

This time, the quirk on her lips appeared in a shy yet pleased smile, making his smile stretch a bit further as he bit his lip as he averted his gaze.

"Hm... Good to know," she glanced at him, before turning her attention to the food, trying to distract herself from the giddiness she was feeling.

A moment of silence fell around them after that as they tried to distract themselves from Taehyun's direct answer. He watched her movements quietly, enjoying how good he felt talking with her about this.

"So our first time has a high chance of being awkward and not great," he stated, and Seoyeon choked a bit on her food.

Clearing her throat, she tilted her head to the side. Taehyun was already looking at her, sipping on his drink as he did so to help with the nerves. His heart was racing at the prospect of having sex with her, and Seoyeon wasn't much different. Her body felt hotter all of the sudden.

"I don't think so..." she said catching his gaze, a small smirk appearing on her lips, "I have a good feeling about it. But... there's only one way to find out, right?" she added, biting her lips.

The implication of her words and the look on her eyes made Taehyun's breath hitch, and his pants tightened. He slid his glass on the table as he watched her lick her lips off the sauce, slowly crawling on her knees towards him until their faces were mere inches apart. They didn't kiss yet, but he felt breathless already with the tension.

Tilting his head up just a little bit, he brushed his lips against hers, and Seoyeon breathed in, closing her eyes. Taehyun's fingers entangled into her hair, stopping her from moving as he leaned in.

The moment, unfortunately, was broken the moment Yeonjun's loud voice boomed from the corridor, followed by Kai's loud cackle. The newcomers joined the couple as soon as the saw the food and drinks on the table and the tension that build up, slowly dissipated in the room, but the glances at each other didn't.

Maybe next time. They thought, catching each other's glance, fingers tightening around each others.

[eomcheong-keun-megi]

ayo since youve been to seoul, can u recommend anywhere to visit? i went last year and im going again in a few months but besides myeongdong and the typical touristy places i didnt have time to go anywhere else

yooooh so in 2023 I was working twice in Seoul -

one time as a sound tech for a artist friend of mine who had their solo exhibit in Gyeongbokgung in the north of the city

and half a year later as a sound artist with a artist collective exhibiting and performing in Munjeong-dong in the southern outskirts of Seoul.

I entirely fuck with nature and tried to visit as many gardens, public parks, botanical gardens and mountain parks as I could. You cannot go wrong with any of those.

Aside from that I was really interested in art and artistic crafts - thanks to some korean friends who sent me instagram accounts of local galleries and events.

I was lucky to find some places showing sound and experimental art in Euljiro-Dong. This is a place that is RAPIDLY changing. The district is special because of its huge spectrum of artistic and technical manual craftsmanship. In the 6 months between my two visits an entire street block had been demolished and replaced by high rise buildings. The city changes crazy fast!

I also LOVE the Cheonggyecheon River stream - the ancient former city border used to have a multileveled highway constructed above it but since 20 years now flows over 10 km trough Seouls City center as a renatured river ecosystem.

Following the stream is a super lovely way to explore the city and also pass the famous textile and fabric district of Dongdaemun.

If you are interested in anything fashion or textile related, this is the place to be and you could honestly get lost in the universe of one of the building complexes.

I experienced the Itaewon district as one of the most diverse places I have ever been to - where else in the world can u find a central mosque down the street of the so called "homohill" of the gay- and transbars, the Nigerian community next to the Vietnamese Community and an elementary school in the middle of the most vibrant night life full of neon crosses and kebab stores in the HEART of Seoul.

I also recommend trying out any Jjimjilbang / Sauna you can find if you can go with a local. It is the most chill experience when someone first shows u around and then u can basically add 5 years to your life.

The Hongdae 24 H Sauna(the one skz filmed at) is actually super accessible to foreigners and a good place if its your first time at a jjimjilbang.

Every time I went to Korea I came back healthier and I am chronically ill - the saunas and nutrition was just on point and affordable.

Lastly, I recommend the Seoul National Museum. It's free entry and you legit can spend an ENTIRE DAY in that spaceship of a building. Many amazing topics and exhibits so explore also just a fun place. There r some stray cats living in the park in front of the complex and I recommend them too.

skz is actually not super represented in public. only by chance I saw a skz hilfiger ad billboard in Itaewon and a Lotte Duty Free ad at an airport. I saw way more bts, nct and many girl groups represented in public.

I did go up to Namsan Tower because I am insufferable and wanted to check out how gay it would be to kidnap your best bro up there for surprise dinner and take photos with a giant heart statue on a platform that is entirely dedicated for couples and has a specific proposal spot. yea.

It's getting long, so anyway, I recommend following your special interest and hanging out with people who live there.

have fun and eat a lot of good food!

[jeon-s-sins]

Moon's Sun | 8 | Bonding Pt. 2

Warning : None

Word count: 3k

Hotteok*: is a type of stuffed Korean pancake, a Korean snack and popular street food in South Korea.

n.a : English is not my first language, so chances are there will be mistakes here and there. I will do my best to make sure there are as few mistakes as possible.

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After a good meal at Kim's, you returned to the market to visit the stalls you had not seen earlier in the evening.

The tour of the remaining stalls took several hours. Each time, you stopped to look at the products being sold and talked to some of the merchants you had known for a long time.

It was after midnight, but neither of you was tired and didn't want to go home yet. So you decided to get something to eat before going to the beach.

The evening was very mild. The gentle breeze from the sea, caused by the waves, was not too strong and cooled you down from the heat of a June evening. The sky was clear of clouds, and a few stars were visible despite the city lights.

The full moon was at its zenith, watching its reflection in the water from its perch.

You and Jungkook walked side by side silently, enjoying each other's company while listening to the perfect symphony of the waves. The waves were neither calm nor agitated. They just came and went like a breath of air. Calm and soothing.

The present moment was worthy of a dream image.

Walking along the water's edge, barefoot in the sand, with your sweetheart. Watched and protected by the thousands of stars—visible and invisible, but still present – and the moon as the breeze caressed you tenderly. Yes, definitely a dream. The best of all.

At that moment, time seemed to have stopped. You could still hear the sounds of the city and the market, but they were muffled. As if they had all agreed not to disturb your moment, but just to lull you with background noise.

The further you entered the darkness, the fainter the sounds became and the closer you got to the rocks.

As you saw the rocks, many memories of moments you shared with your friends emerged. You often met on the same rocks to picnic and tell each other about your day.

While on these rocks, you would cleanse yourself of all the harmful waves and energies accumulated during the week or day and recharge yourself with new positive ones. Sometimes you would gather every day or at least twice or thrice a week.

The rocks were your reconciliation zone whenever one of you quarreled with another.

It may have been silly to think so, but those rocks were the lifeblood of your friendship. Your piece of heaven on earth. Your landmark.

You were so deep in thought that you didn't realize you had arrived at the rocks. You were abruptly brought back to yourself when you felt your foot slip on the smooth surface of the stone, causing you to lose your balance.

Shocked, you let out a small scream – not too high and not too shrill, but audible enough for Jungkook to hear.

You didn't have time to regain your balance before a veiny, tattooed arm snaked around your waist from behind before your back was pressed against a muscular torso. “Be careful,” Jungkook scolded you. You can't think of anything else to do but thank him. “Thank you.”

You turn your head and lift it a bit to see his face – he's much taller than you are – and he nods, motioning for you to continue. With the help of the moonbeams, you've noticed his eyebrows slightly furrowed and a little more worried than relieved look on his precious face.

He releases your waist and takes your hand before you can move to another stone. You stop short, not expecting him to do what he did. Your heart rate had increased, and you could feel your cheeks flushing. Fortunately, your back was to him, and he couldn't see your face.

Paying more attention to where you stepped, you walked towards your rock at the far end, touching the water.

When you reached your destination – without any further incident – you and Jungkook took your seats on the rock, one next to the other, and looked at the beautiful view before you.

Breaking the silence – without being extremely loud – you hear the melody of a song. Turning your head toward the new background noise, you saw that Jungkook had his phone in his hand as the music came from his device.

Without fearing that his phone will fall into the water, Jungkook puts it on his thigh. Then he took the plastic bag he had in his hand during your trip from the market to the rocks and took out a Hotteok* and gave it to you. He took one for himself before giving you a can of beer for both of you.

It felt good to be back in your place of healing. You finally felt calm inside after a crazy week full of emotions and craziness. You finally felt free to breathe.

You didn't want to admit it – not to your friends and yourself – but you had to acknowledge that these events made you feel sick. You were always on guard, refusing to let your guard down, no matter what, for fear that these events would happen again.

You were also very grateful to your friends for forcing you to accept having someone with you. And especially to Jungkook, who “volunteered” to come and live with you, leaving his privacy and freedom behind – or so you thought. You just hoped that he would not regret his decision. Most importantly, your friendship would not deteriorate because knowing and being friends with someone does not necessarily mean having them around 24/7 is wonderful.

Thinking about it, you let out a sigh not lost on Jungkook. “What's wrong?” You sit down more comfortably on the rock, and after finishing your last bite, you say while looking at the scenery in front of you. “Nothing.”

As for Jungkook, he found it hard to believe you. Even though the two of you hadn't spent any time together in the past, he knew you and knew when something was wrong. He tapped you on the shoulder to encourage you, making you smile slightly.

“Thank you.” You finally say, since he couldn't see what you were thanking him for. “For what?” He looks at you, waiting for you to elaborate. “For volunteering to keep an eye on me while giving up your freedom.” He sighed in return, but not for the same reason as you.

He had always noticed that you habitually apologized for everything, even when you had nothing to do with it. He realized you must have felt a little guilty about his situation, but he didn't blame you. He knew that you had no control over what was going on. In fact, he knew more than he let on.

“YN,” he turned to you and touched your cheeks, gently forcing you to look at him. “Stop torturing your mind. I haven't sacrificed anything. If I had, I wouldn't have volunteered and let one of the boys volunteer.”

As Jin tells us often enough, we are a family. Brothers and sisters from different parents. We may not share the same DNA, but we're more of a family than many real families worldwide. These were indeed Jin's words.

For Jin, the family came first. He put us before everything and everyone else, sometimes even his own wants and needs. He always took care of his little siblings – the boys and you.

This man has a heart of gold. He is always ready to help and protect those around him in need without ever asking for anything in return.

They seemed to know you – except for the boys – while they were all strangers to you. It took you a while to get used to them, but they were all very patient with you, and you'll never forget that.

“Neither will you. Unfortunately, this is one of the things we have in common that brings us closer than others. We have known the pain of losing our parents and being helpless to save them.” He stroked your cheek as he spoke softly to you, as tears welled in your eyes. “And I hope they don't know that feeling. It will happen one day, but hopefully, it won't be too soon.” He gives you a reassuring smile.

“I don't know why I feel this way, but from the first day I saw you lying unconscious on that hospital bed, I felt a strong attraction to you.” Your eyes widen in surprise as a rush of heat enters your body.

“Not a physical attraction,” hello, disappointment. “But it's like our minds are connected. Like they were calling to each other, attracted to each other, and still are.”

You knew exactly what he meant because it was the same for you, but you have more: the physical and sentimental attraction was there.

“You are my little sister, and I will never let anything happen to you.” And right now, you were sister-zoned. “Neither will the others. We are one for all and all for one.” Then, without warning, he brings his face forward and places a soft kiss on your forehead.

Once again, your poor heart leaps into your chest. If this keeps up, one day, your heart will give out.

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n.a: I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do. To ensure you don't miss the progress of the chapters and their release, don't forget to check out the Working on and Updates section. There you'll find updates on “Moon's Sun” and other stories and “One Shot” that you'll probably enjoy. Also, don't forget to check out the Masterlist. You'll probably find something for you among my other stories in progress and those to come.

[absolutebl]

Hello, live the work you do here. I especially like to read your trash watch alongs. I am following unforgotten night through your posts only.

It's just been months since I got into bl. But I remember watching one a couple of years ago and I dnf it . I don't remember what it's name was. If you could help me with the title, I'd like to revisit it and see what has changed with my new perspective and experience with BL.

It was thai. It was a restaurant setting. The seme was a chef and the uke was probably in school or college and maybe part-time working at the restaurant. That's all I remember.

oh I love a challenge. The Magic Spreadsheet of Doom is always easier to activate when you have setting.

However I don't think I need it, since restaurants are my favorite. I think you're thinking of 2021′s Bite Me. And apart from the food, it was really very much NOT good.

However in case I am wrong here are all (I think) of: 

Thailands’s R&B (restaurant & beverage) BLs

I Am Your King 2 2019 3/10 Youtube - Early love triangle about a cafe boy caught between two brothers, mostly not good because the wrong brother wins. Has no connection to the original I Am Your King. 

Love Area 2022 (2 parts) 3/10 GaGa - It wasn't as boring as Bite Me, but it wasn’t actually good, either. This started out as Thailand tackles love triangles pulp style, but in part 2 lockdown changed everything. Valen & Kaitoon dropped some great kisses but traded off crazy hair and makeup in a scene-by-scene whiplash that was clearly pickups done months after lockdown, and the second lead vanished. It was... surreal. Side dishes jumped up screen time but tackled mental health... badly. A fantastic new queer side character was randomly introduced, June, who was the best thing to happen to BL linguistics in 2022 but had nothing to do with the rest of the cast, show, or plot. What a mess. In the end, I didn’t know what I was watching, and neither did it.

Love Next Door 2 2014 4/10 movie GaGa - One of Thailand’s early very high heat pieces, it’s odd, but sexy I guess? Also some unexpectedly decent queer rep. (Part one is the same lead character early on in his life discovering he is gay with the sex worker next door but not really relevant to this story.) 

Evening Cafe 2021 5/10 YouTube - Cafe setting with no heat and no kisses (almost Chinese in this regard), but a decent lead pair, about a boy who works in a cafe and the new employee who has a crush on him. That’s it, whole story.

Love Advisor 2021 6/10 microfilm YouTube - Set in a cafe but not about cafe workers, this is an actor’s piece, more like a one act stage performance about friends to lovers and miscommunication.

Bite Me 2021 6/10 Viki - Thailand gave us Korean style slowly simmering ultra soft and sweet BL only at a Thai length so the pacing was… not good. Slower than molasses and full of insane subtext, long gazes, missing dialogue, abrupt mood swings, and one very pretty kiss. It curdled around episode 8, the sauce split, and there was no saving it. It did have some of the best food porn I’ve seen in my life, and i watch cooking shows. It was beautiful, the leads were decent, it should have right up my alley, and yet… it left me with a feeling of disaffected ennui - bland and boring and unsatisfying. 11 courses of tasty tasty pacing issues. 

What Zabb Man! 2022 8/10 YouTube - Star Hunter's WZM was better than we had any right to expect, with decent pacing and a foodie theme threaded through the narrative as both love language and plot driver. Basically CEO falls in love with a street vendor’s food, recruits him to work in his hotel, falls in love with him, and that’s the beginning. Class struggles! Kitchen drama! Papaya pounding (not a euphemism)! Chef poaching (not literally)! Spicy scenes (yes both kinds)! It’s all so delicious. 

La Cuisine 2022 710 GaGa - A sweet and somewhat pure show, and like the Thai desserts it features, perhaps requires too much patience for a layperson. Because of the pacing and the focus on a bad girl character, I did dock it. But if you like stuff in the Oxygen vein, then this show is for you, and far better than most Thai BL pulps. That said, I suspect that I enjoyed it more than many would. Full review. 

Coffee Melody (Pavel my love) 2022 airing right now on Viki

So far only the pulps have tackled foodie romances for Thailand, I’d love to see GMMTV do one. 

Perhaps that’s what Moonlight Chicken will be? 

The other places that do a lot in and around the food industry are Korea (Jealousy is My Guest, One Last Order, My Sweet Dear, The Tasty Florida, Ocean Likes Me, To My Star). They tend to have been rated better in general than the Thai ones, sadly. 

(source)

[elaine-abroad]

Volume 3 Part 1

Volume 3

Week 2

The second week was a lot less chaotic and eventful in general than the first. We all felt a little bit more accustomed to how things worked on campus. To start off the week, my friends and I decided to visit some Hangang parks to see the infamous Han River. Our first stop was at Ttukseom Park. This park was a little underwhelming when it came to attractions as the main thing was this tube and a waterpark that was packed to the brim with people. It was still quite busy though. One cool thing about this park is that I was able to see the Olympic Stadium.

Tube and Olympic Stadium in the back

The main reason why I wanted to go to this specific park was because I saw online that there were duck boats you could ride on in the river. Although they were a little janky-looking in how they were made, I still really wanted to go.

Our plan was to do “daytime” activities at Ttukseom Park before making our way to Yeouido Park for sunset, a supposed night market, and the water light show. Before we headed over to the other park, we stopped to eat.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Yeouido Park, it was only around 6 pm and the sun wasn’t going to set for another two hours. The park itself was a lot bigger than the other one with vendors already set up.

To pass some time, we went to a couple of nearby malls. The first one we went was definitely too expensive for us, but I was in awe of the interior. The many floors and the literal waterfall inside gave for a sleek and elegant look.

We came back to the park as the sun was starting to set and headed over to the floating dome stage. The pictures we had seen had shown jets of water flying out and colorful lights as well so we were pretty excited.

However, even as the sky darkened, nothing happened. My best guess is that it was because we came on a Sunday. A lot of Koreans are religious and don’t do anything on Sundays. Many restaurants we’ve seen are closed on Sunday and consider it as a holiday. We were pretty disappointed and kind of just sat there for a bit before going home. The night sky with the street and traffic lights were still nice to look at though.

Classes started back up the following day and we continued our orchid studies in traditional painting. I like painting with acrylic and watercolor so I thought I’d like this too. It’s actually very difficult and frustrating to use ink because of the water to ink ratio on the brush. The brush holds a lot of water and the paper we use is very thin so even the tiniest amount of water causes the ink to spread out everywhere.

We actually had a field trip for my visual journal class at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. There were a lot of gamified exhibitions for whatever reason and even consoles to play games on like Pacman, Minecraft, and original games.

There was even a station where you could take pictures of yourself like a photobooth. Grace didn’t want to be featured so here’s me.

Because it was a roasting 97 degrees, Grace and I scrambled to get bingsu and then food later.

The next day I learned how to make a traditional Korean stamp. It was very interesting because I’ve done printmaking with stamps before but I’ve used linoleum, a soft rubber, and not a slab of stone. We had to make a stamp of our names in Korean so I learned how to write mine. We also had to use a knife to carve. It was actually really fun until I realized at the end that I didn’t flip it properly so my stamp was backwards, in turn making my name read backwards.

Elaine in Korean spelled out in letters is "illein"

It was raining that day so we weren’t able to go out all that much. I had the idea of going to the movie theater, but we decided against it after arriving and seeing the movie choices. For dinner we decided to get pasta since the pasta place we wanted to go to the day before was closed. It’s been a little bit of a struggle eating out with an introverted vegetarian but we’re getting through it one day at a time.

Here’s my second stamp with a small sheep in honor of the year I was born in. My teacher said a lot of traditional stamps are either your name or your zodiac animal.

In the middle of this week we visited Hongdae again and visited shops we didn’t even see the first time. This included a BT21 store. To give a little background information. I assume we all know the famous kpop boy group BTS. Several years ago, each of the members drew their own character that sort of represented them. These characters later were launched into actual merch. This was a collaboration between BTS and Line Friends, a group of characters based on stickers from diverse applications of the South Korean internet search giant Naver Corporation and the Japanese messaging app Line. My transportation card is Line Friends branded. Anyways, a BT21 store is basically a BTS merch store.

We both felt obligated to visit and maybe buy something because we both had a heavy BTS/kpop phase in high school. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but it’s fun to have someone to talk about that stuff to. This past week I’ve been listening to a lot of songs that came out when I listened to kpop religiously and it’s kind of nostalgic. 

We grabbed some Shake Shack after.

We also discovered this artist who created this dumb, booger-looking dinosaur character and accompanying dino friends. For some reason we both think it’s funny and cute so we stalled around for a while. I didn’t end up getting anything then even though I loved a lot of the designs.

We mainly wanted to go to Hongdae again to see how it looked with the night lights and we were not disappointed. It was so colorful. 

For the last day of class this week, I learned how to paint chrysanthemum flowers. Surprisingly, they were a lot less of a headache than the orchids. Our teacher said throughout this class we would be learning how to paint something called the “Four Gentlemen”. There are basically four plants that have become the basis of traditional ink brush paintings for whatever reason. We’ve so far completed two of them: the orchid and chrysanthemum. 

My take on chrysanthemums

And for visual journal, we went on another field trip to the Piknic art gallery which was basically a huge exhibition for this photographer named François Halard that captured pictures of interiors and architecture. Each of his pictures had a story behind them. He took pics of people’s house interiors like Lenny Kravitz and Rick Owens. In my opinion it was a lot more interesting than the contemporary art museum.

For food that day, we had to go back to Insa-dong. My main reason for this was because the shops seemed to sell seemingly more traditional and less trendy items which is something my parents would appreciate. I didn’t end up getting anything though because I wasn’t sure how authentic things were after seeing the same items sold at multiple stores.

We couldn’t leave before getting more bingsu – tangerine flavor for me this time.

A couple hours later, Grace, Bianca, and I went to this hotpot place right outside campus. To me, we got hotpot, but to Bianca we got malatang. I don’t think I’ve ever heard my parents refer to it as that, but I guess that’s technically the right term. Bianca is an international student from Beijing and insisted we at least learn the right word for it. 

We got to grab a bowl and choose whatever was going in it which was really nice. They also made it for us and made it look all pretty.

Now I get to talk about the relatively more interesting part of my week. On Friday I went on a field trip to Nami Island, an island not in the ocean but in the middle of South Korea. It was about a 1.5-2 hour drive. The coolest thing about this trip was that we got to take a 90 second zipline from Seoul City to the actual island. 

I’ve been on a zipline before but never for that long at once. It was super cool, especially because we went with a partner going at the same time. 

[ereardon]

Do you have specific spots you wanna hit while in NY? I know mentioned general areas like Ktown and getting a bagel but I didn't know if you had specific shops in mind. Where I live there is a town a few hours away and every time we go we have to stop at a specific candy shop (it's locally owned and amazing). I didn't know if you had anything like that

I'm annoyingly going for a work offsite so almost every minute of my time is accounted for, especially since I'm trying to squeeze in seeing lots of friends that are still in the city! I'll make it to a few of the below but here's an overview of my top places:

Food:

Bagels – I'm partial to Murray's on 6th Ave because I lived a few blocks away for a while but Ess-a-Bagel is good too or H&H (a classic)

Maman for pastries, Breads Bakery in Union Square for choc babka and Bourke Street Bakery near Madison Square Park for a sausage roll

The kale Brussel Caesar at Blank Slate when I'm working I'll have it delivered lol it's a guilty pleasure

Gotta have a Mister Softee in the summer

I'm a sucker for a slice of cake from Magnolia Bakery. I'm not a banana person but I know the banana pudding is everyone's fav

Alta on W. 10th is a fav date night spot, amazing tapas/vibe, it's tucked away on a residential street

Turntable Jazz Chicken. Hands down best fried Korean chicken, I will not leave New York without eating this. Get extra daikon radish and the dumplings and thank me later

Sant Ambroeus – just get a coffee/pastry to go and walk in the park!

Stores/shops:

Minamoto Kitchoan – technically food but it's really beautiful Japanese wagashi I always get some to send my dad

The Face Shop in KTown

Bloomingdales – basic but I'm not even sorry. Also it has a 40 Carrots froyo that I lowkey love to stop in and it's close to my office so I'll just pop by after work I'm on the hunt for a new YSL Manhattan bag so I want to see it in person!

Economy Candy in LES is super fun if you haven't been!

[lil-smutier]

So like just here me out… kuroo x chubby reader

But they were childhood friends and once Highschool started kuroo had moved to Korea for some reason 4 years later your favorite kpop group is making a world tour and having a fan sign and you run into kuroo- 👀

[ A/N : I am so sorry this is late :,) I’m not good at writing fluff and I’m not in the Kpop fandom, but I tried my best! ]

- Memories with Kuroo -

You sigh as you clean out your old Google drive and USB photos, the highschool-life having taken a serious toll on your storage ( so, so many notes and test papers you had to scan and keep into pdfs ). Luckily however, among the countless class work folders you had to empty out; you did manage to uncover some beautifully chaotic memories from throughout your middle school age up until today — your highschool graduation.

A familiar face catches your eye.

Tetsuro Kuroo, your absolute childhood-come-best friend stuck close to your side in almost every photo. You smiled solemnly at them, thinking back to all the memories the two of you had shared before he had to head off to Korea for his father’s business. Though the text messages and occasional late night calls between you both didn’t stop completely, you couldn’t help but feel him slowly detaching himself and forgetting about you. At first, you played it off as him being too busy adjusting and moving into his new life in a new country, but as the calls grew shorter and the messages less frequent, you couldn’t stop yourself from letting your mind wander.

Back to the present and shaking yourself out of it, you realise you had been tearing up slightly, a sole, stray line of salt dripped down from your eye to your chin as you stared at the last photo you both took before his flight; his arms wrapped tightly around your curved form while you both smiled from ear to ear. It had been what, 4 years? Man, you really need to get a hold of yourself, you reason; wiping away your sadness before continuing to tidy up your digital storage some more.

About an hour or so more passes before you consider yourself done with whatever you needed to sort out, leaning back into your swivel chair and cracking your back as you feel the back of the chair lean to your comfort as well. Yawning tiredly, you rub at your eyes, deciding to get some much needed shut-eye before tomorrow; it would be a big day after all, you smile to yourself, sparing a quick glance at your calendar to reconfirm the time and place for the nth time, – you were headed to your favorite Kpop group’s fansign, so you were justified for your constant rechecking of the details – after all, it wasn’t every year that they chose to do a worldwide tour including Japan amongst most other asian countries.

Tossing your wallet, self-defense tools ( cause you never know when you might need them ), and powerbank into your purse you head to bed, sleeping peacefully with the knowledge you were gonna have a great day tomorrow. The next morning, you woke up extra early to put together an outfit you felt cute in. After mixing-and-matching multiple sets of skirts, pants, tops and sweaters, you finally settled on a combination you liked, slipping on your purse and shoes before heading out to the convention.

~~

The place is bustling with, well, everyone.

On one half of the long hall, there’re people selling various Korean goodies such as snacks and street foods along with an array of ice-blended or hot drinks to wash it all down – you feel your mouth tingling as you eye the stacks of crazily flavored marshmallows, there was even a marshmallow coated ice cream stick!! ( you were totally buying a few of those home ) – and on the other half, fans and idols alike were either stationed upon stages with long tables set for them to sit and chat with everyone, or perched happily at their own stalls selling merchandise and conversing with fans alike. A warm, fuzzy feeling settled in your heart when you watched everyone converse and share their experiences with people they’d otherwise call complete strangers; to you, it was super cool how one person’s interests could connect them with others so easily and vice versa.

Getting some snacks, you headed over to the booth where your idols were seated, slowly pushing through the crowd of excited and energetic fans to try to get to the front. Your plan seemed to be working until you ended up stuck behind a very tall man; he looked around 6”3 which intimidated you a little since you weren’t the tallest or scariest person out there ( you were a 5” pudgy little person ) but you were still determined to get to the foot of the stage since it would give you a better chance of getting picked to go on stage with your idol, so you continued your mission, trying to squeeze through the unknown giant and the person next to him. Unfortunately, you seemed to misjudge your own strength, knocking into the giant way harder than you had planned to, hearing an irritated grunt and a “Hey!”, you moved as fast as you could away from him, which… wasn’t very far since the place was swarmed by people everywhere.

Adrenaline rushed through your veins as you felt a firm grip close around your wrist, immediately reaching down to the pepper spray hanging from your bag strap. The sudden panic in the guy’s voice caught you off-guard, “Hey wait– I just want an apology. You don’t have to spray me– wait… ____________? ” the words trailed off as you turned around, squinting to try and figure out who this guy was; after all, he seemed to recognize you almost instantly… it was tough though, trying to match a voice to a face that you could’ve sworn you knew like the tip of your tongue, but couldn’t quite place until–

“Tetsu??”

~~

The two of you had slipped out of the crowd to chat, – with the deal that you would both be back before your idols had left of course – you awkwardly offered Kuroo some of your snacks in a desperate hope to start a conversation after being deprived of it for quite some time. Thankfully, he accepted it, smiling warmly at you before beginning, “First things first– do you always run away after bumping into someone?” he huffed out a small laugh, enjoying the view as your cheeks bloomed into a soft pink color. You rub the back of your neck sheepishly, explaining how you still aren’t the best with people even after all these years, a feeling of guilt washing over you when you saw his expression go from happy to sad in a matter of moments, “N-no!!” you cry out abruptly, making his eyes widen as he silently urges you to continue; you collect yourself, “I mean… I’m getting better with people, it’s just that people don’t take too kindly when someone who doesn’t fit their standard of ‘normal’ tries to correct them.” you sigh, carefully gauging his expression.

To your surprise, he places a hand on your head, giving you a few reassuring pats before looking back at you thoughtfully, “Hey, listen, I know you’re doing your absolute best ________, and I’m sorry I never had the chance to tell you how proud I am of you.” you feel your eyes welling up with tears, all your bottled up pain surging up through your stomach and throat fast before Kuroo continues, “And if anyone, and I mean anyone, tries to change that about you… you can tell them to fuck right off.” you break out into watery giggles at that, relief washing over you that your once best friend had truly never changed a bit, even after all these years. Alas, just as fast as it came, it left along with the man himself as he excused himself to some “very important business”.

As he jogged away, you heard him yelling to you that he would definitely make it up to you soon, but you couldn’t really process it as tears started to pour from your eyes from all the memories – both painful and joyful – that came flying back like a crashing airplane. You rushed to the bathroom to calm yourself, missing your own idol’s meet-up during the time. You felt like shit, not only had you missed the main reason you came here, but you had royally messed up your once-in-forever meet-up with your childhood friend who you had not seen in ages. Feeling defeated, you washed up your face and redid your makeup, heading out into the convention center again, preparing to take your leave when you heard your name being called from the crowd.

“__________ __________? Is there a _____________ _______________ out there in the crowd today?” A voice you now knew all too well called out. Timorously, you shuffled on your feet, making eye contact with the tall ravenette who now sat on the stage with who you assumed to be his other band members, before being beckoned over to join him. What? Is this some fever dream or something?? You ask inwardly, pinching yourself hard while you take shaky steps onto the stage; taking a seat across from your highschool bestfriend, the dull white timer ticking away from 3 minutes next to you both.

“Tetsu what–”

“Hold on– Let me explain–” He cut you off, raising his hands in a surrender motion before moving on, “When we were 17, my dad had a business trip in Korea, and that’s why I had to move so suddenly, that was true. What I didn’t know was that this business involved sending me off to a music industry so I could ‘be like one of the stars we see on TV one day’. Well, it looks like he got his wish.” you frown while listening to his story. So all this time that he had dropped contact, or said he was too busy; he really was, he hadn’t forgotten about me… fighting the tears away, you opened your mouth to ask him if he was happy doing this, but what came out instead was: “So why were you in the crowd earlier? Don’t you have a backstage pass you can use anytime?”

Smooth. Real smooth ___________.

Luckily, he seemed to find your confusion funny, chuckling softly before explaining it to you, “Just because I’m a star now doesn’t mean I have endless authority _________, I mean, I do, but that only applies to my own band’s shows and meet-and-greets.” “Still doesn’t explain why you were in the crowd then…” you counter, watching as he raises an eyebrow at you, “What’s there to explain? I happen to like that idol very much.” Now it was your turn to laugh, “Yeah, sure, not as much as me though.” you challenge, watching his eyes light up.

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

The both of you spent the next 2 minutes and 37 seconds throwing trivia questions about your shared favorite back and forth before the beep of the timer shattered the fun – you won though, and although you got a few seconds to gloat and rub it in your best friend’s face, he easily contradicted you by saying that he was too busy to keep up with the recent news anyways, so it wasn’t a fair game –. You smile sadly, getting up and bidding him goodbye with a cheesy “I’ll text you!” to which he just beamed back and nodded.

~~

The next day you had work. Clocking into the cafe you worked at, you sucked in a breath as you tightened the apron around your waist a little too tightly; accidentally turning it into a corset for a split second before readjusting it to your comfort. You had always been a foodie, but since you didn’t really enjoy interacting with people much, a friend of yours suggested this pretty vintage cafe! It was perfect, the days were relatively quiet and comfortable, and you were allowed to take back any pastries or drinks you wished for after you took stock count. ( and hey, they were the bomb! ) Looking up at the bell chime, you said your usual greeting and welcomed whoever had entered.

“Hi there! Welcome to Bear’s Coffee and Cookies! What’s on your mind today–” You nearly shrieked when you recognized the person who had entered. “Tets–” “Shh, I’m not supposed to be here!!” Kuroo whisper-shouted, quickly readjusting his beanie and mask in a feeble attempt at hiding his identity. You giggled slightly, still too in shock to really process what just happened as you recollected yourself, “What’s on your mind today Sir?” “One americano and a slice of chocolate cake please.” he ordered quietly, careful not to catch anyone’s attention. You nodded cheerfully, “Please take a seat! I’ll have that out for you in a bit!” true to your word, you whipped up the order as quickly as you could, bringing it over to him as discreetly as possible; starting to head back to the counter before you heard him calling back to you.

“Stay, please.”

“I really shouldn’t–”

“No one’s here, and it’s not lunch hour. Come on, I even ordered this cake for you.” He all but pleaded, catching you off guard as you stared at him. He ordered you a slice of cake..? You felt your heart warm at the thought, shyly sitting across from him while he slid the plate across the table, moving to take a sip at his drink. “Your favorite right?” He asked, eyeing you carefully, “Yeah…You remember?” “Of course I do, I never forget about the stuff you tell me y'know.” Kuroo grinned, a sense of pride filling his ego to the point you could’ve sworn it would be tangible. Laughing at his display of victory, you thank him, offering to pay him back when he stops you.

“It’s okay. Take it as an apology from me.”

You squint at him, “An apology? For what?”

“For leaving my best friend alone without any news or knowledge of what might have happened to me. When I ran into you yesterday, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for never being there for you when you needed me. I wanted to shield you from all those assholes that said whatever they said about you. I wanted to shout at them and call them idiots for not noticing how amazing and beautiful of a person you are, even if you can’t see that for yourself.”

You open your mouth to say something, but he holds up a finger to tell you he isn’t done yet.

“I wanted to apologize when you came up on stage, but then we ended up playing trivia and talking about me. I don’t regret it at all, trust me; I don’t, but I couldn’t help but wonder… What if we had more time? What if I had one more chance to tell you what I wanted to say all these years? And then today I was sneaking out to get a snack since our company puts us on a strict diet, and it was like the universe heard me.”

For a few minutes, you sit in silence, just looking at each other while you think about what to say; how to react. Then you take a deep breath, “You don’t need to be sorry for anything Tetsu. I never needed you to be my knight in shining armor, in fact, I was totally fine on my own; and I mean that in the nicest way possible mind you– I really appreciate that you wanted to be there for me.” you twirl your fork in your hand before continuing,”I always knew you were busy doing whatever you needed to, and I don’t blame you for it and I never will.” You watch your best friend's eyes begin to water, a tiny sniffle escaping him before he smiles at you; a huge weight surely having been lifted from his shoulders.

“It’s kinda funny to think about,” you huff after a little while, catching his attention, “I used to think you were getting tired of me; that you were forgetting about me.”

“You don’t forget about people you love.” It was so quiet you nearly missed it despite the silence of the cafe

You choke on your chocolate cake. “I- What?”

“You heard me _________, I love you, always had and always will.” He repeated, tone dead serious.

Unexpectedly, your eyes start filling with tears as you look at him sadly, “...Don’t do that.” you sniffle, hating yourself for the way your voice comes out all wobbly. Kuroo’s eyes widened, concerned that he had said something wrong, did– did you not love him? Shit, did you already have someone else? By the time he’s done calculating the possibilities of what could’ve gone wrong; you were gone. In a blind panic, he shot up from the table, eyes flicking from here to there in a desperate hope to try and spot you, which he did thankfully. You were seated on a bench outside the cafe, it was well hidden and shaded by a few tall trees; you always sat out here when days got rough or when you just weren’t feeling it so you could collect yourself before heading back to work.

Today though, you were too lost in your thoughts to even notice the frantic man running towards you until it was too late. Kuroo took his seat next to you, still panting lightly as he reached out to you slowly, drawing his hand back when you flinched away, “Please tell me what I did wrong ________.” he pleaded, trying to get you to look at him, but you refused, “Don’t do that.” you repeated. “Don’t do what?” He urged on, “Treat me like I’m one of your fangirls! I don’t know what they want to hear from you, but I’m not some sort of damsel in distress Tetsuro! I forgive you for not being there, but for the love of god do not lie about loving me!”

Now it was Kuroo’s turn to be hurt.

“Now what in the fuck, makes you think I would lie about that??”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the fucking fact we just met after lacking contact for so damn long, and now you’re here telling me ‘oh whoops! I actually love you, sorry about that!’??”

“That’s because I fucking do love you?!”

“Why would you?! I’m nothing special! I was never anyone’s first pick, nor was I their last. Hell, I was never ‘pretty enough’ or ‘social enough’ to make even the smallest difference! What in the world do you even like about me, let alone love??”

Kuroo let out a laugh of disbelief, “Wow, is that really what you think I care about?” seeing that you were speechless – whether that be because you were genuinely hearing him out, or because you were that angry he didn’t care at the moment – he carried on, “__________ I couldn’t give two fucks about whether you’re the prettiest or the most social person I’ve ever met. I do not fucking care about whether you weren’t anyone’s first or last choice because what matters to me is that you are my last. At this point, I don’t know if you believe me, but I love you.” he took a deep breath. “I love you so much that it made me feel like absolute shit everytime I had to end a phone call with you early because some fucking producer was calling me, I love you so much that I thought I was seeing shit when you bumped into me yesterday. I thought I was going crazy when I saw you in this cafe today and I’d be damned if I let you go now; so please, for the love of god. Give me a chance.”

Before you could break down into tears again, you turned to face him in what seemed like hours. “Fine. But only because you’re my best friend, but if you ever break my heart, you can forget about it, Kuroo Tetsuro. I mean it.” Your voice was hoarse and crackly, but it still held the threat heavy within them. Kuroo nodded, “Understood ma’am. Now if you’d do me the honor, I believe we have a meal to finish?” he offered gently, raising from his seat and holding out a hand for you to take, which you do with a soft smile, “And a lot to catch up.” you nod.

Maybe giving him a chance would be worthwhile.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 3+4

Still not feeling very chatty but here’s the second chapter. I wasn’t in love with it but couldn’t figure out how to redo it in a way I like so enjoy. @adrienaugust

Memories

“So mama says to order the food at least 30 minutes before. They use a separate food delivery service and since you’re ordering from 3 different places, you don’t want anything getting cold. She is curious why cannolies.”

“If they can stand up to going from hot to warm, then they’re good.” Adrien said, typing all the notes into his phone. “This gives me time anyway to start unpacking anyway. Hey, do any of you guys live the park? I’m not at the entrance that’s near here, but on the other side and I’m hoping I’ll have a walking partner once I know my way around.”

“Marinette lives right across the street from the nearby entrance. It’s really a straight shot. If you want, we can come meet you tomorrow.”

“Later in the week if that’s ok? Mom is insisting I take the 10-minute car ride, at least until the embassy gives us our metro cards.”

“Sounds like a plan. You’ve got our numbers, shoot us a call if you’ve got way too much pizza.” Nino said, as Adrien spotted the embassy car and headed towards it.

“I will. See you guys tomorrow!” he waved to his new friends and climbed in, still waving as the car pulled into traffic. He leaned back in his seat and looked at the group selfie Nino insisted on after hearing his lack of friends he had with the moving. He liked his class and the people he felt like he could call his friends. He hoped they didn’t have to move all of a sudden.

Life as a diplomates’ child was never easy. His parents, some of the best partners he would see in their job, weren’t the best partners in their social life. What had once been a strong force fell into fights when work increased and the moves would grind at their nerves. If Adrien hadn’t wanted to save the little tolerance his parents had for each other, they could have destroyed each other. No kid wanted to sit their parents down and tell them they thought they’d be better off separated, but it’s what he did. He’d felt like he had no one to talk to because he was so busy worrying about his parents and it was starting to affect his life more than he could ever want. New schools and his odd lists of hobbies didn’t help either. Very rarely did he make lasting friends, usually because the schools his parents placed him in were for the uber rich and he got sick of the backstabbing really quick. It might have helped with his colourful vocabulary, but it also made a lot of time for the things he loved now: cosplay, learning languages, playing piano, exploring. It was easy to hid his hurt and loneliness for a while with exploring the places he was in, even if it was for a week. But when he started wanting validation from online presence in a way that scared him, he knew things had to change.

His parents split, which ended up allowing them to talk better and they’d gotten reassigned to Italy again. The few friends he did still have were beyond excited to have him back and he could finally share his hobbies. Moves still happened and he was usually nervous about making friends, ones who didn’t turn their nose up at the odd things he liked doing, but this time he was sure he’d found a solid group, if not solid class. Minus Lila. She’d continued to glare at him for the rest of the day and the few comments she did make were either punished for or he took care of with an eyeroll and scoff that seemed to shut her up quick. He still didn’t get what the issue was with her. Maybe she didn’t like Italian people?

“Your mother wanted to let you know she’d be a bit late tonight.” The driver said, already pulling up to the house.”

“That’s fine. Gratzi.” That just meant he’d order the food a bit later, which was fine. Right now, he had unpacking to do.

                                                ______________

Adrien was singing so loudly in Korean, he almost didn’t hear the doorbell.

“Yes?”

“Delivery from Pizzeria Arrivederci, Respiro, Trattoria – Pizzeria and Jimmy 2 Fois?”

“Come right up!”

Adrien was glad he’d worked by room; the entryway table was already set up to hold the pizzas until he was done signing for them. while he waited, he turned the music down and then balked at the time. Their last apartment had a noise curfew and he was way past it. He was also a bit worried. He assumed his mother would be home by now, but he also knew his mom would text if anything was wrong. Not to mention that the security the embassy had. Still, with everything he heard about akumas and Hawkmoth, he couldn’t help but feel worried. He adjusted the headband keeping his bangs back when a knock finally came to the door.

“Coming!”

He opened the door to see a slight tower of boxes. It moved to reveal an older guy, maybe 2 or 3 years older than him, with blue dyed hair mostly covered by a yellow bike helmet. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a hooded jean jacket and his whole style screamed punk.

“3 pizzas and 3 orders of canolies, 1 order per restaurant. Party?” the delivery guy asked, allowing Adrien to take the boxes from him.

“Nope, just me and my mom. We’re from Italy originally and we do this whenever we move to a new place. Pizza and canolies, can they impress an actual Italian?”

The delivery boy hands him the receipts to sign. “Sounds like a dream come true to be honest. How often do you do this, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Pretty often. Mom’s a diplomat and we move more often than most families. There have been good and bad places. New York’s Italian was pretty amazing.”

“New York huh?” he accepted the signed receipts. “That must have been amazing, especially with all the heroes around.”

Adrien sighed happily, remembering his time there. “It was. We were in Little Italy, even though the embassy wasn’t anywhere nearby. English is hard but I didn’t care because it was like being home. Fresh pastries from the nonnas and all the pasta dough they’d give us just because? God, we kept one nonna’s famed marinara sauce for so long. I need to go back because it was amazing. The heroes weren’t too bad though. I was oddly never in their pathway.”

“you’re making me jealous. The akuma’s here are no joke. My sister was akumatized once and it’s not exactly a favoured memory. But we do have Scarlet Bug and Catseye. Even though they have to keep a distance for people’s safety, the city feels protected. Hopefully you’ll find a bit of that here in France.”

“I hope so. All my classmates seem to think they’re pretty amazing. One wants to know everything about them.”

“Ah, so you met Alya Césaire then?” the pizza delivery guy looked almost a bit exasperated. He wondered if Alya’s desire to know everything caused that with everyone who knew her. “I’m told she means well, but maybe you can be the voice of reason to get her to stop hunting for their identities.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Well then enjoy. Well, I’m Luka and these restaurants thank you for your patronage. Enjoy the rest of your night.” Luka winked at him and Adrien couldn’t help but stare a little as he walked away. The guy was cute, sue him.

He put the food on the coffee table and continued unpacking, watching the time roll by. This was weird. His mom was never this late. Throughout his many schools, he’d met a fair amount of diplomat kids. A lot of them talked about how they were mostly raised by nannies or au-pairs or by themselves if they were old enough. Even if his mom brought work home, she’d always be home before he went to sleep. The typing of her keyboard had many a time been his lullaby. Even when he’d been sick and insistent on being attached to his mother, she would keep him close and still work. She would always make time for him, even if it was just one day in the week they could spend together. she never thought he was weird for his interests. He was carefully stacking the boxes of photos near one of the walls in the living room. The one on the top most box was one of their recent ones. A photo from back in Italy on one of the many bridges in the city, he’d convinced his mom to dress in an outfit fit for a lady of court while he dressed accordingly. He’d been trying to get her to act all coyishly but she kept laughing. They were in stiches by the time the event was over. It was a favoured memory of his now.

He just wished he knew where his mom disappeared to now.

                                               ______________________

He blinked awake, looking at the dim room. He couldn’t feel his arms and realised it was because he was laying on them on his front. He groaned and turned over, wincing at the feeling of pins and needles rushing down his arms. His eyes slowly adjusted and he saw he was in the living room. The pizza boxes where still on the coffee table. He opened one of the smaller boxes and looked at the filling leaking out of the cannoli. His mom, never made it home. He checked his phone and sitting with 2 missed call notifications was a text from his mom, letting him know she was staying at the embassy because of paperwork and she was sorry.

His mom never focused on work on their first day. She was always back and in time for pizza and canolies. He knew his mom’s work was important, but their tradition had never been backseat to it. He didn’t like it.

[purplesurveys]

1486

Which state do you consider to be the most boring state? North Dakota, for sure. It's an area twice the size of Portugal yet there's hardly anything there. Nearly 90% of the state is just farm fields or open ranch land. < There we go then. I hardly know anything about the US but this seems to sum it up pretty well; I will say I even looked North Dakota up to check and it really said it’s one of the least-visited states by tourists, haha.

Did you ever own a Koosh ball? Uh, probably a knockoff. Those were usually given as a prize in arcades or as a giveaway from birthday parties, yeah.

If any chef from the Food Network could cater your wedding, who would it be? I never tuned into that channel much so I’m not familiar with their chefs. All I know is I want to try Gordon Ramsay’s recipes at least once in my life.

Do you remember Krum from Aaahhh! Real Monsters? No. I’m not part of the generation that watched that show.

What's the last thing you ate that was red? The spicy Korean fried chicken we had last night.

Do you remember the first time you ever went into the ocean? Not sure about ocean, but the beach yes. I was 11, it was also my first trip that required a plane ride and we had gone to Boracay. I wasn’t sold by the waves at first and wasn’t for a while, but I started to finally see the appeal of the sea in the latter parts of my teenage years.

Have you ever stolen from your parents? Never. Apart from knowing that they would eventually find out anyway, it’s just something I could never do to them.

If you owned a dalmation, what would you name him/her? I never pick names for pets just because I happen to like those names; I have to get to know them first and see some of their quirks before I land on one.

What Asian country would you like to visit the most? Why? Out of the ones I haven’t been to yet, India and Thailand. I want to know more about their cultures and also try the local street food.

Have you ever thought that a passer by was the one? That has never happened and my demisexuality also wouldn’t let that happen ever, lol.

Ever told someone that your fake jewelery was really real? Nah. Did you ever watch The Adventures of Alex Mack? I’ve never even heard of that.

Who has the worst public restrooms? I avoid gas station restrooms unless I’m on a really long roadtrip and need to go. I also don’t go to the restrooms of fast food restaurants.

What did you use gel pens for? I mainly used those as a kid for decorative or doodling purposes. I never used them in school or for writing letters and such. 

On what pages of the yearbook are you on? I’m not sure about the pages, but my placement depended on year level at the time. Our yearbooks followed a format wherein graduating seniors were showed first, then the Grade 7 graduates, then the Prep graduates; then what followed was a quick line-up of class photos from the undergraduate batches.

Name a car that's made in the US. Ford is US-based, right? Let’s go with that.

What is Botox made from? It's short for Botulinum toxin, but I had to look up what it's actually made from. "A toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum," according to my brief Googling. < Okay, there you have it!

What country music star should be honored in the Hall of Fame? I’m not into country so I don’t have a good grasp of who the best singers/bands in the genre are.

Would you eat cat food for $500? If it was like a spoonful then yeah. But if I had to eat a full bowl of it, I’d pass. Who is the last person you smelled? Angela’s dad after he sprayed perfume on himself earlier.

Do you like going to the dentist? Sure, I’ve never had a problem with it.

Have you ever smelled a dairy farm? I don’t think so.

Name a song that got overplayed really fast. Waka Waka. Have you ever had an ultrasound? Nope.

Do you shop at Payless? I don’t.

What Friends character are you most like? Rachel.

When's the last time you had a popsicle? A few months ago.

[prettiestcowgirl]

I walked to the little Italian market down the street from my house to get gluten free pasta and homemade sauce for my best friend and I. I made chicken Parmesan from scratch; I breaded the chicken and hand grated the mozzarella. I also made a side salad with the kale from my garden, a little spring mix, and a handmade Italian dressing. We cleaned up together and then went to a party in the city. I was invited by the DJ because I cut his hair. I made him look like the Gallagher brothers.

I brought my friend some of my leftovers for her dinner and then we all drank and danced to the dj sets. I scored a Korean cigarette and a camel crush. I had two ciders. I had a bathroom meeting and multiple hugs. There were two bjorks at the party.

Before I left, one of my friends stopped me and said, “this whole house loves you, I told them you’re into music and they want you to come hang out and make stuff with them,” we then started to make plans to have a big dinner together. I thought the idea of a dinner was very coincidental; food has been the meeting place between me and my loved ones recently.

My childhood best friend stayed over the night before because she was fighting with her boyfriend; I made her roasted chicken with fried onions, herbed rice, and corn. She said that she’s been sad, that she hasn’t been eating, yet it was the best meal she’s had in awhile. She doesn’t know, but I think I’m going to start bringing her lunches to her job so she eats during the day.

My roommates and I bond over food. One night they lured me downstairs to eat chocolate covered strawberries and drink white wine and we ended up talking for awhile at the table. We decided to make plans to go see a movie together. We’re not very close, but we like to cross paths every so often.

Dad, i wish you could see me now. I feel like you had a part in it. The child pays for the sins of the father, but then you left earth and took all of my pains with you. I like to think my life unexpectedly flowering after you died had something to do with your spirit being released into the unknown.

I talked a lot about you today. You loved cooking. I thought of you while I salted and oiled my water for the spaghetti. I told my best friend about how you’d make pasta and sausages with peppers for dinner when I was in high school. You’d make us dip bread into the sauce while you cooked and we’d scoop up little plates of olive oil and rosemary as appetizers. You’d finish the night with a big bowl of fruit and we’d watch tv until we fell asleep. Sometimes I remember you so softly it strikes my body like a punch.

I miss you. I love you. I wish you could see how much I’ve changed in such a short amount of time. I drink more, which I think you’d like (lol), and I’m a lot more…expressive.

You always said that my older brother took your boldness, but I embodied the parts of you that were shy and nervous. You said that he talked and planned and dreamed out loud while I always stayed quiet and listened. I’ve been speaking up, dad, especially when I want something. I think a shard of you broke off inside of my heart somewhere. If you had to go so I could carry you with me in my manner, then thank you. I like who I am becoming. Thank you.

[withabackpackandcamera]

August 17th, 2023

Day 2: Exploring London's Neighborhoods

Brunch at Farm Girl in Notting Hill. Our brunch: Ripe Cherry Pancakes and Korean Kimchi Eggs.

Walked along Portobello Road and caught glimpses of the unique antique shops lined up along the road.

Trained over to SoHo area so that Cynthia could meet up with a friend. Meanwhile, while waiting for Cynthia, I roamed around the area and through the cute streets and alleyways until I found myself meandering into Regents Park. A massive park and area of greenery with open fields, gardens, statues, gates, and lots of shaded and unshaded places to sit.

Met up with Cynthia for lunch at a cute Italian restaurant called Circolo Popolare. Super snazzy and cozy inside with shelves of colorful bottles used as decor and hanging lights from the ceiling. For lunch, we shared a Calabrian Flame Pizza (San Marzano tomato, mozzarella fior di latte, spicy spianata, 'nduja and ricotta cream, paprika). Yum!

Walked into SoHo and to the Seven Dials Neighborhood. Met up with Minh and checked out Neal's Yard and Seven Dials Market and some stores and shops along the way.

Strolled through Seven Dials Neighborhood and Trafalgar Square and made our way to the House of MinaLima, a storefront for the design studio best known for its artistic influence on Harry Potter. Cool store with lots of their unique graphics and prints and books.

Walked ALL the way to a church Minh wanted to see on the other side of town that ended up not being the right church. Along the way, we stopped and looked around Covent Garden and its market and shopping mall.

Trained to briefly re-check out the most tourist-y area of town, Westminster, where we finally got to see Big Ben, all renovated and new looking with the scaffolding we saw last time, and Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. Hung out on the green lawn just behind Big Ben for a little, enjoying the views right before sunset.

The final stop of the night was dinner in Fulham. Trained To Fulham to meet up with my cousin Vi for dinner at her favorite local fish and chips restaurant, Fishers. We ordered some Butterfly King Prawns and two white-fish fish and chips plates. So yummy!

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

In the summer, spending time outside under the cool shade of a tree in a London public park seems to be the popular thing to do.

One should stand on the right side when not walking or running up or down the escalator to the subways and trains. On the other hand, there is no rhyme or reason to which side people choose to walk on when walking down sidewalks or streets. In crowded areas, it's totally random where people walk so be careful!

MinaLima is the design and graphics studio that helped bring Harry Potter to life. They designed a lot of the popular and iconic graphics associated with the Harry Potter franchise.

Back in the day, the Seven Dials neighborhood played an important role in commercial trade and commerce. There were many markets in this area and at that time, a lot of the buildings were used to store a bunch of imported tropical fruits and vegetables. The building in which Seven Dials Market sits used to house a bunch of bananas. Other storehouses in the area held cucumbers and pineapples among other things. Until this era of imported fruits at the beginning of the 1900s, British people only knew of apples, pears, and homegrown fruits.

London has a rich history and tradition of food markets. There are many many food markets around town. The oldest food market in London is Borough Market, dating back to 1014, and the newest food market is Seven Dials Market.