#they may be writing out Junho for a reason

[willievermakeithome]

I suppose if they’re aiming to get a season 2 … I guess I can vaguely understand *some* of the writing choices … unfortunately those writing choices might lead to me not watching season 2 …

[aquagustd]

Hi!!! as a response to the other anon who was saying something about how they wanted to see jk fold for oc just so sora can have the smirk wiped off her face… I honestly believe the whole reason she’s acting smug in front of oc at every opportunity in the first place is because she already knows oc has the ability to make him fold and not only that, it would be pretty easy for her to do it as well. And knowing this probably infuriates the shit out of her because in her mind she’s had to do so much shit and bend over backwards just to get jk to be hers, and even now he’s not really hers fully is he? Not with the conflicting feelings he has for oc now and the unresolved trauma between them both and the fact that oc and jk will always have special memories together, them being each other’s first love etc etc!! Idk if it’s really the case or not but her behaviour to me absolutely screams of overcompensation because she’s insecure about something. If she wasn’t she would have sat on the couch and ate the nachos like a normal human being instead of being like 💃🏼💃🏼💅🏽💁🏼‍♀️(this is her flipping her hair thinking anyone in the room actually gives a poop about her hickeys)

Also…. I have a theory/prediction that’s been weighing on my mind 🫣 I hope I’m remembering this correctly and I’m sorry if I’m not but I think you said that hie’s sequel will be about oc reconnecting with the person that she doesn’t end up with at the end of hie, and that it happens a few years after hie ends. and if that’s the case I honestly think it’s gotta be jk that she ends up with someway somehow IDK exactly how it would happen but knowing you I feel like you could write it and have it be 100% believable even though he’s incredibly frustrating and untrustworthy as a character right now!! The reason I think this is because if it were the other way around, and oc and tae end up together, that would mean jk would have to be out of touch with oc for the time period of years for them to be able to “reconnect” and I truly don’t see that happening with how involved they both want to be in junho’s life. Continuing to be a dad to junho inevitably means being in proximity to oc because there is no way oc would let jungkook take smiley and run off to somewhere for years I feel like hell would freeze over before she lets that happen and i also feel like jungkook despite abandoning junho once before would not by his own free will do it again. I think even though he’s not a very good partner he is genuinely trying to be a good dad. And with the way things are going in the story right now both oc and jk are trying to do what’s best for junho which is being as normal of a family unit as they can for his sake. Soooo idk IDK I may be way off the mark and you’re sitting here laughing at my theory because you have something completely different up your sleeve but I just wanted to get it out of my head and down somewhere!!

I really hope you don’t feel pressured or like I’m trying to squeeze any spoilers out of you j promise I’m not!! I just thought hmm that might be plausible and I wanted to share with you <3

everything you said about sora 👏🏻 she is insecure about something, & that something is the fact that she knows jungkook holds oc to a very high level and considering how sora & jk’s relationship started off, that’s gonna be sitting on her shoulders as long as oc is around. and she’s not gonna just sit and do nothing about it…that’s why she’s acting so smug, etc. deep down she knows she’ll never get 100% of jungkook. now the question is how deep does her hate run 🫣🥴

oof that’s a v good theory. tbh it can go either way with jungkook and taehyung. i don’t want to go into detail bc that would mean me spoiling the fic but jungkook can disappear. he did it before and he can do it again. we already know he leaves now and again. who’s to say he won’t leave for a prolonged period of time ?? he can keep in contact with junho but if he leaves, tae’s gonna be there & oc will have no reason to talk to jk unless it’s about junho, etc. so there is a possibility of jungkook leaving again & then reconnecting with oc after years.

also, your theory wasn’t bad at all !! no theory is a bad theory !! unless it strays too far from the plot 🥴 it is a v good theory. vv big brained and had me thinking and choosing my words carefully 🫣

[ghostie-galaxi]

Drippin x Reader | Villian AU

Do I have 6 things in my drafts right now? Yes. Do I care? No, I will get to them soon and if I don't write this thing right now than I'll loose all motivation 😌❤️

_______________

You stared out the window, letting your mind wander as you waited for your friend inside the small diner. He always had a tendency to be late to everything you did together, but it never really bothered you. It was never more than a few minutes anyways and it's not like you always had somewhere to be by a certain time so you let it slide. You knew him, ever since you both graduated high school he’s always been late. You didn't get to see him that often anymore anyways, so any opportunity you had to meet him, you always took the chance knowing he'd be a few minutes late. You both had your own lives now, with you in college and him working day and night, you both knew that you’d end up drifting a little bit apart due to your busy schedules. But you both made sure that you would always stay in touch, even if it meant contacting each other later down the road. You never really questioned why he was always late though, you just figured with his job he was always tired and would oversleep. Or any other usual reasons, losing track of time or forgetting about your plans until the last minute, whatever the reason may be.

The door chimed open, catching your attention as Junho walked in. He looked around for a moment before locking eyes with you and smiling. The same smile you’ve seen so many times already and would never get tired of seeing. You smiled back at him as he walked over and sat down across from you. "Sorry I'm late, I got distracted with something before I came." He laughed. "It's fine, I'm used to it by now. You've literally been late to everything since we graduated,” He laughed as he looked up to meet your eyes. There may or may not have been some other reason why you were so patient with him, and it definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that you've had a crush on him since you guys were kids. How could you not though? You've grown up together, you went to school with each other, you always shared your interests and achievements with each other, you were always there to have someone to lean on when you were going through something. He understood you and he was there to save and protect you from creepy men when you needed him or come pick you up from parties your other friends dragged you too. By now you were used to his antics, but you never said anything to him about your feelings. He has come to you talking about other girls he's met time and time again and they always end up hurting him. You were there to help him through it and you just figured that if he was into you, he would've told you by now. And now since both of you were busy with your own lives and hardly saw each other now, maybe your crush really was hopeless.

"I figured you would be. Still feel bad that this happens all the time now." He said locking your gaze with his, brushing it off. "It's fine, really. I get that you're busy now and probably have better things to be doing." You said, putting on a smile to hide your sadness. "Hey, don't say that. I always have time for my best friend. I might not always be on time, but I always look for any openings I have to come see you." He placed his hand on top of yours as he spoke, looking at you deeply. His hands was always so warm now, you never remember his hands being this warm, but you also weren’t complaining as it was comforting. You giggled at him again and looked down, avoiding eye contact. Hearing him say best friend for who knows what time hurt more than the last. But you brushed it off for now, just wanting to spend time with him. "You ready to order something? It's on me today, since I was late." He asked. You looked back up and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. What about you?" "I'll need a minute to look and then we'll order, ok?" "Sounds good to me!" You both sat in silence for a minute as he looked over the menu. You pulled out your phone, waiting and aimlessly scrolling through whatever social media.

He did strike up a bit of a conversation as he looked. He asked you about college and how you were doing, about what you were studying at the moment and if any of your professors pissed you off recently, anything about your life that he might have missed since then. You also asked how he was doing with work and how work was going. You also never really knew what he did. You would ask him and he would just say that he can’t really say because it was some government job that he couldn’t share details about. Only that he was always working long stressful hours and was taking any overtime opportunities he got. It did confuse you but you never wanted to get mad at him and demand answers, since you didn’t want to lose him. You already barely saw each other and you didn’t want to do anything to make him not talk to you for even longer just because of an argument so you never pried. You didn’t want to waste any precious time you had with him over an argument. After a few more minutes he decided what he wanted and called a waitress over. You both ordered and continued to talk about your lives as the waitress brought over your drinks. You continue to talk about your new stories from college and work. You gushed about something you learned recently in your class and got really excited that he was willing to listen to you. You really loved that about him, that you could just spend forever talking about the things you were both passionate about and you would both just support each other no matter what. Yeah, the work might have been stressful but that didn't stop you from enjoying the time you were spending studying something you loved. The waitress brought out your food and you both ate quietly. He playfully joked with you and you jabbed back at him for something as well. Your playful bickering went back and forth until he finally gave up and let you win. You rubbed it in his face until he said you were cute when got worked up. You tried to hide the blush creeping up on your face when he called you cute. He would occasionally playfully flirt with you like that and you loved and hated it equally. It always got your hopes up that somewhere within his words was a hidden message that he was trying to express his feelings for you, but then that next moment there wasn't any hint that he actually had romantic feelings for you. You at least liked the think that you're the only girl he would do that with, but there was no way you were the only one. He’s had to have done it to the other girls he’s liked too. You just wish he actually meant it towards you. The waitress came back to take your empty plates as you stacked them neatly and Junho handed her his card with a wink. That stung a little but you ignored it. Once she brought back his card you continued to talk together and sometime during the conversation, he placed his hand back on top of yours affectionately.

Sirens sounded off in the distance, pulling at your attention. You looked out the windows curiously to see large black police vans come barreling down the streets. Junho whipped his attention towards them before he swore and jumped up from his seat, taking hold of your hand and tearing through the kitchen doors. "Damn it!" There was no time for you to process what was happening as Junho dragged you through the kitchen and out the back door. "What's going on?!" You managed to say as your senses came back to you for a brief moment for you to say something. "No time, just stay close to me!" He didn't look back at you as he shouted. He slowed his pace for moment, your hand slipping from his as he ran through the alleyway. You were so confused and had no time to think. You ran after him through the twisted walls as adrenaline started to pump through you. You could feel your body shaking and your breaths were shallow. Through your blinded confusion though, you caught a glimpse of Junho pulling out some sort of radio and say something into it.

It wasn't long before you hit a dead end with nothing but a closed dumpster and a wall that you could potentially climb over. He stopped before turning to you. "Come here." He motioned to you. You walked closer to him when he suddenly grabbed you by the waist and lifted you on top of the closed lid. Your face was bright red at the sudden action but you couldn't stop and be surprised. You scooted back as he lifted himself on top of the dumpster as well. "Stand up." You shakily got up as he did the same thing again and set you on top of the wall, only he didn't follow. "Stay here until the others come to get you, I'm going to go slow them down." "What do you mean? What the hell's going on?" You were so rushed and confused that you couldn't help but shout at him shakily, your breath heaving. He turned back towards you, grabbing your hand tightly between both of his and looking you dead in the eye. "Look, a lot has happened since highschool, a lot of things I didn't want to tell you. I promise when this is all over I'll tell you everything, but for right now you have to run. I'd never be able to live with myself if you ever got hurt because of me," His usually goofy and lighthearted persona was gone and replaced with a different kind of seriousness you've never seen. On the other side of the wall, a large black van pulled up and one man quickly stepped out. You looked back towards Junho, eyes locking as he sensed your fear and confusion. "Go with them, they'll keep you safe, I promise. I'll see you soon." He told you gently.

Shouting could be heard from around the corner as Junho let go of your hand and ran off. You still had so much more to say but as soon as you saw the S.W.A.T. men round the corner your heart dropped. You panicked and jumped down to the other side roughly landing on your feet and falling forward onto your knees. The man that got out of the car was at your side in an instant, gently holding onto your shoulders making sure you were ok. You looked at him, taking in his sweet face as he helped you stand. His hand found yours as he tried to lead you toward the van, but you couldn’t help but hold back as you heard shouting. You whipped your head back up at the edge of the wall. There was no way Junho could fight armed gunmen hand to hand, what the hell was he thinking?! The man pulled gently on your arm, making you look at him. "What is he doing? He can’t fight them like that, he has no chance," You asked, your expression desperate. The man smiled gently at you, "He'll be fine, I promise." He said before quickly pulling you back towards the van once again. You could do nothing but accept his word as you let yourself be dragged towards the unmarked vehicle. He led you towards the open door and helped you inside. There were 4 other men sitting inside, plus the man driving. The boy infront of you couldn't have looked much younger than you as he slid over and held his hand out to you. You quickly took it despite any hesitation you had and sat next to him as the door shut. "You're Y/N, right?" He asked, looking at you and smiling while the other sat down. His other hand found your wrist as he held you protectively. "Yeah?" He paused before scoffing playfully. "Brace yourself. You don’t want to end up on the floor with him driving." You looked confused but still braced your feet against the floor, only to misjudge the force as the driver floored into reverse and backed out of the alley onto the open road, knocking you into the man beside you.

He put his arm around your shoulders, keeping you steady as he drove away. "I'm Alex, by the way. Junho has told us a lot about you. I know this might be strange but just trust us for now. Junho wouldn’t have left you with us if he didn’t think we could keep you safe." You looked up at him as he smiled. You seemed to calm down a bit as everything settled down for a moment and nodded towards him in acknowledgement. You sat up as he kept one arm around your waist to keep you from moving around too much. Your mind was still racing with questions. You spent a moment processing everything as the others talked amongst themselves. Your best friend, who you've known since you were kids, is being chased down by a police force, and has this group of people that are also most likely being hunted down. He damn well better explain to you what the hell is happening. You stared down at your hands, keeping to yourself as you eavesdropped on the conversation the others were having. It wasn't much other than them discussing what to do next and to head back to base, whatever that meant. They said that Junho would be fine and that he’d catch up to them later that afternoon. You hoped they were right. You still had no idea how they knew that. You’ve known Junho all his life and you really didn't think that his dramatic ass could handle having seven different guns pointed at him. But hey, guess they knew him better than you did. Some best friend he was.

"You doing ok?" Alex asked and you nodded. "Yeah, just need a minute." "Yeah, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Junho never told you anything?" You shook your head. "No, nothing. I have no idea what's happening or what he did to have S.W.A.T men after him." Alex laughed. "Makes sense, Junho told us he never wanted you involved in order to keep you safe, but he also doesn't want to lose you. He didn’t know how to tell you what was going on, figuring you wouldn’t believe him or would be scared and tell him to stop. Any time he went out he had to make sure no one saw him so he wasn’t followed and end up leading them to you." Well that explains why he was always late, and why you barely saw him anymore. "I'll let him explain to you what's going on, since that should be his job to tell you. But for now, I'll introduce you to the others since I’m assuming you’ll be sticking around for a while," He looked over to the man that walked you inside, "That's Minseo, over there is Hyeop," he gestured to the man with red streaked hair. "Then Changuk," the one with a stoic face, "Then Dongyun," light dirty blonde hair, "and Yunseong is at the wheel," Yunseong overheard his name and winked at you through the rear view mirror, bright blue hair framing his face. Your eyes widened in surprise as a blush dusted your cheeks. You wiped the sweat off your hands on your pants, taking in a deep breath. Even if now wasn’t the best time for questions, you couldn’t shake Junho from your mind. “How do you know he’ll be ok?” Alex turned towards you. “Who, Junho?” “Yes, Junho. That man has been scared by a butterfly landing on his arm, how is he supposed to take on multiple armed men?” Alex seemed conflicted on how to answer your question and turned towards the others. Dongyun was the one to speak up. “Ok look, something really big happened after he came to us after he graduated. Did he not tell you?” You grew frustrated with the amount of things they said you didn’t know about Junho that you ended up snapping at them. “No he didn’t tell me! I don’t know anything about what’s going on! I’ve known this man my entire life, what the hell did he not tell me?!” They grew silent after you spoke and you sighed, leaning back against the car seat defeated.

Something crashed against the van from the outside. Alex immediately pulled you closer to him protectively. Out of fear and reflex, you held onto him. He looked up and yelled at Yunseong. "What the hell was that?" You saw Yunseong turn the steering wheel violently to the right. "The hell do you think it was? There's a S.W.A.T. team trying to kill us!" The van took a sharp right turn. You braced your feet against the floor of the van as Alex held onto you. The adrenaline rush returned and you started shaking again. Alex sensed your fear as he placed his hand on the side of your head. "Don't worry, we're not going to let you get hurt. Junho will kill us if we do." He whispered. Yunseong steered the van sharply through the streets, occasionally getting rammed from the outside, making him lose direction. "I can't shake them, we're going to have to make a run for it. Make your way back to base and regroup there. One of you is going to have to take her with you." Yunseong looked back at you through the mirror. You felt your heart drop as he said that. There was no way you'd be able to keep up with them and you didn't exactly enjoy the idea of being chased by gunmen considering he did just say they were trying to KILL them. "Minseo, you have the best chance of keeping her safe with you. You can handle that, right?" Alex asked. You looked over at Minseo as he nodded. "Good, you all better be ready to move when I say. We don't have much of an opening." You mentally prepared yourself to run. You briefly saw Yunseong turn down another alleyway. Alex relaxed his arms around you as Yunseong neared what seemed to be a four way opening. The others moved towards the door in front of you and the back door. Alex motioned for you to head towards Minseo, who was already crouched by the door along with Hyeop, hand ready to open the door. "You're gonna go with him, ok? I get that you're frustrated and confused about everything right now but please just trust us for now and I promise you’ll get answers?" You looked back at Alex who gave you a reassuring glance. It didn't really help but you also didn't have a choice and just nodded in response. The van came to a screeching halt as you made eye contact with Minseo who gently took your hand from Alex.

"Now!" Yunseong shouted as the van recoiled from the sudden stop. In an instance, all three doors opened at once. Yunseong and Alex ran out the left door, Changuk and Dongyun out the back door, and you, Minseo, and Hyeop out the right door. You ran hand in hand with Minseo straight ahead as the others went their separate directions. Hyeop was on your left as you trailed behind Minseo. You neared the end of the alleyway and Minseo led you to the right. You both turned out onto the open street as Hyeop went the other direction, leaving you both. You continued running with Minseo down the street for some time, no hint of the gunmen following you. You swerved past the pedestrians walking until eventually Minseo slowed down, looking behind you both. "I think we're ok for now." He continued to walk quickly down the street, still looking back behind him. You did so as well, just in case. "We're headed toward that building," He pointed towards the tall federal building in front of you. "That’s where we’ve been meeting up for a while now. We have other locations outside the city but for more convenience we’ve been hiding a whole system under that building. I think Junho told you he worked for some government building, so I guess he wasn’t technically wrong." He told you. You winced a bit at the “not technically wrong” as if him still lying to you was ok. The temptation to ask questions and frustration overwhelmed you. "What are you guys even doing? What are you trying to achieve?" You didn't think he'd answer you, but we're surprised when he did. "It's hard to explain, but there was this group of scientists that engineered this strange power source for the government. We don't know what they planned to do with it but our organization protects this power source from them." He didn't look at you as he spoke, but he still spoke kindly. Which surprised you since you didn’t ask your question nicely making you feel bad for being rude. But then again they know you’re annoyed so maybe they understood. And that explains the S.W.A.T. force that’s after them. You continued to walk with Minseo, him occasionally looking behind you to make sure you're not being followed.

After some time of walking in silence, since you figured it'd be better to save your questions for Junho, he spoke up to you. "You doing ok? We're almost there, I know you must've been through a lot today." You looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." Were you though? What would happen after this? I mean, obviously you'd bother the shit out of Junho for an explanation, but surely no one would think you're involved in this too, right? You really weren’t going to be dragged into this, you had your own life and wishes you wanted to achieve, not be involved in some huge crime scheme. You still had all your college classes and your career ahead of you that you weren’t giving up on so easily. You were snapped out of your thoughts when Minseo looked behind you and quickly dragged you into the next alley way. Your fight or flight kicked in at the sudden change of pace and ran alongside Minseo once again. "They found us, we can't go into the building until they're gone." Minseo said to you quickly. You mentally rolled your eyes as you were once again running down foriegn alleys for a few minutes when suddenly you hit a dead end, with no way up or around. Minseo swore and turned back towards the armed men pacing towards you both.

However, they didn't get far until a huge swarm of crows surrounded them in a black haze. Your eyes widened as you stared at them. You couldn't believe the amount of birds that were coming in around the S.W.A.T. men. You could barely even see them anymore because of how thick the swarm was. You heard a giggle from Minseo and turned to see him looking up and smiling. You followed his gaze to see a stone faced Hyeop on top of the building, watching the swarm of birds. You watched as the men started running back around the corner, the birds chasing them away. Once they were gone, Minseo motioned something to Hyeop before leading you back around to the other exit of the alley way. Was Hyeop…controlling the birds? You already had enough with today, the last thing you wanted to hear was somehow all of them had their own inhuman powers. You could finally see the building right across the street but before you could get to the opening in the alleyway, more armed men appeared. You were about to run back another way when Minseo raised his hand in front of him. You held onto his hand as blue lightning struck the men in front of you, making them all collapse, unconscious. Your body froze from shock. You could hear yourself breathing heavily as you let go of Minseo’s hand. What the hell was that? No human alive should be able to do that and you were not sticking around to find out why they could do that. That could wait until another day. This better not have something to do with that power source he talked about because if scientists were able to create that, you were not being involved with what else they could do. Minseo reached for your hand to pull you out of the alley but you didn't budge. His hand slipped from yours as he turned back around to you. "Come on,we’re right here. You'll be safe-" "What the hell was that?!" You yelled, backing away from him as he reached for your hand again. It took a minute before he realized what happened, and a look of horror appeared on his face. "Look, we can explain-" "Fuck that, I'm not being apart of this! I’ve been through enough today for you to tell me all of you have powers! This can wait until another day, I’m done!" You ran past him and turned right onto the street. "(Y/N), wait!" He called after you, hearing his footsteps as he chased after you. You continued running through the crowd of people making sure to weave in different directions, hoping you would lose him.

After a few minutes you didn't hear him running after you anymore and you started walking home. You didn't know what the hell you were getting involved with but if Junho really wanted to explain things to you, he could come to you. And not bring an army with him. Literally. It was starting to get late as you spent a long walk back to your apartment, giving you time to think. Did all of them have some sort of power?! What was Junho's then? Your mind was still barely processing what happened at the diner let alone what has happened all day. It felt like hours since you got a moment of peace. Which I guess technically it has been since it was starting to get dark and you had been walking for at least an hour. The sun had set below the horizon, leaving nothing but the orange sky above you. You turned down the street that your apartment was on, happy to be almost home. However, the S.W.A.T. man in front of you had other ideas. You looked up and only saw his masked face as his gun was still across his chest. "You're coming with me, got it?" You panicked realizing the situation and ducked into the alley next to you. You slowly walked backwards as three more men followed you back into the alley. How the hell did they find you? You had no clue what to do, but as they raised their guns up to you, you really realized you were actually in danger. You could feel the tears prick the corners of your eyes as you continued to walk backwards until your back hit the wall. You could barely make out your surroundings as the silhouettes of the men stopped in front of you, ready to shoot. "You can either come with us quietly or we will open fire, you hear me?" You were too frozen with fear to do anything except slide down the wall of the alley. Your chest heaved up and down as a single tear started to fall down your cheek, your body once again beginning to panic and tremble. "Alright well, you made your choice." You barely had a second to react as your heart sank and they opened fire. You held your arms to your face as you let out a forced squeak of fear. But after a minute you realized nothing hit you. You carefully looked up to see all the bullets floating in mid air around you. The continued firing stopped, as they realized nothing was hitting you. You looked up surprised at how many there were when a figure caught the corner of your eye. On top of the building you could barely make out Changuk’s face staring blankly at you.

Right as you saw him, a flaming ball jumped down from beside him, and hit the ground in front of you like a meteor. You covered your face again for a moment, the bullets dropping in front of you, before seeing a man through the flames in front of you. As they disappeared you saw the back of Junho's head. The gunmen readied their weapons once again, ready to shoot at him. Before they did anything, you heard Junho's voice. "Cover your eyes, I don't want you to see this." His head was turned slightly back towards you, voice cold and serious as you did what you were told. You covered your eyes with your arm again as a bright flash of light surrounded you. All you heard was screaming and the roaring of fire for a few minutes before everything became dark. You looked back to see Junho crouched on the ground before standing up. He turned around and started walking back towards you, face cold as he stared at you. You grew nervous before his expression melted into a softer, more concerning look. He stood in front of you before crouching down and reaching his hand out to you. He paused before speaking.

"Come with me, I'll explain everything to you."

[chocafe]

— eunsang as your boyfriend

pairing: boyfriend!eunsang x reader a/n: requested + the way i would steal all of the stars in the night sky just so i can give it to eunsang... That’s My Son Right There

eunsang is such a sweet little baby ♡___♡

he would do absolutely ANYTHING for you

when you’re having trouble sleeping, he would sing you lullabies through the phone

when your shoes get uncomfortable, he would offer to let you wear his shoes or make you get on his back, so he could give you a piggyback ride

when you’re having a difficult time finishing up your homework, he would offer to do it all for you

“is it too difficult?” eunsang softly says, hovering behind you. “i can finish up the remaining questions, so you could go ahead and rest.”

“eunsang, it’s psychology… you won’t be able to understand it because you’ve never taken a psychology class before.”

“then i guess i’ll learn today just so i can help you.”

adding onto this statement─

it doesn’t matter what it is

you can tell eunsang to do utterly anything for you and he wouldn’t even hesitate to do so

“can you get me a cup of water?”

“okay”

“can you make me ramen?”

“okay”

“can you catch all of the stars in the universe for me?”

“okay”

sends you good morning and good night text message everyday

even though you tell him that it’s not necessary, he still continues this little tradition of his

[txt] eunsang: good morning, my love! 

[txt] eunsang: o wait i forgot you wanted me to stop

[txt] eunsang: WELL i still hope you have an amazing day today and don’t forget to call me in the afternoon!!! ^___^

instead of taking notes in class, eunsang constantly writes your name all over his notebook as his teacher lectures everyone in the background

however, when he feels as if someone is remotely watching him

he would then flip the page to cover up his endless amount of “eunsang ♡ y/n” (and then he would continue to write your name all over the next clear page he has available)

as talked about before, if he isn’t singing to you through the phone then he’d be the first one to fall asleep

you both are those cheesy couples who fall asleep on facetime and end up waking up 8 hours later

only to find out that you guys are still on facetime

he wants to own aLL OF THE COUPLE ITEMS IN THE WORLD

but you’re not as in love with couple items compared to eunsang

due to this, you both only share a couple ring and a couple phone case

“i found matching shirts! one for me and one for you! what do you think?” eunsang dashes over to you like a little puppy

“maybe next time.” you scratch the back of your neck as you watch eunsang’s bright eyes slowly grow dull. “we already bought matching rings just a few weeks ago. i don’t think we need anymore couple items…”

“i mean, i am your boyfriend, right? we’re supposed to have items like these, so everyone could know that we’re dating!” he begins to walk to the cashier, disregarding your previous statement

eunsang = an angel sent from above

i swear???

he sends you pictures of everyday things such as what he’s eating for dinner, cute stray cats, flowers he comes across when he’s out for a walk, the hazy pink sky and much more!

when he sends you cute photos, he’d just send a single text saying “you”

indicating that you’re just as cute (and maybe 100% cuter) as the photo he sent

[txt] eunsang: look at these sunflowers! :-)

[txt] eunsang: for some reason, these flowers just made me think of you

[txt] you: does this mean i’m always running through your mind?? hehe jk

[txt] eunsang: you’re absolutely correct…

when i say eunsang is a loyal boyfriend 

I MEAN IT

he only has his eyes on you and doesn’t dare to bat an eye at any other person

when you both first started dating, he ignored anyone (and everyone) who remotely showed any type of feelings towards him

junho: why didn’t you text me back for the past week?

eunsang: well… as you may know… i’m dating y/n now so…

junho: and? tf do you think i like you? i literally don’t care i’m just trying to get my phone charger i let you borrow the last time we hung out

eunsang: oh yeah when do you want it back

he’s always so concerned for you ! ! !

when he sees that you’re acting differently than usual

he would pull you to the side and ask you if everything is alright

he’s always there to listen to your worries :’(

has a hard time saying “i love you”

it’s not because he *~*doesn’t*~* love you, but it’s because he could sometimes get shy when it comes to such a meaningful word like this

“i love you” is such a big word to him, so he’s saving these three words for a special occasion

don’t worry he’s saving these words just for you and only for you

instead of saying “i love you”

he sticks to saying “i reeeeaaalllyyy like you”

trying his best to emphasize on the “really” part, so you can understand what he exactly means

it basically means “hey i actually love you but im too much of a scaredy cat to say it out loud so pls understand me when i say i reallllyyy like u bc it means i love u and if u didnt already get the hint well i love u”

eunsang easily becomes timid when it comes to skinship, so please bare with him!

when the two of you kiss, it’s usually short, but is very sweet and soft at the same time <3

sometimes, he chuckles in between kisses and this causes you to also laugh in return as eunsang clutches onto your hand even tighter than before

he loves it when you kiss his cheeks

and one of his favorite places to kiss you at is on your forehead!

when you’re having a rough day, eunsang would push your hair away from your face and lightly kiss your forehead

reassuring you that everything will be alright and that he’ll always be besides you to overcome these rough days of yours

[sweetdejun]

coterie: the poker chip (1/2)

gang!x1 x fem!reader

synopsis: you’re an ordinary girl, with an ordinary life. but what happens when you catch the gang that is famous for keeping their deeds under the table, in action?

coterie’s masterlist can be found here

pairing: cha junho and y/n

a/n: mentions of violence and cursing, so proceed with caution.

you held the poker chip out in front of everyone, making sure each of them could see it. before anyone says anything, you’re determined to figure out whose this is; there’s a guy who shows a defeated reaction, muttering something to the guy next to him. that guy’s face remains unchanged. you rule him out too, there’s no way this is his. there are a few of the guys who show relieved looks on their faces, and you rule them out too. who is it? seungwoo clears his throat, “it seems like you’ve picked junho, y/n. junho, go ahead and brief her. the rest of you, come with me, I’ve your assignments. junho, I’ll contact you later for yours.” and all but one of the boys follow seungwoo out of the room. the one you ruled out early on turned out to be the owner of the poker chip. he approached you, with the same blank look on his face and reached out his hand to introduce himself. you shook his hand with a confused look in your eyes. he seemed to notice, and he started, “you must be thinking why I didn’t react when you chose my object. come with me, I’ll explain it to you.” and he turned on his heel, before heading towards one of the many corners of the mansion. you followed him step after step, and he began to speak. his voice was low so in order to hear him clearer, you caught up to him, now walking side by side with junho. “first and foremost, I’m cha junho. I’m twenty years old, I have been a part of x1 for roughly three years now, but I’ve been in the business since I could walk.” you go down a hallway that gradually gets darker; are the lights dimming, or is there an overall absence of light from this area? it sure as shit can’t be that they can’t afford electricity. junho continues walking, and your pace starts to slow until finally, he comes to a stop. “what business, you’re probably thinking, right?” he says, and digs in his pocket, fishing out a key and sticks it in what you can assume is a keyhole (not that you could see much). “was it hand-reading, or were you a psychic?” you sarcastically answer him, and he stays silent before answering, “I’m not sure what you meant.” inhaling sharply, you tell him that it was a joke, and you explained that the joke was that he was saying all the things you were thinking aloud like he knew what was going on in your head. now that you had to explain yourself, the joke lost some of its humor which made you furrow your eyebrows. “ah, I understand now. please know that I don’t really get sarcasm, so if you use it with me, I’ll probably have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m very straightforward.” wow, this is the guy you were stuck with? a breathing machine? your luck is fantastic. “I should be a bit clear about what I do,” he started and opened a door, before getting to the side. “after you.” you step into the dark room before a light flicks on. this reveals a myriad of different weapons along a huge wall, and in front of it is a table that holds multiple weapons as well. “holy shit. what- what is all this?” you breathe out, your eyes wide with surprise. “this is the business.”

you turn back around, and leaning against the doorframe is junho, with a revolver spinning on his finger. once he notices your gaze, it comes to a halt perfectly, and he lifts the gun in front of his face, before finally flitting his gaze over to you. “I chose the poker chip because like the card game poker if you bluff enough, you can win. in other words, if you keep your face blank enough, you can win.” you carefully lean against the table, making sure none of the numbers of blades are near you before you shift your focus back on junho. “I don’t understand.” junho puts the revolver back on its place, then he starts, “my job in this team is to kill. I’ve killed many people, and almost every time, I’ve gone unnoticed. I’ll do the job and disappear. that’s how I’ll get away with it and the reason why I get away with it is because I keep a poker face. even if I miss one little thing, I’m off the hook because they say, ‘he doesn’t look like he did it.’” your gaze freezes in fear because you wouldn’t put two and two together; even if he didn’t tell you any of this, you would have never guessed he was a killer. “do you remember the death of that one big business guy a few months back? the one who owned that building in the city? well, he asked us to borrow some of our weapons, and he ended up trying to sell them to a third party who just so happened to contact us.” junho starts, and the image is blurry in your head but you remember it. it was huge and all over the news that they never found the killer, and then your eyebrows rise in realization. “was that you?” and he nods. you let out a noise of astonishment. that just means one thing: he is great at his job. so you tell him that. “wow, you’re really good at it, then. I wouldn’t have even dreamed that you, uh... do what you do, let alone being the face of the nation’s most memorable assassinations.” and you see the first instant of emotion on junho’s face when he gives you a weak smile at that. “thank you for the compliment. it seems very bad, but I promise, I only kill the bad guys. and that too, after I get the background check and face details from dongpyo and wooseok.” your attention goes to the weapons neatly lined up on the wall, and you’ve watched movies and tv, but you’ve never seen weapons like these before. retractable blades and god knows what, your eyes wandered in wonder and you breathed out, “wow, how do you get access to these weapons?” junho shrugged, moving to stand next to you and mumbles, “well, we have our...source, who’s in charge of making the weapons for us, and by ‘us’, I mean eunsang and me, since we deal more with the violent stuff. of course, you could easily read emotions across his face, which is why seungwoo hyung assigned this position to me.” and as your eyes scan the intricate details on said weapons, and the small x1 emblem twinkles under the lights on the ceiling.

“y/n, I have an important question for you,” and you turn towards junho and urge him to continue. “well, you’ve chosen me to work with. and now you’re also aware of what I do. what do you think you’ll be able to assist me with?” you completely forgot about it for a minute. you couldn’t possibly come up with what exactly you’d do if you worked for junho, besides... helping him with the killings. “I’m not entirely sure what there is for me to do, besides, uh, killing. but I don’t think I’m comfortable with that yet.” junho sighed understandingly, then started, “I won’t do that to you yet. hmm, let me think.” just then, junho received a notification from his phone, diverting his attention from you momentarily. “it’s from seungwoo hyung, he’s calling me to his office. you stay here, it shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes. feel free to look around, just don’t touch anything, as you may injure yourself. I will leave you to it, then.” and he stepped out, leaving you in this...chamber of weapons. what would you do, exactly? you’re sure there is more to this job than killing. the research, the disguise, but that stuff’s taken care of by wooseok and dongpyo, but maybe you could help them with that. or maybe you could be like a... secretary. no, that doesn’t fit with his job. “what the fuck am I gonna do here...” you mumble aloud, and you huff and sit on the ground, which seems to be the only safe space where you could trust yourself to sit. just then, junho opened the door and found you on the floor, your eyes focused on a corner, in thought. then it hits you; who is there to make sure things are going well, and junho goes unnoticed? junho makes sure of it to some extent, you’re sure, but what if you helped him out with that. “junho, I think I have an idea. what if I’m like your guide, or something? like I’ll tell you about your surroundings and I’ll help you run through things smoothly, overall. I don’t trust myself with a weapon yet, as you may have noticed.” and junho stands still, eyes blinking at a constant speed. the air in the room remains quiet and awkward, before he breaths out, “that sounds like a good idea. I guess it makes things a bit easier for me, too. I’ll be able to focus on the job at hand instead of having to worry about what’s going on around me.” you stand up, and your eyebrows go up and junho blinks back at you robotically. “so, does that sound good?” junho nods and says, “we start prepping for our next mission tomorrow, so please be awake by 7 in the morning. I will see you soon, y/n.” and you leave the weapon room and head to yours, excited for what awaits you the next morning.

a/n: ahhhhh there we have it! sorry it took so long, everyone! a LOT has happened over the past few weeks; I was out of town, then x1 disbanded, then I had some personal problems going on and then classes started back up so there was really no way for me to send this out sooner, so thanks for being patient with me! nevertheless, I hope everyone enjoys it, and it’s good to be back on the writing scene!

[vixxiedust]

The Scholar’s Love Ch. 2

Genre: Romance, Drama, Alternate universe

Pairing: KenxOC

Warning: none

Summary:    

“You seem pretty passionate about politics, my lady,” Prince Jaehwan broke the silence.

“It has always been my dream to be an official, Your Highness,” I nodded.

“You can call me by my name when it`s only the two of us,” he smirked when I gave him a blank confused look, “After all didn`t have an unspoken agreement to get married?”

part one

Two. 

Which of the princes was he exactly? It couldn`t be Jongsu because he was only fourteen which meant that he was either Junho, the Crown Prince, or Jaehwan, the second Prince. I bit the end of my brush and chewed on it.

He promised that he`d come again but he never did. I knew that it was stupid of me to want to see him again yet I found myself waiting for his return. I tried to reason with myself that it was probably because it was my very first encounter with a man, so it felt new and exciting.

“Congratulations,” Adra interrupted my inner dilemma.

“On what?”

She sat on the cushion next to mine.

“On your essay, of course,” she placed her head on my shoulder and let out a deep sigh, “Why are you so talented?”

I chuckled. It was true that our teacher praised me for my last essay and he was not a man who`d speak empty words. But before I received the slightest of compliments, I`d get scolded daily. But recently I had gotten better both when it came to writing and debates. The amount of books piled on my desk along with the hundreds of burned candles were finally bearing fruit.

“You don`t seem to enjoy it here very much,” I said softly stroking her hair as if she was my younger sister, “Why didn`t you apply for a lady-in-waiting?”

“I mustn`t disappoint Father,” Adra whispered.

“Yes, we mustn`t disappoint Father,” I repeated automatically.

“Lady Nala,” I heard a boy calling me and when I raised my head I saw my teacher`s servant, “My master wants to see you.”

I nodded quickly but my heart sunk. I exchanged a quick glance with Adra and followed the boy.

What would teacher want with me? Did I not perform satisfactory? I strived with everything I could to be one of the best students in our group and it wasn`t easy. We were daughters and sons of scholars after all. All of us had had access to the best tutors. We came prepared to the Palace.

My teacher`s study was almost dark despite today being a lovely sunny day. He usually kept the curtains drawn. The aroma of calming incense hit my nose upon entering.

He was standing by his desk idly practicing calligraphy. He often said to us that nothing much was left for him to do since he was in the fall of his life. But we saw him working tirelessly despite the casual façade he`d put on.

I bowed.

“Master”

“You still have a lot to learn,” my heart sunk by the way he acknowledged my presence and I mentally prepared myself to be scolded, ”You are showing some advancement, of course, but far from perfect.”

“Yes, Master,” I replied as humbly as I could and stared at the tips of my shoes.

“Your father is a great scholar, so I believe you are not completely hopeless. In fact you`re less hopeless than many of my pupils,” he continues while his brush painted with beautiful steady strokes.

I inhaled the incense hoping to help me soothe my nerves.

“It`s my fortune to be your student, Master.”

He groaned and a drop of ink fell on top of his creation.

“You talk too much. I lost my concentration because of you.”

I bowed deeply sensing my impending doom. Teacher sighed and sat on his chair.

“Anyway, Minister Ha is sick. The weather has been so horrid lately and he has cold. He won`t be able to come to the Palace for the time being and the Imperial Doctor advised him that he should stay in bed.”

I blinked a couple of times. What had Minister Ha`s illness had to do with me? He was a powerful politician and I was a mere student of his friend.

“He needs someone to do the writing for him. Someone who can come to his manor daily,” teacher looked at me and I finally understood.

“Thank you, Master,” I bowed a couple of times, ready to shed a few tears of joy.

Writing instead of someone else was a simple task anyone could do. Any of his students could do it but teacher wanted me to meet influential people in court. He was taking care of my future.

“Don`t thank me,” he interrupted my erratic and excited mumbling, “Your writing is like a child`s and I hope your don`t embarrass me in front of him.”

“I will never to something like this on purpose,” I quickly tried to reassure him, “I will  do my best to uphold the prestige of our institu..”

“Alright, alright!” he waved dismissively but I knew that he wasn`t really annoyed with me, “Go away already and prepare yourself.”

It was stupid but I felt some tears of gratitude threatening to burst from my eyes. I brushed them quickly.

“Thank you, Master, I will not disappoint you.”

And before he could nag me again, I turned on my heel and ran outside.

---  

“That would be all,” Minister Ha said and managed to stand help from a maid.

I curtsied and started picking up my brushes.

“I should be heading to bed now,” he added quietly, his voice quite raspy from all the talking.

“Take care of your health,” I bowed again.

He didn`t go much further since a servant announced someone`s arrival. I heard Minister Ha coughing and instructing him to welcome the guest.

I quickly wrapped my used brushes in a thick cloth and put them in their box. I was so excited when this morning I was presented with a badge which allowed me to exit the Palace. For the first time in months I felt important and it lasted until I stood before the minister. He was an imposing man of forty and even sick and pale he still acted with so much authority that I didn`t dare to say anything except answer his occasional questions.

I tucked the box in my bag and took the time to straighten the crinkles of my dress because I didn`t want to embarrass myself in front of Minister Ha`s guest. I wasn`t allowed to wear my uniform outside the Palace so instead I opted for one of my own dresses. It was a simple light green one that I hoped made me look trustworthy and serious.

I was about to made my exit when I heard the visitor`s voice and it made me stop abruptly behind the bead curtain which divided the study and inner hall. It sounded familiar and I couldn`t remember where I had heard it exactly but it made my heart beat a lot faster than usual.

I peeked carefully and saw him. The Prince.

He was sitting there, smiling at the Minister and discussing the current problem that plagued the government – the flood in the Eastern region.  

I quickly took a step back and hid behind a decorative screen. I never expected to see him again. Too much time had passed since that afternoon in the library and it was evident that he had just flirted with me out of boredom and then quickly forgot about it. I, on the other hand, notoriously famous for not caring about love and romance, couldn`t do it. I felt my cheeks burning with shame.

I contemplated on the thought of remaining hidden there until he left but the Minister knew that I was still in his study. It would be awfully impolite not to leave.

Just take your own advice and be brave, you wretched girl. All you have to do is be polite and exit gracefully.

I took a deep breath and entered the inner hall with a steady moderately fast pace.

“Minister Ha, I bid you farewell,” I bowed, keeping my head down.

“Since you are training to be an official,” his voice rang in my ears painfully before I could even attempt to exit, “Please give us your opinion of the flood situation. Let us see if it coincides with Prince Jaehwan`s.”

I raised my head just a tiny bit and risked a quick glance towards the young man. Prince Jaehwan. This means he was the second in line.

I fell on my knees and made an unnecessarily formal bow.

“Forgive me for not greeting you before, Your Highness,” I croaked because my mouth suddenly went dry.

“Please, stand,” he said and I rose shakily.

The Prince looked amused and pleasantly surprised. His full soft lips were curved in a subtle smile. At least he remembered me. It didn`t, however, erase the fact that he just used me to waste some of his free time.

“The flood,” Minister Ha reminded and I stopped staring like an idiot, “In your opinion how is Crown Prince handling the situation?”

That was a tricky question. Crown Prince was entrusted with this task from the King. I couldn`t afford to criticize him severely especially in front of his brother. Be brave. You`ve done this many times before in the classroom with the other students. It`s no different now.

“His Highness has acted in timely fashion,” I said carefully, ”But building the dams takes time and resources the Eastern region doesn`t really have. I would suggest relocating man power from the Southern province.”

“King Samsa is waiting to attack us and weakening the South is not a good idea,” Prince Jaehwan objected, “They can only provide food for the hungry families. But keeping enough men at our borders is crucial for long-lasting peace.”

“The faster the Eastern region recovers, the quicker it will start producing weapons for our army. I believe that His Majesty hasn`t forgotten that our iron mines are there.”

“I haven`t, of course, but I`d rather transfer men from elsewhere or slow down the building process than leave our borders unprotected.”

“Potential war conflict is not worth an internal one and the citizen are suffering,” I was speaking louder and more confidently now.

“So you`re saying that my brother isn`t doing his job properly and the common people are paying the price?” Prince Jaehwan raised an eyebrow, a devilish smile plastered on his lips.

For a moment I had forgotten who I was speaking to. I bowed hastily.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, I am young and ignorant still,” I spewed the words trying to sound as humble as possible, “I am in no place to criticize your brother. May the gods punish me for this.”

He tried to suppress his laughter and I felt like an idiot. Minister Ha also seemed to take our discussion as entertainment.

“On account of your youth and ignorance, I forgive you,” Prince Jaehwan said barely trying to conceal his smile.

I hated him vehemently in this very moment. He was sitting casually, in his luxurious robes, being handsome and of royal blood and I was standing before him and patiently enduring everything while he was making a fool out of me in front of Minister Ha.

“Please allow me to take my leave,” I cleared my throat, “I have work waiting for me in the library.”

“Go. You did well today,” Minister Ha dismissed me with a gesture.

Relieved I curtsied first to the Prince and then to him and quickly made my exit.

The cool spring wind hit my face and I instantly felt relieved. As bad as it was, it was over now and could go back to the Palace and enjoy some quiet time with my books. I wasn`t a person of importance now but later when I became a real official I could face the royals without any fear and they`d take my words seriously.

I reached the front gate of the manor and as I was about to step out, I heard someone calling me. It was Prince Jaehwan. I sighed mentally stopped so that he can come to me.

“Your Highness?”

“Miss Nala,” he gave me the most charming innocent smile, ”Allow me to escort you to the Palace.”

I took a sharp breath. On one hand I was flattered since I never told him my personal name which meant that he had been asking around but on the other, I didn`t want him to take advantage of me anymore.

“I am not worthy,” I said bowing.

He lightly touched the sides of my arms helping me up.

“Miss Nala, you bow and apologize too much. Or at least ever since you found out who I really am,”  he stated.

“I am your subject. I ought to pay my respects.”

The corner of his lips curved in a smile but he didn`t seem happy. He nodded.

“It`s dangerous for a noble lady to walk alone. I`ll escort you.”

I couldn`t say no to him anyway but part of me was happy that we were about to spend some time together.

The main street was bustling with life and everyone was trying to make the most of the nice weather: street vendors, mothers with children, beggars, young men gambling… The occasional smell of food reached my nose whenever we passed by a food stall.

I hadn`t had much chance to stroll outside ever since grew old enough  to be considered a woman, and now was my time to enjoy this tiny bit of freedom. It felt strange to have a man by side though. No one knew that weren`t married, of course, or siblings, but the thought of us walking together openly made my face hot.

“You seem pretty passionate about politics, my lady,” Prince Jaehwan broke the silence.

“It has always been my dream to be an official, Your Highness,” I nodded.

“You can call me by my name when it`s only the two of us,” he smirked when I gave him a blank confused look, “After all didn`t have an unspoken agreement to get married?”

“Your Highness, I don`t think that promises are your strong point,” I objected, “You also promised that you`d come and see me again. I do not recall you visiting me.”

“Ah, so you`ve been waiting for me, Miss Nala?”

I said nothing. His hand brushed against mine as we were walking and I felt something. A spark, a spark which triggered an entire storm in my body. I was pretty sure that he felt it too. This gentle accidental touch changed rapidly the atmosphere between us.

“You don`t want to answer, I see,” Prince Jaehwan whispered smugly.

His finger touched my hand again but this time it wasn`t an accident.  He gently traced a couple of circles over my knuckles. I sneaked a glance and he was so focused on it that he nearly bumped into someone.

“I imagine you`re too busy, Your Highness,” I withdrew my hand and he returned his gaze to me.

“It`s true, I`m busy,” the prince admitted. “I have to assist my brother and my father because Jongsu is still young. That`s why certain promises slip from my mind from time to time.”

I nodded silently. Honestly, I didn`t expect him to start caring genuinely about me. We both had our own destinies anyway. And to add to that my father was only a third rank official, not even remotely enough for me to deserve a prince.

“That, however will change today!” he suddenly proclaimed and grabbed my hand, “From now on I will visit my lady pretty regularly.”

“Your Highness!” I pulled my hand in horror.

“Ugh, no… not Your Highness! Jaehwan, simply Jaehwan,” he whined.

“People are watching, Your Highness!” I cut him off, “You can`t touch me in public.”

“In private then?” he grinned.

“Anywhere.”

He stopped and gave me a thoughtful look.

“Yes, I know. Propriety is important, of course, but I have decided to be very serious about you.”

He sounded genuine but I knew he couldn`t be. Such marriage would never be allowed and I`d never risk losing my position as an official to become someone`s wife.

“Please, don`t joke around,” I managed calm myself down at last, “I`m honored to have attracted   your attention and it`s enough for me.”

“You sound so formal again and I just want us to be friends,” he moaned, “In fact I think it`s necessary to give you a token of my affection.”

The prince gently caught me by the sleeve and led me to a stall with lots of different trinkets.

“Choose whatever you like,” he smiled at me.

I scanned the jewelry and shook my head.

“It`s not necessary.”

But he was already browsing around the different bracelets.

“Is this jasper?” he asked the vendor holding a reddish brown one.

“Yes. You have such a good eye, mister,” the man said in a well-rehearsed voice, “It will suit your wife so much.”

“Right?” Prince Jaehwan exclaimed happily, “My wife will look splendid in it!”

I rolled my eyes.

“Your wife doesn`t need a bracelet because she doesn`t wear jewelry. And she is going home.”

I left him at the stall and started walking.

“Hey, hey! Wait for me! You can`t leave without me,” I heard him shouting.

I saw him hastily shoving some coins in the vendor’s hand.

“Catch me then,” I yelled and ran towards the Palace.

---

It was raining quietly outside and I was so close to dosing off but there were books waiting to be catalogued. Adra and I also had to transcribe a couple of books that our teacher needed so both of us were lacking sleep.

I stretched in my chair. The library was almost empty today except for a few scholars who had a quiet discussion in the corner.

I yawned discreetly and headed towards the door. If I was lucky enough I could catch a passing maid to ask for some tea. It took me some time and wandering around but eventually I saw a young woman dressed in brown. She quickly curtsied upon my request and ran down the corridor towards the kitchens.

I rubbed my temples and returned went back to the library. I had to finish things as fast as possible here because I needed sleep. I couldn`t present myself in this state in front of Minister Ha tomorrow.

I sat on my chair with a deep sigh. There was something left on the sheet that I was currently transcribing. A jasper bracelet. I touched it and strangely enough it didn`t feel cold. Someone had been holding it until a moment ago. Probably the Prince or at least I was hoping that it was him.

I looked around and he wasn`t in sight but his gift still brought a smile on my face. This time he didn`t about forget me and it was all that mattered.

[aquagustd]

oc is so strong!! to some, she’s annoying but to me she’s admirable. she’s written so realistically, in the sense that yes sometimes she may fold easily and give up but other times she does stand her ground. having an oc who is continuously strong willed is good for the confidence of the reader but there should always be room for emotions to break free and allow oc to be hurt bc that’s how humans are. her reactions to everything jk has done has been perfect, we can’t expect for them to have a good relationship when jk has shown HIGH levels of disrespect but i think oc is doing a good job of not letting him get to her. in all honesty i like oc and taehyung together bc she has been giving love to others for so long and i think taehyung can be the one to give love to her. the idea of jk and oc getting together seems so out of reach due to the lack of trust oc has towards him and for good reason too!!! BUT, if they do end up together i hope they’re both allowed to fully heal beforehand.

tldr : I LOVE OC🥹

exactly !! she doesn’t always say the right things. she makes bad decisions (as yoongi said) & she’s far from perfect. i try to incorporate that in my writing, like you said she’s written realistically, her reactions are realistic. most fanfics write a perfect y/n & i respect that. but imo i prefer a flawed y/n, that’s what makes it interesting. i also wrote here how i dislike dialogue that’s too perfect.

she might be frustrating at times; but that’s because she makes mistakes 🥲 as the story goes on we’re witness her grow as a person, along with junho. she’s been thrusted in a very difficult situation with jungkook returning, everything that happened at junho’s school, etc + dealing with life in general ?? she’s still learning how to cope.

tysm 🥺 i love her too

[miscellaneous-oxy]

rambling: wok of love, ep1-8

Here’s the thing.  I have just finished watching the 8th episode for the second time, and I am so pleased and excited in terms of the plot development but totally distracted by Seo Poong’s sexiness – he looked so good, excessively good in that black shirt: I’m confused.  So, I’m just going to ramble tonight.  Yes, this is my excuse for being rather aggressive in this post.  Please beware.  This might be unsettling and even displeasing to some, but I just have to let it out for the peace of my mind.  Before watching tonight’s episodes, and reading some of the reactions to them, I was planning on posting a follow-up to my SP analysis, but now it seems impossible for me to be as efficient and persuasive as I aim to be.  I guess I need to set it aside for a bit till I’m calmer.

I had been a bit concerned about the delay in the development of love line between SP and SW because so many people seemed to have been shipping CS and SW already from the beginning – no, actually, they were doing it even before the drama started.  I was also wondering why some people are so willing to dismiss all signs of SP’s characterisation and consequently choosing to believe that the OTP is (or should be) the CS-SW pair, as if SP did not deserve SW.  (By the way, believe it or not, I myself is actually open on this matter.  I don’t mind whichever or no character is chosen by SW in the end, as long as the character developments through the love lines are substantial and her final choice a valid one.  Furthermore, to be honest, I must admit I would most likely find the SP-CS pairing at the end of the story more amusing.)  

I’ve read online more than a couple of viewers complaining the non-likability of SP’s character, mainly because of his arrogance.  Some of them don’t even forget to add that another actor would be likable in whatever kind of character he may be playing, however arrogant, implying that Junho could be the one to blame for making the character unlikable. (Absurd!)  First of all, as it happens, and I’m sure everybody who has watched more than a couple of dramas or read a dozen stories is perfectly aware, that the leading character is often supposed to be arrogant at the beginning, for that gives him the necessary room for improvement.  Second, and this is essentially my point that I have been discussing in my previous post, SP’s show of arrogance is otherwise a manifestation of his vulnerability: His arrogance is even given a premise for the viewers to be sympathetic towards him.  He needs to be arrogant to keep on going with his life: Arrogance is his armour.  It’s his way of dealing with his crushed identity.  Indeed, it may be an immature course to take, but that’s the very reason he needs to grow up in the story.  Having his self-esteem brutally impaired by SDH, he needed to find something he can hold on to. When he felt his whole being – his past, his present profession, and his future plan – totally denied, he had nothing left but what he can do – to cook delicious dishes.  He needs to feel accepted in the world again, and the only place where he could get the recognition and appreciation that he needed had been The Finishing Touch.  The vulnerability in his eyes is the key to understand this character.  Once you see his weakness, it’s impossible not to root for him, if not love him yet.  Those people who feel distant or indifferent to SP seem to be missing out on the details that show the depth of his emotions, quite possibly because they are so focused elsewhere.  (And I know it’s quite easy to fall into that trap.)

Some more viewers persist that, while admitting SP would be the writer’s preferred choice for SW, they do not understand why SP was so suddenly interested in SW at the end of the 8th episode.  This, to me, seems to show that there’s this really firm preconceived refusal to accept SP as a leading character.  They are tenaciously ignoring the detailed portrayal of SP, and the lack of understanding in his character thereof leads to a further undermining of the significance of SP’s behaviours.  What a spiral.  I do realise that this may be the case of either the character is portrayed poorly –script-wise, direction-wise, or acting-wise, or, simply the viewers are blind to see the subtleties that are composing the character.  Most viewers who claim SP’s sudden interest in SW to be incomprehensible also mention that SP’s character is difficult to sympathise with.  Obviously, they are entitled to their own opinion and all, but that does not make them entitled to degrade other characters.  It is really frustrating to see some viewers boasting their views as the only sensible ones, just because they have no idea that they may be blinded by their love for their bias or by some preconceived notions that have derived from that love.  How can anyone miss all those signs that indicate SP is yet to learn that his feelings towards SDH might not have been true love but a sense of obligation that had been grown out of youthful infatuation and his mentor’s death?  Of course, both young SP and SDH must have believed that they were in love, but they did not succeed in cultivating the true thing.

Furthermore, there were so many signs, from the first episode, that point SW as a trigger for SP’s character development and even as the answer to his quest (and questions; here, I’m thinking about George’s question mark in A Room with a View).  Remember how SP was repeating every other things SW chatted away?  SW was literally giving keys and answers to SP’s question: Is the love between SP and SDH true?  SP’s interest in SW is already there, even though he tries to act indifferently.  He notices SW in a crowded dining hall, remembers SW’s words and needs, feels compassion, and even identifies with her hunger and despair.  It’s not sudden but a gradual process.  He is certainly a bit slow to notice his own feelings; which is made a contrast with CS’s instant crush on SW, but that is the whole point of his story.  SP is going to learn the deficiencies in his character and his life through his interactions with the new people around him. He will learn the true meaning of humility, friendship, and love.  Therefore, the development in SP-SW love line is sure to make the story so much more profound and entertaining!  

 As much as I enjoy watching those charming scenes between CS and SW (and I really do, as I have been a fan of Jang Hyuk for ever so longer than I’ve been fangirling Junho; I have watched most of his dramas since Thank You, even including the cameos in webdramas solely for his sake), I still maintain that it is SP’s potential emotional journey that gives depth to the story, where CS’s comedy gives the necessary relief from the strain.  That’s the supposed balance of the drama.  It wouldn’t work or it’s not of the writer’s intention if the story focused too much on CS’s character development.  It may be hard for some to accept it, but the writer seems to want Jang Hyuk to play the comic relief to some extent and he took the job.  He admitted when he guested a radio programme that the writer had asked him to play the “entertainment.”  He is doing a perfect job at that, and I can see people rooting for him, but the fact of the matter is, I don’t think we should expect much portrayal of his character development in this particular drama.

One last detail I’d like to defend has to do with how some people are trying to make the possible SP-SW love line sound like an old classic cliché and thus boring. On the other hand, they seem to believe a love story between a gangster and a chaebol daughter as something new and refreshing, but that’s where I can confidently say they are in the wrong.  Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934), the first romantic comedy film to win an Oscar instantly comes to my mind, and a long list of films, dramas, novels and comic books follows.  (I must say there are tons of romance novels and Japanese girls’ mangas, in particular, with a gangster – princess type pairing.)  Of course, Clark Gable is not exactly a gangster in the film, but he sure looks like one – coincidentally, he even has a moustache and suspenders on in this film, and he does fit in the stereotypical pattern.  I mean, it’s basically the classic Beauty and the Beast concept in the first place.  But please do not misunderstand me.  I am not saying that the cliché settings and characters are boring.  At the end of the day, what matters is how the characters themselves are idiosyncratically refreshing and how all the elements are executed in an enjoyable and satisfying way.  Whether it is a fallen chef or a sweet gangster, any character can be a cliché and simultaneously not boring.  The reason I believe they are not watching with clear eyes is how they say SP-SW is a cliché and CS-SW is not.  This is the proof of their biased views.

OK, I think I’m calmed down now.  Hope I can now focus on writing up something more convincing.  Thank you for reading, if any of you have come thus far.  I really appreciate it.

[rkjei]

It’s a small, unassuming paper bag. At the top, a neatly tied ribbon keeps the bag closed. On the outside of the bag, a messily scrawled, ‘To Jei noona’ addresses the ‘care package’. Inside, there’s several items, each with a label attached; crammed writing on it containing a short (sometimes long) note about each gift. This past week hasn’t been easy for Jei, especially after the most recent round of eliminations. Still unsure of who might be on his team the following week, Hyunjin decides it’s best to stop by and give her (read: her doorman) the bag now in case he’s unable to do so in person. Besides, most of these items were meant to comfort - there’s no reason to withhold that.

˟ ▀  &. @rkxhyunjin

First, a small plush keychain in the shape of a rabbit. It’s roughly the size of one’s hand. To squeeze when you get anxious! I like hugging things when I get worried, so maybe this will help you too. It’s nice and small so you can take him anywhere - optimal squeezing potential! Make sure to tell me what name you give him (or her) ♡ I have a matching pink one too since it was buy one get one… I hope that’s okay? I ended up giving you the white one because I feel like you can take care of it more than I can. If I had the white one he would get dirty very quickly. ( white, pink, both ).

Second, a bundle of daffodils. Some of the petals stick out from the top of the bag. I was told that these flowers are the best for people who have allergies. I don’t know if you’re allergic to flowers, but I wanted to be safe just in case. Runny noses are no fun. Plus, they’re a nice pretty yellow. Hopefully they can help brighten up your day a little.

Third, a portable bluetooth speaker - small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, mildly worn. I volunteer at a school for the deaf, and we use speakers like these when we dance. The speakers aren’t the best of quality, but that’s on purpose. For some reason the lower quality speakers vibrate more with the music, and it helps the kids feel the beat (since they can’t hear it as well). Feeling the beat of a song can be particularly relaxing - regardless of whether or not you can actually hear the song or not. Try playing something relaxing on the speaker while holding it in your hand. It might help ground you when you need it.

Fourth, a dog sweater. I saw this the other day. Please give it to Wrinkles and send him my best regards.

Fifth, chocolate (milk). Eating chocolate is nice when you’re feeling a little blue isn’t it? Two years ago I did particularly bad on a mock exam and ate three whole bars of chocolate afterwards. So maybe I got a little sick after that… but while I was eating it, it made me feel a bit better. So relax and enjoy some chocolate, you deserve it.

From, your dongsaeng, Hwang Hyunjin

P.S. I left this with your door man - I hope he gives it to you. If not, to whomever may be enjoying this bag instead, please enjoy it well and make sure not to eat all of the chocolate in one sitting. It’ll give you a stomach ache. 

she isn’t expecting anyone from the front lobby to stop her on her way out the door, but she’s grateful for it.  if jei’s honest, she doesn’t even want to drag herself out of her apartment today, let alone to go back to nova for the second week in a row only to face more disappointment and the realization that she’s going at this alone now.  there isn’t much of anyone left in the competition that she’s grown close to in the time that she’s been on it .. practically all the eliminations last round, although none of them came from her group, stuck her like a knife to the belly.

if jei didn’t want to do this before, she definitely doesn’t want to do it now.  all night long on the friday after jei left the episode filming, the names ran through her head like a bad ache.  junhoe.   daniel.  jaewon.  sungwoon.  yoongi.  donghyun.  guanlin.  kim hyuna.  almost every name called, nine out of ten eliminated contestants - if she was anyone else, she would have been crying.  instead, jei’s blood ran cold, colder; it froze into ice.  she wonders if she looked visibly pale, or as bad as she felt.  she must have.

otherwise, jonghyun wouldn’t have stopped her reeling on the way off the stage just to pull her aside and hug her.  to whisper in her ear that they would want her to be strong.  she doesn’t lift her arms to hug him back, because she can’t.  her body feels far too heavy to bother trying.

jei doesn’t want to be strong anymore.  she just wants to let it go.

back to the present.  she’s eyeing the bag that he places on the counter for her to take, oddly suspicious of it because she’s never seen something given to her in a brown paper bag like this one before.  but upon seeing the handwriting and recognizing it as hyunjin’s after watching him do his homework enough times during practice or late at nights when he crashed at her place, she snatches it up.  it’s surprising, that he would just leave something for her like this.  she almost wonders why he didn’t just stop by to drop it off himself.

maybe it’s just because he wanted to get to practice.  this is the semifinal after all .. and she is competition, as much as she hates this show and this idea that all of her friends didn’t have the talent -

she stops, before she gets ahead of herself and tears up in the front lobby of her building.  it’s a good thing that jei hadn’t eaten this morning, because the stress of forcing herself to keep the feelings down upsets her stomach to the point she wants to be sick.  

to distract herself, she opens the bag quietly, at a table out of the way so that no one who passes by will bother her or she, them.  the first thing she sees are the bouquet of daffodils, and the note that comes attached to them.  she’s always thought of daffodils as something like the sun, grown on earth and maybe, it seems, hyunjin did, too.  he’s always been a thoughtful boy - too caring for his own good.  jei’s always worried that it’ll get him into trouble for caring too much.

the bouquet is carefully placed down on the counter next to her as she begins to pull out the other gifts - the dog sweater, then the stuffed rabbit, the speaker, and finally, the chocolate.  she reads through the notes of each one, growing ever closer to the tears she doesn’t want to shed.  maybe jei should have opened this in the apartment, because there’s a thick, hot stone forming in the back of her throat and hyunjin is just too good for her.

he must have seen how she reacted the night before.  why else would he pack a gift so lovingly assembled in an attempt to make her relax? it doesn’t quite sit right with her, that her face so openly showed the distress that roiled within her - not just last night, but for weeks now.

but even though jei feels like she’s alone, she knows she isn’t.  and though the package is kind in its intent, it’s still not a cure all.  still, though - it’s something.  and that’s something that jei can hang onto.

at least for just a few more days.

[alabastertouch]

Spitting Fire

Genre: Fluff, a li’l pinch of angst

Characters: Kim Hanbin x Reader; iKON members

Warning/s: None

Summary: When you showed Hanbin everything you got, he loathed you... Not only are you the best, but because he’s undeniably attracted to you.

A/N: OKAY, you guys, don’t do that old trick wherein you’re being mean to the one you like bc that is not nice, okay? Don’t be like Hanbin in this fic (lol what a disclaimer) but ANYWAY ENJOY THIS BLURB

Also so so so late but HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANBIN YO THE BEST MAN I WUV YOU DUDe (it so many weeks late yay ANYW)

I’m back and not sick anymore let me make it up hajshajhaj

“Y/N!” Hearing Jaewon’s calls to you, you turn around and face him. Jaewon had been one of the best companion of yours throughout your training, and you are delighted that finally, he had reached his dreams of debuting.

“Hey! Can you sign my album?” You teased him with a cheeky smile, making him a blushing mess.

“Shut up!” He messes your hair. “Anyway, did you hear the latest?”

“I’ve been stuck in the dungeon, so I guess I haven’t,” you try to poke fun at the dark reality of your fate as a rapper in this agency. “What is it?”

“Hanbin’s getting a solo debut after Bobby’s,” Jaewon crosses his arms. “I heard the president’s already listing trainees who can potentially feature in one of his songs.”

You sure can wish that you might be the one to be chosen, since it is an opportunity you will never ever pass. Although you know Sua has a bigger chance of being the featured artist, as she has more exposure than you, you cling on the sliver of hope. But then again, before hope was handed to you, it had already been taken away.

By Kim Hanbin himself.

“Well, congrats to that person, then,” you snort as you rush back to the training room.

“Hey, hey! What’s with the negativity?” Jaewon follows you, curious about your sudden displeasure.

“Hanbin hates me, dude,” you remind him in case he had forgotten.

“He doesn’t hate you!” Jaewon objects to your statement.

“He does,” you retort. “If rejecting everything I’ve written for their team isn’t enough, then what more proof am I still looking for?”

“Look, I’m sure Hanbin doesn’t hate you. Maybe you just got off the wrong foot?” Jaewon justifies Hanbin’s odd behavior towards you. You’ve tried to observe him when he interacts with your fellow same-aged friends Hayi and Jennie, but he treats them quite well and have no intention between each other.

“I sure do hope so,”

“Hey, congratulations!” Sua greets you quite energetically so early in the morning. “President chose you to feature in Hanbin oppa’s song.”

And you die a little inside.

When you finally receive the memo, you reluctantly enter the studio Hanbin usually works at, a.k.a his territory. 

“Excuse me,” you sneak your head in a little, seeing the other six members of iKON writing intensely. When they see your face, they let out a sigh of relief.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” Jinhwan is the first to ask.

“Oh, I got this,” you show them the memo that gratifies your feature in Hanbin’s solo album. “Where’s Hanbin sunbae?” 

“He went to the restroom,” Bobby responds. “Just a heads up, Y/N, he’s not in a good mood.”

“When was he in a good mood?” You snort out impulsively, earning low chuckles from the others.

“Oh yeah,” and when you hear the nasal voice from behind you, you know you are thoroughly fucked.

And not in a good way... Not at all.

Hanbin takes his place on the office chair, scrutinizing you with his taunting looks. He looks ultimately sleepless, and you keep yourself from telling him to go to sleep first. He turns back to his computer, ignoring your existence.

“Why did it have to be you?”

Okay, rude. Don’t sleep then.

“Hanbin, where are your manners?” Yunhyeong reprimands like a mother.

“Where is hers?” Hanbin speaks without looking at you.

“Okay!” Bobby jumps up this time, intervening before you tell Hanbin something you might later on regret. “We’ll leave you two to maybe... warm up with each other, okay?” The male nods energetically, urging you to be the bigger person.

“Don’t kill each other,” Junhoe cackles before the last of them leaves the room. 

And now, you’re stuck with tiger Kim Hanbin.

You sit down on the couch, waiting for Hanbin to finish whatever it is that he is doing. You patiently bob your head along to the music coming out of the speakers. After all, his perfection takes time.

But two hours in and he hasn’t even looked at you once.

You take the whole ‘him being superior than you’ thing, but you’ve gotten enough of this treatment.

“Uh, sunbae,” you clear your throat, making him turn around with that same scary look on his face. “What are we writing?”

“Nothing,” he puts you down as quickly as you had asked. “I’ve already gotten everything written down. All you have to do is to rap.”

And your mouth opens, aghast at his reply. You are here for a reason... and that is to cooperate with Hanbin in creating the song. Together.

How can you feature without familiarizing yourself with the work?

You stand up despite feeling small under his hard eyes. 

“With all due respect, sunbae,” you emphasize the word that makes him the higher one in the hierarchy, but you know you’re about to lash out on him without any ounce of respect. “I am not about to suffer this maltreatment you are handing me. I am here to be featured in a song that I should help write. If I’m going to be continued treated this way,” you tear the memo you have received in half, making his eyes grow wider. “Look for someone else.”

You stomp out of the recording studio knowing the consequences of your irate actions. Tomorrow, points might be slashed off you for the evaluations, and you may be kicked out of future opportunities to feature in other artists’ songs either. Worst, your debut with an unknown date might either happen after so many years, or never at all.

You are not getting any younger, and all your same-aged friends have either debuted already or are in preparation to go on stage. You can’t bear any more delays.

But no, your pride won’t be stepped on.

Jaewon’s laughter is not helping out your situation at all.

“Gee, thanks for the support, asshole,” you chug down your water after three rounds of dance practice.

“But hey, stay positive!” He belatedly cheers you up. “Who knows? He might still want you to feature in his song. After all, he had a say in who should be in his album.”

“Dude, he legitimately told me ‘Why did it have to be you?’ with those stupid eyes!” You impersonate Hanbin’s voice poorly. 

“You’re rude as well, you know!” Jaewon points out. “If you two like each other, you don’t have to be like kindergarteners about it.”

“Hey!” You stop him from saying more. “I don’t like Kim Hanbin!”

“Uh-huh. Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?” You just roll your eyes, opting to ignore Jaewon’s jokes.

“Y/N!” You hear Hanbin’s booming voice calling you over. “Recording studio. NOW.”

You raise a brow questioningly, wondering what Hanbin wants to do now. You follow anyway, not wanting anyone else to suffer his wrath now. It’s enough that he’s mad at you, and you wouldn’t want it to rub on to others.

Since he called you in, he hadn’t talked to you, and you are willing to be that girl who’s looking for death and will have to ask Hanbin what the hell is the problem with his attitude.

“Did you call me here to watch you be angry or--”

“You and Jaewon hyung,” he asks, not looking up at you. “Are you two dating?”

You can’t help but be horrified by his sudden question.

“No!” You sound defensive, but really, you and Jaewon? It’s like putting YG and JYP in one room. You’re friends and all... like siblings even, but you disagree on so many things to even think of being together.

“Really?” Hanbin finally shuts his notebook close, returning his intimidating gaze to you. “Why are you two always together?”

“Because we’re friends? I’m allowed to have friends of all genders, Hanbin. Why are you so curious, anyway?”

“Because I like you,” and Jaewon was right all along. The little shit might have known already and thought it would be funny to string you alone in his own sitcom ensemble.

“Oh, really?” You cross your arms, disbelieving his words. “You were so rude, you know? Screaming and lashing out. You really have to fix your attitude.”

“Why are you suddenly preaching me? Stop spitting fire, Y/N!”

“Oh, no. You’re not the only rapper here, Kim Hanbin.” And he looks competitive when you say it, eyes ablaze with flames.

“Who else?” He challenges.

“Your girlfriend.”

And his face is now the color of a wildfire.

[exoscenarios3]

It’s You Pt. 7 (Exo ft. Ikon)

Pt.1, Pt.2 , Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5, Pt.6

   It took about thirty minutes to get to the community. They weren’t lying, the place was exactly how they described it. It was a small neighborhood with giant walls built around it. 

“Welcome back, guys.” Some guy greeted CL’s group as they walked in. “I see you brought new people.” He said, smiling at us. CL smiled at him, and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Guys, this is Dean.” She introduced. “Dean, this is everyone. I’m sure you’ll get to know them sooner or later. Come in, let me show you around.” She said, waving us inside the community. We followed her to a small house close to the front. “So, right off the bat, guns are kept in a room where we keep them safe. Someone will watch guns at all times, it’s just to make sure no one goes crazy and tries to kill one another. You’ll be able to get them anytime you go outside the wall.” She explained. 

We all hesitated, but gave up our guns to the person who was taking watch for them. CL continued to walk, and talk, and point out things about the community that we needed to know. “We have interviews to make sure we can trust you guys, so you’ll be doing that individually. SInce there’s so many of you, it may take a few days.” She said. “After you’re interviewed, you’ll be given jobs to pull your weight around here. If you’re a runner, you have to train with GD for a while to get the hang of things.” She stopped in front of a few houses. “These two houses, are yours. Use them however you like.” She smiled at us, as she gestures towards the houses. “I’ll leave you guys for a while to get cleaned up, I’ll be back after a while to escort you to your interviews.” She says, before walking off. 

“It seems pretty legit.” Junhoe says, already making his way into a house. Jinhwan, Bobby, B.I., Chanwoo, and Donghyuk followed behind him. I was about to follow Jinhwan, but Kai caught my arm.

“You’re staying in a house with me.” He said, strictly.

“Oh come on.” I groaned, as he pulled me into the other house. “Why can’t I be with them?” I asked. He didn’t answer, so i just let myself be dragged into the house, without making any fuss.

“I don’t know guys...” Luna said, looking around the house.

“I think it’s pretty legit. If they wanted to kill us, they would’ve already done so.” Xiumin said, picking up a book from the bookshelf. 

“They want to lock up our weapons though...” Luna said, still not convinced. 

“To protect themselves. If we had a setup like them, I don’t think we would trust strangers with their weapons either.” Suho said, looking around. He walked to the kitchen, and turned the handle to the sink. Water started to pour out, which left us all shocked. 

“They weren’t lying...” Star asked, excitement clear in her voice. She turned to Luna, quickly. “Look, let’s just stay the night, take showers, and get clean, and then we’ll talk to the person in charge, and make a final decision then.” She said.

Luna let out a sigh. “Fine.” She said, crossing her arms. We all get excited, and rush to the bathrooms. I basically had to fight Kai for the first shower. I think I took longer than I should. It’s been so long since I’ve felt hot water or even felt what is was like to be clean. After a while, I could hear Kai yelling at me to get out. I finally turned the water off, and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around me, and letting him into the bathroom. 

In the room Kai and I chose, the closet was filled with clothes of different sizes. I looked through it, until I found a black t-shirt and jeans that fit me. I threw on the boots i already was wearing, and left the house to take a walk and explore. There were kids playing around in the streets and elderly people on the porches. It was like any other neighborhood. You would almost think the world didn’t end. I walked for a little while longer, meeting a few nice people. It got really late, and I decided to go back to the house. Everyone had already picked a place to sleep. I went to the room Kai and I had chosen, and saw him reading a book. 

“Haven’t seen you so relaxed in a long time.” I said, sitting on the bed with him. 

“It’s nice, isn’t it? I really think we could make a home out of this place. I mean, we’ve only been here a day, but so far they haven’t given us any reason to not trust them.” He said, putting the book down. We sat in silence for a second, until he spoke up again. “Hey, I wanted to say sorry for always snapping at you lately, it’s just... I don’t know... We have more people to look out for now, and we’re all gonna butt heads. I know you don’t like Luna, but please give her a chance. If you’ll do that for me, I’ll do the same for Jinhwan.” He said, letting out a sigh. 

I smile, and nod. “I’ll try.” I agree. 

He smiled too, and adjusted his position in the bed. “If you would like to stay with Jinhwan tonight, I guess you can. Just... don’t do anything dumb, okay?” He said, not totally sure about it.

“Really!?” I asked, excited. He nodded, and I quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Kai!” I say, getting out of the bed quickly, and grabbing some comfortable clothes to sleep in, before rushing out of the house. 

“Late night walk?” GD asked, as I walked down the porch steps.

“Yeah, something like that.” I say, giving him a smile. He smiled back, and continued walking in the direction he was going in. I watched him leave, before I went to go knock on Jinhwan’s door. 

“Hey. It’s kinda late, what’s up?” A half asleep Junhoe answered. 

“I came to see Jinhwan.” I say, walking in the house, basically inviting myself in. 

“This late? He’s upstairs, in the first room on the left.” Junhoe said, flopping on the couch. 

I quickly went up the stairs, to the room Junhoe directed me too, and found a sleeping Jinhwan. I stopped and smiled a little. He was balled up underneath a blanket, and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I quickly changed into the more comfortable clothing, and sat gently next to him. “Hey, Jinhwan.” I whispered, slightly shaking him awake. 

Jinhwan stirred a bit, and slowly opened his eyes. “What are you doing here? It’s like...” He looked at the clock beside him. “12 AM. How cool is that? We can tell time now.” He said, pointing at the clock. 

“I wanted to see you. I haven’t all day.” I said, with an exaggerated sigh, laying down next to him.

“So clingy.” He joked, wrapping his arm around me. “Won’t Kai kill you if he finds out you’re here?” He asked, looking down at me.

“He’s the one who actually suggested I come here. He said he’d give you a chance if I gave Luna a chance.” I say, rolling my eyes just a little.

“Luna really isn’t all that bad.” Jinhwan said.

“To you she isn’t. To me, she’s the spawn of satan.” I say.

“To be fair, you’re the same way to her.” He said, laughing a little.

I shake my head lightly, and hit his arm. “Am not.” I say quietly, pouting a little. 

“Let’s not talk about Luna or your brother.” He said, rubbing my arm slightly.

“What do you want to talk about then?” I asked, looking up at him. 

“It’s been awhile since we’ve been alone together like this.” He said, suggestively. 

I laughed a little, but sat up, and looked him in the eyes. He sat up as well, and pulled me closer to him, connecting his lips with mine. He kissed me lightly, trailing kisses down my jaw to my neck. My hands instinctively went to wrap around his neck, slowly pulling his shirt off. 

“Easy now.” he says, chuckling. He quickly laid me back down, and hovered over me, his hand slipping under my shirt to my breast. I let out a small moan, and could feel him smile through the kiss. He removed my shirt as well, and began trailing kisses down my entire torso, until he got to my pants. He quickly removed those too, and smiled at me, before doing his thing.

~~Time skip to the morning because writing stuff like that is awkardhowdoyouguysdothis?~~

When I woke up, Jinhwan wasn’t beside me. I got dressed, and went down the stairs, to see everyone sitting in the living room. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting in between Junhoe and Kai on the couch.

“We’ve all been through our interviews this morning. Jinhwan is there now, and you’re the last to go.” D.O. informed me.

“We’re discussing if this place is truly safe.” Luna said, crossing her arms, leaning against the fireplace. 

“So far, everyone’s in favor of staying. The place seems stable, the people are nice and trustworthy. I mean, there’s kids and elderly people here. We’re better off in here than we are out there.” Kai said, looking around at everyone. 

“I think we should stay.” Bobby says, nodding.

Everyone agreed to this, but Luna didn’t look too happy, which I personally didn’t really care about, so I just ignored her. 

Jinhwan came through the door, and sat down with all of us as well.

“It’s your turn.” He said, looking at me. I nodded, and got up, leaving the house.

I was nervous for some reason. Interviews have never really been my thing, no matter what it was. I could never come up with good answers. It’s just too much pressure on me, honestly. This interview was different, however. There were multiple leaders of the community. Soyou, Bora, Dasom, and Hyorin. I had remembered Soyou from the group that took us in to begin with. 

The questions were simple. ‘Why do you want to live here?’ ‘How could your group benefit us?’ Things of that nature. Apparently, they assigned us all jobs after the interview as well. My job, was to be on night watch in the tower, and during the day, work in the pantry and distribute food. 

When I got back to the house, everyone had left, Jinhwan was the only one inside. He was in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and drinking water. I stood next to him, and leaned against the counter too. 

“What job did you get?” He asked, facing me now.

“Stupid pantry duty. I have to look after food and give out rations.” I say, pouting a bit. “What about you? What did you get?” I asked, looking at Jinhwan’s worried face.

“I’m a runner. I go out and find food and supplies, and-”

“I know what a runner is Jinhwan. Are you sure that’s safe?” I asked, scrunching my eyebrows at him.

“I mean, isn’t that what we’ve been doing before we came here? I think I’ll be okay... It’s just, I have to follow the rules the people here go by, and I’m kinda not okay with those rules.” He shrugs.

“It doesn’t matter, just be safe and come home, okay?” I say, holding his hand, and leaning in to give him a kiss. “Do you know when the first run is?” I asked, a little nervous.

“Probably in the next few days. Kai, and B.I. are runners too.” He said, calmly.

I got even more nervous knowing my brother would be out there, but I knew he’d be okay. I knew they’d all be okay. It still made me anxious though.

Do you guys wanna read something cringe worthy? Way back when I was just a smol 13 year old, I wrote youtuber fanfiction! Recently, I decided to recreate it into Exo fanfiction, because fuck it, right? I posted the first chapter literally two seconds ago on Wattpad. I tried to keep it similar to what I wrote when I was 13…. Don’t worry, I’m not leaving Tumblr, but if you want to read this cringy fan fic, click here!

If you would like to request something for me to write, you can click here. It can be about anything really. It can also be any group (At least the ones I know really well. i.e. Exo, Ikon, Got7, Shinee, NCT, Seventeen, BTS.) It doesn’t have to be a reader, you can give me your name or something, just know that I don’t do ships, because I think ships are dumb, but that’s just me ALSO, if you just want to straight up ask me something or say anything to me really, you can click here.

[xxprincessjewelsxx]

iKON | Their s/o Is Royalty

Anonymous said: iKon and Got7 reaction to finding out someone royal likes them or, finding out their s/o is royalty? (you can choose which one! i just really like royalty things) thank you! c:

Bobby: “Oh...so Is that the reason why you didn't want me to meet you parents?” he questioned.

“Bobby, I could write a ten novel series about why I don't want you to meet my parents and you wouldn't be featured in it except for me explaining how I don't want to hear them judge you for ridiculous reasons. This is the cliche, it's me not you, part.”

“Well...royalty or not, you know I love you and I'm just glad I didn't do anything to make you not want to introduce me to your parents.”

B.I./Hanbin: “So when we first started dating and you said ‘I’m a prince/princess’, that wasn't a joke?” he questioned after a series of unfortunate events led you to having to tell him you were from a royal family, “You weren't saying that you liked to be spoiled and such...you're actually royalty.”

“Unfortunately...” you replied, “But don't think too much on it, I've made it clear that I am not going back to that life.”

“Don't think too much on it? I'm think about what just happened for at least a week.”

Jinhwan: “Didn't you think this was kinda important to tell me?” he questioned, “I go to surprise you by picking you up from work and there's this guy who I think is harassing you but instead he’s some advisor to some important royal guy.”

“Technically...he was harassing me, and I hadn't heard from them in so long I figured they gave up on looking for me,” you said, “I’ve made it clear I'm not going back to that place. I don't think they'll come back.”

“You don't think they'll come back...that's reassuring.”

Yunhyeong: “I mean...I know being a prince/princess must be hard, but weren't you sad leaving your family?” he questioned after you admitted to him you were a runaway prince/princess.

“Yeah I love my parents and siblings, but I couldn't deal with that life, it wasn't for me,” you replied, “Anyway, once I got here I made great friends and met you and that's my new family...that counts right?” 

“Yeah...yeah it does.”

Junhoe: “Does this mean that I have to call you by any sort of royal title now that I know all this information?” he asked, trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“Oh god no, you call me by any sort of royal title and I will throw beanie babies at you,” you stated.

“Beanie babies? Why babies?”

“I'll be showing my displeasure, I wouldn't want to hurt you. Plus I have a lot of them, makes for plenty of ammo.”

“Oh...okay.”

Donghyuk: “So when you said that that really expensive looking jewelry yo had were family heirlooms...” he started after your father’s advisors left in a huff.

“I meant they were passed down to me from my grandmother who was a former queen,” you said.

“Why didn't you tell me you were royalty?” He questioned.

“Cause if I thought if I told you where the jewelry was actually was from you'd break up with me.”

“Jagi, you should've just told me...I love,you too much to care about anything like that. I just want you to be honest with me.”

Chanwoo: “So I can brag to the guys about this, right?” he asked, feeling excited about the news he was dating a prince/princess.

“No...no you may not. This stays between us...if I find out you told the guys, I will end you,” you said.

“But I'm dating royalty,” he said with a smile.

xxiKON-Masterlistxx

[7fics]

Jackson plays crappy matchmaker for Youngjae and Jaebum, and Youngjae avoids his feelings long enough to hurt Yugyeom.

Warnings: swearing, and some sexual content (not too explicit though)

Word Count: 5.6k+

Author(s): Mia and Chewy

A/N: It’s been a really long time, but our promised fic for our lottery winner from celebrating 2k followers is finally done! Sorry it took so long, but hopefully we’ve done your prompt justice :) 

I tried my best to incorporate the things you wanted. There’s also some yugjae because I have no control over my writing and who pops up in it, as usual. I really hope you like it. 

Tall, polished windows set in gold-yellow sills spanning the length of at least two regular department stores call out to him, whispering in bittersweet chorus. They want him to empty his savings for the month on some stupid party where it will be too dark for anyone to see what he’s wearing anyway. Is he bitter? Yes. Does he have the right to be? Hell yes. His senior Junho told him to come dressed his best, that he should want to make a good impression since a bunch of alumni and other seniors are going to be there. Youngjae isn’t even completely convinced that he wants to be in Kappa Sigma anyway. It just seems like the college thing to do, and Junho may have twisted his arm about it.

Regardless, here he is, walking through the front door of Club Z, cringing at the ding that sounds out and prompts some shoppers to look in his direction curiously. Some couldn’t care either way and return to what they were doing. Others give him looks ranging from amusement to disgust to genuine confusion. It’s obvious his jeans and band t-shirt combo are to be looked down upon here.

Rich, snotty bastards.

Youngjae is very disappointed that there are as many men as women, thus his excuse of being apart of the stereotypically less fashion-savvy gender is useless. Now, walking around cluelessly touching this and that with absolutely no idea of what any of it is or what to pair anything with is just embarrassing.

Adding to his budding headache, just glimpses of the different clothing pieces tell him that he’ll have to be here for hours just to find a semi-decent outfit. He was born as round as a circle, and even though he lost some baby fat in childhood, traces of it harbor his cheeks, making the tiny shirt holes seem like future humiliation. He also has thick limbs and a flat but soft tummy. No abs. No definition. No chance of him looking good in any of the shear due to his slight but soft frame and not an inkling of hope in the crisper button downs because of the aforementioned reason. It was always easier to resign himself to the ranks of the fashion terrorists and call it a day. Not only is he overwhelmed, but he’s confused, and a bit terrified as well.

To make his situation worse, a handsome, well-dressed man is making his way over from across the floor where women were previously fawning over him, giggling and shoving to get their opportunity at stealing his attention. He pays no mind to the glares they cast at him for that.

His real concern is what he’s going to say to the man when he gets there. He can’t say that he doesn’t need any help because he obviously does. He has a shirt and these insufferable looking shorts in his hands that, even to his inexperienced eyes, don’t match at all. The man will see through that lie in a split second and then he’ll have to put his head in a dark hole and wait for lightning to strike him dead. If he says that he was just looking around he might be met with the same expression he has witnessed twice already today. That expression that clearly says ‘why come if you’re going to touch everything you can’t afford and then leave?’.  He doesn’t think he can handle that a third time.

He may just drop everything and bolt. But then he’ll be looking through his entire wardrobe last minute, getting frustrated that nothing is good enough, eventually just blow the event off and live the rest of his college career as a hermit who never goes anywhere or does anything because he has no friends and can't dress himself properly.

...Okay, so maybe that last part is mostly just exaggerated speculation. But some of it holds true. Youngjae has been wearing the same thing since he was a geeky freshman through senior year. A fresh look is long overdue. He has no idea where to start though, or where he wants to end up for that matter.

Youngjae is still caught up in his internal dialogue when the man finally arrives, having to announce himself twice before Youngjae looks up, conflicted and nervous. He feels like a small child, mismatched clothes in hand and confidence draining from his body. Up close, the man is even more striking. Although Youngjae has no idea what he’s wearing by name, he knows that it looks good. Broad muscles fill up the shirt that would be too tight in some places and too loose in others on Youngjae. Long, built legs compliment his black slacks and shiny, dark shoes top off his whole ‘I’m too hot to approach, but feel free to drool from afar’ ensemble.

“Can I help you?” the man asks with amusement in his voice. He surveys Youngjae’s “outfit” with a speculative expression and raises one eyebrow. “You have a rather particular taste. I’m not judging, but it’s kind of written in my job description to give customers advice.”

“Yeah?” Youngjae says. “And what’s your advice?”

“Lose the shorts and we’ll see what we can do with the shirt…”

“Youngjae.”

The man smiles easily. “Jaebum.”

After twenty minutes of trying on things Jaebum brings to him, Youngjae is over the whole process. He appreciates the man’s well-intentioned determination but he’s on the verge of calling everything off because  nothing is looking right despite Jaebum’s undying optimism.

“Here, last one.” Jaebum’s arm splits through the dressing room curtains with a pair of straight-legged black jeans and a soft blue cotton button-up. He’s skeptical, but puts them and steps out in front of the full-length ready to accept his fate, when he opens his eyes gingerly and is surprised to find that he doesn’t hate the ensemble.

The jeans make his legs look lean, which they aren’t, and the shirt doesn’t make him particularly podgy in any place.

“Good?” Jaebum asks with an expectant grin and a hesitant thumbs up.

“Good,” Youngjae replies.

“Awesome.” Jaebum waves him over to the register and they get on with it. Youngjae is more than glad to get the heck out of there after having sent way too much time already, even if he doesn’t mind being with Jaebum at all.

“So you go to Yeongnam U?” Jaebum asks as he’s ringing up the stuff.

“Uh, yeah. I’m majoring in Music Therapy.”

“Sweet.” Jaebum smiles and Youngjae’s heart does this thing where it feels like it’s going to explode. “So, you wanna, like, help people and stuff? Way cool. I’m only going for Composition so I can write songs and sell ‘em. But that’s noble, Youngjae.”

“Um, noble, okay. Thanks.” Youngjae scratches the back of his neck slightly as Jaebum bags the clothes and taps some numbers in the register. Youngjae pays what he owes and waves the man goodbye as he tries not to look like an animal fleeing its cage on his way out.

                                                 *     *     *    *     *

Parties have never been Youngjae’s forte.

He’s an awkward human being. It was built in him to be that way, he supposes. He’s terrible at small talk, hates being squashed by sweaty, drunk people in dark, loud places. He never knows what to say or do. It doesn’t help that he’s wearing an expensive outfit that doesn’t feel like him at all, doesn’t mold to his body like a good pair of jeans and a graphic tee. So, not only is he struggling to be anyone but himself, he’s also trying to live up to the bigshot persona clothes from Glitz warrant from someone. This was destined to be a horrible idea the second he walked in the front door. Jinyoung and Bambam ditched him, obviously preferring to hang out with their rich, cultured group of friends, leaving Youngjae to fend for himself.

Youngjae doesn’t have to think about what to do; it’s instinct by this point. He pushes his way through the writhing bodies until he gets to the back door.

Worse has come to worst.

As Youngjae is slipping outside into the warm night, a very familiar face clocks on his radar. He doesn’t have anything better to do, so he sulks on a barren swing as he watches through squinted eyes at the bodies suffocating each other on a bench near the back door. Jaebum finally comes up for air, and a girl Youngjae recognizes from his Psych class, Dasom, giggles and hiccups, begging him to come back. He shoos her away, coming to his feet and allowing her time to scramble up herself. She scurries after him like a puppy as he goes inside.

Seeing them together is almost as bitter as whatever is in his cup. He only has to take a sip to decide that the stuff is awful. He keeps drinking, though, because one, he has nothing better to do, and two, it takes some of the hurt away. He’s halfway through it when the air surrounding him becomes more crowded and the other swing’s creaking mixes in with his. As terrible as that sound is, it’s oddly comforting. It reminds him of when he would go to his friend’s house as a child to play. He had this rusty swing set that was probably the most dangerous thing they could find to play on, but it never collapsed on them and they enjoyed each other’s company while using it. He doesn’t question the welcome intrusion.

“The party’s in there,” the voice says. It has some bass, while still being very youthful. Attractive.

“I’m having my own party.” Youngjae shakes his head sadly, taking another sip out of his cup. “A party of one.”

“Make that a party of two.” The guy takes the cup right out of Youngjae’s hand and takes a whig himself. Youngjae isn’t too upset as he follows the thieving hand to a handsome face. Large yet angular brown eyes, a high, straight nose, and thick lips is what he can pick out in the semi-darkness. The stranger lets loose a long, loud sigh and returns the cup. Youngjae takes it apprehensively, sloshing what’s left boredly. He thinks he’s starting to feel it, whatever it is. This is not his first time drinking alcohol, but it’s definitely his first time getting past a few gulps without gagging and passing the wretched stuff to a more willing party-goer, or putting it back.

“I’m Yugyeom, by the way.” The stranger--Yugyeom, kicks off and begins to swing gently. The creaking gets louder.

“Youngjae.” He follows the other’s lead. The warmth growing inside of him as the liquor works its way through his system mixed with the cool breeze he unearths once he starts swinging is creating a strange synergy around him. The night becomes a little more bearable. Yugyeom is handsome, has a nice voice as well.

“So, Youngjae-hyung. You out here for a reason?” Yugyeom asks.

“Yeah,” Youngjae says, coughing to clear his clogged throat. The alcohol causes it to burn a little, but it’s just comforting warmth after that. “I’m kinda bummed about something. And I don’t really like parties. This is my frat. I would just go to my room, but there’s probably someone having sex in it. So…” He twirls the cup some more, distractedly.

“Yeah, that could get awkward.” Yugyeom laughs quietly. Another nice sound. It’s sweet, something Youngjae feels rather than just hears. It bounces along the night breeze and takes over his muddled senses.

“What about you?” Youngjae asks.

“Same, I guess. Bummed. Not one for parties,” Yugyeom says. “My friend asked me to come because he wanted to find someone here and didn’t want to look like a loser waiting around by himself. Now I’m the loser by myself. That asshole.”

“Friends suck,” Youngjae muses. He raises his nearly empty cup. It sways lightly in his loosening grip. Whatever was in it and the little bit left is strong. “Toast to the decent people left on the earth.”

So they toast to each other and drink the night away, buried in what they can handle. Surprisingly, considering his sheer height, Yugyeom is a lightweight and Youngjae has to stop himself from overdoing it because the younger had reached that point a while ago, sleepily humming tunes to songs and occasionally pairing them with the wrong words as Youngjae piggybacks him to his dorm.

The air is sweetly warm, whispering across Youngjae’s bare chest as he rummages through his drawers for some less sweaty clothes, goading on the beads of sweat as they collect uncomfortably in the crevices of his body and force him to crack the window more and more.

After tugging Yugyeom’s uncooperative limbs into cooler, cleaner clothes, Youngjae slips in beside the tall freshman, slightly distressed to find that he fits perfectly as if it were in some predestined scheme for the younger to toss one of his long, heavy arms over Youngjae’s torso, anchoring him temporarily.

“He’s a little funny-looking,” Yugyeom whispers suddenly to him. Youngjae can safely say that he is both startled and extremely peeved because how long has this ingrate been awake and why couldn’t he walk his goliath ass back to his own dorm? He’s just about ready to give it to him when the soft murmur is broken by a snor, a snuffle, and nothingness, only to repeat again a minute later with different words. Something like ‘but, cute too’.

And Youngjae realizes Yugyeom is sleep talking.

And sleep insulting him, too. This bastard.

“Hyung,” he babbles, pulling Youngjae closer. “Toast.”

Youngjae would be more livid if Yugyeom weren’t so damn cute.

                                           *     *     *    *     *

The next time Yugyeom is drunk off his ass is at Youngjae’s induction to Kappa Sigma. His newly dubbed crush is sitting right in his lap, a hard drink of something swaying in his unreliable fingers, as they’re at the table trying to keep something down besides liquor.

It isn’t going too hot.

More than half surrounding the stupidly large table are drunk out of their minds, and the other half are swimming in varying states of less severe drunkenness, but not completely lucid all the same. Youngjae is one of the few who are still upright, and he’s not gung ho on the thought of having to carry Yugyeom across campus not a second, or third, but fourth time. He’s a sloppy drunk and bad drinker, barely able to hold his fluids after about three cups of something.

“Hyung, bathroom.” Yugyeom paws at Youngjae’s chest with a pout, wrinkling his dumb, new shirt purchased at (where else, honestly?) Club Z. “I have to peeeeeeee.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Youngjae grumbles miserably, helping Yugyeom to his feet, and pulling the boy over to the stairs. As they’re going up Youngjae thinks that his “wonderful induction night” can’t get suckier; then he and Yugyeom reach the first landing, padding mutely over the hardwood as they turn and commit to climbing the rest to get to the top, and Youngjae hears a gross noise upon reaching the second floor.

It’s dark, loopy, a little hot, and Youngjae can still outline Jaebum’s body pressed up against someone else’s at the beginning of the corridor, just before a long stretch of darkness absorbs anything remotely tangible into an indecipherable blob of mystery.

Youngjae aches that much more because it’s a guy he’s got his hands all over in the sticky shadows, meaning Jaebum is bi, swings both ways, and he probably would never even want to take a whack in Youngjae’s direction.

What makes it all worse is Yugyeom starts whining again, reminding Youngjae that has a new responsibility to deal with, cute sweet Yugyeom who Youngjae is almost sure likes him back. He helps the boy, finally, to the bathroom, switching the light on and pulling the toilet seat up so he can relieve himself.

Youngjae looks on with a mixture of fondness and guilt as he takes out his phone from his jeans pocket, looking away briefly to check the message from Jackson left hours ago.

i know ur butt hurt from the lecture, but jaebum’s gonna be at ur tea party later, sooooo ;););) use protection -wang jackass, 5:34pm

Youngjae sends a quick text back, a digital middle finger, before he’s focusing on Yugyeom again, watching glassily as he fumbles for soap to wash his hands and zoning out simultaneously, thinking back to the lecture in question from earlier.

Youngjae had come into his Music Theory hall with a little smile on his face from serial texting Yugyeom. It had been two weeks since the sleepover incident and they were really hitting it off. Yugyeom, Youngjae’s polisci angel, is also into reading for pleasure, so they were texting about a book they had both read just that summer, crying over the fact that the author isn’t going to release a sequel until the following Spring like a couple of nerds.

He had nearly tripped over someone from having his nose stuck in his screen. That someone turned out to be Jaebum sitting like an Adonis statue and outshining everything in Youngjae’s view. He cursed silently under his breath and scurried past the man, pretending not to hear his pleasant greeting in favor of crowding his body into a ditch and suffocating on his own damn inadequacy.

Instead he just fled a few rows down and drowned in his own awkward sorrow. It had been his own idiocy that forced him to retell all of this to Jackson, because what had Youngjae imagined him doing different from what he usually does? Which is insert new names and post anything remotely amusing that happens in his sorry little life to SNS.

Youngjae shouldn’t have been surprised to see the trials of Jaebin in his twitter feed later, along with a comment by Jaebum, ‘cute’, to which Jackson replied with ‘very’.

So Youngjae isn’t talking to Jackson right now. He couldn’t even if he wanted to because he’s too busy holding onto Yugyeom and ushering him back downstairs, past where Jaebum and some other dude were just sucking face among other things.

                                            *     *     *     *      *    

It’s at another party that shit finally hits the fan. Youngjae is on the couch with Yugyeom on his lap. He has a hard on and the younger’s weight on top of it feels good, really good. He’s doing this twisting thing that makes it feel even better. Summer air, the bass of the music, and his boyfriend’s sweet lips are all sensations that vibrate across his warm, damp skin. He would say it were a perfect night, if only Jaebum weren’t in his head kicking up a disgusting fuss.

He’s trying to give Yugyeom all of his attention, as the boy is licking into his mouth as eager as a puppy, hands playing with the little hairs on the back of Youngjae’s neck, gentle yet urgent. It shouldn’t be hard to do. Yugyeom has his long, supermodel legs swung over Youngjae’s lap, knees weighed into the couch on both sides of him, and his bum is skipping on top of Youngjae’s clothed erection, torsos brushing. It shouldn’t be hard at all to dwell solely on his sweet boyfriend’s playful hands, his busy hips, and intoxicating scent all spawned from some unfathomable source out to end his very existence.

Yugyeom is stunning, and he wants Youngjae, possibly even more than the older wants him if his breathy moans and insistent whines hold any bearing. So the fact that he’s sitting here, hot boyfriend grinding on his lap, thinking about Jaebum, has him reorganizing his priorities. Youngjae has no time to clear his mind though, because Yugyeom must sense it as his hips stop rolling and he stares down at Youngjae with a little frown that the older wishes he could just kiss away.

“It is about Jaebum?”

Youngjae blanches.

“Y-you know Jaebum?” From where? How?

“Not personally.” Yugyeom sighs. “But I hear Jackson-hyung talking about him and you get...weird. Like, your mind freezes and I could never figure out why. And, believe me, I’m not being conceited here. Just speculative. But I’m on your lap, damn near dry humping you, and nothing. Your little man downstairs has been limp for the past ten minutes. Is it because I’m not attractive enough or-”

“No, not at all.” Youngjae reaches up to cradle Yugyeom’s face and bring him down for a kiss. His lips are soft and warm and sweet, but even when he’s connected to him, his polisci angel, his mind is on Jaebum. Yugyeom pulls away with this sad look in his pretty eyes and Youngjae is on the brink of smashing something because those sad, pretty eyes are his fault.

“Do you like him...more than me?” Yugyeom asks, looking as if he’s choking up a bit.

Youngjae hates himself because he doesn’t even have the balls to say ‘yes’.  

“Look, hyung. I like you. A lot. But I can see you need to do some thinking right now. So I’m gonna go.” Yugyeom presses a kiss to Youngjae’s forehead just as empty as his lap when Yugyeom slinks away.

Everything hurts.

This party is stupid.

Jaebum is stupid.

The only thing Youngjae can think to do to clear his head is get so drunk he can’t remember his own name.

He gets very close. He only remembers that Jaebum is stupid and that his dorm is on the east side of campus. He’s stumbling through the dark, eyes only half-way open as the world flies by in clips of sensations. Loud noises. Questionable smells.

Somehow he ends up in a warm building. On an elevator. Tripping through the hall. Banging on a door.

“Youngjae?” It’s truly sick that Youngjae recognizes that voice even when he’s supposed to be blown off his ass tore down.

“Asshole.” Hiccup. “Y-you, you--fuck you.”

“Youngjae, you okay?”

“What do you think, asshole?” Hiccup. “Just...just, I like you dammit!”

“You what?”

That’s when he passes out.

                                           *     *     *     *      *  

Food doesn’t taste the way it should. Youngjae’s stomach is gurgling and his head is making very loud music without his permission, against his will really.

“Good job, dummy.” Jackson scoops more soup into his bowel and pats his head placatingly, shit-eating grin full force. “Jaebum knows you’re hard for him and he still wants to take you out. You know, you definitely come off as the prunish, incompetent type. But you’ve got skills after all.”

“I’m not hard for him.” Youngjae fusses uselessly as he spoons the soup into his mouth and tries to keep it down.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, bud.”

                                         *     *     *     *      *  

Youngjae is sitting in class a few days later when his phone starts ringing against his pants. After a few moments of awkward fumbling and thanking the heavens that he remembered to change his ringtone back from whatever crap Jackson put on it, he manages to turn it off without looking at the screen.

By the time he gets out of class, he’s completely forgotten about the call. In fact, Youngjae also forgets to turn his phone back on. Which is why he’s sitting in a baggy t-shirt he’s had since middle school, paired with athletic shorts that he exclusively uses for lounging and his one-time-a-year trips to the gym. He flips through the channels, pausing on a predictable drama as the stereotypical rich-guy takes the stereotypical poor-girl to buy some tacky name brand clothes for the first time in her life. As if the girl didn’t already own an iPhone 7 Plus.

What is completely not predictable is the knock on the door that comes right as the girl trips and falls dramatically into the main lead’s arms.

Youngjae scratches his head. Did I order pizza?

When he opens the door, instead of the rich and savory smell of Italian pie, Youngjae is greeted with a crisp and cool cologne. When he looks up to look Jaebum in the eyes, the first thing that comes to mind is, “Are you wearing a turtleneck under a dress shirt?”

Jaebum just laughs. “I said I’d pick you up at seven. I’m fifteen minutes late. Sorry.”

“That date thing is tonight?”

“Yes, the date thing is tonight. Forget?” Jaebum puts on a thinking face. “Weird. Just a few days ago someone was banging on my door like the sky was falling, confessing their undying love-”

“I said, and I quote, ‘I like you dammit’. Hardly anything undying about that.” Youngjae hopes the sass can distract Jaebum from his inner-chaos. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.” Jaebum stops him with a hand on his chest. Youngjae isn’t screaming. The tea’s done. “You wanna change into something less, sporty?”

“Where are we going?”

“Secret.” Jaebum sing-songs. “Just get dolled up and meet me at my car, okay? I’m parked right out front.”

“Okay…?”

Youngjae slides in Jaebum’s car about twenty minutes later. He spent ten minutes having an existential crisis and the other ten minutes running around forsaking everything in his wardrobe before deciding on jeans so black they can almost pass for slacks and a white button down that he tucked in them.

Jaebums glances over for a second. He hesitates a moment, and then reaches over to grab Youngjae’s hand. “You look really handsome tonight.”

Youngjae frowns. While he appreciates the sweetness, he can’t help but feel a little bit overwhelmed. Youngjae tries to sneakily untangle their fingers so he can wipe off the sweat that is slowly gathering in his palms. When he goes back to rap Jaebum’s hand once more, however, it’s already back on the steering wheel. Youngjae sits, staring at the hand for a moment before realizing Jaebum is talking again.

“—just opened but I heard it’s really popular. I thought you would like it. There’s a live band and everything. Your clothes are fine too.”

“Oh really?” Youngjae perks up again at hearing there’s a live band. He imagines a hipster club, the perfect opportunity to see Jaebum at his sexiest: when dancing. As his mood lightens, he gets chattier, going into a story about Jackson’s latest antics.

“We’re here.”

Shit.

Youngjae was expecting fancy, but he wasn’t expecting this. It looks like somewhere people who sneeze money frequent. The kind of place with little personal packs of fruity smelling soap in the bathroom that they’re not even afraid of people stealing because who would be caught pilfering little soaps when they have hand-made, hypoallergenic imports from Milan? Jaebum is smiling again when the maitre'd leads them to their booth and Youngjae’s breath is no longer with him. He just listens as Jaebum tells him the name of the restaurant, something European, and Youngjae can only nod and smile. Looking down at his menu, he sees that it’s all written in French, maybe, or Italian, except the prices. Youngjae actually gasps out loud when he takes in the digits, which fails to go unnoticed by Jaebum.

“Are you okay?” Jaebum asks sweetly. He smiles and reaches his hand across the table. When Youngjae just meekly nods, Jaebum asks, “Are you ready to order?” He then calls for the waiter in a voice that would have Youngjae drooling, if he wasn’t still trying to figure out what everything meant.

“Are you ready to order, sir?” the waiter asks. Youngjae can’t help but feel relieved that the waiter speaks Korean, at least.

“Yeah, um, I’ll just have… This,” he decides, pointing at one of the menu options. Hopefully it doesn’t taste like shit.

Jaebum orders, the waiter goes, and they sit in silence. Youngjae’s not sure if Jaebum thinks it’s an awkward silence or if he’s enjoying the music, and the tapping of his fingers gives no hint to either. Youngjae perks up in excitement to see their waiter returning with their food. And then he realizes that this date is really and truly just meant to be a prolonged hell as he takes in the cucumbers lining a plate of greens.

As the dinner wraps up with both Jaebum and Youngjae claiming to be too full for desserts (although they both also still have piles of food left on their plates) Youngjae reaches into his pockets to be left with emptiness. Or really, nothingness, because he doesn’t actually have pockets. Or his wallet. Or his phone to pay with apple pay. Or anything at all. Youngjae panics and looks up to explain himself to Jaebum, only to find that Jaebum has already paid for their meal.

Walking back to the car, Youngjae speaks up, “That was a pretty nice first date, I guess.” He can’t help but cringe at how insincere that sounds.

“You know what. I have to confess something,” Jaebum declares, turning to him.

“What?” Youngjae can’t help but think, This is it, this is the moment. He’s going to say he never wants to see me again.

“I actually, really, really don’t like—“

Oh shit here it comes.

“—Western food. And I don’t know if maybe you don’t like it either because you didn’t eat much of your food either, I noticed, but the restaurant had nice reviews, and I wanted to make this really special, and you didn’t respond to my texts so I wasn’t sure in the first place if you would like it or not but I thought it would be okay because Jackson recommended it, but then again Jackson trained in France for a year so he probably likes french food? But I just—“

Youngjae has to stop him there. “Wait. I just. I don’t like cucumbers, but I can’t read French.”

“Oh.”

“And I actually turned my phone off today so I didn’t get any of your texts, which is why I’m dressed like trash, as always, and you look so sleek and good and everybody thinks that you’re too good for me because you are literally in a turtleneck and dress shirt blazer leather pants suede shoes combo thingy and I’m not. Maybe I should have let you dress me again, ha ha.” Youngjae finishes with an awkward laugh.

“Oh.”

“I also don’t have pockets. Or anything. Except some lettuce stuck in my teeth that I can’t get out.”

“Oh.”

“So, yeah.”

“Oh.”

Youngjae isn’t sure how to proceed anymore. I mean, he thinks, I literally just told him I had lettuce stuck in my teeth. There’s an awkward pause, and then Youngjae says, “So do you want some bingsu?”

“Yes. A classic Korean dessert.”

Youngjae returns home that night with a smile on his face. He can’t help but blush as he thinks about Jaebum. About how cute Jaebum looked when he got a brain freeze from eating too fast. How cute he looked when he lost at the arcade Dance Dance Revolution game to a seven year old and pouted about it. How cute he looked when he had pepper paste smudged on his cheek when they got spicy rice cake for dinner, round two. And especially how cute he looked when he ran away after placing a peck on Youngjae’s cheek at his front door.

Jaebum’s really not chic and sexy at all, Youngjae decides. He’s just a ball of fluff.

As Youngjae lays on his side to get comfortable for bed, he fishes out his phone to send a message to Jackson.

you’re not a complete ding dong. the date was nice. -you, 11.03pm

                                           *     *     *     *      *  

“Jackson. When I said you could plan our date, I meant that you could pick a nice restaurant or movie for us to go to, heck, even an amusement park. Why is there a script?” Youngjae doesn’t know what to do with the packet of paper he holds in his hands. He looks over at the similar copy that Jaebum has (but with different highlights) and decides the only thing left to do is go out and plant some trees. Maybe they can plant two trees together in the name of love. The sound of Jackson slapping his Director’s Copy of the script onto the table whips him out of his daydreams.

“It’s not a script!” Jackson protests. “It’s just suggestions for the theme?”

Jaebum has already started flipping through the book, questioning, “Did you get this from the morning drama that Youngjae likes to watch? The lines are literally the same.”

“What? No! Don’t be ridiculous!” Jackson protests, flapping his hands back and forth, as if that will help dispel any claims of plagiarism.

“This is literally a ‘the rich guy takes the poor girl shopping for better clothes scene,’” Youngjae deadpans. “This is so cliche. I can’t believe I’m the poor girl with bad taste in clothes.”

Jaebum pauses from where he’s flipping through the book. “But you do have bad taste in clothes.”

Youngjae rolls his eyes and throws his hands up in exasperation, “That’s it, we’re breaking up.”

“NO!” Jackson gasps. “Not after all the hard work I put into getting you two together! If anything, at the very least go on this date, and then I made a reservation for this really nice restaurant where you can have a steak dinner, and then you guys can break up as Youngjae throws a cup of water in Jaebum’s face, and it’ll be perfect!”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Jackson,” Jaebum groans. “Let’s just get this over with.” He reaches out and grabs Youngjae’s hand, asking for a final time, “You ready?”

Youngjae laughs and follows along as Jaebum tugs him out the door.

Jackson trails behind them, oohing and ahhing at their cuteness. “And! If I’m cliche, then you cute little assholes are cliche, too! Don’t think I’m gonna forget how you two first met! I asked the manager for a copy of the CCTV tapes!”

“You know,” Jaebum whispers to Youngjae as he looks back at Jackson, trailing along behind them, “I know it’s a little early to be thinking about marriage, but it looks like we’ve already adopted a kid.”

Youngjae laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. Maybe it’s because this second is the happiest moment of his life.

[i-would-rather-be-queen]

2PM Junho AU ‘Fables’

A/N: Ever since I saw this picture I wanted to write something like this. ^^ I hope you guys enjoy.

~

Hearing the crunching leaves underfoot always made you feel like you were home, no matter where you were. The sights and smells that could be found nowhere other than the forest eased your soul and rejuvenated your spirit. Whatever your burdens had been they always felt lighter after one of your hikes.

Of course your dog was a constant companion on these trips. He’d sprint ahead then circle back to check on your slow two-legged progress. Though he often charged ahead, he was never out of sight for long which was why you were starting to become concerned. It’d been a few minutes and he hadn’t come to your call which he always did. Nor could you hear him trampling through the underbrush. Wherever he was, he wasn’t moving.  

Worry snaked its way into your heart and your calls took on a tinge of panic. Breaking out in an ungainly trot over the rough terrain you moved as fast as possible in the direction he’d gone. Finally you found him, safe and sound wagging his tail while getting pets from a man. The first rush of emotion you felt was relief followed closely by irritation. Same as any parent would feel: thank goodness you’re ok, I’m going to kill you.

Then your breath caught in fear. The man who had been crouching stood, revealing he was naked from the waist up. Lithe in form, he was more toned than muscular. But the autumn air had a good bite to it, certainly not weather to be shirtless in. And now that you looked closer, what had seemed like wild hair was actually an array of twigs and sticks shaped vaguely like a crown.

He was crazy. He had to be.

Sharply you called your dog so he knew you meant business. While he complied you could tell from his body language he was reluctant to return to your side. It was odd. He was a friendly dog to be sure, but easily preferred you over others. He’d never been so taken with a stranger before. Feeling adrenaline prickling along your skin you grabbed hold of your dog’s collar and turned without a word.

“He’s a lovely dog.”

“Uh, thanks.” The reply was automatic and half-hearted at best.

“Wait, I’d like to talk to you. Why are you running away?”    

“Being half naked would be the biggest reason.”

“Oh.” Out of the corner of your eye you saw him look down at himself, almost in surprise.

Then reality itself warped as the space around him blurred and from one blink to the next he was wearing a lush light green jacket. “Is this better?”

His eyes danced in amusement but it was clear there were things hidden behind them. Not convinced it was safe, but no longer thinking he was a deranged killer you held your ground. For the time being. Cautiously you noted, “You kept the crown.”

At this he feigned apology. “Yes, that is something I can’t get rid of. I am a prince after all.”

Peering closer you saw that what you thought were simple twigs woven together had the shine of golden leaves as well. Clearing your throat you had to ask, “Wh-what are you?”

“A wood spirit.”

“Like Pan or something?”

“Pan is a wood spirit but not all wood spirits are Pan.”

“Mm, but perhaps all wood spirits have silver tongues.”

His playful smile held a warmth that curled in your belly. “Perhaps.”

Flustered you asked, “So…what do you want from me?”

“You are a foundling, are you not?” His tone implied he already knew the answer.

It took a second for your brain to catch up. “What? No, I have parents.”

“As do we all. I meant that they are not your birth parents. They found you.”

“You’re mistaken. They’ve never once said that.”

“A lie by omission is still a lie. Ask them.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because you belong to the woods. Your soul sings with it every time you cross its borders. I know this because it is not the first time we’ve met.”

“I think I’d remember you.”

He smirked, “Do you remember every fox that crosses your path? Every bird that flies above? Go ask your parents. Then come back and we’ll talk.” The wood spirit was backing further into a particularly dense thicket, almost as if he was melting into them.

“Wait! How will I find you?”

“I know all the creatures that set foot on the forest floor.”

That wasn’t creepy at all. “What do I call you?”

“Junho.” The last syllable seemed to be carried on the wind and he was no more.  

It was surprising you didn’t break a leg on the way of the woods. For once your dog was having to keep pace with you, his dreams of sniffing various scents shattered.

On the way home you debated whether or not to even ask your parents. It was beyond ridiculous. Just because some exhibitionist with a shrub on his head spun some wild tale you had to believe it? But it was hard to deny certain things. The way his clothes manifested out of thin air or how the trees seemed to swallow him whole.

At dinner you pushed your food around your plate prompting your mother to ask if something was wrong. Knowing you’d feel better just getting it over with you asked the question with perhaps less delicacy than you should have. You only realized this when your mother began weeping.

Your father came over and wrapped an arm around her in consolation. In a voice choked with emotion he explained everything. “I was in the woods and heard crying. It sounded like a fox but something kept nagging at me to check. I found you bawling at the base of a tree, all cold and tiny. I tucked your little body into my jacket and brought you home.”

It was like some bizarre fairytale. Your very world had been shaken to its foundation. Everything you thought you knew was false, and what was supposed to be make believe was real.

Through her tears your mother pleaded, “We wanted a child so badly. And we told ourselves that you hadn’t been cared for properly anyway. Finding you was a miracle. But we thought you’d hate us or misunderstand if you knew. ”

“Nonsense. The two of you saved my life and gave me a loving home. You will always be my parents.” The rest of the night was spent drying each other’s eyes and reminiscing. It was a warm time filled with love. 

Yet it still felt like goodbye.

Once again you felt the pull of the woods but now you understood what it meant. It wasn’t just a place you liked to be, it was a place you belonged. You tried to discourage your dog from following you, but he’d have none of it. Bounding along he merrily leaped over fallen logs as the two of you made your way to what felt to be the heart of the woods.

Closing your eyes you tilted your face to the sky and whispered, “Junho.”

“Yes?” There was a glimpse of movement like the blowing of leaves and he was there. “Are you ready?”

“So you are taking me away.” Your chin quivered and you bit your lip to keep the tears at bay, thoughts of never seeing your family again filling your mind.

Junho approached with footsteps silent as if the very earth itself bent to his will to make way for him. “Not forever. You may visit whenever you like. But your place isn’t with them. It’s here, with me.”

“With you?” Seeing him this close was mesmerizing. His skin was golden like the setting sun, hair brown as the rich earth under your feet. Junho wasn’t just a creature of the woods he was the embodiment of them.

Not taking his eyes off your lips he leaned in and pressed his own to them. When they met you heard rustling leaves and creaking branches though there was no wind to stir them. The sound came from within, filling your senses and it was as if a blindfold had been removed. The forest around you seemed much more alive and you could feel every inch of it. Rabbits munching in a clearing, a squirrel clamoring along a trunk overhead. Even the very worms in the soil. You were aware of it all.

The wave of information hit you in a rush leaving you lightheaded. Junho placed his hands on your shoulders to steady you. With an impish grin he said, “Welcome home. It’ll take some time to adjust but I’ll be by your side.”  

There was no denying it. Now that your understanding of the world had been broadened you knew this was where you were meant to be. It was bittersweet leaving the life you knew for one so foreign but with Junho as your guide it was a journey you we’re willing to take.

Ready to start experiencing the woods as you’d only dreamed you offered a challenge, “Race you!”

The three of you sprinted through the trees like swift-footed deer, laughter heralding your coming. It was new, and something you’d never have imagined in your wildest dreams, but it was home.​

[kpopgerapitico]

End of Year Review 2018: K-dramas Part 2

Top 5: These are ordered, though there is a tie, so that is a thing too. The rest is under the cut

Number 4 (part 1): Woohoo Waikiki

Episodes: 20

Station: jtbc

Director/Writer: Lee Changmin (Man to Man), Kim Ki Ho (Modern Farmer)

In A Sentence: These boys have lived together in a guest house, facing life’s challenges.

First of all, this show has been renewed for a second season, which is great. Secondly, this is the only true comedy on this list, and deserves it for the humor that this show has done. It had me laughing literally every episode. The cast had chemistry for days, and it showed on the show every week. The main three were all facing the fact that all of them had previous roles that I knew them from clouding these roles, and all three of them broke out of those spots.

Kim Jung Hyun continues to grow as an actor, which is amazing. Son Seung Won gets the happy ending he deserved in his last show in this one. And Lee Yi Kyung is one of my favs, and does great work in all his roles (including the incredibly idiotic ones like this). The leading ladies are also pretty damn great (Go Won Hee is the highlight).

If you needed a happy go lucky show this year, or now that this year is finally over, give the Waikiki guest house a chance. And I promise that for at least an hour, you won’t be disappointed.

Number 4 (part 2): My ID Is Gangnam Beauty

Episodes: 16

Station: jtbc

Director/Writer: Choi Sung Bum (Two Outs in the Ninth Inning), Choi Soo Young (Cunning Single Lady)

In A Sentence: After being ridiculed for being ugly, Kang Mi Rae pays for a beautiful face, and faces the consequences.

I was so sure I would hate this show, because I am incredible sensitive to the depiction of ‘ugliness’ and weight issues in media. And this show managed to surprise me, both by feeling realistic to the experience of an actual person who gets plastic surgery, and also being realistic to societal views. And I love the fact that Kang Mi Rae is as stuck in those views as the woman and men around her at the beginning of the series.

I have to mention that the actors make me . . . uncertain. I love Lim Soo Hyang as the lead, but Cha Eun Woo is a beautiful beautiful robot, who, to be fair, was playing a fairly unemotional character. The supporting cast often stole the spotlight, and honestly, half the time I was more invested in all of the friendships than the romance, but that was fine.

For a show that could have been a complete train wreck, it was workable. It was a triumph as much as a failure, and on the whole will probably be forgotten. Which is too bad, because its central message is acceptance of all people, and respect for all people. It is great because of that.

Number 3: The Ghost Detective

Episodes: 32

Station: KBS

Director/Writer: Lee Jae Hoon (Page Turner), Han Ji Won (Wanted)

In A Sentence: With grudges and secrets abound, can they successfully find and defeat the woman in red?

Okay, so stay with me. This show is not amazing. It is not a particularly new premise, and it is nothing to call home about writing wise. Hell, the directing isn’t anything to write home about either (this camera has no apparent point of view). I am struggling to say good things, because on the surface, it isn’t there.

But, this show is a master class in suspense. It is insanely well done. They have taken a page from the book of Stranger Things, and have added some of the same musical cues. And, in the first act, the control of information is very well done. Hell, the firs act may even be well written.

The only good things that make it out of the second half of the show is an electric set of performances from a cast desperate to make a lack luster script work. And the highlight of set of performances for me is Kim Won Hae. Kim Won Hae often plays the butt end of a joke, and is known for his comedic timing. This role allows him to shine in a bunch of different ways than his normal works. And I was enthralled.

This show isn’t good. But it is amazing in all of it’s faults, and it holds a place in my heart this year for that alone.

Number 2: Twelve Nights

Episodes: 12

Station: Channel A

Director/Writer: Jung Hyun Soo, Hwang Sook Mi

In A Sentence: A romance over 8 years and twelve nights between travelling souls.

Twelve Nights is a painful story of missed opportunity, following your dreams, and the fragile fallacy of perfect memories. It is a story with an intrinsic optimism while also leaning into the fact that life is hard for everyone and hard on everyone. The contrast of optimistic and realist characters is used to incredible effect, and I could probably write a paper about how missed chances are used as a narrative device across every (and I mean EVERY) characters story line.

Han Seung Yeon builds on her already impressive career in Twelve Nights. She is so damn relatable as a character who is driven and then loses her way, only to find it again. And she is endlessly complex and still respectful constantly. And across from Shin Hyun Soo, she is magic.

By bringing back the duo who already knew each other from Age of Youth, the writer already had some built in chemistry, but they won the jackpot when they got this pair. Shin Hyun Soo is heart rending. He is the wonderful foil to Han Seung Yeon’s character, and the push pull that they communicate in looks alone is special.

This show shows a ton of potential in a whole team that is for the most part unknown. And it shows why indie shows should be on your radar.

Number 1: Just Between Lovers (Rain or Shine)

Episodes: 16

Station: jtbc

Director/Writer: Kim Jin Won (The Package), Yoo Bo Ra (Secret Love)

In A Sentence: A building collapse 10 years ago tore apart their lives, but a new project may pick up the pieces.

Just Between Lovers has the magic sauce of melodramas. It is grounded in the reality of well written, realistic characters facing only slightly over the top situations. It is also maybe both the most tear jerking and also most healing dramas of this year? It is beautifully shot (by the same guy who made The Package so pretty last year) and scored quietly and kindly. It is also amazingly well written, with characters who stay in character and whose actions seem rooted in the consistent characterizations. Yoo Bo Ra is all the more impressive for it, since she has so few writing credits.

I would also be remiss to not mention the acting. Lee Junho may be well known for Twenty (good), Good Manager (well loved domestically), and maybe the trash that was Wok of Love (ugh), this is easily the most impressed have been by him. I love Lee Kang Doo, and a solid chunk of the reason is Junho’s stellar performance. And Won Jin Ah’s first small screen project speaks to a whole lot more experience than she has any right to have. Ha Moon Soo is soft spoken, with unbreakable determination, and a surety of self that is both relatable and just slightly unattainable. And their chemistry is just . . . amazing.

Just Between Lovers is my bet for best written show, but it does that by respecting tropes and sitting in a world that is realistic and too beautiful. It treats mental illness as important but not all encompassing. It shows multiple, realistic depictions of reactions to loss. And it does it all in the middle of a swoony romance between equal partners. And that is why it is my favorite from the year.

[khottiesofkchatjjigae]

I have no idea what to write for this week. My brain is fried after four days of post-holiday work followed by two very fun but very late nights out (which may or may not have involved libations…one too many of them). It’s a relief that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Lee Jun Ho, better known as Junho, is a member of 2PM and the lead of the new drama Just Between Lovers. I’m not that familiar with 2PM as they are ‘before my time’ but for some reason watching him in Just Between Lovers is exactly what I needed this week…turns out being left-handed and using chopsticks is a thing for me.

If you’ve been a fan of 2PM you might remember him.

Or remember this.

It’s okay if you don’t because he’s only gotten better with age.

Additional proof if you’re doubting my judgment.

He has a beautiful profile.

Look closer all you doubters.

He’s all sexy and roughed up most of the time in his new drama…I’m not complaining.

He likes to read.

He pouts.

Offers you a beer.

Blows kisses.

Plays the guitar.

I don’t love his solo stuff but it’s enjoyable.

  How can it not be enjoyable when he appears on the beach.

Can we talk about his smile.

I love this tiny smile, a smile you want to see across the breakfast table every morning.

If we’re being completely honest this is the look I think we would all like to see every morning.

You can hopefully see more such looks by following him on Instagram @le2jh.