#to me their relationship is so interesting because Yuta doesn’t have a title but he has everything Maxwel doesn’t… and it’s just so AHHH

[bayleymania]

Imagine Yuta saying to MJF: “You won a match against your hero and you didn’t even earn his respect. I lost a match against mine, and I earned his love”.

[greatteachergojou]

JJK chapter 148 thoughts

kinda forgot about this review draft i made for ch.148 (also cuz i’m really busy with uni) so i’m getting this out here now before i read ch. 149 (review for ch. 149 will be posted later today. or so i hope.)

Look at this absolute misogynistic asshole questioning and demanding answers from her like she’s some item that belongs to him. It’s none of your friggin business, Naoya.

I should be more prepared to become infuriated any time he opens his mouths but damn, it pisses me off so much yet again. Thanks for that panel showing him bullying Maki, Gege. Really helps with my mood and all (i’m not even over the last chapter yet, dammit).

Maki didn’t let this environment break her but I can see why Touji became the way he was. Not everyone comes out of this shithole unscathed. And not everyone can muster the strength to fight against this.

Again, love their bond. Megumi is a kind kid. They have each others back. LOVE THAT.

As expected, Megumi has zero interest in getting involved with the Zenin clan. He’s a Fushiguro. And he doesn’t care about the position of power as the clan head. He just wants to save the people he wants to save.

And I love how rational Maki goes about this. She wants to become clan head by earning the title rightfully and getting acknowledged (although I kinda doubt the folks in the clan would ever truly acknowledge her because they’ve got their heads too far up their own asses).

She wants real change, not only for her but also for Mai. And I can’t believe I never recognized that she left the clan not only for herself but also for Mai’s sake. Dammit, why can’t you two sit down and talk to each other properly. They’re acting all hard and stubborn on the outside but actually care so much about each other.

Damn, that hurt a lot. Even if you’d think she doesn’t have any feelings left for her family (exept Mai), we can see by her expression that it still hurts. It’s one of the most hurtful feelings for a child to be told by their parents that they regret giving birth to them (and they don’t have any right to say that. your child didn’t ask to be born into this shit family.)

The Zenin clan somehow manages to surprise me again by how disgusting they are. I made the mistake of expecting some sorts of caring words (yeah i feel stupid) coming from her mother because I somehow thought 'at least there should be someone in that family who has a heart, right?’ (I mean, look at Kamo’s mom. She was kind.) - But haha, nope, not happening with the Zenins. They’re the worst of the worst.

Hahaha, I’ll take all the Naoya slander, even if it’s coming from the Zenins. Naoya is too full of himself.

(Pretty sure Gojo and him have crossed path before since they’re important clan members. I’d like to see that. Knowing Gojo, he’d roast him so hard. And just roast the Zenins geezers in general whenever he can. Plz gimme that, Gege.)

Little do they know that the king of curses also has a very good, although on-sided, relationship with Megumi. (Speaking of which, I’d say Kamo Noritoshi’s relationship is also one-sided xD)

There’s already everything wrong with them actually believing that ones trustworthiness and reputation has anything to do with their child’s power. Leave it to the Zenins to place all the blame on their child instead of acknowledging that it is indeed themself who suck.

Are the other Zenin’s even allowed to acces the storage without the head’s permission? I guess it just goes to proof again that they don’t really care about Megumi legally being the head of their clan. They just won’t abide by that. Megumi is the head but it probably doesn’t mean that much if the other leaders in the clan don’t want to acknowledge that.

He had everything planned out and set up, waiting for her in the storage room, with no weapons to use for Maki, knowing fully well that she has great mastery in handling weapons - such absolute and relentless murderous intend. And also, leaving Mai alive only because she could be used as a bargaining chip? Are you fucking serious? I have to ask again, just how can a parent be so damn cruel? They are really just competing about who’s the worst scum, huh?

That old fart really shed a tear - not because he mortally wounded his own daugthers but because he’s feeling oh so sorry for his sorry pathetic self. And of course it’s never his fault but it’s all his daugthers fault.

Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry after reading a chapter, or sweared as much (and i’ve been holding back actually...). I can’t with the Zenins. What the fuck is this family.

Anyways, I’m not that worried? Maki just survived Jogo so there’s no way she’ll die here. Part of me is hoping for Yuta (or Inumaki?) to back her up but I really want it to be her who ends up beating the shit out of all of them. It should be her own triumph over the clan. Hoping for Maki and Mai combo (somehow, maybe? i don’t care how. just make it happen Gege)

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!

I’m so glad @littlestartopaz​ recommended this to me, because it was SO GOOD.

Yuta wants to start high school afresh: new school far from home, new classmates who don’t know he spent middle school acting out the fantasy of being the mysterious and magic “Dark Flame Master,” new him. But one of his classmates has delusions of her own, and after she accidentally discovers his embarrassing past, Yuta is unwillingly drawn into her life and a growing circle of friends with their own quirks.

The “chunibyo” of the title basically means “8th grade syndrome;” a phase in middle school where some kids inhabit and act out their own fantasy stories, positing themselves as dark magicians, magical girls, and other wielders of magical powers.

I had avoided this for a while, until it was specifically recommended to me, because honestly, it sounds embarrassing, right? It sounds like it’s gonna be an embarrassing manic pixie dream girl scenario. But what it actually contains is the story of how a mixed bag of students--some actively chunibyo, others not--become friends and develop very endearing close relationships, while arguing and frustrating each other because that’s what friends do.

Now, the idea of being the star of what’s essentially your own fantasy-action anime is embarrassing, but what’s notable is that the show doesn’t really hold the chunibyo characters up for mockery. Sure we might laugh at them, but hey--it’s funny to watch friends be silly together. And most viewers, just like some of the characters who have moved on from their chunibyo phases, probably easily understand the mix of soul-wrenching embarrassment and (mild?) fond sentiment that comes with remembering our middle school selves.

But let’s be real: the reactions the two former chunibyo students, Yuta and Shinka have to being reminded of middle school, are #RELATABLE

Rikka, our title chunibyo, in particular uses her fantasy in part to cope with grief, coming from an extended family that (without getting spoilery) didn’t help a young girl to deal with a very hard and life-changing time. Now that she’s in high school, her older sister blackmails Yuta (using an a voice recording of one of his chunibyo speeches) into helping deal with Rikka and things (like the cat she wants to adopt) that pop up.

One thing the show is very good at, though, is not making a single thing the reason behind a character’s chunibyo. One may have started their fantasy inspired by another person, or prompted by an event, but it’s also (while active) part of their personal narrative that influences how they spent their free time, how they see the world and keep blogs or diaries, etc.

But at the same time, they’re still teenagers, and their inner view of themselves...doesn’t always translate skills.

I said the show is primarily about friendship. A lot of that friendship is between Yuta and Rikka, but they accumulate a little group, mainly through Rikka’s attempt to start a magic club. Recruit 1: Kumin, a polite, quiet senpai with no chunibyo history or aspirations.

Kumin starts off seeming like a background character, but by the second season it’s clear she’s not just there for jokes about how she’ll take a nap anywhere. She’s perceptive, and genuinely enjoys watching the others act out their scenarios.

Compared to the other characters who are boisterous in their chunibyo activities (Rikka, Deko, Satone), or vociferously trying not to get drawn in to chunibyo activities (Yuta, Shinka), Kumin is happy to watch and offer encouragement, but she’s also willing to participate if a chunibyo scenario calls for a group.

Incidentally, the show does a really interesting thing where occasionally, we’ll be drawn “inside” the chunibyo world, seeing what Rikka/Deko/whoever see: a fantasy land, big magical weapons, anime-grade magical attacks. Occasionally we’ll also see what this “really” looks like--a couple people running around waving umbrellas at each other--but often we only get the fantasy version. It’s clear that Rikka and co. are legitimately on some level engaging in a shared imagination, and the times when a reluctant character (particularly Yuta or Shinka) willing steps in to the shared illusion are genuinely sweet.

Speaking of, Shinka (aka Morisummer) became one of my favorite characters. Like Yuta, she was chunibyo (”Morisummer the magician”); like Yuta, she chose a high school where she didn’t know anyone expressly so she could reinvent herself as a normal teen. And like Yuta, she’s getting dragged kicking and screaming into chunibyo again.

It would’ve been so easy to make her a bad character. She’s pretty, puts a lot of effort into being popular and likable at school, trying to keep up a good teen girl image, despite being fairly sarcastic at her core. And as loathe as she is to admit it, she likes her friends (even if she won’t admit they’re friends, even if half of them are actively chunibyo, even if she says she’s only hanging around so she can make sure all traces of chunibyo-Morisummer are erased from the internet).

Shinka gets drawn in to the group through Rikka’s apparently only pre-existing friend: Deko, a fellow chunibyo who follows Rikka (or “Eye of the Wicked Lord Shingan”) as her master, and is extremely devoted to the great magician Morisummer. So devoted, in fact, that she has several physical copies of Morisummer’s book containing all her wisdom...aka Shinka-Morisummer’s blog, which Shinka has tried to erase all trace of.

Needless to say, the two don’t seem to get along great.

Deko’s dedication to chunibyo and Morisummer irks Shinka; Shinka’s claim to be Morisummer irks Deko, who refuses to believe the great magician could ever be this sarcastic, mundane girl. Deko’s refusal irks Shinka, bringing out the sarcasm and bluntness Shinka tries to hide from the school at large.

Obviously, they actually become close friends, but heaven help you if you actually say so.

The entire series is an exploration of relationships, and Yuta’s developing closeness with Rikka (hey, we knew it was going to happen) is also sweet. He’s a genuinely likable boy, embarrassed by the vestiges of his former self he sees in Rikka, but often willing to meet her on her level, and both of them also learn/reaffirm the importance of doing things their way, and keeping both of them comfortable, rather than acting a certain way or performing specific acts just because their classmates think their relationship status mandates it.

Speaking of classmates--and I know this is getting long but I CAN’T HELP IT, I LIKED SO MANY ASPECTS OF THIS SERIES--the characters aren’t ridiculed at school. Sure, some people think they’re weird, but there’s no shunning, no arc involving teasing or bullies. Rikka’s often content as a loner, but when she attempts to join in a social circle, she’s welcomed. Shinka’s obsessed with reinventing herself and appearing normal and seems to think that otherwise she’ll be cast out, but multiple characters mention that others at the school notice how she behaves (oddly, on occasion) and there are no social repercussions. Truly nice for a show that has characters spending quite a lot of time in school.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, and it’s got strong performances. Rikka’s voice actor in particular does a fantastic job capturing the difference between chunibyo!Rikka’s confidence and command, and regular!Rikka’s, well, normal awkward teenageness. (Plus, I also found her lower-than animegirl-average voice enjoyable.) (Double plus, I honestly think her English voice is better than her original Japanese voice at showing the difference between her emotions and chunibyo/reality.) Deko’s VA is fantastic showing the enthusiasm of the 9th grader (and what enthusiasm, Deko is like the Energizer Bunny), and Shinka’s VA manages to show her alternating annoyance, cheerfully sweet ideal self, and organizized leader voices.

Visuals: Fine, and I really liked the chunibyo designs for each character’s chunibyo phase. The contrast between chunibyo-vision (giant magic weapons; mysterious lights, fantasy landscapes) and reality (an umbrella or soup ladle; a strip of lights taped to the floor; a local park) was really well done.

Worth watching? Yessss. It’s very manageable--two 12-episode seasons--and while each season contains its own arc (you could stop after the first one, but why), together they make an excellent story. Heck, I think the second season is equal to, if not better than, the first, because the friend group is well-established and even more fun to watch.

Where to watch (USA, as of October 2020): Netflix (dub, sub); Crunchyroll (sub), HIDIVE (sub & dub, plus OVAs and film)

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[cosmiclatte28]

TEMPO (racer! reader x sehun, nct and exo) #1

This is a 5 part story of Racer!you x Sehun, however your squad is made up of NCT members.. so this is kinda exo x nct x you! 

ENJOYYY I HOPE THIS 5 PART STORY DOESN’T LET YOU DOWN... The parts will be posted every day.. so watch out for Thursday to Sunday 

WARNING : WILD RACING, SMOKING (DON’T OKAY PLEASE, EVEN I do not smoke.. ps my reader here uses “hyung” to address men because she is raised like a boy.

NCT boys here are Jaehyun, Taeyong, Yuta, Johnny

*******************************

Sehun dishevels his dark brown locks once again as his fingers constantly press a button on his remote control. The screen in front of him blinks and shows different pictures which fail to grab his attention.

Sehun sighs in agony. It’s Saturday night and he has nothing to do, no one to get laid, and no reasons to sleep yet. Now he realizes how lonely he is after he broke up with his previous girl friend who sneaked behind him to get into his best friend’s (Kai) pants. Yes Sehun dated her for a good two years and in the last three months she slept with Kai. He caught her red handed when he came to Kai’s room; unplanned, to take the homework he left. That day ended his relationship with the girl and his friendship with Kai.

Sehun has been doing well the past few months forgetting the memories, leaving Kai behind, and moving on. He is thankful for Johnny and his friends who accept him nicely into the gang. Sehun does not meet his fellow friends: Chanyeol and Baekhyun as frequent as he did before mainly because Kai shares an apartment with them. Sehun met Johnny from his philosophy class and they happen to have the same hobby, therefore they start to be best friends.

Usually on Saturday nights, Sehun has some fun with Chanyeol and the others; probably catching on with their games, talking about some girls here and there, Baekhyun challenges them for a match in PUBG, Suho annoys them with his dad jokes, Lay and Chanyeol might work on their music, and Kai? He’ll be with Sehun laughing their ass off when Baekhyun lost a game. Hufth he really misses Kai, but at the same time he hates him with all his heart. How could a best friend do that?

But truth is : best friends are the ‘best’ back-stabber right?

Sehun turns his TV off when he heard a knock on the door. Lazily he proceeds to grab the door.

“Yeah-“ he opens the door to see the person disturbing his peaceful night- “Oh, it’s you.”

Sehun steps aside to let the man behind the door in.

“What is it Johnny?” Sehun questions when the tall man makes his way to his cooler and ponders over the glass to pick which drink he wants.

Johnny grabs a can of Carlsberg, pops it open and quenches his thirst. Sehun rolls his eyes then snaps, “If you’re only here for my drinks… put some dollars there and leave.”

Johnny takes his time to finish the last drop and after applying pressure to crumple the can he finally speaks up.

“I see you have no company tonight. The TVs are boring, mind to follow me?” he asks while tossing the unformed can between his hands.

“What? Where?” Sehun deems more explanation.

“Somewhere you might never have been before-“ he glances at his wrist and back to Sehun “the offer’s short. Are you coming or not?”

Sehun looks puzzled. Johnny out of the blue knocked his apartment door, finished a can of beer, and suddenly asked him to join him.

“It will be interesting I promise. At least more interesting than sitting in your dull apartment crying over your ex.” Johnny shrugs his shoulder playfully and tosses the can to the bin.

“Fine. I agree just because I have nothing to do, and seeing you made time to come and pick me up… it better be something good.” Sehun jogs and grabs his denim jacket and jumps into his boots. Judging by Johnny’s fashion he knows a sneaker won’t do good.

“Nice choice. You’re quick in observing eh?” Johnny slaps his back and walks out of the small flat.

“Walk faster please.” With that one sentence, Sehun locks his door and catches up his friend’s long steps.

Sehun finds out that they are not alone. He sees Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Yuta lounging over the basement smoking a stick of cigarette.

“You’re finally here! Took you almost one box of this.” Jaehyun playfully shakes the half empty cigarette box. (The four shares them, duhh)

“Where’s your manner-” Sehun smirks and opens his hand to which Yuta quickly places a bar “-thank you! Now shall we get going?”

Taeyong laughs at his arrogance. “I don’t promise you will like where we’re headed. Note that it’s our job-“ he points at himself then to Yuta and Jaehyun “- Johnny is only accompanying us and we think you’ll be lonely after your drama… so let’s see how this goes.”

Sehun keeps his mouth close and follows them into their car. After an hour drive out of the city, they reach a vast crowded area on the outskirt of the busy streets. There are no tracks or path there, but judging by the numerous two wheeled vehicles and spot lights exposing a route, Sehun knows they are in a wild motor tracking area. He did not know these 4 calm looking guys are into this kind of sport, but that explains their fashion style! Lots of leathers, tight pants, chains, and that smoldering look.

Sehun jumps off the car and looks around for a while; just to realize he is no longer with the gang. He lost them, but before catching up, he decided to look around for a little while.

The brunette is mesmerized by the shining slim bodies of the motors. There are several bikes displayed nicely side by side, each one having their own personal strikes of colors and styles. One motor caught his attention, the simplest one, with just a sticker of 127 in a bold neon green prints. He carefully runs his finger through the neat numbers then quickly pulls them back when a small voice calls him.

“Hey-“ the person taps his shoulder “- I believe we are not to touch any thing used for the race. People might claim it for cheating if something goes wrong later.”

Sehun bashfully keeps his hand together and apologizes “Oh! I’m sorry.” He brings his hand to his neck and slowly makes an eye contact to the girl, who called him off, in front of him.

“No worries, no one saw it except me. Besides you look new here.” She runs her eyes scanning him from top to bottom. She smiles when the flustered man gives out his hand “Sehun. Yes I’m new here. And you? You yourself looks a bit out of place here.”

Sehun clearly lost control of his mouth. How can he made such a blunt comment about this stunning girl across him. Yes she looks young, without her height people will definitely ban her to be here.

Right within his vision is a girl not taller than him, slightly shorter, wrapped in a comfortable ripped skinny black jeans and a white tee shirt with black leather jackets. Her long hair is neat under her cap. Her eyes are calm, her hair is strangely the cute hue of cotton candy, and her cute dimple smile defines the title of “nice cute girls you wish you can date” Sehun envies her eternal young genes. And yes he wonders why the hell is she here.

She seems taken aback by his comment, but plays along quickly “I’m also surprised I’m here. What brings you here?” She smoothly drives the conversation.

“I’m tagging along my friends… and I lost them when we arrived here-“ He cranes his neck over the crowds to look for his squad “-Johnny is over there. The others I don’t see them. No worries.”

She smiles and Sehun melts. “So you really don’t know what’s happening here?” she asks.

Sehun nods then darts his eyes to his surrounding. The crowd is moving to the sides when 10 motors are growling their engines on the starting line. The MC shouts some opening remarks.

Guess the first round is starting in 5 minutes. “I sense it’s some wild racing?” He returns his vision to the girl beside him.

“Right. As clear as a day. They do wild race here. Practically like Moto Gp but without the sponsors, live cam, and rules. It stands to its name. Wild race. No rules, just start from the starting line and find your way to the finish line.”  without much emotion she explains it to Sehun.

“I don’t get it.. why are they doing this?” Sehun wonders. The first race started and he saw how dangerous this game is. “How do you determine the winner?” Sehun earlier saw someone walking around the crowds collecting moneys and he puts them under one box and gives it to the judge. Which they did not keep directly. He wonders if that is the betting money.

“The one not under drugs or booster, the one who reaches the finish line, and the one who performs best in the eyes of the judges. There’s some scoring system that I also don’t quite get it. Worry not there are medical team and a professional judge.” She looks into the distance: the dusty and dirty race track.

“What does the winner gets?” Sehun asks.

“Money. They win money and fame maybe. I am also like you. I don’t get this whole thing.” She shrugs her shoulder acting like she also doesn’t get why this thing is allowed.

Sehun secretly smiles at her comment. Funny how the two of them doesn’t like being here and happens to bump into each other. Just as he is about to dive deeper into the conversation, Johnny calls him and walks towards him.

“Looks like your friend is looking for you Sehun, I’ll be going. See you.. somewhere else.. I think you don’t like this thing and won’t be coming back!” she turns around.

“Yeah. It’s not my style… hey you haven’t tell me your name.” Sehun yells a bit. She successfully heard him and turns around her heels, “It’s (y/n)! See you on another chance!” she smiles, walks through the crowd and disappears.

“You’re here! I’ve been looking for you around. Come on let’s get ready the real deal is starting in 7 minutes.” Johnny grabs his hand and drags him to one side of the audience area.

They are simply standing by the opposing sides of the track. Between them are the racers and their motors. Sehun’s surprised when he sees the motor that caught his attention earlier. The 127 motor is there. “Where are Taeyong and the others?” Sehun raises his brow to Johnny.

“Right I forgot to tell you. Taeyong is a manager.. Jaehyun is the mechanic and Yuta-“ Sehun cuts him off “Yuta is the racer?”

“Yes but not for tonight. You’ll be surprised to know our racer.” Johnny speaks a bit louder to match the voice of the crowds and the engines. “They have the best player.. it’s that one.. the one with 127 printed on the jacket.” Johnny points at a person.

Sehun’s eyes widen when he coincidentally exchange gazes with the girl behind the helmet. She shoots him her playful shrugs and after putting on her helmet, she jumps over her seat and roars her engines. “(y/n)?” Sehun accidentally lets her  name slips.

“Oh you know? Yeah it’s her. She’s been playing for three month and Taeyong has never been this proud. She’s the best he ever had.” Johnny comments while having his eyes locked on the racers and to the MC who begins to announce tonight’s line up.

“This race is open for all genders. Don’t be surprised. Oh tonight’s opponent is easy Sehun! It’s a real piece of cake.” Johnny claps excitedly on the contrary, Sehun is worried sick. Why must a girl like her compete in something dangerous and dirty like this.

The whistle is blown and the flags are down, the ten motors wildly accelerates through the dark dusty road and 300 meters to the race, three contestants are knocked down. 500 meters into the dark night another two falls. Sehun can’t see which one in the dark is (y/n) but he hopes she is not falling behind. He hopes with all his might she is okay and alright. Sehun knows falling down from a high speed motor cycle is not something small. He knows the danger and he is worried sick (y/n) will end like that.

“Johnny… tell me who are the competitors tonight.” Sehun tries his best to concentrate on the shadows in the dark. The lack of constant lighting made it hard to keep track of the racers. Only under the glowing street light can they see what’s happening. “Majority it’s men who are usually knocking each other down. No worries, (y/n) can easily win tonight.” Johnny seems to smell something from Sehun. He knows Sehun is interested at her. He’s not the type to get worried sick for someone he doesn’t care.

Finally Sehun can let go the breath he doesn’t know he’s been holding. Just like what Johnny said, he saw (y/n) made it first to the finish line and Taeyong and the rest cheers into a group hug. Johnny is also over the moon. Sehun made a mental note he doesn’t like this and he is not coming back. No! This is so dangerous for his heart. He isn’t in the race but he can feel the adrenaline and he hates that.

On the side next to the judges, Taeyong Jaehyun and Yuta hug each other and collected the money from the judges. He took a small number for his team and hands the rest to the champion.

(y/ n) took off her helmet, placed it on one of the bike hand and she counts her money happily. Her breath is still quick and short. Sehun can see it from the distant how adrenalines must still take over her body. She keeps her money inside her jacket and walks to the side to have a discussion with Taeyong. While Jaehyun takes over the motor to examine the damages, Yuta checks on her condition.

“Some scratches here and there… nothing dangerous.” Yuta smiles in relief.

“Jaehyun I think there’s something missing. Someone kicked me but I managed to keep my body on the jock. But please tell me something is missing coz I heard something drop.” (y/n) goes to bend beside Jaehyun who’s busy examining.

Taeyong pushes a bottle of energy drinks to her lips and she diligently finishes half of it.

“Whoah. Indeed someone managed to kick some parts away.. but worry not I’ll get this fixed. Your next race you’ll be the fastest again.” Jaehyun brings her bike to a carrier truck.

She can’t go home with that dirty bike. Besides the bike is modified for races not for daily use or even used in town.

“Okay. Good bye!” she bows and turns to rejoins her friends. They welcome her nicely and Taeyong Jaehyun Yuta returns to Johnny and Sehun.

“How is it Sehun? Surprised?” Jaehyun interrogates when they are on their way back home. They live in the same unit apartment. Sehun lives alone with his brother while the four shares a big house.

“I did not know these things are happening in real life. I thought I’d only see them in movies.” Sehun snickers.

Yuta laughs “I think you’ve talk a word or two with our Ace racer. What do you think of her?”

Sehun tries to keep his cool image but fails, “She doesn’t look like she belongs there. She’s cute.” He admits that.

The four boos him and teases him.

“Our Sehun will finally move on!” Taeyong screams.

“No! It’s not like that! I just met her.. that’s just my first impression. Besides I’m not returning to that hellish place.”

“Said the man who really gets nervous during the race.. asking me constant questions to ensure she is alright.” Johnny mocks Sehun. This stirs the car to laugh and Sehun quiet in his place. Blushing all the way home.

--

Sehun gets home with butterflies in his tummy. The short encounter was too short of his liking, but definitely planted deep inside his memory. His brother, Luhan, welcomes him home with tons of questions.

“Where are you from?”

“What makes you this weird?”

“Don’t tell me you found someone new?”

“Sehun you’re not answering me?! You’re not drunk right?”

“Hey Sehun! SEHUN! Come to your senses!”

Luhan upon Sehun’s arrival has bombarded him with questions. Hey Luhan knows the heart break Sehun went through and he knows that earlier he left Sehun for his date and when he returns quiet late, Sehun is not home yet. His mind quickly think where can he be. Probably a club? Or maybe the guys’ house. But seeing how Sehun’s shoes are dirty.. Luhan knows he is not drunk or back from playing PS.

“Hyung. I’m not drunk okay. I’m totally in my right mind and I’m just happy for tonight.”

“What do you do?”

“Fine if you insist. I watched a wild motor racing. Happy? Just because Taeyong is working there.”

“Right. Did you win or lose the bet?” Luhan expects his brother to gamble since he’s there.

To which surprisingly Sehun denies “You know I don’t gamble.”

Luhan rolls his eyes “Who knows something gets into you. Anyways since you’re home.. I’ll be sleeping. Nighty night big baby.”

“Please if you’re doing your business keep the moans low. I  want to sleep without nightmares Sehun.” Luhan winks to his pants and closes his door.

Sehun grunts. Gosh why is he even having a tent right now between his tight pants. Gosh Luhan is really teasing him max. Why did he even have this boner right now?!

CONTINUE TO PART 2 

[crowautumnrain]

review: Cherry Magic | Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

Disclaimer: This is my very own humble opinion. If you  agree with my review, I’m glad that I’ve found someone like-minded, if  you do not agree, that’s fine too. Every opinion is valid. Don’t hate me  for mine.

I do not speak any asian language and therefore I rely solely on subtitles. And we all know that they are not always flawless. So if I misread a situation or misunderstand something, feel free to inform me. Spoilers ahead!

Genre: BL

From: Japan

Known Actors:  /

Trigger Warnings: cuteness overload

Rating: 8.5/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆    

Synopsis: When Kyoshi Adachi reaches his 30th birthday he develops an ability to hear the thoughts of other people by touching them. One day, he discovers that his popular co-worker, Yuichi Kurosawa, is in love with him.

Main Character(s): Kyoshi Adachi, Yuichi Kurosawa

Side Character(s): Masato Tsuge (Adachis BFF), Minato Wataya (Tsuges lover boy), Yuta Rokkaku (co-worker + Kurosawas “friend”), Nozomi Fujisaki, Kengo Urabe (Adachi's co-worker)

Short Appereance: /

Main Couple(s): AdachixKurosawa

Side Couple(s): TsugexMinato

My review:

I think I don’t really have to explain much, the title does a good job.This is going to be a little different than most reviews I do. I’m not going to comment every scene or comment on every step of the storyline, even though I will try to. For the most part I’m just going to ramble around for a bit. And try to write my thoughts down.

I remember when Cherry Magic fan edits popped up on youtube and it looked so cute I just had to watch it. During that time winter came into my town and another lockdown was around the corner. So, this show was really there to brighten my day once a week (or for a few days while I binge watched it).

The concept was really interesting, too. And here are my thoughts about it:

Adachi and Kurosawa

We start our story one day before our protagonsts 30th birthday. His name is Adachi. He has very low self esteem and and little confidence in himself (sounds familiar) but a big heart. It’s not always easy for him to say “no” (espacially to his co-worker). His life is mostly uneventful and repetitive. UNTIL one day on his 30th birthday he discover that the old wives’ tale that you develop powers if you are a virgin for 30years is actually true. He is able to hear peoples thoughts!

At the beginning he isn’t really sure if it’s just all in his head or if he really has this power. On his way to work he meets his co-worker Kurosawa. Due to a very crowded elevator, Kurosawa accidentally touches Adachi. Because of that, Adachi finds out that his super popular and super handsome co-worker is actually madly in love with him (relatable right?)

At first Adachi tries to ingore his powers. He can not be sure that the things he hears are really other people’s thoughts or just him making stuff up. He avoides crowds and Kurosawa. But fate just throws these two together again and again.

Since Adachi can read thoughts, every encounter he has with Kurosawa from now on excalates pretty quickly. Because our boy Kurosawa is just as horny as we all are. One day Kurosawa is being a “nice boy” and helps Adachi with the workload that his co-worker asked him to do. Totally selfless of course, not in any way him trying to be near his crush or anything noo. After hearing Kurosawa gushing over Adachi’s mole on his neck, that Adachi wasn’t even aware of, he is now pretty sure that his powers are real.

Adachi knows that - if the tale is true - he will only lose his powers if he also loses his virginity. And let me tell you something... Honestly, sex is probably really great and all but...you have powers. You are basically one step away of becoming a superhero. You can help people with that. Come one now, this show just proves that asexuals are above us all and are so powerful and deserve to be wizards. If you were able to life a life without sex to your 30s, it’s not that hard, you are almost halfway there. Just hold on.

This show follows mostly our two main leads, Adachi and Kurosawa, trying to manage their love for each other. But what makes Cherry Magic so sweet and heardwarming is the fact, that there are other topics being addressed besides same-sex-love. Like I said earlier, Adachi has extreme low self-esteeem and this is one of the biggest reasons why it takes so long for Adachi to realize and accept that he is not only in love with Kurosawa but also that he deserve this kind of love.

So many times, Adachi chickens out of telling Kurosawa how he feels and espacially when Kurosawa wants to take things to the next level, Adachi needs time. And Kurosawa respects that (bare minimum, but sadly the bar is so low) and gives Adachi time.

Kurosawa also suffers from some incecurities that he not often talks about, but since Adachi has his powers, we are often granted a quick look into Kurosawas head. And these little thought trains that we get tell us so much more about Kurosawa and fully flesh him out as a character.

We get to know about his fantasies, his wishes, his fears and insecurities. Sometimes, when Adachi reads Kurosawas mind, we get little fantasies. We see Adachi through Kurosawas eyes and it’s always a cute scene of Adachi smiling. We see how beautiful Kurosawa thinks of Adachi.

We get one episode from Kurosawas perspective, where we discover how Kurosawa fell in love with Adachi. He was always “aware” that he was there, but he never really “noticed” him. One day, when they both are having dinner with their boss and some random creepy lady, both realize pretty quickly, why they are really there (because of their looks). Kurosawa notices that Adachi does not drink alcohol and therefore he takes his glass and get’s drunk quickly.

Even though, it seems like a dumb thing to do, it tells you so much about Kurosawas character. How he wants to help people, even if that means he is the one to “suffer”. No matter the consequences, he helped his co-worker out there. The lady starts harassing Kurosawa and he turns her down in a very obvious way which was apparently something he wasn’t allowed to do. But fuck this lady and fuck his boss. Kurosawa, you did nothing wrong. She did.

He overhears his boss saying that Kurosawa is only a pretty face and apparently he can’t even do that right. This just gives him the rest and he leaves. Adachi, who was surprised by Kurosawa’s actions (drinking the alcohol for him), follows him outside to comfort him.

It’s a very touching backstory and it’s great that we get it in the middle of the show and not at the beginning, only allowing the characters to become more fleshed out.

When Adachi reads Kurosawa’s thoughts, he mostly thinks about how much he adores Adachi and how much he wants to help him becoming more confident. He often is pretty hard on himself and blames himself for things too often. He seems calm on the surface, but his inner-monologues show how much of a chaotic hopeless romantic he really is.

A reaccuring theme is Adachi being a little put off by how often Kurosawa get’s presents or just admiring looks or words. Because he get’s none and if so, he can’t really take compliments well.

What is really interesting is that through Adachi, we can hear that Kurosawa is not really enjoying all of this presents and kind words of his (mostly) female co-workers. He just wants to be praised for his work not his looks. Which is something only pretty people say. No, fr, I can only imagine that it’s super annoying that people only view you as “pretty” and therefore do not acknowledge your talents and skills. This show actually deals with that nicely. In Kurosawa’s episode he has this beautiful monologue: I had an advantage because of my looks. I hated that people only saw my looks. I knew it would annoy others if I talked about it. So, I pretended it didn’t bother me.

This show was not only about love, but also about loving and respecting yourself. Trusting yourself and gaining a little more confidence in yourself. What I loved so much about Kurosawa and Adachi is that they bring out the best in each other and help each other in so many ways.

At one point, Adachi tells Kurosawa the truth about his powers. Kurosawa tells him that he actually is happy that he has his powers, since they were the reason they got together in the first place.

But Adachi is not so happy about it. He grew used of the powers and now fears that his relationship won’t work out with Kurosawa, once he loses them. Since he wouldn’t be able to read his mind anymore, like he used to. The only option Adachi sees is: breaking up. And since Kurosawa respects his wishes, he leaves (hoping that Adachi would fight for him and maybe hold him back).

They make up in the end, when Adachi realizes that maybe communicating would be another option they have left. Because, guess what, that’s what most people do. So, they get back together and Kurosawa basically proposes to Adachi, which seemed...quite abruptly tbh. But hey, everyone has their own pace.

Minato and Tsuge

Tsuge is Adachi’s best friend and also a virgin. Later, he becomes a wizard like Adachi, being able to read minds. He is a writer and spends his time at home 20/7, the 4 hours are probably just the hours he is willing to leave for grocery shopping and eating out with Adachi.

He has a really sweet cat and this cat will help him get him his future boyfriend. Minato, is his name. He works as a deliveryman. Tsuge doesn’t like Minato very much, since he is a so called “youngster” (oh gosh I think a brain cell just died while writing this).

Minato feels the same way about Tsuge “the old man”, but does love his cat. Tsuge develops feelings for Minato pretty quickly and even begins to stalks him, to find out more about him. He orders so much stuff from different shops just so this guy would show up at his doorstep again.

He finds out that Minato is actually trying to fullfil his dreams of becoming a dancer.

While it would’ve been a sweet idea, this couple couldn’t really win me over. First and foremost, how old is Minato supposed to be? The actor was at that point approximately 20/21 and he looks way younger than that tbh.  And in the show it’s never stated how old he is, his love interest states multiple times that he is “young” and refers to him as “the youngster(s)”. And it’s clear that Tsuge is 30. So...I just can’t ship them. Like, they are both of age and adults but it still feels weird for some reason. If the actor would at least look older...I guess that would maybe change my view on them. In reallife they are 6 (?) years apart which is still a lot but way less than what seems to be 8 or 10 years on the show.

It really didn’t help that Tsuge was the one initiating the relatioship and stalking Minato. Others called him even a pervert and honestly...he acted like one. Secretly talking pictures of someone, following them around, etc.

On top of that, their scenes often included cringy / over the top acting and triggered my second-hand embarassment, which...was that really necessary? Maybe, it was part of Tsuge’s character in the Manga, but you just can’t translate everything into a life-action show, because it looks hideous and awkward. In the more serious scene that Tsuge was in, he actually wasn’t all that bad.

I can take cringy acting, that’s how I survived most BL’s actually. But was it really necessary to have Tsuge kneel before Minato and scream at him how sorry he is in public? While people are watching? And Minato doesn’t really seem to be delighted by that. I’m sorry, but that’s where I draw the line, my cringe-o-meter exploded. I’m a very private and introverted person, so that just wasn’t it for me.

It actually hurts my heart that so many people think this is how socially awkward people behave, which - as a socially awkward person - I can’t confirm. We don’t flinch everytime people touch us, we don’t scream and shout and talk very fast, when we get nervous (at least not to that extent). And we don’t...ugh..back to the series.

I mean they had potential, they could’ve been cute and I don’t mind if anyone is shipping them, it’s just really icky to me and I can’t do that.

Things I disliked

The actors ages. I mean, I know that most asians look very young, but come on. No one can tell me that these guys are supposed to be 30. I guess the actor of Kurosawa was about 29 (?) so he comes closest (he doesn’t look like he is 30 but I appreciate the attempt) but the others...They just don’t look like they are 30. And please, don’t cast some really young-looking dude as the love interest of a supposedly 30-year old.

Over the top “humorous scenes”. It doesn’t make me laugh, just cringe. But this happened only with scenes between Minato and Tsuge. Sometimes, I just skipped them. But yeah...not everyone’s tea I guess.

No kiss. I don’t need NC scenes or anything too intimate. But the whole no-kissing seems more like a “no homo” situation here. These guys are insanely in love and are basically married and you tell me that they didn’t even kiss on camera ONCE? Don’t tell me they are asexual or anything (even though I would love to see more representation like that, I mean if the actors don’t wanna kiss or the management is against it, why not create a little more representation while you’re at it?) because I would support that, they just didn’t want to show that or maybe the actors didn’t want to kiss. But then again I ask myself...why not cast actors who actually want to act out the role? Or was it a management issue? Whatever it was, defiinitely made it seem less believeable and it felt more rushed. Like, even if you give me the classic “fish kiss” with eyes wide open and it’s basically just them pressing their lips together...this treatment most Korean BLs get (thank you TMS honestly) it would’ve been better imo.

Also, Minato and Tsuge had a kissing scene (it wasn’t good but still). And that even further aligns with my theory of the actors or the management not wanting them to kiss. But this show is still cute and enjoyable, so I’ll let it slide this one time.

Rushed ending. Like I already said, this kind-of-proposal came out of nowhere for me and felt rushed. Sure, they know each other for years, but they only began to grow closer over the last couple weeks. Shouldn’t they start with dating first, then go to living together for a few couple of months and then - after really being sure that they want it and after talking it through - propose? But hey, I’m the single one here, so maybe I am in the wrong here.

Things I liked

How they handlded Adachi’s powers. Adachi was suddenly able to read peoples thoughts. One of the most private and intimate things. And Kurosawa was just like ‘“k, I’m actually glad you secretly kept reading my thoughts” which seemed a little too anti-climactic. Please, sweety at least pretend that you are a little hurt that your boyfriend kept reading your most private thoughts. It’s like someone reading your diary without your permission.

But apart from that, they handlded it actually quite well. Adachi wasn’t super okay with reading other people’s thoughts. He didn’t use it for revenge, there were no bad intentions. He always wanted to help and only used it as a way to help others or clear things up. When he did use it for his own advantage, he felt bad afterwards.

Miscommunication subplot. Overused, lame, just for the sake of plot, annoying - these are the first things that come into my mind, when thinking about miscommunication subplots. But Cherry Magic actually did a decent job at it. There was a miscommunicating subplot at the end and I expected to hate it, but I actually did like it.

It makes so much sense here, since Adachi was so used to his powers at some point, that losing them seemed like he was no longer able to understand people or their feelings. The “oh no I lost my powers and since I used them to understand Kurosawa better I don’t know if we can be together now that I don’t have them anymore” struggle seems realistic.

Tsuge only made it worse by saying: “I forgot how difficult it is to sense other’s feelings [without being ablte to read their thoughts]” after having a minor fight with Minato. And since Adachi is a person that worries and overthinks quite often and easily, he didn’t take it too well. It could’ve been so much better, if they did actually drag it out a little more. But maybe it’s for the better like that. They got the most important points across, even though they resolved it pretty quickly.

No happily ever after. This title is actually a little misleading, since the couple did get a happy ending. What I mean with that is that they didn’t give the couple a “they are now offically a couple so there story ends with that”. Most shows think that viewers only want to see the couple coming together and call it a day. In Cherry Magic the story doesn’t end with them getting together. We see them struggle with their relationship, going on cute dates, breaking up, resolving their issues and semi-propose.

It’s nothing new or groundbreaking, but it’s rare and refreshing to see. I do like that shows always try to give us the “and all was well” happy ending after they get together, but seeing storyline like Cherry Magic, where they actually deal with them being a couple and show us their ups and dows, I really appreciate that.

Special episodes. IIRC there are a total of 3 special episodes that are just the cherry on top of this cake. I really did enjoy them. They weren’t necessary for the story to work, but were a nice add to it. Pure fluff and comedy. Speaking of fluff-

Fluff and feel-good. This show in no way ITSAY or MOD and nowhere near them. It doesn’t make you ugly cry at 3 o’clock in the morning. And it’s not a mystery where you sit at the edge of your seat, trying to figure out who is the big bad guy. But - and this is important - this show is not meant for you to feel these kind of emotions. Cherry Magic is more of a rom-com. A feel-good show. Some sort of “grab your blanket and some hot chocolate and watch it and feel safe” kind of show. Espacially needed during whatever the hell is going on right now.

So, if you ever want a show, where the leads are adorable and relatable, where there is a little sprinkle of magic and a ton of fluff and you just wanna lay back and find a safe space to escape reality, this is the show for you.

I think this covers my thoughts on this series. Thanks for reading. Check out my other reviews.

My BL Review List: https://urmyquerencia.tumblr.com/post/627642344497364992/bl-reviews

- urmyquerencia

[unmanageable-day]

By your side : intermezzo

How the cold summer started getting warmer

previously ➺ 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | intermezzo 01 - 02 | 06 

Who doesn't know the only Korean-American guy in the office, the tallest, the super hard-working, and the one and only Mark Lee's brother from another mother? Contrary to his giant figure which made other people feel intimidated, everyone would say John Seo was the kindest, the sweetest, and the most warm-hearted person. Of course, you knew that. Your girl friends were friends with him too. While you only considered him as merely a colleague. You had worked with him several times for collaborative projects in either fashion industry, editorial or just some new stuff he wanted to try out. Eventually you made some friends with his buddies; Mark, Taeyong and Doyoung for instance since you met them much more often outside work. Johnny himself? You'd consider him not even more than an acquaintance in professional world.

"Have you heard? This weekend we're going to have a get-together for all departments," Yeri informed excitedly.

"Yeoreum, you will come, right?" Sooyoung, as excited as well, asked.

You shrugged and sighed. "If I don't have to work overtime, I might consider going."

"What are you talking about? We don't have that much work." Yeri got you. Working overtime had been always your reason not going to any kind of party and get-together unless it was a company dinner.

"Come on. It will be fun," Wendy convinced you.

The girls succeeded making you end your work quite soon on the big day of the get-together everyone but you had been waiting for. The company reserved a pretty fancy private room and let the employees choose their own seats instead of arranging them by departments. Sooyoung who arrived earlier had secured the seat for you girls, which happened to be on the same table with Johnny, Mark and the other boys.

"Summer noona, I'm glad to see you here." Mark cheerfully greeted you, followed by Yuta, Taeyong, and Doyoung who were pretty much closer with you than any other acquaintances. Beside Doyoung seated the big guy, no other than your professional colleague, Johnny Seo.

"Summer, you remember Johnny," Taeyong said.

"Yeah, we worked together for some projects." You bowed your head to him, and he did the same.

It was a non-formal occasion yet you wore your professional smile and attitude. Whereas the others, including the managers and top bosses were pretty much casual. You spent almost your whole time there being quiet, or just listening to the girls and the guys sharing stories about this and that. Without you knowing, since you literally were minding your own world, Johnny had been observing you in the most subtle way possible.

Being acquaintance as he was, Johnny had no idea who you were except your name and your position in the company. In his opinion, you did your job well. You were agile, creative, able to manage multiple tasks, yet remained to be sane. He realized one thing, that when it came to personal relationship, it seemed like you were a different person. Sometimes he did wonder how Mark and Taeyong could befriend you—or at least gained the title of more than acquaintance—when he was the one you had worked with the most compared to his best dudes. Also, he noticed that your circle of friends were not big, especially in terms of number. So he just concluded that you were the 'quality over quantity' type—which was a good thing, although Johnny himself was the total opposite since he was a social butterfly.

"Now that I think of it, don't you feel it? Like, there is this weird atmosphere around us," Mark suddenly said.

"Probably it's because some of us are not friends. Yet." Yeri grinned, her eyes giving signs to Mark and Sooyoung.

"Who?" Taeyong bluntly asked.

"Yeoreum and Johnny!" Yeri cheered.

"For real though, they were, kind of awkward," Mark added.

You denied it, quickly waving your hand and faking a friendly laugh.

ㅡ 🐯

"Is this Yeoreum girl always like this?" Johnny tried to sound as cool as possible asking Mark about you. He continued speaking added with his hands gesture, which was showing that he was trying to find good words. "Like, she exudes icy image or something. Like, she doesn't look as warm as her name. Summer literally just started yet it feels cold around her, but not cold cold, more like cool cold, you know what I mean? Wait, I don't mean it in a bad way."

Mark chuckled. "Are you saying you're interested in Summer noona?"

"No." That was the quickest answer he ever gave. Mark would tell that Johnny was totally in denial. Especially after how you very politely 'rejected' him when he showed his intention to be friends, to be more than acquaintance at work, by saying 'we're good'. Now, which part of you and him being merely acquaintances that is 'good', if whenever you two meet randomly at office, the only word you say is 'hi'?

At least being friends would do no harm. Even better; he could hang out with fhe guys, plus you and the girls comfortably. Not more than that, for the time being. But who knows it just made him more curious about you.

"You know I could set you up with her. I'll talk to Yeri and Wendy noona."

Johnny responded, saying "Yeah, yeah, do as you please." as if he didn't care. Deep down inside, his heart was racing like never before. As a social butterfly, he always liked meeting new people, making new friends. But why did this one make his heart flutter?

Since then, Mark would excitedly arrange some scenarios to do with Yeri's help. These would include mostly lunch together. Baby steps, Mark would say. Yeri suggested that moving too fast would make you uncomfortable. Unfortunately this effort took forever as you still didn't talk much with Johnny. He tried and he always brought the best of himself, yet you just sort of shut him away.

"She hates me," Johnny stated, sipping his remaining ice americano in frustration in the lounge room with Mark and Taeyong.

"No, she doesn't." Mark tried to boost the big boy's mood.

"How did you guys make friends with her?"

Taeyong shrugged. "We shared similar preferences, I guess? For food, at least." Soon, Taeyong started to give Johnny a short list of 'the similar preferences' of food. Coffee was a big no-no. Sweets were like heaven. Spicy food was so-so, kind of okay and tolerable.

Johnny made a face. "That's a lot and very detailed information. Thank you very much, Mr. Lee."

ㅡ 🐯

"Yeoreum, don't be so hard on Johnny." Yeri used her cuteness to 'scold' you because of your too-honest personality towards Johnny.

"I'm not."

The blond girl sighed. "At least try to respond with friendlier manner when he talks to you. Don't treat him like an acquaintance."

"He is an acquaintance." You emphasized your words. 

"Yes, and so is Mark. But Mark is also a friend, who is more than just a colleague."

To you, even the words coming out from Yeri's mouth didn't make any sense. Mark did not befriend you in a snap of a finger. He actively asked you this and that, always paid attention to little details. Also he would always come to you first in every chance he got. And he could keep the personal space in the most professional way that you didn't feel disturbed. Later your favoritism grew bigger towards this boy.

"I know where you're going, Yeri. You know it's not easy for me to start mutual relationship. Let alone people like him. They will get bored with me, like, right away."

"Mark isn't."

Again. The non-sense. "You can't compare people like that. Johnny is not Mark, and Mark is not Johnny."

"I understand your point. Johnny can be a bit... overwhelming." Finally Wendy spoke up. She had been actively listening to you and Yeri bickering. Sometimes she was amazed at how persuasive Yeri was, and at how stubborn you were. Although this time, she actually agreed with you. Wendy would offer her life to be your shield if something bad happens. As she understood your concern, she didn't want you to push yourself for something you might regret later.

"But, Yeoreum, you never know if you don't give it a try." Yeri and her non-stop effort to encourage you.

— 🐯

"Yeoreum, we're having lunch at the pasta house nearby. Join us." Yeri linked her arm with yours as she practically dragged you even before you said something. She made you sit on the edge with Johnny across you. There were always pros and cons at the same time about being in a group and you sitting on the edge. Being the furthest from center would mean getting the least attention, and the least you had to join the group conversation since you couldn't hear and be heard very well. As for today, having Johnny Seo sitting right in front of you suddenly increased your desire to sit in the middle, beside Taeyong and Doyoung. Unfortunately, seated next to you, Yeri was against it even before you asked for it.

"Do you like pasta?" Johnny initiated conversation.

"Occasionally."

"Tomato sauce or cream sauce? In 1, 2, 3..." he suddenly played a game.

And the weirdest thing was you fell for it. You said cream, whereas Johnny said tomato.

He cooed cheerfully, probably feeling proud of himself that you actually played along.

"How about pizza?" he asked again when a pan of pizza was delivered to your table. "Pineapple or no pineapple? In 1,2, 3..."

"I don't even eat pineapple," you firmly stated, making Johnny, a true lover of pineapple on top of pizza, gasp dramatically. Unconsciously, you chuckled at his reaction.  "I don't think fruits go well with bread, tomato sauce, pepperoni and cheese," you explained yourself with the most serious expression, as if you were arguing for an important position in a project.

"I think I will have to take you the greatest pizzeria in Korea, or maybe in the whole world, so you will know the beauty of pineapple as pizza toppings."

You were not sure how to respond that. Shrugging while wiggling slowly your eyebrows, you started to eat whatever available before your eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Johnny grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

Starting from there, Johnny's journey to get to know you better had officially begun. You could no longer avoid him because he was persistent, in the nicest way possible. He would always try to liven the mood up by throwing jokes and laughing at anything that could be laughed at. Mostly it was anything Mark did. It was almost never only the two of you. Probably this was the main reason you eventually felt comfortable with him around. The cold appearance you used to wear slowly changed and you started to be more welcoming to Johnny. He was succeeded in making himself a part of your daily life. At the office and during lunch time, at least. You were not sure though whether he was a friend now.

Soon, came the day when he thought he was ready to explore how it would be outside the office life.

On a fine summer day, Johnny gathered his courage to prepare the most cheesy event to confess. This big guy actually came to the office wearing a Frozen-themed costume when it wasn't even Halloween. He also got his buddies to dress too. Even looking from a far, you got the secondhand embarrassment and honestly you just wanted to run away the moment you heard your name called several times. Unfortunately, Mark and Yeri ran to you pulling you closer to stand before Johnny who was ready with his big smile and some flowers in his hands.

"I think I like you, Song Yeoreum. You are not like the other girls. You are different. You are cold and mysterious like an ice princess that you maybe the best to play the role of Elsa. And it makes me want to be Olaf for you. If you let me, I'd like to explore this great feeling with you, to figure things between you and me as a person. Not an acquaintance, not a colleague, and obviously not just a friend."

You stared at him, genuinely surprised. You scanned around to find your friends cheering on him.

"We are almost like the north and south pole. That's how different we are. But looking at the bright side, I think it would be an amusing journey to be with you. Just like Olaf who gets his own summer from Elsa, would you, ice princess, be my summer?"

[triptychexe]

TITLE: But How SUMMARY: Ura meets NCT’s Qian Kun at Yen’s birthday party.  PAIRING: Ura + Kun (NCT/WayV)  GENRE: Building relationship?  WORD COUNT: 1.2k A/N: i’m a wee bit unsatisfied with this so like... i might be changing some things later but i just wanted it out of my drafts jdfshg 

SUMMER 2016

“Chiayu, seriously, just go talk to him.” Van said sharply under his breath, nudging his friend with his elbow. “You’re going to burn holes into the side of his head and ruin his perfect side profile.” 

Ura nudged her leader back, rolling her eyes and turning her body away from Qian Kun and the two other NCT members he was with. When Yen said she was inviting some members of NCT to her birthday party, she didn’t think Yen would invite the cute one. How was Chiayu going to shoot her shot while wearing a feather boa? 

Yen had rented out a small club in Hongdae for the evening and invited almost every idol she has ever spoken to, and told them to bring some of their friends along too. There was an open bar, which was taken advantage of about thirty minutes into the party, and almost everyone was drunk. Except for Qian Kun and Ura. Chiyau doesn’t think the cup in his hand has reached his lips once since being here. 

“I can’t go talk to him. He’s sober and I’m not drunk enough.” Ura shook her head.  Van’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not a healthy mindset.”  Ura sighed, stealing another glance at Kun, who was clearly struggling to keep up with the conversation around him, laughing a beat behind everyone else. The rookie finally brought the plastic cup in his hands to his lips, wincing slightly at the taste. 

“God, he looks miserable.” Ura sympathized, understanding what Kun was experiencing. It was hard to follow conversation in such a busy setting when you’re still learning the language that was being spoken. 

“Then go save him! Be his night in shining armor! Sweep him off his feet!” Van encouraged, his eyes twinkling in the pink and purple light that cast around the club.  Ura inhaled deeply, knocking back the rest of her drink. She handed the empty cup to Van and started making her way over to Kun. 

Ura approached the group of NCT members, praying that her confidence would last long enough to start a conversation with the vocalist.  “Hey, Ura! Nice seeing you!” Johnny yelled over the music.  “You too! Enjoying your night?” Ura responded cordially. Kun was leaning in closer, his eyebrows furrowed as he strained to understand her over the music. “Yeah, Yen really knows how to celebrate.” Taeyong nodded.  “Are you enjoying yourself?” Ura asked Kun in Mandarin. Kun blinked a few times, the shock of being able to understand someone clearly catching him off guard. “Yeah, I’m having a lot of fun.” Kun smiled. Ura felt her stomach flutter at the sight. She smiled back, nodding her head. “Good, I’m glad to hear it.” She said sincerely. Johnny tapped Ura’s shoulder, bringing Ura’s attention back to the group.

“Hey, we’re gonna run to the restroom, does anyone else need to go?” Johnny offered. Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. ”I don’t need to-” Taeyong started. Johnny gave Taeyong a look that clearly was telling him to be quiet. ”Anybody?” Johnny asked again. “Do you need to use the restroom?” Ura relayed to Kun, knowing that it was hard to hear over the music.  “No thank you.” Kun said in Korean. Johnny nodded before dragging Taeyong away, leaving the two of them alone.

“I wasn’t expecting you to know Mandarin.” Kun admitted.  “It’s one of my party tricks.” Ura said sarcastically. Kun chuckled, bringing his cup back up to his lips, taking a sip. His eye twitched a little.

“Here,” Ura gestured to the bar. “I’ll get you something that doesn’t taste like battery acid. It’s kinda painful watching you try to gulp whatever that is down.”  The pair of them made their way to the bar. Ura requested two cocktails for them. She handed the colorful liquid to Kun, who looked at the glass a little apprehensively.  “Isn’t this a little... I don’t know... Feminine?” He arched an eyebrow.  Ura arched an eyebrow in response. “Does that matter?”  “Nope.” Kun affirmed, quickly taking a sip of the drink. He blinked a few times, surprised at how good that tasted.  “This doesn’t even taste like alcohol.” Kun said, observing the drink in amazement.  “See?” Ura smirked, feeling accomplished. “But be careful, feminine things pack a punch.”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that.” Kun said honestly, giving Ura a slightly weary look, as if she’d punch him herself if he said anything she didn’t approve of. Ura couldn’t help but grin a little. She always found it amusing when people found her intimidating.

Kun took another sip, his eyes scanning the dance floor. He swallowed his drink and gazed at Ura with a sheepish look on his face.  “You don’t dance, do you?” Kun asked. “Not really.” Ura admitted. “Do you?”  “No. I mean, professionally, yeah. But I don’t really do...” Kun’s gaze darted over to the dance floor, where Asa was jokingly grinding on a mortified Doyoung while Yuta and Yen laughed their asses off. “Whatever that is.”  “Me either.” Ura laughed, observing the scene with a twinge of sympathy. “I almost feel bad for Doyoung.”  “He’ll be fine.” Kun shook his head. “He’ll just cringe every now and then when he thinks about it.” 

Ura and Kun both chuckled, an awkward silence starting to fall over the two of them. Ura could feel herself losing whatever confidence she originally had. How was she going to carry on conversation? What do they talk about? She didn’t really think this far. 

Kun looked like he was getting restless with every passing millisecond of silence. Ura felt bad. It was almost like he was back at square one, except he probably would have been more comfortable with his group mates. She noticed that Kun kept stealing glances at the dance floor, despite his claim that he wasn’t interested. Ura wondered if he only said that because she said she didn’t dance like that either. 

“Hey,” Ura nudged his arm. “We should go dance anyways.”  Kun’s eyebrows shot up. “You think?”  Ura chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, everyone around us is drunk anyways. Who cares if we look ridiculous? Compared to them,” She nudged her head at their friends. “We’ll look spectacular.” 

Kun couldn’t find an objective, so he let Ura lead the way to the dance floor, weaving her way into the center of the dance floor, nudging past her drunken group mates and friends.

Even though they had an awkward start, by the end of the night, they were shouting the lyrics to the songs at the top of their lungs together, spinning each other around, and letting loose. Ura couldn’t remember the last time she felt so carefree. It was refreshing and exciting. It felt like the two of them had entered their own little world, shroud in multicolored lights. 

The illusion was popped when Doyoung’s hand landed on Kun’s shoulder.  “We gotta start heading back.” Doyoung yelled over the music to Ura, looking sorry. “Our manager just called us.”

 Kun nodded sadly, giving Ura an apologetic look as Doyoung started to tug him away by the arm.

“Wait,” Kun called out as he backed away. “Stay in touch, okay?”  “I- Yeah!” Ura called, caught off guard by the sudden end of their time together. 

Kun gave her a small smile before disappearing into the crowd, being dragged away by Doyoung. Too late, Ura realized she didn’t have any of Kun’s contact information. Her heart sank a little, the reality of them meeting again suddenly becoming very slim.

“...But how?” Ura mumbled to herself. 

[hyunarkarchive]

oh my stress;;

“'tis i, a writer, togetherslapper of words.” 

knowing that my own five year anniversary at rookies is in about two months makes me actually really emotional, and most of you know, i don’t really get emotional about stuff like this.

i’m here to talk about all the fucking shit storms i brought. starting from good ol’ ellyrk, who turned into yuriirk and currently known as hyunark, as well as, rkxwoozi, aka jihoonrk, fucking namtaerk, eunwoork, minhyunrk, younghyunrk 1.0, junhoerk aka younghyunrk 2.0. i am about 100% sure i’m missing someone BUT YOU KNOW, we can let that muse stay in dungeon vile. 

not even 10 minutes later 

oh yeah- minhork was it? minhxrk??? idk what his url was, shortlived lovely muse i tell you. jisungrk was a thing for like 6 months. however, as you can see, i have a lot of muses, 11 in total, well 8 if you remove younghyun 1.0 & 2.0 and jihoon.

its been nearly five years since i joined rookies and ive made a lot of memories here. good, bad, amazing, mediocre. a lot of memories than pretty much just range. can you believe i’ve actually cried a few times about rookies related thing? yeah, me neither, but here we are hahaha. i will probably not edit this at all, so if you see spelling mistakes, or maybe something is repeated, just ignore it please, its from the heart.

this place really helped me develop my writing, vocabulary and definitely social skills. i might suck at threading and replying on time, but i have to say, all the muns here are amazing!!! i remember when i first joined, oh boy was i fucking terrified of the fact that i SUCKED at writing. i was so cautious about what i write and how i spoke and i think some of you could remember it haha. i’ve also managed to make some amazing friends throughout my stay here, all of them older than me, as well haha and i was babied so much i always found it funny, but very thankful because some of the life lectures i got where definitely needed.

however, i will take a few minutes to write about the last three standing; hyunark, jihoonrk and younhhyunrk

hyunark: 

my first ever tumblr muse. my first rookies muse. my longest standing muse. she;s gone through a lot, and honestly, she will continue to do; i wasn’t all that good with her in the beginning, now i see a lot of gaps and weird stuff whenever i have to go read something to remind myself of events and so on. however, i really love her, and i’ve gotten a bit too attached to her haha. can you blame me tho? from ellyrk, to yuriirk, now hyunark, there have been alot of ups and downs but i am happy where she’s come. to being a potential walking scandal, to being in two survival shows, to being the first muse at rookies to not be offered a contract renewal, to another survival show, to a nova trainee after being cut short twice by hyunbin. she had gone through alot of character development and its shaped her a lot better than i ever could, for which i need to say my thanks to the mods of rookies for it, because without them, hyunark would probably be headed in a completely different direction haha. however, she still focuses on producing, writing lyrics and ever since she got into nova as a trainee, she’s focused on her dance as well because she doesn’t wanna be called an uncooked noodle anymore. her dream is to be a recognized producer and lyricist, and will fight for that title.

jihoonrk:

jihoork was previously known as rkxwoozi. i even used his original blog when i re-applied with him;; he lasted a bit under a year in all honesty the first time and i specifically remember that the reason for that was being signed under trc. it was a pretty unfortunate time for him to be signed, with all the scandals that happened and what not. i was a tad regretful that i dropped him to be honest, which is all the reason to why he was brought back. tbh, he didn’t change in that like 6 months gap he was away. he was the same moody gremlin everyone knew and loved. if you had asked me, a few years ago if i thought jihoon would debut, i’d laugh and say no fucking way, but here we are, when he is a member of convex and got to debut with his longets lasting friend, sehun and best friend seungcheol. so he is living the dream you know? even if he doesn’t show it, he is grateful and appreciates everything that’s happening around him and to him. his main goal right now is to be the variety ace of convex and is working slowly to achieve that goal.

yonghyunrk:

ahhh here we go;; my last muse who had to undergo something similar to jihoonrk;; i brought him in, because i had this idea of a metal head, who really just wanted fame and girl and guys. however, stuff happened, i couldn’t get him to have threads i wanted and so i dropped him. again, i pretty much reapplied a few months later with junhoerk which was basically younghyunrk 2.0 and eventually, i realized that the muse deserved its original fc and here we are again with younghyunrk. to be honest, i don’t even know how i managed to get him to go to mga4, but he went and caused chaos with chungha and we all know how much fun he actually had haha;; he still doesn’t like dance, and will probably not enjoy it until he gets signed and coach tells him he can’t dance and JUST out of spite, he will get better at it. ultimately, he wishes to debut on a band, he wouldn’t really mind if he gets placed at any instrument, as long as he gets to sing. he still wants to reach paradise city, as guns ‘n roses have said.

quick mentions to some of my other muses as well. its funny how all my other muses lasted for months as well;; honorary mentions will go to namtaerk, minhxrk and probably minhyunrk, i won’t be really talking about them, so focusing on eunwoork and jisungrk;

i can without a doubt say that these are my more interesting muses, or eunwoo at least. her dream was to become a musical actress and was a serial dater; she’d date a lot of people, girls and boys, and wouldn’t really bat an eyelash once it was all over. never really had long term relationships either. she was into photography and her photography instagram was more popular than her personal one and she didn’t mind haha.

jisungrk wanted to be a professional football player and he was never really interested in becoming an idol, which made him fun to play. however, he was a really young muse, i think i made him 16? yeah, i think he was 16 and after that i realized i can’t do young muses;; its just weird for me, i have no clue what middle school kids actually do haha, i remember i just slept and did nothing all day, didn’t even study whoops. 

but yeah, these two muses were very short lived but fun and i think that one day, if rkforthmuse is allowed, i highly doubt it, i will bring back eunwoork because she deserved more attention than i ever gave her.

now i will do a few mentions, by a few i mean it will be a lot;; i’m sorry if i get sappy or anything;; please accept my love <33

ABBIE - @seungcheolrk​ & @rkwon​ & @rkgwen​ - sunshine, my lovely amazing sunshine;; thank you. thank you, thank you. its been nearly five years of friendship, can you imagine it? soon, in just two months, it will be half a decade and i am extremely grateful;; i can’t explain it and i know that even saying it on a daily basis to you, it won’t be enough;; its funny how we started talking through rksoo and ellyrk, and now here we are, four years later, rkjicheol being in the same company, debuting together, in the same group. in all honesty, i remember when i dropped jihoon and then picked him up after like, literally two months, and it was one of the best decisions i ever made. i always have fun talking to you, plotting and threading and i honestly wish i did it a lot more than i currently do, but you know, uni is kicking my ass hasljdhlas anyway;; thank you, sunshine, thank you a lot and for these almost five years i love you a lot 🍅🍅🍅

HUNNIE - @yutark​ & @rksunwoo​ & @rkseokwoo​ - where do i even start?? like, oh wow, there is A LOT;; i can definitely say, we started talking when i suggested jihoon as sunwoo’s first kiss and look where the are now? dating, for what? seven months, can you believe that? SEVEN!!! this is insane haha;; and look and where we are now, talking on a daily basis, and its very very nice;; i don’t know what i would do nowadays without you, so i’m really really thankful you deal with my sorry ass so much ahdsdsalla it started with jihoon and sunwoo, then it transitioned to younghyun and yuta, and most recently, its been yuta and hyuna and their lil game of cat and mouse;; its always fun plotting with you, threading, talking, everything really;; and i really hope it will continue to be this way;; i love you

LYN - @rkxsnn & @rkavery - hello there mum!!! impressed im starting with you? anyway, i have A LOT OF THANK YOUS TO TELL YOU, starting from dealing with me, to helping me get through college, to life advice, to all the skype calls we had, a lot of things in these past few years. even if we don’t talk as much and i know you have life kicking u in the ass, i wish we could change that soon;; i miss you a lot;; all of your muses are amazing and i absolutely adore them, as much as i do you!! hmu soon;;  minsoo and elly were iconic, and he will forever be a huge part of her;; remember that mino and taehyun ship we had? good angst times lbr.

JEN - @yujurk - sup there mum number 2 even though i act older than you, you can’t even lie about that haha; you were one of the first people i started talking to in rookies, and still do on a weekly basis? daily? you get the point haha;; damn, i don’t think we ever argued as well, which is insane and you do give good advice and oh my god your muses are so funnnnnnnnnn bring all of themmmmmmmm innnnnnnnnnnnnn;; i’m so so happy that you came back to rookies after that hiatus;; really really happy;; jieun and hyuna are iconic partners in crime;; jihoon is grateful that jieun taught him how to sing;; hyuna thinks soyeon will forever haunt her, no doubt;; jkook is forever jihoon’s bunny you can fight him about it;; eunwoo says jkook never took her on a date, she’s upset about it haha

CLARA - @rkwendy​ & @rkjohnny​ - clara clara clara. you really love having me send the group chat into gay panic huh? i will forever continue to do it, do not worry. once a week sound good? hahah;; i wish we talked more than we do lately, but its always fun no matter what it is;; i also know for sure, you have my back and we can take over a country if we tried hard enough lbr;; i think we mainly stared talking when the brosquad/antisquad happened, which was pretty much when i joined rookies haha;; so again, nearly five years of friendship look at that!! we need to talk more and you need to tell me more baking recipes!! i think it was hyuna and wendy that we first got to interact and then wendy and jihoon and funny enough, i feel like jihoon and wendy are closer than hyuna and wendy haha;; then younghyun joined the picture to fully annoy wendy out of this word;; we need to thread more sobs;; lets make that happen yeah?

SHINOBI - @rkkangjoon​ & @rkgray​- hello there shinobi. i think our meet up scenario was the same as with clarea, huh?  brosquad/antisquad;; we should talk more, that’s a definite but i think that with hyuna&kangjoon we have gotten a lot closer than before and its really cute and nice and i love it qwq gray and hyuna need to release a hit song someday, we better make that happen yeah??? good!!

SACHA - @rkrose​ & @rkkyungri​ - i am super super duper ultra mega giga happy we got to talk a lot in the past few months, get to know each other and its very very nice;; i always have fun talking to you and i know i can lean on you if my day has been shitty, and i am sorry if i’ve had a lot of shitty days sadhljsajldnl ahhh, but yes, our muses will go through a lot and i’m really happy you enjoy it and i hope we can see them grow and develop!! 

ANI - @rkchungha & @rksohee& @rkmiya​ - what am i actually gonna do without you, that’s a very very good question i was asking myself recently. its really weird we never really talked a lot until younghyun was brought into rookies, which was i think this year huh? funny, very weird, what life was i living without you in it?? hahaha, anyway, i’m really glad and happy having chungha and younghyun so close got us to be closer as well, even if i set you into rp panic with random questions and potential scenarios haha;; i’m glad you enjoy them;;; love you lots!!

CARLY - @taeminrk & @rkluna & @danielxrk - we don’t really talk much, but in reality, i actually don’t know where i’d be rn if i couldn’t come to you with stupid questions and inquiries;; i wish you all the best in every possible aspect of life and love seeing you on the dash;; ngl i am also extremely and forever sorry that you have to read through hyunark’s post from like three years ago, that;s some nasty writing right there yikes;; but thank you for taking rookies under your wing and just expanding it and making it better and better with the rest of the mod team;; keep up the good work!!

a very special thanks to all of the royal girls, @rkxnarong , @rkyena , @rkella , @rkcheri , @rksoohyun , @rklisa , @rkrose who made royal survival a blessing, her stay in royal amazing as well;;  special thanks to all the royal boys, ex ones count as well, fight me @rkbyunbaek , @jaehyunrk , @kibumrk, @yienrk , @rkseonho,  thank you for being a part of hyunark’s journey in royal fun and emotional lbr;; you guys managed to make royal fun for me as well, so thank you so so so much to every single one of you guys;;

a huge thank you for og trc roster that’s still here and dealt with jihoon;s sorry ass back then; a huge thank you for the kt roster that had to deal with jihoon as well, even if it was for a short amount of time;; a huge thank you for sphere, and convex members @seungcheolrk , @rkhyun , @rkjinwook , @kibumrk , @rkjinkis , @rktaeyxng , @tenrk , @rkxroyal , @rkohsehun , @yienrk , @rkromeo , @rkzyx, who will now have to deal with jihoon like it not, but i apologize on his behalf;; even if i don’t say it often, i am really really happy jihoon got to debut with your boys and i’m happy i get to interact with all of you so much;; thank you, thank you, thank you;;

thank you rookies, for such an amazing time!! i can only wish and hope for many more!!!

[mingyus-noona]

Stubborn (Jaehyun, Taeyong, Mark, Yuta, Lucas, Jungwoo)

Title: Stubborn Members: Jaehyun, Taeyong, Mark, Yuta, Lucas, Jungwoo Fanfiction type: Oneshot Genre: Angst, Friendship, Drama Word count: 2,028 Just a short little idea I had. This is the second day of my posting spree and I’m still keeping with it. Let’s see if I make it until the 31st! Haha. Hope you enjoy it! Based on when I showed my mom pictures of NCT and she said Jaehyun’s looked like he had a hangover. I imagined him waking up in a hotel room in Vegas after a night of drinking and he sees all these random kids from his school who he doesn’t know and then Jaehyun sees they’re not that bad after all. Somehow turned into this instead, but I can still write that other one if anyone is interested. I made Jaehyun such a jerk in this. My baby D: I wanted to add more to this, but I knew if I worked on perfecting it, it wouldn’t get posted today lol ============================================================ When Jaehyun pulled into the driveway, it was 10:47, meaning the first showing of the new movie he'd been wanting to see would start in less than half an hour. Today was a professional development day at school, so there were no classes. He pulled out his phone and dialed Taeyong's number, tapping his fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the song playing from his radio. He was still waiting by the time the song had changed, and he began belting it out loud, sticking his head out his car window and in the direction of the house in an attempt to get Taeyong's attention in case he was still sleeping in. Finally, Taeyong picked up, apologizing for taking so long to answer the call. "About damn time," Jaehyun joked, getting out of the car and walking to the front door. "Is the door unlocked? I'm coming in." He turned the knob and pushed on it, shutting the door behind him. "Yeah, but I have people over. It's for a school project." "You're spending a day off from school doing homework?" Jaehyun had reached the basement door by now, so he opened it and took the stairs down to the ground level. With his phone still pressed to his ear, Taeyong said, "Yeah. We needed to finish this project, like, today. It's due second period tomorrow." Both of them hung up on the call now that Jaehyun was in the same room. "It probably won't take too long. Just pay some games or something for a bit, and then we can hang out." Taeyong gestured to the game system that was set up on the other side of the room. Jaehyun complied, but couldn't help but glance over at Taeyong here and there. He was surrounded by four other guys. Jaehyun recognized one of them as a sophomore named Mark, and he always heard other people talking about that guy. What a conceited prick. Fuck Mark. Mark was an asshole. There was another kid Jaehyun vaguely knew of, but the extent of his knowledge was that he was weird. As they were finishing up the project, he kept saying random things and being super loud. Jaehyun almost told him to fuck off, but he managed to bite his tongue and keep his comments to himself. By the time they were finished, Jaehyun learned that his name was Lucas and the guy who kept throwing pillows at him to get him to shut up was a senior exchange student named Yuta. The fourth guy hadn't even spoken, and Jaehyun still didn't know his name. "Are you guys done yet?" Jaehyun finally asked, having tired of playing video games. He tossed the controller onto the couch and stood up, walking over to the five guys huddled around the computer. Taeyong looked at his friend with a pleading expression, like he was begging for him to quit it. But then he cleared his throat and asked the fifth guy―Jungwoo--if he could proof-read the assignment for them and turn it in online. He was the best one at editing, apparently. Jungwoo nodded, and Jaehyun thought he heard him quietly mumble something, but he couldn't be too sure. "So, we can go now?" "Where are we going?" Mark asked. Jaehyun scoffed. "Not you, Lee. I don't see your name on tickets to the movies. Just me and my best friend." Mark was hardly able to hold in his laughter at the jealousy that was laced in Jaehyun's voice. "Okay," he mocked. "What are you two best friends seeing?" "None of your business." He turned to Taeyong, who gave him another soft look, as if to ask Jaehyun to stop being rude. "What?" Jaehyun asked. "It wouldn't be so bad if we all went, would it?" "We've been waiting for this to come out for months," Jaehyun pointed out. "Us. If you really want to hang out with them, you and I can see it another day then." They all looked offended that they were lumped into the "other" category, the undesired, the rejects. Jungwoo looked like he wanted to burst right open or leave or pee his pants because of the tension in the room. Yuta was probably seconds away from standing up to show this Jaehyun guy a piece of his mind. The thought was already on Mark's mind, but he was too chicken to stand up and do it. Taeyong didn't want to cause a scene, so he stayed quiet. And then there was Lucas. "So, where are we going then?" Dumbass echoed through several of their minds after his question, but they all still felt too awkward to say anything. It was clear Taeyong's friend hated them the moment he stepped foot downstairs. For no reason, other than his jealousy. If Mark were brave, he would have told Jaehyun to stop being such a big baby. Taeyong was allowed to have other friends. He and Taeyong had met in a music class and had become rather close friends. Not as close as his friendship with Jaehyun, of course, but not that of the relationship between strangers either. They'd hung out outside of class a few times and even goofed off during class by freestyling some raps. During one class period, they joked about starting a rap duo. And even though it was just a joke, part of both of them actually wanted to take it seriously, thought it would be cool to actually develop it further. "Do you wanna take this one, or should I?" Jaehyun asked Taeyong. He was about to slap the stupid out of that Lucas kid. "We could go for a hike," Taeyong suggested. Jaehyun stifled a laugh. "What now?" Mark rolled his eyes. "Well, except for one brain cell here," he gestured to Lucas, "the rest of you look skinny, weak, and soft as fuck." Lucas was about to protest and defend himself, but as Jaehyun said the word soft, with his eyes on Jungwoo, the rest of the guys glanced over at him and down to the teddy bear-printed sweater he was wearing. Jungwoo smiled nervously. "Wh-what?” Jaehyun had to bite his tongue in order to not respond and crush the kid's soul, make him cry, or both. Honestly, he couldn't understand why Taeyong would want to hang out with these losers. Okay, he understood that they had a project to work on. Whatever. But he could have easily gotten rid of them and then gone to the movies with Jaehyun. Instead, half an hour later, the six of them were getting ready to go, snacks and drinks in tow. Mark, Lucas, Yuta, and Jungwoo had brought their backpacks with them, and Taeyong easily had access to his because they were all at his house. The best Jaehyun had were the pockets of his jacket, but it'd have to do. They all raided the snack cabinet in Taeyong's kitchen and grabbed bottles of water and sports drinks before heading out. On the way there, with all of them piled into Jaehyun's car―much to his annoyance―the amount of insults were kept to a minimum. Mostly because Jaehyun had to focus on driving, but also because Taeyong made the effort to keep the conversation flowing between everyone. Little questions about what kind of things everyone was into or what plans they had for the weekend. Anything to keep Jaehyun from mocking them. Taeyong felt bad enough already for all his friend had said to them and for the fact that he hadn't really defended them, only tried to silently signal to Jaehyun to cut it out. Jaehyun wasn't a bad guy at all. He'd been Taeyong's best friend for as long as he could remember. It made sense that Jaehyun was jealous. Sure, he was being a bit childish and over-reactive, since they really need to get work done and Taeyong was allowed to hang out with other people, but Taeyong definitely understood the feeling of being left out, so he couldn't entirely be mad at Jaehyun. He was his best friend after all. Which was why when they encountered a snake later that day, Taeyong immediately grew nervous. He didn't want any of them to get hurt, but he had a soft spot for Jaehyun. And of course, he was the one to get bitten. And of course, Taeyong was a coward and couldn't even move at first. Jaehyun hadn't seen the snake coming, but he wasn't too far off from Yuta and Lucas, who were able to scare the snake away by stomping on the ground. All Taeyong could think to do was to grab his bottle of water and dump it onto Jaehyun's wound to try disinfect it. But seconds after this thought and trying to put it into action, Mark swatted the bottle away and started untying the flannel shirt from around his waist. Jaehyun protested. "He was trying to help me. What the hell? Why would you do that?" "You're not supposed to wash it. If there's venom left on the skin, it can help identify what kind of snake it is, and therefore, what plan of action needs to be taken. Keep your leg still." Mark was busy straightening out Jaehyun's leg. "Don't bend it. And stop moving. You'll make it worse." Jaehyun tried his best to comply as Mark held his shirt tightly to Jaehyun's leg. "Aren't you supposed to tie that around my leg?" Jaehyun asked. "Isn't that just going to make it spread quicker?" A hand came into contact with Jaehyun's cheek. It was a light, but still sharp, slap that left him with his mouth wide open as he stared at the person who delivered it: Jungwoo. "Ow, what was that for?" Jungwoo looked nervous, like he was regretting having slapped Jaehyun. Then he softly said, "It sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I think you should listen to him." "You're not supposed to make a tourniquet,” Mark said. “You just need to have pressure against it. As much pressure as you can. Lucas, you're stronger than me. Hold this down. Taeyong, call 911 if you have a signal." Luckily, he did, but he was so scared he could hardly move. He could barely process what was happening. First, he couldn't react to his friend being in danger. Then he almost made a mistake that could harm him even more. Now he couldn't even do one of the simplest and most important things he could do: call for help. When it was clear he was in too much shock to do what he was told, Mark took out his own phone and made the call. And there it was again. Taeyong being too much of a coward to do the right thing. It hurt him, how he kept things in and didn't do what he needed to. He couldn't stick up for Mark, Jungwoo, Yuta, and Lucas when Jaehyun was being rude. And he couldn't make a simple fucking phone call to get his best friend medical attention. And even though he felt he'd made a lot of mistakes that day, he'd been in the right mindset. He was just a little too shy to confront Jaehyun outright. After going to the hospital and receiving medical attention, which turned out to not be as necessary as the guys originally thought, Jaehyun was the one who felt worse. He definitely knew he hadn't come off as the nicest person earlier, but in his mind, he felt he was just defending his friendship with Taeyong. But the guys he'd thoughtlessly and harshly judged earlier had proven to be lifesavers. Even if the bite wasn't that serious, he was lucky enough to have had them there to begin with, because things could have easily been worse. Everyone had flaws. Taeyong was very caring, but often shy to express his thoughts, preferring to hold back in case he offended anyone. Jaehyun, on the other hand, offended people all the time, but was blinded by how his words and actions affected others. He was stubborn, judgmental, too quick to think he knew someone based off of appearance or one thing they did. But people could surprise you. So, he'd started out calling Mark Lee every bad name in the book. But now, he wasn't so bad. Sure, he wasn't going to jump at being his friend, but he was okay.

[boatspeak]

Some of my favourite dramas from the past half a year, ranked: 

1. Because This is my First Life 

k-drama, 16 episodes, each 1 hour long

So sensitively and personally written. I was sucked into the storytelling and felt as though I was seeing these scenes through the eyes of the characters. Bravo to the scriptwriter; as I was watching it I felt, ah, she must have drawn from some intensely personal and important place. It was not a story anyone could have written. Because This is My First Life follows the stories of three BFFs as they experience, and grapple with, love and marriage. It does not shy away from the complicated sides of these issues - the societal, monetary and financial pressures that love and marriage cannot be separated from, the difficulties of communicating with others honestly yet sensitively. There are some frustratingly incorrigible people in the drama (like sexually harassing superiors), but most of the time the conflicts play out between good people who care for and support each other, yet inevitably butt heads because they have different - and equally valid - views of life. Is it wrong to want to marry and start a family? Is it wrong not to? It was painful at times, I think I cried for some of the characters. Not because they were pitiable, but because sometimes in life there is no right or wrong; you have to make tough choices and it hurts but you have to keep your eyes open and keep watching; keep walking. For the literature lovers out there, especially those who might be sick of gratuitous (often cheesy) quotes inserted randomly into dramas, well, good for you! Characters in Because This is My First Life read and are impacted by (real life) books, and you can see how the books they’ve read influence the way they think, act, and communicate with each other. It’s very realistic and mirrors the way you might consume and digest books in your own life outside of the drama. Oh, the PPL is also wonderfully done and actually contributes to character building.  8-9/10.

2. Raise de wa Chanto Shimasu (I’ll be serious in my next life)

j-drama, 12 episodes, each 1/2 an hour long

One woman, five sex friends. I know. I know it sounds messy and melodramatic and angsty. I hesitated for the same reasons as well. But when I finally got over it and watched the damn thing (very bingeable, totalling at only 6 hours), I regretted not watching it sooner. Raise wa Chanto Shimasu is a breath of fresh air. Most of the characters, whether hypersexual or asexual, are pretty unabashed about it, and I love their self-love. Want to have sex? Go for it, gurl. Don’t want to have sex? Also no problem. The title is an apt one and showcases this message of acceptance. We might have bones to pick with our current lifestyles, but welp, we’ll just be serious in our next lives. As one of the characters said at the end, “we all became independent, working adults, I think we should be proud of ourselves”.  Much needed affirmation in a world of moralising, slut-shaming, virgin-mocking, and expectations to get married and settle down.

Warning: one of the characters in a bi/gay relationship is pretty vocal in denying his sexuality even in front of his partner, and a trans woman was harrassed at one point. These were discomfiting for me. 

3. The Fiery Priest 

k-drama, 40 episodes, each 1/2 an hour long (or 20 hour-long episodes)

Action. Comedy. Kim Nam Gil, who won the Baeksang for this role. Honey Lee. Badass babe. Ahn Chang Hwan, who was so realistic at playing a Thai immigrant my friend who studied Korean for three years didn’t even realise he was Korean. Father Han. One reviewer said he was a literal angel, and I concur. Most dramas leave you with at most three or four characters you really like; this drama makes you fall in love with the whole gang. Everyone has a backstory, or some hidden side that you didn’t expect that just adds so much more dimension when revealed. Where some might find it hard to balance the weight of action and the levity of comedy, dipping too deeply into angst or farce at times, The Fiery Priest manages the tone really well even as the plot deepens and our characters have to deal with deep-seated traumas. I have nothing more to say to promote this drama except, how could you pass on Kim Nam Gil doing action plus comedy MINUS tragedy and the moustache? 

A final note: Technically, The Fiery Priest is a stronger drama than Raise and should deserve the no. 2 spot. The former deals with bigger issues like corruption, morality and forgiveness, while the latter is more light-hearted and deals almost entirely with personal choices. However, some issues Raise touched on were really important to me and came at a time when I really needed affirmation to believe in my beliefs, so it edged out The Fiery Priest in my heart. 

4. 传闻中的陈芊芊 (The Romance of Tiger and Rose) 

c-drama, 22 episodes, each about 45 minutes long

甜。This drama is just Sweet with a capital S. What a refreshing watch, especially for women. I loved not having tugging battles between two men. I loved the respect given to consent. I loved having so many smart and capable women who have conversations with each other that do not revolve around men. I love how the male lead wasn’t hung up on Male Ego and gave his wife space to be herself and make her own decisions and mistakes. A rare gem. I’m sure I will revisit this when I’m tired of the usual ドキドキ tactics involving possession and pulling around 

(If you can read Chinese, I suggest watching it on the 腾讯视频 app with 弹幕 on. I found it pretty hilarious, meaning I laugh-cried so hard in the middle of the night my neighbour knocked on my door to ask if I was ok.)   

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A quick rundown of the dramas and films I’ve watched so far in 2020 so you know the pool I picked these four from: 

Penguin Highway 

good watch. super cute. I cannot over-emphasise how cute the penguins were. It got me into a penguin phase and I’m not out of it even after 7 months...

ぼくは明日、昨日のきみとデートする (My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday) 

good watch. bittersweet.

わたしに××しなさい！(Watashi ni XX Shinasai/Missions of Love) movie and drama special

would pass on the movie (which cherry-picked from the manga but unfortunately left out a lot of important character developing scenes so the relationship didn’t make as much sense as it did in the manga)

but the drama special. Whew. I watched the drama special twice. It’s trashy good. Because it’s basically a spin-off to build hype for the movie, it doesn’t have to follow the plot of the manga, instead taking on the format of a (very cheesy) otome game. So you have all these ikemen saying clichéd toe-curling lines like “I am also a man you know” and getting stuck half-naked bReAthInG HeAviLy in cabinets together but instead of playing it seriously (as the movie would do because it’s supposed to make you feel like they are falling in love), the main character goes huh??? wtf are you saying?? at her otome game screen, which is so realistic and just cracks me up. definitely would rec. 

ごめんね青春！(Gomen ne Seishun/ Saving my Stupid Youth) 

hmmm. so-so? Leading lady Hikari Mitsushima is pretty, cool, and fits the bill of gap moe. Ryo Nishikido is also pretty believable (once you suspend your disbelief that somehow all his students think he looks dorky and are not gushing over his ikemen-ness). Unfortunately, relationship development between the otp happened too late and too suddenly. 

Он – драко́н (On Drakon/ He’s a Dragon/ I Am Dragon)

a pleasure to (re-)watch as always. Lovely visuals. 

Tokyo Ghoul: S

decent! Great performance from Shota Matsuda as the Gourmet. He’s definitely a draw-point for this movie - you can see him being featured heavily in the trailers. 

Strong Girl Do Bong Soon

great drama, would rec! 7-8/10. Points docked for all the digressing they did with monks and gangsters. I loved the otp’s dynamic, how healthy their relationship was. One line that struck me was, “Do you know how you’ve found the right person? When you see yourself in their eyes, you look happy”. It was a reminder that while these are obviously fictional characters, we can and should form relationships where our partners are as supportive of us (and us of them) as our dear otp, and not to settle for less. Also loved the fact that smol Bong Soon is so strong and no one can manhandle her >:-) 10/10 also to rookie actor Jang Mi Kwan, who was absolutely terrifying as the villain. How is he only a rookie??  

Because This is my First Life

see above

The Fiery Priest

see above

선덕여왕 (Great Queen Seon Deok)

hehe I watched it (again). As great as ever. Somehow cried more than I did the previous two times I watched it? Took me a week to get over one of the characters (even though I already went through all that heartbreak the first two times I watched this..) Sayang... Definitely has a special place in my heart. Available in full on youtube with subs. 

传闻中的陈芊芊 (Romance of Tiger and Rose)

see above

来世はちゃんとします (Raise de wa Chanto Shimasu) 

see above

覆面系ノイズ (Fukumenkei Noise/Anonymous Noise)

pretty good! Adapted from a manga but very film-like with its color-corrected shots, many cut-scenes to birds and crashing waves. Shison Jun was great in his intense scene, Ayami Nakajo has the most manga-looking face I’ve seen and Koseki Yuta is my bb as always hahaha he’s appeared in, like, four dramas on this list. 

博多弁の女の子はかわいいと思いませんか？(Don’t You Think Girls Who Talk in Hakata Dialect Are Cute?) 

YES!! I DO!! Wholesome drama packed to the brim with hometown (Hakata) pride). I also loved Okada Kenshi going around looking for Ramen shops hahaha. Now I want to see him host a food discovery show. 8/10. Would rec! 

帝一の國 (Teiichi no Kuni/Teiichi’s Country)

面白い 。Interesting watch! In which a bunch of high school boys in an elite school take their student council elections very seriously and attempts at political hijinks ensue. Suda Masaki and his pals somehow make over-the-top super seem natural. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s pretty good. Peppered with interesting reveals and counter-reveals along the way. 

男子高校生の日常 (Daily Lives of High School Boys)

I liked this! It delivers on what it’s supposed to. As a film, it is very film-like. The background is given a lot of weight in this film, and the director “shows, not tells”. The conversations of our characters are situated in the chatter of their schoolmates, you hear random snippets of conversations drift around, you see the school situated in the mountains, piles of decorations around the hall. This helps in conveying the “daily” nature of what happens in the film - not some life-changing adventure, but a warm high-school memory that is pretty like a paper star in a glass bottle. The boys are also very lovable and dorky in their high-school roles. 

ピーチガール (Peach Girl)

not bad. Typical shoujo manga adaptation storyline, even if the leading quartet do well in their roles. Nagano Mei was especially memorable for me out of the typical shoujo heroine roles I had previously seen her in. Inoo Kei also really looks like a boy from a manga. He has a lot of exaggerated actions, but he pulls them off really well. 

突然ですが明日結婚します (Totsuzen desu ga ashita kekkon shimasu/ It’s Sudden But Tomorrow We’re Getting Married/ Everyone’s Getting Married)

pretty decent. It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s definitely not bad. (Or you could flip it around and say it’s definitely not bad, but it’s not mind-blowing). 

ヲタクに恋は難しい  (Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku)

disappointing. I really wanted to like this film for Takahata Mitsuki and Yamazaki Kento, but there were too many useless musical scenes. 

同期の桜 (Doki no Sakura / Our Dearest Sakura)

Hmmmmmm. About colleagues who become inspired in their work and lives because of their colleague Sakura. I wanted more love but that’s not the main point of the drama so it’s not their fault. It got a bit repetitive towards the end, and I felt there wasn’t enough character development. Another drama I really wanted to like more than I did, because I was looking forward to seeing Takahata Mitsuki, Ryusei Ryo and Mackenyu work together. 

Tokyo Coin Laundry

A mishmash of lost souls meet at a coin laundry. A short drama about running away, making choices, and moving on. Katayose Ryota might have been cool in My Brother Loves Me Too Much, but this was where I first saw him and I prefer him in this. I enjoyed this a lot and even drew a postcard based on this. 7/10. 

兄に愛されすぎて困ってます (My Brother Loves Me Too Much) drama and movie

ok don’t judge; I watched this because my friend said it was pretty good. Katayose Ryota IS pretty cool in this, and Tsuchiya Tao brings to life the quintessential image of the Japanese girl, but if you’re watching this for “so cheesy it’s actually good” I would point you to the Watashi ni XX Shinasai drama special instead. If you do want to watch this though, you should watch the drama before the movie, because they are not standalone. 

Nodame Cantabile

What can I say? Classics are classics. 8/10, would rec. This is my first time seeing Ueno Juri acting, and she’s so believable as quirky Nodame I wondered if this was her actual personality. Straight out of a manga. There was potential for messy love-drama, but this drama took the high road and focused on proper character development instead. Thumbs up! They also did really well in “showing not telling” us the OTP’s relationship development. Rather than declarations of love, you can see it in the little caring gestures and almost subconscious smiles. I liked that too. Though maybe I’ll dock a point for how they treated gay expressions of love - “he’s a man you know” and icky faces - and how much casual manhandling there was against Nodame (exaggerated flying punches... maybe that’s how the manga wrote it?) 

[sakuurae]

Overrated [m] || PREVIEW

summary: notorious bad boy, dong sicheng, was never one for attachment. well, not until he met you. surprisingly, there was more that met the eye of the reckless bad boy—something outrageously… pure.

❀ pairing: “bad boy”!sicheng & reader insert || university!AU

❀ includes: humour for the peek; fluff & smut when the whole thing is out

❀ wc: 2.3k for this preview :)

❀ note: Due to my lack of uploads lately i have decided to upload a preview of my (most likely to be) next fic! The estimated word count for this seems like it will be around 15k, but who am i to judge my own word counts at this point ;; anyway, this will probably be out in a week and a half or two—ill do my best to finish this sooner! I hope you enjoy what i have of it so far :) Sorry it doesnt reveal too much! ^~^

Dong Sicheng had a tarnished reputation that was effortless for him to maintain.

Sicheng wreaked havoc day by day, practically stirring an immature calamity on university campus. He carried a storm wherever he went, his footsteps equivalent to a roll of thunder. From his sour persona to the sharp way he talked; his words were bullets to those he aimed them to. Yet, girls flocked around him mindlessly and praised him like none other, falling for his recklessness without a care. On campus, students were either irked, found his personality rebarbative, or completely in love with the idea of him.

Sicheng was stellar in his own way, a star in the worst way possible that managed to outshine the rest. Men had ached to be him while girls craved to spend a night with him—just one, enough to see what he truly, dutifully packed. But that was where Sicheng would expeditiously draw the line, austere and grim, and leave them. Like rain battering down on a scorching pavement, his trace disappeared within seconds.

It was not because the spark of attraction towards the girl was absent, nor was it because he wanted to bring all of them to the edge only to leave them hanging, adding each to the list of rejected individuals. It was due to something else—something borderline shameful to his existence and reputation.

And it was because not a single soul knew that Dong Sicheng, notorious bad boy and ruthless heartbreaker, was a virgin.

Dong Sicheng was not always a scandalous “starboy”. Rather than being known for the negativity that surrounded him to this day, he used to be quite popular for factors of good. He had grades on the top tier, a miraculous talent in dance (and he still does to this day), but now he made choices to never exhibit such favorable qualities. It was as if the tarnished name of “bad boy” stuck to his being like an annoying bur.

Everything started back in high school, his breakthrough of reckless tactics. One accident led to another, like a perfect cascade that built him into who he was today. Impregnable pillars that held him up to his prominent standing had crumbled down to rubble, and soon his pristine title was blighted.

All because Sicheng made the silly choice of dating.

Surprisingly enough, and as cliché as it can get, she was a member of the cheer squad. It started off simple: occasional dates to the cinema and unmitigated walks to the park. Though, despite those activities that might be seen as tedious, he developed genuine feelings for her and cherished every moment. Clearly, it was not him who diminished the relationship, dragging it down to nothing. It was due to her impatience. She was restive to win; to be more specific, a bet with her friends to get into the boy’s pants, and when Sicheng found out he was utterly heart broken at the least. So, the night she was ready to initiate and play her careful cards, facing the false belief she would win the bet, he left her—hell, he never even showed his face to her since then. Of course, she spat out angry curses at how he was gone like the win.

Unwanted results were a consequence for him, for her sour tongue spread negative comments about Sicheng, and the fragile display of his innocent life fell apart like a poor house of cards. But rather than having those unwanted occurrences to run and take over his life, enveloping like an abrupt darkness, he took charge and swore that it would never happen again. Sicheng built himself up, never allowing anyone to cross his path or get close to him, and those who tried were given the cold shoulder. Physical contact was a virus for Sicheng, and he swatted individuals away left and right. The comments that spread around him were too much for his pure soul to handle at the time, and he skipped out on school. But of course, others claimed he ditched for the hell of it. Word even went around that he was dating an older woman—which was more than false, but who was out there to listen to him?

Sicheng maintained his stellar grades through the calamity, keeping everyone at a perceptible distance away. As much as he wanted to avoid making contact with others, spreading his name around the school, the opposite result had occurred and he was helpless to it.

Brushing this off to the side, high school was also where everything had started for you too—not that there was a prominent shift in your name to begin with. You heard word of Sicheng messing around with girls and breaking hearts like it was the news of the century, but you never paid mind, always focusing on your studies.

It was how things always were for you, and how things would forever remain.

After all, at the end of the line, you and Dong Sicheng made it to one of the most prestigious universities out there—with a purpose.

Sun was beating down the slip of Sicheng’s neck as he lingered with his friend, Jaehyun, around the university parking lot. The two of them were cracking jokes about meaningless things, conversing about trivial topics, and laughing the day away. It happened so often, practically daily, to the point it was a fixed part of their routine. Sicheng and Jaehyun would typically wait for their other friends to come by, to which they would all converse for a short while before driving uptown for a bite, or crash at one’s place.

Speaking of Sicheng’s friends, they were making their way towards him right then. One of them, recognizable as Taeyong, had their eyebrows crossed together in a frustrated manner; he appeared to be spitting curses to the other individual who graciously listens in—as much as he wanted to sleep.

Jaehyun’s and Sicheng’s conversation withered into silence as they watched the two boys approach them. After Taeyong indignantly raked a hand through his hair, Sicheng asked him what was wrong.

His friend laughed, informing the other boys of the news of the year. “Our boy, Lee Taeyong, just got rejected.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened, startled to the core at the information. “Whoa, Yuta, are you serious? Taeyong got rejected? That’s a first.”

“Well why do you care so much?” asked Sicheng. “You can get anybody in this university except for one girl. Well, any sorority girl that is.”

Taeyong chuckled lightheartedly, annoyed by his friends’ words. “Tell me about it. I’m just as shocked as you are.” Taeyong turned his head to Sicheng, a sour expression painting on his face. “And Sicheng, I care because I got rejected—for once! The tables actually turned here.”

Sicheng chuckled, acknowledging his point. “Right, right. Sorry.”

Taeyong huffed in vexation, still disbelieved—and he would continue to remain that way for a good while. It was amusing to Sicheng, a surprising turn of events to see one of the guys in his sacred group get turned down by a girl. Each of them was captivating in their own way, and he knew it entirely; at least one of them would fit into the standards of members of the opposite sex. Occasionally, Sicheng wondered how he placed himself in such a group of charming individuals—and cocky, if he must say. It was as if the life he had tried to hard to orbit away from had made its way towards him with might, impressioning on Sicheng’s being for the rest of his life.

Sicheng did not feel like his whole self whenever he hanged around the rambunctious group of boys, but the fun that was frequently stirred made the wasted time worth it. Oh, and hearing all sorts of dish about their lives. That was just on the surface though. Surprisingly enough, beneath each of the boy’s outer shell of superiority and arrogance, was a softer, gentler version. Perhaps that was why Sicheng remained; it was how he got closer to each one of his friends. And after two years they still remained together like peas in a pod.

Though, within those two years, Taeyong had never gotten rejected.

“So what’s the story?” asked Jaehyun, his arms crossing over his chest.

Yuta’s eyes flashed in delight, excitement running throughout his body as he cleared his throat. “Well, Taeyong—”

“Why are you the one telling the story?” Taeyong asked, sourness evident in his tone. “You’re going to add all these extra details again.”

Yuta shrugged, smirking at this friend. “Fine, I’ll get straight to the point”—Yuta took a step towards the two boys, almost like he was ready to exchange confidential information—“but don’t laugh at him. We gave him enough shit for this today.”

Jaehyun laughed and assured Yuta of his light worries. “Don’t worry, just speak up.”

Yuta smiled. “There’s this girl who always stays at the bleachers during baseball practice, probably ‘cause her friend drags her around, but she doesn’t even pay attention to us. In my opinion, the girl’s friend is pretty cute herself.”

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow in skepticism. “Okay, I don’t see the problem yet.”

“And this hotshot”—Yuta nudged Taeyong with an elbow— “thought it would be a fun idea to make her interested—in him, and not our practices. So out of nowhere, Taeyong started to talk to her, but she was never interested. He said the girl looked easy to get, and then—”

“Come on, dude!” Taeyong groaned, cutting his friend off. “She had her nose in a book constantly and I swear when we locked eyes for the first time she wanted me.”

Sicheng shoved his fists into the pockets of his sweatshirt, stultified by the story. “Are you sure it wasn’t the look of ‘leave-me-the-fuck-alone’?”

“Hey!” Taeyong stomped.

“Anyway,” Yuta continued, “when someone’s reading, Taeyong, you’re not supposed to interrupt. Oh, not when they’re talking either… In short, she rejected him pretty harshly by saying—”

Taeyong flinched, grabbing onto Yuta’s sleeve and pulling him back. “No! Don’t tell them what she said, I—”

“‘You? And me—on a date? I had hopes in you being bright, but you must be horribly stupid to think I’d go out with someone like you. It’s one to annoy me, but another to actually ask me on a date while I’m here with my friend. Oh, are you expecting me to hold your hand that has been up other girls’—”

“Okay, Yuta! That’s enough,” Taeyong badgered, hanging his head low. Shame dawned over his being like gargantuan waves, dragging down the last of his dignity. The laughter that poured from the boy’s lips appeared endless, like a never ending waterfall of jocularity caused by Taeyong’s embarrassment. Taeyong’s ears tinge with pink the longer they kept up their fits of chuckles, commenting about the utter failure.

Yuta continued feeding the details to the two boys, as if the riveting information would satisfy them for an entire week, and Taeyong welled in his own congealing ignominy. After Yuta concluded the entire story, talking about himself amid, the boys let out a sigh in relief. Until, of course, Taeyong opened his mouth.

“She was bound to crack,” Taeyong hissed. “But not with me. I want to get back at her but I don’t know how.”

Jaehyun shifted his weight and crinkled his nose, his mouth twisting into a confused smirk, “Tae, how petty can you get? We’re in uni now.”

Sicheng let out a chortle, leaning in closer to Jaehyun. “Very petty, apparently.”

Sicheng’s gaze veered from Jaehyun to the older boy who was boring in his desolation. Taeyong stared at Sicheng for a while, almost scrutinizing him from top to bottom, and soon his lips quirked into a sly smirk. Sicheng raised his eyebrow, dumbfounded to his friend’s change of expression, and questioned what was wrong.

“Sicheng, want to do me a solid?” asked Taeyong, desperation leaking onto his tone. Each word that left his mouth appeared to be leading into the next thread of ideas that ran against his mind; all Sicheng had to do was pay more mind to decipher what he was saying.

Sicheng remained silent for a while, unsure on what to say. The other boys exchanged curious glances and waited for Taeyong to continue.

“Get her back for me—for rejection, please?” Taeyong requested.

Sicheng laughed out of pity, unamused by his question. “Taeyong, we’re too old to play games.”

“Seriously!” Taeyong persisted, walking up to the younger boy. “Just lead her on, get her on the edge, and leave her hanging—you know, what you usually did with girls back then.”

Sicheng clenched his teeth in disgust when he heard his reasoning. Back then? Right, he completely forgot that Taeyong, and his other friends, were aware of his prevalent title and the actions he had “done” to achieve it. Sicheng laughed, a disguise of how repulsive he found the entire situation. “What the heck? You’re kidding me.”

“No, I’m not,” he insisted. “Come on, go pick her up in your nice car or something. Take her out for a ride—then take her out for a ‘ride.’”

The thought of Sicheng witnessing a member of the opposite sex wholly naked made him sweat profoundly, and he shook his head, brushing aside Taeyong’s idea. Shit, Sicheng never had evocative imaginations of any woman before and he refused to start right then and there. “N-no thanks,” he denied, his eyes averting from Taeyong’s.

“But—”

“Enough of this, I’m starving,” announced Jaehyun. “We’ve been waiting for you and Yuta for a while, can we just get something to eat already?”

“The billiards hall?” questioned Yuta, fishing in his pocket for his keys.

Jaehyun nodded in response, and seconds later all of the boys separated into two vehicles, driving right on over to their local hangout.

Sicheng, situated at the passenger seat, wondered who Taeyong was referring to. Sicheng was lost to why he was inquisitive to the girl’s identity. Maybe it was the fact there was a student out there who was withstanded by Taeyong’s overflowing charms. He slowly closed his eyes as he remained deep in his thought; maybe it was not much and he was overthinking it. With that, he waited to arrive at the billiards hall patiently. The second he stepped out of Jaehyun’s vehicle his momentary peace was disrupted by the calls of his friends.

[squishysvt]

Misguided Studies

Prompt: You and Johnny attend the same university. You’ve known each other for quite some time and are borderline best friends. He’s had feelings for you for a long time but hasn’t quite been able to deal with them properly. Member: Johnny x Reader (with a side of DoYu^^) Genre: Angst Word Count: 1.7k Warnings: mild language  A/N this wasn’t requested & was something I already had written so I just tinkered with it a bit so voila! please enjoy! -Admin Madi

Standing on your toes to reach the top of the book shelf, you pulled at the spine of a particularly thick book, using all possible strength to unbind it from its hold amongst the other heavy texts.

“I thought you said you already have all your material for your classes,” Johnny stood behind you, huffing and groaning as he held a stack of books that you needed for your essay. “Who the hell is making you write something this early on in the semester anyway? They’re just looking to be labeled as the bitchiest professor.”

You sighed, bringing the book down and setting it on top of the rest. “It’s been like two months since classes started, Johnny. What do you expect her to assign?”

“My professor just gives us chapters to read and that’s it. You should try bribing her or something.”

“And risk being kicked out? Tell Yuta to try that.” You drug your fingers along the wood of the bookshelves, skimming over title after title before reaching the end and turning to face him.

“Don’t you have plans? I thought you’d be busy on a Friday night,” poking his shoulder lightly, a knowing smile grew on your face as he shook his head.

“I’ve got nowhere else to be but with you,” he avoided your gaze, toying with the books in his hands and chewing at his lip.

As you were about to fake gag and tell him how cheesy he was being, Doyoung came flying around the corner, nearly knocking into the both of you before stopping abruptly. His arms weren’t full of books, but rather thick sheets of colorful paper with a packet of markers sliding around on top.

“Doyoung, where’s-”

“I found the book!” Yuta came from behind, waving a book in his hands and excitedly taking a place next to Doyoung who visibly flushed at his demeanor.

He muttered a shy “thanks” before prodding along, moving to a table at the back of the library happily.

Yuta stuck around for a bit before following, talking in a low voice as he covered his mouth with his hand, shielding it from Doyoung. “I’m helping him with a project. I called it a study date and he’s been quiet ever since,” giggling a bit to himself after seeing your expression, he skipped away contently.

You shook your head, happy for his apparent adoration for the brown haired boy sitting across from him. A feeling of want spread through your chest, but quickly dissipated as Johnny clicked his tongue in playful annoyance.

“Are they still not official? It’s so painfully obvious that they like each other. They practically eye each other up every time they’re in a room together. Like, it makes me feel like I’m interrupting something, you know? Like, do I just leave or do I crack some dumb joke to break the trance they’re in?”

“You overthink this a lot for someone who apparently doesn’t care about Doyoung’s love life.” Crossing your arms and raising your eyebrows at him to emphasize wanting answers, he stifled, just a bit.

“Is Mr.Johnny Seo jealous? Does he want someone to looooove?” You clasped your hands together and made kissy faces in his direction, a coy voice teasing him to no end.

“Y/N, please. I don’t need a relationship to be happy!” His statement came out as something eerily cheery, as if being single didn’t faze him in the least. Something you’ve heard all too many times.

Groaning and placing both hands on either sides of his waist, you shook your head slowly, peering into his eyes with utmost sincerity. “We’ve been around each other far too much lately. You’re beginning to sound like me.”

Tiptoeing to pat his head lovingly, you let your hands fall to his shoulders, leg wedging between his own and urging him to face the opposite direction. With a quick push of the lower back, he was moving with ease, laptop bag bouncing on his hip with each step.

You stopped him as you came to a table next to Doyoung and Yuta, clinging to the fabric of his shirt and contemplating whether to move or not. Tugging a bit harder, this time on his sleeve, he leant down to be at eye level with you.

“Do you think they want to be left alone?”

He shrugged and looked as they seemingly laughed at something Doyoung had said. “They look kinda distracted to me. I doubt they’ll notice, or even care for that matter. When you’re in love, it kinda works like that. You don’t see anyone else in the room except for the other person.”

Feeling both moved yet oddly satisfied with his answer, you sat.

“So you’ve been in love before, I presume?”

He dropped the stack of books onto the table, complacently exhaling as he rubbed at his forearms, imprintations marking his flesh where the sharp corners of the covers prodded his skin. He looked troubled though, as he pulled the chair contradictory to your own out and anxiously sat. He fiddled with his hands, laying each book out nicely for your choosing, cogs in his head turning as the question stumped him.

“I guess?”

“Well how else would you know….all that?” Motioning to earlier with your hands, he gave you a tilt of the head.

“That?”

“You know! That!” Growing frustrated at the lack of words forming in your head, you sighed and laid your hand on his. “That whole spiel you just gave about love and mushy stuff.”

He snapped his fingers, pointing with a reassuring “ah” and leaning back into his seat. “That one.”

He shrugged yet again, his aura of nonchalance annoying you as it always did after too long.

“Johnny, I’m serious. Don’t just flake me off.”

His lips pursed into the way they always did when he’s thinking, nails scraping against the peeling wood and looking back into your eyes after what felt like a century.

“It’s complicated.”

Intrigued by the openness his answer presented, you pushed lightly. “How so?”

His hand slipped from underneath your own, escaping into the confines of his pockets as he smiled at you knowingly.

“Y/N, you’re meddling, and if I recall correctly, you’re the one constantly telling me not to do that.”

Crossing both legs and arms, you sat up straighter. “This is different. We aren’t talking about present issues, just past ones.”

His eyes instantly narrowed, leaning forward to rest his arms against the table. A challenging look washed over him. “Says who?”

At this, you backed down. Confusion, and what could only be a bit of hurt left your heart plummeting. “You’re in love right now?”

He nodded with a different sort of smile gracing his face; one you’ve never seen before. Or maybe you have and just never noticed.

“I think so.”

“With who?” Decoding to stand your ground this time, you moved closer to him in an attempt to show how serious you were. “You’ve never mentioned that you’re seeing someone.”

“I know, and I’m not.”

Your heart dropped all over again, worried as you took in the state of the broken boy infront of you.

“You’re in love with someone you’re not with? Do...do they know?”

Johnny forced a smile, a painfully awkward one that left all kinds of questions running through your head.

“No, they don’t, and I don’t think they ever will.”

At this point you felt as hopeless as he looked, reaching out to intertwine your fingers and looking for any positivity in the situation. “Johnny, you have to tell them.’

“They’re interested in someone else.”

“Johnny, no. I’m not accepting that bullshit. If you live your life never telling them how you feel, you’ll hate yourself.”

“Do you not think I already know that?” His body shook as his voice rose, attracting the gaze of many as he went well over the volume level allowed inside of a library. “Do you not think it haunts me everyday? They like someone else and never even spare me a glance. I hate myself so fucking much because I know I’ll never be enough. I’ll never have my feelings reciprocated and I’ll just have to sit and watch because I’m not going to risk losing a friendship.” His eyes glistened as his resolve faded, voice shaking slightly as it returned to a much quieter tone. “Being around them is enough for me.”

“Johnny…” You moved to swipe at the water pooling, spilling over his eyes as he feverishly blinked, only stopping as his hand caught your wrist gently. His head hung low, tears falling onto the fronts of the books he had carried for you this past hour, contorting the images beneath as smiles turned to frowns and all happiness was drowned out of the colorful pictures.

His voice was fragile, wavering as he shook his head weakly, sobs threatening to wrack his body. “Please, don’t.”

He let your wrist go free, hands moving to cover his face as he cried, shaking his head repeatedly, taking in gasps of air when oxygen levels ran threatening low.

“Don’t hurt me anymore, Y/N. I can’t handle it.”

The realization hit and caused you to still, taking in the look of his figure, slouched and crying into his hands, sobs laced with the emotion he had bottled up for months. The words of his self deprecation played over and over until your head began to pound. Doyoung and Yuta watched in shock at the boy pouring his heart out in front of you, not knowing how to handle this situation.

You felt your eyes begin to blur, the world merging together to form only murky bits of color and shape, standing slowly as you pulled the hem of your sweater into both fists.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He began to look up, eyes red and trails of tears staining his handsome face. Before you could reach out, reassure him that you did love him, just not in the way he wanted, you were swept away and into the embrace of someone unknown, moving through the exit as the tears began to pour just as the heavens opened up and cried; cried for the broken heart of Johnny Seo, and for the future he was never going to have with the person he loved.